A/N: Sorry about the delay. Between life getting back to normal after the hurricane and friends and family being kind enough to stretch my b-day festivities for close to a week I've barely have time to turn on my laptop, let alone write.
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The moment he heard her moan, Nick lost his grip on self-control. One arm snaked around her, pulling her flush against him. His other hand tangled itself in her hair, capturing her head, bringing her face to less than an inch from his. They were so close, in fact, that he could feel her breath on his lips whenever she exhaled and that fact alone turned him on even more. He shifted his hips just slightly so her center was resting firmly against the bulge of his erection, and he allowed the hand in her hair to trail down her spine, slowly, until it reached her ass. Her other hand traveled north, grazing her side, and he felt her shiver under his touch.
Ironically, it was her trembling that brought him back from the brink. Anchoring his hands to her hip bone and her shoulder, he managed to move his head sideways without touching her lips. Had he done that, he knew he'd have lost it. But he managed to resist temptation, somehow.
"I want you" he murmured hoarsely next to her ear, which brought another tremor in her. "I want you so bad, Fi… but damned if I'm going to have my way with you inside this car trunk. I don't want to mar something I've ached for by mixing it up with the stuff my nightmares are made of. So get off of me real slow, and for God's sake, don't touch me, 'cause I ain't no fucking saint and you're driving me crazy in here…"
Sofia did as told without so much as a word. Her mind was still reeling from Nick's confession. A part of her, the one closely linked to the ache she felt between her legs, was close to somersaulting upon realizing the kind of hold she had on Nick. Granted, he had as much, or even more, on her, but that wasn't the point just then. Another part of her, the one that had fought nail and tooth to get a place as a detective and be respected for it, was seething. As soon as they got back to Vegas she was slapping him with a sexual harassment suit, so fast it was going to leave the obnoxious, presumptuous, insufferable misogynist pig reeling before falling flat on his ass. She teetered between lust and ire, and decided to hold unto the latter, as it stood a better chance of getting them both out of there alive.
After punching the second taillight out, they had enough light to figure out how to break the latch on the trunk (thank God for those good ole gas-guzzling 70's Chevys!) and although it took them a couple of hours, given that they didn't have any adequate tools lying around, they finally managed to get out of there.
A quick inspection told them that they were, indeed, in the middle of nowhere, with no cell phones, no weapons and no watches or any sort of equipment, as well. Judging from the position of the sun, it had to be mid-morning, which meant they had been missing for close to 12 hours now, which meant half the LVPD was out there looking for them. Which was good in itself, but it also meant that it was up to them, in most part, if they came out of that one alive and not much worse for the wear or in a black body bag.
Removing the car jack from under the mat in the car trunk, they dug a S.O.S some 5 feet tall on the sand next to the car, hoping it'd be visible from a chopper. Then they ripped the back seat out of the frame and placed it against the car in order to give them some sort of shelter. Further inspection of the car revealed a couple of unwrapped energy bars and a half-full bottle of iced tea. The glove compartment had showered them with bubble gum sticks and cigarettes and a couple of maps that would work as paper fans, but that was about it.
They had barely crossed words since they've gotten out of the trunk, save for the necessary instructions on how to go about making things, and Nick could feel Sofia's anger seeping out of her every pore. Not that he wasn't expecting it; he'd be furious with himself if he were in her place. But what was he supposed to do? Pretend that the woman wasn't a fucking turn on with long legs and blue eyes? He wasn't blind, for crying out loud, and he wasn't dead, either. And he wanted her, as simple as that. Not the way he had wanted all those girls back at the clubs, but something far more intense, more primal, more of the "have her or die" variety. Did that make him a bad person? So be it, he was a mean mother fucker bastard, then.
Sofia had thrown herself into the tasks at hand so she wouldn't have time to think. Was it really that bad that Nick Stokes had confessed to finding her sexually appealing? Or that he had felt her up while trapped inside a car trunk? If Sofia remembered correctly from her psychology classes, once adrenaline kicked in during life-or-death situations, so did other hormones and pretty soon libido was buzzing as well. Maybe suing him for sexual harassment was a bit extreme… after all, he could always claim that she had started it by making sexually laden comments…
And if Sofia was honest enough with herself, bottom line was that she wanted him as well. Part of her "righteousness" anger stemmed from the fact that he hadn't kissed her back there, just teased her unmercifully. Truth to be told, she was also angry at herself for having reacted so strongly to his touch. She wasn't a virginal wall flower to be swooning over a couple of caresses! But oh… the feel of his hardening cock against her… the sheer agony of his mouth so close and yet so far… the blazing trail his fingers had left on her skin… it had been a while since there had been someone else other than her and her vibrator in her bed and she had this crazy idea that Nick Stokes was the kind of lover that would always have her coming back for more…
"It's getting too hot to be out in the sun…"
His voice made her look at him and she wished she hadn't. Nick had removed his ever present vest, had rolled up his sleeves and undone the first three buttons of his shirt, that was already plastered to his body in several places. She averted her gaze and realized her own shirt was soaked as well.
"Since I'm not betting on them finding us before night fall, perhaps it'd be best if we took the shirts off to allow them to dry before the temp starts to drop. If we keep them on they'll just remain wet and we don't have much to cover us with once night falls…"
Nick tried to keep his voice calm and professional, never once making eye contact with Sofia or even looking at her. Half turning his body away from hers, he removed his shirt and placed it inside the car for it to dry. Sofia followed his example without comment, and threw her own shirt at him so he'd put it next to his.
Trying to keep her cool, and keeping as much distance as possible between them, she slid underneath the seat they had taken out, and from there, to underneath the car, where it was the coolest. Nick followed suit, as soon they were, once again, lying next to each other without much room for movement and nowhere to run from themselves, their feelings and their lust.
Being almost naked from the waist up wasn't helping matters much, either, but Nick was trying hard not to dwell too much on that particular idea. And since it had been his big mouth that had gotten him in hot water, perhaps it was his big mouth that could try and get him out of the frying pan without having to jump into the open fire. At least, it was worth a try.
"Are you mad at me?" he asked, after a while.
"Why would I be?" she asked back, trying to buy herself some time, hoping she'd be able to force him to speak openly before a truthful answer was expected from her.
"Because I told you I want you. Because I touched you as a lover and not as a work mate. Because I'm clenching my hands so they won't go find you again. Because I didn't kiss you back then. Because I'm dying to kiss you just now. Because I'm going to do it. And because I won't be able to stop at just kissing you either…"
Sofia struggled to find her voice. Every single word he had said felt like a punch on her lower belly, each leaving her weaker than the one before. Each passing through her body like a fire ball, devastating what was left of her anger and leaving the road clear for lust to take over.
"Why?" she barely whispered.
"Damned if I know. You've gotten underneath my skin and I can't get you out of my head. Can't get you out of my dreams, either, and I don't mean just the sexual ones. Fuck, Fi, I don't know how the hell I feel about you. All I know is that I'm dying here without you and once I have you I'm not going to want to let go and I don't know if I'm ready for that just yet… but I can't go about calling perfect strangers by your name every time I…"
"You… what?" Anger was back in charge for the time being.
Nick threw an arm over his eyes. He'd fucked up, big time. He wasn't sure he was ever going to be able to explain to Sofia just what she did to him, to his peace of mind, to his heart, to his libido, to his soul…
He just hoped he'd be able to show her.
Before Sofia could realize what was going on, Nick had rolled right next to her and his mouth was on hers in a flash. She tried to voice her protest, but the moment her lips parted his tongue slid in and she was doomed. He was holding her head with both hands, gently, as if she was something really fragile, and her lips were moving over hers, both gentle and demanding, as his tongue swept inside her mouth, searching for hers, cajoling, teasing, begging… and even if her life had depended on it, Sofia wouldn't had been able to resist kissing him back, her hands holding unto his arms, her lips as eager as his, her tongue following the path his was setting.
Soon her lips weren't enough to quench the thirst Nick felt burning inside, and he began kissing her cheeks and the bridge of her nose and her closed eyelids. As soon as began nibbling alongside her jaw line he knew he'd reach the point of no return. Now that he knew how she tasted, now that he knew what her mouth was capable of doing to his ability to think straight, now that his tongue had learned the contour of her face… he'd never be able to let go, there would never be other woman for him but Sofia Curtis. She'd branded him his the second her tongue touched his and he wanted more.
Much more.
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A/N: If I kept on writing what'll happen between these two, this chapter would end up being longer than an Alaskan winter night. Remember: good things come to those who wait (and even better to those who review as well! Yeah… I'm shameless… part of my charming personality!)
