by Janae Keyes
“No need,” Nate insisted immediately. “No, you can pick them, but let me talk with the groundskeeper first to find out which flowers are best for you to pick and not pick.” Nate gave me a grin. He’d scared me for a moment. “What kind are your favorite?”
“Hydrangeas, I absolutely love hydrangeas,” I cooed thinking of the gorgeous hydrangea bush I’d seen in the garden.
I had taken a sip of my wine before I glanced up at Nate, he was watching me intensely. I leaned my head to the side and peered back at him, he was thinking.
“If you weren’t painting or doing something pertaining to painting, what would you do?” he inquired of me. I grinned at his question.
“I’d like to work in a modern art museum or be an art teacher to little kids. I love sharing my love of art with the world,” I said, cheer filling my voice. Art made me happy and kept me going, I knew if it had that effect on me, it would on others and I wanted to share that.
I stuck my fork into the food and took another bite. Nate followed suit. He amazed me, one moment he could be harsh and a little abrasive and the next inviting and almost kind. I did appreciate that he would allow me to do some flower picking. I needed color in my life to survive, it was my way of life.
AS I’D LEARNED by spending nearly a week at Branagan Manor, Chef Julien was a culinary master. My stomach was full and happy with the meal he’d prepared for us. I took my last bite of the chocolate torte sprinkled with gold leaf. I glanced up to see Nate watching me. We’d spent the evening in mostly mindless conversation. He asked a little bit about living in California as he’d never been. His fascination with California was kind of funny, but that seemed to be the general reaction to anyone I’d come across here. Anne would go on and on about how she always wanted to travel more and California was one of her dream locations.
I took the last few sips of my wine. I felt the alcohol coursing through me from the expensive drink. I was looking forward to the comfortable slumber I would have from my buzz.
I swayed my body along to the music that had changed from classical to smooth jazz. I looked at Nate, who was still on his last sips of wine, he gave me a soft smile that made the butterflies in my stomach go nuts. Tonight, he was growing on me at an increasing rate.
“You seem like you are ready to dance,” Nate said with a small snicker.
“A little, would you like to?” I asked him, feeling bold and secretly wanting the feel of his strong arms once again, the ones I remembered from earlier when he had kept me from falling.
“I’m not much of a dancer to warn you,” he implied, as he stood from his seat and came to me, presenting his hand for me to take. I took it and stood from my chair.
Adjacent to the small dining room was a small sitting room with two comfortable couches and a fireplace. Nate and I found ourselves in an empty floor space in the room.
“This is embarrassing, I wouldn’t know where to start,” he admitted to me. I was shocked. I figured learning how to dance would be priority one on the list of a young royal.
“Come, let me show you,” I said as I took his hands, I placed one on my waist and the other I held. “Now I’m going to lead, to show you.”
“Lead?” he questioned as he cocked one eyebrow up. “Can’t I lead and figure it out?”
“Doesn’t work that way. Just let me lead, relinquish a little bit of your control for two seconds,” I suggested. He didn’t look like he would go with it, but his hardened look softened, and he gave me a nod. This was a surprise in itself, Nathaniel Branagan had shown himself to be nothing, but a demanding control freak. He had to be in charge and facilitate every tiny thing, but for a moment I was going to call the shots.
“Ok, just follow my feet,” I instructed him as I looked down.
We started to move a bit. He struggled at first, butt began to catch up quickly. I was showing him something more that I could do. We moved together to the smooth song, his grip on my waist tightening and drawing me in closer with each bit of confidence he gained in his abilities.
“I’m surprised you couldn’t dance. I mean, you are a Lord. Isn’t it required to dance at social engagements?” I asked him. For the first time, his olive eyes came up from our feet and looked directly into mine. I felt my cheeks flush over.
“That is if you actually go to social engagements, I avoid them at all cost unless they are important to me like the C.L.R.S. fundraiser. I’d rather work,” he stated. I laughed out.
“Work?” I questioned. “You’d rather be alone working than attend a party with your family and friends.”
“You assume I have friends.”
“Don’t you?”
“I prefer to keep my circle small. People can be so unpredictable and in my line of work and with my status, I’d rather only spend time with ones I can trust,” he explained. I understood his philosophy on trust, I’d learned the hard way that not everyone could be trusted.
“So you can keep control over any situation, like the control freak you are,” I knowingly noted, he gave me a small smile.
“You know me so well already.” I giggled at this notion. Truthfully, I was learning a little more, but I didn’t feel like I knew him. I knew the person he put off and presented to the world, but not the man inside that was screaming to be set free.
“Well, Mr. Control Freak, your dancing skills have improved. I will give you the lead,” I said to him. He gave me a grin as he took the reins of our moves. I allowed him to lead our steps, and I followed along. He pulled me in tight, his body pushed up against mine as it had been that morning, his scent filling my nostrils, making me drunker than I already was.
“I do want to apologize to you,” he started. I looked up at him. “I can be like a light switch. You know? I can be on or off, and that puts a lot of people off. Work drives me in everything I do, it is the one thing I can control. I can’t control who my family is or my position, but I can control the business that I acquired on my own. I work hard to keep it in my control. I know I can be a little harsh at times, and I could tell it might have bothered you, and I want to say I’m sorry.”
This was the first real bit of honesty, I’d gotten from the man since I met him that morning on the plane. He wasn't Lord Branagan or Nathaniel, but Nate. He had no idea how much I appreciated that from him. Letting me in would help me make the best paintings possible for him, not for the house, but for him, the man living in the house.
“Thank you, that is all I needed,” I whispered out. “Ouch!” I screeched as Nate’s foot went directly onto mine. I stumbled, and he once more went to catch me, but he lost his footing as well.
Together, Nate and I tumbled to the floor. I landed right on top of him. He was flat on his back looking up at me. Right away, I noticed that my face must have come in contact with his sleeve as I spotted a smudge of my pink lipstick perfectly placed like a kiss.
“Oh no, your shirt. I’ve ruined another one. I’m so sorry,” I burst out in embarrassment. I knew lipstick wasn’t the easiest thing to get off fabric, and I also knew that shirt of his must have cost a fortune.
“It’s fine, I promise,” he said, giving me a reassuring grin. The tenseness in my muscles relaxed instantly. I was practically straddling the man on the floor of the small sitting room. My breath caught as I felt his arousal under me, hard and eager. Was he really turned on by me? I moved to attempt to get off of him as quickly as possible, but before I could, he took me to him and in a single move, I was now lying flat on the floor with him hovering over me.
“Nate,” I whispered out. I couldn’t find any words because I honestly wanted him. I craved that desire for a connection I had tried to fight. I’d been fighting it since meeting him on the plane. There was this pull that I tried my hardest to ignore and right at that moment, there was no more ignoring it.
NINE
EVERYTHING HAPPENED SO fast. One moment Nate was just hovering over me, and the next we were kissing. We weren’t just kissing. We were entangling ourselves with o
ne another. Together, we were a mess of emotions as his tongue thrust into my mouth. I allowed my tongue to mingle with his as I wrapped a leg around his waist. I needed him closer to me even though he was right on top of me.
There was no explaining it. There was a mix of intense chemical reactions. Nate held me close to him as if he was making me his. He was fusing us together. My lips had never experienced a kiss like this one, so raw and sensually inviting.
Filling my senses with the captivating scent of pine and myrrh, the electric pulse of his touch, and the wine tainted taste of his tongue. My heart was pounding, and my mind was a fog. He nibbled at my bottom lip causing me to moan out. His lips made a trail from my mouth to my neck, biting along the way. I tangled my fingers in his now shortened chestnut brown hair. This wasn’t happening, at least for a moment I decided it wasn’t, this was some dream, nothing real about it, though it was all more real than I could ever imagine it to be.
His hands were holding my hips for dear life, and it was as if he feared that if he let go, I would disappear. His hips ground themselves against me, his erection making itself known. I let out a shallow breath. I could physically feel my arousal seeping into my panties. This was almost too much for me to handle. With that thought his lips were gone, I hadn’t realized my eyes were closed until I opened them. Looking down at me were his olive green eyes that glistened in the flickering candlelight.
“You are the most beautiful and irresistible woman I’ve ever had the pleasure of laying eyes on,” he panted out, apparently he was as spent as I was after our make out session. My cheeks went hot at his words, and I glanced away from his eyes. “Please, look at me,” he insisted his tone, strong and demanding and with that my eyes were on him once more.
One of his hands removed itself from my hip only to slip under my dress and slide up my trembling thigh. My nerves were shot, and my breathing was hard with anticipation.
“Taylor.” The way my name rolled off his lips was stimulating and heated me more. I knew I was blushing, and I didn’t quite know why. It wasn’t that I was embarrassed, but possibly overwhelmed. “I adore when you blush, your cheeks turn into petite plums.”
He bent his face back to mine, planting supple kisses on each of my swollen and hot cheeks all while his hand continued its journey. His fingers reached the junction between my thighs and the fabric that formed a barrier between his flesh and my wet folds.
“Tell me, yes,” he said in barely a whisper, his lips brushing against the skin of my cheek. I’d only ever been with one guy ever, my ex. I never thought of myself as the type of girl that would jump into bed with any man who offered, but at that very moment, I could find no reason to say no.
“Yes,” I answered without hesitation. There was no time for hesitation as I was aching for him. It was strange. This hunger took over my body. I’d never been the person to want sex in a strong way. It had never been exciting or anything to throw myself into, but I had a strange indication that with him, things would be different.
The heat from his body was gone from mine as he quickly stood. He reached down for me. I took his hand, and he yanked me off the floor. A charge of excitement took me over as he pulled me with him. I jogged to keep up with him.
The two of us ran through the hall and into the large and empty ballroom. There was no time to marvel at the grand room as he continued to yank me along. At the moment we reached the bottom of the staircase, he stopped, and his arms went around me before he lifted me off my feet and into his arms.
I clung to him, though I didn’t need to as his strong arms held me flawlessly. He jogged quickly up the marble staircase. I expected him to put me down when we reached the top, but he kept me held near and tight. He took me directly into the hall of the East Wing and down to the very end, the tower room. He pushed the door open, and we entered the room.
I’d wondered what his room looked like, and now I was finally viewing it. The walls were covered in a silk like wallpaper that was a midnight blue. The molding was gold and stood out perfectly against the dark blue. All of the furniture was cream and had aged well like the furniture in the rest of the house.
His bed stood grand and demanded attention. The large four poster bed was gold and draped with cream blankets and throw pillows. At the moment we reached his it, Nate allowed me down and to my feet. He looked me over for a mere second before he crushed his mouth to mine. I clenched fistfuls of his shirt as I ached for him to be closer, connected.
He placed a hand under my dress and took hold at the cheek of the large round ass I’d been blessed with thanks to my mother’s side of my family. It was funny; I was always made fun of by my family. I apparently got the perfect mix of genes, ass from my mom’s side and breasts from my dad’s side.
We were caught in one another as if we needed one another for air, for life. He broke the kiss before reaching his other hand under my dress and pulled it up to get it off me. I assisted in lifting the black lace dress from over my head. It was painfully obvious that I wasn’t prepared for our dinner to take this turn as I stood in my black and white polka dot bra and non-matching magenta cotton panties.
His hands placed themselves on my hips and slid up and down as he looked me over. I was flustered with the attention he was giving me. He ran one of his hands slowly up my body, taking his time at every curve. Stopping at my bra covered breasts, he rubbed his thumb over the hardened peak of my nipple. I wiggled at his touch, and a grin spread across his lips before he moved his hand further up. Settling on my cheek, he allowed his thumb to stroke at it lightly and trailed slightly over my lips.
“Since meeting you, I’ve been fighting with the desires building inside me. I hadn’t expected you to be so beautiful, alluring, and sensually inviting. Your spunk and willingness to not back down from me, even with my terrible attitude, that made me ache for you even more. And now, you said yes. Yes, to giving me yourself. You know I like to call the shots in all things, and that includes matters of the bedroom, is that understood?” This man had to keep everything he could under his control and right now that allured me to him.
“Control freak,” I muttered out playfully before sticking my tongue at him. I slipped my arms up his own and wrapped them around his neck, bringing my body closer to his. “And yes, I understand.”
“You have no idea what you’ve gotten yourself into,” he growled gripping tight at me. I had no clue what I’d gotten myself into, but for some strange reason, I was ready to find out. “Lie down,” he instructed as he removed his hands from me.
I let a shallow breath go as I removed my arms from his neck and sat down on the bed. I scooted myself to the middle of the bed, placing my head on the abundance of soft pillows. He stood before me, unbuttoning his shirt. As he flicked open the buttons one by one, I was intrigued to see more of him. The moment he opened his shirt and slipped it from his arms I admired his full and powerful looking physique. His slacks were next to go as he undid the button and worked them down his legs.
I barely blinked, and he was on the bed with me. He settled his body over mine, his eyes staring down and piercing my soul. I tried my hardest to control my breathing and to keep it as steady as possible. He ran a finger down my cheek and to my mouth, tracing lines along my lips.
“All the things I want to do to you,” he murmured out to me.
“And what exactly, do you want to do to me?” I inquired out of curiosity.
“I’m going to make you mine. I will make you scream out for me as I taste you and fuck you, like you’ve never been fucked before my darling.” I found myself not breathing at his words. It was possibly the way that his husky voice dripped with want, as I found myself eager for him to do what he wanted. I wanted to be completely naked and to have his skin creating friction with my own. I couldn’t find any words that I could adequately respond with, I only nodded.
In mere seconds, my panties were pulled down my legs and off. His hands slipped behind me, and I knew the exact moment my bra was unhooked
as a feeling of freedom took over my body. He pulled my bra off my arms and as with my panties he discarded it to the side. I was completely naked under him, and I watched his eyes inspect every inch of my body.
Nate grasped my knees and nudged them apart, opening my legs for him. He placed his lips on one of my knees and kissed it gently, kiss after kiss, working his lips between my thighs toward my center of pleasure. His hot breath greeted my open and wet entrance. I couldn’t control the trembling that spread through my limbs.
“Don’t be nervous, I want you to enjoy this as much as I will,” he said. His tone alone relaxed me, and I knew he wasn’t going to hurt me and that what we were going to share was going to be intimate between us. I glanced down to see him looking straight at my face. I gave him a weak smile and a nod of approval.
“Okay,” I whispered.
That was all he needed as his mouth came in contact with my center. I let out a surprised gasp. Nothing had ever felt so good as this. A hum trickled its way through me. I needed more. I arched my back to meet his mouth burning for more. His tongue lapped at me before he stopped at my clit, circling his tongue gently around it, causing my body to convulse with each round.
“Oh my ... wow,” I hummed having never experienced such incredible sensations before. He followed the same pattern, licking me thoroughly before giving my bud of pleasure all his attention.
A rush of heat trapped my body. I shut my eyes, not knowing what to do with my hands, I took hold of the pillows next to me. I was burning from the inside as my body shook being consumed by an orgasm, unlike anything I’d felt in my life.
The noises that came out of me were also something new. I was squealing with the purest delight, I’d ever felt. My hurried breaths were hard and rasping. What on earth had he done to me? The most exhilarating part was that he didn’t stop. He sucked my clit between his lips, pulling it in hard. He slid a finger into me, followed by another. He pushed his fingers in and out of me, hard, while his mouth continued its assault on my nub.
