by I. T. Lucas
“That’s what I’ve been working on for the past several hours. I think I’ve got most of it figured out, but there are still some loose ends I need to tie up.”
That should be interesting. Nathalie couldn’t imagine a solution for this problem. She lifted the beer out of Andrew’s loose grip and took a swig as she waited for Kian to elaborate.
Amanda waved an impatient hand at her brother. “Let’s hear it.”
Kian handed Syssi his empty glass, and by the look on his face he would’ve loved another, but when she shook her head in an adamant no, he sighed. “Could I at least have a beer?”
“Just one.” She lifted one finger to emphasize before heading to the kitchen.
“So here is the plan,” Kian began as she returned with his bottle and sat on the ottoman he had his leg propped on. “We own a large hotel on the big island of Hawaii, and we are just completing a new tower. It will be ready next month. Naturally, we need to hire additional service personnel, from housekeeping to receptionists and everyone else. So I thought, these are jobs that don’t require much work experience or training, and we can fill some of the positions by offering them to the girls we rescued. We fly them out there, put them up in the hotel, and stage a training seminar they all supposedly signed up for in order to get the job. That will help explain the missing chunk of time in their lives. For the past month and a half, or however long they’ve been held by the Doomers, we’ll make them believe they’ve been taking part in this training. As to why they didn’t call their families or friends the entire time, the excuse would be that they were supposed to interact only with the other participants to create a bond that would help them work better as a team. Or something like that. If anyone has a better idea, I’m open to suggestions.”
The guy was a genius. Not only would this plan provide a plausible explanation, it would give these girls jobs and friends and a new start.
Vanessa seemed to agree. “This is an excellent plan. I can go with them and continue my work under the guise of a seminar leader. Only problem is what to do with my current patients. I’ll have to talk to a few of my colleagues and see if they can take over for me for a couple of weeks.”
“What about paper work? Credit cards? Cell phones?” Nathalie asked.
Andrew patted her knee. “Don’t worry about that. This is small and insignificant stuff. But what Kian is suggesting will change the trajectory of these girls’ lives for the better. From what I understand, none of them was doing all that well before getting captured.”
“Speaking of new beginnings.” Amanda lifted her cappuccino cup and finished it with one long gulp as if it were a glass of water. “We need to go shopping. Syssi? Are you coming with me?”
“Of course.”
Nathalie did some quick thinking and decided she wanted to join them. Tiffany and the other girls were probably exhausted after the eventful day and were getting ready to sleep. None of them would be in a mood to meet new people. The best way for her to help was to contribute another pair of hands and feet to the shopping expedition. “Can I come with you?”
Syssi smiled. “Sure. If we split the shopping list into three, it will go faster.”
“Brundar is going with you. It’s late and I don’t want you going alone.” Kian’s voice carried a tone of command no one was about to argue with.
Amanda shrugged. “Fine. I need to take your Lexus. We need a large trunk, and showing up with a limousine at Walmart is the epitome of douchiness.”
“I’m heading home.” Vanessa got to her feet. “The ladies have my phone number, and I told them to call me anytime if something bothers them, even in the middle of the night. I’m afraid that as the thrall they’ve been under dissipates, they’ll began to remember things differently.”
Nathalie kissed Andrew’s cheek. “Are you staying here?”
“Yeah, I’ll keep Kian company while I wait for you.” He leaned to whisper in her ear. “Remember what I told you before? We are staying here tonight.”
Nathalie wrapped her arms around his neck. “It’s a date. Just don’t fall asleep on me.”
“If I do, I expect you to wake me up.”
Nathalie had a pretty good idea what Andrew had in mind. Stifling a smile, she saluted. “Yes, sir!”
She was going to have fun with that.
Chapter 31: Andrew
Andrew kissed Nathalie goodbye, then waited until the girls got in the elevator before closing the door. Taking the armchair Vanessa had vacated, he asked Kian, “How is your leg doing?”
“It’s healing.” Kian pushed up on his good leg and hobbled his way to the bar.
“I’m surprised it’s taking you this long. I still remember the demonstration you gave me when we met. The cut you made on your forearm closed in seconds.”
Kian grabbed a bottle of whiskey and a tall glass. “Yeah, but this is not a simple cut. The fucking Doomer carved a piece of flesh out of my thigh. It takes time to regrow muscle tissue.”
“Ouch…”
Kian filled his glass all the way to the top and gulped a third of it on a oner.
Andrew chuckled. “When the cat’s away the mice will play, eh?” He reached for an empty shot glass and held it up for Kian to fill up.
“Are you calling me a mouse?” Kian asked as he poured, his brows dipping in pretend offense.
“Yeah, but I’m no different. We are both pussy-whipped. Here, lean on me.” He offered Kian his shoulder and took the glass from his hand. “If you don’t want incriminating evidence splashing on your hardwood floor, I’ll better carry this for you.”
With a muffled grunt, Kian put his hand on Andrew’s shoulder, grudgingly accepting the help. “I prefer to look at it as choosing my battles.”
Andrew lifted his glass in a salute. “Well said. I’ll drink to this.”
They sipped their drinks in companionable silence, with Andrew checking his emails and Kian punching at his laptop with the fingers of one hand while holding his glass in the other. It could’ve been a nice, peaceful time if not for Kian’s intermittent cursing when he kept mistyping the words.
An hour later, Andrew was done going through his messages and reading the few new emails on his phone. His eyelids begun drooping and he yawned. “I’ll better get in bed before I fall asleep in this chair. Do you need help getting back to your bedroom?”
“No thanks, I’ll manage.”
Andrew stretched his aching muscles, then headed to the kitchen to rinse out his empty glass. He stopped by Kian on his way back. “It went well today,” he said.
Lifting his head, Kian nodded. “Yeah, it did. We’ve been lucky. With everything that went wrong it could’ve all gone to shit.”
True that. “I’m glad it didn’t. Goodnight, Kian.”
As he lay in the dark bedroom, staring at the moonbeams dancing on the ceiling, Andrew fought the temptation of sleep and the oblivion it promised, refusing to close his eyes and let himself drift away.
Today’s excitement had both tired him out and made him horny as hell, and it was becoming difficult to choose between the two contradicting needs.
Perhaps he could just let it happen. He could get a little shuteye, hoping Nathalie would make good on her promise and wake him up when she returned.
As he let his eyelids drop over his eyes, Andrew conjured the image of Nathalie’s lush lips closing around his cock. He was naked under the thin comforter, so there was nothing to keep it folded against his belly, and the bad boy made like a pole, popping a small tent.
Correction, big tent.
Small and his cock didn’t belong in the same sentence.
Palming his erection, Andrew remembered another night, not so long ago, in Kian and Syssi’s guest bedroom, when he’d tried to masturbate thinking of Amanda. Thankfully, it hadn’t been a successful attempt since Dalhu face had ruined the fantasy.
Man, Andrew was infinitely grateful that his stupid crush on the woman hadn’t been reciprocated. It would’ve messed up both of
their lives. For a guy who’d never believed in fate, Andrew had become a true convert. There was no doubt in his mind that Dalhu was Amanda’s destined mate, or that Nathalie was his.
The fates had smiled upon him. Only the lucky few were ever granted such blessing. But there was a flip side to the joy. He hated to be separated from her, even for a short time. Nathalie’s absence felt like a gaping hole in his heart, especially in quiet moments like this. When he was busy, he could tolerate it for a time, but he wasn’t busy now.
Jerking off didn’t count.
Besides, his hand was a poor substitute for Nathalie’s lips.
Reaching for his phone, Andrew texted. When are you coming back?
A few seconds later she replied. We are on our way. Brundar says ten minutes.
Andrew smirked. Good. I’m already in bed, waiting impatiently. My cocky yet upstanding associate says hi.
Ha ha she texted back.
Twenty-five long minutes later, he heard the front door open, and then a couple more minutes passed as the girls whispered their goodnights.
Who did they think was sleeping?
Nathalie knew he was waiting for her, and Kian was most likely still awake. The guy wasn’t the type to relax and close his eyes while his wife was out in the middle of the night—the bodyguard keeping her safe notwithstanding.
Not that there was anything wrong with that. Any self-respecting man would’ve done the same.
Come to think of it, Andrew should’ve joined the shopping expedition. He wasn’t injured like Kian, and being tired was not good enough of an excuse. Trouble was, none of the girls would’ve agreed to that. Taking Brundar along was different. The guy’s presence was as unobtrusive as that of a container of pepper spray.
A moment later the door to his room cracked open, the faint light from the corridor illuminating Nathalie’s silhouette.
“Hi there,” he said quietly.
“Hi,” she whispered back and closed the door behind her, plunging the room back into darkness. “I’ll be right back.” She ducked into the bathroom.
She hadn’t closed the door all the way, and like a horny teenager, Andrew tried to peek through the small crack and see her undressing. He’d seen Nathalie naked plenty of times, but there was something thrilling about watching her unveiling unawares. Catching only a partial, occasional glimpse, he relied on his imagination as he listened to her undress, brush her teeth, and take a quick shower.
A few moments later, she pushed the bathroom door opened and got out, wearing a long T-shirt. There was some design on the front, but with the light behind her, it was impossible to see more than a general shape, or even the color of the shirt. Not that it mattered. He would’ve preferred her with nothing on at all.
Her small, bare feet making a pattering sound on the hardwood floor, Nathalie crossed the short distance to the bed and ducked under the blanket he’d lifted for her in invitation.
“You’re so warm.” She snuggled up to him as he wrapped his arm around her.
He tugged on the shirt from behind. “What’s that?”
“I bought it at Walmart. It’s just too cute. I also got panties and some other necessities for the night. You told me you wanted to stay only after I got here, I needed stuff.”
“Like what? All you need is me.”
He felt her teeth on his earlobe and squirmed a little as she nipped it. “True, but I thought you’d appreciate the lotion. I smoothed it all over my body so my skin is all soft and fragrant for you.”
His cock twitched, getting even harder. “Next time, let me do it. I’ll make sure to get every nook and cranny covered, and I’ll throw in an erotic massage.”
He felt her butt cheek contract under his palm.
“Sounds lovely, but tonight there is something I fantasized about doing ever since you told me to wake you up. “ She whispered in his ear, “Thinking about it got me so wet that I had to buy a change of underwear.”
Andrew puffed out a groan. “God, woman, you got me so hard I can hammer nails with this thing.” He lifted the blanket to show her.
Nathalie took a peek and chuckled. “Houston, we have a problem. There is a rocket in here and it’s ready to go.”
“What are you going to do to address this potentially explosive situation?” He played along.
Nathalie slid down and gently palmed his throbbing erection. “I think I need to put out the fire.” She licked the crown and Andrew’s butt shot up, thrusting his cock deeper into her mouth.
“Oooh, the problem is more acute than I thought. I believe total immersion is in order.” She closed her lips around his shaft, then slowly lowered her mouth, taking as much of it as she could all the way to the back of her throat.
As Andrew’s eyes rolled back in his head, he let out a pained groan. Heaven. He’d died and gone to heaven. Nathalie was deep-throating him like a pro—the woman, who was a complete novice in everything to do with sex, was giving him the best blow job of his life.
Mercy…
Up and down her head bobbed as she sucked and pumped, giving it all she got. At this rate she was going to suck the seed up straight up out of his balls.
“Oh, baby, keep it up for five more seconds and I’m going to—” Before he could finish his sentence, Andrew felt his balls draw tight and a second later his seed shot straight up into Nathalie’s mouth.
She clumped her lips tight around him, swallowing everything like it wasn’t one of the biggest loads he’d ever released, then finished him off with a few gentle licks.
Leaning up on her elbow, she watched him with a satisfied little smirk as he tried to catch his breath.
When he could move, Andrew lifted his arm and wrapped it around her, pulling her on top of him. He kissed her swollen lips then sighed. “I officially declare you the queen of blowjobs. This was out of this world.”
“Thank you.” Nathalie closed her eyes and rested her cheek on his chest. “I love you,” she mumbled sleepily.
“I love you too. But I’m not letting you doze off. It’s my turn.” He flipped them over and dove between her legs. “You can sleep if you want.”
Nathalie giggled, then pretended to snore as he pulled her panties down.
With a few strategically placed swipes of his tongue, Andrew made sure that sleeping was the furthest thing from her mind.
Chapter 32: Nathalie
“Are you crazy? I’m not coming to your drunken party,” Amanda huffed.
With a frown, Kian turned to Syssi. “What about you?”
“I’m with Amanda on this. The idea of me, and maybe two other females, hanging around a rowdy bunch of drunken Guardians is not appealing. Besides, I know you guys. You’ll start talking about your glorious gory battles and gross me out with the details. I’ll pass.”
Kian raked his fingers through his hair. “That’s what I get for trying to be progressive. A resounding no-thank-you.”
Nathalie felt bad for him. The guy was trying to do the right thing and include the women in what had traditionally been a male only party.
Well, not exclusively, in days past prostitutes provided the female companionship.
Yuck.
Most of these guys had been around during those times. Not a pretty picture. She’d rather celebrate with the girls…
“Guys,” she interrupted the ongoing argument. “We need to throw a party for the rescued women. Naturally, it needs to be a girls only party. So while you guys have your rowdy warrior celebration, we’ll have a separate one with the girls.”
Syssi clapped her hands. “That’s a lovely idea. How about a pajama party?”
“I love it.” Amanda turned her back to Kian and grabbed both Nathalie and Syssi’s hands. “Let’s adjourn to the dining room and make a list of party supplies.”
As Nathalie let Amanda drag her along, she cranked her neck around to cast Andrew an apologetic glance. Syssi had insisted that they stay for breakfast, and then had invited Amanda and Dalhu as well.
; With a smile, he blew her a kiss, while Kian shook his head. Dalhu stared at Amanda’s retreating butt.
“I can’t stay long. I need to get back to the shop,” Nathalie said as they sat down around the dining room table and Amanda pulled out a tablet.
She’d left Jackson in charge of her father and the shop. Shouldering all of her responsibilities, the kid must’ve been exhausted, mentally if not physically. After he’d worked a full day, she’d called him to come babysit her father for a few hours, which had turned into an entire night and half of this morning.
It wasn’t fair to him.
Doing her a favor from time to time was one thing; taking on the job of a caregiver was another. Even though he wanted the extra money, Jackson was young. He needed to hang out with his friends and chase girls. Not babysit a mentally-challenged old man. Problem was, other than Nathalie, Jackson was the only person her father trusted enough to be left alone with.
“Don’t you want to go say hi to your former employee?” Syssi asked.
Tiffany, that’s right.
“I would love to, but I can’t. I really need to get back and relieve Jackson. I’ve already overburdened his young shoulders.”
Using a stylus, Amanda scribbled something on her tablet. “You can stop by her room on your way out.”
Nathalie shook her head. “I don’t want to just pop my head in and say hi and goodbye. I want to talk to her without the clock ticking over my head like a bomb.”
Lifting her head, Amanda quirked a smile. “You have a point. Besides, we are having the party tomorrow, and you can hang with her then.”
Nathalie fidgeted with the strap of her purse. “I’m not sure I can come. I can’t leave my father with anyone other than Jackson, and I’ve already imposed on him too much. He has a life outside the shop.”
Amanda waved a hand. “Nonsense. You must come. Pay the kid double and promise him a day off or something.”
