(I'm No) Saint Nick: Stone Bros. (Pure Escapes) Read online

  He doesn’t blink. He just nods and holds out his arm to me. I thread mine through his, and we walk away from the building.

  He flags a taxi, and we go a few blocks to what I recognize as an expensive restaurant. I start to have second thoughts. “I was just kidding about the gigantic steak, Nick. I’m fine if we go to the diner across the street.” I don’t want him to spend an enormous amount of money on me and expect something in return.

  Not that I’m exactly opposed to giving him that something. It’s not at all like me to be contemplating sleeping with someone I just met, but there’s something about Nick that makes me want him and makes me want to be reckless. I’m considering giving myself an early Christmas present in the form of accepting any gift he might offer.

  His eyes crinkle when he grins. “It’s no problem. I think you’ll like this place. They have a steak bigger than your head.”

  I laugh. “Who can resist temptation like that?”

  He leers at me, and it’s mostly comical, but I can see the true lust behind it. “You should know I’ve never been good at resisting temptation, Elf.”

  “It’s a good thing I’m exceedingly good at doing so then, St. Nick,” I say in a prim voice, though I’m not sure I believe it myself. It’s true I normally am, but I have a feeling this man can discombobulate me and leave me making decisions that aren’t at all like me.

  I’m surprisingly carefree about that possibility as I thread my arm through his again, and we walk into the restaurant. It’s clear I’m underdressed, and so is he in just khakis and a sweater, but the maître d’ doesn’t blink or sneer.

  He simply greets us with the same kind of obsequiousness he must use for the best-dressed patrons. “Happy holidays. Would you like your usual table, sir?”

  St. Nick nods, and I walk with him as we follow the maître d’ to a table in the corner. “I guess you come here a lot?”

  Nick nods. “It’s one of my favorite places. They really do have exceptional steak, if that’s what you’re looking for.”

  I soon discover he wasn’t joking about having a steak as big as my head either. There’s a thirty-ounce steak on the menu, which I don’t order. That’s far too much. I end up getting a steak, but I get a sensible portion, and I hope it’s a more affordable cut. I certainly don’t want to take advantage of the man buying me dinner.

  Over dinner, we start to get acquainted. We have a lot in common, which surprises me considering I work in the daycare on the bottom floor, and he works way up on the Executive level of the twelve-story building. Not that we discuss business or our working lives very much. It’s clear St. Nick has money, and I don’t. We should be completely opposite and disparate, but something about us clicks.

  We both seem determined to avoid discussing the areas that could cause friction, or maybe he just wants to know as much about me as I want to know about him. By the end of the meal, I’m convinced he’s a good guy, if a bit grinchy toward the holidays. He still claims to have two brothers and be part of a set of nonidentical triplets. It sounds fantastical, but I don’t think he’s lying.

  “Dessert?” asks our server toward the end of the meal.

  I’m almost full, and I start to decline, but Nick says, “You should try their plum pudding. It’s only available for a few weeks around the holidays. I plan to have it.”

  I take the menu the server offers me, deciding plum pudding isn’t for me, but I do pick a decadent chocolate dessert. As we wait for them to come, Nick’s expression turns serious.

  “I wasn’t eavesdropping, but I couldn’t help overhearing that you don’t have a place to sleep tonight.”

  I tense, reaching for the cup of coffee the server poured before leaving to put in our dessert orders. I look away from him, ashamed by my situation. “I’ll be fine. I have a plan.”

  “I’m glad to hear that. Do you mind shar…” He trails off, looking uncomfortable.

  It’s obvious he wants to ask what happened, but he also doesn’t want to embarrass me. I still feel shamed by the situation I find myself in, though I know most of it’s not my fault. Taking a deep breath and straightening my shoulders, I say, “It’s not because I mismanaged my money or anything like that.”

  He frowns. “You don’t owe me an explanation.”

  I shrug. I’m still defensive about it, and I feel the need to stress that I didn’t bring this about by irresponsibility. “I trusted the wrong person. I came back to my apartment a few days ago to find my new boyfriend cheating on me. Unfortunately, I had moved in with him last month—and had a feeling it was too soon when I did that I ignored—so the place is in his name. That means I’m the one who had to leave.”

  He scowls. “His indiscretion led to your leaving. The least he could do was allow you to stay a while, until you find a place.”

  I shudder, unable to contemplate the idea of staying in the apartment with Peter and that woman. “I couldn’t bear to stay around any longer, knowing what he’d been doing, so I packed my things and left. I stayed with Penny until her family came into town today. I really don’t want to spend a lot of money on hotel rooms, since I’m trying to get together a deposit for new place.”

  “Deposits can be prohibitively expensive.”

  Tell me about it.

  I don’t say those words though, knowing they’d come out snarky. It’s not his fault he’s stating the obvious, and I’m having an emotional evening. Instead, I take a couple of deep breaths to ensure I sound calm and pleasant before speaking again.

  “I’ll couch-surf a little bit, and then I’ll have a new place soon enough. Hopefully one without roommates. I’m so done with that.” I sound a lot more blasé about the situation than I am. I’m still quietly panicking over the idea of trying to afford an apartment by myself, let alone scrape up the deposit. It’s an expensive city, and that’s part of the reason I ignored my instincts and moved in with Peter sooner than I should have. It made sense to combine our resources—and I’d come to hate the other three girls I was living with before meeting Peter—but I didn’t know him well enough when it came down to it.

  “I have several couches from which you can choose at my place. You’re more than welcome.”

  The server returns with our desserts then, temporarily distracting me. That should give me a moment to clear my thoughts and collect myself, to resist temptation. Instead, I lean closer and say, “If I come to your place, St. Nick, I don’t think I’d want to sleep on the couch.”

  He licks his lips as he considers me for a moment, clearly savoring the bite of plum pudding in his mouth before he speaks. “I also have more than one bed from which to choose, but I hope you choose mine.”

  I grin at him, deciding to throw caution to the wind. I have no reason not to. There’s nothing holding me back. I don’t know him at all, but he clearly works for the same company, and I doubt he’s going to risk murdering me when there’s a clear connection between us that would lead police back to him.

  I decide to trust my instincts, since ignoring them before led to the situation I’m in now. They’re telling me to trust Nick, and my body is clamoring for his touch. “In that case, I’d be happy to come home with you.”

  3

  Holly

  We barely make it inside his condo, which I glean is a nice place. It’s in a gated community, but I don’t take a full inventory. We enter from the garage and stand in the kitchen. I’m too nervous and excited to care about the ambience.

  When he stops just a few inches away, I have to remind myself to breathe. My heart forgets how to beat for a second when he brushes strands of hair off my neck. “You’re so beautiful.”

  “Nuh…” The unintelligible response is all I can offer when he closes the gap between us by pulling me against him. His mouth touches my throat lightly. I shiver when he breathes in deeply, as if inhaling and memorizing my scent. For some reason, the action seems primal, almost animalistic, and it stirs my passion to new heights.

  “So beautiful.” He gr
owls the words against my throat. “You smell like the holidays and sex…heaven…” Nick seems incapable of being articulate at the moment.

  My head spins when he whirls me around to face him. His mouth comes down on mine in a hot, possessive way that makes the blood rush through my veins, spreading heat along the way. My thighs quiver, and cream fills my pussy as he pushes his tongue inside my mouth.

  Nick allows me no time to stroke his tongue with mine or to meet each thrust of the appendage. Instead, he plunders my mouth completely, subduing any attempts I make to reciprocate. It’s like being taken or marked. Branded. The word comes to mind and fits perfectly.

  I curl my fingers into his biceps, kneading his arm through the long-sleeved polo covering his skin. That’s all I can do as he completely ravishes my mouth. His tongue moves with swift certainty, allowing me no secret niches. In seconds, he knows every inch of my mouth and lips.

  A whimper escapes me when he breaks the kiss. I stare at him, my body aching for him, while my mind swirls with a jumble of emotions. “Nick.” What else can I say? Nothing comes to mind. It’s unusual for me not to be eloquent, but with him, it seems unnecessary. Our bodies, rubbing and pressing so close to each other, are more than capable of saying anything we need to communicate.

  “Holly.” His eyes seem a darker shade of green than they had before. His breathing is as ragged as mine, and his chest vibrates with each breath. He bends forward to press his forehead to mine, and he holds my cheeks in a tender, yet immobile, grip as he frames my face with a hand.

  “Maybe we shouldn’t do this.” Logic chooses that moment to reassert itself, despite my body urging to ignore it. “We don’t really know each other.”

  “Fuck it. That’ll come in time.” The expletive seems to echo around the kitchen. “You’re mine.”

  I shiver at the intensity in his voice. A frisson of fear skitters down my spine, but a wave of desire sweeps it away when he cups my breast. Looking into his hungry eyes, I know I have nothing to fear from him. I should only fear my intense reaction to him and my growing need for a man I just met. Yet, I can’t bring myself to fear that either. Instinct tells me he’s special, and I’m going to listen to that over logic.

  My head falls back when he thumbs my nipple through the velour tunic and satin bra. The material abrades the tender peak in a delightful way that has me squirming. I arch my hips, rubbing my pussy against his body in search of stimulation.

  Nick surprises me by lifting me around the waist. A moment later, my butt is perched on the kitchen island. I gasp when he forces me to sink backward, so I’m lying down the length of the island, with my butt on the edge. He steps between my spread thighs.

  His hands are urgent as he pulls at the tunic, and he seems the verge of tearing the garment from me. Excited by the idea, I rub my pussy against his body, hoping he can feel the wet heat through my leggings and panties.

  It seems like forever before he manages to get off the tunic and my bra underneath. His eyes hold appreciation as he gazes at my large breasts. “Do you like them?” I ask in a breathy whisper.

  “More than anything. I love a woman with generous breasts.” Nick cups them each in a hand, his thumbs caressing my large nipples. “So beautiful. I love your nipples, Holly. They’re so red, like luscious strawberries. Ripe, sweet berries…” He lowers his head. “Inviting a taste.” Nick swipes his tongue across one nipple, causing the already rigid bud to harden even more. “Juicy.”

  His mouth sends numerous sensations through me. I clutch a handful of his brown hair to anchor myself when he sucks the nipple and part of the areola into his mouth. I arch my back and cry out as he sucks.

  His tongue is delicious torture against the sensitive peak. Each swirl and thrust makes my hips jut higher. As he works one breast with his mouth, the other receives equal attention from his hand, tugging and twirling that nipple until the pleasure is almost unbearable. Relief and disappointment fill me when he lifts his head.

  Both reactions are temporary. He is merely changing positions. The bud he hadn’t yet tasted receives lavish attention while he cups and squeezes my other nipple now. Nick teases my nipple until I’m arching my hips against him at a frantic pace and begging him to touch me. “Please, Nick. I need you to touch me.”

  “Where?” he asks, still lightly stroking my nipple.

  “Please.” It’s impossible to form a coherent request.

  Nick lifts his head. “Tell me where you want to be touched.”

  I moan in frustration. “Everywhere.”

  A teasing glint makes his green eyes sparkle. “So, here?” He lightly pokes my belly button.

  “Lower.”

  He pauses to dip his index finger shallowly into my belly button. “Is this the spot?”

  “No.” I toss my head, knowing I’d have more appreciation for his teasing if I wasn’t so aroused. “Please go lower. To my pussy,” I amend. “Touch my pussy.”

  All trace of humor disappears from his expression, and he quickly strips off my leggings and panties after I kick off my shoes. I assist by lifting my hips so he can slide them down before he spends a moment removing my socks. He even makes that sensual.

  When I lay before him in nothing, I shiver with anticipation.

  Nick takes a step back. With efficient movements, he strips off his clothes to reveal a perfect body. That’s no surprise, though his erection is almost a shock. Long and thick, with a bulbous head, his cock is big and intimidating. I expected him to be blessed, but not that endowed. Anxiety instead of anticipation makes me shiver this time.

  When he takes a step forward, Nick’s attention homes in on the curls shielding my pussy. He plunges his fingers through the silky-soft hair, immediately finding my slit. I clench my teeth to keep in a cry of pleasure when he touches my clit.

  His fingers work me to a fevered frenzy with deft strokes. I cry out when he traces a circle around the swollen nub before venturing lower. My slit is slick and welcoming, and he finds my opening unerringly.

  I tighten my thighs instinctively around his hand when he presses two of his thick fingers inside me. My pussy provides some resistance, but soon relaxes and embraces his digits. Nick pushes in and out of me rapidly, seeming to enjoy my squirming and sounds of ecstasy.

  “Come on, baby,” he says more than once. “Come for me.”

  “Nick, I, oh…” Convulsions sweep through my pussy, radiating outward. My muscles clench around his fingers, and it takes me a moment to realize he’s withdrawing from my channel. “No. I’m right there.”

  “I know.” A slow, sensual smile curves his lips. “I want to taste you as you come.”

  Just imagining how that’s going to feel nearly makes me orgasm as he lowers his head. In a similar fashion to his possessive kiss, he tongues my pussy, drawing most of my mound into his mouth. He breathes against me, making me moan.

  His tongue invades my slit, taking the place his fingers had recently occupied before sweeping outward and upward to swirl around my clit. I fall apart when he sucks hard on my clit. The climax sweeps over me in a millisecond, with no chance to stem the tide. I arch against his face, and each swipe of his tongue increases the intensity of my release.

  Before the first orgasm has even faded, he’s wrenching another from me, followed by a third. I have no chance to stop or think. I can only feel and surrender to his ministrations. As he licks every drop of satisfaction from my tingling pussy once again, it seems as though he is marking me as his.

  Eventually, he has mercy and lets my ravaged flesh have a break. Nick lifts his head from my pussy and lowers his mouth to mine. “You taste exquisite, Elf.” His mouth tempts mine to open, and I kiss him with all the passion I feel. It’s strange but arousing to taste my essence on his tongue. I explore his mouth the same way he laid siege to mine, branding him as mine. He doesn’t seem to mind.

  I have to break the kiss to take a deep breath. Lightheaded, I feel like I haven’t breathed for weeks as I inhale a greedy lungful
of oxygen before turning back to look at him.

  Once again, our bodies seem to say everything, and as I stare up at the man about to become my lover, I marvel at how clearly I can understand him without him saying a word. His expression seems to be demanding compliance. He wants me to yield. I’ve been doing that since the moment he first touched me, and I have no problem with continuing to do so. “Fuck me. Please.”

  Nick shifts me slightly and rises to his full height. He leaves me for a moment to find his pants and returns with a condom. I admire and slightly dread the size of his shaft as he rolls down the condom before stepping closer.

  The island might have been made specifically to facilitate our coupling. On it, I’m at the perfect height, and my parted thighs welcome him. My wet pussy opens to his cock as he thrusts the head inside me. Out of instinct, I tense at the unaccustomed girth, but he allows no quarter. As Nick pushes inside me, demanding but never hurting, I relax and accept each inch he offers.

  At some point, when he’s buried deeply inside me, with the walls of my pussy clenching around him, I meet his gaze. The raw, blazing desire is so intense that it should frighten me.

  Instead, his naked need excites me. No man had ever reduced me to a primitive creature driven solely on impulse, until Nick. As I meet each thrust of his hips, matching his pace, my brain resonates with the knowledge that this is way more than just sex. On some deeper level, we are forging an unbreakable bond. Desire fuels our frenzied joining, but this is definitely about more than physical sensation.

  When we come together, his cock convulsing inside my pussy to fill the condom, I know I belong with Nick. Not just right now, but forever. I’m his, and he’s mine. I’ll probably talk myself out of that later, when my brain isn’t addled with passion, but it makes perfect sense in the moment.