Frustration was like a living thing writhing just under Nixy’s skin. Not even kicking along the sidewalk through wet orange, yellow, and brown leaves in the pouring rain was helping. Perfect Sunday afternoon walking weather for someone from Seattle, maybe, but not so much for a SoCal girl.
Still, it was a relief to escape the stifling confines of her tiny cottage. Kai had called twice today, already, and both times she’d let it go to voicemail. How could she face him, talk to him, knowing she’d come so close to having dream sex with him? What if something she said gave it away and he guessed? Wouldn’t that be humiliating?
As humiliating as losing my job?
God, she didn’t even want to think about that. It was easier to pretend Jordan wouldn’t be in her office in about forty-eight hours to fire her. And what would happen to Adam once she was gone? Maybe Jordan would promote him to fill the vacancy, which would be great. For Adam.
She swallowed against the lump in her throat. All her high hopes for her future were on a collision course with the side of Mt. Jacinto.
More like Mt. Everest.
Becoming an agent for the Silverstar Agency had been a daring step out of the nondescript, vanilla comfort zone she’d built for herself. Dad’s affair with the wife of his political rival had pushed her and Mom into the center ring of a circus she’d never wanted to attend. Since then, she’d lived her life trying not to be noticed.
Until Efrem. Too bad he’d never know how much his calm and steady confidence in her had given her the courage to apply for a job she loved. A job that’d given her so much joy.
“Thanks, babe.” The steady drum of rain against her yellow rain slicker muffled her murmured words, but that was okay. They were only for her and Efrem anyway.
She slapped through the puddles that had formed in the low spots on the sidewalk as a resigned sense of inevitability settled over her. It seemed only fair that she give Adam a head’s up about what she’d done.
A low grumble of thunder rumbled in the distance—her cue to head home, even though she still hadn’t figured out what to do about Kai or the feelings he had raised in her. Feelings that had somehow managed to cross over between her dreams and real life.
She tugged the hood of her rain slicker forward as she turned onto her street. A couple of minutes later, she trudged up her front walk and let herself inside. Warm air floated over her like a hug from an old friend. She peeled off her layers, and laid out her raingear to dry.
Now what? There were plenty of little piddly projects to work on, but everything seemed so…uninspiring.
She moved aimlessly into the kitchen and drew back the curtain to stare through the gray evening light at the covered patio. Rain dripped down the brick chimney of the built-in barbeque and puddled at its base.
Between dream-Kai, real Kai, and her looming meeting with Jordan, it was a wonder she didn’t have a migraine. Well, there was always tomorrow for that, especially since she was not going to sleep tonight. What did she have to lose anyway? Besides the first job she’d ever loved, of course. And the old guy from another planet who she wanted to bang in the worst way, even though he didn’t seem interested in her. Not in that way, at least.
Screw it. She dropped the curtain back into place. Time for dinner.
A bowl and a half of lentil soup and a slice of sourdough bread later, she snuggled down on the couch with a book. A medical thriller, because the goal was to stay awake all night. By the second chapter, her eyelids drooped.
I should make some coffee….
“Something has you worried.”
That was Kai’s voice, from right behind her. Her heartrate went from slow trot to giddy up. He stepped up next to her and lowered himself to sit at her side on the pond’s stone embankment.
Dammit. I fell asleep anyway.
The walk in the rain, soup, and reading on the couch had conspired against her. Relaxed her too much. She should’ve taken a hot bath and crawled into bed for all the good fighting sleep had done. At least she was wearing sensible Bermuda shorts and a T-shirt this time.
She lowered her gaze to the surface of the pond, to her bare toes visible under the tepid water. “I may lose my job on Tuesday.”
He turned his head sharply toward her. “Why?”
“I did something stupid.” A little humorless laugh slipped out. “Actually, it comes down to not being as careful as I should’ve been. About seven months ago, Silverstar updated their application process. As usual, I did a faux dry run of the process to make sure I understood it, because, you know, I’m not the most computer-savvy person in the world. If any of my clients had questions, I wanted to be able to help them.
“Anyway, I really shouldn’t have worried; the whole thing is incredibly user friendly. But, when I went to delete it, I somehow submitted it instead.”
“I do not understand.” He frowned. “Your actions were driven by responsibility. What is the problem?”
“I filled it out with all of my personal info, and downloaded and tested the bio-scan app. And that’s against company policy. I have no idea why it’s taken so long for my supervisor to figure it out, other than I used my full name, not my nickname. That might have thrown her off because everyone calls me Nixy.” She covered her face with her hands. “I don’t know what went wrong, but I’ve been trying to fix it ever since.”
“What is your full name?”
Of everything she’d said, that was what he focused on? She allowed her hands to slide down to her lap. “A stupid name my wanna-be-trendy parents picked out that always got me teased in school. Never mind.”
She caught the motion of his nod in her peripheral vision, and silence settled between them like an unspoken agreement. Nothing but the two of them, the breeze in the willow tree, and the burbling fountain in the opposite end of the pond.
And that damn burning sensation under her skin, yearning for more. It was like she couldn’t escape it, even in her sleep.
So, why not go with it?
She frowned and drew her brows together. Would it work? If she had dream sex with Kai, would it make the need go away?
Kai’s soft cough cut through her musings. “Nixy…your clothing….”
She looked down. Holy moly! Her shorts and T-shirt had turned into her red negligée this time. She shifted her gaze to Kai’s pants, now the same ones as last time—because apparently she’d liked them that much. And, oh my, that was one obvious tent under the crotch fabric.
She swallowed hard against the nervous anticipation in her throat. Well, this was her dream after all, and she could do anything she damn well pleased.
And the idea of doing Kai sounded delicious. She drew her feet out of the water and turned to meet his gaze. Desire that matched hers glowed in his gorgeous eyes.
That’d be an all systems, go for her.
She launched herself at him and he caught her, his red-feathered wings flaring out before he landed on his back on the grass.
Then she was on him, in him, exploring his mouth with her tongue. God help her, he even tasted of cinnamon.
Of course he does, because that’s what I want.
“Nixy.”
Dayum, the way he moaned her name against her mouth was sexy. His hand over her breast was sexy. His fingers tweaking her hard nipples was sexy. The friction of his rod against her girly bits through two layers of clothing was sexy.
“Kai, you’re the sexiest fucking man alive. And you smell so good.”
Kai surged up, rolling them so she was under him. “I want you. In your dreams, in reality…I. Want. You. Nixy Vogel.”
“Then take me. Because I don’t think I can stand not having you in me for much longer.”
The man didn’t need to be told twice. He rose up enough to help her bunch up her negligée to her hips and tug his pants down. Then he speared into her, hard and hot.
His groan of extasy matched hers, long and low, then he muttered words she didn’t catch. And even that was sexy.
He touched his forehead to hers. “I never expected…never knew….”
“Move Kai, now. In and out.” She nudged him with her hips, and he moved. Awkwardly at first, then with more confidence. “Oh. My. God.”
She bucked up to meet his thrusts, panting as a fluttering sensation stroked the walls of her channel with exquisite pleasure. “Oh…Jesus…what…?” Her entire body was electric, riding the cusp of the fastest orgasm she’d ever had. “Harder, Kai. I won’t break.”
And bless him, he did, rocking her world with a grunt accompanying each plunge.
“Nixy…I….” His face scrunched as if he was trying to hold back.
“Come with me, Kai. Let it go. Hard.”
He slammed into her once, twice, and a wave of pleasure shattered over her. “Yes!”
Kai shouted as she clamped down around him, buried inside her to his base as she pushed up to meet him, milk him for everything he gave. He shuddered, then sighed as his body relaxed over her.
She drifted in a haze of well-being, cradling Kai in her arms and between her legs. One thing was for sure: dream sex just might be better than real sex.