When he felt her damp heat, he damn near lost it. She was ready for him, and he slid his finger inside, while manipulating her nipple with his teeth through the thin cotton material of her shirt.
She began mewling in the back of her throat, and Nick lifted his mouth from her long enough to sink his fingers around the material of her shorts and panties as he pulled them from her body and let them fall to the floor.
He glanced up and her face looked stricken, even as she breathed heavily in tandem with him.
Wanting nothing more than to soothe her, he slid his hand under the seat cushion and pulled out the rings he'd hidden there. He quickly slipped his wedding band on his own finger, and watching her eyes go wide, he lifted her left hand and pushed the set down onto her own finger. He closed her fingers and kissed the small fist, looking up at her while he did so.
She bit her lip and began shaking her head, and not wanting her to have time to gain any traction against him, he put his mouth back to hers as his hand moved back between her thighs.
She was hot again in seconds, even though it nearly killed him to know he was seducing her against her will.
He couldn't help that; he needed this act between them. He needed her in his arms and in his bed again. He'd lose all sanity if he couldn't attain that, and he needed it quickly. Continuing to seduce her with his mouth and hands, he shed his shirt, jeans and underwear while she was incapable of noticing.
As he came to his knees on the floor in front of her and dragged her butt to the edge of the couch, his hand went unerringly back to her mound. Her eyes widened and she sucked in a breath, and he realized in that moment that she'd regained her faculties. It almost killed him.
"Nick, no."
"No?" Christ, he was going to die.
Her face crumpled as she ran her hand down to his and tried to stop him from caressing her clit. "I can't do this. We can't make love."
"Why not, baby?" he asked, forcing his voice to maintain a degree of normalcy. At the same time, while they stared into each other's eyes, he grabbed her fingers where they had a death grip on his hand. Enclosing them with his, with a gentle manipulation, he brought them to her clit until she was touching herself, with his own hand holding her fingers captive there.
She gasped and tried to back off from this new intimacy, but with a strong grip, he held her hand over her mound, while they massaged her together.
Nick glanced down and the eroticism of the moment was almost more than he could stand.
She began thrusting her hips up to his hand, tiny, soft little thrusts, but her brain was still fighting her body because she said, "We can't make love or we won't be able to get an annulment."
The absurdity of the notion hit him and he barked out a harsh rasp of caustic laughter. That's what had been in that crazy-assed female brain of hers? "There's no way in fucking hell we're getting an annulment," he bit out.
"Please, Nick," she begged in entreaty. "I'm so confused right now."
Whatever was going on inside her mind wasn't something Nick completely understood, but he remembered her speech the day he'd manipulated her into going to the courthouse. And right now, even though it might damn well kill him, he knew he had to be the man she needed him to be. He wanted nothing more than to be that person, he wanted her to understand that she couldn't live without him.
"Okay, sweetheart," he soothed, promising her something that went against the need gripping him by the throat. "But I need to at least touch you," he cajoled. "But just touching, no penetration, I promise, okay?"
Her eyes flared as she immediately grasped his meaning. No intercourse, but they would play. A few tense seconds ticked by as they stared into each other's eyes while Nick continued to caress her mound, attempting to seduce her into agreement. "Okay," she finally whispered.
"I love to touch you, I want it so much," he said slowly as he continued to tease her clit with his fingers on top of hers. "You want that too, baby, right?"
She nodded her head and at the movement, he slid his hand down and found her wet opening, slipping his finger inside. He heard her breath catch, and soon she was moving against him in a way that told him she was completely ready. But goddamn, so was he. He was wild for her; he had to come.
He glanced up and as gently as possible, removed his touch from her and laid her out on the sofa. She was pliant in his arms and he took the opportunity to slide her shirt over her head.
He stood and leaned a knee on the couch where she lay on her back and put a single finger on a peaked, luscious nipple. Her body jerked in reaction. She looked completely helpless, and it was turning him on, making him even harder than he already was. "You trust me?" he asked shortly, knowing exactly what he wanted if he couldn't penetrate her with his cock.
"Yes," she breathed out.
Watching her for one second longer, tugging on her firm little nipple once more, he let go, and turned her body until she was lying on her side, facing out toward the room, facing him. With his knee on the sofa beside her, he put his hand back to her breast for a moment, wanting to keep her as hot as possible, and then he slid his fingers to cup her wet heat.
She began undulating again within seconds, and dropping down beside her, he lay beside her, only he lay opposite of her, his head between her thighs and his groin so close to her sweet little mouth that he had to bite the inside of his cheek until he tasted blood, just so he could have a modicum of control.
He felt her suck in a breath, and wasting no time, he put his hands on her, spreading out her sweet, wet lips until her hot little opening was exposed to him. He stroked his tongue down and then up, repeated the movement five or six times until she moaned loudly and grasped his erection in her hand.
His head almost blew off at the impact.
She held him tightly, and he slid a finger inside of her, and up, until he was touching her G-spot. He became selfish then, unable to stop himself, and he began to lick and rub her and manipulate her the way that was the most pleasurable for him . . . but as he continued the movements that were driving him crazy, he realized that the reason he loved it was because it was exactly what she liked the best.
And it worked, because she grasped his cock just that much tighter with a hold that told him she was just as desperate as he was. He growled low in his throat and let out what he was feeling, "Your mouth, baby. I want your mouth."
It didn't take two seconds. She took him inside her mouth and began sucking. His control snapped, and he pushed against her, stroking in and out of her mouth with his hips, barely aware that she kept her hand around the base of his cock to maintain some control over the situation. His teeth and tongue continued to worship her, taking from her, giving to her. Unable to stop it, with fire shooting down his spine and landing in a fury of uncontrollable need, he felt himself begin to come inside her mouth.
It was unbelievable, fantastic, but he wanted more. He had to feel her pleasure. He needed her coming with him, for him.
He moved his mouth and bit her clit, inserting two fingers into her snug channel, and as her moan rent the air, it was impossible for him not to know that she was coming with him.
Courtney sat up in a flurry of emotions and pulled herself away from Nick and then the sofa altogether. The position they'd been in . . . what they'd just done . . .what she'd just swallowed.
She grabbed her clothes from the floor and looked at him in disbelief. He was slowly coming to a sitting position as if what they'd done had been nothing out of the ordinary. His nonchalance wasn't calming to her at all. He was completely nude, his erection was still hard and glistening and he wore a slight, questioning look on his face.
Her emotions were in turmoil, jumping all over the place. So, they hadn't had intercourse. He'd given her that. But what they had done . . . how he'd slid opposite her and taken . . . Christ, she'd read about it in Cosmo, but hadn't really thought about ever doing it herself.
She still couldn't stay married to him. God, she wanted him though. Why hadn't she moved out of the penthouse yet? As she stood in indecision, she told herself to stop being stupid, just be happy with him, for God's sake. But she couldn't do it. Not yet. Looking down, she saw his rings on her finger and her control snapped. She covered her face with her hands and let out a loud, tortured sound of anguished frustration.
When she took her hands away from her face, he was still watching her, but a mask had come over his features, hiding his thoughts from her. She swallowed, shook her head, and then ripped the rings from her finger. She set them on the table next to her wine glass, and fled to her bedroom, locking the door behind her.
The next morning, Courtney was already gone from the penthouse when Nick walked from his suite. Although nothing was out of place that he could see, after last night, he had a bad feeling in his gut. He walked into her rooms, doing a double check, but she was definitely not there.
He refused to let his anxiety rise or to let his anger build. After he rode the elevator down, he strode directly to her office. She wasn't there. It was still too early for her secretary to be at work so Nick couldn't question the woman.
He turned and made his way to his own office, breathing deeply, his hands fisting at his sides as he tried to contain the turmoil raging through his veins. Standing before the large windows that overlooked the city, Nick barely contained the violent fury and fear that were screaming at him to put his fist through the glass.