A Taste Of Sin Read online

  But as the year went on, her nightmares were replaced by vivid fantasies until she could barely keep her focus on their work. She fought to keep her crush hidden as thoughts of him touching and kissing her naked body threatened to drive every coherent thought from her head.

  But Nick had been either unaware of, or unwilling to act on, her attraction to him. Which, in hindsight, had definitely been for the best.

  Although at the time her fifteen-year-old self had been ready to throw herself off a building from his apparent indifference.

  Despite the sudden appearance of ripe, womanly curves the summer just before her fifteenth birthday, Kelly had still been way too young for a guy like Nick to be fooling around with. Because even at age eighteen, not even out of high school yet, Nick had been a man, with a man's passion, a man's desires, not to mention a man's body.

  Now, however, at twenty-six, Kelly wasn't an inexperienced virgin anymore. But she still couldn't help but wonder if she was finally ready to handle a man like Nick.

  She scanned the room, letting her gaze fall on the Donovans’ table. And was gratified to see Nick staring at her with his penetrating amber gaze. She smiled at him, oddly delighted when he looked away as though embarrassed.

  Kelly hummed as she polished a glass. Her heart skipped a beat when, fifteen minutes later, she spotted Nick striding up to the bar, his hot amber gaze fixed on her. The thudding of her heart was matched by hot pulsing between her legs, and Kelly clenched her thighs together, as though somehow Nick might realize that under her jeans she was soaked just from looking at him.

  She pasted a smile on her face and did her best to act nonchalant.

  "Do you guys need a refill? I can send Maggie over."

  Nick smiled, a flash of perfect white teeth against his olive skin. "Nah, I need to close out our tab. We have an early start tomorrow."

  She did her best to hide her disappointment, quickly tabulating their check and exchanging it for a handful of bills. Her hand shook a little as she handed him his change, and she spilled a handful of coins on the bar. Klutz, she silently berated herself.

  Laughing nervously, she bent her head and snatched up the coins.

  Thick locks of hair fell forward into her face, and when she lifted her head, she saw Nick through a veil of near-black waves. He reached out and tucked her hair behind her ears, and she nearly gasped as the callused tips of his fingers brushed the skin of her cheeks. The heat between her thighs intensified, and she suddenly worried that Nick could see her nipples, straining eagerly against the soft knit of her sweater.

  But when she looked up at him he was staring directly into her face, taking in her flushed skin, seeming to focus on her mouth. Nervously she licked her lips and for a moment, she could have sworn he leaned in, licking his own lips, as though preparing to kiss her.

  Instead he straightened abruptly, gave her a slightly strained smile, and thanked her. He tossed a few bills on the bar for a tip before leaving with Mike and Tony.

  Kelly tried to convince herself she wasn't disappointed. Yeah, right. Stupid to even let herself get all fired up. Guys like Nick didn’t go for brainy nerds like Kelly, and it was a testament to how long she’d gone without sex that she could be so aroused by a friendly smile and a touch of his fingers.

  Maggie, who had worked at Sullivan's for as long as Kelly could remember, must have noticed the lust in Kelly's gaze. "They are delicious, aren't they?" Maggie chuckled her raspy two-pack-a-day laugh.

  Kelly turned a frown on Maggie. "I'm not — “ If Maggie, a notorious gossip, thought there was anything going on between Kelly and Nick, it would be spread across town and all the way over into Nevada before morning.

  Maggie waved away Kelly's lame protest. "A shame what that girl did to Nick, though."

  Kelly bit her lip, not wanting to encourage Maggie but unable to resist taking the bait. "What girl?"

  "Some girl from Stanford. A real piece of work. Came up here to study trees or some bullshit, acted like she was too good for us hicks who live here year-round. But she took a liking to Nicky, I'll tell you that, and he seemed pretty taken with her too."

  "Are they still together?" Kelly tried to keep her tone lightly curious but couldn't stop the knot of jealousy from forming in her stomach.

  "No, the bitch left him this spring."

  Kelly blew out a sigh of relief, which gave her pause. Why should I care if Nick is single, she scolded herself. She didn't stop to dwell on it as soon as she heard Maggie's next words.

  "That girl thought she was too good for this town, too good for Nick."

  "Too good for Nick? Nick's one of the best people I've ever known," Kelly blurted, too angry on Nick's behalf to be embarrassed about putting her heart on her sleeve.

  "You're telling me, Kel," Maggie said, busying herself filling four pints of Guinness. "But you know, some people are suited for small town life with a guy like Nick —“ she paused and looked meaningfully at Kelly — “and some people aren't."

  Kelly thought about her conversation with Maggie later that night as she watched the late show and tried to get tired enough to go to sleep. She couldn't imagine a woman ever dumping Nick once she had him.

  As far as she could remember, most girls, once they had their hands on him, dug their claws in deep in an attempt to keep him around.

  Nick, he was a slippery one. He always managed to break free.

  Maggie was right about one thing. Some people, like Kelly, weren’t suited for life in this little mountain town with a guy like Nick. Not permanently, anyway.

  At a very young age, it had become apparent that Kelly was, in a word, different. And when she read her parents' complete set of Encyclopedia Britannica by the age of five, it was clear they were going to have to do something with Kelly to keep that overactive brain of hers from getting her into trouble.

  Since their school system didn't have a well-defined “gifted" program, her parents had decided to have Kelly skip several grades. It might have been the best choice for her brain, but it was the worst possible option for the future of Kelly's social life.

  Not only did she screw up the curve in all of her classes, but her classmates were busy dating and studying for their driving tests while Kelly was still asking Santa for Barbie's Dream House for Christmas.

  Worse, her family hadn't known quite what to do with her. Her sister resented being known as "the geek freak"'s sister and to this day had a major chip on her shoulder about what she considered Kelly’s special treatment during their childhood. Even her parents seemed a little freaked out that two people of average intelligence could produce such a freakish level of genius. The one saving grace during her childhood was when Kelly's dad had let her work at Sullivan's.

  Technically she shouldn't have been serving beer at such a young age, but since her dad was a friend, the sheriff looked the other way. The patrons were amused and charmed by her, and Kelly had found friends, of sorts, and much-needed acceptance in some of the regulars.

  But none of that mattered now. She was living in Donner Lake only for a few weeks and, in many ways, it was a relief after so many intense years of work and study. She had no doubt she'd be stir crazy and ready to get the hell out by the time she had to leave, but for now it was nice to come back to a place where people didn't worry much beyond the high school football team and whether this ski season would bring decent tourist traffic downtown.

  For the time being, she was free from egotistical doctors, cranky nurses, and patients whose lives depended on her skills as an emergency room physician.

  Her thoughts went back to Nick and the way he had touched her hair earlier tonight. Had he really been thinking about kissing her? Just the thought of Nick's lips moving over hers was enough to make her thighs

  clench. If only she'd had the nerve to grab him by the back of the neck and lay one on him.

  She groaned and laid her head against the back of the couch. God, it had been so long since she'd had sex. And even then, she'd practical
ly had to write Jared step-by-step instructions.

  Which went to show that, for a man, locating the clitoris is only half the battle.

  No doubt Nick would know exactly what to do.

  Which got her thinking.

  In high school, she'd never had a chance with Nick. But now she was older, she was available, and she was in town only for a brief time.

  According to Maggie, Nick wasn't looking for a commitment, and neither was Kelly. But with their parents such close friends, they'd have to be very careful to keep it quiet.

  It might mean making the first move, which definitely wasn't her style. Then again, what did she have to lose? She was leaving in a few weeks anyway. The worst thing that could happen was he'd reject her.

  Which, she conceded, would really, really suck. For more than ten years, Nick, in some version (Viking, Scottish Warrior, hunky EMT) had popped in and out of her fantasies, and he never said "no, thanks." Was her ego prepared for his rejection?

  Stop being such a wimp! You always wait for guys to make the first move, and what has it gotten you?

  Mediocre sex with men who would never measure up to her fantasies of Nick. Pun intended.

  Was she really going to let her ego ruin the one chance she had at making those fantasies come true?

  Chapter Two

  No way was Nick getting within touching distance of Kelly Sullivan.

  That's what he told himself early Thursday morning when his alarm woke him at 6:15. He sported a particularly intense case of morning wood, thanks to a vividly erotic dream. Just like last night, he'd arrived at Sullivan's to find Kelly working behind the bar. But instead of the jeans she'd worn last night, Dream Kelly was wearing a skirt. And when she bent over to reach for clean glasses, her naked ass had peeked out from under the hem.

  In his dream, Nick had magically transported himself over the bar. His clothes conveniently disappeared as, without preamble, he pushed her skirt up to her waist and shoved his cock deep inside her wet¸ clenching heat.

  It was so real, so vivid, he could smell her skin, the scent of her arousal, feel her soft ass cheeks rubbing against his abs with every thrust.

  But her screams of pleasure grew ever more shrill and unpleasant.

  That's when Nick realized that the noise in his head wasn't Kelly’s orgasmic cries, but rather the insistent BEEP BEEP BEEP of his alarm clock.

  Sighing, he stepped under the scalding shower spray and quickly jerked himself off, closing his eyes and savoring the lingering images of his dream.

  But dream or no, as far as he was concerned Kelly might as well come complete with a bright orange KEEP OUT sign.

  So why, he asked himself later that evening, was he back at Sullivan's? He never came to Sullivan's on a Thursday. And yet here he was.

  Kelly's dad, Ryan, was seated at a table near the bar, an aluminum cane perched conveniently nearby. He greeted Nick with a hearty wave and a broad smile on his ruddy face. His thick, dark hair was liberally peppered with gray, but it was easy to see where Kelly had gotten her Black Irish good looks.

  "Nicky!" Ryan called. "Sit your ass down here and have a beer with me."

  "You seem to be making a rapid recovery," Nick observed as he settled himself into a scuffed wooden chair.

  "Oh, I'm doing pretty good. Kelly didn't want me to come out tonight, but Jesus, I'm getting stir crazy. For the past week I've seen nothing but the inside of my condo and the physical therapist's office."

  Nick nodded sympathetically. Suddenly the short hairs at the back of his neck prickled. He turned his head, and sure enough, there was Kelly, balancing a tray of drinks on her shoulder. And, God help him, she was wearing a skirt.

  Her face lit up in a wide smile when she spotted him. "Hey, Nick. I'll be over in just a second to take care of you."

  Oh yeah, she could take care of him all right. Nick did his best to banish lustful thoughts of Kelly, at least for the moment. It seemed bad form to be thinking filthy thoughts about a woman when you were sitting with her father.

  Within minutes, she reappeared. Tonight she was wearing a Sullivan's T-shirt tucked into her denim miniskirt. Seated, Nick was nearly eye level with the full globes of her tits, straining against the soft cotton fabric.

  "What can I do for you, Nick?" Her voice was low and slightly raspy.

  "Now there's a question," he teased, instinctively flirting.

  Roses bloomed on Kelly's cheeks, and her eyes traveled deliberately down his torso before coming to rest briefly on the bulge pressing against the fly of his jeans.

  His balls tightened as he felt that look like a caress. There was no mistaking it, Kelly was as aware of him as he was of her. Last night, when he'd touched her cheek, a lightning bolt had jolted straight from his fingertips to his dick. He'd heard Kelly's gasp, seen her eyes dilate, her lips part. Trying to convince himself that he'd imagined her reaction, he'd beat a hasty retreat before he'd done something really stupid like haul her over the bar and stick his tongue down her throat.

  As for his own gut-deep response"he put that down to the fact that he hadn't had sex since he'd come home to Ann's suitcase and her announcement that she was heading back to San Francisco.

  Never mind the fact that he'd never gotten a hard-on simply by touching a woman's cheek. It was high school all over again, when just the barest brush of Kelly's arm against his had sent him into a death spiral of lust.

  "How about a pint of Harp's and a basket of wings."

  "Extra hot?" Kelly asked.

  Nick licked his lips. "Absolutely."

  Fortunately, Ryan didn't seem to notice the sexual tension that fairly vibrated between Nick and his daughter.

  Kelly quickly returned with his beer, her breasts brushing lightly against his shoulder as she leaned over to place his drink. Even through the cotton of her T-shirt and the fabric of his shirt, he could feel the heat of her skin.

  Forcing himself to focus on something other than the thought of Kelly's hot, bare skin against his, he turned his attention on Ryan.

  "You're a lucky man to have Kelly taking care of you."

  "Oh, she's not taking care of me — that’s what I pay for over at the Oaks." Ryan had moved into a condo in a nearby retirement community shortly after his wife's death. "After taking care of Connie"God rest her soul"I made sure I'd never put that burden on the girls." He smiled somewhat sadly up at Kelly, who moved behind him and rested her hands on his shoulders.

  "Nope, Dad needs me here to take care of Sullivan's until he’s getting around better. Maggie could probably do it," Kelly said, giving her father a little squeeze. "But you know what he says, ‘As long as this place is called Sullivan’s—‘"

  "There'd better be a Sullivan in charge," both Ryan and Nick finished for her.

  Kelly took a few more orders, and then returned with his wings.

  "Take a load off, honey," Ryan said.

  Nick obligingly snagged a chair and pulled it up for Kelly to sit and then tucked into his wings. He would leave as soon as he was finished. No use in torturing himself sniffing around Kelly when there was nothing he could do about it.

  But instead he found himself drawn into conversation with Kelly and Ryan, talking about everything —baseball, the ridiculous amount of building going on in the area, the challenges of ER medicine, even politics.

  Kelly got up to get refills and take orders, and customers interrupted them to welcome Ryan back. The next thing he knew, it was after ten and Ryan was practically dozing in his chair.

  "Come on, Dad," Kelly said, giving him a little nudge. “Maggie, can you cover for fifteen minutes while I run Dad home?"

  "Honey, don't bother coming back. There's no one here, and I can close up tonight," Maggie called back.

  Kelly thanked her and helped Ryan stay steady as he pulled himself up, then left to pull the car around.

  Nick stood up too. "I better get going." He started to pull out a twenty but was halted by Ryan's grumble.

  "On me tonight, Nicky. T
hanks for keeping me company."

  Nick nodded in thanks. "Need any help, Ryan?"

  Ryan waved him off. "Nah. I need to learn to get around by myself if I ever want to get back full time."

  Nick followed the older man just in case.

  "Shit!" Kelly's curse echoed across the parking lot, accompanied by the slam of a car door.

  "Watch your language, young lady," Ryan yelled. "You're not too old for me to feed you soap."

  Nick couldn't help laughing. He'd forgotten that Kelly could swear like a trucker if the mood hit her.

  "Sorry, Dad," she replied in the least apologetic tone Nick had ever heard.

  "What's the matter?"

  She blew a stray strand of hair out of her face in an exasperated sigh. "My car won't start."

  "Pop the hood. I'll take a look."

  "Umm, I doubt it's anything you can fix," Kelly muttered. It was hard to tell in the dimly lit lot, but he swore she blushed. "I, um, ran out of gas." She looked at her watch, swore again. "And the gas station's already closed."

  Nick threw back his head and laughed. "I can't believe you. IQ of over two hundred and you still can't remember to fill your tank."

  "I had other things on my mind." She shoved her hands in the pockets of her skirt. "No big deal. I'll borrow Maggie's car and take care of it in the morning.” She started back to the bar, but Nick grabbed her elbow. "Let me give you a ride."

  She couldn't hide the relief in her face. "Are you sure? It’s really not a problem to borrow Maggie's car and just get a ride home after we close."

  Nick smiled, squeezing her upper arm reassuringly. His thumb traced little circles against the skin of the inner curve of her elbow.

  Was she this soft everywhere? He swallowed heavily and released her arm.

  "Kelly, it's five minutes out of my way."

  Apparently satisfied that she wasn't inconveniencing him, Kelly went back to wait with her father as Nick pulled his extended cab Dodge around.