CHAPTER THREE
Nearly two hours later, the speed-dating event finally came to an end, and not soon enough for Nicole. She stood and stretched her legs, then shoved her notepad into her purse and turned in her scorecard, along with the rest of the crowd.
Unbelievably, she’d dated fifteen men in one evening, and while she’d been able to gather enough interesting information to write her article, this particular game wasn’t something she wanted to repeat anytime soon. If ever. It wasn’t her thing, though it did add up to an entertaining experience.
The guys she’d met and talked to had been nice enough, but it was clear they were searching for something long-term with a woman. A few were even hoping for marriage out of the deal if they were fortunate enough. Well, almost every guy but Nathan. He’d been the exception in so many ways.
During each round, she’d been careful not to lead anyone on, or give the wrong impression about wanting a serious relationship. She tried, for the most part, to lead the direction of the conversation with her research questions. Luckily, she’d discovered that most of the guys enjoyed talking about themselves and didn’t mind sharing their reasons for attending the speed-dating event.
Including Nathan, who’d nearly bowled her over with the surprising truth of why he was here—not for his own personal gain, but as a favor. That in itself had surprised her, not to mention being ambushed by his striking good looks, sexy smile, and those dark, seductive caramel-colored eyes that made her feel all warm and mushy inside—and good God, she so wasn’t the type of female to melt into a pool of infatuation because of a man. But even from a distance, their attraction had been strong and immediate, and the moment they’d sat across from each other the awareness between them had spiraled to dizzying heights—all in seven short minutes.
Their playful banter had invigorated her, aroused her, and damn if she didn’t want to know how he would have answered her last question before their session had ended.
Do I tempt you?
But much to her regret, the sexy, heated moment had gone without a reply from him. And even now, she couldn’t help but wonder where it all could have led.
The men and women at the event started to mix and mingle again, and despite telling herself Nathan had been most likely toying with her with no intentions of following through on the undeniable chemistry between them, she found herself glancing around the room for him, anyway.
He wasn’t anywhere she could see. No doubt he’d bolted once his obligation to Cindy, and the speed-dating event, had ended. Smart man, she thought, and decided to do the same before she was cornered by some guy she had no desire to talk to.
Just as she started for the door, a deep, male voice called out her name from somewhere behind her, bringing her to a hopeful stop.
“Nicole!”
Automatically, she turned around, her breath hitching in her throat when she caught sight of Nathan cutting through a group of people while he politely dodged other women’s advances, his gaze locked on hers as he strode toward her with a single-minded determination that made her weak in the knees. Silly, yes, but there was something about a hot, take-charge kind of guy that totally turned her on, and Nathan did it for her in a major way.
She absently licked her bottom lip as she watched him approach. And what a mighty fine view it was. He was dressed casually in tan pants and a knit polo shirt, but there was no mistaking the powerful, rock-hard body beneath his clothes. His shoulders were broad, and his biceps were built with firm, toned muscles that hinted at the strength in those arms. A lean torso gave way to a flat belly, narrow hips, and lower, a pair of solid thighs.
Then there was his face—big girlie sigh here—gorgeous and masculine, with intense eyes and dark, silky brown hair that was a bit longer, and certainly more unruly and tousled, than most of the short, executive cuts in the room. It made him look rebellious and untamed, as if rules didn’t apply to him.
And oh, how those bad-boy qualities appealed to her, and called to her on a feminine level.
Swallowing to ease the sudden dryness in her throat, she managed a nonchalant smile when he came to a stop in front of her. “Hey.”
He pushed his hands into the front pockets of his pants, his hypnotic eyes searching her features. “You’re leaving?”
She shrugged. “There’s really no reason for me to stay.”
“Not even for me?” An irresistible, toe-curling smile edged up the corners of his sensual mouth, and a surge of heat settled low in her belly.
The man didn’t play fair. He was tempting her with his grin, his words, that totally hot body—and Lord help her, she was helpless to withstand all that enticing charm. Going so many months without sex was making her weak, weak, weak.
She figured the best defense was to flirt right back. “Is that your roundabout way of asking me to stay?”
“Yes, it is.” Uncaring that they were standing in a room full of people, he reached out and stroked the pad of his thumb along her jaw, his touch electric against her sensitive skin. “To answer your earlier question, you tempt me. More than you can imagine.”
She could imagine, all right. The corresponding fantasies filtering through her mind were definitely carnal.
“Except I don’t want to stay here with all these people around,” he went on, his voice low and intimate. “Let’s go have something to eat in the restaurant, just the two of us.”
Just that easily, he swayed her. Besides, it was still early, and it wasn’t like she had anything or anyone waiting for her at home. “Okay.”
With his big, warm hand riding low at the base of her spine, he guided her out of the back room and into Simply Fondue, where a hostess seated them at a cozy booth with tall partitions for privacy. She slid along the leather seat, and Nathan moved in close beside her. Then he went ahead and ordered a cheese fondue, a chocolate caramel fondue for dessert, and a recommended bottle of Sauvignon Blanc.
Once the wine was delivered and a glass poured for each of them, Nicole turned to Nathan and clinked her goblet to his. “To a very interesting evening.”
“And just think, it isn’t even over yet.” He winked at her and took a drink of his wine.
Grinning, she shook her head at him. “I’m thinking you and I have broken some serious rules about speed dating.”
He looked completely unconcerned. “How so?”
“Well, we both came here tonight under false pretenses and not really wanting to meet anyone, yet here we are, hooking up on the sly.”
He rested his arm along the back of the booth behind Nicole, and his fingers threaded through her hair until she felt them sliding along the nape of her neck. The sensual contact sent delicious shivers down her spine and made her breasts tighten and tingle in reaction.
“Is that what we’re doing?” he asked huskily as his fingers continued to stroke her skin and wreak havoc with her sorely neglected libido. “Hooking up?”
“Maybe.” His caress was so inviting, seducing her senses and all those female body parts that had gone much too long without a man’s touch. “If you’re lucky.”
“I’m sitting here with you now, aren’t I?”
She laughed. “That part has nothing to do with luck.”
He cocked a dark brow, his eyes alight with humor. “What would you call it then?”
“Pure, unadulterated desire,” she said, and took a slow sip of her wine, letting those words sink in before she continued. She was feeling bold and daring, and she embraced the sensation. “The way I see things, I want you and you clearly want me, and we’re testing things out, maybe seeing if we like each other enough to take that desire one step farther.”
He leaned closer to her, so close she could inhale the intoxicating scent of his clean, crisp cologne. So close, he could have kissed her if he wanted—and she would have let him, just to see if he tasted as good as she imagined.
“Just to set the record straight,” he murmured, the flare of heat in his tawny eyes sending sparks to all those secret, warm places deep inside her. “I like you, Nicole. A lot.”
“I like you, too,” she admitted.
He gave her a reckless grin. “A lot?” he cajoled, a teasing note to his voice.
The man was too confident, though all that self-assurance worked really well for him. However, she wasn’t about to give him everything up front. “I’ll let you know. In time. You have to earn it first.”
“I’ll do my very best.” There was just enough arrogance in his gaze to let her know he had the ability to wrap her around his finger, and other more masculine body parts. In time.
Their waitress arrived, interrupting the sensual mood as she delivered the pot of Swiss cheese fondue, along with grilled chunks of steak, vegetables, and pieces of bread for dipping. She refilled Nicole’s nearly empty wineglass, then moved on to the next table to take another couple’s order.
Nicole picked up one of the long fondue forks, pierced a slice of medium-rare filet mignon, and dipped it into the creamy cheese sauce. “So, what do you do for work?” she asked, wanting to know more beyond the fact he was totally hot and sexy as sin.
“I work in security.”
She finished eating her steak and went for an artichoke heart. “So, are we talking security alarms?” she guessed.
He shook his head, washed down the bite of meat he’d eaten with his Sauvignon Blanc, then answered. “I’m a surveillance supervisor at The Onyx Casino. I work in the control room and deal with security issues that occur in the gaming areas.”
She was impressed. “Now, that’s far more exciting than a rent-a-cop or a man who spends his time installing alarms,” she teased. “Have you always worked in a casino?”
“No.” He paused for a moment before continuing, as if thinking his reply through before answering. “I joined the marines out of high school, then worked for Las Vegas Metro for a while before taking on the job at The Onyx.”
Reaching for her glass of wine, she focused on what they had in common. “My younger brother, Eric, is currently serving in the military.”
“Really? What branch?” he asked curiously.
“Army.” He dunked a piece of sourdough bread into the creamy Swiss cheese, and she watched in fascination as he brought it to his mouth, his tongue catching a drop of sauce before it could fall to his chin. “He’s been in Iraq for nearly two years now.”
He met her gaze, the look in his eyes somber and very knowing. “I’ve been there. It’s a tough assignment.”
She’d read the news and researched enough about the war to know he spoke the truth about the horrific and deadly conditions the troops dealt with on a daily basis. “Eric loves what he does, and because of that I respect the career path he’s chosen. It’s my parents, my mother especially, who has a difficult time with him being there.”
Nathan winced. “Yeah, my mom, too. She had a hard time watching her only son go to war.”
Finished with the cheese fondue, she set her fork on her plate. “You’re an only child?”
“No, I have three older sisters.” He set his fork aside, too. “And let me tell you, it was hell growing up in an all-female environment. Though I did learn at a young age to cater to their whims to get what I wanted.”
Despite his complaint, his voice was infused with a wealth of affection for his siblings. “So that’s how you became such a charmer, hmmm?”
“What can I say?” His tone was playfully unapologetic, as was his grin. “It was great training when it comes to dealing with women. I learned all kinds of secrets from my sisters.” He winked at her.
She laughed, and liked him even more than when they’d originally sat down at the table. He was open and honest and genuine, and those were qualities the men she’d dated in the past had lacked. It was true everyone who signed up for the speed-dating event had to undergo a criminal check and background screening for safety, but there was something about Nathan that made her feel safe and comfortable—whether it was his military and previous law enforcement credentials, or the fact that he clearly adored his mother and sisters.
Their dinner dishes were cleared away, their glasses of wine refilled, and a few minutes later dessert arrived in the form of a small pot of milk-chocolate-and-caramel fondue, with an array of fruit, tiny cakes, and other sweet treats for dipping.
Five minutes ago she would have sworn she was stuffed and couldn’t eat another bite, but resisting anything drenched in chocolate was impossible. She didn’t hesitate to skewer a bright red strawberry and dive into the decadent dessert.
“So, enough about me,” Nathan said, as if he’d just realized how she’d deliberately kept most of the questions about him, rather than focus on her. “Are you native to Vegas?”
Okay, that she could handle. Nothing too deep or intimate. “No. I’m a small-town girl, born and bred. Prattville, Iowa, population three hundred sixty-seven.” She grinned.
He swirled a chunk of pineapple into the rich, sweet sauce, his gaze curious as he glanced at her. “What brought you to the city?”
Again, nothing too revealing there, either. “I’m a journalist, a graduate of Columbia University. I didn’t care for living in New York City, and there’s not a whole lot to report on in Prattville, so I chose Las Vegas because it seemed like an exciting place to live.” She speared a fluffy white marshmallow and drenched it in the caramel chocolate.
“Do you like your job?” he asked.
“At the moment I’m a little frustrated,” she admitted, playing it cool and casual. “I mean, come on, it doesn’t take a genius to write an article on speed dating.”
He chuckled, and before he could keep up his line of inquiry, she spun the spotlight back on him. “Speaking of which, what were some of the more amusing questions you were asked tonight?”
“Let me think.” He turned thoughtful as he considered his night of dating more than a dozen women. “One woman asked me, ‘If aliens landed on earth and selected you to visit their home planet, would you go with them?’”
She burst out laughing. “Oh, that’s just plain scary,” she said, then shared one of her own. “After a few minutes in one of my sessions, I had a guy ask if he was cute enough for me, or did I need more to drink? Talk about a cheesy pickup line.”
Nathan groaned. “It’s guys like him that give us all a bad reputation when it comes to dating women.”
“Just so you know, you passed our speed-dating round with flying colors.”
After submerging a small cheesecake square into the melted sauce, she popped the tidbit into her mouth and moaned at the rich, sweet flavors sliding across her taste buds. The delicious combination melted on her tongue, and she closed her eyes and groaned again, certain she’d died and gone to dessert heaven. This creation was by far her favorite.
“That good, huh?” Nathan asked, interrupting her near-orgasmic experience.
Her lashes fluttered open as she swallowed the last of the treat, immediately noticing that his eyes had grown dark from watching her. “Oh, yeah,” she murmured in a low purr of sheer satisfaction. She speared another cube of cheesecake and drenched it in the fondue. “Here, try it for yourself.”
Just as she lifted the cheesecake toward him, dripping with the scrumptious sauce, it slid off the end of the fork and fell to her plate. Without really thinking her actions through, she picked up the morsel and hand-fed it to him.
And that’s when everything changed, from light and fun, to a mood that unleashed the underlying desire simmering between them from the beginning. Undoubtedly, it was a sensual experience just slipping the soft, gooey cheesecake past his lips, and it was more than enough to give her pulse a nice little jolt of awareness. But then he did the unexpected, and when she would have pulled her hand back, he grasped her wrist and held it captive.
“Hold on a sec,” he said in a deep and sexy tone. “I’m feeling cheated. All the good stuff is still on your fingers.”
The challenge in his heated gaze was undeniable. The wicked grin on his lips was just as daring. Would she or wouldn’t she let him lick all that caramel chocolate off her?
She wasn’t in a position to say no. And didn’t want to. He brought her hand back to his lips and flicked his tongue across the tips of her fingers, wringing a groan from deep inside her. He licked and sucked and nibbled the chocolate sauce off her skin, and took his sweet time doing so, setting off a whole different kind of hunger between them and sending a wave of lustful heat rushing through her veins. It was all she could do to keep from straddling his lap and kissing him senseless.
“Mmmm, good,” he said huskily, and gave her index finger one last slow lick she felt all the way down between her thighs.
Completely aroused, she squirmed on the leather seat beside him, and knew she was breathing harder and faster than normal.
Done turning her inside out with wanting him, he dipped a clean linen napkin into his water glass and used the damp cloth to clean the rest of the stickiness from her hand and fingers. All the while she couldn’t stop thinking about pressing her lips to his and tasting all that male heat—deeply, thoroughly.
All alone in their private booth, the aching need grew, until it could no longer be ignored and the bold and brazen words were tumbling from her lips before she could stop them. “Nathan … I want to kiss you. May I?”
A slow smile spread across his gorgeous face. “Yeah, I’d like that.”
He rested his arm along the back of the seat and remained where he was, waiting for her to make the first move and doing nothing to meet her halfway. Yes, she’d been the one to ask for the kiss, and he was definitely going to make her work for it. A delightful, exciting surprise, considering most guys would have been all over her by now.
The truth was, she liked being the one setting the pace and calling the shots when it came to anything sexual. It was a control thing for her, a way of keeping physical pleasure separated from any emotional involvement—an arrangement that worked well for her.
Placing her hand on his chest, she leaned in closer, tipped her head to the side, and settled her lips against his with a sensual sigh. His mouth was soft and warm and oh-so-inviting, and—unable to resist the temptation—she slipped her tongue past the seam of his lips and was greeted with the heady taste of chocolate, caramel, and the kind of pure male heat that could threaten to consume her if she let it.
While he had allowed her to initiate the kiss, once she delved deeper, turning the chaste caress of lips to more provocative play, Nathan didn’t hesitate to join in, exploring with equal leisure. His tongue stroked inside her mouth, so seductive, so coaxing, and her entire body hummed with intense pleasure.
Her hand slid around his neck, her fingers tangling in the rich, dark strands of hair curling over the collar of his shirt. It was clear Nathan was a man who appreciated the fine art of foreplay, enjoyed every nuance, and loved the chase as much as the capture. The slow sweep of his tongue was as luxurious as it was arousing, and his mouth promised to pleasure her in every way imaginable.
She nearly whimpered at the thought, but somehow managed to pull back and end the kiss. They were both breathing rapidly, and his gaze glittered with a passion and a fire that matched her own. A passion that had the potential of filling the aching emptiness within her, if she dared.
Oh, God, she wanted that. Wanted him. It had been so long since she’d felt so alive, so wildly attracted to a man. She’d already told him she wasn’t looking for anything complicated or long-term, and he’d admitted the same. There was nothing wrong with them enjoying the rest of the evening together and what had the potential to be some incredibly hot sex. It was what her body needed. It was what she craved.
One night only, no strings attached.
“This is going to sound very forward, but I know if I don’t ask I’ll regret it later.” She inhaled deeply and let it out real slow, grasping the fortitude to finish her question despite the warmth suddenly suffusing her face. “How do you feel about going somewhere quiet and private so we can be alone, just the two of us?”
There was no mistaking what she meant. “Are you sure about that?” he asked as he gently pushed a tousled curl from her cheek.
It was that tender touch that sealed the deal for her. “Absolutely, one hundred percent positive.”
A devastatingly sexy grin curved his mouth. “Your place or mine?”
The anticipation making its way through her system was very, very sweet. “Yours.”