Prepared to Fight

by E. J. Shortall

  Growling in frustration, I grabbed a floral patterned pillow and hurled it in the general direction of the door then slumped back, staring up at the ceiling. I couldn’t believe that had just happened?

  ***

  I stared at the closed door for a good five minutes, going over in my mind what had happened. I remembered Nate’s body pressed against mine, the heat of his skin, the roughness of his stubble grazing my flesh when he joined his lips to mine and the hardness in his groin when he pressed it against my pelvis. What had made him stop? The residual post orgasm high disappeared and I sighed, struggling with the frustration still clinging to me. Throwing myself off the bed, I grabbed my robe, determined not to let this go. Not this time. Enough was enough, I needed answers.

  “Nate, what the hell was that? What’s going on with you?” I fumed, storming into the lounge, yanking the belt of my robe into a knot. He wasn’t there. “Nate?”

  The door to his room was closed, so I strolled over and knocked, hammering my fist against the wood.

  “Nate? We need to talk, can I come in?”

  “Now’s not a good time, Liv.”

  “Don’t give me that crap. I’m coming in.”

  I pushed the door open to find him sitting on the bed. His elbows were resting on his knees, his hands clasped together in front of him. He was staring at the floor between his legs.

  “What the fuck was that in there?” I asked, stepping in front of him. He didn’t answer. His clasped hands began to fidget, as though he was physically restraining himself from using them. “Talk to me, please. Because right now, I’m seriously confused, Nate.”

  He peered up, meeting my gaze. The heat in his eyes from earlier had disappeared; it had been replaced with a sadness I didn’t like seeing. I stood with my arms crossed, waiting for him to saying something.

  Eventually, he sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “Sit down.”

  I eased down next to him, making sure my robe covered as much of my bare flesh as possible, and waited.

  Nate returned to staring at the floor, his hands fidgeting again. “Liv, I’m sorry,” he sighed.

  I barked a disgusted laugh. “You’re sorry? That’s it? You’re sorry? Nate I wanted you… want you.” I couldn’t bear to be so close to him, so I wandered over to his window and looked out over the marina. It was dark, illuminated only by a few streetlights and the glow of the moonlight reflecting off the rippling water.

  The bed creaked when Nate stood, and I felt him behind me.

  “I thought you wanted me too. I guess I was wrong,” I whispered.

  “No, Liv, you aren’t wrong.” He took a deep breath. “I’ve wanted you laid out before me since that night in my apartment.”

  I watched his reflection in the window. He closed his eyes. “I got scared... I am scared.”

  “What?” I spun around to face him. “Scared? You are the mighty Nathan Oakes. What on earth do you have to be scared of? That’s pathetic.”

  He gestured towards the deep-red coloured, crushed velvet chaise lounge near the window. “I’m not doing a very good job of explaining myself. Take a seat.”

  I settled on the taupe-coloured cushioning with my legs stretched out in front of me. “Talk!”

  Nate remained standing, leaning against the glass doors with his arm crossed over his chest. He looked pensive. “I’m afraid I’m going to hurt you.”

  I pulled in my lips, trying to contain the laughter threatening to spill out. “Excuse me?”

  “You heard me.”

  I peered down at his crotch. “What, are you hung like a horse or something?”

  “For fuck’s sake, Liv, I’m serious.”

  I stood, moving to stand in front of him. “That’s your problem, Nate. You’re too serious. You won’t hurt me. Trust me, I’m no virgin. I can handle whatever you’ve got to give me.”

  “I didn’t mean hurt you that way, not physically. You have to understand, I’m not a relationship kind of guy, Liv. I don’t do emotions. I can’t, not anymore. Everything is purely physical with me. But you… you are so passionate, so emotional. I can’t give you that.”

  Stepping in closer, I rested my hand on his abs and smirked when I felt them twitch under my touch. “I’m not looking for an emotional entanglement, Nate. You won’t hurt me. Not in that way.”

  “What are you saying?” His breath caught when my hand travelled lower and skimmed across the bulge in his trousers.

  “I want your body, Nate, not your mind. I’m not looking for a relationship either. Putting it simply, I’m desperate to have you inside me,” I whispered, cupping my hand around his growing length.

  Growling, he pushed away from the window making me step back.

  “Are you sure? This will change things between us.”

  “Not if we don’t let it,” I replied, starting to undo the buttons of his shirt.

  “You’re here to do a job for me. I need those plans, Liv.”

  I peered up, my fingers stalling on the last button. “You’ll get them.”

  “I can’t risk you running off because I won’t declare my undying love for you.”

  “I don’t want you to.”

  “Then what are we waiting for?”

  I licked across my bottom lip. “Nothing.”

  Nate’s eyes blazed, the heat from them igniting a touch paper between my legs. All thoughts of Mal’s threats, Nate’s past, his fight… they all faded away, leaving me with only the desire to be consumed by him.

  Quickly freeing the last button, I pulled the shirt down his arms and threw it to the floor. There was no time to ogle his tattoos or fine sculpted body, I needed him, desperately. Reaching for his belt, I fumbled with the clasp as Nate deftly unknotted the sash on my robe and slipped it off my shoulders. He pulled me into his embrace and began kissing me, his demanding lips and tongue showing me he was as desperate for this mating as I was. I pulled back long enough to suck in a deep breath and finish undoing his belt and zipper, and then his lips were on mine again, commanding my submission. I gave it willingly.

  Within seconds, Nate had shed his trousers, leaving just a few pieces of fabric protecting us from what would undoubtedly alter things between us, how could it not? To what level, I wasn’t sure, but the reward far outweighed the small possibility that things could become any more awkward between us. Nate backed me up until I was once again seated on the chaise. Leaning over me, he braced his weight on one knee positioned between my thighs, his other foot resting on the floor. I shivered and closed my eyes when he traced his slightly calloused hands along the outline of my body, barely skimming the edge of my breasts as he passed.

  “On your knees, Liv,” he breathed against my ear. “Face away from me.”

  My eyes fluttered open and found Nate’s piercing me, heated and feral. Despite the sensuality of feeling his domination, I wasn’t prepared to show him I would obey so easily. With a leisurely pace and a smirk on my face, I pulled myself up, deliberately rubbing against him as I moved. On my knees, I turned and faced the darkness beyond the windows, clutching the high back of the chaise.

  “What are you going to do to me, Nate?” I whispered seductively, looking over my shoulder.

  Nate moved in behind me, wrapping his arms around my middle. “First I want to feel you. All of you.”

  When he sucked on the sensitive area of skin between my shoulder and neck and flicked open my bra clasp with a practiced move, I moaned. My pulse quickened and my breathing faltered as I fought to not lose myself to him too quickly. He trailed his lips along my flesh, slowly pulling the straps of my bra off my shoulders. Pulling the satin along my arms, Nate allowed me to let go of the chaise only long enough to rid me of the garment completely. His hands once again began caressing my skin, slowly working up from my waist to my breasts. When his touch finally reached my sensitive nipples, we groaned in unison.

  “Fucking perfect,” he rasped.

  “Nate—”

  “No, Liv. No talking, ju
st feel,” he whispered, his voice hoarse with desire.

  One of his hands remained on my breast while the other traced gentle circles along my flesh towards my core. When he rubbed over my needy clit through the material of my panties, I gasped and squirmed beneath him, shamelessly pushing my sex into his hand in an attempt to gain the pleasure I now craved from him.

  He continued to torment me for several minutes, not allowing me to speak and teasing me with touches that worked me into a frenzy of need. When his breathing became deeper and his movements wilder I knew he was nearing the edge of his control. He gripped the sides of my underwear and pulled them off, leaving me totally bare and at his mercy.

  The cushions of the chaise dipped as Nate stood. “Stay right where you are. Do not move a muscle. You look so sexy and fuckable right now.” I heard him move around the room behind me. A drawer opened and closed, fabric swished as he removed his boxer briefs and the packaging of a condom crinkled as he opened it. I wanted to turn to see what he was doing, but he had me under his spell, hypnotised into following his will.

  A moment later, he was behind me, wrapping his arms around my middle once again. One hand snaked up my front, stopping to gently grip my neck. His other hand moved down to stroke along my core. “Are you sure about this, Liv? Are you sure you want this.”

  “God, yes,” I panted.

  I felt him at my entrance for a brief moment before he retreated and then slammed into me in one powerful thrust. All air left my lungs. “Fuuuuck!” I yelled, gripping the back of the chaise for stability as Nate rocked into me over and over, mercilessly taking what he wanted whilst giving me what I needed.

  He slowed briefly, and with a little pressure from the hand on my neck, he drew me up, pulling me tight against his body, with his other hand rubbing circles into my over sensitised skin. Concentrating on my breast for a moment, his fingers then moved lower, down my ribs, across my stomach, rubbing against the small patch of hair along my pubic bone until… finally, I gasped in pleasure overload when he flicked across my clit, sending a shockwave of spasms though my whole body. I was on fire, burning up with desire.

  Resting back on his heels, the angle of penetration was shallower than before, but as Nate twisted his hips and drilled his cock into me over and over whilst rubbing my clit, I raced towards pleasure overload. It was too much. It wasn’t enough. I couldn’t breathe, couldn’t think. All I could do was feel the wondrous sensations that began as a tightening in my core and grew into a flood of quivering and spasming muscles. Unable to hold it back, I screamed out his name, convulsing in ecstasy with the most intense orgasm I’d ever experienced.

  “My turn now,” he rasped against my ear, using the hand on my neck to turn my head so he could plunge his tongue into my mouth.

  I groaned through the kiss while Nate pulled out and manoeuvred us so I was lying on my back. He braced himself over me. Once again, and without warning, he plunged into me with a demanding thrust. Our new position allowed maximum penetration, and soon we were both moaning and fighting for breath as the need for release became unbearable. I smacked my hands onto his biceps, my nails digging into his skin as pleasure engulfed me. I cried out, crying his name and pinching my eyes shut as another powerful orgasm shook me to the core, leaving me limp and powerless. Nate pushed into me once again and groaned long and loud through his own release.

  “Fuck, Liv. I…” Nate fell to his back, drawing me over with him so we were still connected in the most intimate of ways. He closed his eyes and rested his head back, his breathing laboured as he came down from his pleasured high.

  Sprawled across his chest, I moved my hands along his warm, sweaty skin. It occurred to me then that despite seeing him shirtless several times in the past; I’d never seen his tattoos up close. I stroked one finger along the pattern of the tribal mark that ringed his bicep and another across the planes of his shoulder. Then I moved to the marking over his left pec.

  “What does this signify?” I asked tracing the outline of a fist punching through a heart.

  “It’s just a tattoo,” he replied casually, but there was an undertone of sadness in his voice.

  Tilting my head, I rested my cheek and peered up. “Just a tattoo?”

  Nate sighed. “Yes, Liv, just a tattoo… It’s getting late, we should go to bed. We’ve got a busy day tomorrow.”

  Cool air hit my skin when Nate moved me off him and sauntered into the bathroom. With Nate closed off in the bathroom, I was left alone to my thoughts. The realisation of what we’d done hit me hard. It was just sex, absolutely amazing sex and I’d enjoyed every second of it. But Nate was right. I was still technically his employee. How could we have shared that together and go back to how things were as though nothing had happened?

  I grimaced, looking down my body. Despite my hard work in the gym, I still carried a bit of extra padding. And Nate had seen me naked. Grabbing up my discarded robe, I ran through the suite into my room. For the first time in my life, I felt ashamed of my body and of my actions after sex. Despite knowing it was just sex, I couldn’t help but feel used. We’d both agreed to the no-strings encounter, but what I’d felt during, and then the way I’d responded to how he’d left me alone had me questioning how honest I’d been when saying I didn’t want more from him.

  In the bathroom, I scrubbed my face clean of all the make-up and winced when I looked in the mirror. The overindulgence of food, alcohol and sex had taken its toll. I looked tired, drawn and puffy.

  “Tomorrow is another day, Liv,” I declared, determined I would put everything behind me. I would chalk our liaison up to out of this world sex that could never be repeated. Tomorrow, I would slide my professional mask back into place and get on with the job I was there to do. My only hope was that my poker face was a good one.

  With a final look in the mirror, I pulled my robe on. I was more than ready to curl up in bed and allow sleep to consume me. Stepping into my room, I looked up into a pair of concerned grey eyes.

  “You left,” Nate murmured.

  “I thought we were done.”

  “We’re not done, Olivia. Not by a long shot.”

  ~CHAPTER FIFTEEN~

  The sound of a door closing had me opening my eyes to the bright sunlight billowing through the large windows. Blinking several times, I tried to get my bearings. In my sleep muddled head, everything seemed back to front, the reverse of where I remembered it to be. An unfamiliar aching sensation pulled on certain muscles in my lower region when I yawned and stretched in the warm bed. I winced, immediately remembering the events of the previous evening and what Nate and I had done. These were aches I was going to savour. He hadn’t been lying when he’d said we weren’t done. Before I could protest, he had lifted me off my feet and marched us back into his bedroom. Without another word, he had removed my robe and laid me out on his bed. Just as it had been the first time, he’d been attentive but aggressive, savouring my body while sating his hunger for release. When we’d both collapsed from exhaustion, he’d pulled me against him and we’d both fallen asleep.

  To my relief, when I turned onto my side, Nate was sleeping soundly beside me. My initial fear had been that he would have left me alone in his bed, making me feel that it all had been a mistake. Lifting onto my elbow, I took a moment to study him. This man, who by day was always so serious and in control, looked almost vulnerable in sleep. Careful that I didn’t wake him, I traced my fingers over his tattoos, spending longer on the heart and fist image over his heart. I knew there had to be a story behind it but he was always so guarded. I wasn’t sure I would ever find out what it was.

  A quick look at the alarm clock showed me it was nearing nine in the morning and we were supposed to be checking out at ten to finally move on to Nate’s property. Knowing I needed to shower and pack, I slipped out of Nate’s bed and grabbed my robe. Tying the belt around me, I stepped into the main room of the suite and screamed. Somebody was standing by the balcony doors.

  “Mal! Wh-what are you doin
g in here?” I stuttered, rubbing my hand over my pounding heart.

  “I’m just checking you’re packed and ready to go. There’s a car downstairs waiting to take you to Nice International.” He narrowed his eyes, looking me up and down. “I can only hope he fucked you out of his system so he regains his focus.”

  I gasped, appalled at his statement yet fearful that he might be right.

  “That has nothing to do with you,” Nate said from behind me. The hairs on the back of my neck stood on end, sensing his anger. He was like a power source. When he was calm, everything around him was calm. When he was angry, the air became charged with static, causing everyone in the same room to feel it.

  I twisted to see Nate standing in his doorway, wearing nothing but a pair of black boxer briefs. He was holding the doorframe with a white-knuckled grip and staring menacingly at Mal.

  “You broke the rules, Oakes,” Mal said unaffected.

  “Again, that has fuck all to do with you. That’s your rule, not mine. It’s pathetic. What I chose to do in the privacy of my bedroom has no impact on how I perform in the cage, and you know it.”

  “You are delirious, Nate. You’re thinking with your dick and not your head. She needs to go before you totally lose focus and get pummelled by Sanchez. I will not let you lose. I cannot let you lose.” I stared between the two as they glowered at each other. The tension between them was palpable, and I feared it would overspill into something nasty.

  “It’s all arranged, she’s on the next flight out of Nice.”

  Before I could process what was happening, Nate had rushed past me and was pinning Mal against the balcony door, his forearm restraining Mal by the throat. His back muscles clenched in tension. “Olivia is going nowhere, do you hear me? She stays with me.” I had never heard his voice so low and frightening.

  Scared Nate was going to lose all control and do something terrible, I ran over and tentatively touched his shoulder. “Nate, let him go. It’s okay. Don’t do this. Let him go.”