After Suzy was released from the hospital, Beth was a frequent visitor to Gray’s home where Suzy was to stay while she recovered. Suzy had a broken ankle and, since both Suzy and Beth lived on the upper floors of their buildings, Gray had insisted they stay with him. He wanted to keep Suzy close so he could monitor her recovery, and he invited Beth to make herself at home there as well, so she could help keep an eye on Suzy. At Gray’s beautiful beachfront home, she ran into Nick daily and he always had some remark to make. He had taken to calling her “princess” and she felt sure that he was only doing it to mock her. No matter how she snapped at him, it never seemed to hit the mark. He just laughed it off and an hour later he was back to picking on her again. She alternated between drooling over his hard body and wanting to strangle him with the kitchen towel.
Was she imagining the sexual tension that seemed to vibrate between them? Surely, it was only on her part. It had been a long time since she had been with anyone that didn’t require batteries. Maybe it was time to go home, pop open the toy drawer, and release some tension.
Who would ever believe that the poor spinster sister would have one toy, much less a couple? Suzy would fall over in a dead faint if she found out. Not that Beth had any intention of ever talking about sexy toys with her sister. Of course, Suzy would probably be proud of her and present her with a coupon from somewhere like Vibrators-R-Us. Just because she wasn’t having sex didn’t mean she wouldn’t like to. Weren’t women supposed to be in their sexual prime around thirty? If that were true, it might be time to stock a case of Duracells for these hard times.
Before Beth really understood what was happening between them, she had suddenly started changing the way she dressed. She couldn’t bear for Nick to see her in her frumpy wear. She tried to tell herself it was just so she wouldn’t embarrass Suzy at the office, but a part of her knew it was so that Nick would look at her with something other than laughter for once.
One evening they had decided to have a barbecue at the beach house and invite their friends from Danvers. Claire, Jason, Ella, and Declan Stone, the new guy to their group, all attended that night. She had sat beside Nick at the patio table while they had dinner. She was wearing a sundress, a sexy red thong, and a matching bra that she had purchased at Victoria’s Secret that day on a whim. She had to admit that she was feeling just a little naughty with such sexy undergarments. She was usually more of a Sears catalogue type of gal. Nick was wearing a pair of cargo shorts, so every time either of them shifted, their bare legs came into contact. After a while, she was starting to wonder if Nick was making sure that happened a lot more often than it should have.
By the time everyone left for the evening, she was feeling pretty hot and bothered. Had Nick missed a single opportunity to touch her during dinner? No doubt he thought it was pretty funny. Let’s feel the fat girl up and give her the thrill of her life. Sadly, it probably was one of Beth’s bigger thrills, at least in recent history. She was more than a little pissed at him when she stomped into the kitchen with the last of the dinner plates. When she saw him leaning against the counter drinking a beer, she wanted to stomp her feet and throw an honest-to-goodness tantrum. Couldn’t she go anywhere that he wasn’t in her face?
Nick’s mouth curved into a slow grin as he looked at her. “Hey, princess, need some help with that?”
“No, I’ve got it,” Beth snapped. She walked over, dropped the dishes loudly onto the counter beside the dishwasher, and started stacking them inside.
“What’s the problem, princess?”
Beth slammed the last plate in the dishwasher and whirled around to confront him. He looked wary as she opened her mouth to blast him. To both of their surprise, instead of the tirade she had planned, she grabbed the front of his shirt and pulled him down to her while she raised herself on her toes. Just before she locked her mouth onto his, he whispered, “Princess?”
Nick put down his beer with a sexy groan and wrapped his arms around her. Suddenly, his mouth took control of the kiss and his tongue entered her mouth as if he wanted to possess her. She moaned low in her throat, as he grabbed her butt cheeks to pull her closer. She had no idea how long they stood there, but she did know that she had never been kissed as Nick was kissing her. He sucked on her tongue, as if he couldn’t get enough. Every stroke, every sip only made her burn hotter. He rocked his hips against hers in tempo with his tongue tangling with hers. Beth could feel him hard against her stomach and she wantonly rubbed against his length and felt a heady sense of power when he rumbled deep in his throat.
Abruptly, he lifted his head and pulled away from her, staggering backward as if drunk. He leaned against the counter, running a shaky hand through his hair. “Ah, hell, we can’t do this, princess. Your sister and my brother will kill me. My God, you taste so good though. Shit!”
Beth looked at him and for once decided to break all the rules. Tonight she wouldn’t be denied—the good girl was going bad and it was time for Nick to live up to his reputation. She smiled and gave him a predatory look as she stalked forward. His eyes were riveted to hers as she reached for the hem of his button-down shirt. With a mighty yank, buttons flew all over the kitchen and Nick’s mouthwatering chest was laid naked before her hungry eyes. That wouldn’t have been nearly as hot if those buttons hadn’t given way. Thank God for poor sewing!