by Tijan
His eyes were warming, then suddenly he bent, and I was whisked up and in his arms.
Whoosh!
I squealed, hitting his shoulder. “I was kidding. Totally kidding. Put me down. I’m heavy.”
“Chill. You’re like a buck fifty.”
“One fifty?!”
He just chuckled, spotting where my stuff was and heading over. “I’m going to have to put you down so you can grab your things.”
I considered teasing him, but the fact he picked me up at all had the little girl in me swooning. He set me down, and I grabbed my bag, putting my phone inside, then he was picking me up once more. This time, I was thrown over his shoulder with my ass in the air.
“Hey!”
He laughed. “You didn’t tell me how to carry you, and I like this way the best. Makes it easier to manage your buck fifty.” He smacked my ass.
“Hey!”
My bag was falling. “My stuff is falling—” No. I grabbed it, looping it up with my fingers.
He paused. “Is everything okay? I don’t want to turn around and give you whiplash.”
I laughed, but ooh, my ribs were even hurting. “I’m good. I got my stuff.”
“Good. Where’s your car?”
“It’s on the ramp.”
“Will it be safe for the night?”
I frowned. Was he serious about the hotel? “Yeah. It should be. We’ve had cars stay there overnight before.”
“Good.”
He carried me downstairs, out the front door, and right to his SUV.
“Nate. I was joking.”
“Hush. I’m wooing you.”
I laughed, but he opened his door and placed me on the seat. The gentleness of it took my breath away. A tingle went through my body as he straightened back up, looking right at me. He was so close. I could feel his breath, and his eyes fell to my lips.
Then a wide and full smile lit up his face. “You gotta wait for that.”
He was gone, the door shutting behind him in the next instant.
I wanted to laugh. I wanted to shake off the very real emotions I was just feeling, but he held my gaze as he walked around the vehicle. Getting in on his side, he reached over and took my hand.
Butterflies were flying all over inside me, but I squeezed his hand tighter.
When I saw the hotel, “Nate.” I was awed, my voice a whisper.
“Hold that thought a second. I need to do this properly.”
A valet came to the door, and Nate handed over his keys. “Bring her bag to the room, please. 2810.” The valet nodded, and then Nate was rounding to my side. He nudged another hotel staff member out of the way who’d been about to open my door. Then he was there, and he grinned, ducking down once more.
“Nate!”
He picked me up out of the car, backed up, and then straightened. I was over his shoulder once more.
“Oh my God! Put me down.”
I knew my face was red, but these people were seeing me in my tights and the baggy sweatshirt I liked to wear when I was rehearsing. No one needed to see that. Ever. I had cold sweat plastered all over me.
Nate strode past everyone as if he owned the hotel.
Hell, for all I know, he did.
But I wasn’t looking. I didn’t need to add to my mortification.
“I thought you were joking about the hotel.”
“Nope.” He stopped in front of the elevator.
I started to lift up, assuming he’d put me down.
His arms tightened around my legs. “Hold tight, Quince.”
Quince.
That was one of two nicknames I was called, but damn. I loved hearing it come from Nate.
The elevator arrived, and he stepped in, turning around. Four or five people were waiting behind us.
I almost screamed and looked away. That was so embarrassing.
Nate drawled, “Excuse us, folks. She’s injured. We need the extra space.” The doors slid closed as he said, “Appreciate it.”
I jostled against his shoulders. “They saw my ass.”
“It’s a good ass.”
“In my dirty leotard.”
“No one cared about your leotard.”
I groaned. “You’re not making it better.”
“Not trying.”
I had to laugh. “When you commit, huh?”
He laughed again. “When I commit, I commit.”
Nate took us to a corner suite on the second floor. He carried me over the threshold. I took in everything he’d done to prepare for tonight. Or I thought I was going to. He bypassed a table set for dinner. I was staring longingly at the bread, and he went into the bathroom.
I was set down, but only on the bathroom counter as he went and started the tub. It was a very large tub, big enough for five people. When the water was running, there was a knock on the door, and he told me, “Stay.”
He went to the door.
He came back with two glasses of wine in hand, and he handed me one. “I thought you would’ve snuck off.”
“No. I mean, when you commit.” I grinned at the water. “I’m expecting you to undress me and put me in the water.”
“Like you think I won’t?” A spark lit up in his eyes, and the wine was taken.
He moved between my legs.
I expected a fast undressing.
I would’ve been disappointed, but no. I was so very not disappointed.
He smoothed his hands up my legs, his finger sweeping inside my leotard.
I gasped, but he moved farther between my legs, his finger dipping and sliding inside me.
“Ohhh.” I started to fall back, my eyes closing.
“No. You keep them open.”
I did, but they were lidded, and I rested my head against the mirror. I was gone. Nate was moving in and out of me, and I gasped as he hit a deeper angle inside me. But he wasn’t done. His hand went up, and he pushed my sweatshirt over and off me. He tossed it on the counter, then he leaned down, moving my leotard aside.
His mouth found my nipple, and he closed around it, sucking on it hard.
“Nate!”
I went to slide my hands through his hair. I wanted to touch him. I needed to touch him.
“No.” He caught my wrist, his face lifting. He slid two fingers inside me as he pinned my other wrist to the mirror behind me. He let me go, only to grab both of my wrists together, and he breathed into my ear. “Don’t move.”
He held me in place.
I was starting to shake.
I needed to touch him. Now.
His fingers continued to move—thrusting, sliding, building—while his mouth moved back to my breast. Then my other. He was sucking, tasting.
I couldn’t touch him back.
I tried, and he growled. “No.”
That growl hit me between my legs, making me throb even more.
I was so wet, and I was starting to pulsate.
He brought both my arms down behind me. He adjusted me so he was half leaning over me, his hand still working me.
I felt a scream building.
From my stomach, my chest, my throat, my neck, and it burst out of me as he pushed me over the edge. My whole body tightened around him. The waves were pulsating in me.
I gasped. I had no bones in me anymore. He had melted all of them.
“Holy crap.”
He chuckled, his body holding me in place as he moved his mouth to my shoulder. “Now you can touch me.”
I looked at him, rueful. “Now I can?”
His smile was triumphant. “Fuck yeah, you can.”
“Put me in the water.”
“Oh shit!” He’d forgotten the water. He turned, seeing it was at the top, but the grate had kept it from spilling over. He turned it off, checking the temperature. “It’s too hot. It needs to cool off.”
Good.
I slid off the counter, taking both straps of my leotard, and I tugged it off.
He was watching, his eyes dark and primal.
> I went over to him and slid down to my knees.
“What are you doing?”
I grabbed for his belt. “You think only one can play at that game?”
I undid his belt, reaching for his zipper.
He was looking down, his eyes almost molten. “Apparently not.”
I pulled his zipper down, undid his top button, and then I reached inside for him. “You’re definitely not the only one.” I wrapped my hand around his dick and paused with a small smile on my face. “Now remember, no touching.”
A low growl came from him, but then I moved forward and took him in my mouth.
He groaned. “Oh, dear God. I’m really loving this game of ours. We need to play it every day.”
Yes. Yes, we most definitely did.
40
Nate
The call came in this morning, after I was getting in from leaving the hotel. Quincey went back in for more rehearsals, and that call—it was burned in my memory. I’d been feeling good, happy with how things were with Q and I and then that fucking call came through.
The phone rang, and seeing it was a blocked number, I went to my phone.
Hitting accept, I said, “This is Monson.”
“You don’t know me, but I’m Nico Mancini.”
I froze, mid step. “Why the fuck are you calling me?”
He laughed. “Maybe you do know me.”
A growl ripped from me. “You got two seconds to explain this call, or I’m hanging up and contacting police I know.”
A second laugh. “You can’t touch me.”
“You misheard me. I didn’t say the police. I said police that I know.”
He was quiet now, because we both knew there was a difference. You call the police, they’re supposed to follow protocol. You call you police you know, that protocol was really fucking iffy and after Royas’ police visit he called in for me, I made sure to reach out and get to know a couple. Just because I’m not dumb.
“Talk.”
He bit out, “Fine. I’m calling you as a favor. Don’t forget that.”
“I doubt that.”
He sniffed. “Whatever, man. I figured you should know that my lawyer made me take a deal. My time’s been shortened, and I don’t want anything to come back and bite me in the ass. So because of that, I’m letting you in on the know about a call I got last week.”
“What call?”
“Royas.”
I froze for the second time, before another growl was working its way up from my stomach. It was burning a path on its way, and it hurt to fucking talk around that burn. “And?”
“And he was willing to throw money my way, wanted me to say that Val never told you about the kid because she was scared of you. Said you threatened her in your relationship with her.” He wasn’t done, adding in a lowered voice, “And also he wanted to know if I had a stash of something extra. You know. Something that could be found somewhere else. He didn’t say, but the way I took it was that ‘somewhere else’ wasn’t going to be on any of my property. You get me?”
“I get you.”
Fuck.
I got him.
I got him real good, and fuuuuuck Duke Royas.
“You’re telling me why again?”
He was quiet for a beat. “Look, whatever. I’m just saying I did care about Valerie. I made mistakes, but I would’ve cared for Nova, too.”
“You’re going to stay the fuck away from her. That’s what you’re going to do.”
Another beat of silence from his end.
He spoke slowly when he spoke, “Yeah. I got you.”
I was replaying the conversation in my head, over and over again.
Duke Royas tried to set me up in two different ways.
“We’ll handle him. Don’t worry,” Logan said.
I glanced over in my vehicle.
Logan had flown in for this meeting. He didn’t know the extent of the call, just that I wanted to meet with Royas. Because of that, he was smirking at me. One foot was kicked up on the dashboard, and he was lounging back, his phone in front of him. I didn’t want to know what game he was playing, but it was annoying.
“Who picked the back alley of an abandoned warehouse, fifteen miles outside of the city for this meeting?”
Logan went back to his game. “He didn’t pick the location.”
“Who did?”
“Me.” He was punching at virtual buttons on his phone, and he cursed. “Damn. Fuck. They got me.”
“Logan.” I took the phone from him. “Why did you pick this location?”
“Truth?”
That got a scowl from me.
“I thought it was funny, and I was hoping to talk Channing into sending some of the guys from that motorcycle club he knows.”
Well.
Okay.
I was calm. I already wanted to do murder, but Logan didn’t know.
He couldn’t have known.
Except this stupid fucking game.
Except he kept wanting to call in that motorcycle club.
Nope. I wasn’t mad.
It wasn’t like we needed more gas thrown on the fire.
Not at all. Meeting here, calling in the MC—that wouldn’t turn a campfire into an inferno. Not one bit.
I rolled my window down.
So calm.
I tossed his phone out the window.
“Hey! What the fuck?” He shoved open his door and scrambled around the SUV. “What the hell, Nate?!”
“This is a guy who could try to take Nova from me, and you thought this place would be funny? You better be kidding about the MC because if this was Taylor’s dad or you were dealing with Mason’s kids, you’d never want to get an MC involved, and you know it. And let go of the fucking MC. Channing’s made it very clear he wants nothing to do with them.”
He shot me a dirty look before picking up his phone. Studying it, he growled before stuffing it back in his pocket. “If that had been broken, you and I would’ve had problems.”
“You and I do have problems.”
He came back, and I was tempted to lock him out. So tempted.
That would’ve been immature, right? As immature as tossing the asswipe’s phone out the window, for sure.
Mason would’ve done it.
He got inside and shut the door. “Listen. I’m sorry. You’re right about all of that. And I’m mostly joking about the MC, but I did call Channing.”
“Did he actually take that call?”
“He hung up on me after he threatened to send one of his guys after me. But look, the court case against Dick Duke got tossed out, and he didn’t fight it. I don’t trust this guy. I don’t think it’s above him to try something shady.”
That was a fucking understatement.
I shifted back and resumed glaring out the dashboard window. “He better not do a goddamn thing. I’m the one blocking him from Nova now.”
Logan frowned at me. “How’s that all going?”
“All what going?”
“With the missus. And her family. You said Graham looked like he had connected with Quincey. Any movement forward?”
I shook my head. “No. She called her mom one night because she was worried about Nova, but that’s it. Quincey’s been busy. I don’t think she’d even have time to see her family.”
“Right. You said she’s in a dance production.”
“I have tickets to the premiere night. Aspen’s flying in for it. She wants to see Nova, too.”
“Right.” He was glowering at me.
I sighed. “Why are you glowering at me?”
He cocked his head to the side with an extra bit of sass than was needed. “Why wasn’t I asked to go with you?”
“You kidding?”
“No. Why would I be?”
“You’re annoying me. Why are you annoying me?”
Logan sighed this time. “I don’t know, and I’m annoying myself.” A low rumble emanated from his throat. “I’m bored, and I’m antsy. And I
miss having you in Boston. It’s not the same.”
“Well.” I moved the mirror. Dust was spitting up on the road behind us. “We are all older. We had to grow up at some point. Spread our wings and fly and all.”
“I know. It’s just not the same.”
The vehicle kicking up the dust was closer, close enough that I could see it was an SUV.
I nodded to the mirror. “Heads-up. They’re here.”
Logan looked back. “Fuck. I suddenly realize how shady this looks. I feel like we should have guns.”
I shot him a frustrated look. It was too late to change locations. “Think better next time.”
He grunted and smirked. “Will do.” He followed me, getting out of my vehicle.
The SUV went past and did a circle, coming up and parking a few feet away. A big security-like guy was the driver, but he remained inside. The back door opened. Duke got out, followed by who Logan had informed me earlier was his lawyer. He matched the description, and Logan went forward.
“Mathias.”
Yep. The lawyer.
He nodded to Logan. “Kade. This is, uh, an unusual place for a location.”
Logan grinned. “Really? I looked into your other clients. This seemed perfect for you.”
Duke came forward, stopping around six feet from me. He regarded me, his eyes frosty. “I received a phone call the other night. You spent the night with my daughter at the Blaque Hotel.”
Jesus. This guy.
He was pissed at me?
Red sirens were blaring.
He had a guy either at the hotel or following Quincey. That shit would stop now.
I shared a look with Logan. He had his professional mask on, so nothing was showing through it, but I knew he was surprised. I hadn’t told anyone that my relationship with Quincey had progressed.
“Quincey is no longer your concern.”
“She’s my daughter. Who she fucks, I need to know.”
A low rumble was coming from me now, and I was envisioning splattering his blood on the rocks behind him.
Logan moved forward a step, half blocking me. “Let’s all take a step back. I, for one, would like the option for safety. I’ve never seen this beast come out of Nate before, so I’m not sure what kind of mayhem I’ll need to cover up later.” He flashed them a smile before turning fully toward Mathias. “Now, Matty—”
Matty’s eyes went flat. “Are you kidding me?”
