A Taste Of Sin Page 10

  He hugged her against him, which only made her want to cry more. "Kelly, honey, why are you crying? Did I hurt you?"

  She shook her head mutely against his chest, wanting to cling to him, to let him hold her and comfort her and take care of her. But she was terrified that if she did, she was going to do something really embarrassing, like admit she was in love with him.

  "I'm sorry about what happened," he was saying. "It's like I go kind of crazy when I get around you."

  She sniffled and pushed away. "You didn't hurt me," she said, wiping her nose on her sleeve. "I'm sorry I freaked out. I've been stressed lately, and like I said, I have to get up really early tomorrow."

  "Why?"

  "I have an interview, at Stanford. And I really need to prepare, so..."

  But instead of taking her hint, he made himself comfortable on her couch. "You're leaving, then?"

  "As soon as I line up a new position, yes."

  He leaned back against the cushions, his broad shoulders spanning nearly half of the couch. "Then I don't see why we can't keep seeing each other until you leave." His tone was casual, but his gaze was intense.

  Kelly twisted her fingers in the hem of her shirt, wanting to scream in frustration at his thick-headedness. He should be grateful that she was cutting him loose without any complications, for Christ's sake!

  "If you're worried about a steady lay, I'm sure you won't have any trouble."

  "I'm sure I won't," he said quietly.

  Even though she knew she was expendable, that still stung.

  "But like I said earlier, I don't want anyone else. And you seemed to enjoy it too up until recently. I don't get what changed."

  He was up on his feet, moving toward her again, and Kelly fought the urge to run and lock herself in the bathroom. "I can't do this anymore. You're too much of a distraction for me, and I need to figure out what I'll be doing after I leave."

  "Like move to Palo Alto?"

  "Right. There's a staff position in their ER, and I'm a strong candidate."

  "I don't see why you can't figure it out while still seeing me. I don't take up that much of your time."

  "Look, I know you probably don't get rejected much, Nick, so I’ll try to use small words so you can understand. I. Do. Not. Want. To. See. You. Anymore."

  "See, I could believe you if I hadn't made you come twice in the last hour."

  "You're an asshole," she said, shoving him hard against his chest.

  "And you're lying." He grabbed her by the shoulders, but gently.

  His grip held none of the brute force that he'd exhibited earlier. The brute force that, though she hated to admit it, had excited her down to the tips of her red-painted toes.

  His thumbs dipped beneath the crewneck of her T-shirt, sweeping against her collarbone in slow, seductive strokes. "Why can't you just accept the truth and leave me alone, Nick?" Her protest sounded feeble even to her own ears.

  "Because I don't think that is the truth, Kelly." His hands slid down her arms to toy with her fingers that were clenched in tight fists at her sides. "The truth is that you still want me, but you're afraid of something and you're running away."

  Something inside of her snapped. He wanted the truth? Fine, she’d give him the truth. The one thing guaranteed to send him running so fast he'd leave skid marks on her carpet.

  "Fine. You win," she said. "I'm lying when I say I don't want to see you." She pulled her hands away from his, needing to put distance between them before she completely lost it. "The problem is that I’m falling in love with you, Nick. I thought I could do this, thought I could have fun, sleep with you, see what all the fuss was about." She laughed weakly. "But every time I'm with you, it just gets harder and harder to pretend it doesn't mean anything."

  The words hung in the air and Kelly collapsed on the couch, deflated. She felt the cushions shift next to her. To her surprise, instead of running, Nick settled in beside her and gathered her tense form against his chest.

  Why wouldn't he just leave? Typical Nick, she thought, always the nice guy, even when she wished, for once, he would just be a jerk and leave her to wallow.

  She felt his arms close around her, felt the press of his lips against the crown of her head. She wrapped her arms around herself, cringing away as she felt her nose and eyes fill up again. She couldn’t take comfort from him, not now.

  Nick let the wave of joy wash through him as he wrapped his arms around her resisting body. He buried his nose in her dark hair, inhaling deeply, unable to speak for several moments. "Kelly, look at me," he whispered.

  She shook her head, and Nick slid one hand to her jaw and forced the issue. Her blue eyes were red rimmed and puffy, her nose was bright red against her otherwise pale face, and her mouth had that soft blurred look that came from a hard crying jag.

  "You are one of the most beautiful, amazing women I've ever known," he said, struggling to keep his voice from shaking. He'd never been exceptionally emotional, but right now he was afraid he'd start bawling like a chick.

  Kelly loved him. Holy shit! Kelly Sullivan loved a stupid idiot goon like him. He better not fuck it up.

  “But—" she said weakly, sniffling and blinking back tears.

  He smiled, his own eyes stinging. "No ‘but.'" He kissed her cheeks, her swollen damp eyes, her red nose. “I just never believed that a woman as great as you could ever love me back."

  "What?" Her head snapped back, dislodging his hands from her face.

  She grabbed them hard in her chilled fingers.

  "I love you, Kelly." This time he kissed her mouth, tasted the soft sob that escaped her chest. "But I didn't want to move too fast because I was afraid."

  "Afraid of what?"

  "I convinced myself that I could never be the right guy for you. I'm nothing like the braniacs you're used to, and I was afraid after the sex got old, you'd get bored."

  She moaned and pulled him fiercely against her as though afraid he was going to slip away. "I think I've always been in love with you, Nick," she whispered. Her soft hands framed his cheeks. "I thought I could just be casual, but being with you—" She kissed him again, her tongue sliding against his, seeking out his taste. "No one's ever made me feel the way you do."

  "How is that?" He pulled her hair from its elastic band and watched it fall around her shoulders.

  "Safe. Cared for," she said, burrowing against his body as she slid one hand up the back of his shirt. "Like there's more to me than just a big brain." She paused to kiss his neck.

  "That's not the only big part of you." Nick gazed meaningfully at her chest.

  She laughed and swatted him on the shoulder, then hugged him hard. She sighed. "That's what I mean. You make me feel normal. And happy. And sexy," she purred, nestling those magnificent breasts against him.

  He carried her to the bedroom and spent the next hour showing her just how sexy he found her.

  "I'm sorry I doubted us," he said later as they lay in the dark. Their legs twined together beneath the sheets, Kelly's smooth thigh pressed against his groin.

  "What do you mean?"

  "I realized a week ago that I loved you, but I didn't want to say anything, because I didn't think there was any hope you'd feel the same way." He shifted and threaded his fingers through her hair.

  "You thought I would be like Ann," she said simply.

  Nick smiled in the darkness. That's what he liked about smart girls. They caught on real fast. "It took me awhile to get over myself, to get past my insecurities that she helped reinforce. But I know you’re not like her. This is your hometown, and you're not the type to put yourself above your roots."

  "No, but I don't really fit in here," she said uncertainly. “And I'm not sure what that means for us."

  He smoothed the tension from her back with the flat of his palm. "You fit in here fine, you just don't see it." He sensed her frown. “But even if you don't want to stay here, we'll figure a way to make it work."

  "How can you be so sure?"

/>   "Because I know we'll both do whatever it takes."

  Epilogue

  The smell of fried fish hung heavily in the air. Sullivan's was packed with the usual Wednesday night crowd. Nick took a swig of his Harp's and tucked Kelly's hand in his, pausing to run his thumb over the two-carat solitaire he'd recently placed there. She squeezed his hand but didn't turn to him since his mom was sitting next to her and talking her ear off.

  "I can't believe you're really moving, man." Mike shook his head.

  "First Jake, now you. What the hell is happening to us?"

  Nick couldn't believe it himself. After living in this town for his entire life, it was hard to imagine living anywhere else. This would be his last Wednesday at Sully's for a good, long time.

  But Kelly was at Stanford Hospital, and Nick was sick of the long-distance thing they'd been doing for the past few months. Besides, he was going to take a few business classes while he looked for work, and depending on how that went, he might enroll full time in the fall. As happy as he'd been here, he hadn't realized how much he'd limited himself before he was with Kelly. He'd miss his home, miss his family, but at the same time he felt like a whole new world had opened up to him.

  He and his brothers had talked about eventually opening an office of Donovan Brothers in the Bay Area, and he and Kelly hadn't ruled out moving back here when they had kids.

  "It's only four hours away," he heard Kelly say to his mother. He shook his head. As far as his mother was concerned, her baby boy was leaving and never coming back, and no reassurances could soothe her.

  "At least she hasn't decided to blame Kelly for stealing you away," Tony said.

  "She knows better than to alienate her this soon," his dad chuckled. "Besides, she's thrilled you're getting married."

  Mike and Tony both squirmed in their seats. They knew that with both Nick and Jake engaged, their mother would redouble her efforts to marry them off.

  "Lucky for us, you ran off with the best this town has to offer,” Mike said, winking at Kelly across the table.

  "You never know who's gonna walk through that door," Nick said.

  "Mark my words, you two are next."

  About the Author

  Jami Alden is an award winning author of sexy contemporary romance and gritty romantic suspense. Her book BEG FOR MERCY was awarded the Romantic Times Reviewer's Choice Award for Best Romantic Suspense, and her contemporary ebook original, PRIVATE PLEASURES, was a top 10 bestseller on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and iBooks.Jami's books which feature smart, driven women and hot alpha heroes are known for being sexy, intense, and full of emotion.

  Jami lives in the San Francisco area with her husband and 2 sons. When she's not writing, she enjoys running, reading, cooking, and watching a brain numbing quantity of food network programming.

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