Touch Me Not (Manwhore, #1)(62)

“There’s my girl,” he whispered against her lips. He ran his tongue over her lower lip, and she let out a tiny sigh, which caused him to chuckle. “Was that so bad?”

Lily felt her face flame up and she ducked her head, her mass of heavy, dark curls swinging in her face. Her hair had become unbound somewhere in between all that, but she couldn’t for the life of her remember when.

“Hey now, my little prude, no hiding,” he chided, lifting her face up. “There’s nothing to be embarrassed about.”

“It’s just that I…I’ve never…I…”

Nikoli laughed and pulled her into his arms, before falling backward so she landed on his chest. “Lily, don’t worry, your virtue is still intact.”

“So I didn’t lose the bet?” She lifted her head and looked at him, her eyes twinkling. Truthfully, she didn’t care. That would have been worth losing a bet for.

Nikoli burst out laughing, and she found herself laughing too. His entire chest vibrated with laughter. “No, Lily Bells, you didn’t lose the damn bet. Technically, we both orgasmed, so you could say we had sex, but I don’t count it until I’m buried so deep inside you that you can’t tell where you end and I begin.”

The visual that assaulted her pulled a gasp from her, and Nikoli chuckled softly. He started stroking her hair as he pulled her tighter against him. She snuggled in and let herself relax. For once, there was no fear, no tensing up, nothing but a boneless feeling of contentment. She didn’t question it, she just enjoyed it.

“Nikoli?”

“Yes?” he said, his voice as lazy and relaxed as hers.

“If I go with you to Miami, do you think you could take me to my mom’s? I haven’t seen her or the twins in over a year.”

“Of course,” he said. “You shouldn’t go so long without seeing them, though, Lily. Family is important.”

She heard the reprimand in his voice and winced. His family was spread out all over, but she knew for a fact he talked to them all the time on Skype. He may have loose morals when it came to sex, but he had strong family values.

“I know, but before…well, we always ended up feeling awkward, and my mom blames herself for my phobia, I think, even though it’s not her fault. It’s no one’s fault but my own. I’m getting better, thanks to you. I think maybe…maybe I can hug her without panicking. I’d like to try.”

“I have faith in you, Lily Bells,” he said. “You can do it. I’ll book you a ticket tonight.”

“No, I’ll pay for my own ticket,” she told him.

“Lily, I can afford…”

She leaned back and put a finger to his lips. “I don’t care if you can afford it. Thank you for offering, but I’ll pay my own way, thank you very much.”

“You are the most stubborn woman I’ve ever met and the first who didn’t jump at me buying her things.”

She smiled at him. Lily knew exactly who Nikoli Kincaid was. She read the gaming magazines. “Nikoli, all I want is you, not what you can give me.”

“You mean that, don’t you?” he asked, surprise in his voice and on his face.

It was her turn to laugh. She pushed herself up and sat on the edge of the bed, looking for her dress. If she let this conversation go further, it might cause her to say things she’d rather die than confess.

“It’s late, Nikoli, and I need to get back before security locks the door at the dorm.”

“We can stay here tonight if you want.”

Lily glanced over her should her at him. He looked satisfied, yet hopeful, like a little boy asking for a new toy. “I wish I could, but I have to be there for the girls. I can’t stay out unless I make arrangements ahead of time for someone to cover my floor.”

“That’s too bad.” He ran a finger up her spine and she gasped, her skin still sensitive.

She felt the bed shift as Nikoli stood up. She spotted her dress sticking out from under the bed and grabbed it, slipping her legs in and then sliding it up her body. Nikoli came to stand behind her. He pushed her hair over her shoulder, and then zipped the dress up. He bent and placed a soft kiss on her collarbone.

“I want to show you something,” he said. He was wearing his pants, but no shoes or shirt. Taking her hand, he led her out of the bedroom and down a hall. The last door on the right opened into an office.

It was full of dark mahogany wood furniture, and bookshelves lined three of four walls. A wall of windows overlooked downtown Boston. Lily skipped the scenery and went straight to the books. It was a jumbled up mess of computer programming books, fiction, classics, and general science. The man did not know how to organize his library.

“Leave it to you to beeline to the books,” he said with a laugh. “Come over here, please.”

Lily looked up to see him sitting behind the desk, turning on the computer monitor. He typed a few keystrokes and then hummed as he waited for it to log him in. She walked over to stand beside him. He wrapped an arm around her waist while he logged into a program.

“Lily, you’re a pretty decent gamer.”

She laughed. “I guess.”

“Well, would you want to test a beta game?” He looked up into her eyes, and she frowned. Was he asking her to beta test one of his games?