Free A Taste Of Sin by Jami Alden

friends. But I missed my dad a lot."
    Nick felt a funny little catch in his heart as he remembered Kelly in high school. Looking back, he couldn't remember one time when he’d seen Kelly hanging out with friends. He and his brothers had been protective of her, to be sure, and he'd enjoyed her wry sense of humor when she'd tutored him. But he'd never counted her among his friends. And neither, it appeared, had anyone else.
    He pulled her close, residual guilt and an urge to comfort forming a strange lump in his throat. What was it about Kelly that made him want to take care of her, even when it was more than obvious that she could take care of herself?
     
     
    Kelly snuggled her face into Nick's chest, breathing in the warm, musky scent of his skin. His hands stroking her back and the slow, steady beat of his heart lulled her into a peaceful half sleep.
    She turned her head slightly to kiss the smooth skin of his shoulder. Such beautiful, strong shoulders. Shoulders that could help a girl carry her burdens. She tried to remember the last time someone had taken care of her and tried to make her feel better when she got stressed.
    Mentally she snorted. How about never. Since she mostly dated other doctors, any complaint became an invitation to play "my day was so much worse than yours and here's why." No sympathy was extended, just a verbal kick in the ass and silent command to stop whining.
    Not Nick. No, sweet, gorgeous Nick had soothed her, pampered her, and made love to her until her bad mood was forgotten. She sighed. What would it be like to come home every night to Nick and his big, dependable shoulders? To know that if she had a hard day he would be waiting there with his big smile and warm amber eyes?
    What would those eyes look like if they were filled with love for her, full of determination to care for her and make her happy?
    She could really fall in love with a guy like him if she weren’t careful.
    Her arms tightened around him even as she scolded herself to stop thinking along those lines. She was not going to fall in love with Nick, and that was that.
    And more to the point, Nick was not going to fall in love with her.
    With that firmly in mind, she slid her hand down his belly. She traced her fingers up the length of his penis, which was making a valiant effort to rally for another round.
    "I'm still a little cranky," she whispered, and smiled as Nick tucked her underneath him and proceeded to lift her spirits.
    An hour later, Kelly felt Nick inch his way out of the bed. She wished she could call him back under the covers, wished she could fall asleep in his arms and feel him snuggled up against her while she slept.
    But it was obvious he was uncomfortable with spending the night, and she didn't want to make an issue of it. She kept her breathing slow and even so he wouldn't know she was still awake as he paused by the side of the bed, but she couldn't suppress a sigh as his fingers tangled gently in her hair. His hot breath smoothed over her cheek as he bent to kiss her softly one last time.
    For all that this was a casual fling, it was the thought of that last sweet kiss, and not the memory of Nick's sexual prowess, that kept Kelly awake for a long, long time.

Chapter Five
     
    “Nick! Yo, Nicky!"
    Nick jerked his head up and realized he'd been staring at his sandwich for a full minute without taking a bite.
    "What, Tony? You don't have to yell," he grouched.
    "I've been trying to get your attention for an hour," Tony said. "I asked if we're on for Sully's tonight."
    "Yeah, of course we're on." Nick blinked, yawned, took a bite of his sandwich. Yawned again around the bite.
    Jesus, he was tired. The past two and a half weeks were catching up with him with a vengeance. He'd been over to Kelly's every night except one, last Saturday. Mike and Tony had roped him into a night in Truckee. They'd been appalled when Nick hadn't partaken of the local fare. "Just not my type," Nick had asserted. Luckily they'd