All her life, she’d had to take care of things herself, and so it had been a bit of a shock when he wanted to take care of the thing with Sasha. It almost made her realize how deeply untrusting of the world, and men, she was.
She vowed to have a more open mind from now on. Whoever Nathan was, she’d obviously misunderstood him. From now on, she was going to try and only seek the truth, without bias, no matter how dangerous to her heart that was.
Because a Nathan who was a jerk and a criminal? That would have been safe to be around. But a Nathan with a good heart and a protective nature to go along with the other good things about him? That was downright risky for any woman’s feelings.
Right now, Nathan also seemed to be worried about Sasha. He’d even asked if she wanted to report it to the police, but since nothing had actually happened, all that would result would be Nathan probably being taken in for questioning or arrested for assault.
And besides, Nathan had said he’d go see Phillip later and have a word with him. That Sasha or any other woman would never have to worry about him again.
And much to Lillian’s surprise, she actually believed him.
Nathan led them into the office. “I have just the thing for a broken heart.” He moved to a cupboard and pulled out a tray and some crystal glasses, plus a fancy decanter.
“Scotch?” Lillian asked wryly.
“Yes, please,” said Sasha, who was already curled up on a chair. “It helps me sleep, and I’ve already been enough of a pain for you guys.” She sipped on the tumbler Nathan brought her and grimaced with a little shiver. “I’m never going on a date again. From now on, I’m listening to you, Lillian. Men suck.”
Nathan raised an eyebrow as he poured a glass for Lillian, handed it to her, and then sat back in one of his chairs. He swirled the scotch glass slowly in his hand, looking thoughtful.
If he had a comment, he wasn’t going to make one.
“All men don’t suck,” Lillian said quietly. “And I know this sounds hypocritical coming from me, but don’t give up hope yet, Sash.”
Sasha looked at Lillian suspiciously. “What got into you all of a sudden?” Then she smiled mischievously, looking over at Nathan. “Oh, I think I know.”
“What?” Lillian felt her cheeks burning in embarrassment, sure the entire world could see what she was thinking. “No, I just… I’m trying to be more open-minded.”
Sasha nearly dropped her scotch. “I’m sorry, Lillian, but that’s extremely abnormal. Your whole thing is thinking the worst of people.”
“I know, I know,” Lillian said guiltily. She snuck a wary glance at Nathan. “But I’m realizing I misjudge people sometimes.”
Nathan looked up at that, and she could swear she saw something like hope in his eyes as they met hers. Such an odd shade of blue, so deep they almost looked purple.
Sasha looked between them and flaunted a knowing expression. Then she finished her scotch, shaking her head with a grimace. When she stood, she was wobbling slightly. “Well, that’s it for me. I’m a lightweight.” She took out her phone to look at it. “I’m headed to bed. You two stay up and talk a bit.”
Both Nathan and Lillian stood in protest.
“Wait,” Lillian said. “There’s no need to go yet.”
“You aren’t a third wheel,” Nathan added.
Lillian could swear there was a hint of desperation in his voice, too. Could he sense, as she could, that there was something between them that would have to be addressed? Something hanging by the barest of threads that would snap if they were left alone together?
Sasha gave them both a smile and walked over to give Lillian a long, full hug. Then she gave Nathan a casual side hug and sauntered to the door. “I know, and I appreciate both of you very much. For helping me tonight. Going out with me. Making me feel welcome.” She looked at Nathan. “You have a beautiful house. I’m sure I’m going to enjoy sleeping in it, as I’m going to do right now.”
“But—” Lillian tried to interject, but Sasha put up a hand.
“It’s been a bit of a rough day, and I think sleep would be best for me. Besides, I think you two could use some time alone.” And then with a wink at Lillian that was not at all subtle, Sasha was gone.
“I’m going to make sure she gets to bed all right,” Lillian said, and Nathan hastily nodded.
But when Lillian poked her head out of the door, she saw that Sasha was looking remarkably steady and making her way quickly over to her room. When she was inside safely, Lillian let out a sigh.
Then her heart started to pound because she was suddenly alone with Nathan.
Chapter 14
“So she’s fine?” Nathan asked from where he was sitting. “You don’t need to go check on her?”
Lillian let the door close behind her. “I guess not. Sasha’s pretty stubborn when she wants to be.”
Nathan swirled his scotch, a habit that seemed to imply he was thinking about something. “And right now she seems to want us to be alone?”
Lillian nodded as she took a seat in the chair she’d been in before, noting that it was uncomfortably close to Nathan.
She should have sat a few over, but with her newfound jealousy, she hadn’t wanted to be too far from him.
Now she was regretting that.
“I wonder why?” Nathan asked, but there was a glint in his eyes as he looked her over.
That predator stare again. Except, if he wanted to eat her, it was in a very different way.
She grabbed the front of her shirt and fanned it a couple times, suddenly feeling a little overheated. It had nothing to do with how handsome he looked, his cuffs still rolled up, slight scratches on his arm from the window he’d broken. His hair mussed and out of place. His face still flushed with adrenaline.
That handsome mouth quirked in amusement as she stared at him.
When she looked back up into his eyes, she saw fire.
Fire that was reflected in her very core just from being around him.
She never felt out of control like this. What had gotten into her?
He leaned forward, moving his chair a little closer and setting his scotch to the side.
She leaned back in her chair, but there was no escaping him. No way she wanted to.
He came a little closer, then closer. Then he stood out of his chair and walked over to her, putting a hand on each of the arms, caging her there but keeping a distance.
He peered down at her. “So you said something about keeping an open mind?”
“I was just… thinking.”
“About what?”
She exhaled nervously. “It’s hard to think with you close to me. I can’t—”
“It’s hard to think when you’re not close to me,” he said quietly. “The idea of you in danger—”
“I’m not in danger.”
“You could be if I’m not around.” He shook his head. “I hate it.”
“But why? I’m just a journalist, and—”
He cut her off with a finger placed gently to her mouth, stroking smoothly over her bottom lip. “You’re not just anything to me. Have you not noticed? I’m obsessed with you.”
A little shiver went through her. The Nathan Lancaster? Obsessed with her?
“Why?”
“I’m not sure myself,” he said, still standing over her as if he had all the time in the world to just trap her there. “I think it’s because you make me feel things no one ever has.”
“Because I don’t buy your bullshit.”
“In part,” he replied.
God, he smelled good at this distance. She just wanted to grab his shirt, pull him in against her nose, and never let go.
“What else, then?” she asked.
He moved his hand from her lips to her hair, finding a ringlet. “You intrigue me. You’re unlike anyone I’ve ever met, and I’ve met a lot of people.”
“That doesn’t seem like enough for… what you’re doing right now.” But she couldn’t pull away. As much as
none of this made sense, she wanted this.
“I don’t know what enough is anymore,” he said, and that desolate look flashed in his eyes again as it had at dinner. “I waited a long time to find out what enough is, and I don’t think I’m ever going to find it. But right now, enough is what I have here in front of me. Enough would be you in my arms.”
She gasped at the thought of it, at the very real desire reflected in his eyes.
At how right it felt to be this close to him, just at the breaking point of something huge.
“Tell me yes, Lillian.”
“Yes,” she murmured. She couldn’t help it. She’d been wanting this, stifling it beyond her own comprehension, since she’d met him it seemed.
He stroked a hand through her hair and then cupped the back of her neck, drawing her forward into a kiss that tasted like scotch and sent fire racing all through her. When he pulled back, there was regret in his eyes. “But just so you know, I’ll still have to leave at midnight.”
She blinked, the journalist in her wanting to ask about that. But the woman in her just wanted to be his, to be claimed, to be ravished. “Then we’ll just have to make it ‘enough’ before that, won’t we?”
“I like the way you think.”
Then he gave her a pleased smile as he lifted her in his arms and walked over to a large, cushioned chaise lounge. When he deposited her there, he quickly knelt over her, caging her in.
She eyed his knee, heart pounding. “You don’t have to keep doing that. I’m not going to run away.”
“You should, Lillian. I’m no good for you.”
“Why?” she asked, reaching up to stroke a lock of his hair.
His hand covered hers, pulling it away from him. Clearly, he liked to be the one touching, not the one being touched. “I’m not like you. So open, so honest. I have secrets, Lillian. Ones I have to keep. I have no choice.” And for once, in his eyes, she felt nothing standing between them. He might have secrets, but he wasn’t hiding anything from her in that moment.
“I can accept that.”
“I don’t know if you can,” he said, pushing her back onto the soft, velvet cushions beneath them. The chaise was oversized, open on the sides, and very comfortable, keeping her in a slightly reclined position and utterly at his mercy.
“You’re such an honest person,” he said, tracing his finger over her collarbone and down to the cleavage of her breasts, watching her shiver with something like pleasure. “So transparent.” His hand pushed the neck of her shirt to the side so he could cup her breast, half revealed in her bra.
God, it felt good to be touched like that. She moaned and couldn’t help but arch, pressing her nipple into his hand.
“Like that,” he said. “Show me everything.”
And then she did. She couldn’t help it, couldn’t hide anything. He was right. She was honest. She hated secrets and didn’t see the point of lying.
And as he brushed under one side of her bra and his warm, slightly rough hand cupped her gently, his thumb grazing her nipple, the last thing she could do was keep anything back.
“Oh God, that’s good,” she said, putting a free hand up to her mouth to bite down on it.
He frowned, taking her hand and gathering it with the other and then putting them both above her. “Keep them there.”
“Ooh, kinky,” she said, wriggling slightly.
“I mean it.” His tone was cool, serious, and she was taken aback until she saw the heat in his eyes.
He was just as much in this as she was, but apparently, it was important to him to stay in control. Well, that was fine with her. She was ready to lose it.
He reached for the hem of her shirt and lifted it slowly, swearing softly as he pulled it over her head and revealed more of her body. “Damn, you’re beautiful. The most gorgeous thing I’ve ever seen.”
“Stop it,” she said, turning her head to the side and flushing. “I’m sure you’ve seen models way more beautiful than—”
“Stop it,” he said, cupping her chin and forcing her to face him. “No one speaks badly about my lover.”
She blinked up at him and then wriggled her chin out of his hold. “You’re bossy in bed.” She grinned.
“I’ve heard that’s not a bad thing,” he retorted.
“It’s not,” she said. “As long as you can follow it up.”
“We’ll see,” he said, lowering himself over her. The next second, his lips were on her neck, searing her with heat and tingles of pleasure as he propped himself up on one hand and she felt the other reaching around to undo her bra.
She held her breath as he fumbled with the hook, then sighed in relief as the bra fell away from her as he helped her slip it off her raised hands and tossed it to the floor.
“Sex in an office. Kinky.”
He kissed his way over her collarbone as his hand expertly cupped her breast, teasing and playing. “We can do it at the tower office, too, if you want,” he whispered, brushing against her ear and starting those confounded tingles again.
She squirmed, suddenly feeling her skirt was too tight and confining.
His eyes glittered as he pulled back, straddling her with a knee on either side of her hips. “So sensitive. I didn’t think you would already be ready.”
“I was born ready,” she said.
He pulled her in against him, then reached down to undo her skirt and pull it away from her. When he reached her panties, which were luckily of the lacy and sexy variety, he slid a finger under the waistband, teasing.
Then he pressed her against him so they were utterly close, pressed together from neck to shin. His lips found her ear. “Someday I’m going to know all of your secrets. Everything that’s happened to you and made you who you are. Someday I’m going to be your everything.”
She gasped and pushed on his chest, looking up at him, and even he seemed taken aback by what he’d said to her.
He let her fall back against the chaise and took position over her again, this time moving a little closer to straddle her waist.
He brought her hand up to his chest. “Can’t you feel it? It’s like we were destined to be together.”
She scoffed. “Do you use that line on every woman you seduce? Because I don’t believe in fate, so it’s not effective.”
“No,” he said quietly. “I’ve never said that to another woman.”
She felt silent with shock, lying there in her panties, unable to really believe he could feel that way about her.
She hadn’t done anything to deserve it. Except maybe…
“You like that I look past your mask. Further than others…”
He nodded. His dark hair shimmered in the dim light, and he pressed his lips together before relaxing them again. His eyes fell to her breasts, and then his hands followed, cupping her. “I like pretty much everything about you. And that surprises me.”
She moaned, arching in his arms, her nipples hungry for even more stimulation.
As if reading her mind, his hands caught each of her nipples between finger and thumb, rolling and pinching lightly.
Fire shot to her core. “Oh yes, Nathan.”
“Call me Nate,” he said firmly.
“Nate,” she gasped out as one of his hands left her breast and moved down to her panties. He slid a hand underneath them and found her center, and a grin curved his lips as his finger slid over her slick, wet heat.
“Perfect,” he said quietly. Then he watched her for a moment, and she realized he was waiting for her permission.
Well, that was refreshing.
She nodded eagerly, and he dipped one thick finger inside.
Oh God, it felt good to be touched there. He was setting her on fire, but in the most delicious of ways. He withdrew his finger and slowly moved over her folds, playing and exploring until his hand found the little nub at the top. His finger brushed over it, and she jerked, a shockwave of sensation going through her.
Her hands reached for him, but he took them and put the
m at her sides. “Stay there.”
“You and your damn control thing,” she said through gritted teeth.
“I could tie you if that would be better.”
“Is that the only way you can get off?” But she couldn’t really protest because she’d pretty much go along with anything with how he was making her feel at this moment.
Especially when his hand began to lazily circle her clit, making shockwaves go through her, ignoring the way she writhed helplessly as if he had all the time in the world to just torture her with pleasure.
With the promise of pleasure.
He kept stroking, his eyes intently on her as he slowly built her toward plateau. But then he would pause, let her calm down, and slowly build her back up again.
Her body was shaking now, totally under his control, and she was about ready to beg for release when he finally looked down with an indulgent half smile.
“Come.”
And then he pressed down on her, hard, and she did, arching up and unable to not grab him as she trembled and called out his name in release.
He went rigid but then softened against her, holding her against him as she thrashed in his arms.
The feeling was almost too strong to be borne. She felt so understood, so at home with him, which made no sense because they were strangers only days ago.
Hadn’t she hated him?
But right now, he’d given her the most mind-blowing pleasure she’d ever experienced, and as she shivered and gasped, trying to recover her breath as the waves of pleasure abated, she felt him gently taking her by the arms and pushing her back down onto the chaise, leaving her arms by her sides.
He stared down at her for a moment, looking so big and so handsome and so in control of himself that she was breathless. She felt so vulnerable and naked and boneless in comparison.
“We’re not done,” he said. “I’m not sure I’ll ever be done.”
“Me neither,” she said, looking up at him with a shaky grin.
His lips came down over hers, and she could feel his smile. “As I said before, I really like the way you think.”
Chapter 15
Lillian’s lips against Nathan’s were warm and sensual, soft and yielding, the floral scent of her lipstick teasing his senses as he deepened their kiss, claiming her. She moaned slightly, melding against him as his tongue demanded entrance.
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