Susan Mallery - Under Her Skin

“I still stand behind everything I said the first night she was here. She’s gone now, anyway. I just wish…”

He crossed to her and put his hands on her shoulders. “You wish what?”

“That you could let her in. You’re hurting her, Cruz. I know you don’t want to, but you are.” She swallowed against the tightness in her throat. “C.C. misses her, too. He’s really depressed.”

“C.C.’s a cat. He’s not self-aware enough to get depressed.”

“He’s sad and doesn’t want to play.”

“Is he eating?”

“Yes.”

“Then he’ll be fine.”

“I won’t be.”

He stared into her eyes. “Dammit, Lexi. What am I going to do with you?”

“I don’t know.”

“This is a business deal. This can’t be about my kid.”

“You should have told me about her.”

“You’re right. I should have.”

That surprised her. “Okay. Just so you know that.” And while they were on a roll…“What about your other engagements? You should have told me about them.” The other women he’d wanted to marry for real.

“I haven’t been engaged before.”

Unexpected relief made her thighs tremble. “Kendra said you had been.”

“There were women who wanted to be engaged, but I’ve never asked anyone to marry me. I swear.”

It didn’t matter, she told herself. The information was interesting, nothing more.

“Okay. That’s fine. I just thought I should know because you don’t want a reputation for being a guy who proposes and then dumps his fiancées. That won’t get you what you want.”

His eyes seemed darker than usual, she thought absently as the hands on her shoulders moved down her arms, then shifted to her waist. There was something predatory in his gaze. Something that made her shiver and yearn.

“Cruz?”

Instead of answering, he kissed her. His mouth was warm and firm and demanding, in the best way possible. He claimed her, as if defying her to resist. As if telling her he could make her want him. The thing was, he didn’t have to try that hard. She was spineless when it came to him.

He drew her against him and she went willingly, wanting to be closer. Skin against skin, she thought as she wrapped her arms around his neck and closed her eyes. She wanted to be naked, him inside of her, taking her until she got completely lost in him.

His hair was thick and cool and silky against her fingers. She tilted her head so she could deepen the kiss. Liquid longing swept through her, leaving her wet, swollen. Need exploded.

He moved his hands up and down her back before sliding them around her waist, then up her ribcage to her breasts. Her skin tingled at his touch and fire shot through her when he rubbed his thumbs against the tight flesh.

She kissed him back, then sucked on his tongue. He nipped at her lower lip before kissing his way along her jaw to her ear. He licked the sensitive spot just below her earlobe. She drew back and pulled off her T-shirt.

Seconds later her bra fluttered to the floor. Cruz bent over and took her nipple in his mouth. Warm, wet heat surrounded her. She arched her back, wanting him to take more, to take all of her. He shifted to her other nipple, sucking deeply, then teased her with his tongue. She dug her fingers into his back.

Desire raged like a hungry beast. She felt out of control and desperate. It had always been like that with him. The ice princess melted, and in her place was a woman who knew what she wanted and took it.

He straightened and kissed her again. This time he shifted so his thigh was between hers. He pushed up against her. She parted her legs then moved her hips back and forth so that she could ride him. The friction was delicious, but not enough to get her over the edge. She wanted more.

She pulled at his tie and threw it over her shoulder. The buttons of his dress shirt nearly defeated her until Cruz grabbed the fabric and pulled. Buttons went flying. He shrugged out of the shirt and she was able to touch his bare chest.

His skin was warm, the color of a strong latte. Muscles shifted under her fingers.

“Take off your clothes,” she told him.

Fire flickered in his eyes. A need that was only for her and made her feel sexually powerful. While he kicked off his shoes, she slipped out of her jeans and panties. Then they were both naked.

She studied the powerful male body, her gaze lingering on his erection. They reached for each other, touching, stroking, kissing. He nudged her backward. She shifted until she felt the kitchen table against the back of her legs. He lifted her and set her on the wood. She gasped at the cold wood against her bare butt.

Cruz laughed. “Let me get my shirt.”

He stretched out the cotton, still warm from his body, and urged her to lie down. He settled on a chair, shifted so that she straddled him, with a thigh on each shoulder, then bent forward to kiss her between her legs.

The combination of lips and breath and tongue was beyond exquisite. The first stroke made her stiffen. The second nearly made her scream.

He grabbed her hands and had her use her fingers to hold herself open for him. Then he reached up and cupped her breasts as he continued to pleasure her with his mouth.

She’d never felt so exposed and sexually connected at the same time. She was totally at his mercy, unable to control anything about the experience. Trust was required. So she should have been uncomfortable, but this was Cruz, and for reasons she couldn’t explain, she trusted him completely.

He licked all of her, then concentrated on that one central spot. The place that throbbed in time with his ministrations. He circled and brushed, then sucked so gently she groaned.

Heat filled her. Heat and need. Her muscles tensed. She felt herself getting closer to the perfect release, to the moment when she would fly out of control.

He brushed his fingers against her nipples, the combination of sensations rushing her forward. She was so close, she thought, moving her head from side to side. Everything felt so good. Too good. She couldn’t…

And then she was coming and coming. The pleasure swept through her, carrying her along. She gave herself over to it, over to Cruz. Inside, her muscles contracted again and again, allowing her to get lost in the sensations.

Just when she thought she was done, he stood and plunged into her. His possession was fast and determined. He held her hips and rocked against her, as if he couldn’t control himself.

He filled her, rubbing her in just the right way to make her start to come again. Then they were straining together and he exploded inside of her, groaning something that sounded very much like her name.

A FEW MINUTES LATER, Lexi sat up. She was naked, on the kitchen table, satiated and just a little embarrassed.

“I was planning on making spaghetti,” she murmured. “However will we eat here again?”

“Think of the good memories.”

“I’ll blush every time I walk in here.”

He pulled her to her feet, then held her in his arms. “We’ll keep doing it in here until you’re comfortable with the idea.”

“Sort of the reverse of aversion therapy?”

“Something like that.”

“Maybe.” Still. The kitchen? On the table?

He touched her face with his fingers. “Lexington.”

She stiffened. “Do not call me that.”

“It’s your name.”

“It’s a family name and you know I hate it.” She’d told him her name that first night they’d been together. Something she never did. Of course, until that night she’d never had sex, either. Compared with giving up her virginity, sharing the secret of her name had seemed fairly insignificant.

“I like it. It connects you to the past.”

“A great-grandfather who, from all historical accounts, was both a gambler and a robber baron. Tell me again why marrying into an old family is so important to you?”

“You’re cute when you’re huffy.”

“I’ll smack you.”

He grinned. “I didn’t think you’d be into that. Want to tie me up first?”

“You’d never allow that.”

“I know, but it would be fun to watch you try.” He tucked her hair behind her ears. “Still embarrassed about doing it on the kitchen table?”

“Not so much. You used my name on purpose, didn’t you. To distract me.”

“Yes.”

“Don’t do it again.”

“I won’t. Want to go out to dinner?”

She wanted to go upstairs and make love again, but this time in a bed. She wanted to be close and have him hold her. She wanted to sleep with him, his arms around her. She wanted to be connected.

Which was possibly the biggest mistake she could ever make. Connected to Cruz? As in emotionally bonded? Was she beyond stupid? He was interested in her for very specific reasons that had nothing to do with caring or were anything close to permanent.

“Dinner sounds like a great idea,” she said. The sooner they got out of the house, the better. She needed time to regroup.

Fifteen minutes later they were in the car and backing out of the driveway. Lexi noticed a man walking up to the front door.

“Do you know him?” she asked.

“No.”

Cruz stopped the car and got out. “Can I help you?”

“I’m looking for Ms. Titan. Lexington Titan.”

Lexi flinched. What was it with people using her name today?

She rolled down her window. “That’s me.”

“Ms. Titan?” He approached and handed her a large envelope. “You’ve just been served. Have a good night.”

THE PAPERWORK WAS fairly simple-at least for a legal document. Lexi was being sued by a former client for treatments performed at the spa. The woman claimed damages, including marks on her skin and emotional distress.

“It’s a day spa,” she murmured as Cruz drove to Venus Envy so she could check her computer records. “How much emotional distress could there be?”