Unexpectedly His(46)
Marianne gave him a sidelong look and let the sweater fall away, but before she could blink, he was easing it back over her shoulders, buttoning the top button as if saying it was fine for him to encourage and embrace her wild, cake girl side. But as for anyone else…forget it. She turned her attention briefly back to her ex and said, “Yes, call the office and we’ll see if we can make it happen.”
Jason offered a slow nod of comprehension. “Call your office. Absolutely. Where are you working, Nick?”
Her fiancé’s muscles tensed, but his easy smile never wavered. “Morgan Wealth Management & Trust. Midtown.”
She smiled up at him. “Nick’s about to make partner at the firm.”
“Impressive,” Jason said, his indifferent expression belying his words, “I’m considering a hedge fund investment. Maybe I throw some business your way?”
Marianne felt Nick turn to stone at her side. “Be my guest.”
Another nod. “Nick Wright, Morgan Trust. I will definitely be in touch.” Jason returned their smiles, but the way he spoke felt off, like it was part promise, part veiled threat. He lifted his drink in lieu of a handshake. “Enjoy the carnival.”
As he walked away, Marianne’s eyes narrowed on his back. Something about his cagey exchange with Nick made her decidedly ill-at-ease when she ought to be celebrating. She’d done it, convinced her ex-fiancé’s cheating ass that she’d moved on with the world’s most perfect man. A feat that seemed impossible a week ago. And she owed it all to Nick, her six-week fiancé. A small stab of pain twisted in her chest. Her time with Nick was already 17 percent over. She winced. Only 83 percent left.
“Everything okay?” Nick asked, his chin nestled against her temple, the tension seemingly melting away from his body.
“Everything is okay.” Everything except how her heart would suffer when the percentages failed to work in her favor.
Marianne leaned her head back against his chest and gazed at the bright lights of the miniature Ferris wheel in the distance. There was only one man at this carnival she wanted to take for a spin tonight. The man who held her in his arms and made her feel protected and free. She turned around in his arms slowly, letting her breasts skim across his chest as her palms ran up his chest to the open neck of his shirt.#p#分页标题#e#
Her hands slipped inside his collar, and she took a step back, enjoying the heat of his gaze skimming over the curves of her body. She drew in a soft breath and unbuttoned the cardigan. The thin cotton fell away from her shoulders tugging the straps of her sundress down an inch or two on both sides. She tossed him a naughty smile. “Ready to take a ride?”
Nick glanced over his shoulder and quickly back. “Is that a trick question?”
Chapter Thirteen
“Listen more, talk less.”
—mantelligence.com
“Don’t move.”
Sweet Jesus, Nick wasn’t going anywhere. Not now. Maybe not ever.
Across the dimly lit third floor bedroom, Marianne eased the strap of her sundress away from her shoulder. Outside, the carnival rolled on, noisy and bright and crowded. But here in this intimate, quiet room, it was just the two of them, and Nick had never felt so turned on in his life.
Holding his gaze, Marianne bit down on her bottom lip as her hand moved to the side zipper. She tugged on the pull slowly and the sound of the small metal links unzipping echoed across the room. He made a move toward her, but she held up her palm. “Not yet,” she whispered in a sweet, shaky voice.
Nick pressed his back against the door and stayed put, ready to do anything she asked. Marianne was in the driver’s seat, and he was enjoying every single second of watching her move along the road to seduction.
In an achingly adorable motion, she eased the pastel blue fabric down one arm and then the other until she was naked from the waist up. No striptease had ever been this sweet. Or this hot. His palms itched to touch her. He wanted to breathe her sweet, citrus scent, taste the salt air on her skin.
She was beautiful.
Crazy-beautiful.
He’d seen a lot of attractive women, but not one of them struck a chord in him like his fiancée. She was too good for him, so smart and freaking sexy, but awkward and vulnerable, too, an intoxicating mix. Maybe it was his protective instincts kicking in, but staying away from her was becoming impossible. He’d actually been jealous of her ex, the way he’d looked at her like he’d known her. Nick knew better. If he’d really known Marianne, he never would have let her go.
She wriggled the dress away from her hips and let the fabric fall to the floor in a blue pool at her feet. Naked. His sexy-sweet cake girl stood before him naked. He’d been expecting a glimpse of lacy panty, but his woman had stepped it up a notch, and he was freaking speechless. He wanted to move. He wanted to wrap her up in his arms and kiss her but remained rooted to the spot, his back pressed hard against the back of the door.