Hot Number by V.K. Sykes Page A

sheriff that she was a math
professor.
    “Oh, you know. Just business,” she said
vaguely, sucking in a tight breath as his hands moved up her body.
“Nothing you’d be interested in.”
    To her relief, he let the subject drop. His
hands drifted up until they rested on her shoulders, cradling her
with a gentle, stroking touch.
    “There’s only me here, Sadie, and I’ll never
judge you. Besides, didn’t we agree that I’m in charge, at least
for now? I’ll take care of you, I promise.”
    Though a hint of amusement still colored his
deep voice, Sadie also heard understanding. The coil of tension
inside her started to slowly unwind. Somehow, even standing totally
naked in front of a man she’d met only yesterday didn’t feel quite
so risky.
    He studied her, his gaze patient and his
hands gentle on her body. “We don’t have to do any of this if you
don’t want to. Just say the word and I’ll stop. But if you want me
to keep going, you’ve got to try to let go. Do and say whatever
feels right. You can trust me.”
    A quiet sincerity rang through his words. She
did trust him, more than any man she had ever met. But if she let
herself think about that stunning fact, the anxiety would come
screaming back in a heartbeat. What they were doing couldn’t
possibly be anything so serious. It was supposed to be about fun,
about being outrageous and sexy and silly. She needed to lighten up
and, like Nick said, just let go.
    Pretend to be brave and you will be
brave.
    She switched on a bright smile. “All right,
then. Fair enough. And along the lines of saying and doing whatever
I want, I think it’s time for you to unholster your pistol,
Sheriff,” she said, reaching for his belt buckle.
    “Oh, Jesus, Sadie.” Nick groaned at her lame
joke. But he shucked his jacket and attacked his shirt buttons as
she pulled the black leather belt from around his waist. She
unzipped his slacks and they dropped to the floor, revealing tight,
white briefs that contrasted sharply with the bronze skin of his
taut abdomen and muscled thighs.
    But it was his erection, straining against
the cotton fabric that transfixed her. Never had she imagined, much
less seen, a penis of such, well, epic proportions, for lack of a
better phrase. The broad, dark head had breached the waistband,
obviously eager to be released from its confinement. The fact that
she had put Nick in such a state of heightened arousal was both
thrilling and more than a bit terrifying.
    Then, in one swift move he shucked his
briefs. Sadie let out a startled little gasp.
    Fortunately, Nick either didn’t notice it or
decided to ignore her ridiculously clichéd reaction. He wrapped his
arms around her and walked her backwards toward the bed until they
fell together onto the smooth surface of the duvet. His big body
came down on her in a mass of smooth, unyielding muscle.
    He didn’t lie on top of her for more than a
few seconds. Instead, he eased up onto his hands and knees,
straddling her as he took possession of her mouth. Sadie curled her
fingers around the back of his head, stroking into the thick hair
at the nape of his neck as she opened up to him, melting into the
wet and hot open-mouthed kiss. But Nick didn’t stop with her mouth.
He moved over her, planting slow, passionate kisses on her
forehead, between her eyes, on her nose, on her lips, on her chin,
in the hollow of her collarbone.
    When he reached her nipples she groaned,
trying to draw her legs up and open to relieve the ache building
between her thighs. Without lifting his head from her breasts, Nick
shifted his body so she could spread her legs wide. Feeling more
than a little wanton—and, she was happy to note, enjoying it—Sadie
tilted her pelvis and brought her damp cleft directly into contact
with Nick’s naked thigh. Contractions rippled through her lower
body, arching her back with a shock of pleasure.
    He made a satisfied, growly noise low in his
throat, tonguing her nipple as he pressed his leg