When she next opened her eyes, she was lying in a warm, comfortable bed. Nikki woke slowly, lethargic, her legs shifting slowly beneath the sheets. She felt . . . naked. The bed shifted, and she turned her head to find Seth lying beside her, fully clothed on top of the blanket, his eyes closed in slumber. Oddly, it seemed that he subconsciously sensed her waking up. He blinked his eyes, and he was staring at her, studying her, not quite sure if she was truly awake or dreaming.

“Hey,” he said. “How do you feel?”

“Like I’ve been run over by a truck, and then by a bus,” she commented wryly. She tried testing her body, shifting her arms and legs, making sure everything worked. The light in the room seemed soft, and to her surprise, she saw that he had somehow managed to open one of the windows, allowing a semi-cool breeze to sift into the room.

“How long have I been asleep?”

“Most of the day,” he shrugged, rolling over onto his side, bracing his head in his uplifted hand. “You hungry?”

“A little,” she admitted.

“Why did you do it?”

She knew what he was asking but didn’t want to answer. Sensing her reticence, he brought his other hand up and stroked side of her face, his thumb tracing the outline of her eyebrow, then her cheekbone, the tip of her nose, and her lip. He traced his finger around the bottom contours of her lip and she opened her mouth, touched the tip of her tongue to his thumb . . . Her blood pounded, her pussy clenched, and in seconds, Seth was pressed against her, his cock already hard and ready against her thigh. She didn’t move. Didn’t resist. Just laid there and allowed him to feel what he wanted to feel, stroke what he wanted to stroke, gently squeeze where he wanted to squeeze.

His hand brushed away the covers, and she lay bare beside him, her skin tingling as he gazed at her body, her breasts, her pussy, then back again. Just the way he eyed her breasts prompted her nipples to harden and pucker. She allowed him to touch her, anywhere he wanted. She relished his touch, his touch making her forget everything else . . . God forgive her . . . even, albeit briefly, what to do about Stacey.

She squirmed beneath his touch, and he chuckled softly as he leaned over and nuzzled her neck, just below her ear. Goose bumps erupted on her flesh, spreading from her neck to her toes. Ever so slowly, those lips and the gentle nipping and kissing moved downward over the mounds of her breasts, sometimes merely caressing but sometimes kissing the soft flesh around the nipples. Desire thrummed through her body, and then his lips enveloped a nipple and gently suckled. She felt the swell of heat in her sex, the moistening in her pussy, already contracting with impatience and desire.

Nikki sucked in a breath as he nestled his body closer, hot and firm against her skin, one warm palm settling on her breast, cradling it like it was a valuable treasure . . . but then his thumb brushed over the nipple, instantly sending a hot white bolt of desire through her body. His thumb continued to circle around her nipple, then brushed over it, encouraging it to swell even larger, sending bolts of electricity through her body as his thumb tweaked and brushed up against it before settling on merely circling. She couldn’t help but tense and squirm some more, and she lifted a hand to place it on top of his. The moment she did, he removed his hand.

“Let me. You just lie still . . . ” he grinned. “Save your strength.”

She made a face but God, the tingling in her body coupled with the delicious sense of lethargy he provoked made it difficult to argue. Her breasts ached for his touch. Could she generate enough self-control to keep her hands still? Her body? Right now, she wanted nothing more than to wrap her arms around those broad shoulders of his and pull him closer, to feel his heat from head to toe and everywhere in between. She inhaled as his hand left her breast and explored downward, skimming along her stomach, then her lower abdomen, and then lower, his touch light and teasing . . . gentle, careful not to place too much weight anywhere, as if she were so fragile she might break.

She lay as still as she could. Torture . . . it was pure torture. He slowly explored every inch of her skin, as if he’d never felt a woman’s skin before. This was no frantic coupling, no wham-bam-thank-you-ma’am fuck. No, this was lovemaking, as it should be.

His hand ventured ever lower, tracing the contours of her waist, her hip, then moved inward, inching lower. Her body in flames, pulsing with desire, the blood pounding in her veins and ringing in her ears, she couldn’t help the groan that escaped her lips as she whispered his name. She froze and held her breath when his hand cupped her sex and explored her wetness. She felt his cock harden against her thigh. She longed to reach down and wrap her hands around his rock-hard shaft, but she didn’t. She couldn’t risk him stopping. Not now. In spite of her determined efforts to maintain control, she almost lost it . . . more than once, anticipating every move of his hand, those strong, long fingers, caressing her lower lips, dipping inside, a finger wiggling, that thumb now circling her nub, prompting more moans and gentler writhing.

He slid two fingers into her wet slit. Oh, God, her internal muscles contracted around his hand and Seth chuckled again, but even that sounded strained to her ears. His cock pulsed against her thigh, and she took a great deal of satisfaction in knowing that he desired her as much as she desired him . . . his fingers deep inside, his palm caressing her clit, pressing down as he rubbed.

God, she needed more and lifted her hips and rolled them against that palm, encouraging those fingers to go deeper. They did. She cried out when his fingers slowly slid out and then back in again. It took every bit of willpower she had not to reach for his cock and feel his hardness in her palm.

“Oh, God, Seth . . . faster . . . go faster.”

He obliged, his fingers sliding in and his thumb applying a bit more pressure, his palm circling as he rubbed over her slit and nub . . . seconds later she felt the waves of her climax build and he kept up the pace, looking up at her while she gazed at his face, his pupils dilated. Her hands gripped the sheet beneath her, but she managed to force herself to remain still, to let him do the work . . . 

“Seth—” she bit her lip as she tipped over the edge, her body convulsing with the force of her orgasm, contracting, contracting, sending delicious waves through her body, shuddering in his arms as he pulled her closer . . . 

Gasping for breath, she was trapped by a deep state of relaxation as a slow smile spread across her lips. He kissed her neck, then the corner of her mouth, then her lips, the kiss deepening. His tongue dipped inside her mouth much like his fingers had dipped into her pussy moments before. Then he leaned back, smiling down at her. She stared into his eyes. What was he thinking at this very moment? He said nothing. She didn’t either. She reached for his cock, but he stopped her with a gentle brush of his hand.

“I’ll take a cold shower,” he grinned. “I just wanted to make sure you were okay.”

She sighed, feeling as if she could sleep forever. After several silent though not awkward moments, he spoke again.

“You’d better not do that again, Nikki,” he said softly.

Do what?

“You can’t run away from me. I want to help you. Whatever you need, whatever’s wrong, I can help you. You need to trust me.”

Trust? Such an easy word to say, but a lot harder to accomplish. Trust. Could she trust him? Should she? She wanted to go home. But what was home without Stacey? Could she ask him to help her? Would he? Would the president of the club even allow it? She chided herself. No, this was something she had to do for herself. By herself. Foolish as that might be, she couldn’t take the risk of asking for help. If he knew what she planned, he might seriously lock her in this cabin in the middle of nowhere and throw away the key. Most of all, though, she knew that she couldn’t soften her feelings for Seth “Sticks” Sterling.