by Janae Keyes
I WOKE UP alone. I must have fallen asleep after my cup of ginger tea that Sara practically forced down my throat. I pulled myself from the warmth of my bed, my feet touching the cool wooden floor, I shivered.
Leaving the bedroom behind, the house was quiet as the late afternoon sun shone through the windows. I peeked into Nate’s bedroom to find it empty. I headed downstairs, and that’s when I heard his voice. A smile spread across my face as I followed Nate’s voice.
I tiptoed into Nate’s home office where I found him. He was on a phone call. One of his hands rubbing at his temple. He didn’t seem the happiest with whoever was on the other line.
“Fuck, okay. I will be sending Steven down there on Monday. It is the best I can do. I’ve had an emergency pop up here, and I cannot leave London right now,” Nate explained over the phone. I stepped deeper into his office. His head shot up from his computer screen.
I took a moment to observe him, relaxed for once in sweatpants and a t-shirt. He wasn’t the uptight Nathaniel Branagan that I saw most days. He was at peak relaxation. Strolling to him, he rolled his seat from his desk, and I saw on his lap, leaning onto his chest.
“I have to go now, but Steven will check in with you about Monday. Thanks very much, goodbye now.” Nate ended his call and placed his cell phone on the desk.
I shivered at his fingers slipping under the back of my tank top, trailing up my back.
“An emergency?” I questioned, noting his phone call.
“Yes, you. I don’t want to leave you sick. I can’t do that.”
“Baby, I’m feeling much better. If you need to go, you can do it,” I said to him. “It was maybe some quick bug because I’m not feeling nearly as gross.”
“That’s great, but there are others who can go. I’d rather be here with you, than dealing with bullshit.” Nate was making sacrifices for me that I didn’t expect nor require him to make. I knew he had a business to run and that he would have to leave at a moment’s notice sometimes.
It was possible that it was his way of earning my trust back, I’d never tell him out loud because, through his hardened exterior, I saw those runny yolks. Inside, he was as runny as the yolks of an egg.
SIXTEEN
Nate
I STEPPED INTO the darkened bedroom and flipped on the lights. The sound of moaning came from the bed. Taylor tangled in the bedsheets, her naked body barely covered as she sat up in my bed. Her curls stuck out in every direction possible, the sleepy look on her face said it all, five more minutes.
“Wake up, my darling,” I hummed as I approached the bed, tray in my hands with a full English breakfast waiting for Taylor. “And Happy Birthday,” I added.
“It is my birthday, isn’t it?” Taylor instantly perked up at the idea of her birthday. My beautiful love was turning twenty-four.
The woman I loved was younger, but only in age. Taylor was mature beyond her years, there were some difficult times we’d gone through together and through it all, she’d risen above in such a way that I’d learned an incredible amount from her.
She had her times where she could snap on me in a second and let me know clearly what was on her mind, telling me to go fuck myself, but then there were the other times. Times where she was cool, calm, and collected, even when I clearly deserved her harsh words.
“You brought me breakfast, thanks, Baby,” she cooed sweetly as I sat the tray in her lap. I bent to her mouth, pulling her into a hungry kiss.
There was so much to be done in a short amount of time. I’d taken advantage of it being Taylor’s birthday to take her somewhere special, a place I knew she wanted to visit, but that would remain a secret for now.
Allowing my lady free, she smiled at the plate in front of her. I’d enlisted Sara to make Taylor a full breakfast and to get Taylor’s bags packed. I sat next to Taylor while she dug into her meal. I watched her hair fall in front of her face. My eyes scanned her nearly naked torso, only the bed sheet covering her front. The curves along her side as round as ever. I’d sworn her breasts had taken on a cup size or two in the last few weeks, I wasn’t going to complain, I adored her tits, the bigger, the better.
“I have one meeting to attend this morning, but after that, I’m all yours,” I informed Taylor who gave me a grin. We’d both been incredibly busy lately, and this would be a moment of quiet for the both of us, a time to finally be together without distractions of work and other obligations. “While I’m gone, you need to get ready to travel.”
“Travel?” Taylor questioned with a mouth full of baked beans her eyes filled with raw excitement.
“When I return from my meeting, we’re going straight to the airport. I need you to be ready to go to be on time.” I informed her.
This trip would also give us a chance to reconnect. Taylor seemed off the last nearly two weeks. She appeared to be on edge and apprehensive about everything. If it was the last thing I did, I needed to shake it out of her, and I had just the naughty plans to help that happen.
“Now I’m excited,” Taylor cheered. “I’ve been dying to be out of London for a bit.”
“You’ll have your wish.”
I leaned into Taylor, her vanilla scent enticing me. I’d had her in my bed every single night; her bedroom was obsolete at this point. Taylor was mine for the keeping, and today I’d made the decision it would be official.
“I have to go, but I’ll be back,” I whispered in her ear before taking a playful nibble at her lobe. Taylor giggled and turned her head to face me. She pressed her mouth to mine, alluring me in. She knew how to play the game, but today I couldn’t participate. “Mmm, I want you so bad right now.”
“Then take me, my Lord,” she breathed as she allowed the sheet to drop. Her breasts were looking as tempting as ever, round and waiting for my touches. My dick strained in my pants at the mere thought of sucking her perky nipples into my mouth.
“Fuck, I can’t. Later, I’ll give you the world and make you scream for more, I promise.” Moving away from her, she pouted. I shook my head and gave her a grin.
“See you later then.”
“Yes, later, my darling. I love you.”
“I love you.” With those three words, she gave me the biggest and brightest smile. She knew I only loved her and that she was the only one in my heart despite being engaged to Miranda.
The last couple weeks had also been spent in countless wedding planning sessions. It urged me even closer to fighting the wedding off. November had arrived in full swing, which meant only four months until my impending doom.
Arriving at the headquarters of my shipping company, I went straight toward my office. Leanne was at her desk, she appeared to be on edge and stood immediately as I approached.
“Lord Branagan, your guests, have already arrived and are in your office,” she informed be right away.
I get out a grunt of frustration. They were incredibly early, and I needed a moment to destress before this meeting, but it seemed I wouldn’t get it. I simply gave Leanna a nod of approval before I stepped to my office door and opened it.
My mother sat on the couch with a cup of tea, which my father stood at the floor to ceiling window taking in my usual view of London. I’d called them to meet me as I knew they’d arrived back in town from Edinburgh.
Compromise was something my parents were skilled at, and they’d passed that onto me. I was just as skilled if not more when it came to the art of compromise. I’d thought long and hard about how to end my engagement. This meeting was where I would stake a claim in my future for the first time.
“You’re both early,” I expressed, closing the door behind me.
There was no time to greet them like usual with hugs and kisses. I was eager to get to business. I took my seat at my desk. Both parents took notice of my demeanor and joined me as they took seats in the two chairs in front of my desk.
“What is this about Nathaniel?” my father spat in annoyance.
“It’s about the wedding. I’m not going throu
gh with it. I’ve thought long and hard about it. I’m willing to compromise, though. What have Miranda’s parents promised in return? I can make an equal offer.” I was keen to figure out what I could offer them in exchange for my freedom.
“Both families want an heir. A male heir naturally. There are other things, but an heir will sustain both families,” my father explained.
“I can promise you an heir from me, but it won’t be with Miranda.” This would be the first time they’d hear me speak of an opportunity for me to produce a child.
“With who?” my mother asked.
“A young woman that I love very much.” I knew how to play my cards. I wouldn’t reveal Taylor’s identity. There was always the chance they would use it against me. “She’s not from royal or influential genes, but she’s wonderful. I care about her, and she would make a remarkable wife and mother.”
“Nathaniel, we can’t break our arrangement with the Dowlington family. A lot is at stake and not just the survival of our lineage. You have a duty to this family, you and Miranda will marry in March, and you will have to let go of this other young woman.” My father stood firm, not budging.
My elbows on my desk, I placed my head and my hands and massaged my temples, I was thinking much too simple. I could buy my parents anything they wanted, masses of land and property if they wanted. The things they did want I couldn’t give to them in the way they desired.
I could say fuck it, tell them to fuck themselves and that I wasn’t going to marry Miranda. Tell them I didn’t want to be Duke and run off with Taylor, never to look back. I could do all of that in a moment, yet the restraints of my loyalty to them held my tongue. They’d raised me in that loyalty and once broken; there was no turning back.
“Whomever this young woman is, she’s putting grand ideas in your head. Ideas that will not come to fruition. You have a duty to perform, and I know that you will do it as you were raised to do.” My mother knew me well, and she knew that she’d done a particularly good job at hammering that loyalty in.
“I think we’re done here,” my father spoke up as he stood. My mother followed suit.
There were no other words, to me as they left my office behind them. I’d frozen up when the opportunity presented itself. I’d allowed that loyalty to keep me bound to their will. I thought of Taylor and how I’d wanted to make her birthday, the ring that burned a hole in my pocket. I’d hoped to end my engagement to Miranda in exchange for starting one with Taylor.
TAYLOR WAS WAITING for me as expected when I returned. I worked to drive away the anger that filled me, after all, it was her birthday. Taylor was quiet during the flight. I think she knew I was on edge. I despised that she had to experience that feeling of knowing I was feeling my most volatile.
As the plane landed, I saw Taylor’s eyes widen as she realized where we were. We’d landed at this airport five months ago, the day I’d laid eyes on her for the first time. She’d boarded this very plane to make the trip to Branagan Manor, and after her emotional exit, we’d returned.
The door of the plane opened, and Taylor stood at the entrance. I slipped my hand around her hips and ran my fingers up her side, under her sweater, and around her stomach. My lips came to her ears and whispered, “Happy Birthday, my darling.”
“How long will we be here?” Taylor asked, turning her face to me, her eyes filled with joy. Something had gone right today at least.
“A few days. I know you have work to get back to and so do I. I wanted to get away, somewhere we could enjoy together, and I know you’ve been itching to get back,” I explained as I took my hand from under her top and began to lead her down the stairs.
We approached the waiting car, the driver’s door opened and my old friend stepped out into the frosty air. Langston gave Taylor a grand smile, and before I knew it, she’d slipped away from me and had ran to the tall blonde man who pulled her into a tight hug.
Langston and Taylor had bonded when she first arrived in England, and he’d been the support when things had gone sour between she and I. If I was to trust anyone with my Taylor, it was Langston. He cared for her like a sister and wouldn’t let any harm come her way, including myself.
“I’m so happy to see you,” Taylor beamed up to my driver. “I must see pictures of the kids.”
“I will show you soon, I promise,” Langston said before he let Taylor go and opened the back door for her to slip into the car.
As I slipped inside next to Taylor, I saw her eyes on the airport staff, unloading our luggage from the plane. One piece in particular caught Taylor’s eye. It was my old wooden chest, my toolbox. Taylor bit down on her lip at the sight of it.
I slid my hand into her lap, taking a squeeze at her thigh. For the next few days, I planned to fill every hall of Branagan Manor with Taylor’s screams of passion and pleasure with the aid of my toolbox. She’d return to London without a voice if I had my way, and I intended to have it.
“A few surprises await you, my darling,” I whispered in her ear. I could almost feel the shiver that slivered down her spine. Her hooded eyelids fluttered up, allowing me to see her seductive brown eyes. Nothing would ruin this time for us.
The entire landscape around was covered in a light frost. Though winter hadn’t arrived yet, it was already preparing for its grand entrance. I couldn’t wait to bring Taylor up for Christmas. I already had plans in mind for she and I to escape to Branagan Manor over the holidays, making love next to a roaring fire, and spending our days tangled together under the sheets.
“It looks so different,” Taylor commented as Langston drove us along.
Things had changed a lot from the warmth of summer to the oncoming frost of mid-fall.
We pulled onto the property of Branagan Manor, and I could already feel Taylor’s excitement filling the car. Her eyes were everywhere as she took it all in. The house came into view, and a gasp came from her. I loved the pure wonder she held inside, it was something I’d never been able to experience as a child and to see this woman show a childlike splendor, it showed me that through everything, there was good in the world, especially in people like her.
The car hadn’t even come to a stop when the front door of the house opened, and Taylor was jumping out of the car. I shook my head as I watched her jog up the stairs toward an awaiting Anne, who stood with her arms open. I watched the two women already chatting as I exited the car and began up the front stairs.
“You look fantastic, dear,” Anne said cheerfully to Taylor as they walked into the entrance hall with me trailing behind.
“Thank you. I’ve missed it here so much. Sara says to tell you hello, by the way,” Taylor shared as she delivered a message from one housekeeping head to the other.
“I see Nathaniel has gotten his head on straight if you’re here with him,” Anne mentioned as she glared in my direction, she was obviously still angry with me.
“We’re trying,” Taylor noted as she came to my side and allowed me to pull her close, my arms around her.
“I want to do right by her. I love her entirely too much to let her go,” I confessed before kissing Taylor on her cheek.
“Good, you break her heart again, and I will murder you in your sleep, don’t think I’m kidding either, wee one,” Anne noted, shaking her fist at me before she focused her attention on Taylor. “And Happy Birthday, I’ve got you a little something.” The old woman turned to a table near and picked up a wrapped box and handed it to Taylor.
“Anne, you didn’t have to,” Taylor beamed as she ripped the box open. Inside was a handknitted yellow scarf. Yellow was the perfect color on Taylor, bright and filled with joy, just like her.
“I absolutely love it!” Taylor took the scarf from the box and left my arms to pull Anne into a big hug.
“I knew you’d need something warm, your first winter in good ole England,” Anne said. “Everything is in order here. I know Nathaniel is looking forward to your time together. I’ll be back tomorrow.”
“Thank you for
everything Anne,” I said kindly to the woman. If I was to make anyone happy besides Taylor, it was Anne who was more of a mother to me than I’d ever know.
I ENTERED MY bedroom. I found Taylor how I’d asked her to be. She was only wearing the red lace chemise I’d bought for her as she sat on the edge of my bed, her feet propped on my toolbox. Lust was burning in her eyes as I approached her.
We’d spent the rest of our afternoon walking around the grounds, and I’d taken her for a romantic dinner in Edinburgh at the restaurant we’d had our first date. Dinner was complete with a delicious chocolate cake covered in sparklers to mark the occasion of her birthday.
Now, it was time for my real dessert, my chocolate cake, my delectable Taylor. Everything about her as tasty as ever. She looked like a pure dream, the red lace barely covering her, her hair straight and draped over her neck, and her plump lips, pursed and kissable.
I approached her, my fingers working at each button of my shirt until it was open, her eyes feasting upon me. It was hard not to adore and be turned on by the way her eyes also watched when I undressed, her mouth appeared as if it was salivating for me. It was every man’s deepest desire to have a woman look at him that way.
My eyes caught the sparkle coming from her wrist. I’d gotten her a bracelet for her birthday, which I gave her at dinner. It was rose gold with a diamond bow. It signified that Taylor was the world’s gift to me. I wanted to unwrap her, over and over again.
The next thing that happened, I hadn’t expected. My goal was to pleasure Taylor, but she had other ideas to start with. She dropped to her knees in front of me, her slender fingers dipping into the elastic of my boxers and slowly pulling them down, her eyes glistening with longing and desire as my dick sprung free.
I stepped out of my underpants, and her hand took hold of me. Pumping slowly at first, her eyes peering into mine, a smile on her lips. Everything moved in nearly slow motion as she brought her mouth around my shaft, taking it in, inch by inch.
