With Nate’s hands full of lobster and coffee, I push a bite of doughnut into his mouth, and we continue through the Market, winding through a sea of people. It’s impossible to shop here in a hurry. There are too many people, especially on a weekend.
Nate and I choose our salad veggies, and he buys me a bouquet of fresh tulips and gerbera daisies.
“Thank you, babe. These are gorgeous.” I bury my face in them and breathe in their sweet fragrance and smile up at him.
“Like you.” He kisses my nose, tosses his empty coffee cup in a nearby garbage can, and presses his hand on the small of my back, leading me out of the Market and onto the sidewalk.
I look up and freeze. Fuck.
“What’s wrong?” Nate asks and follows my stare. “Shit,” he whispers.
Not twenty feet away is Carly from the office. She’s turned away from us, looking at a handmade scarf. She pays the vendor and turns her head our way, and her eyes catch mine. I hold my breath, waiting for her to say something, but she doesn’t. Nothing in her expression changes, and it’s as though we’re strangers. She gathers her shopping bags and walks in the opposite direction without looking back.
“She saw us,” I whisper.
He kisses my forehead and nuzzles my ear with his nose. “Don’t worry,” he whispers.
Suddenly, a little brown-haired boy about three years old stops in front of Nate, crying, and looks up at him. “Daddy?”
“Hey, buddy.” Nate sets the lobster on the ground at his feet and kneels before the little guy, who is obviously lost. “Are you looking for your daddy?”
The boy nods and continues to cry. Nate pats his little shoulder reassuringly and smiles gently. “What’s your name?”
“Bwian.”
“Brian?”
He nods again.
“Okay, Brian, let’s find your daddy.”
Nate hands me the lobster box and takes Brian’s tiny hand in his and looks around. He doesn’t have to look far as a panicked man comes running over to us.
“Brian! You can’t wander away like that!” He pulls the boy up into his arms and kisses his cheek and smiles ruefully at Nate. “Thanks. I swear, you turn your back for a second…”
“No problem.” Nate smiles back. “I’m glad you found him.”
I’ve taken in the whole scene with a bit of awe. Nate is so easy with kids. They just seem to be pulled to him.
And for the first time in my life, the thought of having kids doesn’t scare the shit out of me. Nate would love us, protect us, and just be…Nate.
Could I be a wife and a mom full time, not consumed by work?
Maybe.
Nate turns back to me and smiles, takes the lobster box out of my hand, and laces our fingers together with his free hand. “Ready to head home?”
Oh. My. God.
Yes. I could definitely make a family with this man. And it renders me speechless.
“Baby?” He frowns when I just stand here, staring at him.
I shake myself out of my trance and grin. “Yeah, I’m ready. Let’s go home.”
Chapter Twenty-Nine
“Wake up, baby.”
I’m on my stomach, and my arms are under my pillow, cradling my head. Nate brushes my hair off my face and kisses my cheek.
“What time is it?” I mumble.
“Six,” he murmurs and kisses my shoulder.
Mmm…that feels good. I’m not ready for Monday.
“I don’t want to get up.” I keep my eyes closed.
“I know,” he whispers and runs the flat of his hand down my spine to my ass and back up again, and I groan. Nate kisses my cheek and nibbles my earlobe, and my body comes awake. “Grab the pillow, baby.”
I pull my arms out from under the pillow and grip each end in my fists. I open one eye and gasp at the sight of my sexy man, long black hair loose, tribal tattoo down his right arm and another down his left side, looking all sleepy and sexy and mine.
“You’re sexy,” I murmur.
“I want you,” he whispers.
“I’m right here, ace.”
He plants a wet kiss on my shoulder and whispers in my ear, “Don’t let go of the pillow.”
One of his hands glides back down my spine to my ass, and he strips the covers off me to the end of the bed. He moves between my legs, pushing them apart with his knees, braces himself above me with his fists on either side of my torso and kisses his way down my back to my ass.
“Nate,” I whisper.
“Yes, baby.” He licks and nips each of my cheeks and slides a hand up my inner thigh, finding me wet and waiting for him. “Fuck, Julianne, you’re so wet.”
“I need you inside me, babe.”
“You’ll have me. You can let go of the pillow.”
I do, and he flips me to my back and then covers me with his long, muscular body again, kissing me deeply and passionately, as if he can’t go another minute without his lips touching mine.
I wrap my legs around his hips, the soles of my feet resting on his thighs and push my fingers into his hair.
“Grip the pillow again,” he whispers against my mouth, but I shake my head no.
“Nate, I need to touch you this morning.” I do. I can’t explain why. I just need to have my hands on him.
He pulls back a bit so he can look at my face, his bright gray eyes searching mine. “What is it?” he asks.
“I don’t know. I just need to feel you.”
“Okay, baby, touch me all you want. I love it when you touch me.” He kisses me again, more gently this time, working that talented mouth over mine and sinking onto me. He lowers his torso, letting me feel his weight. “I’m right here,” he whispers.
I wrap my arms around him and run my hands up and down his back, from his ass to his long thick hair, and back down again, while I rub his thighs with the soles of my feet. I can’t stop touching him, rubbing myself against him. “You feel so good.”
“Let me make love to you, baby.” He nibbles my lips, along my jawline and over to my left ear.
I tilt my head, giving him easier access to this sensitive spot, and he licks under my ear, where he knows it makes me crazy.
“I love how you smell, Julianne. So soft and clean and sweet.” His teeth clench gently onto my earlobe, and I squirm under him. “You feel so damn good, sweetheart. So smooth and firm and small.”
His words are intoxicating me, making love to me as thoroughly as his body is, and I feel my heart rate speed up and my breathing quicken.
“Nate,” I whisper.
“I can’t get enough of you.” His hips start to move in a slow circle, rubbing his hard, thick cock along my folds, the silver ball of his apa massaging my clit, and I arch my back, pushing against him.
“Nate, I need you.” I grip his firm ass in my hands and pull him against me, almost coming undone at the sensation of his long shaft rubbing my lips and the head of his cock, along with the piercing, making my clit pulsate, an orgasm working its way through me.
“So beautiful,” he whispers against my neck and pushes his forearms under my shoulders so he’s cradling me, his hands cupping my neck and fingers pushed up into my hair. He holds on and pushes harder, faster, rubbing himself against me. “I love making you come like this.”
“Oh God,” I whisper. Our voices are soft, we’re panting quietly, making love almost reverently. I feel tears pool in my eyes, and I close them, the tears spilling down my temples.
“Shh, baby, don’t cry.” He settles his lips on mine again, rubs them back and forth, caressing me and then kissing me sweetly, softly. “Come for me, honey.”
I come apart, silently, my body quaking and pushing against him. He deepens his kiss and pulls his hips down, finding my opening with the tip of his sex, and pushes into me, so, so slowly, letting me feel the apa as it slides against the walls of my pussy, and he fills me so completely. He sinks into me to the root of his amazing cock and stops.
“Open your eyes.”
His gray eyes are on fire, looking down at me with such love, and I feel more tears leak out of my eyes.
“Your eyes are the most brilliant blue I’ve ever seen, and they’re even bluer when I’m in you. I love it when you look at me like this.”
“How am I looking at you?” I whisper and push my fingers into his thick hair, loving how it feels to have my head and shoulders cradled in his arms and his body draped over mine, filling me up.
“Like I’m all you see,” he whispers back to me.
I run my fingers down his face and cup his cheeks in my hands, looking him square in the eye, not paying any attention to the tears on my face.
“You are all I see.”
He growls softly and kisses me desperately. His pelvis begins to move, slowly sliding in and out of me. I grip his ass in my hands again, and I feel the orgasm building up in me once more. He must feel it, too, because he moves faster and pushes into me a bit harder with each thrust.
“Let go, Julianne,” he murmurs.
“Come with me,” I whisper.
He breaks the kiss on a groan and pins me with his raw gray eyes, his mouth open as he pants, and he pushes into me twice, three times, and then grinds his pubis against my clit as he spills into me, and I come apart beneath him, not taking my gaze from his, as my body shudders around him.
“Oh my God,” I whisper as my body calms.
He collapses onto me and buries his face in my neck.
“Hey.”
He lifts his head at my voice.
I kiss his cheek. “I love you, Nate.”
“God, I love you, Julianne.”
***
Work today has been…well, weird. Mrs. Glover keeps looking at me speculatively each time I walk past her desk, which makes me nervous and curious about what she’s thinking. I haven’t heard from Nate all day. I came to the office first while he went to the gym and followed me in about an hour later, as per our usual schedule. But he hasn’t sent me any work requests at all, nor have I heard from any of my colleagues.
So, I’ve been in my office for most of the day, working on some reports that needed reworking and doing some research on a client Nate is considering bringing on.
At two o’clock, there’s a knock on my door.
“Come in,” I call out.
Mrs. Glover pokes her head in the door. “You are being asked to join a meeting in the conference room, Miss Montgomery.”
“Okay, thanks. Any idea what it’s about?” I ask as I gather my iPad and walk toward the door.
“No, but they’ve been in there all day.”
“They?”
“Yes, both partners, the CEO and the head of human resources.”
My stomach falls to my feet.
Fuck.
I follow Mrs. Glover to the conference room. She knocks on the door and steps inside.
“Miss Montgomery,” she announces and ushers me into the room.
Nate and Mr. Luis are seated behind a long conference table, along with our CEO, Mr. Vincent, and a woman in a black suit, presumably from HR.
Nate doesn’t meet my eyes when I enter the room.
“Miss Montgomery, please have a seat.” HR Lady motions to the seat opposite them at the table.
Great, I get to sit by myself in front of all of them.
Shit.
I take my seat and lay the iPad on the table before me, then link my hands together in my lap, looking back and forth between each of the people before me. Their faces are completely impassive, not giving any indication as to why I’ve been asked in here, but I know.
Carly must have told.
“Miss Montgomery,” Mr. Vincent begins. I’ve met him only once before, but he seems like a kind man. He’s older with gray hair and kind eyes. His eyes are still kind as he looks at me, his hands folded on the table, leaning toward me. “I have a question for you.”
“Yes, sir,” I respond, proud of myself for sounding confident and professional.
“How long have you been with my company?”
I frown slightly and glance over at HR Lady. Surely they have this information?
“Three years, Mr. Vincent,” I respond.
“And in that time, have you been given information regarding our policies and procedures?” he asks.
“Of course.”
“Good.” He nods and looks down at papers spread before him. “So you’re aware that this company has a no-fraternization policy.”
“I am.”
I will not wilt and crumble before these people. I knew this could happen, and I took the risk. I feel all four pairs of eyes on me now, and I look at each of them, Nate last. His face is cold, his eyes gazing at me with no emotion. It’s the way he looked at me for eight months, after the first time we made love in his apartment and until he talked me back to his place right before my birthday.
“We have received information that you have been involved with another member of this company,” Mr. Vincent continues.
“You must have received a statement from Carly this morning,” I respond coolly, not breaking eye contact.
Mr. Vincent’s eyes widen, and then he frowns and looks at his colleagues. “Actually, no. Why would you suggest that?” he asks.
I frown and immediately hate myself for my big mouth. “It was just a hunch.”
“So you don’t deny this?” he asks.
“No, sir.”
Mr. Vincent sighs and leans back in his chair. “Miss Montgomery, you have an excellent employment record here. You’ve done very well in your three years with us.”
“Thank you, sir.”
“But policy is policy.”
I glance over at Nate, and his demeanor hasn’t changed. Isn’t he going to say something?
“We know that you and Mr. McKenna have been seeing each other for some time now. As a partner, Mr. McKenna is too much of an asset for us to lose. Unfortunately, I can’t break the rules of this company and keep you on as well, Miss Montgomery.”
He stops talking, and all four of them stare at me. The only person who has spoken since I came in the room is Mr. Vincent. They are all so calm, impassive. Cold.
Especially Nate.
I look at him again and stare at him for a long minute. He doesn’t flinch. He doesn’t waiver. He’s not going to defend me or offer to quit. And that hurts more than the fact that I’m losing my job.
Miss HR speaks for the first time and hands me a check. “We have drafted up your final paycheck, cashing out your vacation and sick time, and Mr. Vincent has approved three months’ severance pay. You’ll be receiving information in the mail about rolling over your 401(k). You have fifteen minutes to gather your things.”
Seriously? My eyes haven’t left Nate’s while she speaks. I stand and turn to leave, but Mr. Vincent’s voice stops me, and I turn back to the table.
“Miss Montgomery, you have truly been an asset to this company. I will personally be happy to write you a letter of reference should you need one.”
I nod at him. “Thank you.”
I walk on numb legs to my office and shut the door. Holy fuck. Did that just happen? Did I just get fired, and my boyfriend did nothing about it? He just sat there and looked at me like I’m a stranger?
Like he hadn’t been inside me less than six hours ago?
I’ve never kept many personal items in my office, so I grab my purse, throw in my iPad, phone, a tube of lip gloss out of my desk drawer, and my coffee mug, and walk out of my office, mentally congratulating myself for keeping it together.
“Miss Montgomery.”
I turn at Mrs. Glover’s voice and see Nate standing at her desk, staring at me. His jaw is clenched, but that’s the only emotion on his face.
“Best of luck to you, dear.”
And that’s all it takes to bring tears to my eyes. I don’t respond. I just walk straight to the elevators and push the call button.
Carly appears at my side. “Oh my gosh! I just heard the news. Are you okay?”
I don’t look at her. I just watch the numbers above the elevator doors. I feel Nate’s eyes on my back.
Fuck him.
Fuck all of them.
“Jules, are you okay?” Carly asks again in her disgustingly fake sweet voice.
The elevator pings, and the doors open. I step inside and turn, my eyes meeting Nate’s, and I answer Carly without looking at her.
“Fuck you.”
Chapter Thirty
“Hello?”
“Will, it’s Jules.” I clear my throat and change lanes, heading toward my house.
“Hey, what’s up?”
“I need to come stay with you for a while.”
Silence.
“What’s going on?” Will’s usual happy, flippant voice has lowered, and I know he’s ready to kick ass for me.
“I just got fired and lost my boyfriend in the process. I need to get away and get my head on straight. Can I crash with you?”
“I’ll put clean sheets in the spare room. Are you okay to drive?”
“Yeah, I think I’m still in shock. I’ll fall apart when I get to your place.”
“I’ll get the Kleenex ready, too. Love you, kiddo.”
“Love you, too.”
I hang up and call Natalie. I need to get the phone calls out of the way now, before the tears start. Because once they start, I don’t know if I’ll be able to stop them.
“Jules?” Nat answers. “Why aren’t you at work?”
“I got fired.”
“Fuck, someone found out.”
“Yep.” I pull into my driveway, cut the engine, and stride quickly into the house and up to my bedroom.
“You sound calm.”
“I’m pissed as fuck, mostly at Nate. He didn’t get fired, and when I was in front of him and the other members of the firing squad, he didn’t defend me.”
I hear Olivia fussing in the background. “Do you need me to come over?” Nat asks.
“No, I’m packing. I need to get away for a little while.”
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