A Stranger's Affection Read online

  Jesus, this isn’t happening. She slipped the digit between his parted lips. Then, rising on her toes, she replaced it with her lips. Her tongue traced the shape of his lips before dropping soft kisses to the sides of his mouth. Breathless, he waited for the kiss to deepen. She stopped, and he unconsciously stepped back. She followed. Mesmerized, he was unaware of walking backward until the bed against his knees, halted further movement. She splayed a hand across his chest.

  “What are you doing?” The question wasn’t as firm as he would’ve liked.

  “You called me trouble. I’m making up for it,” Nishi whispered and shook her hair open. It fell to her shoulders in soft curls.

  Somewhere at the back of his mind, Colton knew he should walk away. “You want my brother, not me.” He should be angry at her for overstepping the boundaries. Only, her cheekiness was beginning to hit him in places he didn’t think possible.

  She laughed. An erotic huskiness that traveled the length of his cock. “What can he offer me that you can’t?”

  “I don’t like complications.” He was losing control.

  “Me neither.”

  “You don’t want to play with me, girl.”

  “Who said anything about playing?” She slid both hands up his chest. “We both know why I’m here. Or, are you afraid to take the offer?”

  With an impatient grunt, Colton slid a hand into her hair and cupped the back of her skull. “What do you think?” His fingers tightened in her hair, the grip just hard enough to hint at pain. She merely stared at him as her tongue snaked out to lick her bottom lip. He slipped his other hand down her belly. Her gaze still holding his, she parted her legs, letting him touch her inviting pussy. And when he slid a finger into her, she didn’t move but her breath caught in her throat trying to regulate her frantic breathing—trying to convince him he hadn’t affected her—that she was still in control of this seduction. Except, he knew better. “Do you always get so wet for men you don’t know?”

  “What makes you think I don’t know you?” her question soft, almost amused.

  NISHANI TRIED TO CONTROL the grin. Questioning his manhood wasn’t ideal, challenging him even more so.

  Colton’s jaw tightened, pushing his finger deeper. “Trust me. You don’t.”

  Not wanting him to stop right when she had him where she wanted, Nishani kept her tone seductive and whispered, “Maybe.”

  He forced a second finger into her at the same time pressing his thumb against her clit. The sharp jolt of pleasure startled her. Her inner muscles tightened, clutching at his beautiful, invading fingers, and she could barely keep from moaning out loud at the sensations usurping her body. Unconsciously, she grabbed his forearm, not sure if she wanted him to stop or not. Under the long-sleeve sweater, his arm was thick with hard muscle and moved with skilled ease. Her grip tightened.

  “Don’t you like that?” he growled, holding her gaze. He flicked his thumb over her clit then pressed down in hard circular motions.

  Instead of an answer, she gasped. Colton’s fingers curled inside her. She cried out as he hit a spot that sparked a sharper pang to every nerve. Tension coiled within, the pleasure building and intense, shocking her. Her body, usually slow to respond to a man’s attention, throbbed with an aching need at the touch of someone who was both a stranger and a mystery—a circumstance both bewildering and frightening. She always took charge—gratifying her body until she reached an orgasm.

  Colton Black, it seemed, knew how to make a woman’s body dance to his beat. And as if he read her mind, his grip tightened at the back of her skull. He leaned closer; his pupils dilated—gray orbs darkening—hooded with undisguised lust. “Come for me,” the low rumble of his voice incredibly sexy and hard to ignore as he increased the pressure on her clit.

  And she did. With a strangled moan, she hardly recognized as her voice, Nishani climaxed around his fingers, the edges of his short, blunt nails curling into her undulating flesh. For a second, her vision blurred as she rode the wave of sensations, her skin prickled with blazing needles, core dangerously close to a sizzling burn. Sagging against his chest, she panted and attempted to seize control of the moment.

  “Still think you know me?” he asked, his voice thick with lust.

  She lifted her head. Colton watched her intently. As her world swirled back into focus, Nishani accepted that while she was dominant where sex was concerned, no woman, not even she would be able to seduce this man into anything. And why would he? Her slick insides, the wetness that coated those thick male fingers as he slowly withdrew from her while he watched her was all the confirmation she needed. Pick your battles, they say. And she’d chosen one heck of an opponent—a man who could seduce a woman with just his eyes.

  “Your turn,” she said and slid a hand down to grasp his crotch.

  “No.” He turned and left the room.

  Nishani’s jaw dropped. “What the fuck?” the curse spewed out when she finally managed some semblance of self-respect. What happened to her so-called seduction? Annoyed, she hadn’t gotten her way, Nishani grabbed a towel, wrapped it around her body, and headed for her room. The vow to seduce Colton a lot stronger than when she’d gone into his bathroom.

  Chapter Thirteen

  “HELL, COLT, I CAN’T resist the woman anymore. She’s hot as fuck.”

  Colton stared at his friend across the table and grinned. “I thought you were over the whole MILF thing. You’re marrying in what—four months?”

  “Yeah, I know. If you had a hot mother-in-law like mine, wouldn’t you fuck her?”

  He laughed. “Are you marrying for love or the mother-in-law? That’s a doomed marriage right there.”

  Grant grinned. “I love Candy, but every time her mother visits, the woman practically throws herself at me. I’m finding it harder to resist.”

  “Stay the fuck away, man.”

  “I guess you’re right.” Grant raised his glass to his lips and glanced around the floor. “The club’s doing well?”

  “Yeah, it is.” Colton shrugged.

  He’d open the men’s club three years ago. Due to popularity, extended it to now span three floors. The first level operated as a regular dance club while the top two stories served as a men’s club. Although they allowed the occasional professional, patronage was mainly influential older businessmen. That way, he restricted entrance to troublemakers and younger men who lacked control over their alcohol intake and ended up making asses of themselves with his girls.

  “Colton? What’s up, man? I’ve never seen you this distracted?” Grant asked. “Please tell me Brittany isn’t sinking her claws into you.”

  Colton stared at his friend in silence. He and Grant were good friends for the last ten years and didn’t keep secrets from each other. “Not her.” Brittany was just his fuck buddy, nothing more significant existed. She accepted it never would. He couldn’t get his mind off Nishi and the incident in his bedroom the night before. The woman was seriously beginning to occupy a lot more brain space than he wanted.

  “The woman living with you then?”

  He’d mentioned Nishi to Grant but not everything. “Some. She came on to me last night, and I sort of reciprocated.”

  His friend’s brow shot up. “What does sort of mean?”

  “I teased her a little.”

  “Teased her?” Grant laughed. “Fuck, man, you’ve got a live wire living with you, and you tease it a little. Where’s the man who takes what he wants, no questions asked? You’re getting old, Colt.”

  He laughed. Why did a rich man in an expensive suit always have to take the bodies thrown his way? Despite the question, something about Nishi—he couldn’t quite put his finger on— intrigued him. “She lost her memory. I can’t take advantage of a woman in that state.”

  “Well, she came on to you. Enough said.” Grant downed his drink, then looked away. “Fuck me, who’s that. I haven’t seen her before. Is she new?”

  He glanced up and followed Grant’s line of sight.
Colton clenched his jaw. His body heated to volcanic proportions as he stared at Nishi. “Fuck.” Dressed in a sexy, red cocktail dress that dipped low at the back and showed off way too much cleavage, she danced on the bar counter. Her body swayed and curved with the ease of the diamondback snake tattooed along her spine. His body ignited, a mixture of anger and deadly passion seethed beneath the surface.

  “Damn, Colton, you sure know how to pick them. Didn’t realize your girls started dancing on the counters. Jesus, she’s fucking hot, and she has the men eating out of her palm.”

  “That’s Nishi. What the hell is she doing here? I’m going to fucking kill Rex.”

  “Holy fuck,” Grant mumbled. “You walked out on that?”

  Without a word, Colton stood and zeroed in on Rex. His brother stood at the bottom of the counter amid a group of drunken men. He attempted to coax Nishi off the platform. Rex turned and snagged Colton’s gaze.

  “What the fuck is she doing up there?” Colton muttered when he reached his brother’s side. He was getting annoyed at asking that question every time she popped up.

  “I’m sorry, Colt. I brought her out to see the club, and she wanted to dance. I didn’t realize she meant on the countertop.”

  “You were supposed to be watching her. Get her the fuck down. Now.” He glared at his brother.

  “Nish!” Rex yelled and reached up. But the music drowned his shout. He seized Nishi’s arm and yanked to an uproar of boos from the crowd. “C’mon. Colton’s pissed.”

  “Let go, Rex. I don’t care if he’s fuming.”

  His brother stopped tugging at her arm, glanced briefly at Colton then reached up once more. “Trust me. You don’t want to piss him off. Please, for my sake, get down. I promised I’d take care of you if he allowed you to come out tonight,” he shouted.

  She stared at Rex then sought out Colton. When their gazes met, he cocked a brow. With an unexpected roll of her eyes, she allowed Rex to help her down, thanked her audience, and accompanied his brother to Colton’s side.

  “If you insist on behaving wildly, then stay the fuck away from here,” Colton gritted through clenched teeth. Fuck. In all his forty-two years, he’d never met a woman who could push his buttons as this woman could.

  As if his words held no impact, she merely arched a brow. “And that’s coming from a man who pays women to dance in his bar. Typical double standards,” her feisty comeback annoyed Colton. He had a sudden urge to smack her perfectly shaped ass until she begged forgiveness.

  Rex grasped her arm. “Let’s get out of here, Nish.”

  She grinned and shrugged off his hold. “Get me a drink, will you, Rex?”

  With a resigned look, his brother walked away. One of the guys from the group that had watched her dance, approached.

  “Hey there, sexy, fancy a drink with me?”

  “Fuck off, she’s with me,” Colton responded before she could.

  The other man stared at him as though he fought the need to argue. Colton waited for a reason to smash his nose to a pulp. Something probably told him to think twice about taking on Colton. The man glanced briefly at Nishi, then turned and walked away.

  Next to him, Colton felt rather than saw her subzero glare. He held back the satisfied grin, yet when their gazes met, the spark in her eyes—the color of glacier ice—told him he’d regret his actions of staking his claim on her.

  “I’m with you?” An underlying warning trailed her soft words. She tightened the gap between their bodies. When her arms slipped around his waist, he wasn’t ready for the intensity, the touch flamed, nor could he control the twitch in his pants. The curve of her lips, arrogant and bold, told him she’d felt it too. “Brave words for a man who left me hanging last night?” In her heels, Nishi matched him stare for stare.

  Fuck caution. Just fuck her on the dance floor and get it over with. His thoughts raged war in his brain. Colton lowered his head, his gaze fixed on the pink swirl of her tongue as it snaked over her bottom lip. Wet and inviting. He gripped her hips.

  “Kiss me, Mr. Black,” her sexy purr did nothing to tame his hard-as-hell cock.

  Jesus Christ. On the verge of breaking his vow to stay away, he dropped his hands, clenched his fingers, and called on the willpower he never knew existed. And did the only thing he could do. Walked away.

  DECIDING AGAINST A shirt, Colton pulled on sweatpants and left the room. Downstairs, he cursed as the aftereffects of his late-night drinking, hounded his head, and walked into the kitchen. He stopped short. Nishi stood at the center counter, her hips swaying to the sounds of music from her earbuds. With her back to him, she didn’t notice his appearance. Dressed in tight, white cutoffs and a yellow top that dropped off one shoulder, her creamy curves tightened his body. The undisguised need caught him entirely by surprise. He stifled a moan. As much as he wanted to retreat, he couldn’t. For some strange reason, this sassy woman challenged his pledge to stay away from women who could get close. One-night stands were his thing. It required no thought, no emotion, and, most of all, no commitment.

  He neared her. A whiff of her perfume swirled its way around his body, blasting his need. Unconsciously, he inhaled deeply. His hands itched to touch her. It took every ounce of control not to reach out. Caught up in a dance move, she turned sharply and gasped when her body collided with his. Unconsciously, his arms snaked around her waist to keep her from falling. Her hands rested on his arms; she buried her face in his chest for a moment. The action sent a ripple of heat coursing through his body.

  Then she looked up, her eyes glazed with open lust. Colton resisted the urge to capture her lips, briefly wondering what she would taste like—her drink, strawberries, and lime or her snack of spicy pineapple that lay on the counter. Her lips, a natural pink, widened in a slow smile. His desire spiked—the blatant lust confusing. Fervor, the likes of which stole his breath, shot down his spine, and hardened his cock.

  “Is the mighty Black Lord getting horny on me?” The whisper was husky instead of the usual sass. “Shall we finish where we left off last night.” She winked.

  The sudden cough at his back released his hands. She stepped away. “Morning, Colt, Nishi.”

  Rex’s smirk annoyed Colton. If he knew his brother well, he’d make a fucking mountain out of a molehill with what he’d just witnessed, which was nothing. He glanced over at Nishi. She’d looped a hand around Rex’s arm and chatted about last night. Annoyed, Colton poured a mug of coffee, pulled out a chair at the table, and sat down. Nishi said something to Rex, laughed, and then left the room.

  His brother grabbed a coffee and dropped into a seat across from Colton. “What’s up?” Rex sipped his drink.

  He set his mug on the table. “What do you mean?”

  “You like her, don’t you?”

  “Who?”

  Rex laughed. “Quit stalling, man. You know who I’m talking about—Nishi. Why do you deny the inevitable? You want her. Why else did you almost kiss her in the club last night? And then when I walked in now—”

  “Shut up, Rex. You’re giving me a fucking headache. Colton sat back in his seat and pinched the bridge of his nose. His head throbbed like a bitch.

  His brother slapped his thigh and snorted. “Your headache has nothing to do with me but everything to do with that bottle of whiskey that fucked you in the ass last night. I saw the empty in the study. Why did you leave the club?”

  Rex was right. When Colton left the club, he came home and drowned his sorrows in the bottle instead of doing what he wanted. Fucking Nishi. “I’m not ready for any relationships.”

  “Who said anything about a relationship?” Rex grinned. “Maybe you can’t handle a defiant woman?” Rex immediately laughed and raised his hands, palms outward in apology. He stood. “It’s okay, you know. To go after something or someone you want.” Rex left the room.

  He glared at his brother’s back, hating his curiosity. Colton had never let his guard down before. Why was this woman so magnetic? A snap of his fingers wou
ld bring women running to his side, wanting to please him, but Nishi turned him on—her blatancy even more so. She made no qualms about wanting him—sexually, and that alone made her unique. Despite his rudeness, there was still something he hadn’t figured out about her, about the way she reacted. Not just in his bedroom but also that first night, he heard her scream in her nightmare.

  Even though she remained in a coma, it was as if she’d sensed his presence then and was attempting to infiltrate his mind-space ever since. And while he fought the attraction, he couldn’t deny it. Her smile, her touch—it did something to him. It brought a spark to his otherwise dull life filled with nothing but mindless warfare. Her presence made his spine tingle, his soul sing and filled him with excitement, he could only call dangerous, and by God, he wanted it, craved it. What the fuck, man. Get your fucking shit together. There was no time for love and adoring affection.

  Chapter Fourteen

  JEEZ, IT’S SO DAMN hot.

  Nishani winced as she tossed around the big bed, trying to find a cool spot. Annoyed, she sat up, then reached over and switched on the bedside light. She eyed the clock with a grimace—just after midnight. Rising, she walked over to the patio doors, swung them open, and stepped out into a blast of hot air. The late July air was stifling.

  Cupping her neck, she moved forward and leaned over the white balustrade. Her gaze landed on the large swimming pool; the translucent water looked inviting. Nishani bit her lower lip thoughtfully. Her gaze swept over the manicured lawns resplendent in the silence of the night. She searched for any signs of life.

  “Do it, girl, everyone’s asleep.”

  She stepped back inside and walked to the wall to wall closet in search of a swimsuit. Her gaze fell on a one-piece royal blue bikini. She eyed it indecisively, thought better of it, and tossed it back in search of another. A fruitless one. Dammit. She didn’t have another. The heat got the better of her. Nishani grabbed the one-piece and closed the closet door.