Baring It All. Rebecca Hunter

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 enormous 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,