Mastering Heat [Men of Iron Horse 9] (Siren Publishing Classic) Read online

  Janie laughed. “I’ll leave you two to enjoy your lunch.”

  Victor’s eyes stayed on her as she walked away. Nox shook his head. “You’ve got it bad, my friend.”

  “I’ve got it good,” he corrected.

  Nox snickered. “How’s life been?”

  “Never better. How about you? Still single, I see.”

  “Yes. Still single.” He laughed. “I honestly never thought I see the day you’d find someone like Janie.”

  “Me either.” He chuckled. “Glad I did though.”

  The breath fled from his body as the vision of Claire Buckman hit him like a brick. She looked different, standing with perfect posture, her spine erect, her breasts perfectly round, her waist narrowed at her jeans that were screaming to be ripped from her body. Lord help him, he was rock hard just staring at her.

  “Is everything all right?” Victor asked.

  Nox’s entire body went ramrod straight. His heart pounded in his chest. “See that woman over there,” he said, jutting his chin toward Claire.

  “The blonde?”

  He nodded.

  “What about her?”

  Nox’s tongue flattened to the roof of his mouth. A pulsing need to speak with her fired in his blood and raced throughout every inch of his body. The sight of her affected him. The memory of her demands so fresh in his mind. What were the odds he’d see her so soon after their encounter and off campus, no less?

  “Excuse me,” Nox muttered, standing and heading in her direction.

  Claire’s eyes widened the closer he came. He scanned over her body-molded Iron Horse T-shirt. Peeling those clothes from her body would be a teasing pleasure he wouldn’t mind experiencing.

  Again.

  Before he could reach her, she darted through the bar area and into the main dining hall, and then around a corner to the back. If she didn’t think he’d follow her, she was gravely mistaken. When he found her, she was hiding near a storage closet at the back end of the restaurant.

  She cast him an annoyance-filled glare. “Why are you here? Never mind. I’m well aware that the only reason you followed me is that you want to hook up again.”

  More than he’d first realized. “So?”

  She gasped. “Seriously, you know nothing of talking to women.”

  “I know a great deal on how to speak with women. However, I know you on a different level, and I know you’d prefer honesty over bullshit.” He moved closer. “Just the facts, right?”

  “You should leave.”

  “I’m well aware of that. I just don’t want to.”

  “Then allow me to help you.”

  She shoved away from the wall and tried to move around him. He captured her in his arms, placing her back against the wall with his arms and body caging her in.

  “Let go of me.”

  “No.”

  Her eyes rounded. “I’m warning you—”

  “I want more of what we had in my office,” he blurted out. “I want a bed beneath us the next time. I want my living room carpet beneath us. I want to take you in my pool. I want to have you in my car.” His heart revved to an incredible speed. “I want to taste your pussy for hours, Claire Buckman.”

  “Do you always speak so vulgarly, Professor Masters?”

  He smiled. “Only when I know the person receiving those words appreciates them.”

  She scoffed. “And you think I do?”

  “Hell yes I do,” he hissed.

  “Well, I don’t.” She pressed her hands to his chest to push him back, but he didn’t budge.

  He clasped her wrists in his hands, shifting to place them behind her back, their chests were now pressed together. She inhaled deeply and he eyed her mouth hungrily. The rise and fall of her breasts captivated him each time they pressed against him.

  “I’d fuck you right here, if it was what you wanted.”

  Her breath hitched. “I don’t.”

  If she wasn’t shivering against him, he would’ve believed her. He lowered his mouth to her ear, suckling the lobe before saying, “Liar.”

  “Stop,” she snapped.

  How can I? “I want that woman from last night again.”

  “Again.”

  “Yeah. Again.” Nox eased back. “And I think you want me, too.”

  Parting from her was the hardest thing he’d ever done. He was insanely aware of how much he wanted her, but he couldn’t force her. She had to come to him as she had done at the school. She would. He’d just have to be patient.

  * * * *

  “So, anything you’d like to tell me?” Noble asked, popping out of the storage closet beside Claire in the hallway.

  She gaped at her friend as she appeared. Had she heard what Nox had said to her? “What were you doing in there?”

  “Getting supplies,” Noble said candidly. “I heard someone talking and waited.”

  “So you heard everything?” Claire ran her hands through her hair and covered her face.

  “I heard a man declare some pretty hot things to a woman who hasn’t allowed herself to live in a while.”

  Claire frowned. Who has time to live having a full-time job, a daughter, and is a student? Certainly not me. “Not long ago, I told you that I live through others. I can’t have an affair like he wants. He wants a fuck-only sort of arrangement, and I have a daughter to think about.”

  Noble furrowed her brow. “Right. You’d rather a clingy man that needs more of the time you don’t have.”

  The way she said it made her cringe. Noble would never understand how she felt. She wasn’t a mother.

  “I know it’s scary. Lord knows I’ve recently been there. But you were the one who helped me figure things out. You, Layton, and Jace all pushed me to step out of my comfort zone. Maybe you need to take your own advice and do the same.”

  Claire laughed. “I don’t have time for fun.”

  “You made time to bump uglies with some guy with a sexy deep voice.”

  That was because I didn’t have to worry about a babysitter. “I have responsibilities.”

  “We all do, but you’re still a woman. You work hard, Claire. Everyone knows that. You need time to blow off steam.” Noble placed her hand on Claire’s shoulder. “Why not with indecent proposal guy?”

  Because he makes me wild, out of control. “He’s a professor at my school.”

  “As if that matters. He’s a man. You’re a woman. Enjoy the attention.” She grinned. “And the orgasms.”

  Easier said than done. How could she make time for something else in her life? How could she without the guilt?

  Even if she could get past all that, would another encounter with him be the same as it had been in his office? Would she be as brazen and wanton? Would he? The idea alone brought tingling heat to her body, diving toward every nerve ending. She shivered and closed her eyes. Nox Masters was the sexiest, most confounding man she’d ever met, and for some reason, he was interested in her.

  “I’ll go to your place and take care of everything. You go enjoy the night.”

  Claire frowned, appreciating Noble’s efforts, but not needing them. “I don’t have anything to do tonight.”

  “You could.” From out of the shadows, Nox appeared. His heated gaze fixed on her. She swallowed hard as he turned as if beckoning her to follow him. She didn’t.

  Could she manage room in her life for a man like Nox? Would she be able to handle an affair based on pure lust? Why couldn’t she?

  Perhaps I need a proposal of my own…and a bottle of whiskey.

  Chapter Three

  Claire’s knuckles hit the solid iron door with a fierce pounding. The loud bagging echoed in her ears as she waited for the door to open. Her body was locked into position, her thoughts hardened and focused. But when Nox appeared, she was lost for words, melting in a puddle of lust. The man was killing her, standing in the doorway of his home in nothing more than black silk boxers. His body hard and sculpted, his eyes heat seeking. The slow, satisfying tug at t
he corner of his mouth was irritating.

  Seriously? She cleared her throat, a tight lump forming. “Is this how you answer your front door?”

  His smug expression grew worse. “It is when you knock.”

  The deep purr in his voice stirred her body, like a million butterflies taking flight. He stepped to the side, opening the door to beckon her in.

  She inhaled deeply, praying she wouldn’t lose her nerve, and moved into the foyer.

  Nox’s townhome ate up an entire corner of the ritzy neighborhood. The space was large and open. The walls were all bright white. The furnishing around the room were dark, black leather sofas, mahogany tables and chairs. Not an item out of place. None of the numerous windows had curtains.

  “I see you got my note,” he said, moving up behind her.

  A shiver rocked up her spine at his nearness. “Obviously.”

  “Good.” He stepped around her to the wet bar and poured two drinks. Whiskey. “I had hoped you’d come.”

  She cocked her head to the side, curiosity hitting her. All women liked to hear sweet nothings. She was no different. What was it about her that made Nox, a sexual Adonis, interested in another night?

  “Why?”

  He handed her the drink. “Why not.”

  She shook her head. “That is a lame answer. Try again.”

  He grinned. “At first it was your looks. Everything about you makes me hard.” She held her breath as he continued. “Then once I had you”—he dragged his thumb over her lower lip—“and I discovered that you had the same sexual appetite that I do, I wanted more.”

  She licked her lips as he pulled his thumb away, her mouth dry. “And that’s all. We fuck good together?”

  He was unmoved by her words. “Did you expect something else?”

  No. There can’t be something else. “This thing between us is just sex. Nothing more. I don’t want a relationship. I don’t have time for clingy. If you can agree to that, then maybe we can work out some kind of arrangement.”

  He chuckled. “See. I was right. We do have the same sexual appetite. Marriage, kids, white picket fence…not for me.”

  Perfect. This might actually work. “Okay then—”

  “But,” he started, finishing his drink and then placing it down on the table beside them. He dragged his fingers down her arm, and her breath hitched. He was turning her inside out with the caress of his hands. “I want all of you, Claire. Don’t hold back from me. I want you to use me for all your fantasies. I want you to explore mine. Can you do that?”

  What type of fantasies does a man like him have? Are they even legal? “If I don’t like what you want of me, we stop.”

  “You’ll like everything I do to you,” he said determinedly.

  Her pulse revved with the dozens of sexual fantasies she’d had over the years—fantasies she’d never imaged fulfilling. She nodded.

  He caressed the side of her cheek with the back of his knuckles. “How about a shower,” he said, more a statement than a question. He clasped his fingers around hers and led her to a white and black marbled bathroom. The sink, toilet, and shower were all black porcelain and smelled of money. The glass shower filled the entire length of the wall at the back of the bathroom. There were dual shower heads and body sprayers on every wall.

  Nox reached in and turned on the water. Then, he opened the linen closet door and pulled out a clean white towel and wash cloth. “I’ll bring you a shirt to wear.”

  Before she could say anything, he closed the bathroom door behind him, disappearing. She looked at herself in the mirror. Her hair was pulled back in a ponytail and her cheeks were bright pink. She smelled like Iron Horse and could definitely use a shower.

  Kicking out of her boots, she tugged off her jeans, panties, T-shirt, and bra, and then stepped into the shower. The warm water covered her with pulsing beads of heaven. After a moment of enjoying the relaxing heat, she reached for the bar of soap and worked it over her skin, forgetting the washcloth. The moisture-rich soap glided like silk over her flesh and filled her senses with soothing lavender. She placed the soap back inside the shower niche and rinsed her body, turning in the water and brushing her hands down her arms, chest, and stomach. Her nipples were hard, her body sensitive. An eagerness consumed her.

  Focusing on the task at hand, she pumped shampoo into her palm and began lathering it up in her hair. After rinsing, she grabbed the conditioner and did the same. Several times, she glanced behind her, wondering if Nox would join her. She hadn’t told him this, but she had never been with a man in the shower. Her ex had been all about lights off in their bed. He was pure vanilla without whip cream and certainly no cherry. Nox Masters offered her the freaking sundae bar.

  One last turn in her shower to rinse her body and her heart lodged in her throat. Nox stood on the other side of the glass, naked, and stroking his cock. Her eyes were riveted.

  Staring at him as he stared at her was the most erotic experience of her life, knowing that in seconds he would eradicate the space between them and pleasure her in ways she only dreamed.

  The world froze as he opened the glass door and moved inside. The fine hairs on his chest teased against her nipples as he closed them into the shower. Her blood pressure soared as his hands glided up from her hips and waist. The water was cold compared to his touch, and the more he caressed her flesh, the hotter her blood became. His gaze locked on her lips as he lowered his mouth to hers.

  * * * *

  Nox kissed a line from her mouth, over her smooth cheek, and to her ear. “I’ve dreamt of you in my shower.” He pulled her against his hardening cock and nipped at her ear. She hissed, firing his blood. He liked the little sounds she made, her intake of breath. “Let me show you what happened in my dream.”

  He glided his mouth over her body as he lowered himself to the shower floor. On bended knee, he looked up to see her wide eyes locked on him. Holding her stare, he slipped his finger between the damp folds and teased her clitoris. When her breath caught and her head fell back, he gripped her ankle and encouraged her to rest her leg over his shoulder. With his thumbs, he spread her wide and licked at her center. The more her honey flavor filled his mouth, the more he wanted to devour her. While he feasted, he shoved a finger inside her pussy, gliding it in and out of her the way he wanted his cock to do. He also teased her anus, exploring her sensitivity to the idea of being fucked there. She was tight and likely had never been taken that way. His chest swelled as he knew he would likely be the first.

  “Relax,” he told her, eyeing her hard.

  “I’m trying.” She gripped a handful of his hair. “I’ve never done”—he pressed more firmly against her anus and her body shook, her breasts rising and falling in heavy pants—“that,” she finished.

  “I’ll make you love it.” One side of his mouth curled as he stood. “Unless you wish me to stop.”

  “No,” she blurted, shoving him back down. “I’ll let you know if I want you to stop.”

  “Good.”

  Her pussy was slick, nice and wet and exactly perfect. Her flavor was maddening, her tightness divine. He wasn’t sure if he was still dreaming or if this beautiful woman was real. One finger slipped past the tight ring of her ass, while two other fingers plunged in and out of her pussy. His mouth sucked at her clit. He could tell she was close as her fingers dug into the muscles of his shoulders and her body quivered against his mouth. Her gasps of breaths grew louder. When he sucked a little harder, she cried out, and had he not been there to keep her steady, she would’ve collapsed right on top of him.

  Once he’d wrung the last drop of her cream, he stood, showered, and turned off the water. He grabbed her towel and draped it around her and then retrieved one for himself. Once she was somewhat dry, he took her by the hand and brought her into his bedroom. Before the shower, he had dimmed the lights, placed a bottle of lubricant, and a few golden foil wrapped condoms on the nightstand.

  Dropping his towel, he demanded, “Take it off.” />
  “Do you always give orders?” she asked, her brow arched high.

  He pinched the fabric of the towel and pulled. “I do when it’s my fantasy.”

  He liked that she didn’t instantly want to cover herself as she stood naked before him. “Do I get to have any say in how this plays out?”

  “When it’s your turn, sure.”

  She moved closer to him and dragged her nails up from the dark dusting of hair above his cock, straight up his corded abs. “So if I wanted to taste you”—she reached back down and grabbed his cock. Hard—“I’d have to wait?”

  He pulled her against him and took her mouth. The woman was his equal, and he couldn’t get enough. With a little pressure from his hands on her shoulders, he encouraged her to kneel. If she wished to suck his cock, who was he to deny her?

  She licked at the head and then dabbed her tongue around it, tasting every inch of his hard length. When her warm mouth enveloped him, he closed his eyes and thanked his lucky stars. Not only was Claire a walking wet dream, but she was so much more. He liked that she gave as good as she got and didn’t seem to care about rules. Claire was a woman who knew what she wanted and he liked that about her, too.

  The longer she tasted him, the weaker his knees became. He didn’t want to come like this. He had plans—a fantasy he’d had since their first encounter.

  “That’s enough,” he told her, his tone harsh and breathy. “Get on the bed. Lay on your back.” With a curious brow, she did as he asked. “Spread your legs.”

  His mouth watered as her legs fell open wide, her pussy still slick with her juices. He grabbed a condom and slipped it over his erection, tossed the lubricant onto the bed beside her, and then knelt between her legs. Holding her gaze, he pressed the head of his cock to her entrance and slowly moved inside. She hissed as he sank to the hilt. A tingling warmth slammed at the back of his balls and rolled up his spine and he filled her.

  “Grab your knees. Pull them toward your chest.”

  She did and he sank even deeper. Her cries of pleasure increased as he drilled against the walls of her pussy. He felt her quiver with each determined thrust.