Her Best Mistake (Novella) Page 2

  And any woman would have to be dead from the waist down to not be intrigued with all those muscles and long expanses of tanned skin. Where did all that brown come from? Gingers rarely tanned and yet his back and legs were bronzed.

  She firmly pushed the distasteful thought of Eric going to a tanning bed from her mind. It wasn’t like lots of men didn’t visit tanning beds regularly to chase their natural New England paleness away.

  A giggle welled up at her silly thoughts over a man with an ass to die for, salon tanned or not. A normal woman would be using her cell phone and taking a picture of what was very likely was the most perfect male ass she’d ever seen. If her phone had been working properly, Lisa might have talked herself into clicking a shot for a souvenir. It would have been something to smile about later at least.

  Damn, she needed to buy a new phone and stop putting it off.

  Snorting as quietly as she could, she took in a nervous breath, suddenly stopping to sniff the air. What was that smell? Her stomach rolled and flipped while her heart began to flutter. Sniffing the air again like a dog, she almost laughed out loud at herself, but seriously—what was that?

  She walked to the bed, leaned over him, and sniffed hard. Smiling to discover it was him smelling so great, she ended up feeling like an idiot because dear god, the man smelled incredible. What was he wearing? He smelled like sandy beaches and something else that she couldn’t quite figure out.

  Leaning over him further, she smiled down at his perfect ass and breathed his scent inside her. As she did, moisture gathered in almost forgotten places. It made her sigh at how good it was to know her body was still working the way it was supposed to in such a situation.

  After her divorce, things had changed a lot for her. Now it looked like the freaking gynecologist had scared her for nothing, though she had to admit that two years was a really long time to have had no desire for intimacy at all. She rarely even pleasured herself because she simply hadn’t felt the need. It was a relief now to know that her libido had not been in the process of dying. Instead, it had been merely sleeping. Who knew a great smelling, naked man was all that was needed to change that?

  Lisa sat down carefully on the edge of the mattress, trying not to wake the sleeping male because she still wasn’t sure she wanted to. But indulging the rampant desire flooding her senses, she leaned a little closer and sniffed again. Yes, that was definitely him smelling so good, and it was definitely getting her all jazzed up.

  Now why hadn’t she noticed Eric’s masculinity last weekend? Her non-reaction then now exasperated her. She tried to recall their dinner date, how Eric had looked, what he had worn. Maybe he had been wearing some sort of woodsy cologne that evening, but she could barely remember now.

  She certainly didn’t remember him smelling like this.

  What she remembered was Eric texting in between conversation bits with her. When the food came, he finally paid attention to it, and had been more attentive to her after that.

  But this smell—if that had been present then, she really felt that she would have remembered it clearly, especially since it was definitely revving her engine.

  Up this close, she could also smell a little alcohol on him. Since that meant he was being truthful in his note to her, she gave him credibility points. It also explained why he was so completely unaware of her presence.

  Sighing, Lisa stood and walked to the giant window to look out at the city. She thought of all the other women out there just like her, some not even dating anyone. Just like her.

  Boston was a large city, and it wasn’t always easy to meet guys you were interested in that were interested back, especially enough to cause this quandary she was facing. Certainly she loved the city because it had always been home, also because it was busy and important and endlessly interesting. The Copley Plaza Hotel was both a city landmark and a fixture, as well as one of her favorite places to have a drink now and again. She had even stayed in the hotel a time or two, but never in a suite.

  And definitely never with a man she was dating.

  Lisa looked back at the bed. Sure enough, her belly tightened in desire as she let her eyes take in the male landscape splayed out for her viewing pleasure. It had been so long since she had felt real arousal that she was actually scared of her feelings. That alarm was disturbing on many levels because it wasn’t really like her to be afraid.

  Once, she would had been brave with men she wanted.

  Once, she would have looked at his perfect ass, stripped with enthusiasm, and crawled into that big old bed with him to take a bite. It made her smile just thinking about it.

  It was after her divorce that her sexuality seemed to wither. It felt damn good to feel sexually attracted to someone again, even if it was for someone she barely knew.

  Lisa looked at the man in the bed and thought hard. Really, what did she have to lose if she decided to take him for a test run? Sure, they had little in common. That and other things, like the age difference, made it impossible for her to think they might have a real future together.

  When her belly fluttered again, she chided herself for her serious thoughts because the arousal had her feeling lighter than she had in several years.

  She took another deep breath and smelled that intriguing scent that would now forever be associated with seeing him like this.

  Once more she ran her gaze over his back muscles and the back of his legs. She wondered how the other side of him looked. Eric certainly had been hiding a great body under those suits. Her thoughts about the front of him had moisture gathering again, which really was her body making its own decision about what to do.

  “Oh, what the hell,” Lisa said softly. She was not a prude, and the man had issued the invitation. It wasn’t like she was just using him without his permission.

  It took about thirty seconds for her to drop her clothes into a nearby chair.

  She walked completely naked to the bed, already anticipating his pleasure as she woke him up.

  ***

  God, that felt good. If it was only a dream, Finn decided that he definitely did not want to wake up. Her hands were cool, but her mouth was hot as it explored his back, his shoulders, his. . .hey, did she just bite his ass?

  He pried open one tired eye and saw a mass of reddish-brown hair hanging over his hip. Rolling to his side, he saw smooth white skin dotted with freckles. Then he saw her breasts for about three seconds before her hand clamped around him and stroked.

  Lord, that felt wonderful too.

  Finn blinked several times, trying to clear his head enough to think about things. His eyes drifted closed again as he let her raise his interest to the point of a painfully hard erection. It had been so long . . . No, she had to be stopped. But. . . damn . . . she was good at what she was doing.

  Finn looked into soft brown eyes that smiled and crinkled at the corners.

  “Hi” she said.

  “Hi,” he said back, thinking she was definitely a fantasy woman. “Can I kiss you? I would really like to while you do that.”

  The woman snickered at his request and then laughed, obviously thinking it strange that he would ask so politely to kiss her when she had her hand busy stroking his erection.

  “I really wish you would kiss me,” Lisa said, crawling up the bed to give him access to her mouth. His lips skimmed hers once, then a second time. He kept his eyes open and on hers. Why was his kiss so different today, she wondered? A little shiver danced along her arms in response to his heated gaze.

  On the third pass of his talented mouth, Finn ran the tip of his tongue across her bottom lip. When she stopped stroking him to enjoy the moment, he smiled, happily knowing exactly what she felt. Again he ran his tongue along her lips, this time pushing the tip of it into her mouth just a little. She moaned and closed her eyes.

  Why did she not remember how good this could be, Lisa wondered?

  When his mouth crushed hers hard and his eager tongue tangled with hers, she stopped thinking about the past t
o focus on the present. She had to remove her busy hands from the interesting parts to brace them on his shoulders as he took more and more control away from her. She gasped when he rolled until she was under him. The full force of his weight rested on her, and wow—did he feel good. Thank God I found my nerve.

  When Finn broke the kiss, he pulled back, his erection pressed against her navel. She shivered in his arms, and then he shivered in hers, pressing down on her more. He was about to follow his urges for both their sakes, but then remembered what had to be asked.

  “I want this more than I want to breathe right now, but I have no protection,” he said regretfully. “Did you bring anything?”

  He sighed along with her as she sighed loudly and shook her head sadly from side to side.

  “Damn—that’s a shame,” he said slowly.

  Crossing his fingers that Eric had for once really taken care of everything, Finn rolled and pulled her over on top of him in one smooth motion as she laughed. Wrapping one arm around her to keep her from leaving, he leaned over and pulled out a drawer of the side table. In it was a strip of condoms. Bless you, brother. Finn pulled them out and handed them to her, needing her to make the choice.

  Lisa took the packets, turning them over in her fingers. She tore one off and tossed the other two on the side table. She felt him shift his hardness and her in the process. He was very strong, she acknowledged with a thrill. Who would ever have thought that of an investment banker?

  “Is that your way of saying this is okay? I need to hear it,” Finn entreated. He ran his hands down the curve of her back to her hip, stopping there to cup her bottom and pull her more tightly against him.

  Instead of answering his question, Lisa tore the condom open with her teeth and slid down him. She ran her hand along his length, and then repeated the action with her tongue. He bucked, but she held him in place with one hand while she sheathed him in the condom with the other. No sooner had she done this than he rolled them again, this time pinning her under him with intent.

  She moaned and scooted herself into a position that raised her knees alongside his hips and tilted her pelvis to receive him. His heart hammered against her. Thinking that this was a surprising heaven to discover, Lisa wondered why she had waited two years.

  It was all Finn could do not to drive himself into her when she raised her knees. He could feel her arousal. He knew that she wanted him. In that moment, it was so tempting to take all he wanted, how he wanted, and in every way he wanted. Good lord, it had been a long time.

  He had to hang onto his control, he thought, reminding himself that she deserved to be pleasured too.

  Finn raised up on his elbows, looked down into her face. She was absolutely gorgeous. This was a woman, not a young girl with stars in her eyes, but instead a woman with both heat and demand in her. She was squirming under him, impatiently waiting for him to be in her. Her heart was beating fiercely against his chest.

  His mind took a detour, suddenly wishing they had more time. He wished that he’d met her across a crowded room, had asked to go out with her, and had talked her into this. His body had other plans though, so he pressed a little forward, stopping at her moan. He was finally at that point where he knew this was going to happen and that he was going to let it. Maybe he should just pretend he was Eric for once and be grateful. She ran her hands up his back, across his shoulders, making him feel more masculine than he ever remembered feeling in his life.

  “What are you wearing?” she asked, her voice husky, her body clenching. “You smell like sandy beaches. It’s amazing.”

  “Hotel shower gel, I think,” Finn told her, but he was guessing. “Are you sure. . .”

  The question died as she raised her hips and gripped his to pull him into her.

  “Sorry,” she actually blushed. “I wanted. . .it’s been a while since I. . .”

  “Sssh…” he said, pressing his lips softly to hers. Her eagerness for him was thrilling to say the least. “It’s been a while for me too.”

  Finn withdrew slightly and then pressed forward again. He did this several times, each time feeling her body’s slight resistance to him give a little more. With each stroke, he grew harder and more anxious to have her completely, which complicated the process even more.

  She moaned, arching her hips to give him all the access she could. “God, I want you, all of you. Please. . .” she begged.

  Finn answered that simple demand by driving forward hard and all the way. She cried out in relief, and then wrapped herself around him. She followed his rhythm, matching him stroke for stroke. It wasn’t elegant or practiced. It was primal with every stroke only seeking the next one. He felt himself nearing the edge when his rational mind finally clicked off. Then he didn’t care who she was, or why she was there. He was only grateful, profoundly grateful that she held him, wanted him, seemed to need him back.

  He devoured her mouth again, finding her tongue, absorbing her scream as she climaxed around him. His body shook like an earthquake while he pounded himself into her. He didn’t stop moving until every last shudder had passed for them both. Then they held each other as close as they could, hearts thudding from the exertion.

  After a while, when the shock had faded some, Finn rolled them to their sides keeping their bodies connected. He smiled and smoothed her hair back from her face, kissing her eyes, her cheeks, her chin.

  “Thank you,” he said softly, tracing her very responsive mouth. “That was amazing.”

  Lisa shivered with pleasant aftershocks and kissed his closed eyes. Then she smiled as he put his face into the side of her neck and fell dead asleep. She inhaled him deeply, gratefully, equally amazed—both with herself and with him. How this much wonderful happened?

  In no hurry to end the blissful connection of their bodies, Lisa enjoyed his lying next to hers. She waited until she was fairly sure he was not going to wake again before gently disengaging her body from his. The moment it was done, all she wanted was to wake him again and start all over until he was back inside her.

  Great, now her body was completely awake after two years of nothing, but the man who woke it was fast asleep.

  Grinning at her giddiness, Lisa closed her eyes, reliving every second of his persistent lovemaking which had ended her dry spell in such a fantastic way. He had been gentle, taking his time, loving her thoroughly. Then he’d been lost in her, pounding away to pleasure both of them as much as possible.

  Damn it, Lisa thought. It was just supposed to be simple sex. It started out like that. Biting him on the rear and stroking him to make sure he was interested, well that was certainly simple. But somewhere in those minutes after they’d found the condom, it had became something else. It had felt so unexpectedly nice. He had been the perfect blend of consideration and aggressive need, she decided. In fact, he’d been nearly perfect at all of it.

  Swearing at her sentimental female musings when her unexpected lover was already snoring, Lisa pulled far enough away to look at his peaceful face. Talk about romanticizing a quick tumble for relief. Sheesh, she was being as unsophisticated about sleeping with someone as a woman could get.

  What was the matter with her?

  Great sex was just that—nothing more.

  The man now slept like someone who hadn’t slept in days, but she still looked longingly at his sleeping form as she slid from the bed.

  Good for him for sleeping so soundly, Lisa decided, walking to her clothes. At least he was sated. She must have done something right. After great sex, men slept soundly and deeply. She remembered that.

  She quietly picked up her clothes and dressed, fighting the urge to giggle about the twinges she felt in places that hadn’t ached in a very long time.

  She had an early meeting the next day and really couldn’t wait for him to wake up again, but wow, it was shocking how much she really wanted to.

  Maybe dating someone so much younger had been a good idea after all.

  In the sitting area, she stopped by a large d
esk. Seeing a pad of paper and elegant pen next to it, she decided to leave him a note.

  Maybe he would smile when he read it as much as she was smiling now.

  ***

  The next day when Finn finally woke up, it was nearly lunchtime. He immediately looked at the empty bed, disappointed to find no one beside him. Must have been a dream after all, he thought. But wow, it had sure seemed real.

  Then he felt something on his body and found the condom still attached even after all the thrashing he had done in his sleep. It had been a pretty snug fit—just like she had been.

  Okay—enough of that, Finn decided as he climbed out of bed, his body starting to twitch at the thought of her. So it hadn’t been a dream. Now what?

  Nothing probably. He was grateful he’d exercised enough common sense in the heat of the moment to at least use protection. God knew he was disgusted with himself in just about every other way.

  He couldn’t remember her name at all, wasn’t even sure he’d asked her for it. As tired as he had been, it was doubtful that he’d stayed conscious long enough to say goodbye. The thought made him frown. He remembered she was beautiful . . . and nice. Yet evidently, he had fucked her and fallen dead asleep as soon as it was over, pretty much acting like Eric. And that wasn’t his style with women at all.

  Finn decided that there was no use asking his brother for her name and number. By now the woman had probably concluded he was a world-class jerk. Or at least she probably thought Eric had been one. Finn snorted, remembering the note Eric had crafted to lure her to the room in the first place. Okay—maybe the woman thinking he was his evil twin wasn’t such a bad thing after all.

  Finn laughed and shook his head, amused at the idea of worsening Eric’s reputation.

  But remembering her welcoming smile, her yielding body, and the sheer desire in every kiss, he sighed at the magnitude of his loss as he headed to the bathroom.

  When he came out, it was to find Eric waiting in the sitting area, answering email on his phone.

  “Don’t you do anything but work?” Finn asked, surly to see Eric so calm and unconcerned.