Mr. Nice Guy by Belinda Williams

Chapter Twenty-Two

Chelsea waitedwith bated breath for Tom to do what she’d requested.

It was entirely possible that she’d gone a step too far, but she’d meant what she said last week about liking the idea of bossing a guy around in the bedroom.

Chelsea watched as Tom stood slowly. Not taking his eyes off her, he slipped his T-shirt over his head and dropped it to the floor.

‘Everything?’ he asked.

Oh boy. Ask and you shall receive. ‘Everything,’ she replied.

She waited like a kid outside a candy store—wide-eyed and eager.

His eyes still on hers, he unzipped his jeans and dropped them to the floor. Underneath, he wore a comfortable pair of grey boxer shorts that hugged him in all the right places.

He cocked an eyebrow at her, and Chelsea’s heart raced faster.

‘Take them off,’ she heard herself say confidently, while inside she felt like squealing and giggling like a teenager.

Tom hooked a thumb around the waistband and then dragged the shorts down his legs. When he straightened, he wasn’t the only thing standing to attention.

‘I can’t really deny my feelings for you now,’ he joked.

‘No. No, you can’t,’ Chelsea replied, feeling breathless.

He was beautiful. Masculine, but beautiful. She already knew from their afternoon at the beach that he was lean and toned with just the right amount of muscle. It turned out he was just the right amount of everything.

She walked around the table to stand in front of him, his green eyes following her.

‘Kiss me,’ she instructed. Though she liked to make demands, she also wanted to feel wanted.

It must have been the sign he’d been waiting for. Tom reached over and pulled her to him, sealing her mouth with his lips in a kiss that left nothing to the imagination about his desire for her. This time he wasn’t sweet or gentle. He was demanding and strong, taking unapologetic pleasure in kissing her.

Chelsea sighed and at some point realised she’d been kissed senseless, and had completely forgotten what she’d been planning to do. Fortunately, her hands had a mind of their own. She used her palms to map the firm contours of his muscular back, then grabbed his tight arse.

He moaned into her mouth, and tingles danced along her spine. His hands came to her hips, drawing their bodies together so she felt his hard need press against her. She pushed her hands between them and gripped the length of him.

He cut off the kiss and pressed his forehead to hers, inhaling a shuddering breath.

‘Do you like that?’ she asked, both wanting to know and to tease him.

He groaned softly. ‘What do you think?’

‘I’ll take that as a yes. Now let’s see about this.’

She grabbed a chair from behind her and used it to sit in front of him, not letting go of him while she did so. Then she took him in her mouth, using her tongue to taste him and pleasure him with long, slow strokes.

Tom’s hands gripped her shoulders and Chelsea grinned to herself. Tom might not be ready to sleep with her yet, but this would more than do for now. By the time she was done, she planned to do everything in her power to leave him begging for more.

* * *

‘Haveyou ever been involved with a guy who doesn’t want to sleep with you?’ Chelsea asked Nadia the following night while sharing Thai takeaway at Nadia’s house.

Nadia had just finished a shift at the hospital and couldn’t be bothered cooking, and Chelsea was in the same boat because Tom was working until midnight. Not that cooking for herself had ever been a problem before now.

‘Is that a trick question?’ Nadia replied. She used her chopsticks to scoop a second helping of noodles onto her plate. ‘If a guy is involved with me, he wants to sleep with me.’

Chelsea smiled to herself and tried rewording the question. ‘I mean, he wants to sleep with you, but he just hasn’t yet.’

‘Are we talking some sort of delayed gratification thing? And who are we talking about?’

Chelsea waved a hand in the air vaguely. She certainly wasn’t going to tell Nadia about the developments with Tom during the past week or so. Especially when they were still in the “wait and see how things turn out” territory.

‘Oh, someone you don’t know, don’t worry,’ Chelsea said. ‘This person was just a bit concerned, and I didn’t really know what to tell her.’

‘I’d tell her to sleep with someone else who wants to sleep with her.’

Chelsea snorted into her glass of wine. So maybe Nadia wasn’t the best person to be asking, but she was Chelsea’s closest confidant in Newcastle.

‘That’s just the thing. They both want to sleep with each other, and they’ve done other things, if you know what I mean.’

‘Uh oh. The guy isn’t religious and saving himself for marriage, is he?’

‘Not that we’re aware of,’ Chelsea said, when she knew that was definitely not the case.

‘I always recommend trying before you buy.’ Nadia gave up attempting to pick up a piece of carrot with her chopsticks and used her hands instead. ‘Not that I ever buy. I prefer to try and move on, if you get me.’

‘Got you. But you’re special.’

‘That I am.’ She popped the carrot in her mouth. ‘Hmm. So they’ve done other things, but he won’t go the distance with her. Interesting.’

‘That’s what I thought.’

Nadia chewed thoughtfully. ‘It could definitely be a delayed gratification thing, if he’s into that. If that’s the case, I’d tell your friend to enjoy the build-up. Who knows if the main course will be as good as the entrée?’

‘From what she’s told me, I’m not sure that’s it,’ Chelsea said. ‘What else do you think it could be?’

‘It could be performance anxiety. Some guys suffer from it.’

Chelsea had considered that, but secretly doubted it was the case. Tom spoke confidently about sex and his past relationships. He didn’t strike her as the sort of guy who let anxiety get the better of him in the bedroom, judging by what had happened between them so far.

‘Or it could be emotional,’ Nadia added.

‘Emotional?’

‘Yeah. A guy who has been hurt in the past could be holding part of himself back so he doesn’t get hurt again.’

Chelsea stopped chewing and reached for her glass of wine, taking a sip while she processed Nadia’s theory.

Nadia went on, ‘Some men are distant, and it can be through no fault of their own. I’ve found the distant ones fall into two categories: they’re only out for a one-night stand with no strings attached, or they try to love again, but can’t.’

Chelsea pushed her plate away. Nadia’s theory made sense, but it didn’t necessarily describe Tom. Tom wasn’t distant. Tom was warm, friendly and giving. And he definitely wasn’t into one-night stands.

Was it possible Tom wasn’t ready to fall in love? Ever since she’d lived with him, he hadn’t been in a relationship, but that could simply be because he’d moved to a different city and he was busy with work.

Chelsea remembered the woman they’d bumped into at the university campus—Vanessa. Tom certainly hadn’t been keen to talk about his ex-fiancée, but then who would if you’d been caught by surprise like that? He’d hardly been expecting to see Vanessa that day.

Chelsea told herself she was being silly. She and Tom weren’t falling in love, and she didn’t even want him to. That was far more serious than their agreement to just see how things went.

But she still couldn’t help asking the question that was on her mind. Chelsea turned to Nadia. ‘Um, far be it from me to question your wise counsel, but what do you know about men who want to fall in love but are unable to? You don’t fall in love with men.’

‘You’re right, I don’t. But that doesn’t mean men don’t fall in love with me. Or in this case, they want to, but can’t.’ She shrugged and picked up the bottle of red wine to pour another glass. ‘It happens.’

Only to Nadia, Chelsea suspected, but she didn’t say it.

‘Surely if they didn’t want to fall in love, they wouldn’t let themselves get involved in the first place?’ Chelsea pointed out.

‘You’d think so. But that’s not how it works. The heart is willing, but the mind and body take over. Think about it. We humans have a really powerful fight and flight instinct. If you’ve been hurt badly before, you internalise it. Then next time when you find yourself in a similar situation, as much as you might want to get close to someone else again, you fight it.’

Chelsea tilted her head to study Nadia. ‘You’re not talking about yourself, are you?’

‘Hardly.’ Nadia shot her a wicked grin. ‘I don’t think I even have a heart. If I have, I haven’t found it yet.’

Chelsea laughed. ‘You’re scary.’

Nadia didn’t disagree. ‘So, who’s the guy? I might know him.’

Chelsea busied herself serving more noodles. ‘I doubt it. He’s too nice to hang around with someone like you.’

Nadia pressed a hand to her chest. ‘You wound me.’

‘You don’t have a heart, remember?’

‘Fine. If I had a heart, I’d be offended.’

‘You’re safe then,’ Chelsea concluded.

Safe.

Is that what Tom was doing? Keeping himself safe from being hurt again by keeping Chelsea at arm’s length? It might explain why he hadn’t been dating other women.

Chelsea honestly had no idea, but she knew one thing. She wasn’t going to be happy being kept at arm’s length forever.