Can't Help Falling In Love Part 27

But tonight, he was all out of patience.

He'd come to the club tonight to find a woman, to proposition her, to claim her for one no-holds-barred night, but he'd been watching the dancers for long enough to know that he wasn't going to take a single one of them to bed. None of the women who'd walked in through the thick red curtain in the past thirty minutes had been contenders, either.

Until, suddenly, the curtain parted...and she walked in.

Marcus felt like a fist had slammed straight into his gut.

The woman was young, mid-twenties probably, and so beautiful it almost hurt to look at her. Her black leather dress left nothing to his imagination, fitting her like a second skin with wide cut-outs that ran down the side of her insane curves.

She was the one.

As she stood in the doorway and slowly scanned the crowd, every eye in the room was on her. She was magnetic, had that special something that made it impossible to pull your eyes away from her.

And then her eyes met his, illuminated by a beam of light in the dark room, and although Marcus hadn't drunk nearly enough at Chase's engagement party to be unsteady on his feet, one look at those clear blue eyes had him fighting for balance.

What was wrong with him?

He needed to remember, at all times, what tonight was about. Pleasure. Not emotion. Not a relationship. It was okay for certain parts of his body below the waist to react like a match had been lit from nothing more than looking at the woman. Everything else was off-limits. He wasn't looking for a woman to respect.

And he definitely wasn't going to fall in love.

The dangerous curves began to shift beneath the thin layer of leather as she moved straight toward him, never once breaking stride, even in impossibly high heels. Marcus couldn't miss the challenge in her gaze, a look that asked if he was man enough to handle her.

He'd always liked his women tall and slim, not barely coming up to his chest like this one. A voice in his head told him she was way too young for him, young enough that if this were any other night, he'd walk away from her now.

But he wasn't planning on walking away from whatever this woman offered. Not until first light.

And definitely not until he'd had his fill of those curves.

Talk about big and strong, thought Nicola. If this guy's broad shoulders and gorgeous face weren't enough, he stood out from the rest of the sc.u.mmy crowd in his pressed shirt and slacks, clearly not giving a d.a.m.n that he was different from them all.

He was the one.

The ha.s.sle of getting inside with all of the people clamoring to take pictures and have her sign autographs for them had almost been enough to make her hop back into the taxi and go hide out in her hotel again. But she hadn't known where else to look, hadn't been able to think of anywhere else to go. And she just didn't care about the price of fame tonight, about the inevitable ramifications of what she was doing. Not when a long, lonely night was all that waited for her in her hotel suite if she turned tail and ran.

Beyond thankful that she hadn't chickened out at the last second, Nicola was practically licking her lips as she approached him.

It was pure instinct to try and make herself look more attractive to him. She'd pushed out her b.r.e.a.s.t.s, swayed her hips that extra little bit. Yes, she often silently bemoaned having to use her s.e.xuality to get things out of people, but darn it, when it worked this well, what was a girl to do?

And she really wanted tonight to work out. Especially now that she'd finally seen a man she absolutely had to have.

She waited for him to say her name, for that flicker of recognition to rise in his eyes. But when neither happened after several long seconds, it finally occurred to her that he might not know who she was.

Or, she thought with the cynicism that had taken root deep within her, maybe he was just faking it because he thought it would pique her interest in him if he seemed aloof.

"Hi, I'm Nicola." Her real name popped out before she realized it. She hadn't gone by anything but Nico for so long with anyone but her parents that the name felt strange on her tongue.

Kind of good, too, though.

She waited for him to correct her, to be surprised that she hadn't introduced herself as Nico. Instead, he simply repeated her name.

"Nicola."

His low, rough voice had her shivering, thrill b.u.mps actually rising on her arms despite the swampy heat of the club from all the moving bodies.

She studied him for long enough to confirm that there wasn't a shred of awareness in his dark brown eyes. Nothing at all that resembled the way the guy at the hotel had looked at her, like he was dying to say he'd done a big star.

Had she actually run into the one person on earth who had no idea who she was?

It felt too lucky to be true.

Of course, her luck would only hold out so long in a public place. Which meant she needed to get them out of there as soon as possible, before anyone came up and asked for an autograph or a picture with her.

"I'm not in the mood to dance tonight," she began, before realizing, "I don't know your name."

She liked the way he reached out and brushed a lock of hair out of her eyes, liked it even more when he said, "My name is Marcus. And I'm not in the mood to dance, either."

She supposed there were lots of things they could both say to each other. Things like, "Should we get out of here?" or "Why don't we go back to my hotel?" But, amazingly, Nicola realized those words, those questions and answers, weren't necessary.

Everything they'd needed to say to each other had already been said.

In one look.

In one touch.

Her skin burned where he'd touched her, his fingertips rougher than she'd thought they would be, given his clothes. She'd felt calluses and strength in that one brush across her skin. The thought of being touched like that-with those hands-on even more sensitive parts of her body had heat blooming inside of her in places that never usually got that hot.

The music was still playing, louder than before, perhaps, but all she could hear was the beating of her own heart. All she knew was that she wanted this night with Marcus more than she'd wanted anything in a very long time.

...FROM THIS MOMENT ON excerpt by Bella Andre 2011.

Buy FROM THIS MOMENT ON for your Nook.

GAME FOR LOVE.

2011 Bella Andre In a relationship built on lies...the only truth is their feelings for each other.

To fulfill his grandmother's dying wish, linebacker Cole Taylor must find and marry a good girl. First grade teacher Anna Davis fits the bill perfectly. Their deal is simple: If she'll be his temporary wife, he'll give her more pleasure than she ever imagined was possible.

Only, love is the ultimate game-changer.

Enjoy the following excerpt for GAME FOR LOVE...

His eyes, still dark with desire, were fixed on her and she felt as if he saw all the way into her soul. It was too much, too soon. Anna tried to walk inside the hotel room, but he grabbed her before she could take more than a step, and pulled her against him.

"You don't need to run from me, Anna."

Her breath was rising and falling too fast. "I don't want to run, but I don't know how to do anything else."

His mouth found hers and she tried to lose herself in his kiss the way she'd been lost in all the others, but panic was riding her too hard now to be able to let go. His hands moved down her back, rubbing, ma.s.saging from shoulder to hips, but instead of relaxing, she only tensed up more. He lifted his head and she immediately said, "I'm sorry. I don't know what's wrong with me."

"No apologies."

Grateful that he wasn't pressuring her into anything-even though she was now his lawfully wedded wife-she said, "I want-"

Oh G.o.d, she was such a novice at all of this that she didn't even know how to get the words out.

"You want to sleep with me."

Thankful that he clearly didn't have the same problem, she nodded.

"But something is holding you back?"

Again, she nodded.

"How many lovers have you had, Anna?"

She flushed at his question. "Two," she said in a voice that was barely more than a whisper. "But being with them wasn't like being with you."

The words were out before she realized they were coming and her flush flamed even brighter.

"You're special to me, too," he said softly against her lips and this time when he kissed her, she was able to sink into it a little more. "I want to give you pleasure, Anna, more pleasure than you've ever known. Will you let me do that for you?"

His heated words shot through her veins like a drug. "I want to, Cole." And she did. G.o.d, how she did. "But what if I freak out again?"

"Will you trust me to make sure that doesn't happen?"

She had no reason to trust him, not when she didn't know any more about him than his name and profession. And yet, there was something in his eyes, in the way he'd touched her so far tonight, in the way he'd kissed her, that had her feeling cherished.

Adored.

No one had ever made her feel that way before. Not just the s.e.xual part, which was way off any chart she'd ever had, but the safety part.

Cole made her feel protected.

"What we've had so far tonight is only the beginning. There's so much more, sweet Anna. Let me show you how good I can make you feel."

She couldn't hold back a shiver at his words. His arms were still around her, light enough that she could walk away at any moment, but she didn't want to go. His erection throbbed hard and thick against her belly even through his pants, and she wanted what he promised.

Badly.

But now she knew for sure that she couldn't do it on her own. Not without him helping her. Guiding her. Leading her.

Not without trusting him.

She'd thought a quickie wedding would be the craziest thing she'd ever done, but now she knew she was wrong. Sleeping with Cole, trusting him enough to give her body over to him, letting him learn what gave her pleasure-learning it for herself-was far crazier.

"I'll trust you, Cole."

The relief that flashed across his features was quickly replaced with a darker, deeper desire than she'd seen yet and then he was picking her up and kissing her as he carried her back inside.

Into his bedroom.

Cole didn't throw her on the bed, didn't crawl over her and keep kissing her. Instead, he set her on her feet again and said, "Turn around."

Anna's eyes flashed a combination of desire and that uncertainty she couldn't shake at his command. But she did it.

"Good girl," he said as he slid her zipper down and pushed her dress off her shoulders to the floor.

The fine hairs along her spine rose as his fingers followed the dress down. She moved to turn again to face him.

"Stay right where you are."

"But I can't see what you're doing."

"I know."

Again, despite her reluctance to give up control, he hoped she was tempted enough by what he was offering to give it.

After taking a long moment to appreciate how good she looked from the back in nothing but a bra and panties, all soft curves and smooth skin-the antic.i.p.ation of seeing her from the front nearly killing him-Cole said, "Don't move a muscle."

He could see how hard it was for her follow his instructions, even without seeing her face. She was all but bristling with anxiety as he walked over to his dresser and pulled it open.

"Tell me what you're doing," she begged.

G.o.d, how he liked to hear her beg.

"You'll know soon enough," he said, teasing her with his response. Despite what she thought she wanted, the fact was that not knowing what he was doing would make her even hotter.

And would help her let go.

That need to let go was exactly why he gently slid one of his silk ties across her eyes.

She reached for the blindfold, but he didn't stop her. "I thought you were going to trust me, sweet Anna."

Her hands stilled on the soft fabric. "But I didn't think you'd be...blindfolding me."

He had to press a kiss to the spot where her neck curved into her shoulder. But just the press of his lips wasn't enough, he had to rake her skin with his teeth, had to begin to mark her as his.

His.

"Don't think, Anna. Just feel." He finished tying it behind her soft hair, tight enough that it wouldn't slip, but not tight enough to hurt. "The blindfold will help."