The Consequence of Falling: New York Times Bestselling Author

by Contreras, Claire

  I kissed her shoulder once. Twice. Lightly, barely touching her. She turned around and faced me without hesitation, wrapping an arm around my neck and pulling me into her. Her lips were a gentle breeze against mine, the kind you crave in the dead of summer, the kind that makes it equally as easy and difficult to breathe when you’re in the middle of a run. It embodied the way I felt about her. I matched her gentleness, letting my tongue sweep into her mouth softly, wanting more but waiting for her to take charge.

  “You taste like whiskey,” she whispered against me.

  “I want to taste like you again.”

  She kissed me harder, deeper, and turned so she was on top of me, her legs straddling me. She pulled her lips from mine and dragged them down my jaw, my neck, my chest, sucking as she made her way to the elastic of my boxers. I lifted to help her take them off and spread my legs to welcome her between them. Her tongue peeked out over the tip of my cock, and I swore under my breath, grabbing a fistful of her hair. She started to tease me the way I’d done her earlier, licking up and down my shaft in a way that made my eyes roll. The difference was that I’d left this room earlier with the biggest hard-on of my life, and the minute I stepped back in here, was in the same predicament. As much as I appreciated foreplay, this teasing would only end with coming all over her face fast, and I needed to be inside her. I tugged her hair so she had no choice but to stop sucking me and look up.

  “I want to be inside of you when I come.”

  She sputtered out a breath. “How do you manage to make that sound so hot?”

  I smiled. She moved so she was straddling me again and slipped the T-shirt she was wearing over her head. I cupped her breasts, tweaking her nipples as she positioned herself.

  “Is it okay?” she asked. “Without a condom? Are you—”

  “I’m clean. Are you—”

  “I’m on the pill.” She nodded.

  “And you want to?” I asked. She nodded again. “Are you sure?”

  I pulled her close, so we were nose to nose. She nodded again. My heart felt like it was going to burst. I kissed her again, this time hard and frenzied, as she began to sink down on me ever so slowly, letting me feel the grip she had on my cock. She’d kill me. She’d be the end of me with her attitude and her fight and this magic pussy of hers that I never wanted to fucking leave. I gripped her waist and drove her down on me, my pelvis meeting her each time. Her moans filled the room. I opened my eyes and watched her. Her head was tilted back as she rode me faster, harder, keeping up the pace I had going, chasing this orgasm that was building inside me and I knew was definitely building inside her. I licked my thumb and brought it to her clit. The unexpected move made her gasp loudly. She brought her attention back to me, her eyes on mine. She looked so beautiful, unabashed and dreamlike, as if none of this was real. It was a feeling I was familiar with every time we were together.

  It felt like I was in a dream. Surely a woman like Presley Rose could never give me the time of day, but I never wanted to wake up from it. I never wanted to know what it felt like for her to walk out of my life. She kept mewling and moving her hips as I continued to move mine and my fingers. I brought my other hand up to tweak her nipples. She gasped again. Pleasure swelled inside me as she began to tremble, gripping me in a viselike grip I wasn’t sure I could handle, but I continued to pound against her, harder and deeper as she moaned.

  “Baby, I’m going to come,” I whispered.

  “Please.” Her eyes widened as she nodded. “Please. Please. Please.”

  It was a chant, a plea that I felt deep inside me, searing through my veins and settling deep in my stomach, and it was with that plea that I emptied myself inside her as she spasmed around me.

  Twenty-Eight

  Monday was a busy day for both Nathaniel and me. He’d be at a tech convention all day and I was going to meet with Morgan at the brewery to look at the invitations she was working on for her dating app event. After I finished folding my laundry from the weekend, I headed to Dad’s place to make him breakfast. I was almost finished with his omelet when he showed up in a T-shirt and sweats.

  “You’re not going in today?” I frowned.

  He shook his head slowly as he took a seat. I plated our food and served our coffee. We ate in silence. I kept sneaking glances his way because he was being more quiet than usual, even for him, but he seemed fine. I didn’t see any outward signs of discomfort, and he was eating, which meant he must have felt decent.

  “You should hire a driver again,” I said, mainly because he was in a better mood when he was able to use his car. Even though he’d been living in the city for a while, Dad had never gotten used to public transportation. “You can get Edwin to drive you again. I’m sure he won’t mind.”

  “He’s taking me to Nate’s birthday tomorrow.” He looked at me. “Are you going?”

  “I guess so.” I shrugged, looking back at my plate.

  “You can ride with me.”

  “That would be nice.”

  “Unless Nathaniel wants to drive you,” he said.

  I blinked. “Why would he want to drive me? I don’t even know if he wants me going tomorrow. I’m going because he was nice enough to ask. And he helped out at the brewery.”

  Dad laughed. “Trust me, he wants you there.”

  Oh God. Did he know about us? Did it matter? I decided it didn’t. Not that I was going to flat out tell him anything was going on between us, but if he guessed, so be it. I had no reason to hide. I didn’t exactly want him rubbing it in my face that I ended up liking Nathaniel after all, but I could deal with it. I thought about that. Did I like him? It felt like more than like. I couldn’t stop thinking about him all day. I could barely sleep when I wasn’t in his bed. I’d tossed and turned all night last night because I’d come back to my place with Dad to avoid being obvious, and I didn’t want to go all the way to Nathaniel’s across town in the middle of the night. The thought crossed my mind more than once though. I needed to set boundaries for myself when it came to him, put distance between us.

  “Are you getting him a present?” I asked. “I’m not sure what I should take.”

  “Presents make him uncomfortable,” Dad said. “I usually take him a bottle of rare whiskey for his collection.”

  “Well, that doesn’t exactly help me.” I started clearing our plates.

  What was I supposed to get a man who had everything? A cigar? Socks? Damn it. When I finished cleaning up, I went to look for Dad. He was sitting in a couch on the rooftop looking pensive as he smoked his cigarette. I pushed down the urge to tell him something about it.

  “Dad, I’m heading out. I have a meeting at the brewery in an hour.”

  “Thanks for breakfast,” he said, putting out his cigarette. He winked at me. “We should do it again tomorrow.”

  “I’ll be sure to clear my schedule.”

  This had been our routine for some time, so being away from him last week, although the nights were incredible with Nathaniel, I’d missed our breakfasts together. He wasn’t much of a talker, so his silence earlier really wasn’t anything new, but his presence calmed me regardless. I left with a smile on my face and called my mom on my way over to the brewery. I may not have woken up in Nathaniel’s bed, but it was shaping up to be a kick-ass day.

  * * *

  I was finishing up when I looked at my phone and saw a text from Nathaniel.

  I miss you.

  Simple words, but they made my pulse quicken. I smiled and typed back

  I miss you too.

  I missed you in my bed this morning. Tell me you’re not going to let me wake up alone on my birthday.

  Damn him. I smiled even wider as I typed, but then I erased the entire sentence. Birthdays had never been grand affairs in my household growing up. After all, the emphasis had been on what was given not the meaning behind it. When Adam didn’t put much effort into my birthday, I hadn’t been terribly disappointed. Although, now I wondered if some of his business trips aroun
d both of our birthdays had been fucking trips. God, it was only as each new event arose that I saw how incredibly naïve and blind I’d truly been. Nathaniel actually wanted me to be with him on his birthday, and that bought a moment of peace. Had Lisa made his birthdays something I had no clue how to replicate? And if I didn’t? When did I become a jealous person? No. Because it wasn’t jealousy I’d felt when I found out about Adam. It was anger. So, was it Nathaniel’s effect on me?

  I turned my phone face down and walked away from it when I saw Morgan walk into the brewery. She was smiling wide.

  “Oh my gosh, this is the coolest place ever,” she said, beaming with pleasure. “You even set out cornhole? I can’t even.”

  I laughed. “I forgot about your obsession with winning that game.”

  “It’s not obsession. It’s a healthy dose of competition.”

  “You sound like Nathaniel.” I rolled my eyes.

  She raised an eyebrow. “Not to be like super annoying or anything, but the way you just said that . . . was very suspicious. One may even think you like him.”

  “Stop.” I turned around, biting my lip to keep from smiling, and headed to the table where I had set out two mugs for us.

  “Okay, this is my new favorite place.” She set down her messenger bag and took a sip of beer, closing her eyes. “Seriously.”

  “It’s one of our new ones.”

  “It’s floral kind of, right?”

  “Yup. Infused with lavender.”

  “That doesn’t even seem like it would be good but somehow it works.” She took another sip. “Like totally works.”

  “Like thank you,” I said, laughing at the glare she shot me.

  “So, are you and Nate Dog happening?”

  I laugh-coughed over my beer. “First of all, never call him that again. That’s disturbing. Secondly, I don’t know. I guess maybe?”

  “You totally are,” Sshe squealed.

  “We’ll see,” I said. “It’s new. It’s really good but I don’t want to set my hopes up and have him crush me.”

  “Adam didn’t crush you.”

  “He did though.” I took a sip of my beer and set it down. “I just bounced back quickly. If Nathaniel breaks my heart? I don’t think I’ll bounce back as fast. He has this hold on me. I can’t explain it. It’s scary. Exciting, but scary.”

  She looked at me for a long moment. “You seem happy.”

  “I am.”

  “You no longer hate him,” she said, rather than asked.

  I laughed. “No.”

  “So, go with it.” She opened up her computer, typed something, and turned it over. “You know this is all digital, so the invites will be emailed and put on the app in two days for the launch, but this is what we have.”

  I pulled it close to me and read it over. “It’s cute. I’d join.”

  “You should join.” She grinned. “But you won’t because this thing with Nathaniel is real and serious.”

  “I’m not going to argue that.”

  “Man, it feels good to be right. Wait till I tell Jamie about this.”

  “I hate you guys so much.” I shook my head, laughing. “I would spill this beer on you if it wasn’t so good.”

  “And if you didn’t have to clean it up.” She winked.

  “You are just full of knowledge today.”

  “Always, Big. Always.”

  Twenty-Nine

  I didn’t make it to Nathaniel’s apartment at night, so I was scrambling to get there before the crack of dawn. He’d been at the convention later than expected, and I didn’t want to show up at his place and hang out without him being there, mainly because I wasn’t sure if that was grounds for revoking my key. The upside to not going, aside from keeping my key, was that I was able to get him a present—a fun present for his office and one I was wearing underneath my trench coat. When I reached his apartment, I knocked and waited. He opened the door with a look of confusion on his face.

  “Why didn’t you use your key?”

  “Happy birthday.” I handed him the present in my hand quickly and started working on undoing the knot of my coat.

  He chuckled. “Get in here.”

  “Hold on, I’m trying to give you your second present.”

  He put a hand over mine, covering them and effectively stopping my nerves. I glanced up at him as he pulled me inside the apartment. “You are my present.”

  “I think yeah, I mean, yeah, but—”

  “No, Presley,” he said, bringing his hand to my face. “You’re my present. You’re everything I’ve ever wanted.”

  He’d said sweet things to me before, but this felt like a different kind of admission. I wrapped my arms around his neck, pouring myself into the kiss I gave him. I pulled away after a moment and looked at him.

  “How much time do we have?”

  “Enough.”

  I smiled wickedly as I continued undoing the knot and showing him what I was wearing under the coat.

  * * *

  My leg wouldn’t stop bouncing the entire time as he drove to his mom’s house.

  “Nervous?”

  I glanced over at him. “No.”

  “Liar.” He chuckled, holding my hand in his. “Relax. She’s going to love you.”

  “How many women have you brought home?”

  “Maybe thirty.”

  “What?” I gaped.

  “Just kidding.” He squeezed my hand, amusement clear in his eyes. “Two.”

  “Larissa and Lisa,” I provided.

  His brows rose. “I’m flattered you know that, princess.”

  “Shut up.”

  “Are you jealous that I’ve taken women home to my mother?” He shot me a sideways glance. “You were married.”

  “Oh, you’re going to point that out? Do you forget how you kissed me on my wedding day?”

  “I could never forget that.”

  I licked my lips. “What was the point of that anyway?”

  “The point of giving you your last earth-shattering kiss?”

  “Oh, it was earth-shattering for you?”

  “Don’t play with me, baby, you know it was like that for you too.”

  “Maybe.” I shrugged. “But I still went through with the wedding.”

  “I guess I shouldn’t have expected you to walk out.”

  “Did you?”

  “A part of me did.”

  “You took a date to my wedding.” I laughed. “What were you planning on doing if I decided to call it off and leave with you? Were we going to have a threesome?”

  “Are you open to that?”

  “Bastard.” Laughter bubbled up inside me as I yanked my hand from his and slapped his arm playfully.

  “Hey, I think this is definitely something worth discussing.”

  “Are you open to threesomes?” I raised an eyebrow. I knew I wasn’t but now I was oddly curious.

  He shrugged. “If that’s what it takes.”

  “If that’s what it takes for what exactly?”

  “What it takes to keep you, obviously.”

  “I have questions.” My smile faltered, my heart pounded louder.

  “I hope I have answers.”

  “Did you want to keep Lisa?” I asked. “Or Larissa?”

  “Are you asking me if I considered a threesome with them?”

  I rolled my eyes. “Be serious, Nathaniel.”

  “Sweetheart, I know what you’re asking. I don’t know how to answer the question.”

  “Truthfully. You answer truthfully.”

  “Did I want to keep them,” he said, as if contemplating it aloud. “I think if I wanted to keep them, I would have.”

  “What does that mean?” I turned in the passenger seat.

  “It means when you want something, you work for it, no matter the cost or sacrifice.” He glanced at me. “I didn’t work very hard for either one of them.”

  His mother’s house was modest and cute. It had a fence, and a pretty little garden that
led to the front door of the navy-blue craftsman-style house. Nathaniel let go of my hand as we waited for her to open to door and I instantly questioned why. Did he not want her to know we were together? I shook that thought away. I was the one who’d said I didn’t want my father to know about us, but now, as I stood here ready to meet the most important woman in his life it was important for me to know where I stood with him. Was I just a fling? Was I okay with that? By his own admission, he said he was always on and off with Lisa. When would that end?

  The door opened. I held my breath as a woman appeared on the other side. I wasn’t sure what I expected his mother to look like, but she was beautiful, and younger than I’d imagined. She had the same thick dark brown hair that Nathaniel had, hers styled in huge waves that reached just past her shoulders. Her eyes were the lightest brown, so he must have gotten his deep blue eyes from his father. She had a smile on her face that only spread wider as she took me in.

  “Presley. I’ve heard so much about you,” she said, her voice scratchy. I wondered if she was sick or if that was just how she sounded. Either way it was warm and made me smile.

  “I hope nothing too bad.” I tore my gaze from hers and raised an eyebrow at Nathaniel.