No, there was no shirking away or hiding because her first thought shot from her mouth. “Nick, I want to suck you.” She felt her eyes shoot open wide and her hand did fly to her mouth then. But it was too late. And she might never get this chance again.

  ****

  Nick froze, still holding his cock. “Where did you learn to talk like that, sweet one?” And did she really mean it? It wasn’t too late. He would stop time to make this night perfect and try to slow it down if she needed. It was her birthday after all, and she’d just gotten their little party off to a fucking hot start. Shit, he wanted her to suck him, too.

  “I’m sorry, it just shot out,” she said from under him.

  If bullets or an IED didn’t get him this next year, the memory of her words would. Nick finally let go of himself and stood to shrug the rest of the way out of his pants and briefs and then lowered himself back to the bathroom floor, this time beside her.

  “Come here, Cherie. Sit up, please.”

  Cherie sat, joining him on her knees, biting her thumb’s fingernail tip. “Did I ruin things already? I can’t believe I said that to you.”

  “Shh. Let your hair down.” He waited until she’d yanked the tight band and smoothed her hands a few times to settle the bouncy waves. “You’re beautiful, Cherie. You couldn’t ruin this night if you tried. Say whatever you feel like saying. And, let me taste your lips.”

  He took his time, fingering a good grip in her hair, holding the back of her head, and finding her tongue with his. Her hot mouth and the way she was getting so into this kiss made him let out a moan. He reached down and felt between her legs to the tight seam of her jeans then back up to her top-covered sweet tits. There wasn’t time to get her out of her clothes to join him. He pushed his tongue further into her mouth and then pulled back. Just one more peck for her sweetness. Then, still holding the back of her head in his hand, he locked onto her gaze and glanced down, wanting her to have followed.

  There was no resistance when he gently led her head down to his dick. He’d have stopped if there had been. Her lips parted and slid down to take most of him in. He didn’t want to choke Cherie and realized in an instant she wasn’t taking over completely. “You’re doing so good, baby. You feel incredible. Just suck, just like that.”

  She eased her mouth back toward his tip and left most of his length to cool against the air from where her saliva had wetted him. His stomach clenched. Then after gulping down a huge breath, she once again tried taking as much of him into her mouth as she could. He prayed it was just that he was bigger than any guy she’d ever done this with and not that this was her first time.

  God dammit. He wouldn’t last. “Cherie, ease up. I’m going to come. Now.”

  But he forgot to stop guiding her head with his hand and the pleasure he got from watching her bob up and down, her hair a dark chocolate mess, and the sweet sucking of his cock made him mindless. She didn’t try to pull back as his cum spurted, surely filling her mouth and spilling. She stayed for him, swallowing it all.

  When he finally remembered to let her go, she sat up and wiped at her mouth. Maybe she wasn’t sure he’d liked what she’d done for him because she hadn’t crawled into his lap. He’d never quite been sure what it must be like for a girl to face a guy after just having swallowed a mouthful of his seed. No one had ever looked him in the eyes so openly before.

  “Thank you,” she said.

  He frowned because he knew it should be him giving the thanks. “For what?” He petted her hair tenderly because that’s what he felt for her.

  “For letting me in.” She tapped a finger at the center of his chest and waited a few seconds. “And breaking that silly promise you made. Even if it was just, you know…”

  “No, I don’t know. What?” he asked.

  “Just sex, just this one night.”

  His epic run of being a total ass to her had just slapped him in the face. How could he prove to her this was more than just a hot blow job? How could he do that when he knew how dangerous it would be to make the promise that he’d return?

  Nick kissed her nose and then took her hand from his chest and kissed the fingertip she’d just poked him with. “I won’t ask you to wait for me, Cherie.”

  “And I won’t ask you not to go.”

  He rubbed his burning chest and then pulled her up to standing so he could admire what was about to be his. “About that promise I made Scott? There’s a part of it that I fully intend on keeping,” he said, curling a long section of her hair in his fingers. He wished he’d gotten her naked already so he could feel her while he said these things to her.

  “What’s that?”

  “The part about taking good care of you. I owe you a birthday present, sweet one.”

  She smiled, pressing a dimple into her right cheek and then cleared her throat. “I know you said shower earlier, but I’d planned on taking a nice, long, twenty-one-year-old soak before you came along and invited yourself to the party.” A wide smile grew, and he was so proud of her for sharing her exact desires with him. Maybe she could handle this jacked up situation he’d just put them in. He’d definitely sold her short all year, something he’d never do again. If he came home, he’d like it to be to Cherie. But it would be wrong to plant that in her head at this point. She was so young, and apparently had a healthy sexual appetite. Was it fair for him to ask her to wait just because she’d rocked his world with her sweet mouth and yeah, possibly sealed up his heart, too? Or should he let her go on thinking this had just been his last call for sex before shipping out? Well fuck if he could stand the thought of sharing her now.

  Nick was going to give her every bit of him so that, he hoped, she’d keep him in her thoughts until he made his way back.

  “Come here, birthday girl,” he said, nipping at her lips, enjoying the way her gaze kept sneaking away from his face, down his chest, to the mirror behind him for the back view. She had no idea how sexy it was and how hard her wandering eyes had gotten him. “You don’t plan on wearing all this clothes to your bath, do you?”

  With a wink that set him on fire, she said, “And miss out on being stripped naked by the boss? Not a chance.” She took the first step into the dry tub.

  “That talk is going to get you into so much trouble, sweet one.” Nick stepped in, too, and leaned down to lick long and slow over a freckle halfway up the side of her neck that had always caught his eye. The lick wasn’t enough. He sucked until he held a small bit of her flesh between his lips and then his teeth.

  For a second, the grin she’d shared with him faded, and she leaned back against the tub wall, undoing his tasting. She laid her flat palm squarely against his chest and gave a little push. She had his attention.

  “What’s up? Changed your mind? Lost your nerve? Hmm?” he asked, reclaiming the small space she’d created with her dainty shove at his heart. He petted her jaw with his thumb and waited. Please let her say no.

  She just looked at him for a few seconds, crinkling her brow. “Um, well no. But I think I may have given you the wrong impression, um, you know, just now.”

  “How so?” Nick rubbed his thumb over that freckle on her neck and watched her swallow at his touch.

  “Well, I’ve never done anything quite like this, and I’m afraid you might be expecting more from me for the rest of the night. I mean, I don’t know any good moves or tricks or anything. Just the basics.”

  He wouldn’t laugh. He wouldn’t. He cleared his throat to stave off the chuckle dying to rip loose from her adorable little warning. “No tricks?” He pretended to be distraught and pouted for a long half minute before biting down into the center of his bottom lip. “Sweet Cherie, I don’t want any tricks. Those are a dime a dozen and, quite frankly, boring. But you … well look at what you’ve done to me.” He put his hands at the sides of her face and made sure she understood he wanted her looking in his eyes and not down at his throbbing cock or the chills making his body hair stand on edge.

  “This isn’t just sex. You care about me,” she said.

  A rumble of breath and nerves forced itself up, all the way from his diaphragm. “I do.” That had been easier to admit than he’d thought.

  “Good.” A rosy blush played at her cheeks and her lips. She fisted his shoulders in her hands and squeezed then tugged him to her, leaving him burning and ready to take. “No tricks then. But what about moves?” The blush hit full force, but she looked nothing but incredibly playful and sexy holding onto his bare skin. “I was kind of hoping you might be willing to show me a few.”

  Nothing was keeping him from her lips now. With his hands anchored on each of her hips, he leaned his head down a good few inches and took his time getting to know her taste, her texture, her response time to his nibbles and probes and where she liked to go with her tongue.

  “I’ve got some pretty decent ones. At least I think they are. I don’t know though. You know a lot more than you realize. These lips, Cherie.”

  “Please? Show me, Boss.”

  Nick nearly stuttered because he hadn’t been prepared for his own words. “Only if you promise not to use them on anyone else while I’m gone.” He drew a finger down her cheek and thought about taking it back.

  She lifted her top up and over her head, then fell back against the tub wall, and this time he didn’t shield her from the rude awakening of its cold hardness. Seeing her shoulders bow inward made his mouth water as the action forced her breasts to swell together. Another breath from somewhere deep down in his abs sucked in at the sight of her while his blood pounded and made sure he was thick enough to be the only source of pleasure she’d ever want again. No bra. No need. So perfect.

  It was difficult getting her out of the rest of her torturous clothes with the feverish way he insisted on keeping her rosy, hard nipple between his teeth. Determined, he hiked her up against the tub wall and planted his face between her breasts, nothing coming between her skin and his cheeks. He did not miss the hair. He was glad to see it gone. Her hands massaged his scalp as he suckled heaven while she watched.

  “Do you trust me, Cherie?”

  She must have caught the devilish idea he’d concocted just then because she only nodded at first. “If I say yes, am I going to regret it?”

  “You let me know when I’m done. And hold on tight.”

  He didn’t want sweet Cherie lowering herself to anyone. He loosened her legs from around his waist and hoisted her up with ease so that those heart shaped calves and dainty ankles were now resting over his shoulders. Her breath caught before he’d even nuzzled his way in for a kiss.

  “Hey, you said hold on tight? To what?” she asked.

  “Me.” He brought his hands that he’d had cupping her ass up so that they could join hands. “Just relax into the wall. I promise I’ve got you.” With their hands joined, he smiled before navigating his way by teeth and tongue through her soft nest of curls to the sweetest taste of life he’d ever had. His heart skipped a beat when she thrust her hips to encourage him to take more. It might take him a little longer this way, without the use of his fingers and hands. But they had all night.

  A few minutes and tongue plunges later and her tummy started to clench in and out. The swollen nub he’d been milking throbbed between his lips.

  “Nick,” she moaned. Why had he expected a high pitched scream? Again she surprised him.

  It was almost what he’d wanted to hear. He’d have to work a little harder to earn that low, steady panting in his ear.

  “Yes, Cherie,” he whispered into her still trembling pussy.

  Carefully he allowed her to slide down his body until her legs were at his waist and he had her harnessed with his arms. The slick trail her juices left down his chest made his cock harden like he was her twenty-one-year old counterpart. He’d lay a thousand kisses over her heart once he had her in the bed. “We forgot to run the bath water,” he said and then made to turn and carry her through the bathroom door to her bed. “I guess it’s just as well.”

  She stopped him with a single flick of her tongue at his ear.

  Chapter Five

  “Where are you taking me?” Cherie wasn’t ready to leave this bathroom, and her tongue running along his earlobe seemed to have made her point. She wouldn’t turn this into mushy, sappy married people sex no matter how warm and fuzzy it made her to think of lying tangled in blankets with him listening to him breathe. It had to be hot, like on the hard, cold floor hot. She could do this for him.

  He grunted and hiked her back up from where she’d slipped in his hold. “I’m taking you to the bed.”

  “No, let’s do it here.” Cherie wiggled herself against his hard tummy, knowing she had him considering it. Naughty talk had worked before. “Show me how much you want me right here, Boss. Come on, let’s fuck right here on the floor.” She waited.

  Nick’s tight hold loosened, and she had no choice but to slink down until she felt her feet meet up with that cold hard floor. He let his arms fall away from her. Although his body was still ready to go, he blinked, and she could see his playful demeanor had drastically changed.

  He hesitated. Was he done with her so quickly? No, she’d seen something in his eyes earlier, hadn’t she?

  “Come on, Nick. I just want to make this night memorable.”

  Both of his fine, strong hands found the sides of his head and rubbed. He looked like he had something to say, but he turned and left the bathroom. Cherie had no choice but to watch that beautiful, bare man leave her there. She could crumble where she stood.

  ****

  Nick had some serious shit to make up for. He’d twisted sweet Cherie into one of those eager groupies in less than two hours. Hell, Scott would kill him for this shit. That was the thing, though. Nick had been turned on to the nth degree by their naughty play, but now he was ready to make love. Make love. His skin pricked at the thought, and he had to take a deep breath. Why hadn’t she come out yet? He took the few steps back to the bathroom and pushed gently on the door.

  “Aw, Cherie. I’m so sorry. Please don’t cry.”

  Sniffling, he could barely hear her reply. “Why me, Nick? Any, woman, you, want.” Her words came out in choppy, hurt spurts.

  He kneeled down and moved long pieces of hair from her flushed face. How hard did it have to be for her to sit here like this after what they’d done and admit she was worried she hadn’t satisfied him? One word came to him clearly. Share.

  “Cherie, hey, look at me.” When she did, he continued. “I’m afraid to leave tomorrow.”

  Her head snapped up. “What? But I thought you said—”

  “Not because of my safety.” Nick pulled Cherie to his chest. She had clutched her clothes in her arms, and he held that, too. “I’m not worried too much about that. The thing I can’t stop thinking about is how unfair I’ve been to you tonight. And to make it worse, all I want to do is make love to you right now. Which basically seals the deal.”

  “The deal? What deal?” She frowned but scooted her bare bottom along the floor closer to him. He wouldn’t allow her any discomfort and scooped her up to sit in his lap. There was nowhere to hide what having her so close like this did to him. But instead of inching away, she gently pressed her back into his hard bulge.

  “If you let me take you to that bed, I’m done. I’m yours. You’re stuck with me.”

  To Nick’s surprise, she stood and let the bunched up clothes she’d been protecting fall to the floor. In the next second, he watched her perfect ass switch sweetly from side to side as she left him there on the floor. “Well, are you coming or not?”

  Hell yeah, he was coming.

  ****

  Cherie hurried to the bed, wished it was bigger, then lay down in the center. Committed to giving this another shot, she twisted to get the pillows just right. When she looked back to the front, Nick’s hungry look scared the crap out of her. In a good way.

  Standing a few feet away, his intentions poured through those melt-worthy brown eyes and commanded her not to move. Oh, this wasn’t going to be boring, and she doubted he had an ounce of mushy in him. She decided to repeat her earlier taunt before she combusted. “Coming?”

  With each step he took toward her, the earlier hits and misses cleared themselves up. How could she resist all that? Here, in her bed, she was ready.

  “Ladies first, this time,” he said and then sat down at her feet.

  Great. Her stomach growled just as he’d kissed the tip of her big toe. He frowned.

  “I should feed you first. I’ll order room service.”

  Although her body was famished, she didn’t want to eat food right now. And she knew their time was dwindling. “After, please.”

  “Absolutely not.”

  “Nick, please,” she said feeling her brow crinkle. “We’re running out of time.”

  He shook his head and then grabbed the room phone. His smile was gorgeous as he ordered them something that sounded light. “Thank you.”

  “It’s on the way.” And then he just sat there rubbing her feet, driving her insane with that stare of his.

  Fortunately, within ten minutes, a knock sounded at the door, and she contented herself that she at least got to watch his fantastic buns walk away to answer it. Of course that was nothing compared to the return trip.

  Cherie nearly drooled at the sight of her naked waiter, bald head and all, strutting back to her with one hand raised supporting the tray. His muscles flexed under the weight of their plates, and his chest puffed like he was proud he’d done well. She supposed that was an understatement.

  “So what did you get us?” she asked, inching down to where he sat at the foot. She carelessly tugged a sheet over herself, which made him grin. She could have sex naked, but she wasn’t about to eat in the buff.

  “Are you in a hurry?”

  She wanted to say yes. But what if that turned him off again? Cherie sat quietly, letting him do what he would with the food, hoping it was a finger sandwich she could wolf down in one or two bites.