CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
NOLAN’S CELL PHONE rang the moment he walked into his condo. Pulling it out of his pocket, he saw the caller was Ivy.
“Yes, Ivy?”
“Hi, Nolan, I’ve decided not to go to your family function tomorrow.”
He stopped walking and rubbed a frustrated hand down his face. “Why? And I hope it’s not because you still think I don’t want you to go. I explained things to you this morning.”
“No, that’s not it.”
“Then what is it?” he asked, tossing his keys on the counter before opening the refrigerator to grab a bottle of water.
“I’ve been thinking that for us to pretend to be lovers isn’t a good idea after all.”
“What? I hope you’re kidding me, Ivy. How many times are you going to change your mind about this?” he said in an angry tone. “Need I remind you it was your idea? And what about that spiel at the cottage about taking ownership of that idea?”
“Well, I’ve changed my mind. I have a right to do that. I’ll let you handle your great-grandmother as you see fit and I’ll handle Nana. Goodbye, Nolan. Best of luck.”
Nolan heard the click in his ear and his frown deepened. Best of luck? What the hell! If Ivy assumed this was the end of it, then she assumed wrong. Grabbing his keys off the counter, he headed for the door.
* * *
IVY WAS SITTING on her patio that overlooked Laverne Park when she heard her doorbell. Tessa had left earlier with a list of things she needed to do that day, so Ivy figured it wouldn’t be her returning.
By the time Ivy was halfway to the door, she suspected who her unexpected visitor might be. Nolan. A glance out her peephole confirmed her suspicion.
Ivy knew he wasn’t happy with her right now, but he had no choice but to accept her decision since her mind was made up. She would let him blow off steam since he had every right to do so. Just like she had every right to change her mind.
She opened the door and he stood there wearing the same outfit he’d put on that morning. A pair of drawstring jogging pants and a muscle shirt. She tried not to notice how good he looked in both. And the dark shadow covering his jaw meant he hadn’t shaved yet. Why did that unshaven look make him appear so druggingly hot? “Is there any reason you’re here, Nolan?”
He studied her face. “Where are your eyeglasses?”
Did he think she never took them off? “I decided to put in my contacts today.” No need to tell him she decided to wear them more. Might as well since she’d paid good money for them. Besides, she would no longer spite Damien about anything. He wasn’t worth it. “Why are you here?” she asked him again.
“We need to talk.”
“Fine. We’ll talk. Just as long as you know I won’t be changing my mind.” She moved aside for him to come in.
He entered and glanced around. Nolan was seeing her condo for the first time since she hadn’t invited him in that morning. She allowed him time to do that since she’d definitely checked out his place. Hers was a lot smaller than his. Her two-bedroom, two-bath condo could fit in his and he’d still have plenty room to spare.
“Say what you have to say and leave, Nolan.”
He slowly turned around to look at her and she felt the heat of his gaze roaming over her. Of course she had changed from this morning. When he’d brought her home, she was wearing the red dress and matching stilettos that she’d worn to Sisters. Since then she’d showered and slipped into a short chiffon caftan. It barely covered her thighs and of all colors, it was blue.
He was staring at her like he had X-ray vision. She hoped not since she didn’t have a stitch of clothing on underneath. After Tessa left she hadn’t expected any more company.
“I’m listening,” she said when he continued to stare at her. Suddenly feeling self-conscious, she crossed her arms over her chest and then dropped her arms when the hem of her caftan rose up her thighs.
She wished he wouldn’t look at her like that; especially when she was beginning to feel the ragged heat and sensuous pull of desire between them. She now recognized it for what it was. They’d stirred it up so much in perfecting their plan that now all that sexual chemistry seemed to have a mind of its own.
Even from across the room she could feel herself being overtaken by the scent of him. That only reminded her of how his scent had got entrenched into her skin when he’d made love to her. And it didn’t help matters that while he was standing there looking so darn sexy, she was remembering every single detail of the time she’d spent in his bed last night. How his muscular power had surrounded her, invaded her body.
They’d made love nonstop. She hadn’t known that any two people had that much stamina or that she could have so many orgasms in a single night. Thinking of all that pleasure was eroding her senses, causing a little purr to sound in her throat.
Ivy drew in a deep breath when Nolan began slowly walking toward her. She felt a keen throb of yearning with every step he took. The man was walking testosterone. She tried to take a step back but couldn’t. The need and desire she read in his eyes had her transfixed in place.
He came to a stop directly in front of her and she could feel the air shimmering to life around them. He stood so close his chest nearly touched hers. So close his hard erection was pressing against the juncture of her thighs.
“Ivy.”
All it took was that one word from him—her name on his lips. She reached up and hooked her arms around his neck at the same time he reached out and wrapped his around her waist. She moaned deep in her throat the minute he took possession of her mouth and they began feasting greedily off each other. He tasted of the beer he apparently drank at some point earlier. Rich, malty and robust. A surge of pleasure rushed over her with the intensity of how he was using his hot and wet tongue. Seducing her. Savoring her. Sabotaging her chances of ever turning her back on this, the invisible threads binding them together whenever he kissed her like this. And he always did. His kisses were those of a man who knew exactly what he was doing. Who knew exactly what he wanted. And who knew exactly how to get it.
He dived deeper into her mouth. Heated passion overrode caution, overthrowing her earlier decision to walk away from Nolan and not look back.
Grabbing ahold of her bottom, he pulled her tighter against his fully aroused shaft to fit snugly in the juncture of her thighs. Her hips rocked against him and he seduced her mouth even more. Suddenly she was lifted off her feet, and instinctively she wrapped her legs around him. Her fingers gripped his shoulders and she could feel her nails digging into the material of his shirt.
The next thing she knew, they were tumbling down on her sofa. At some point, when she was certain she could think straight again, she would recall how they managed to undress so quickly. All she’d had to do was whip her caftan over her head, but somehow Nolan finished stripping at the same time she did. She then watched as he prepared himself with a condom.
Before she could blink, he had her above him, straddling a pair of thick masculine thighs with the apex of her legs centered above a ramrod-straight erection. From last night, she knew she could accommodate him; but if she didn’t know better she would swear it had grown a lot in size since then.
He looked up at her and then down at their bodies, just inches from connecting. He slid his hand to the nape of her neck and began caressing the spot there. She wasn’t sure how, but when he did so, the area between her legs began tingling with a need she’d never felt before. Then he rubbed his open mouth against her throat, making her moan out loud.
“Ride me, Ivy. And ride me like you mean it.”
His request made every cell inside her body erupt and a slow burn of desire began lubricating her center. She eased her body down on him and held his gaze while doing so. He was rock solid and as she took him inside her, she felt his heat, the way the veins of his manhood seemed to thicken with blood as if rushing more fire into his loins. The more she took him in, the more she felt her inner muscles pulse around him. Holding him. Clenching him tight.
When Ivy had taken him deep inside her, she began to move, rocking her hips, pulling almost out and then bearing down again. She repeated the motion over and over, loving the feel of being skin to skin, flesh to flesh with him.
He groaned as she kept it up, getting better at it, more at ease with every downward movement. She liked this. Was enjoying the hell out of it. She felt in control. It was as if her body was in demand...at least he made her feel that way by the groans and growls he was making, and the raspy breaths he was taking.
She felt empowered and increased her pace. At least she knew her sofa had good cushions. She loved the feel of his shaft sliding in and out of her wet tunnel. And when he clutched her hips as if to slow her down, she dipped her head and, with the tip of her tongue, traced the fullness of his lips.
Suddenly he was kissing her, taking her mouth with a hunger than made her groan. He began stroking his tongue in and out, between her lips, with the same rhythm and timing that she was doing to their bodies. It was too much. And when his hands clenched her hips tighter, she had a feeling he was about to shift their positions. No dice, Mr. Madaris, she thought, refusing to let him take control. She rode him even harder and could actually feel his aroused and rigid flesh expanding inside her even more.
“You’re killing me.” He breathed the words against her lips.
She was only giving him what he’d asked for.
“Ivy!”
He called out her name just seconds before his body bucked beneath her. He managed to shift their bodies sideways, throwing his legs over her as if to lock their bodies, and he began pounding into her. He drove her body straight into an orgasm that made her body jerk in a way that nearly caused them to fall off the sofa. They didn’t fall and he didn’t stop. He kept going and going. And groaning roughly with every hard thrust.
“Nolan...”
She was certain she was going to pass out from so much pleasure and was convinced she would have if he hadn’t started kissing her again, taking her mouth with a greed that she felt in every part of her body. Never before had she felt so much sexual passion unleashed and then served up so deliciously. Unable to take any more and feeling completely drained, totally spent, she closed her eyes seconds before collapsing on him. Barely able to breathe she couldn’t as much as open her eyes or lift her head when he gently said her name.
Ivy wasn’t sure how long they lay there, facing each other, not saying anything. She felt the gentle brush of his hand along her back and finally opened her eyes to see him watching her. Was she imagining things or was his sex throbbing to life again inside her? She got her answer when the fullness of his expanding shaft began stretching her again.
“I like your sofa, Ivy.”
Undoubtedly, that wasn’t all that he liked. “We were supposed to talk,” she said, knowing she should be upset with herself for lowering her guard. But there was no way she could be annoyed when her body was pulsing with pleasure from head to toe.
“We’ll talk later. Now it’s my time to ride.”