Chapter One
Nathan
The numbers on the clock glowed an angry red in the dim light of the room, an annoying reminder that I was going to be late if I didn't get my ass in gear. Too damn bad. My ass would just have to be late because no way in hell was I moving right now, not when I was thirty seconds from finding heaven.
Again.
I curled one fist in the rumpled sheets of my bed then reached down with my other hand and cupped the curve of the woman's head as she kissed and licked her way down my stomach. Silky hair curled around my fingers and trailed across my skin and damn if the breath didn't catch in my chest. Close. She was so damn close. My body was already tensing in anticipation of that hot mouth wrapping around the hard length of my cock. Of feeling that wet tongue swirl around the tip before swiping along the length like she was in a hurry to lick her favorite ice cream cone before it melted in the ungodly heat and humidity of New Orleans.
I'd been here for two months already and didn't think I'd ever get used to the suffocating weather. I'd known the woman in my bed for three weeks and I was already addicted to her.
Her taste.
Her smell.
Her touch.
Everything about her.
The one-night stand with Addy hadn't stopped and I sure as hell wasn't complaining. She was the only ray of light in my otherwise fucked-up existence and I had no plans of calling it quits. Not anytime soon, anyway. Why the hell would I when both of us were looking for the same thing?
Fun.
Sex.
No commitments.
More sex.
Yeah, we definitely had that. When it came to sex, we were a perfect match. As far as everything else...
Not my concern. I knew as much about Addy as she knew about me—which was very little. There was no need to complicate things with the details, not when we were both focused on the same thing.
Fun.
Sex.
No commitments.
More sex.
Yeah, it worked for me.
I knew her first name. I knew she worked in some boutique clothing store somewhere here in the Quarter that sold some kind of funky-ass vampire or steampunk clothing or something else just as weird. I knew she liked spicy food and sweet drinks that snuck up on you.
And I knew she liked sex. Lots of hot, sweaty adventurous sex.
It was a match made in heaven—a heaven that I was five seconds away from attaining if her sweet little tongue ever found its mark. I tightened my hand in her hair and slowly rolled my hips in silent encouragement. No, I wasn't above begging, not when I'd already had a taste of the prize waiting for me. Addy turned her head, her dark eyes drifting toward mine. Our gazes met and damn if the slow smile spreading across her face didn't make my gut clench with anticipation. Then that dark gaze shot away from mine to land on the clock and any anticipation I may have felt evaporated when she jumped up.
"Oh hell, Nathan, you're going to be late." She rolled off the bed and scrambled for her clothes, her full breasts jiggling with each movement. I swallowed back the drool threatening to drip from the corner of my mouth—yeah, her breasts were that delectable—and reached for her.
"I can afford to be late."
"You told me you couldn't be." She slipped away before I could grab her and stepped into a tiny strip of lace that was supposed to be underwear. "You specifically told me to make sure you weren't late."
Had I? Maybe. But that had been more than two hours ago. My priorities had changed since then.
I propped up on one elbow and reached down, curled my hand around my cock and stroked. Long, hard. Slow. Addy's gaze dropped to watch, her eyes flaring with interest. Her sweet little tongue darted out and swiped across her lower lip and I swallowed back a groan, wishing that tongue was swiping across something else.
"Five minutes." My voice was low and rough, filled with unspoken promise. Dark eyes darted to mine and a teasing smile curled one corner of her mouth.
"Since when is five minutes ever enough for you?"
"There's a first time for everything."
Her gaze lowered to my hand, her eyes darkening with desire as she watched me stroke my cock. Her nipples grew to dark little points and she lightly swayed toward me. I didn't waste any time, just reached out and pulled her down on top of me, smothering her little squeal of surprise with my mouth. Her body melted against mine, all soft curves and hot flesh. Less than a minute later, I had a condom on and her underwear off and I was driving inside her. She moaned, the sound soft and low and so fucking hot, then pushed to her knees and took me in even deeper. Rocking against me. Riding me.
Driving me fucking insane.
I closed my hands around her full hips and bent my legs, digging my heels into the mattress as I drove into her. Hard. Fast. Deep. She was so fucking tight. So fucking hot and wet.
So fucking open. Watching the nuance of every expression flit across her face was a turn-on I'd never expected—and one I didn't think I'd ever grow tired of. Desire. Need. Demand. Satisfaction. Addy didn't hold back, never shied away from telling me what she wanted, never shied away from seeking her own pleasure.
Watching her now, with her head tilted back and her perfect teeth nibbling her full lower lip, was damn near enough to push me over the edge. I'd only been teasing when I told her five minutes—quickies weren't really my thing—but damn if I might not give in to the urge this one time.
Maybe.
But only if she joined me.
I lowered my hand and slid a finger along the tight bud of her clit, teasing her. Short little strokes at first, each rewarded with a sharp gasp. Then a little harder, adjusting the pressure each time she rocked her hips against me. I curled my other hand around her breast, flicked the hard point of one dark nipple with my thumbnail then kneaded the firm flesh. The reward was instantaneous—Addy threw her head back, the long cascade of thick hair teasing my bare flesh as she came apart, her sweet pussy convulsing around my cock. I sat up, pulled her head down to claim her mouth and pushed myself deeper inside her, driving into her until my own explosion left me weak and breathless.
We fell back to the bed, a tangle of arms and legs, the sound of harsh breathing echoing around us in the nearly empty room. I closed my eyes, only for a second, only to be rudely nudged awake.
"Nathan, you're late."
"Fuck it."
The bed dipped as Addy climbed over me, her bare feet hitting the wood floor with a dainty sound. "You told me to make sure you weren't going to be late. Come on, up you go."
I groaned then rolled to the side, peeled open one eye and glared at the clock. Blinked until the glare morphed into shock then vaulted from the bed with a loud oath. Five minutes had somehow turned into thirty and I had no fucking idea how.
I caught Addy by the shoulders, pressed a quick kiss against her mouth, then raced to the bathroom. The water didn't even have a chance to heat up before I was done with the shower and drying off with no more than a few swipes of a towel. Addy was still standing near my bed, dressed only in black leggings that hugged each luscious curve and black leather lace-up boots with a thick platform heel that brought the top of her head to my chin. Her hair fell in a long wave over her bare shoulder as she tilted her head to the side and watched me get dressed in a pair of jeans and a plain t-shirt. Thank God we didn't have to do the whole suit thing yet. Addy would probably have a dozen questions I wasn't ready to answer yet if she saw me dressed in a suit.