Jill gasped and arched as his hands closed on her skin, each claiming a breast, and this time didn't protest when Nick broke their kiss again and moved his mouth away to begin a trail down her neck.
"I've wanted to do this for so long," he breathed against her throat as he moved lower. "You don't know how hard it's been not to kiss or touch you all this time."
Jill's answer was to arch and whimper with need as his lips trailed over her collarbone and began to crest the curve of her breast.
"How many times I've sat eating my lunch, thinking how beautiful you are, how much I wanted to touch you and taste you and…" His words died as he reached her breast once more and covered her nipple, sucking it into his warm, wet mouth so that his tongue could swirl around it.
Jill's entire body seemed to tighten up in reaction this time, one hand clawing at his shoulder, the other tugging viciously at his hair, trying to make him kiss her again.
Nick ignored the silent demand this time and simply suckled harder as one hand moved to cover her other breast and tease the nipple there.
Jill opened her mouth to beg him to stop it and kiss her again, then nearly bit off her tongue when she felt his other hand begin sliding up her thigh.
A little alarmed at how out of control she felt and at how quickly this was all going, Jill caught his shoulder and tugged hard, relieved when this time he gave in to her and slid up her body to kiss her.
Jill kissed him back passionately, but wanted more. She wanted him kissing her, suckling at her breast, and she wanted to have him inside her. She wanted it all.
Frustrated by the clothing separating them, Jill began to tug, at his shirt, dragging it out of his jeans with more desperation than finesse. The moment it was loose, she slid her hands under the material and hungrily ran them over his bare flesh, but it wasn't enough. She'd wanted him for so long—forever it seemed now—and need was exploding inside her, making her demanding as her hands slid down to his jeans and began to tug insistently. When the jeans didn't slide down his body, she changed tactics and managed to squirm her hand into the waistband and find him with her fingers.
Nick groaned into her mouth, his hips instinctively thrusting into the caress as she touched him.
"God," he gasped and pressed his mouth to her neck now, one hand sliding down along her hip as he ground against her.
Jill pressed a kiss to his forehead and ran her fingers over him again. In the next moment, Nick had shifted them both to their sides facing each other. He then used one hand to catch her by the back of the neck and pull her face forward for a masterful kiss as his other hand went searching. As his tongue thrust into her, his fingers found the hot wet core of her and began to explore.
Jill cried out into his mouth and bucked against his seeking hand, her own fingers squeezing hard around him. She thought she'd explode any minute, was almost desperate to do so, then laughter hit her ear and startled her back to awareness of where they were.
It had the same effect on Nick and he suddenly stilled too. They pulled slightly apart and stared at each other briefly, then Nick raised his head and peered out the window. When he didn't say anything, she rose up to peer out as well, and bit her lip as she saw a pair of young men coming from the direction of the elevator and starting along the row of cars toward them.
It was enough to have Jill and Nick scrambling. He shifted back into the driver's seat, and picked up the bag to drag out the dress he'd purchased as Jill slid back to the floor, and out of view of the windows. She began to don it without even really looking at it, managing to tug it on and down over her hips in record time.
"Here." Nick leaned down toward her and Jill stilled, unsure what he was doing until he straightened away with the price tag in hand.
Jill's gaze flickered over the tag and she smiled with gratitude, then pushed herself up out of the small floor space and onto the seat, tugging the dress down over her hips and upper legs as she went.
A glance out the window showed the two young men just passing by the SUV, not seeming to even notice them inside. She watched them walk to a car several down from their own, then let a little sigh slip from her lips. Part of her resented the interruption of what she and Nick had been doing, but another part was confused. She'd liked the man for ages and wondered why he'd never made a move, but now things seemed to be moving in high gear. It was a bit overwhelming.
"Are you all right?" Nick brushed his hand lightly over her cheek, his expression concerned when she turned to peer at him.
Forcing a smile, she nodded. "I—Yes. It's all just a little…"
"Intense," he suggested quietly when her voice faltered.
Jill nodded solemnly. Intense was a good word for it. Another word was overwhelming.
Nick leaned forward and kissed the tip of her nose, then hugged her comfortingly.
"It will be all right," he murmured by her ear. "It's just that we've been seeing each other for six months and all these feelings have built up and…" He paused to clear his throat, then said, "I'm sorry if I was rushing you."
Jill's breath came out on a soft laugh. "You aren't rushing me. I mean, it's all rather overwhelming, but you didn't do anything I didn't want and…" Frowning, she took a breath and admitted, "I want you. I really do. I'm hard pressed not to ask you to make love to me right here and now, but there's so much going on, so much to worry about. I'm worried about what John Heathcliffe is doing right now, about whether Kyle and Claire are safe and—"
"Shh, I know." Nick hugged her a little tighter and rubbed her back soothingly. "I know. It's all happening at the same time. I think that's one of Murphy's laws or something. But we can handle all this together. We'll go to my sister's where you'll be safe in a crowd of people. You can keep calling your brother and his wife until you get through to them and we'll take care of this Heathcliffe character. Then we'll deal with the us part of the equation. Okay?"
Jill smiled into his shoulder and nodded. They'd handle it together and then deal with the us part of the equation. It had a nice ring to it.
"Okay," she whispered into his shoulder and he pulled back slightly to peer at her.
"We are going to deal with the us part though, Jill," he reassured her solemnly as if she might think he was just putting her off. "We have something special here and my year is up. My divorce is final and I'm now free to pursue you like I want to."
Jill smiled at his expression, and then whispered, "It's about time. Pursue away."
Nick grinned and then kissed her again before saying, "We should get moving."
"Yes," Jill whispered, settling back in her seat and doing up her seatbelt.
Nick started the engine and then pulled out of the parking spot, but Jill wasn't paying attention. Her gaze had dropped to the dress she wore and she was examining it with surprise. It was a simple black cocktail dress. Simple, classic, stylish, and tasteful.
"This is nice," she said with surprise.
Nick grinned. "Don't sound so surprised. I happen to have good taste."
"Sorry," Jill laughed, then added uncertainly, "but isn't it a bit dressy for a casual afternoon party?"
Nick shook his head. "The first part of the party is casual but then most people will leave and at about eight pm my sister is having a dinner party."
"Oh." Jill managed a smile. "Then it's perfect. You have good taste."
His eyes caught on her lips briefly, and then he cleared his throat and turned his attention back to the front as they pulled out of the parking garage.
Jill found her eyes slipping over his mouth and hands, recalling their moments of passion and decided to distract herself. She said, "It was nice of your sister to hold a party for the parade people."