From This Moment On (The Sullivans #2)(21)

He was the perfect, protective older brother. Nicola could feel herself melting more with every word out of his mouth. Because even though she should be making sure her guard was all the way up, seeing how concerned he was about his sister got to her in a serious way.

When he came back over, running his hand through his hair, she had to ask, “Is everything okay?”

He shook his head. “I don’t know. She says I worry too much about her, but I can’t help it.”

Certain that she was bound to do something really stupid if she hung around him any longer, Nicola said, “I’m not hungry, so I’ll just catch a cab back to my hotel.”

But before she could turn and leave, he asked her, “Why didn’t you tell me who you were?” The hunger in his eyes was still there, but so was a hint of anger that she couldn’t possibly miss.

Hating how off-kilter she felt around him, she knew she sounded defensive as she replied, “I didn’t lie to you. My name is Nicola.”

“You should have told me you were also Nico. Why didn’t you?”

“You wouldn’t understand."

“Try me.”

She didn’t want to explain herself to him, but she also knew she was being stubborn and unreasonable. He had a point that it hadn’t been fair of her to keep her fame a secret from him, especially if the pictures taken of the two of them in the club had been good enough to print. And for some reason she wanted him to understand.

“For one night it seemed exciting just to be normal.” To be myself again. “I almost never meet someone who doesn’t know who I am.”

“Nico.”

She didn’t like the way he said her stage name, didn’t like the idea of Marcus treating her like everyone else did.

“My name is Nicola. And I really need to go now.”

The last thing she expected him to say as she turned and headed for the door was, “I was wrong, Nicola.”

A smart woman wouldn’t have stopped. A smart woman would have just kept walking through the door and caught a cab outside to take her back to her big, lonely penthouse suite.

So then, Nicola thought helplessly, what was it about Marcus that always had her doing the foolish thing, instead?

Shouldn’t she know better than to turn back to him and say, “What were you wrong about?”

Despite the fact that he hadn’t moved any closer to her, the way he looked at her, with none of the reserve from this morning, had her feeling like he’d just pulled her into his arms.

“About tonight.”

All of the desires, the hopes, she’d been trying to shove down and away immediately popped up to the surface.

Trying one last time to save herself, she said, “What about all of your reasons from this morning? What about how young I am? What about the colossal mistake you’re so glad you didn’t make?”

“I’m sorry for what I said this morning,” he said first, and then, “I want one night with you, if you still want one with me.”

His words were a caress over her skin. He hadn’t answered her question, and she knew their age difference must still be an issue for him. But just as she wasn’t able to walk away from him, it seemed that he couldn’t walk away from her, either.

“You know I still want you.”

The words had barely left her lips when he captured her hand and dragged her body tightly up against his. “Thank God. Because I’ve been dying to kiss you again all day."

The next thing she knew, his mouth was pressing hard into hers, his tongue suddenly there in her mouth, tasting her. No one had ever kissed her like this, like he wanted to possess her, body and soul. She forgot to be nervous, forgot that until Marcus, it had been six months since she’d kissed anyone, and even before that she’d hardly had much experience with kissing.

She didn’t need to worry about any of that with him, she realized now. He was entirely and completely in charge. All she needed to do was follow his lead.

If the way his kiss was making her feel was any indication of what his lovemaking would do to her, she was being led straight toward ecstasy.

Chapter Eight

Hand in hand, they headed down the stairs to the large parking garage beneath the dance studio. Apart from the moment when she got into his car, he didn’t let go of her hand.

Utterly lost in the feel of his thumb rubbing sensuous circles on the inside of her palm, it wasn’t until they were almost at the hotel that Nicola remembered to say, “There’s a special entrance around the side that I usually use.” She reached into her bag for her key cards with her free hand and handed the extra one to Marcus. “Why don’t you drop me here and I’ll meet you at my room. I’m in the penthouse suite.”

His hand stiffened in hers and she realized, too late, that she’d probably just insulted him.

“It isn’t because I don’t want to be seen with you,” she explained softly, hating what she had to say to make him understand. “If people see us walk in together tonight, if someone takes a picture of you and me together, they might think we’re a—”

She paused before she used the word couple. Not because she couldn’t stand the thought of it. But because she suddenly longed to be a part of a couple with Marcus so badly that the force of that wanting stunned her. Even more than the strength of her desire for him already had.