Pursued

  “Yes,” she said, her head falling back against the cabinet with a light thump. “Please, Nic. I need—”

  He clamped a gentle hand over her mouth, not because he didn’t want to hear the words of need pouring out, but because they were building his own arousal, making him hotter and harder than he’d been since the last time he’d had Desi’s body pressed against his own. And no matter how much he wanted to make love to her right now, her words from the other night—her rules—were fresh in his head.

  He didn’t mind bending the rules to make her feel good, but until she told him otherwise, sex was off the table. Which would have sucked completely if he didn’t at least get the benefit of watching Desi climax. She was so beautiful, so hot, so gorgeous when she came, and he’d missed seeing it more than he should have if all she’d been to him was a one-night stand.

  But there was time enough to deal with that later, to try to figure out where they were going from here and how everything would end up. Right now…right now all he wanted was to get his mouth on Desi and to hear her call his name as she came.

  With that thought in mind, he pressed soft kisses in a straight line up from her abdomen. When her tank top got in his way, he pulled it off with a growl and flung it over his shoulder. And there she was, soft, sun-kissed skin and full, heavy breasts. Dark pink nipples peeking between strands of long blond hair.

  “Beautiful,” he murmured as he looked up at her. “You’re so damn beautiful, Desi.”

  She was looking back down at him, worrying her lower lip between her teeth. She blushed at his words, turned away, but he caught her chin in his hand and gently brought her gaze back down to his.

  “Don’t hide from me,” he told her, underscoring his words with a soft bite to the underside of her breast.

  She moaned, her eyes going blurry, and he almost lost it. Almost turned her around, bent her over the counter and took her as he’d dreamed of too many times in the past five months.

  But that wasn’t what she needed right now—wasn’t what either of them needed—and so he tamped down the wildness inside himself and concentrated on her instead. Just her.

  The changes in her body were more evident now that she was naked, her stomach round, her breasts full and swollen, her nipples bright pink and hard as rubies. She was still tan, golden, but for the first time he could see blue veins running beneath the delicate skin of her breasts.

  They made her seem so fragile, so delicate, and he forced himself to be gentle as he cupped her breasts in his hands. She gasped, and he asked, “Are they sore?” before leaning in to trace the upper curves with his tongue. “The books say—”

  “They’re okay. A little sensitive, but if you’re gentle—”

  Her breath broke as he licked his way closer and closer to her nipple. Tiny, tender strokes of his tongue meant to both soothe and inflame. He took his time, was as slow and gentle as he knew how to be as he relearned her body after all the long months without her. He kissed and licked and lapped at her, learning every inch—every centimeter—of her breasts all over again.

  It took only a couple of minutes before Desi was thrashing against him, her beautiful body trembling with need as she clutched at his back, his shoulders, his hair. He loved the way her hands felt on him, loved even more the way she responded to him. The way she held nothing back. The way she gave him everything.

  He wanted to do that for her. Wanted to give her everything. Wanted to make her feel so good that even when this was over, even when she was away from him, she wouldn’t remember all her reasons for why they shouldn’t be together.

  He wanted her to want him—to need him—the same way he needed her.

  “Nic, please.” She trembled against him, then bucked and arched as she tried to coax him into giving her what she wanted.

  He laughed and pulled his mouth completely away, but stayed close enough that she could still feel his breath on her nipple. She moaned in response, grabbing his head in her hands and tangling her fingers in his hair as she tried to pull him back to her breast.

  “Don’t tease me,” she pleaded.

  “Baby, I haven’t begun to tease you.” He curled his tongue around her areola and sucked it into his mouth hard enough to have her gasping.

  “Too much?” he asked, immediately softening the pressure. The last thing he wanted to do was hurt her.

  “No! Please. I’m so close. I’m—” She broke off as he stripped her pajama pants down her legs and tossed them aside. “Take me,” she said. “Please, Nic, I want to feel you.”

  “I’m right here,” he told her, kissing his way down to her firm, round stomach. The noises she was making, the things she was saying—they were revving him up, making it harder for him to be careful. Harder for him to take his time.

  Even as he tried to calm down, his hands were rough when he parted her trembling thighs. She cried out and he soothed her with a kiss to the soft skin right above her navel. Then he pulled back and just looked at her for long seconds. “You’re so beautiful, Desi. So damn beautiful.” He stroked a finger right down the center of her.

  As he did, he noticed a small tattoo on her inner thigh that hadn’t been there five months before. He spread her legs wider so that he could get a better look.

  “I like this,” he murmured, leaning forward so his mouth brushed against the tattoo. “It’s new.”

  “I got it on a trip I took to San Francisco, before I knew I was pregnant.”

  “It suits you.” He nuzzled at the small tattoo, licked over it again and again. He moved on, skimming his lips over her hip bone and her abdomen as he stopped to explore each curve and freckle.

  “I can’t—Nic, I’m going to fall,” Desi cried out, her hands clutching his shoulders.

  “I won’t let you.” His mouth closed over her navel, and he fought to keep his tongue gentle as he probed her belly button and the soft skin of her belly. “I’ve got you, Desi. I promise. I’ve got you.”

  And then he was moving on, moving down, his lips skimming over the curve of her stomach, down the side of her hip. He made little forays under her hip bone, delicate touches and sharp little nips, all designed to make the fire burn hotter inside her.

  And then he was there, right there, his mouth poised over her sex. She smelled delicious, like warm honey, and for long seconds he just knelt there, his cheek pressed against her as he tried to absorb her scent. He took a deep breath, then another and another, even as his thumbs stroked closer and closer to her slick, sexy folds.

  With each slide of his thumb, Desi trembled more. With each press of his fingers into her hip, she took a shuddering breath. And when he moved forward, blowing one long, warm stream of air against her, she started to cry, her body spasming with even the lightest touch.

  He was nearly as desperate as she was, his erection so hard he feared he might actually come in his pants like a teenager with his first girl. But this wasn’t about him getting off, he reminded himself viciously. This was about giving Desi as much pleasure as her body could handle.

  He wanted to savor her, wanted to push her higher than she’d ever gone before and then send her flying over the edge.

  He knew he didn’t have much longer, though, not with the way she was coming apart in his hands, her body so sensitive and responsive it humbled him even as it made him sweat.

  “You’re unbelievable,” he muttered as he delivered one long, lingering lick along her sex. “So sexy, so gorgeously responsive, I could just—” He stopped talking as Desi screamed, her hands grabbing his hair. He kissed her a second time, then again and again, lingering each time on her most sensitive spot.

  And then his name fell from her lips like a prayer as she hurtled over the edge of ecstasy. He held her while she came, stoking the flames higher and higher until she screamed silently, her hands holding him as if he was a lifeline.
And when her body came back to earth, he held her still and murmured sweet nonsense words as he pressed gentle kisses to every part of her he could reach.

  When she was lucid again—when she’d stopped trembling and her eyes grew a little more focused, a little less dazed—she sank to the ground beside him and started to unbuckle his belt. Though it cost him, he stopped her with a gentle hand over hers.

  “Don’t you want…?” She looked confused, and maybe even a little hurt, which was the last thing he was going for.

  “Believe me, I want,” he told her, pulling her into his lap and cuddling her against him. “But not now, when we still have so many things unsettled between us.”

  “I don’t understand. I thought you wanted me. I thought—” She broke off, looking away.

  “Don’t do that, baby. Talk to me.” Gently, he turned her face back to his. “What did you think?”

  “I don’t know, I just… I made the no-sex rule, but I thought that was more for you than for me. And now I’m the one taking advantage of you, and—”

  He laughed. He couldn’t help it. “Oh, honey, you can take advantage of me anytime you want.”

  She pouted up at him. “I’m trying to be serious here.”

  “I’m being serious. Believe me. Anytime you want.” He lowered his mouth to hers, slow and lingering. But as he started slipping under her spell, he heard the beat of a helicopter’s propeller closing in on the building.

  He pulled away reluctantly and dropped one final kiss on her forehead before gently setting her on the floor next to him. “I have to go, baby. That’s my ride.”

  “Your ride?” She looked confused.

  “The helicopter that’s about to land on the roof? It’s for me.”

  Her mouth fell open and she stared at him out of huge, shocked eyes. “I didn’t think you were serious about that.”

  “Are you kidding me? If you think I’m going to spend five hours in traffic every day when I could be spending them with you and the baby, you are sorely mistaken.”

  After giving her one more kiss—he couldn’t resist—he climbed to his feet. Which was no easy task considering the pain he was in after spending the night on that ridiculous sofa of Desi’s.

  If he didn’t know any better, he would think Desi had bought the thing for the sole purpose of making him as uncomfortable as possible. Except it wasn’t as if furniture stores just had these things lying around. No way could she have gotten it there on such short notice. Which meant, unbelievably, that she actually liked the thing.

  “I’ll be home around seven,” he told her after hustling into the bathroom and grabbing his shirt off the back of the door. He buttoned it up as he slipped his feet into his dress shoes, then grabbed his briefcase and headed for the door.

  He changed course at the last second, detouring to the kitchen to drop another quick kiss on Desi’s lips. “If I’m going to be late, I’ll text you.”

  “I actually have a gala to cover tonight, so I won’t be here when you get back.”

  “A gala? Where?”

  “SeaWorld. It’s for Save Our Oceans—a lot of Hollywood types are supposed to be there as well as the business elite.”

  “Save Our Oceans—that’s a good cause.” He raised a brow. “Want a date?”

  “A date? You mean, you really want to come?”

  “Well, the last gala we attended ended pretty well, I think. So, yes. I do want to go.”

  She laughed. “I’m not going to have sex with you on the balcony at SeaWorld.”

  “A guy can dream.” He pulled open the front door. “I’ll send the helicopter for you and we can meet up at the gala. Sound good?”

  “Yeah, I guess.”

  He didn’t like the uncertainty in her voice. “What’s wrong?”

  “Nothing, it’s just… I’ve never been in a helicopter before.”

  “Oh, right. Would you rather drive? I can send a car for you—”

  “I’m a big girl, Nic. I am more than capable of driving myself to San Diego. That’s how I met you, after all.”

  “I’ve never once doubted your capabilities. I just thought I’d have a car bring you down, we could spend the night at my place and in the morning I’ll fly with you back to LA. The first time you ride in a helicopter shouldn’t be by yourself. There’s no fun in that.”

  “But what about you? You’re working in San Diego tomorrow, aren’t you?”

  “Yeah, but the helicopter has to fly back to San Diego anyway. I’ll catch a ride.”

  She rolled her eyes. “You’ll catch a ride?”

  “Okay, fine, I’ll make them give me a ride.” He glanced down as his phone beeped with a text. The pilot telling him they were waiting for him—as if he hadn’t heard the noise of the approach. “I’ve got to go,” he told her, “before all your neighbors revolt. Does the plan sound good to you?”

  “Yes, the plan works, Mr. CEO.”

  “I think you’ve got me confused with my brother. I’m CCO. It’s a very different thing.”

  He ducked out before she decided to throw something at him, and as he closed the door behind him, he couldn’t help thinking that Desi was right. It did sound good. And so did everything else about their arrangement at the moment. Well, everything except that damn couch.

  Thirteen

  He’d sent a limo for her. An actual limousine, long and black with tinted windows and a driver in a full suit. And not one of those rental limousines, either—no, this limo belonged to Bijoux, and was at the disposal of the Durand brothers only. She knew that because she’d asked the driver, who had been more than happy to wax poetic about his employers.

  Of course he had. Everyone loved Marc and Nic Durand. Everyone except her, she assured herself as she uneasily settled into the plush leather seats. She was woman enough to admit how wrong about them she’d been when she’d taken the word of a source who was more disgruntled employee than whistle-blower. She was even woman enough to admit that she liked Nic—he was pretty impossible not to like, after all, considering how kind and charming and supportive he was being.

  But that didn’t mean that she loved him. And it certainly didn’t mean that she was on her way to falling in love with him. She barely knew the man after all.

  And if that wasn’t strictly true—if she knew his favorite color and how he liked to walk barefoot on the beach at midnight and that he gave huge amounts of his money away to those less fortunate and that he believed in standing up even when no one else would and that he liked his coffee with the teeniest drop of cream in it—well, that really wasn’t that much to know about a person, was it? It certainly wasn’t enough to make her fall in love with him when she had sworn she would never do that. With anyone. Ever.

  Nic Durand could be as charming as he wanted to be, could do a million wonderful things for her and their child, and it still wouldn’t matter, Desi assured herself. There was no way she would let any of that sway her from her course, no way she would let herself soften, let herself forget. No way she would let herself depend on him. Because that didn’t work for her—it never had. Never would. The moment she started to believe someone cared about her, that the person wouldn’t leave her—boom. That’s exactly what happened.

  So, no. There would be no falling for Nic, she told herself again as the limo made its way through the streets of LA before turning onto the freeway. Yes, he was living with her. Yes, they were incredibly sexually compatible, and yes, she was having his baby—but that was all there was. It was enough. More than enough. Trying for anything else would only end with one—or both—of them getting hurt.

  The thought depressed her so much that she closed her eyes and willed herself not to think about it anymore. Nic had been living with her for only twenty-four hours, had been back in her life for only one week, yet the idea of him wal
king out of her life one day soon bothered her more than she would ever be comfortable with.

  It had been a crazy day, and it wasn’t long before the motion of the car had her drifting off to sleep. She’d planned on only dozing—wanting to be alert enough to answer if Nic texted her—but the next thing she knew, they were pulling into the massive SeaWorld parking lot. She reached for her phone and the directions she’d downloaded earlier on how to get to the pavilion, but the driver seemed to know exactly where he was going as he wound his way to the private entrance.

  When they arrived, she thanked the driver profusely and tried to tip him, but of course he wouldn’t take her money. Desi shook her head ruefully as she climbed out of the car. Having Nic around to take care of her was going to ruin her if she wasn’t careful.

  A glance at her phone showed she hadn’t missed any texts from Nic, but then again, she’d made it to San Diego earlier than expected. She set her phone to recorder mode—which was one of the ways she kept track of who was talking to whom and what they were wearing while they were doing it—then followed the pathway up to the pavilion’s main door.

  Once she was checked in, she walked through the venue, scoping it out. She’d never been to a charity ball here before, and as she walked in the door, she was charmed to see the huge aquariums that surrounded the room on all sides. The decor was very much “under the sea,” which was to be expected, considering the charity benefiting from the night’s gala. The aquariums blended in beautifully.

  She took quiet note of who was already there—not a lot of people yet whom her readers would be interested in—then made her way to the aquariums. She wanted to see the fish. She could imagine the beginning of her piece starting with the fish and expanding to the oceans and then the purpose of the gala. The society reporter before her used to focus exclusively on the glitterati, but Desi had gotten in the habit of giving her readers a little more of the atmosphere and charity angle before launching into the who’s who.

  So far her readers seemed to like it. Or, at least, they hadn’t complained about it, so she’d take a win where she could get it.