him that he was special in the best way possible.
Then she’d taken off her little cross necklace and put it in his palm, curled her fingers around his. Told him to keep it for every time he felt unworthy and to remember what she’d said. And she’d kissed him. Soft and innocent on his trembling lips, and his world had burst with young love for her.
And that’s why he kept the cross for good luck. Every time he felt overwhelmed, worthless, frustrated beyond endurance, he reached for it and it reminded him. Even after Dina had slept around on him, called him stupid, and broke his heart, he remembered.
It had kept him going.
And now there was Lorelei Littleton, come to take his necklace from him. He wanted to be able to categorize her with all the rest—with Dina, the dozens of meaningless women of his past. It was where she belonged. No one special, no one to think about a year or two down the road.
But he couldn’t do it. Beyond his control, his better judgment, his past experience, he was beginning to cast her in the same pure light as an innocent preacher’s daughter with a heart of gold.
It scared the living shit out him.
The sun had sunk behind the mountains by the time he reached the winding curve of road that opened over Denver. He slowed the Ferrari and pulled over on the shoulder, the passenger side facing the city lights. He heard Lorelei’s intake of breath as he put the car into neutral, shut of the engine, and pulled the e-brake. He left the interior lights on so the dash lights glowed over them before he turned to her and looked out the window.
The city stretched below them like an ocean of lights. Everywhere he looked he saw them glittering. To his left he could see Boulder and Longmont, their lights bleeding into the outskirts of Denver. Straight ahead he could see the long straight run of Colfax Avenue.
He liked the view from his condo. It was up close and involved. But this—this kicked ass. Almost otherworldly from the perch halfway upside the mountains. He liked to drive up there in his car, hug the Ferrari to the winding curves as he sped along. When he found an unoccupied spot he’d pull off and sit. Sometimes he’d pop in a CD, but most of the time he liked the quiet.
He’d wanted to share it with Lorelei.
“Mark, this is beautiful. Absolutely breathtaking.”
His eyes skimmed over her and he felt his chest tighten. “Yes, beautiful. Breathtaking.” he agreed, and didn’t mean the city lights.
She turned to him. “Do you come up here often?”
He heard the question she was really asking. “I like to drive up here by myself time to time. I don’t bring women up here, if that’s what you’re asking.”
Her voice was soft, “You brought me.”
Yeah, he had. He wondered briefly what that said about him, what it meant, then decided he really didn’t want to know. His head was already too full of unwanted thoughts.
Reaching his arm out, he gathered a thick strand of her silky hair and rubbed it between his fingers. “I thought you’d enjoy it.”
Her breath hitched and she whispered, “I am enjoying it.”
He smiled at her and leaned close. “And I thought we could neck in the car like teenagers.”
Her smile warmed his soul. “It’s been a long time since I’ve had a make-out session in a car.”
Tension curled in his gut when she licked those lush lips of hers. He made a strangling sound low in his throat. “God, you’re so hot, Lorelei. Do you have any idea what your mouth does to me? I think about it a dozen times a day sliding warm and wet over my cock and it makes me burn for you.”
She sucked in air and it shoved her amazing breasts out toward him. Her voice sounded kind of breathy when she said, “I haven’t done that yet, Mark.”
An ache started in his balls and wove up his shaft. He shifted to relieve some pressure. It didn’t work. Sliding his hand to the back of her neck, he pulled her close and whispered against her mouth, “I know. But a guy can dream.”
She held him off by placing a hand to his lips. He slid his tongue out and licked the seam of her fingers. She moaned and her hand shook. Good. He was so hot and hard for her that he wanted her wet for