“Um, I think I’ll go upstairs to my office. You know, take care of a few things. I’m sure you two would like some privacy.” Gray left the room as fast as his Italian loafers would carry him.
Great, I’ll never be able to look him in the eyes again. Every time he goes in his kitchen, he’s going to imagine me ripping his brother’s clothes off against his granite countertops.
Suzy pointed her to the couch in the living room before she walked into the kitchen. Moments later, she returned with a bottle of wine, orange juice, and two glasses. She motioned for Beth to be quiet until she had filled her glass to the rim and then proceeded to drain half of it. Taking a deep breath, she said, “All right, start at the beginning and feel free to gloss over any parts that you know will make me want to puke.”
Beth picked up the glass of juice that Suzy had poured for her and took a sip while trying to decide where to begin. Well, heck, if she wanted the whole story, then that was what she would get.
Chapter Two
Six Months Earlier
Beth stood in the waiting room of the hospital with Claire and Jason. Her sister had been injured in an accident and Beth was waiting to see her. She was talking to Claire when a drop-dead gorgeous man strolled through the emergency room doors. Immediately the eyes of every woman—hers included—were riveted to him, or more specifically, to his butt. She was surprised when Jason said, “Hey, Nick, over here, man.”
Mr. Hunk flashed a blinding smile that would do Colgate proud and swaggered over to where they were standing. He shook hands with Jason and then pulled Claire in for a hug. When those blue eyes landed on her, she had the urge to step behind the ficus tree beside her and try to blend into the scenery.
Jason stepped forward to make the introductions. “Beth, have you met Gray’s brother, Nick?”
“Um, no, I haven’t.” She cringed as Nick extended his hand. He was so attractive she was almost hesitant to touch the man. Reluctantly, she placed her hand in his and was surprised to feel a bolt of heat race through her. She instinctively pulled her hand back quickly, making his eyebrows arch in question at her.
“Nice to meet you, Beth. I’ve heard only good things about your sister.” She could feel her cheeks blushing furiously as he continued to study her.
Unable to bear his scrutiny another moment, Beth mumbled, “I’m going to see if they will let me back there to see her yet.”
“Good idea, I’ll walk with you,” Nick offered.
Well, damn, that didn’t work out at all. Not only am I still stuck with him, he’s right on my heels where he can’t help but see every lump in my oversized butt. Mr. Perfect probably hasn’t seen this much wiggle since his last bowl of Jell-O. She walked to the nurses’ station and was told that Suzy had been moved to a room. She had hoped Nick would at least wait in the waiting room or the hallway, but no such luck; he was practically stuck to her back as she opened the door to her sister’s room.
Another hot specimen of manhood was sitting at Suzy’s bedside holding her hand. This must be Gray. Why in the world was Suzy trying to get rid of him? The man was hot with a capital H! This whole situation was becoming something of a nightmare for Beth. She had never felt that comfortable around the opposite sex, even though she was working on that particular issue, but to be in such a small room with not one, but two of the hottest guys she had ever met, well, it felt like pure hell. She resisted the urge to start tugging at the long dress she wore. Was it riding up? Did her back look fat? Did she have granny-panty lines? The list of insecurities seemed to go on and on. These were men who would have you panting one second, and then praying to God that they would never see you naked the next.
Gray smiled at her and stepped forward to introduce himself. Yes, of course his dental work was just as exceptional as his brother’s. What had she expected really, buckteeth? She was extremely grateful when he stepped outside the room with his brother and left her alone with Suzy. I can really see why you would want to get away from that, sis. I mean, the man is just gross. His hair is too perfect and that body, I just hate it when men don’t let themselves go. Where are his love handles? His five-hundred-dollar cologne is sickeningly seductive and that butt, ugh, please. Run while you can, the man is a toad.
Gray walked back into the room at that moment and she was relieved to see that Nick wasn’t with him. After she made arrangements with Gray to come back the following morning, he insisted on walking her out to her car. Ugh, was she going to spend the rest of the evening with the Merimons trailing her down a hallway? When they reached her little red VW Bug, she found herself asking him about Nick. She wanted to clamp her hand over her mouth as soon as his name came out and she could see the surprise and possibly concern in Gray’s eyes. When he told her that Nick was also going to be moving to Myrtle Beach, she felt her heart skip a beat. What was wrong with her? He was way out of her league. Maybe it was just wishful lusting.
After Suzy was released from the hospital, Beth was a frequent visitor to Gray’s home where Suzy was to stay while she recovered. Suzy had a broken ankle and, since both Suzy and Beth lived on the upper floors of their buildings, Gray had insisted they stay with him. He wanted to keep Suzy close so he could monitor her recovery, and he invited Beth to make herself at home there as well, so she could help keep an eye on Suzy. At Gray’s beautiful beachfront home, she ran into Nick daily and he always had some remark to make. He had taken to calling her “princess” and she felt sure that he was only doing it to mock her. No matter how she snapped at him, it never seemed to hit the mark. He just laughed it off and an hour later he was back to picking on her again. She alternated between drooling over his hard body and wanting to strangle him with the kitchen towel.
Was she imagining the sexual tension that seemed to vibrate between them? Surely, it was only on her part. It had been a long time since she had been with anyone that didn’t require batteries. Maybe it was time to go home, pop open the toy drawer, and release some tension.
Who would ever believe that the poor spinster sister would have one toy, much less a couple? Suzy would fall over in a dead faint if she found out. Not that Beth had any intention of ever talking about sexy toys with her sister. Of course, Suzy would probably be proud of her and present her with a coupon from somewhere like Vibrators-R-Us. Just because she wasn’t having sex didn’t mean she wouldn’t like to. Weren’t women supposed to be in their sexual prime around thirty? If that were true, it might be time to stock a case of Duracells for these hard times.
Before Beth really understood what was happening between them, she had suddenly started changing the way she dressed. She couldn’t bear for Nick to see her in her frumpy wear. She tried to tell herself it was just so she wouldn’t embarrass Suzy at the office, but a part of her knew it was so that Nick would look at her with something other than laughter for once.
One evening they had decided to have a barbecue at the beach house and invite their friends from Danvers. Claire, Jason, Ella, and Declan Stone, the new guy to their group, all attended that night. She had sat beside Nick at the patio table while they had dinner. She was wearing a sundress, a sexy red thong, and a matching bra that she had purchased at Victoria’s Secret that day on a whim. She had to admit that she was feeling just a little naughty with such sexy undergarments. She was usually more of a Sears catalogue type of gal. Nick was wearing a pair of cargo shorts, so every time either of them shifted, their bare legs came into contact. After a while, she was starting to wonder if Nick was making sure that happened a lot more often than it should have.
By the time everyone left for the evening, she was feeling pretty hot and bothered. Had Nick missed a single opportunity to touch her during dinner? No doubt he thought it was pretty funny. Let’s feel the fat girl up and give her the thrill of her life. Sadly, it probably was one of Beth’s bigger thrills, at least in recent history. She was more than a little pissed at him when she stomped into the kitchen with the last of the dinner plates. When she saw him leaning against the counter drinking a beer, she wanted to stomp her feet and throw an honest-to-goodness tantrum. Couldn’t she go anywhere that he wasn’t in her face?
Nick’s mouth curved into a slow grin as he looked at her. “Hey, princess, need some help with that?”
“No, I’ve got it,” Beth snapped. She walked over, dropped the dishes loudly onto the counter beside the dishwasher, and started stacking them inside.
“What’s the problem, princess?”
Beth slammed the last plate in the dishwasher and whirled around to confront him. He looked wary as she opened her mouth to blast him. To both of their surprise, instead of the tirade she had planned, she grabbed the front of his shirt and pulled him down to her while she raised herself on her toes. Just before she locked her mouth onto his, he whispered, “Princess?”
Nick put down his beer with a sexy groan and wrapped his arms around her. Suddenly, his mouth took control of the kiss and his tongue entered her mouth as if he wanted to possess her. She moaned low in her throat, as he grabbed her butt cheeks to pull her closer. She had no idea how long they stood there, but she did know that she had never been kissed as Nick was kissing her. He sucked on her tongue, as if he couldn’t get enough. Every stroke, every sip only made her burn hotter. He rocked his hips against hers in tempo with his tongue tangling with hers. Beth could feel him hard against her stomach and she wantonly rubbed against his length and felt a heady sense of power when he rumbled deep in his throat.
Abruptly, he lifted his head and pulled away from her, staggering backward as if drunk. He leaned against the counter, running a shaky hand through his hair. “Ah, hell, we can’t do this, princess. Your sister and my brother will kill me. My God, you taste so good though. Shit!”
Beth looked at him and for once decided to break all the rules. Tonight she wouldn’t be denied—the good girl was going bad and it was time for Nick to live up to his reputation. She smiled and gave him a predatory look as she stalked forward. His eyes were riveted to hers as she reached for the hem of his button-down shirt. With a mighty yank, buttons flew all over the kitchen and Nick’s mouthwatering chest was laid naked before her hungry eyes. That wouldn’t have been nearly as hot if those buttons hadn’t given way. Thank God for poor sewing!
Nick’s eyes were nearly bugging out of the sockets by this point. “Fuck, Beth; screw it! I tried to be good, but I have got to have you now—I can’t stop again.”
With those words, Nick reached down and grabbed the bottom of her dress, pulling it up and over her head in one smooth move. She stood before him in her sandals, thong, and demi-bra. She had never been so thankful for a good set of underwear. “My God, princess, you’re beautiful. You have been driving me out of my mind and that was before I knew what was under your clothes.”
A sense of urgency took over and Beth knew this wouldn’t be a slow lovemaking. This was going to be hot, sweaty sex and that was just the way she wanted it. Nick reached out and palmed her breasts through her bra, quickly working the nipples to stiff peaks before sliding his hand down her stomach and cupping her sex in his hand. She knew he could feel the moisture through the thin silk material as he rubbed her into a frenzy.
In a move that would have put a stripper to shame, he had her bra and panties off as well his remaining clothes. She grimaced as he swung her effortlessly up and sat her on the counter. “Condom, we need a condom,” he managed to gasp out.
“No, I’m on the pill, we’re fine,” Beth moaned, impatient now for his possession. Nick looked like he had just received his birthday present early as he gave her that sexy grin. She reached forward to take his impressive length into her hand. She circled her finger around his tip, rubbing in the moisture that was gathering there.
Nick groaned. “Princess, you better let that go if you want this to last more than a minute.” He gently removed her hands from his cock and pushed her back until she was lying on the counter with her hips almost hanging off the edge.
She felt his tip nudging against her slick entrance and shivers raced up and down her body. My God, I’m really doing this. I’m going to have sex with Nick Freaking Merimon right now and I could come just thinking about it.
Nick remained poised at her entrance, seeming transfixed by the sight of the bodies touching so intimately. His breathing was ragged as he trailed an unsteady hand down her neck and then circled each nipple. He then moved his caresses lower and lightly brushed against her damp curls, seeking the place where his cock rested against her slick opening. “God, you’re so beautiful and you look like pure sex lying open to me like this.”
When his finger slid over her clit, Beth almost came up off the counter. She wrapped her legs around his hips, trying to pull him forward into the place inside her that was desperate for his possession.