Page 19 of Mine This Time

Chapter Seventeen

Nash

Looking into Mari’s eyes, I knew my desire for her was reflected in mine. Electric need pulsed through my body, and my hands literally itched to reach for her.

Yet, I was wrestling with a belated sense of honor. Yes, I’d been the one who couldn’t resist touching her and tasting her in the bar. But now, I knew she was riled up inside. A mingled sense of fear and restlessness was palpable as it emanated from her.

Of course, I also just got off the phone with her older brother.

While we might not be best friends, I definitely considered him a friend and trusted business partner.

Although Max had asked me directly to stay with Mari so she wasn’t alone, I sincerely doubted he meant for me to fuck his little sister.

I managed a breath and caught her hand in mine. “Maybe that was a mistake.” Touching Mari was not exactly helpful for the state of my body. I managed a slow breath and shackled my need. “Not now.”

Mari’s eyes narrowed. “Not now, what?”

I closed my eyes for a moment, doing my damnedest to get my shit together inside. Opening them, I saw anger flashing in hers. It didn’t help me to contemplate how passionate she was by nature.

“I know I started something earlier, but I don’t think tonight is the night to let things go further. You’re scared, and—I can’t believe I’m saying this—I promised your brother I’d make sure you stayed safe. I seriously don’t think he would appreciate me taking advantage of that situation.”

Mari yanked her hand free from mine and pushed her stool back abruptly as she stood, once again pacing the room.

“Great, now you’re bringing my brother into this?

This isn’t about you taking advantage of me.

Plus, you’re the one who took things that direction earlier. Your sense of honor is a little late.”

She had a point. I rolled my head from side to side, trying to lessen the tension gathering.

Meeting her eyes, I told the plain truth.

“Yes, I took things to another level earlier, and I won’t lie.

I want more, much more with you. I don’t want this to go further just because you’re feeling unsettled and reckless.

I know your brother is not your keeper. That said, I just got off the phone with him moments ago, so forgive me for having a conscience. ”

Mari stopped her pacing, turning and lasering me with her eyes. “What do you mean you want more?”

“I don’t know exactly. But I know I don’t want this to be a one and done kind of thing with you. I don’t think you’ll argue the point with me that there’s definitely chemistry between us.”

Mari was quiet, and I could hear her soft exhalation when she shook her head. I didn’t know what passed through her mind, but she finally shrugged. “Fine, I’m going to bed. Do you need a blanket on the couch?”

“No,” I said slowly, a shaft of regret piercing me. Although I was trying to be a gentleman, I didn’t like the idea of her being on the other side of the door in a bed with me out here alone.

I couldn’t say it was easy, but I managed to fall into a restless sleep on the couch. When a noise woke me, I rolled up instantly, my eyes scanning the shadowy apartment. The security keypad still showed the door was locked, and there was nothing amiss.

It was only when my phone vibrated again that I realized security was attempting to contact me. Lifting it, I tapped my phone screen quickly. “What’s up?”

“Mr. Reynolds, you asked us to notify you if there were any concerns tonight. We had someone attempt to gain entry to the building. They reported they were visiting the tenant across the hall from Miss Channing. We’re aware the tenant is out of town.”

“Now?” I asked. A glance at my phone screen let me know it was two a.m.

“Yes, sir. Obviously, we turned them away. To clarify, they didn’t even come in the entryway. They tried to buzz in from the outside.”

I was instantly alert, my body vibrating with tension. I didn’t want to be right with my potential suspicions about Brett getting tangled up with a loan shark. I kept those concerns to myself. “Thank you for the notice. Please contact me immediately if anything else comes up.”

Just as I was setting my phone back on the coffee table beside the couch, the door to Mari’s bedroom swung open. The lamp in the corner was on, casting her in shadow from behind.

“Is everything okay?” she asked, her voice raspy from sleep.

I silently cursed that she’d heard me take the call. “Everything’s fine.”

“Who’s calling you at this hour?”

“Mari—”

She stepped out of the bedroom. Unfortunately for me, I could see the swell of her breasts pressing against the cotton of her T-shirt.

“I doubt anyone would call you about business at this hour. What is it? Trying to hide things from me doesn’t help me stay calm,” she pressed.

I needed a serious distraction to keep me from standing from the couch, walking to her, and carting her into the bedroom. I thought perhaps being honest with her would do the trick.

“That was the lead security guy on duty tonight. I asked them to call if anything unusual blipped on the radar.”

Mari took another step into the living room, and I silently bit back a curse.

The light angling through the doorway of her bedroom cast her body in silhouette through her T-shirt.

It fell only halfway down her thighs, and it was all I could do not to wonder what she wore underneath.

I didn’t need my eyes to linger on the lush curves of her hips and the way her waist dipped in only to lift higher to her breasts. My cock was rock hard in a second.

Mari had insisted on getting me a blanket and pillow, so I’d shucked off my slacks and was only wearing my boxers and a T-shirt. I tucked the blanket over my waist.

“What were they calling about?” she prompted.

“Someone attempted to pay a visit to the apartment across the hallway from this one. They even gave the name of the tenant there. However, the tenant happens to be out of town.”

I heard the soft gasp escape from Mari’s lips and instantly regretted being that direct.

She closed the distance between us just as I started to stand. She sat down beside me, her hands clasped together over her knees. “Do they know who it was?”

My protective instincts kicked into high gear.

I slid an arm around her shoulders, hating how stiffly she held herself.

“They didn’t give their names, but our cameras will have everything.

I’m sure my security team is already running it through the database to identify who they were.

Your brother set up this whole system, or rather his company did.

There’s no way they’re going to get in this building.

They’re not going to break down your door, Mari.

They may not know I’m personally in here with you, but I’m sure they know the building is being monitored. ”

“Then, what were they doing?”

“These guys operate strategically. My guess is they were just trying to get a lay of the building. For all we know, Brett told them he’s staying with you.”

Although my brain, or rather my body, shouldn’t be reacting under the circumstances, having Mari close to me was sending little lightning strikes of lust through my body. I moved my hand up and down her back in slow passes, hoping to soothe her.

She let out another sigh. “I can’t believe this.”

When she turned to look at me, everything froze for a moment. My breath caught, and my heartbeat stuttered before lunging. I tried to remind myself I wanted to slow this down, somehow do this the right way. But I could barely hear my own thoughts over the rush of need pounding through me.

Mari, in nothing more than a thin T-shirt with her scent spinning around me like gossamer threads and catching me in its web, was too much for my rational, honorable mind. All I knew was I wanted her.

Her tongue darted out, sliding across her bottom lip. I thought she whispered my name, but I couldn’t be certain. The sound of her breath catching in her throat as she leaned toward me, pierced my hazy mind and electricity sizzled down my spine.

In a fiery second, she cupped my cheek and drew me to her mouth. Although I could’ve tried to convince myself she started it, that was an irrelevant detail. Because just as she arched up, I leaned down.

When our lips met, my body took that hit like a jolt straight into my veins. Mari was a drug for me. She was mine and mine alone, and I was already addicted.

Her lips were soft and warm when she teased her tongue against mine. I scrambled to grasp the reins of my control. I pulled back, just a whisper away from her.

“Are you sure this is what you want, Mari?” I asked in a gruff whisper.

It felt as if everything in me was leaning forward, just about to fall over the edge of a waterfall. The force of the current pushing me was almost impossible to withstand. I waited for her answer as her lashes swept up, and she caught my gaze.

“Absolutely.”

That single whispered word in Mari’s sexy, raspy voice, tipped me over the edge.

And then, we dove into our kiss together, a tangle of lips, teeth, and tongue. In a matter of seconds, I pulled Mari into my lap. She was a warm, silky soft bundle of curves, and I couldn’t get enough of her.

Tearing my mouth free from hers, I pressed wet, open kisses along her jaw, and caught her earlobe in my teeth. Satisfaction washed through me when she shivered, and her skin rose in goosebumps in the wake of my touch.

Mari’s hands gripped my shoulders, sliding down over my biceps before one palm hooked on the hem of my T-shirt and skimmed against my skin under the fabric.

I never even thought much about the subtle feel of a woman’s touch.

Her touch was like the sparks from flint striking against stone, every spark falling into the fire already threatening to engulf us both.

Meanwhile, I slid my palms up her sides, savoring her ragged gasp and the murmur of my name. I already knew what she felt like at her core, but I needed to touch her desperately. Pressing her thighs apart, I expected to encounter her silky panties.

I knew she wore silk. I lost my damn mind at the bar earlier tonight when I felt that wet silk between her legs.

Perhaps I’d simply tricked myself into thinking I saw the silhouette of her panties when she stood in the doorway only moments ago.

I was startled to find nothing but her bare, wet pussy.

“Fuck, Mari,” I murmured against her skin as I was tracing her collarbone with my tongue.

“What?” she asked on a gasp when her hips arched into my fingers.

“You’re so fucking wet.”

I drew my fingers out and lifted them. I needed to taste her essence.

Her eyes were on me, her lips parted when I sucked my fingers, savoring the sweet elixir of her desire. I roughly yanked her shirt up and over her head. I needed to feel her against me.

“You have too many clothes on,” Mari murmured, her tone bossy.

“We can remedy that right quick.”

Shifting, I hooked my hand on the back of my T-shirt behind my neck and tossed it aside.

Mari shimmied back onto my lap, yanking my boxers down just enough for my cock to spring free.

Her palm curled around it, lightly gripping at the base before sliding up.

Her eyes locked to mine as she swiped the drop of pre-cum rolling out the tip with her thumb before she licked it clean.

It was a fucking miracle I could think at all. Through the haze of raw need driving me, I reached for my jeans, where I’d draped them over the edge of the sofa. I yanked out my wallet and a condom so fast that everything else in it fell across the floor.

“Hurry,” Mari demanded as she rocked her hips, her slick folds sliding over the underside of my cock.

I rolled the condom on ruthlessly fast. In another second, I was gripping Mari’s hips when she rose up. Reaching between us to position my cock at her entrance, my fingers pressed into the soft give of her flesh as I held her still. “I want to feel every inch,” I murmured.

In return, Mari let out a low cry as I slowly breached her entrance. It took every ounce of discipline I had not to slam into her, but I wanted it slow.

Her core sheathed my cock slowly in a tight, silky clench. She finally settled down over me, wiggling her hips slightly and almost pushing me over the edge, an edge which I was barely clinging to with my fingertips.

She let out a satisfied little hum. “Oh, Nash,” she murmured. “I needed this. I needed you.”

My heart tumbled in my chest. I didn’t quite know what to do with the sense of raw, pure satisfaction that gripped me at hearing her say aloud that she needed me.