One Night With You: A Fatal Series Prequel Novella (The Fatal Series) Read online

  “You did mention something about three hours in the sun…”

  She waved that off. “That doesn’t count. It was a detail.”

  “What does that entail, exactly?”

  “Extra duty directing traffic at a construction site. We do it for the money. In my case, to pay off beastly student loans that are going to hang over my head forever at this rate.”

  “Ah yes, the burden of the twentysomethings.”

  “You, too, huh?”

  “Um, well, not really. I had a scholarship, but it didn’t pay for everything, so there’s some debt. Not a ton like some people have, though. I’m lucky that way.”

  “Yes, you are.” She nudged him with her shoulder. “Egghead scholarship or jock scholarship?”

  “Ohhh, what a loaded question!”

  “So which is it?”

  “The school I attended doesn’t do athletic scholarships.”

  “Egghead! I knew it! You’ve got that whole buttoned-down smart thing going on over there. And what kind of college doesn’t do athletic scholarships?”

  “Um, how to say this…”

  Sam stopped short and turned to him. “The kind with ivy on the walls. Am I right?”

  “Perhaps.”

  She tipped her head to study him more closely. “Which one?”

  “There’s more than one?”

  Tossing her head back to laugh, she said, “Oh my God. Say it isn’t so.”

  “It is so. Is this a deal-breaker?”

  “We had a deal?”

  Nick put his arm around her. “We definitely had a deal. What do you feel like doing?”

  Sam was afraid if she told him, he’d think her a total slut. “Truthfully? Or should I go for socially correct?”

  “By all means, give me the truth.”

  She looked him dead in those incredible hazel eyes. “Your place or mine?”

  His eyes widened for a fraction of an instant before he recovered. “Roommates?”

  “Two. And a squatter brother. You?”

  “None.”

  “You win.”

  A smile stretched across his gorgeous face. “I was a winner the second I saw that guy dump beer all over you.”

  “There needs to be food at some point.”

  “I can do that.”

  “And protection. I don’t do anything unprotected.”

  “No, I don’t imagine you do.”

  “Is that a problem?”

  “I don’t have a problem in the world, but I do need to make a stop on the way home.”

  “That’s fine. So was it Harvard or Yale?”

  Laughing, he said, “Harvard.” He kept his arm around her on the way to the car he’d parked several blocks away.

  “I can live with that.”

  The car was a silver Acura with black leather seats. It was so clean, you could eat off the carpet, a thought that nearly gave Sam the giggles in light of what they were about to do.

  “I don’t do this.” The words escaped from her lips before she took a second to think them all the way through.

  “Do what?”

  “Pick up guys at parties and go home with them.”

  “Oh. Well… Good. I don’t either.”

  “You don’t pick up guys at parties?”

  His laugh was as sexy as the rest of him. “You know what I mean, smart aleck.”

  “So you’re not out at yuppie parties every weekend? Different week, different girl?”

  Rolling his eyes, he said, “Hardly. I’ve been off the meat-market circuit since I graduated from college eight years ago.”

  That made him about thirty, which was what she would’ve guessed. Two years older than she was. A full-grown adult, or so he seemed. Looks, she knew after years of dating, could be deceiving.

  “You should have a little wife and two-point-five kids by now.”

  “Says who?”

  “The yuppie timetable. It’s well documented.”

  “You’re funny, Sam Holland. Has anyone ever told you that?”

  “Sure, I’m a good time had by all. What can I say?”

  “I thought you just said you weren’t a good time had by all?”

  And he was smart and quick, too. When mixed with insane hotness, it was all a little too good to be true. “So what’s wrong with you then? Thirty years old, still single, presumably no girlfriend if you’re taking me home with you…”

  “You’re just full of charm, aren’t you?” he asked, laughing again. “For your information, Detective, there’s nothing wrong with me. And no girlfriend, or I wouldn’t be taking you home with me.”

  “Guys like you who are still single always come with baggage.”

  “Is that so? And where have you conducted your research on this matter?”

  “It’s a project my girlfriends and I have been working on for years now. The evidence is irrefutable. Thirty and reasonably good-looking, decent job yet still unmarried and unattached… You’re either still living with your mother or you’ve got a weird and disgusting habit like collecting all the belly button lint from your whole life into a baggie or something.” Sam glanced over to find him staring at her, incredulous, as they waited for the light to turn green. “How close am I?”

  “You’re off your rocker. One, I most definitely do not live with my mother, and two, belly button lint is gross.”

  Sam crossed her arms. “It’s something else then.”

  “Are you trying to talk me out of taking you home with me?” Despite the question, his pretty eyes were still full of amusement and what might’ve been desire.

  “Not at all. I thought we were just making conversation.”

  “Is that what we’re doing?”

  “What would you call it?”

  “An interrogation?”

  “Nah, this isn’t even close to that. You ought to see me when I really get going with a perp.”

  “I think I’d like to see that.”

  “Maybe I’ll let you sometime.”

  “Maybe I’ll take you up on that.”

  How was it possible they were already talking about more than a one-night stand? Sam was suddenly desperate to get things back on the sex-only track. “So where are we going anyway?”

  “Looking for a store that has what we need.”

  “Oh.”

  A few minutes later, he pulled into the parking lot of a convenience store. “Need anything?”

  “Nothing other than the obvious.”

  He flashed a grin at her. “Be right back.”

  While she waited for him, a flutter of nerves attacked her sensitive stomach. What am I doing? This isn’t me. I don’t do this shit. Not anymore… It occurred to her that she could get out of the car and be gone before he returned. There was still time to call it off, but then again, she could call it off at any point with him. She already knew he wasn’t the kind of guy who wouldn’t take no for an answer.

  But there was something about him that compelled her to stay, to refrain from bolting even when the inclination to run had her reaching for the door handle. Then he came out of the store, seeming frustrated—and empty-handed.

  “They didn’t have them?” she asked when he was back in the car.

  “They didn’t have the right ones. I know somewhere else that has them.”

  There were right ones and wrong ones? Since when? “Um, okay.”

  After he struck out at two more stores, Sam began to wonder if this was a ploy of some sort. “Look, if you’re really not into this—”

  The sentence was forgotten when he reached across the center console and dragged her into his arms for the single most potent kiss she’d ever received in her life. There was no slow buildup, no teasing strokes or hints of passion to come. No, this was all fire and heat and crazy need wrapped up in a kiss she’d never forget.

  “Any more questions about my level of interest?” he asked many minutes later when the beep of a nearby car horn thrust them out of the sensual haze they’d slipped
into.

  She was a cop, for Christ’s sake, making out like a horny teenager in a convenience store parking lot. Rubbing her fingers over her tingling lips, she shook her head. “No, no more questions.”

  “Good. If the next place doesn’t have what I want, I’ll settle for something else.”

  “Okay.” He’d kissed the sass right out of her. With every brain cell in her body now focused on the throb between her legs, Sam had nothing else to say.

  At the next store, he apparently struck condom pay dirt, emerging with a bag in hand and a big smile on his face. He got in the car and tossed the bag to her. “That, my friend, is the Cadillac of condoms, the grand pooh-bah, the top banana.”

  Snorting, Sam said, “Top banana? Is that a metaphor?”

  “You know what I mean.”

  To her, they looked like regular old condoms, except for the extra-large size noted on the box. Sam swallowed hard as the tingling between her legs intensified. “How far to your place?”

  “Ten minutes. Fifteen if the traffic is bad. How do you feel about fast food?”

  “In general or as a quick solution to our pressing need for fuel?”

  “The latter.”

  “I’m all for it.”

  “Excellent.” They hit a McDonald’s drive-thru and chowed down on burgers and fries while he drove. “I haven’t had fast food in ten years.”

  “Seriously?” she asked.

  “Uh-huh. Desperate times…”

  She loved, absolutely loved, that he was feeling desperate enough to get her home to his place that he broke a ten-year ban on fast food. Sam was surprised when they headed out of the city, crossing the 14th Street Bridge. “Whoa, where are you taking me?”

  “To an outpost known as Northern Virginia,” he said between mouthfuls of french fries.

  “You don’t live in the District?”

  “You say that like something is wrong with me for not living in the city.”

  “We’ve already determined something has to be wrong with you. This could be the sign I was looking for.”

  “You’re too much, Sam,” he said, laughing again. “Do you go on many second dates?”

  That made her laugh, too. “A few. Here and there.”

  “That’s shocking to me. Truly.”

  God, I like this guy. He was the full package, and he seemed to get her sense of humor. That made him a rare man, indeed. The fact that he made her panties melt every time he looked at her or flashed that irresistible grin only made him that much more appealing. Keep looking for the flaw. Thirty and unattached. There’s got to be something…

  As they headed into the guts of Arlington, Sam glanced over her shoulder. “I feel like I should’ve left bread crumbs or something. I’ll never find my way home.”

  “I’ll take you home whenever you want to go.”

  Since she never left the house unarmed, Sam would be able to defend herself if need be. But that didn’t mean she let down her guard very often, especially with men. This one… Well, he could be different. He rang every one of her bells—smart, sexy, funny, handsome, successful, educated and confident. So far she hadn’t found a single thing about him not to like, except for maybe the fact that he lived outside her precious city.

  They finally arrived at a townhouse complex, and he pulled into a parking space. Assailed by a sudden bout of nerves, Sam hesitated before reaching for the door handle.

  “You still want to hang out?” he asked, tuning into her hesitation.

  “Is that what we’re going to do?”

  He reached over to stroke her hair. “We can do—or not do—whatever you want. I’ve had more fun on the ride here than I’ve had in years. The evening is already a huge success from my point of view.”

  “You’re good,” she said grudgingly. “I’ll give you that.”

  Waggling his brows and smiling, he leaned in to kiss her cheek. “You ain’t seen nothing yet.”

  The nerves were overruled by the insistent throb between her legs that had her full attention.

  “You want to go home?” he asked. “I’ll take you.”

  “No, I don’t think I do.”

  “Excellent decision.” His hand moved to her jaw, turning her toward him for another kiss. This one was softer and more patient than the one before, but it packed no less of a wallop.

  Sam curled her hand around his nape, drawing him in closer as their tongues dueled fiercely. Then he bit down lightly on hers, and Sam ignited. She pulled his hair, trying to get closer, and let go only when he winced.

  “Sorry.”

  “I’m not at all sorry. What do you say we take this conversation inside?”

  “I say that’s a great idea.”

  Chapter 4

  Sam liked that he didn’t come around the car to get her but rather met her at the front, extending his hand to her. With his hand wrapped around hers, he led her to a white-clapboard-fronted townhouse that had a black front door and shutters.

  The second the door closed behind them, he dropped his work satchel as well as the bag from the pharmacy and reached for her.

  Sam went to him willingly, wrapping her arms around his trim waist.

  His mouth came down on hers as he lifted her into his arms in a move that seriously wowed her. She was no wilting flower, and that he lifted her so effortlessly was a huge turn-on. Then he topped himself by pressing her against the wall in the foyer and positively devouring her.

  Sam had never been kissed quite like this, as if his very existence was tied to her. She looped her arms around his neck and held on for dear life as he took her on a wild ride. Held against Nick’s wall by the powerful force of his body, Sam forgot all about how tired she’d been after the long day, how much she’d wanted to stay home tonight. Instead, she gave thanks to Angela for dragging her out and to the guy who’d spilled beer all over her. He deserved some credit, too.

  Her shirt disappeared down her arms, her bra sprang free and her skirt was suddenly bunched around her waist. He worked quickly and efficiently on her clothes and then went to work on the buttons of his shirt, all without missing a beat in the kiss.

  “Is that your gun, or are you happy to see me?” he asked in the second before he bit down on her earlobe and nearly made her come.

  Rattled and undone, Sam said, “Put me down. Just for a second.”

  “One second.”

  She used the time to remove the weapon from her thigh and placed it in her purse.

  He tugged on her skirt, letting her know he wanted it gone. “Panties, too.”

  Sam noted a slight tremble in her hands as she complied with his gruffly issued directive. When she stood bare before him in the milky darkness, she reached for his belt buckle and went to work on freeing him. Before his pants dropped, he removed a condom from his pocket. “Someone planned ahead.”

  “I had time to kill in line.”

  “Such a good little Boy Scout.”

  “Not so little.”

  Normally a cocky comment like that would irritate her, but when his erection surged into her hand—long, full and thick—she couldn’t take issue with the truth. She stroked him, and he got even harder. Her mouth watered at the thought of all that hardness pounding into her.

  With a groan, he pulled her hand away, quickly rolled on the condom, cupped her buttocks and lifted her again. “Here or in bed?” he asked in that same gruff tone that told her he was right there on the edge with her.

  Since finding a bed would’ve taken time she didn’t want to waste, Sam said, “Here. Right here.”

  “Would’ve been my choice, too.” He dragged his fingers between her legs to test her readiness. “Next time, I’m going to kiss you here first. I want to kiss you everywhere, but right now…”

  “Yes, right now.”

  He surged into her, stealing the breath from her lungs and every thought from her mind that didn’t involve the sublime sensation of being taken by him. His fingers dug into the dense flesh of her bottom and held
on tight as he withdrew and entered her again, harder this time.

  Sam grasped a handful of his silky dark hair, needing to hold on to something. In this position, he had all the control, and she yielded to him willingly because he knew exactly what he was doing. He had her on the brink of release faster than she’d ever gotten there before, and he didn’t let up, pounding into her repeatedly.

  She drew him into another tongue-tangling kiss and dropped her hand to where they were joined, giving herself the push she needed to reach the peak. The orgasm ripped through her, more powerful than anything she’d ever experienced with any other man.

  Gasping, he tore his lips free of hers and went with her, surging into her and then sagging against her, still throbbing inside. For a long time, they were silent, both breathing hard in the aftermath.

  He broke the silence with a single word: “Wow.”

  Sam laughed. “That about sums it up.”

  “I’ve never had sex against a wall before.”

  “Neither have I.”

  “I’ll never look at this wall the same way again.” He kissed her, softly and sweetly. “That was so hot.”

  “Mmm, very hot.”

  “Hottest sex I’ve ever had.”

  “Yeah?”

  “Without a doubt.” He nibbled her neck and had her thinking about round two when her normal inclination was to say thanks for the lay, see you later. But not this time. This time, once wasn’t going to be enough. Hell, six times might not be enough with him.

  “Me, too.”

  “Hold on.” Keeping his tight grip on her ass, Nick lifted her off the wall and walked them into his dark house.

  With her arms around his neck, she held on as he headed down a hallway and into a bedroom that was faintly lit from the streetlights. He laid her on the bed and kissed her. “Hang on a sec.” Gripping the condom, he finally withdrew from her. “Be right back.”

  Sam wanted to turn the light on so she could see his room—and him when he returned—but she stayed put. The muscles in her thighs quivered, and her sex pulsed with aftershocks. All in all, he’d blown her away, and that wasn’t easy to do. Her friends teased her about being “the guy” in every relationship. She always went home after sex and didn’t see the need for cuddling or other foolishness. Sex was about the release and nothing else.