by J Grayland
“Oh, darlin’, I didn’t mean to give you a fright,” she exclaimed in a soft, southern drawl.
“No, it’s okay. I heard noises down here, and when I came down, I didn’t see you. For a minute there, I thought we might have a ghost!” I chuckled.
“Well, I’ve been compared to many things, but never a ghost,” she said, walking around the bench and wiping her hands on a towel until she was standing in front of me. She held out her hand, which I took. “Well, I’m guessing you must be Miss. Tyler?”
“Please, call me Casey. And you must be Mrs. Winters?”
“Oh, honey, you make me feel like my mother calling me that. You just call me Carmel.”
“Okay, Carmel,” I said, smiling. “Its really nice to meet you. I have no idea how I’ve been here all this time, but never seen you!”
“Oh, I always like to sneak in at the crack of dawn, get it done quickly, and get out. I don’t believe in intruding on peoples’ lives.”
“Oh, and the meals you leave in the freezer are amazing,” I told her. I watched as she grabbed two glasses from the cupboard, took a pitcher of juice out of the refrigerator, filled the glasses, and slid one across the counter toward me.
“That’s sweet of you to say, honey. I do like to cook, but Mr. King is the only one I actually do it for. He’s kind of special,” she said with a slight twinkle in her eye.
Taking a sip of juice from my glass, I looked at her over the rim with a raised eyebrow and a grin. “I don’t have something to worry about here, do I?” I teased.
Carmel looked up at me with a shocked expression. “Oh, Lord! No, girl, I’m old enough to be his mama!” When she saw the impish look I was giving her, she laughed at my insinuation and said conspiratorily, “No harm in looking, though.”
“Yeah, well, I don’t blame you there. He’s definitely easy on the eyes!”
“He and Jackson sure are a pretty pair of bookends,” she sighed.
“You know Jackson?” I asked her.
“Sure do. He’s my cousin, Lilly’s, boy. He and Mr. King have been close friends from the minute they joined the Marines.”
“Jax is a great guy.”
“He always was a good boy. Looks after his family well. That’s why when Mr. King was looking for a housekeeper, Jackson sent me to look after him, but I think he looks after me better.” She smiled. “But enough talk about me, I want to know about that accent of yours! Where is it from?”
“Australia.”
“What? My Lord, that’s on the other side of the world, girl! What are you doing here?”
Chewing my bottom lip, thinking of where to begin my story, I looked up into her kind face, and for some reason, felt an instant sense of calm with this woman.
“I guess you could say it was a string of unfortunate circumstances,” I said, grimacing.
“Well, in that case, I think I will cook us up something, and you can tell me all about it over some food. What do you think?”
“Sounds great, I’m starving.”
“Good, I like a girl with an appetite. You’re too skinny anyways. You sit, and I’ll whip us something up,” she said. Carmel pulled out bowls and pans from the cupboard, and I watched as she skillfully made us up a batch of pancakes and listened as I told her about my contract with IMA and how I came to meet Nate. I told her about the kidnapping threat and why he had brought me here, but I didn’t go into everything. There were just some parts of my life that I still wasn’t ready to share, especially with a woman I had just met, even if she did make me feel instantly comfortable. Helping Carmel load the dishwasher with our dirty dishes, I was caught off guard when she said, “I think we are going to have a great time at the house.”
“You mean the beach house?” I asked, giving her a slightly puzzled look that she immediately noticed. Turning to me with her hands on her hips, she said, “Please tell me that boy told you.”
“Told me?”
“That he wants me to spend a couple of days a week down there, as well as here.”
“What? I don’t understand,” I said, baffled as to why Nate would think that we would need a housekeeper when there would only be the two of us living there. Seeing the look on my face, she continued.
“Oh, honey. I’m sorry, I know how it can feel having another woman in your castle, and its fine, but maybe you need to talk to Mr. King about it.”
Instantly, my hand reached out to touch her arm, regretting my reaction. I didn’t want her to feel rejected or awkward in any way.
“No, no it’s fine. I’m just trying to work out why, that’s all. It seems a little over the top to have a housekeeper there. I mean it’s just a house, not like this place,” I said, spreading a hand out to the penthouse.
“That’s okay, sweetie, I’m in no way offended at all. I’m guessing he might have wanted you to have some help setting up a home for you both. Anyway, you talk to that man first, okay?” she said, patting my arm.
“Yes, I’ll do that. Thanks.”
After Carmel left, I headed up to the gym and spent some time in there, still baffled by why Nate would want a housekeeper. I mean, I knew that to him, it was probably a normal thing to have, but not to me. Even though I was pretty sure I would love Carmel’s company, I was still looking forward to having alone time, something that I was very used to. Another thing that was laying heavily on my mind was Max Sullivan. I’d spoken to Flynn, who was being pretty closed-lipped and not giving any further information other than that Sullivan was still in the hospital, he would keep me updated, and that I should forget about him entirely. How the hell did he expect me to do that? Not only had he been a huge part of my life, but I was now in danger of him affecting Nate’s life, as well. I knew that Flynn had said there were no witnesses that night, but what if someone came forward somewhere down the track? Would Nate be safe now that we were back in Portland? Flynn assured me there was nothing to worry about, but in my experience, your past always comes back to haunt you, and the last thing that I wanted was for MY past to come back and haunt Nate.
I was standing at the stove, pushing stir-fry around in the sizzling pan when I heard the ding of the lift and the doors sliding open. Looking up, I watched as Nate came in, dropped his phone and keys on the coffee table, and then came around to where I was standing. Inhaling the aroma, he said, “Smells good, I am starving,” before dropping a kiss on the back of my neck. “I’ll just take a quick shower.”
I was momentarily distracted from serving dinner by Nate’s bare chest and low slung sleep pants when he appeared downstairs soon after. It didn’t matter how many times I saw his perfect body covered in that amazingly intricate ink or that sexy V that disappeared below the top of his pants, it still sent a shiver of desire up my spine, and the way he was looking at me, he knew it.
“You look a bit flustered there,” he said with a knowing smile.
Bringing myself to finish the task at hand without spilling vegetables and meat all over the kitchen island, then dumping the pan in the sink, I chose to ignore his comment. After all, I had just been caught eye fucking him. Over dinner, Nate filled me in on his day, including his conversation with Paxton over my visa and residency in the US.
“But I told him it was something he needed to discuss with you,” Nate said.
“Sounds good. I’ll go through my paperwork and get together what he needs so we can get things moving.”
“You know there’s no hurry, right?”
“Nate,” I warned, knowing where this conversation was heading.
“I’m just saying, don’t feel pressured into anything. I just want you to take your time in deciding what you want to do.”
Looking at him curiously, I asked, “What do you mean, deciding what I want to do? I already have a career, Nate.”
I watched as he put another forkful of food into his mouth, contemplating my words. “Yo
u’re right I apologize,” he said. “I just didn’t want you to feel obligated to moving faster than you wanted. That’s all.”
“Speaking of which,” I said, brow raised, “I met Mrs. Winters this morning.”
“Good! I’m glad you two finally got to meet. She’s great, isn’t she?”
“Yes, she’s lovely. She also told me that you want her to work at the beach house?” I asked.
“Yeah, well, I thought she would be able to help you out and keep you company,” he said, placing his fork down on his now empty plate. Sighing, I picked up my half-eaten dinner plate along with his. I walked into the kitchen, placing them in the sink with enough of a crash to get his attention.
“What?” he asked, coming to stand in front of me when I turned to face him.
“A babysitter, Nate. You want Mrs. Winters to babysit me,” I said, feeling my anger starting to bubble and grow with the way he almost scoffed at the idea.
“She’s not a babysitter.”
“Yes, Nate, she is. The house isn’t big enough to need a housekeeper,” I said, looking deep into his eyes, wanting him to feel the burn of my irritation.
“Baby,” he said, his voice low and placating as he placed his hands on my hips and pulled me closer to him. “I’d feel better knowing you had someone there with you when I’m here working.” He nuzzled into my neck.
“I don’t need protecting 24 hours a day, Nate. You need to get that into your head.”
Letting out a deep, hot breath against my skin, he said, “I will never stop protecting you. Ever. But you’re right.”
Pulling back from him slightly so that he was looking at me, I softened when I saw the pained look on his face. “There’s a difference between being protective and being obsessively overbearing and suffocating. I understand that’s your job. Our shaky start to this relationship probably gave you cause to feel like this, but there needs to be some boundaries, Nate.”
“I know. All I can do is try, okay?”
Leaning into me with his hands on either side of the marble bench top, he imprisoned me between his body and the sink. He bowed his head slightly until his eyes were level with mine, and what I saw swimming in them was not resistance to my words. Those gray eyes swirled with a darkness of lust and heat, flickering between my eyes, then darting to my mouth. With just that look of hunger, I felt my anger slowly ebbing away as my breathing grew heavier with the warmth of his closeness. I watched his beautiful mouth as he spoke in a low gravelly tone. “There are a lot of things that I love about you, but right now, it’s your need to psychoanalyze me and that hot temper of yours.”
“Nate?” I whispered huskily.
“Hmm?” he breathed into my neck.
“Stop,” I said without an ounce of conviction in my voice.
“No,” he said as he started to kiss along my collarbone and slowly up the side of my neck, where he gently bit then licked the spot before moving his mouth over my lips. With our breathing starting to accelerate with the rising heat between us, I felt his warm breath tickle over my mouth as his eyes bored into mine. Pools of liquid gray, full of a hunger that I could only compare to my own, I felt his hand slide down to the waistband of my shorts, yank open the button, then slide down the zipper. His hand slid down into my panties, where his fingers started to gently caress my wet folds. A low moan somewhere deep in my throat escaped my parted lips.
“Looks like I’m not the only one who gets turned on by a disagreement,” he said against my mouth.
His hand cupped my mound, and he slipped a finger deep inside of my wetness, making me gasp in pleasure at the invasion. Taking my gasp into his mouth when his lips crashed down onto mine, he tasted of spices from our meal as his tongue swept inside and over my own. As he pushed his body into mine, I could feel how hard he was through his sleep pants. With the kiss becoming frantic and in a bid to get closer to each other, I was stunned when he suddenly pulled back and knelt down in front of me, pulling my shorts and panties down and off in one swoop. He was at eye level with the swollen apex in between my thighs. Just watching his greedy look made me squeeze my thighs together tighter in an effort to relieve the pressure.
Running his palms up the back of my legs, he lifted one of them, placing it over his shoulder. He then ran his hand up my stomach, under my shirt to the middle of my breasts where he gently pressed to encourage me to lean back against the bench. The next thing I felt was his mouth on my sex, sucking and licking with a ravenous hunger. With my head thrown back in pleasure, I dug my hands into his luscious, thick, black hair in an effort to hold him exactly where I needed him to be while I rode through the intensity of my orgasm which hit me with wave after wave of intimate pleasure.
Without giving me time to recover, Nate removed my leg from his shoulder and stood, wiping the evidence of my orgasm off his lips with the back of his hand. Then he lifted me onto the bench, pushing his pants down where they pooled on the floor at his feet. I looked down to find him fisting his huge erection before pushing my legs apart and rubbing the head over my still wet lips. With one thrust, he buried himself deep inside of me, and I instinctively wrapped my legs around his waist as his hands came around my lower back where he had control of the depth and our movement. The kitchen filled with noises of passion and heat as he fucked me so hard I thought something might break. He rained open-mouthed kisses against my throat and mouth with whispered curses and moans that ended in a spiral of out of control movements and thrashing that left me gasping out his name when I came once again, this time with the feeling of his hot seed filling me with his own ferocious climax.
Panting, I let my legs slide down as I leaned my head on his shoulder, trying to catch my breath. I could feel his body still shuddering with the aftershocks for moments after as we gently kissed. He slipped from my body, helping me down off the kitchen bench. Still breathing hard, he said, “Fuck, woman, you are going to be the death of me,” making me giggle.
“Me? I think you might have created a monster.”
“I didn’t have to create anything, baby. It’s all you.”
Chapter Eighteen
Nate
The next few days were beyond busy. More like hectic as hell, with the furniture getting delivered out to the beach house, the contract for West Bank getting closer to being launched, and researching Alonzo’s employees. I facilitated a compromise with Casey regarding Mrs. Winters spending some time helping her to get the house organized. That turned out to be harder than negotiating a million dollar contract. Damn, that woman could be so stubborn and combative at times. Casey eventually agreed to have Mrs. Winters at the house a couple of days a week at first, then once a week. She argued that looking after the penthouse was a big enough job on its own for Mrs. Winters without considering the new house, as well.
The thing I really loved though, was the look on Casey’s face every time we drove up the driveway of that house. Her smile was so big, it seemed to spread from ear to ear. I realized that buying the house was one of the best decisions I had ever made. Well, besides taking on a feisty, stubborn, strong Aussie woman as my live-in girlfriend. Now, that was the absolutely best decision I had ever made in my entire life. Now I just wanted to see her happy in a home that was her own, where she felt comfortable and like she belonged.
Looking down at my watch, I noticed that it was just after 11 a.m. when there was a knock on my office door. “Come in,” I answered. Leaning back into my chair, I watched as the door slowly opened, and in walked the beautiful woman I had just been thinking about. She was wearing a light blue sundress that came to just above her knees, showing off those long, tanned legs. Her almost white, blonde hair was twisted into a braid that hung down over one tanned shoulder. Pure perfection.
“Hi, what do I owe the pleasure?” I asked, smiling at her.
Giving me a knowing look, she said, “Keep your mind out of the gutter, Mr. King. I just came dow
n to see Paxton. I brought all the paperwork he needs from me.”
“When you visit me in my office, baby, nothing but filth runs through my mind.”
“Really? What kind?” she asked, sitting in one of the leather chairs opposite my desk. I watched as she slowly crossed her legs. Leaning forward and placing my elbows on the desk in front of me, I sighed.
“Hmm, let’s see…you sitting right here,” I said, patting the top of my desk. “Spread out in front of me, naked under that dress, a feast fit for a King.” I grinned as her cheeks flushed slightly. “Or you on your knees around this side of the desk,” I continued, liking the fact that my words seemed to make her squirm a little in her chair.
“I’ll keep that in mind for future reference,” she said, grinning at me.
“You do that,” I said, leaning back in my chair again.
“I see you have a new secretary,” she said, motioning toward the door.
“Yes, Laura. She started yesterday.”
“How is she?”
“She’s nice enough. Too early to tell at this point,” I said, shrugging.
“She’s very pretty,” she said, and I noticed a slight hitch in her voice. Getting up, I walked around to the front of my desk, leaning against it and crossing my arms.
“Casey, although my ego is slightly pleased with your small show of jealousy, I can assure you there is no other woman that compares to you.” She looked up at me, slightly embarrassed.
“Stupid, huh?”
“No, baby. At least you’re calm about it. If the situation was reversed and that was a male out there, I’m pretty sure I would be grabbing him by the throat and escorting him off the premises by now.” I chuckled, but was relieved when she let out a relaxed laugh.
