The Driven Snowe Read online

He could tell Adam was getting plenty of amusement from the statement. “So what’d she do? Go home?”

  That made Josh pause. He had been keeping an eye out for her. “She’s still in the bar.” The fact made him uneasy.

  “Really?” Adam’s voice was gleeful. “Maybe she wasn’t kidding. Maybe she’s looking for another taker. Heck, maybe I should go back inside…”

  “No. She said that she was looking for me in particular.”

  She also said that she was going to lose her virginity tonight. Like she didn’t have a lot of choice in the matter.

  A chill washed over him. It took him a second to realize it was fear. She might be tall for a woman, but she could easily be overpowered by any of the men that were sitting in the Cable Car, right this second.

  What if she were telling the truth?

  “Josh? You okay?”

  “Adam, do me a favor. Get lost for a good fifteen minutes. I don’t want you to witness this,” Josh said, not quite sure what he was going to do. Thinking about it, he growled, “If you breathe a word of this to anyone…”

  “I won’t, but I’m going to harass you bright and early tomorrow, and you’d better fill me in.” Josh knew he wasn’t kidding. “Happy virgin hunting.”

  Josh didn’t dignify the comment with a reply. He was striding back into the bar in two heartbeats.

  A big man in a red-checkered shirt had taken Josh’s earlier seat, and now leaned over to talk to Angela. She looked totally uncomfortable. She was sitting on the edge of her seat. Josh could sense the tension in her body from across the room. He couldn’t imagine she was willing to sleep with the man she was sitting with, but something about her determination, her strange practicality, kept setting off unreasonable alarms in his head.

  I don’t have a lot of choice…

  Dammit! What she was doing was dangerous. Didn’t she realize that?

  “Angela.”

  Her head whipped around, her eyes wide and surprised. And relieved, he noted. “Josh.”

  “Me’n’her were having a little talk,” the bullnecked guy protested.

  “Not anymore,” Josh replied. “The lady has a situation, and I promised her I’d help her with it. Tonight.”

  He saw hope flare in her eyes, and, to his surprise, fear. “Will you excuse me?” she said, not even looking at Bullneck. She got up and let Josh put his arm around her. The man grumbled and lumbered back over to the bar.

  “You’re following me home,” Josh said, his voice tight. “Then we’re going to take care of this little ‘situation’ of yours.”

  And I’ll show you what can happen when nice girls go looking for trouble.

  ANGELA SAT, PARKED in Josh’s driveway, watching him as he got out of his black Infiniti.

  This may be the single most stupid thing you’ve ever done.

  Her hand fumbled on the seat belt release. If she were this clumsy on the belt buckle, how was she going to be when she had to…when they were…

  No “may be” about it. This is definitely the most stupid thing you’ve ever done!

  She glanced at the car keys in her hand. All she would have to do…

  A knuckle rapped on her window, and she gasped, dropping the keys.

  “You okay in there?” He was still grinning, as if the whole thing were some sort of fraternity dare.

  If he’d been menacing, or even overeager, she would have driven off. But his obvious amusement kept pushing buttons she didn’t even know she had. Oh she’d do this, all right, she thought as she threw her keys in her small purse. Even if she mangled him trying, she’d lose her virginity tonight.

  She got out of the car, closing the door with a slam. “So. This is your house?” she said, sounding as casual as her anger and nervousness would allow. “It’s nice.”

  “I like it. Lots of privacy. You could make all sorts of noise—” he looked at her suggestively “—and nobody would hear a thing.”

  Ignoring the statement, she followed him in the house. He turned on the lights. He doesn’t live like a hedonistic bachelor, she thought, then almost laughed at the primness of her own observation. What had she expected? Empty beer cans, bras hanging from the chandelier?

  The furniture was modern, but not harshly so—clean lines, and a subtle styling she appreciated. Windows opened up to the trees beyond. A large octagonal fish tank illuminated the corner. “It’s great.”

  “So. Should we go at it on the couch, or what?”

  Her high heel caught on his carpet, and she stumbled. “Sorry?”

  “After all, you’re here for sex, right?” He sat down on the couch, patting the cushion next to him. “I imagine you’re in something of a hurry.”

  “I see.” She didn’t, but then, he was the expert. “So…the point of this is to just dive in there, and be as fast as possible? I mean, is that normal for you?”

  “Hardly.” He looked insulted, though that wasn’t her intent. He stood and faced her. “If you want slow…”

  He went to her and took her mouth and her breath in the same instant. He moved languorously, seducing her lips.

  Oh my, can this man kiss!

  It was the last coherent thought she had for several minutes. Soon, the slow seduction became a building need. He went from sampling her lips to devouring them. She felt his kiss wash over her in waves, like a relentless storm. She was helpless to do anything but give herself over to it.

  When he released her, it took her a moment to get her bearings. “Well. That was better than I expected.”

  He let out a burst of sharp laughter. “How would you know what to expect—being a virgin, and all?”

  “I read a lot.” She took a calming breath, nerves fluttering in her stomach. “But you’re right. I’m out of my depth here…” She paused, registering the smug smile that was spreading across his face. “And you knew it. That’s the point you’re trying to make here, isn’t it?”

  She snatched up her purse. “If you just brought me here to prove something,” she whispered, her voice shaking, “then maybe you should have left me at the bar.”

  He went and stood between her and the door. “And then what would you have done?”

  “I don’t know.” She felt deflated. She wished she could take off her shoes. The pinching made it hard for her to think. “It took me all day just to get the guts to ask you. And I know this will make you angry, but after all I’d heard, I didn’t think that you were going to say no.”

  “Angela, what the hell have you heard about me? I mean, I’ve had a lot of fun in my time, but I’m hardly the Casanova of Manzanita.” He smiled when she giggled, a real smile this time, not a smug, challenging one. He sat down and patted the sofa again, with no suggestive overtones. “Sit down for a sec.”

  She did so, feeling the heat coming off his body. She paused, then kicked off her shoes. He grinned at the action.

  She studied him. His black hair and cobalt blue eyes. The way his grin curved, the way his chin looked like it was carved out of granite. The small scar over his right eyebrow. The kindness of his smile, one of the first things that had struck her, and the gentleness in his voice.

  She had made the right choice.

  “Why are you doing this? Really.” His voice was low. “Are you sure you even want to?”

  “Oh, yes,” she breathed. “I’m sure. Scared or not, it’s definitely what I want.”

  “It’s the scared part that concerns me,” Josh muttered. He tilted her chin up, looking her square in the eye. She closed them, anticipating another delicious onslaught.

  He chuckled, and her eyes flew open. “No, not yet,” he said. He pulled her against his chest and put an arm around her shoulders. He smelled good, like something spicy. A vague scent of sandalwood, maybe…

  “Still with me?”

  “Hmm?” She looked up to see his blue eyes glowing down at her. He’d obviously noticed she was paying attention to something other than his conversation. “Oh. Yes.”

  “Why are you doi
ng this now?”

  She tensed against him. “Why?”

  He frowned. “Nobody just decides to lose their virginity overnight, Angela. What set you off?”

  She shifted uncomfortably. “I don’t think you’d understand…”

  “Try me.”

  “I have a pretty good life,” she started, thinking quickly. “But I sort of…well, I realized I was going to be thirty. I’d kept putting off the big stuff I’d always meant to do. I’ve never been to Europe. I’ve never gone skinny-dipping, I’ve never eaten a seven-course meal…”

  “So,” he said, grinning. “You’ve got a really full night ahead of you, huh?”

  “Well, I figured that I was the most nervous about sex, so I’d just start with that,” she said, with an embarrassed laugh. “If I can do this one, I can do anything.”

  It wasn’t the whole reason, but it was close enough. Even brushing past the true reason made her feel queasy.

  “Do you always make decisions this way?” She could feel the rumble of his voice under her ear. It tickled the side of her head, and she nuzzled him a little. He moved her so he could better look at her face. “Well, do you?” he repeated.

  “Pretty much.”

  He laughed, and something in his eyes shifted. “Sex changes things. Even when it isn’t supposed to mean anything. Maybe especially when it isn’t supposed to mean anything,” he said. “Believe me, you should think a little more about all of this.”

  She’d come so far, her body protested. Was he going to send her home?

  She glanced around, and for a brief second glanced at an electrical cord that was draped by the fish tank. She then gave the arm of the sofa an appraising look.

  I could tie him up.

  She giggled. Oh, she was in trouble when ideas like that made even a modicum of sense.

  He smiled at her, stroking her side in what she guessed was supposed to be a comforting gesture. The feel of his broad hand moving down her body was anything but, and she felt warmth spreading up from her abdomen.

  “I mean it,” he repeated. “It’s not something you just want to rush into.”

  “Josh,” she said, “I’ve been ‘rushing into’ this for about twelve years or so now, don’t you think?”

  “You know what I mean.”

  “No, I don’t think I do.” How was she supposed to explain this? she wondered. “I’ve wanted this for a long time, and to be honest, I want you. I’m sure you think that I’m going to have all these regrets tomorrow—or worse, that I’m going to have this incredible night and then think that it’s going to mean happily ever after. I’m twenty-nine, not seventeen,” she chastised gently. “I know it’s not going to be like what I’m expecting, but I also know that I can live alone quite comfortably. I might be unhappy, but in a way, I’ve been unhappy for years already. I’d rather take the misery and the sex.”

  He laughed. “Angela, I don’t know who the hell you are,” he said, his voice gruff. “But I like you, you know that?”

  “I like you, too,” Angela said with a broad grin. “I wanted to do this—and when I first got here, it all hit me, the reality of it. I wanted to, and I didn’t want to. Now, I’m sure that this is what I want. You’re making this so much easier for me.”

  He was being so sweet and considerate, when he could have been so horrible. Without thinking about it, she leaned forward and kissed him.

  It lasted a little longer than she had intended. When she pulled away, his eyes were half-lidded. “You’re not bad at that.”

  She blinked. “At what?”

  “Kissing,” he replied, and his voice was husky-rough. She felt her stomach clench, and her heart pound. “I know I shouldn’t sleep with you, no matter how ready you think you are. But maybe we could make do with that kissing of yours.”

  She couldn’t help but feel disappointed. “Just…kissing?” Was he kidding? What had she just said she wanted?

  The smile grew hotter, it was the only way she could describe it, and his eyes suddenly glowed. “Trust me. Kissing will be more than enough.”

  He moved toward her face, and she closed her eyes.

  His mouth pushed on hers gently, a dry handshake of a kiss.

  Save me from men who think they know better than I do, she thought with aggravation. Has all this been for nothing?

  With a slow movement, his tongue flicked across her lips, then retreated. She could feel the movement of his mouth like a slow dance against her own. It was different than the rushed assault of a kiss he’d given her when he was trying to prove his point. This one was a pure, slow seduction of the senses. The sigh she gave now was anything but disappointment.

  He still wasn’t really touching her. He was just teasing her, with these breathed kisses, his tongue every now and then tracing her lips and retreating, caressing her tongue and then disappearing. She felt restless, and her own mouth began to move. Hesitantly, she moved her tongue forward until it touched his.

  He growled with approval.

  She moved her hands up to this chest. It felt rock hard beneath the thin cotton shirt he was wearing. She ran her nails down it, and the kiss deepened. His hands moved to her waist, fingers clenching her hips.

  She felt her heart racing, and she was having trouble breathing. Every nerve ending seemed to pulse to the pounding beat of her heart. She felt an intense throb in the pit of her stomach and between her legs.

  With a low moan, she barely realized she was moving until she pressed closer to him, winding her arms around his neck, burying her fingers in his hair. It felt cool, silky beneath her fingertips. She tugged his face closer, darting her tongue against his, following his lead, copying his actions as best she could.

  They were sitting side by side on the couch, an awkward, high-school necking angle. They weren’t close enough. She could feel the tension building in her, thought she might explode with the new emotions that were tearing through her like a freight train. She tore her mouth away, breathing in gulping gasps. “Oh, Josh. Please…” She felt like she’d taken some drug that heightened all of her senses. Her bra, which was ordinarily just an annoying garment worn out of habit, now rubbed against her oversensitized breasts. They felt heavy and almost ached. Between her legs was a strange ache as well—a slightly different ache. She trembled with energy she didn’t know how to release.

  “It’s only kissing, Angela,” he murmured, the rumble of his voice against her only intensifying the pleasure.

  “Josh,” she whispered on a startled moan. He was kissing her throat with a suction that stung with slight pain, multiplying all the rest of what she was feeling. It was sensory overload. She closed her eyes, unable to handle more input, and drowned in the pure sensation of his touch.

  She let herself be lowered to a reclining position on the couch. He now propped himself over her with one arm, and she felt the length of his body pressed against her side. She tried to push up against him, but he gently resisted, instead moving to the hollow of her neck and nibbling gently, moving out to stroke with his tongue. She felt a shudder roll through her body, like a power surge. She whispered his name under her breath like a chanted prayer.

  He moved to one sensitive breast, and she quickly started to slide her dress up.

  “Now, now,” he said, and she opened her eyes to see him laughing down at her, not with amusement but with delight. “Just kissing, remember?”

  She was dying with need. The man was insane, some sort of sadist. With surprising strength, she pushed him away. “I remember.”

  She yanked the whole thing over her head. Lying there in just a bra and panties, she shot him an innocent look.

  “We’ll just be kissing,” she reiterated.

  She could feel his eyes caress her body. He hesitated for only a moment before lowering back down to her. She could feel the damp tip of his tongue through the silky material, and her body rocked against him. Her back arched, and he took more of her into his mouth. Her hands moved awkwardly to her back, undoing the c
lasp to her bra.

  “Angela,” he breathed. “We shouldn’t…”

  She ripped the garment out of her way. “I can take it,” she rasped, “honest. I know I can.”

  He stopped, and his eyes gleamed. “Well, if you’re so sure of it.” He reached for the edge of his own shirt, pulling off the denim shirt with ease.

  For a second, she ignored the jolting pulses of desire ringing through her body, and just thought: My God. She traced her fingers over the chiseled muscles of his arms, and felt the satin over corded steel of his chest. Slowly, she leaned up and traced the hollow at the base of his neck with her tongue, then moved to feel the texture of him beneath her lips. She edged across his chest, feeling the slight tickle of hair grow thicker as she moved down toward his waist. He took a hurried breath as she got to his pants. She smiled, noting the bulge there. Impishly, amazed at herself, she leaned down and traced it with her mouth, just like she’d once read in a book.

  Something happened, as if she’d thrown a switch. He groaned, tugging her up to his mouth. He pushed her deeper into the cushions, and she reveled in it. The feel of his bare chest against hers seemed to intensify the feeling of his lips and tongue meshing with hers. He wasn’t so careful this time, and she could feel his weight unintentionally shifting over her legs.

  She spread her legs, angling away from his body, drawing him on top of her. He did not seem to notice, only pursued her mouth more diligently, stopping to dip low and take one breast between his lips. She cried out as he moved his weight between her legs. He was still trying not to crush her. Having him press against her sensitive ache was just what she needed, she realized, and her hips bucked upward, feeling the bulge in his pants pushing against her, desiring entrance.

  He was breathing like a long-distance runner. “You’re no virgin,” he said, his eyes wide with disbelief, as he allowed himself one long push against the apex of her thighs.

  “I don’t feel like a virgin,” she admitted, wrapping her legs around his waist and reveling in his low moan. She reached up and dug her fingers into his muscular shoulders, bringing him down against her, loving his weight and his strength and the feel of him crushing her into the couch. “Make love to me, Josh.”