Bait & Switch (Alphas Undone #1)(27)

Nolan

“I’ll get us another drink,” Lacey called from the kitchen. “Whiskey?”

We’d met at West’s for a drink after work, and then drinks turned into dinner, and now we were here, back at her place.

“Sure,” I replied, but something else had caught my attention. She had a record player on a desk in the hall.

I crossed the room and twisted the little knob on the side and soft music rose to life, something soulful and unexpected. A woman’s voice floated over deep notes of bass guitar.

It wasn’t familiar, and wasn’t anything like the music my parents had played at night when they thought I was in bed. I’d sneak down the stairs, sit on the bottom step, and watch them. Mom’s eyes would close as she rested her cheek on Dad’s shoulder, a soft smile playing on her lips. They looked happy. Calm and at peace.

Damn. I felt a little pang in my chest; I missed those tender moments more than I’d care to admit.

Lacey came back, carrying a glass of white wine for herself and a whiskey on the rocks for me.

“Come here.” I offered her my hand. She set the drinks down on the coffee table and placed her palm in mine.

“What are you . . . ?” she began to ask, before a grin took hold of her lips and her question disappeared into the dimly lit room.

I placed my other hand against her trim waist. She sucked in her breath when I pulled her in nice and close. Maybe I was a little drunk. Maybe I was feeling sentimental. But if we were doing this, we might as well do it right.

“Do you know how to waltz?” I asked.

She smiled at me. “Not even a little. Show me?”

“Gladly.”

We swayed to the music, her chest brushing mine as we moved. Her pounding heart felt like hummingbird wings. One song faded into the next, and still I didn’t want to let her go. She smelled like sweet rain and peppermint, and I wanted more.

After several minutes, the record stopped, the player continuing to spin with soft crackles in the background.

“Where did you learn to do that?” she asked.

I led her over to the couch, where we sat down and each took a sip of our drinks.

“My mother taught me when I was young. I didn’t think I even remembered.”

She smiled at me again. “You’re a complicated man, Nolan Maxwell.”

“And here I thought I was simple.”

She was silent for several minutes. Then she set down her wine and turned to me. “For the right girl, could you ever . . . wouldn’t you want . . . ?”

“No, sweetheart.” I stroked her hair away from her face and met her eyes so she could see the solemn truth in my words. “And not because I can’t do it. I won’t.” I’d seen what happens, felt the crushing sting of loss, and it wasn’t something I cared to repeat. “Besides, I have a responsibility to Daniella.”

“Right. Daniella.” She looked down at her hands.

The name rolled bitterly off Lacey’s tongue, but I didn’t chastise her. There were some things she couldn’t even begin to understand, and I doubted I could do them justice if I tried to explain them.

“Did you have fun tonight?” I asked, hoping to draw her out of her somber thoughts.

Her chin lifted, her eyes meeting mine again. “Yes.”

“Come here.”

Cradling her jaw in my hands, I brought her mouth to mine. Her mouth opened obediently and I stroked my tongue against hers, the pressure immediately building in my groin. These were the things I understood. My body’s response to hers, the need to see her come undone with pleasure.

I pulled her over to straddle my lap. She immediately circled her hips to brush against my firm cock, moaning when she felt how hard I was already. The mood changed in an instant, hot need coursing between us.

“You are so f*cking hot, I don’t want to stop.” I echoed her groan, pushing my hips up to meet hers.

“I don’t want you to.”

The longing in her voice spurred me on. I rose to my feet with Lacey’s legs locked around my waist. Her mouth went to my neck while I carried her to her bedroom. The little licks and nips of her teeth went straight to my dick.

Inside her room, I laid her down on the bed and pulled her shirt off over her head. Her breasts were perfection; the generous cleavage spilling over the cups of her lacy bra begged to be kissed and sucked. But I had something more pressing in mind.

As slowly as I could, I kissed my way down her body, stopping just before her waistband. “I want to taste you, sweetheart.”

She swallowed, watching me, her eyes wide.

I knew she wanted to take things slow. That was fine. We could have plenty of fun without ever breaking out the condoms. And judging from the hot spark in her eyes, she knew exactly what I was about to do. She was ready and more than willing.

I unbuttoned her jeans and pulled them down her shapely legs. As I brushed my fingertip over the front of her cream-colored satin panties, Lacey drew a shuddering breath. She was soaked.

“These panties are ruined, angel.”

My tone was harsh, my erect dick strangling away all coherent thought. I wanted on top of her, inside her, but I wouldn’t do anything she wasn’t begging for. I took my time stripping the wet scrap of fabric away, appreciating the view. Shaved bare with delicate lips concealing her pink inner petals, she had a pretty cunt, and I wanted my mouth all over it. All over her.