CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
THERE WAS AN awareness in Ivy as she stared at Nolan. A cognizance she hadn’t expected. As strange as it was, they connected on so many levels. Even when they didn’t want to. And she felt it now more than before because by voicing his inner fears, he had also stated her own.
Why were all these emotions they were experiencing coming into play? A better question was why were they there at all? What he said was true. They were beginning to feel feelings they should be able to control because they had no place in a pretend relationship. But they were there, clouding up things, making them react in ways they shouldn’t. Such emotions could become outright dangerous for the both of them if they weren’t handled the right way. But instead of handling them, she preferred giving in to them. How crazy was that?
Now he wanted to kiss her and she wanted to be kissed by him. She didn’t fully understand what was happening between them and she wanted to forget what had got them together in the first place. She didn’t want to think about Nana, Ms. Laverne or the plan she and Nolan had agreed to implement to beat them at their own game.
Right now, at this very minute, they weren’t victims of the two women trying to control their lives and their futures. They were victims of their own making in a war they really didn’t want to fight, but were doing so anyway because they felt not fighting, not resisting it, not counterattacking was a defeat for them. Neither she nor Nolan wanted to be defeated. She had discovered they were both stubborn individuals who did not like giving in to anything. But now they understood that there were some things you couldn’t fight and lust was one of them. And this was lust as thick and intense as it could get. She no longer wanted barriers or limitations between them. Namely those she’d erected.
Without thinking any further, figuring she’d been thinking too much, she slowly walked over to Nolan. Tilting her head back, she looked up at him. Her pulse flickered and leaped in her throat and the nerves in her body were somersaulting all over the place.
“If you want to kiss me, Nolan, then do it.”
He smiled just moments before lowering his mouth to hers. The moment of contact was electric. He stroked with such greed that she couldn’t help groaning in feminine appreciation. Nolan was conjuring up memories of the kisses they’d shared, and how her mouth had feasted off his as much as his had feasted off hers. All those deep-seated, wild fantasies she’d had for the past two weeks came flooding back into her mind.
Nolan had the ability to electrify her cells. Intense heat was rapidly moving up her thighs toward her center, muddling her brain in the process and had her teetering on an orgasmic release. If any man had the ability to make a woman come just from working his tongue in her mouth, it would be Nolan.
He suddenly broke off the kiss and stared down at her before pressing her face against his chest. Ivy heard the force of his breathing and felt the hard erection pressing against her. Her womb contracted from the feel of his hardness pressing against her and she knew she wanted it. She wanted him. This intense need overtaking her wasn’t according to plan, but to hell with their plan.
“Nolan?”
He was breathing harder than before.
“Yeah, baby?”
Baby. He’d called her that before on Tiki Island, right before giving her the best orgasm of her life. She wondered if he realized he’d used that term of endearment again. She knew what she was about to say would change their relationship in a way she wasn’t sure she was ready for, but there was no way she couldn’t take it there and keep her sanity.
“I want to have sex with you.”
He went still for a moment. Then he leaned back and stared down at her. “What’s your definition of having sex?”
She’d known he would ask and was ready with an answer. “Not just foreplay. I want intercourse. Penetration. I want it all.”
He nodded and reached for her hand. “In that case, come on. Let’s go.”
* * *
LESS THAN AN hour later, holding tight to Ivy’s hand, Nolan led her into his condo. The details were a blur. He’d returned the door key to Ashton. Nolan had asked Ivy how she’d got to Sisters and she’d told him Tessa had driven them.
They’d told Corbin and Tessa they would be leaving—both had given them knowing looks. Corbin had offered to cover everyone’s dinner and since they’d driven different vehicles Nolan hadn’t been concerned how his brother would get home.
Ivy hadn’t asked where they were going nor had she questioned his decision to bring her here. She lived only a jog away and he could have taken her home, but he wanted her here, a place he’d always considered private.
He closed the door behind them and leaned against it, watching her look around. He was proud of his four-bedroom, three-bath condo. It suited him perfectly. One of the bedrooms was used as a workout room and another as an office. A number of his single cousins also lived in the building. Since his condo was the largest, they would often hang out here.
He couldn’t stop his gaze from roaming over Ivy. He thought she looked exquisite in that red dress and matching stilettos. He was surprised she owned a pair, but she did and was wearing the hell out of them. She looked absolutely stunning.
Ivy turned around and smiled. “You have a nice place, Nolan.”
“Thanks. I’ll give you a tour—”
“No,” she said, placing her purse on his sofa table. “I don’t want a tour. I want you.”
Her words fired his blood. Nolan crossed the room, swept her into his arms and headed toward his bedroom. While carrying her he felt something he’d never felt before. It was a stirring of massive proportion deep within him; one she was responsible for. He didn’t have time to process the feeling. At that moment he needed to make love to her as much as he needed to breathe. He already knew one time wouldn’t be enough. Not nearly enough.
Upon reaching his bedroom he placed her on his bed, then stepped back to look at her while removing his suit jacket and tie. His body was pulsing with so much sexual energy he fought to get his breathing and libido under control. There shouldn’t be any doubt in her mind how much he wanted her. The desire was there for her to see in his eyes, his stance and the huge bulge pressing against his zipper.
It was hard to believe that at one time she was concerned about the lack of chemistry between them. Sexual vibes were pouring off them with the force of a tidal wave. He couldn’t do anything but surrender to the intensity of his attraction for her. The depth of which mystified him.
She sat in the middle of his bed saying nothing as she stared at him. He felt her eyes roam all over him and every inch of him heated wherever her gaze touched.
He had envisioned her in his bed a lot over the past two weeks. He’d awaken during the night with a yearning so deep it was as if she was there beside him, only to reach out and find that she wasn’t. Now she was here and he intended to fulfill every single fantasy he could think of and some he hadn’t thought of yet.
“You look good in my bed, Ivy.”
His words made her smile. He was glad although he hadn’t said it to elicit brownie points. He’d spoken the truth. No other woman had ever shared this bed with him and now he couldn’t imagine another woman in it. He pushed that thought to the back of his mind as he began unbuttoning his shirt.
“Can I help?”
Despite the thought of what could happen if she touched him, he said, “You want to?”
“Yes.”
He stretched out his hand to assist her off the bed. The moment he felt her touch the floor seemed to shift beneath his feet. Forcing himself to remain steady and keep his balance, he pulled her to her feet. Standing directly in front of him, she took over and continued unbuttoning his shirt. Occasionally her fingers skimmed against his skin and he would suck in a deep breath.
“You okay, Nolan?”
“Yes, if you call fighting to hold on to my sanity okay.”
She lifted a brow. “All I’m doing is removing your shirt.”
She was doing a hell of a lot more than that and he honestly didn’t think Ivy Chapman had a clue just what she could do to a man. Specifically, what she could do to him. He sighed deeply when she pushed the shirt from his shoulders and assisted by working the sleeves from his arms.
“Now...” she said, eyeing his chest like it deserved the close scrutiny she was giving it. Glancing up at him, she smiled. “I never told you this but I love your chest.”
He chuckled. “And what do you love about it?”
“This,” she said, running her fingers through the hair that dusted it.
He wondered if she could feel the way his heart was pounding beneath her fingers or hear his erratic breathing. He was positive that she couldn’t dismiss the hard erection pressing against her middle. “Ivy?”
“Hmm?”
She was really into his hairy chest and was proving how much it fascinated her by the way her fingers continued to play, causing his skin to sizzle. When he couldn’t take it anymore, he grabbed hold of her wrist. “I can’t handle too much of you touching me.”
She looked at him strangely. “You can’t?”
“No.”
She searched his eyes as if trying to determine if he was really serious. Then as if determining that he was, a smile spread across her lips. “I never knew I had the ability to do this. Turn a man on.”
“Well, you do. I want you so much I ache. Let’s get me out of these pants.”
Determined to assist him with that, too, she unbuckled his belt and pulled it through the loops. Evidently she couldn’t resist rubbing the palms of her hands across his belly. “Having fun?”
“Yes,” she said, grinning up at him. Now that she knew the power she had on him, he had a feeling she would use it to her advantage. Maybe he should not have told her. He then dismissed the thought. In fact, the way he saw it, some man should have told her before now. That made him detest that prick she’d been involved with even more.
She got his attention again when she unzipped his pants. “Show-off,” she said, laughing. “I should have known.”
He shouldn’t want her to elaborate, but he did. “You should have known what?”
“You were big.”
Nolan was positive, absolutely positive, that Ivy was good for his ego. He didn’t want his head to swell, but... “You think so?”
“Seeing is believing.”
She hadn’t actually seen anything yet. He knew she was basing her opinion on the size of his erection outlined through his briefs, which he would admit did give her a good indication.
He stepped out of his pants when she had slid them down his legs. She handed them to him and he tossed them on a nearby chair. “Now, for your—”
“Not so fast, Mr. Madaris,” she said, wagging a finger at him. “I recall I had to strip naked for you to do what you did to me. Now it’s my turn to see you.”
“What I did to you? You mean when I tasted you?” He didn’t want her to feel reserved about anything they ever did together.
She held his gaze. “Yes, that.”
Hooking his hands into his briefs to pull them down, he figured he had work to do about her shyness regarding sex. She then took hold of his hand and said, “I got this.”
He cocked a brow. Now that she felt empowered, he wasn’t sure that was a good idea. “You sure?”
“Positive,” she said, cupping him and stroking him through his briefs like she was a pro at it.
At least she wasn’t showing any shyness now, Nolan thought. He found it hard to believe Ivy had been worried about not knowing how to pleasure him. If she did it any better, he would be in trouble.
He didn’t say anything as she crouched down to slide her fingers inside his briefs and slowly eased them down over his hips, thighs and legs. She tossed them onto the chair to join his shirt, belt and pants.
“Now.”
“Now?” he repeated looking down at the way she was still crouched before him, with her face leveled with his groin as if study him with full intent.
She raised her head to look up at him. Straightening her glasses on her nose, she said, “Now I have living proof of just how big you are.”
When she took him into her hands and ran her fingers down his hot, slick shaft, he sucked in his breath and moaned, “Ivy...”
“I can’t wait until we mesh,” she said.
Mesh? Hell, they would be doing a lot more than meshing. Deciding it was time to prove that point, he bent down and effortlessly lifted her into his arms. “I haven’t finished,” she protested. “I want to do more.”
He had an idea of what that “more” entailed. “Next time.” Placing her on her feet, he eased the dress over her head. Tossing it aside, he exposed a black lace bra.
“Had I known beforehand what would be happening tonight, I would have worn my red bra and red panties.”
It didn’t matter to him what color her underwear was. He told her so as he removed her bra. Immediately, he noticed her nipples were taut and aroused. He leaned down and licked them, loving the sound she made when he did.
Deciding it was time to remove her panties, he crouched down in front of her. Taking his time he rubbed his hands along her hips, thighs and legs, while again thinking of just how curvy she was and how he loved the shape of her legs. His patience was gone and his desire for her had increased tenfold. Standing, he reached for his pants to retrieve a condom packet from his wallet.
“Don’t ask to help me do this,” he said, ripping the condom packet open. “I wouldn’t last if you did.” He knew she was watching him as he sheathed himself in a condom.
When he finished and glanced over at her, he saw she’d removed her eyeglasses and placed them on his nightstand. She stood in front of him, naked, and he faced her the same way. His gaze roamed all over her and heated desire raced up his spine. Releasing a fierce growl, he gripped a fistful of her curly hair, slanting his mouth over hers to give her a kiss that was filled with all the emotions he felt.
If the truth be known, they were emotions that he didn’t quite understand.