Baring It All Page 3

  Maybe he was right; the rules shouldn’t apply in the state of Queensland. A few days of no-strings sex with Max Jensen on a secluded tropical island, away from inquiring minds. Yep, she was really considering this fling.

  Natasha bit her lip. “What am I agreeing to?”

  “You want a preview?”

  “You’re not going to flash me, are you?” she asked dryly.

  Max chuckled. His laugh was infectious. She was trying to keep a straight face, but it was a losing battle. So she smiled, watching him. Damn, she was in so much trouble. But what a relief it would be to stop resisting all that charm, to stop thinking about all the ways it could go wrong and just enjoy Max for a few days. By the end of those few days, perennial playboy Max would be ready to move on, and she would be sexed up enough to get back to real life.

  Max’s gaze had shifted from amused toward hot.

  “I’ll be working during the travel portions of the trip, but on the island I’m just there to make sure Alya’s not walking around alone. The magazine has its own security measures in place, so I’m mostly just backup support for your sister,” he said. “A couple days on an isolated island, and we’ll have time alone while Alya is working,” said Max in his deep, obscenely sexy voice. Then he waggled his eyebrows. “Plenty of time to look for your favorite kinds of fish sex.”

  Natasha groaned. “I really think you have the wrong impression about—”

  “Sex?” He cut her off, making the word sound obscenely hot with his deep voice. “I doubt it.”

  His smile faded and his lips parted, the way they had when he was about to kiss her. Damn, she wanted to kiss him again. The kitchen was silent again, the air thick and electric. She played with the half-empty glass on the table in front of her. She could totally do this. A couple days wasn’t enough to turn her into a needy, crazy mess, à la her mother, no matter how potent his charm was...right?

  She glanced over at Max, who was covering an amused smile with his hand. Like he was already three steps ahead of her, thinking about much dirtier ideas. Like he was planning.

  Natasha stood up, and Max’s eyes moved slowly up her body like a long, hot lick. The effect echoed in warm rushes of pleasure. And the man wasn’t even touching her yet. Somewhere her brain was making its last-ditch warning efforts, but she buried those thoughts. Just a few days. Nothing more.

  Max stood up right in front of her, the heat radiating from his body. She had never just stared at him like this. His nose was a little crooked, no doubt from his rugby days, and his eyes had flecks of gray in all that blue. His dark blond hair was tousled and his smile was dark and hungry.

  “Hmm... It’s worth considering...” she conceded with a little smile.

  “No one has to know,” he whispered, his words rasping in her ears. “Just you and me and all the dirty things you’re dying to try. Is that what you want?”

  She bit her lip. He wanted her in a way Wayne never had. And if she were completely honest with herself, which tended not to be a good idea when it came to the topic of men, she was hot for Max in a way she never had been about Wayne.

  “There are definitely things I’d want to try with you,” she said, her voice coming out husky.

  His lips brushed against her neck. “I can think of all kinds of things you might like.”

  God, so could she. Natasha had actively resisted thoughts about naked Max, but once she let her guard down, the images were right there in X-rated detail. She flashed to the image of him over her, his eyes hungry, his biceps flexing, his thick, hard cock nudging her.

  Natasha let out a soft moan and pressed herself flush against him.

  “Damn, sweetheart,” he groaned, his teeth grazing over her skin. “Tell me what you’re thinking about.”

  She shook her head slowly. No way in hell was she going to describe that scene aloud. It was so...average, so typical. She needed to go for something a little more creative than that. Or maybe she needed a new approach to making out with Max.

  Natasha smiled a little. “Actually, I’m ready to stop thinking.”

  She took off her glasses and set them on the table. Then she reached around his neck and coaxed his mouth down to hers. A soft brush of her lips, then another. Oh, my, she was kissing him again, and he tasted good. She dragged her tongue over his bottom lip and bit down. Max froze, and she pulled back. Was that too much?

  Then he swore under his breath, and they went from zero to overdrive in an instant. Their mouths collided, his tongue found hers, matching her need, her hunger, stroke by stroke. Natasha gasped in breaths, giving in to the surge of pleasure coursing through her. His mouth teased hers with hungry promises, tempting suggestions of what would come next, if she just let go. So she did it. She let go, losing herself in the warmth of his big, hard body, taking everything she wanted. He backed her up until she was pressed against the heavy kitchen table. She wove her hands into his hair, tugging him closer, searching for that same bliss of their kiss moments before. Oh, yes. She couldn’t get enough of him. His hands explored her waist, her hips, as his lips pressed against hers, so hungry.

  But now she wanted more than a kiss. She squirmed closer, moving against his hard body, his erection growing and pulsing against her. His fingers flexed on her rear, and she ground her hips into his.

  “Goddamn,” he muttered. One hand moved lower, slipping under the hem of her dress, a hot, rough caress. His mouth traveled down her jaw, onto the tender skin of her neck, the scrape of his stubble sending erotic jolts through her. His fingers teased higher, higher on the inside of her thigh until he brushed against the silk of her panties.

  “Max.”

  The sound of his name stopped everything in the quiet kitchen. He sucked in a breath and shifted back. Natasha furrowed her brow and looked up at him. Max’s eyes were half-closed, clouded with lust. She reached for him again, but he caught her hands and held her back. Another spike of desire burst through her, and her breath caught in the back of her throat. Max’s smile was dark and amused.

  “Hold on, sweetheart,” he said, his breaths unsteady. “I’m way too close to fucking you right here on this table, hard and dirty.”

  The words—just words—made her gasp. Natasha let out a shaky sigh. “I’m not against that idea.”

  “No way are we starting tonight, when you’re coming off an evening with another guy.” He brought her hands behind her, so her back arched up toward him. She was heaving in breaths, and Max’s gaze drifted down to her chest. His eyes were hot, desperate, and he gave a low laugh. “I am really fucking tempted right now, Natasha. But no test runs. If we’re doing this, it can’t be anything you could call a mistake.”

  “I wouldn’t regret it, if that’s what you’re worried about,” she said quickly.

  Max smiled and shook his head slowly. “I’m nothing like Wayne or any of those other jerkers. I’ll make sure you love it.”

  Just not too much. Just enough to get a little break from the pressures of grant applications, publications and jockeying for coveted academic faculty positions. Natasha was very aware of how fortunate she was, with fewer financial pressures than most researchers since Alya paid for various extravagances that came with a fashion model’s life. Still, marine biology was her passion, and success in this male-dominated field was short-lived. But to step off that endless cycle of projects, just for a few days of luxurious indulgence on a tropical island with Max...

  “Sounds like the holiday of a lifetime,” she whispered, pushing away all other thoughts, concentrating on the man in front of her.

  Max’s breath hitched, and he brushed a soft kiss over her mouth. “I can’t wait.”

  He let her go and straightened out her not-celebration-dinner dress. No way was she going to let Max single-handedly decide how their night ended. If he was going to leave her all hot and bothered, she wasn’t going to make it easy for him. Though the en
ormous bulge in his pants suggested he wasn’t any more comfortable than she was. Natasha took a deep breath.

  “You drove here, didn’t you?” she asked.

  “Yes.”

  She licked her lips and turned to get a glimpse of his expression. “Park outside my window and wait for me.”

  His eyes widened, and his hands drifted down over her hips. Then he grinned, his lips brushing against hers one more time.

  “Wow, when you indulge, you don’t just take a bite. You eat the whole goddamn cake.”

  CHAPTER FOUR

  NATASHA LISTENED FOR the front door and headed to her bedroom. Slowly, she walked to the side window. The blinds were half-closed. She lifted one slat to peek at the view. Across from her building was a high-rise of offices, now dark, and most of the cars on the street below were gone. Alya had chosen the apartment building for its central Sydney location and the fact that it had a doorman. Natasha would never be able to afford this flat on the soft money funding for her research and a part-time university lecturer’s salary. Her sister, on the other hand, pulled in nice sums based solely on her good looks. But Natasha had long ago stopped expecting the world to be fair.

  She lifted another row of the blinds and found Max immediately. The streetlight shone through the window of his black SUV, and from the second floor she could make out his face. He was smiling up at her.

  Her phone beeped from across the room, and she grabbed it.

  Max: This will be a lot more fun if I can see you.

  Oh, right. He could only see bits of her through the tiny rows of blinds. And of course he’d tease her about it.

  She took a step back, bumping into her desk. Her well-ordered desk, with only a pen and a blank notepad on top. Her eyes moved over the plain green bedspread of her neatly made bed and her bookshelves, contents organized by size. Not one thing was out of place.

  What would it feel like to take a break from being this Natasha for a few days? Logical, orderly Natasha. Max was waiting for her to follow through, and she had two choices: back out or dive face-first into that cake. She smiled.

  Natasha: I was just checking to see if you were naked. Didn’t want to be the only one.

  She sent the message and waited, watching him through the blinds. Max’s head turned from his phone to her window, then back to his phone.

  Max: I’m calling you out on that one. Don’t believe you’re naked for a second.

  She chuckled.

  Natasha: What happens if I really am?

  Max’s shoulders shook a little. Was he laughing? When he looked up again, he was definitely smiling.

  Max: Then I take off my pants and keep them off until I get home.

  Natasha: Home = parking space? Or will you walk into your building naked?

  Max: Stalling...

  He was right. Natasha scanned the view from her window again. Only two lights were on in the office building across from her. No pedestrians in sight. Was she going to expose herself to this Sydney street, just to prove to both Max and herself that she could have a little fun? Yes, she was.

  Nothing typical about this. Creative? Yes. Though she wasn’t sure if the real-life version of this little game of undress would be a turn-on or just nerve-racking. There was only one way to find out.

  Natasha kicked off her flats and took a deep breath. She was even dressed for a strip show, with matching bra and panties. Coordinated for the possibility of post-celebration sex. Hmm...a possibility, not a sure thing? That was a little messed up.

  How the hell had the evening gotten to this point so quickly? Only a few hours ago, she was sitting on the patio of La Capannina, contemplating getting a jump on her January schedule. Now she was single, on holiday and considering a few days of sexploration on a tropical island. Oh, and she would have had sex with Max right on the kitchen table minutes ago if he hadn’t stopped them. Definitely not where she thought tonight was going.

  But it was certainly sexier than the night she had planned.

  Even Alya, who knew every little detail of her relationship with Wayne, knew nothing about that night she’d almost kissed Max...while her sister slept in the other room. These last moments in the kitchen together were a reminder of why she had been tempted.

  Natasha was stalling again. She grabbed the cord to the blinds.

  Well, here goes nothing.

  * * *

  Hell, yes. She was actually doing this. She was really going to take off her clothes for him.

  Max’s cock was already hard as a goalpost. Earlier, he’d been way too close to whipping out the magic wand. This little game she had started was going to push him over the edge soon. And despite having reservations earlier, if she was offering to strip for him on her terms, he wouldn’t say no to that.

  Natasha turned around, her hands searching for the zipper of the dress. Slowly, she lowered it, down her back and over her beautiful ass. Her dress gaped open, exposing all that warm, soft skin he had wanted to touch back in her kitchen. Max was going to personally thank the architect who had chosen full-length windows in her building. Natasha let her sleeves fall off as she glanced over her shoulder. And smiled. Oh, that smile, just for him. She inched the dress down, shimmying it over her hips until it fell. Leaving her in a see-through bra and panties.

  Then she turned around.

  Max stared up at Natasha’s window as his cock pulsed hard in his pants. His invitation for a few days of fun had been a long shot, and her response had been straight out of his late-night, snake-spanking fantasies. He could still hear her uneven breaths, feel her teeth sink into his lip. His body was alive with the memory of the heat of her skin, the weight of her body against his. And when he’d kissed her back in the kitchen, she had finally let go, like she’d also waited for this moment for years.

  Now, she was standing in front of her window in a barely there bra and panties, and those glasses of hers were the perfect addition. Innocent but naughty at the same time, which only made him harder.

  Natasha certainly had two sides to her—though she tried hard to hide the second one. Most of the time she was a funny, quirky, confident scientist who chose her path based on logic and careful decision-making to make sure her life stayed in her control. Hell, Max loved this side of her. It was what had made him pay attention that first day she so thoroughly and insightfully turned him down. But it was this side that had kept her with that tosser Wayne. Because the fucker kept everything nice and orderly despite not actually caring for her.

  Wayne was probably too self-centered to notice Natasha’s other side, the one she seemed to be wary of. One that was curious, tempted. She rarely let anyone see it, but Max was going to give her the chance to explore that part of herself on Green Island. Maybe if he showed her what it felt like to have a man worship her for a few days, she’d avoid assholes like Wayne. And the hurt that came with them.

  This peep show was the perfect balance, teetering between both sides of her. Would she go any further? It was questions like this that made his cock ache.

  Natasha: You still have your pants on.

  Max chuckled.

  Max: Bra and panties = naked? Or are you ready to go all the way?

  Natasha: Stalling...

  Max laughed and looked up at her window. She had her hands on her hips, and her smile was wide. So far, so good. As long as he kept her smiling, she’d play along. He’d have plenty of time to get to the dirtier stuff next week.

  Max set his phone in the docking station on his dashboard. He tipped his seat back a bit and unfastened the button of his jeans. Carefully, he lowered the straining zipper. His cowboy leaped out, stretching the material of his boxers, ready for a ride. He slipped the jeans over his hips and pulled them off, along with his socks and shoes. Then he tugged his boxers down, giving him plenty of room for the rodeo.

  He looked back up at the window as his han
d moved down over his cock. He cupped his balls and moved his hand up again, slowly, over his length, his gaze fixed on Natasha. Her arms fell to her sides as she stared down at him, her mouth parting. How much could she see? Had she ever watched a man get off in front of her? Another idea to file under Things to Try on Green Island.

  She raised her hands to her breasts. He closed his fist around his cock and gave himself a hard squeeze. Would she get off in front of him, too?

  But no. She was holding up her phone, probably texting him. Max grinned as his phone pinged.

  Natasha: I can’t see enough. Not a fair exchange.

  Before he could think through the idea, he reached for his dashboard to type.

  Max: You can come closer.

  Silence. Was she considering it? She was still staring down at him.

  His imagination kicked into overdrive. His hand was back on his cock as he pictured her walking out the front door of her apartment building and climbing into the seat next to him. She’d still be wearing just a bra and panties and those glasses, because, hey, this was his fantasy. Can I get a closer look? she’d say. Yeah, she certainly could. Max was bigger than Wayne in every way, and he’d put money on it that this included cock size. Natasha’s eyes would get all doe-eyed wide as she stared at his dick. He’d be ready to come, but he’d make himself wait.

  She’d say something like, Can I touch you? and—

  Max’s phone pinged, shaking him out of his fantasy world.

  Natasha: Goodnight

  He looked up at the window, and she smiled and waved. He smiled back.

  Max: I’ll be thinking of you. In detail.

  Natasha: Same

  The shade on her window came down, and Max slumped back into his seat. His cock was begging for attention. How the hell was he going to drive home with a raging hard-on?