Exposed Read online

  She quickly shifted both her feet, tucking them safely under her chair. But his touch was still there. She could still feel the place where his foot had caressed hers, and when she met his smoldering gaze, a flood of sexual energy bubbled up, flooding her with warmth.

  “Well? What is it you would like to know?” he asked, not taking his eyes off her for even a second.

  “If you two will just excuse me,” Frank mumbled, getting up from his place beside Matt. The poor man had obviously seen what Matt was up to, and didn’t feel comfortable hanging around any longer. “I’ll come back a little later and clean up.”

  “Never mind the dishes, Frank,” Matt replied, pulling his attention away from her. “Leave them for the morning.”

  “Very well then, sir. Enjoy the rest of your evening,” Frank said cheerfully, and left the room.

  “We most definitely will,” Matt replied with a grin before turning swiftly back to her. “Now, where were we?” he asked, leaning his forearms on the table. His seductive gaze descended down her neck to her exposed cleavage and lingered there for a moment too long before rising once again to her eyes. “Oh yes, you wanted to ask me something?”

  She nodded, trying to ignore the fire burning beneath her skin, the heat gathering between her breasts. He seemed to leave a blazing trail wherever his gaze wandered. And the glimmer in his eyes told her he knew what he was doing to her. The man was a certifiable playboy. And what was even more infuriating was that she was unintentionally going along with it. Her body wasn’t listening at all to the reprimands her mind was sending out.

  Nicky did her best to shake off those warring thoughts and get to the real reason she was here, the real question that was on her mind. But if she asked him straight out about his girlfriend, he might guess something was up. She had to approach the subject delicately.

  The solution suddenly came to her. Why not use his forward behavior to her advantage? He was obviously flirting with her, which, in every woman’s code of social protocol, gave her a right to ask about his marital status. She wasn’t being nosy now, she was just being careful—finding out the facts, like any smart woman would do.

  “Tell me,” she began, “do you often cook for women who get stranded along the side of the road?”

  “Oh, that depends,” he replied easily, topping up her coffee.

  “Does it depend on whether or not you’re already dating someone?”

  Matt hummed curiously. “Perhaps. But in your case, I would’ve done it regardless. You see, I could just tell you would appreciate a well-cooked meal—a quality not every woman is blessed with.”

  A laugh escaped her lips. “So, in other words, you’re not looking for someone who’s attractive, but rather someone you can feed. Or is it someone who can feed your ego?” she ventured, aware the combination of wine and liqueur was starting to work its magic, while the doctored coffee had done nothing to sober her.

  Matt grinned. “I wouldn’t say that. In fact, I’m seeing a very attractive woman at present, one whom I’m highly interested in.” Nicky felt a stab of disappointment cut through her at the first mention of his girlfriend.

  He cleared his throat as he looked at her. “And she’s sitting right across from me.”

  Nicky couldn’t help but smile with relief. If he kept this up, there would soon be a fine line between the color of her face and the dress she was wearing. “Right… But seriously, are you dating anyone?”

  He rubbed the side of his face, which, she noticed, was slightly rough with the lightest shadow of a beard. “Wouldn’t you call this a date?”

  She tried to smother another delighted smile. “You know what I mean. A girlfriend? A special woman in your life?”

  “Now I see what you’re getting at,” he replied, sighing as he linked his hands behind his head and leaned back into his chair. “Yes, I have to admit there is someone.” His dark lashes fluttered briefly, then dropped over his cheeks as his focus fell pensively to the table. “I haven’t known her very long, so this might seem impulsive to you, but I’m getting married in four weeks’ time.”

  In spite of herself, another wave of bitter disappointment hit her, this one breaking over her heart. During the course of their dinner, she had almost convinced herself there couldn’t be a girlfriend, not with the way he was acting. But there was. There was.

  “Go on,” she said hoarsely. She took another sip of her coffee, aware she’d had far too much to drink tonight. But now, suddenly, she didn’t care. She no longer wanted to hear about the woman from New York. She didn’t even care about getting her job done for Smithy. All she really wanted to complete was her evening with Matt, enjoying the fantasy that a man as attractive and powerful as this was lavishing attention on her.

  But it was too late. She’d finally asked the inevitable question, and Matt had been all too willing to answer it. Yes, all too willing.

  “She’s a wonderful girl,” he said slowly, meaningfully.

  Nicky tugged at her bottom lip with her teeth. Why was she feeling this way? She should be happy to have something to go on. She should be happy about making Smith happy, but she wasn’t. In fact, she was beginning to feel altogether miserable.

  “And, what does she do, may I ask?” Nicky pressed on, trying her best to sound nonchalant as she toyed with her teaspoon.

  “Oh, nothing much. You know, she hangs around in New York, goes shopping, and spends her father’s money. The usual.” He shrugged, as if it were the most natural thing in the world not to work for a living.

  Nicky thought this over. “But, if she doesn’t have a job, why doesn’t she move closer? You know, so you two could see each other more often.” Nicky felt a glimmer of hope stir inside her. If there was that much distance between them, how close could they be?

  Matt frowned. “How do you know how often we see each other?” he asked curtly.

  Nicky felt her pulse speed up for the hundredth time that evening, except in this instance it wasn’t a pleasant feeling. Panic rippled through her as she searched her thoughts for a comeback.

  “I—don’t know. Guess I just assumed,” she said in a weak voice, tucking her hair behind her ears. “I mean, nobody wants to be on a plane every weekend. I know because I love traveling more than anyone, but even I wouldn’t want to have a long-distance relationship. I’d rather have someone I could see regularly and really get to know…” She swallowed, trying to stop her nervous babble.

  “In other words,” Matt went on, the consonants lingering on his tongue. “There isn’t anyone special in your life right now, long-distance or otherwise.”

  Nicky frowned. Wait a minute! How did this conversation get turned around? “I thought I was supposed to be asking you the questions.”

  “And I thought you just wanted to talk,” he replied with a shrug.

  Nicky held his stare as long as she possibly could. But there was something about him that she couldn’t look at, something that pulled her back into those former, pleasurable feelings of mutual attraction. She turned away and pushed herself from the table, wanting the evening to be over. Now that the woman in Matt’s life was established as fact rather than fiction, there was no point in prolonging whatever game he was playing. “Well, thanks for a delicious dinner,” she said as she got up, using the back of her chair to steady herself on the pumps that no longer felt solid beneath her feet.

  “Nicky, watch out!”

  She heard Matt shout as she fell back onto the plush Persian rug. Before she knew it, she was staring up at the ceiling. The rug was soft and she hadn’t felt a thing. To her amazement, she was laughing. She was laughing so hard, she couldn’t stop.

  Before she could get a hold of herself, Matt came to stand over her. He reached his powerfully built arms down and slipped one around her shoulders, the other around her waist. Nicky felt the intimacy of his hands tight around her as he helped her to her feet.

  “I think I’d better accompany you upstairs.” He was still holding her waist with one ha
nd while plucking her camera from the table with the other. “You must be tired. It’s been quite a day for you.” He threw the camera strap over his shoulder.

  “I’m fine. Really I am,” she protested. But the sensation of his strong, taut body next to hers felt good. So good that she didn’t have the strength, much less the inclination, to pull away. He tightened his arm around her even more, his hand grasping the curve of her waist. Meanwhile, his other arm reached across her front, his hand splaying across her ribs just below where her breasts began. He was holding her so gently, and yet, so seductively, as if he were about to make slow, passionate love to her at any second.

  But that wasn’t the case, she reminded herself. He probably thought she was a klutz. For the second time that evening, she was unsteady on her feet. It came from a combination of being tired, tipsy, and wearing someone else’s shoes. Of course, Matt had something to do with her unsteadiness too. She always seemed to feel off balance around him.

  And as they ascended the stairs together, Nicky knew she was losing control with every step. By the time they reached the guestroom, she had surrendered any remaining resistance. She was openly leaning against him, her cheek resting on his ample chest. His shirt was open at the top, allowing her heated forehead to make contact with his cool skin.

  She noticed he didn’t turn on the light as he led her into the room and firmly shut the door behind them.

  Nicky sighed as she breathed him in. Lord, he smelled good. The musky tones of his aftershave blended with the raw underlying masculine scent of him. He seemed to be made of pure muscle, and she relished the feel of his hard limbs pressing against her soft curves. Slowly, his hands shifted their position to caress her hips, slowly at first, almost hesitating. When she didn’t pull away, he explored her more intensely. She turned toward him then, drawing her arms upward to touch his expansive chest, to touch the arms that had practically carried her upstairs.

  He responded by running both hands upward over her hips to grasp her waist and pull her closer. His lips sought her mouth, but she turned away, dipping her chin into the hollow of his neck instead. His hands slipped up from her waist to her bare arms, which he touched so lightly it left her skin tingling, yearning for more.

  A wave of desire washed through her, culminating in a hot, wet ache between her legs. Her body seemed to be melting into pure moisture, readying itself for the man who was already close, so close she could feel the shaft of his hard erection through his trousers.

  Nicky felt Matt’s fingertips slip under her chin, lifting her face to his. He wanted to kiss her, and oh how she wanted to be kissed. My God, she thought. How can I resist?

  But before she could even try, his lips were sinking down onto hers, invading her mouth with an assault of pure ecstasy.

  She tried to pull away but he wouldn’t let her. He tightened his arms that were wrapped around her lower back and found her lips once again. Unable to help herself, and not even wanting to, she softened against him, allowing his tongue to penetrate her mouth. He searched for her tongue and entwined around it with his own, stealing her breath away. His lips were soft as pure velvet, while his tongue, hard and probing, made erotic promises of what more he could deliver if she would only let him.

  His hands shifted upward, moving along the contours of her bare back. His hands were large and, when splayed, could easily cover the width of her. Slowly, his thumbs crept around her naked sides, moving toward her breasts that were already heavy with response. Why oh why had she worn this dress? How in the world could she possibly prevent this from going any further?

  “No,” she whispered as she pulled away from him, not completely, but enough to tell him he’d gone too far.

  He immediately understood and shifted his hands away from her breasts. But he continued to cover the smooth territory of her back with long, sensuous strokes of his palms, his fingers skimming ever so lightly over the surface of her skin.

  She closed her eyes against the luscious pleasure of skin on skin as his fingertips roamed, caressed, teased. But he couldn’t be satisfied with that for long, she knew. And sure enough, he began to suckle on her neck, his mouth warm and wet against her skin. Meanwhile, his hands were growing greedier, descending down her back and dipping under the waist of her dress to where her panties began.

  She trembled with excitement, her whole body aglow with the fire he was igniting. How many times in the past year had she felt this kind of physical awakening? She could think of several instances, but none of them had taken place in the presence of a man. It had always been as a voyeur, someone on the outside, watching, taking notes, and feeling ashamed of her own responses. Arousal was one thing, the touch of a man another altogether.

  Deciding it was finally her turn to find sexual fulfillment, she threw her arms around his neck and drew him to her. This time she sought him out, finding his mouth and kissing him back passionately, hungrily, pressing his lips apart and firmly encircling his tongue with hers.

  He welcomed her fervor with a murmur that came from the back of his throat, a husky sound that betrayed the depth of his desire. It also told her he was fully aroused now, and completely ready for her.

  Nicky pressed her lower body against his and felt that arousal immediately. He was erect and hard, straining to be released from the trappings of clothing that still stood between them. She felt her breasts ache in response, yearning to be touched and released as they compressed against his hard chest.

  Still kissing her, Matt grasped her right hand and guided it down to where his erection bulged against his trousers, full and firm. Her fingers followed along the outlines of the thick shaft, down, down. He seemed to go on forever…

  Nicky moaned softly as he slipped his hand under the hem of her dress. She gasped, thinking he was headed for that hot, wet spot between her legs. But instead, he slipped up her thigh and negotiated past her panties to place his palm flush against her belly. He paused there a moment, exploring the flat plane of her abs, abs she had achieved by forcing herself to perform fifty sit-ups every night before bed.

  Then slowly, tantalizingly, he descended, leaving every nerve ending along her skin tingling. She gasped as his fingers slipped under the waistband of her lace panties and delved to her mound.

  “Nicky,” he said in a soft, breathless voice. “You’re so wet.”

  A thrill of excitement ran through her body as he sought her engorged clitoris, his fingers delving inside the lips of her moist labia. When he found it, he began to finger the sensitive nub expertly. Her clitoris responded as he touched it, gradually beginning to throb as he moved his fingertips over it in light, sweeping circles. Electrical currents shot through her body as she clung to his shoulders for support. He was good. God, he was good.

  Then, needing more, she whispered under her breath, “That’s good, Matt. That’s so good.”

  “Is it?” he replied in a soft, husky voice, the words reverberating deep in his chest. “Then I’ll continue.”

  She felt a flutter in her abdomen in response to those words, the sound of his voice, and the hidden promise they contained. A promise of fulfillment.

  Then, somewhere in her conscience, a sensible but unwelcome voice warned her to stop. But she knew she couldn’t physically do it. How long had it been since she was with a man? Not to mention with a man like Matt?

  Never was her answer. She couldn’t possibly pass this up. She wanted him, needed him more than anything right now. More than her self-respect, even more than her job.

  Matt wrapped his arms around her waist as if they were entwined in a passionate dance and led her over to the bed. He pressed her down against it, and she submitted willingly. Then she looked up at him, watched as his expression filled with dark desire, his eyes gleaming, his sensuous lips parting. With almost excruciating slowness, he began peeling away her dress.

  She noticed he knew how to go about it. Either he had made mental notes of every detail of the dress during the course of their evening together, or
he was already familiar with it. Perhaps he had removed this dress once or twice before under similar conditions, but Nicky didn’t want to think about that. And thankfully, she was past being able to think. Slowly and seductively, Matt undid the zipper that ran down her side, unleashing her ripe, aching nakedness.

  Nicky had a sudden memory of the couple she’d watched yesterday, the way he had ripped the woman’s dress off her shoulder. Matt was just as insistent, just as determined, but in a slower, less hasty way. He slid the dress down her body, revealing her full breasts.

  “Nicky, you’re so beautiful,” he whispered against her neck as he reached for her breasts, cupping them with his hands.

  She sighed as he fondled her thoroughly, her nipples tightening and growing firm within his grasp. Then he lowered his mouth to them, teasing them with his tongue and biting them softly between his teeth. Nicky let out a quivering groan at the strange sensation of pain and pleasure. He began to suck her nipples then, moving from one to the other, causing her groin muscles to coil and tense in anticipation. As if sensing her response, he slid the silky dress down over her hips to the floor. Then he grasped her right leg, lifting it just enough to remove her shoe. He did the same with the other leg, leaving her in her black lace panties and nothing else.

  Her nakedness in contrast to his fully dressed status prompted Nicky to take back control of the situation. She boldly sat up and drew him between her open legs, then began unclasping his belt. She quickly whipped it away, but had a little more trouble unzipping his fly against the strain of his erection. It didn’t help that he was leaning into her, his one hand on her shoulder, the other cupping and squeezing her right breast.

  She bent down to remove his shoes and socks, then stood to undo his belt. She pushed his trousers to the floor and did the same with his boxers. She knew she had to work on his shirt next, but she couldn’t take her eyes off his erection with its full, straining proportions. It danced before her eyes, taunting her, its swollen head coming close to her mouth.