by Katee Robert
“No.”
“Thought so.” Nathan chuckled against her skin. “Would you like to know what being good will get you?” His free hand dipped into her bra and pinched her nipple. At the same time, the vibrator hit a rumbling rhythm, making her moan. He slid her bra straps off her shoulders and pulled the cups down to reveal her breasts. “You’re going to ride me tonight, without the panties in the way.”
“Yes.” She moved against him, his words turning her on as much as the pressure building between her legs.
“You’re going to take my cock, aren’t you, baby? I’m going to bend you over that desk with the mirror, and I’m going to meet your eyes while I drive into you. And when you come, you’re going to know that I’m the only one who makes you feel like this.”
How could he possibly know that?
Before she could think too hard on it, he twisted his fist into her hair, pulling her head back and baring her neck. “Are you going to be a good girl?”
“Yes. Oh my God, yes.” In this moment, she’d do anything he asked if he’d only let her orgasm, if he gave her exactly what he was describing. “Please.”
He pulled her closer, his hands on her ass positioning her exactly where she needed to be to maximize her pleasure.
“Oh, God.”
“That’s right, baby. Come for me.”
Chelsea dug her nails into Nathan’s shoulders, surrendering everything. Pleasure spiked through her body, and he held her through it, keeping her anchored and safe as she rode out the aftershocks. As he clicked off the vibrator, the last of the strength left her body and she slumped against him. “Thank you.” Chelsea spoke the words without having any intention of doing so.
Nathan held her close and kissed her temple.“You are so very, very welcome.”
Then he simply held her. Though part of her wanted to get up, Chelsea couldn’t make herself move. Being here with him, like this, felt too right. Even with everything still unresolved between them.
If she was being truthful, she missed the feeling of Nathan’s arms around her. Even when the arms had been smaller than they were now, they’d always protected her. How many times had she cried against his chest, frustrated to the point of tears by her father’s veiled, and always unfavorable, comparisons between Chelsea and her sister? By her family’s assumption that she’d put aside her dreams of being a photographer and pursue a more “responsible” law degree? By their insistence she marry an up-and-coming politician rather than a boy she loved? When he held her, she’s always been able to believe anything was possible, that it was them against the world.
It was different now. Neither of them had been strong enough to weather the storm before, but maybe it was time to admit he wasn’t the same boy she’d known. It was easy to say the sexual encounters were the only thing that changed, but it wasn’t the truth. He was stronger now, more… She wasn’t sure which word to use. It was as if she’d seen a hint of the man he could have been eight years ago, and he’d actually grown into said man in the intervening time.
If she wasn’t careful, she’d start to crave the way he made her feel. It would be all too easy to fall into the trap he presented—into the centered, strong, dominant man he’d become. To forget that some things couldn’t be repaired, no matter how much she might want them to be.
If she wanted to maintain her sanity, she needed to keep the past firmly entrenched in her mind, a constant reminder of his disentangling her from his body and walking away, even as she begged him not to go.
Here in his arms, sanity didn’t seem all that important.
Nathan shifted as if he were going to let her up, but Chelsea spoke, needing to prolong this moment of fragile peace. “What are you working on now?”
He went tense, but then relaxed back into her, running his fingers through her hair. “It’s a bitch of a project. I think I might have overreached myself this time.”
“I doubt that.” She’d kept up on his career ever since one of the galleries she frequented in Seattle had purchased one of his pieces four years ago. Imagine her surprise when she meandered in there and recognized his work, even though it was a different medium than the clay and wood he’d used previously.
Chelsea actually preferred the scrap metal. There was something so masculine and raw about it, and the way he welded the pieces together to create a cohesive whole took her breath away.
“I’ve been on this Greek mythology kick.” He laughed softly. “It’s all very dramatic and over-the-top, and the stories just get in my head and won’t let go, you know?”
“I do.” That was how she felt oftentimes, needing to see the scene through her camera lens and capture it forever. Her photography told a story, even if not everyone who viewed the pictures understood.
“Yeah, you of all people would.This most recent is Psyche and Cupid. You know the story?”
“Yes.” Cupid was pricked with one of his own arrows and fell in love with Psyche. She never saw his face, but she loved him all the same… Except she gave in to her curiosity and need to see him, which cursed them to be apart. They eventually found their happy ending, but there was plenty of suffering along the way. “Which scene are you using?”
“The candle, of course. There’s something so poignant about it, because you know exactly what’s coming. He’s going to open his eyes, realize she really sees him, and then it’s over.”
“It’s not over, though. They get their happily-ever- after.”
“Do they?”
Suddenly, she wasn’t so sure they were speaking about the same thing. Chelsea kept her head down, afraid of what she’d see in his face. “I think she was just scared—terrified, even—and so she did something foolish. There was no telling the type of man she’d married because he wouldn’t be honest with her, and she was so young, barely more than a child.”
“He wanted to come back to her the moment he left, you know. Hell, he never wanted to leave her in the first place. He couldn’t imagine his life without her in it.”
Chelsea didn’t remember that part from the myth but a slow sense of wonder overtook her. Maybe they really were talking about the same thing? Nathan didn’t give her the opportunity to question him, because he lifted her from his lap and set her on the bed. “We should get moving or we’re going to be late.”
“Okay.”
She moved to take off the ridiculous panties, but he shook his head. “Leave them.”
“But…” “Leave them.”
Against all reason, heat flooded her body. She’d just had one of the best orgasms of her life. She shouldn’t be so easily swayed. And yet none of her hard-and- fast rules seemed to apply to Nathan. He infuriated her and made her want to comfort him at the same time. One moment she was sure their past kept them from having any sort of future—not that she wanted a future with him—and the next she caught herself hoping he wouldn’t let her get away again.
Chelsea shook her head. She’d learned long ago that such foolish hopes and dreams only brought more pain.
She dressed quickly and made a trip to the bathroom to refresh her makeup and hair before they headed downstairs. All the while she couldn’t help wondering if perhaps she should have just taken her chances with her family, thrown herself at their mercy yet again, instead of coming here and risking a broken heart.
The fact she considered her family the lesser of the two evils said something she wasn’t quite ready to think about.
Nathan kept his hand on the small of Chelsea’s back as they entered the restaurant. He spotted their group immediately—it was difficult to miss half the restaurant tables blocked off for wedding guests—and almost turned back. The last thing he wanted to deal with was his brother’s pointed looks and the rest of them chatting merrily. Not when he was still fighting the need to drag Chelsea back to the hotel room and see if she’d really follow through on all her sexy little comments.
If their dinner in Portland was any indication, she’d be game.
Shit. He had to
stop thinking about this or he’d be spending the whole dinner with the cock stand from hell. It was made worse by the way Chelsea’s nails traced lazy patterns on his inner arm. She knew exactly what she was doing to him, the little tease. He patted his pocket, satisfied the remote was still there. She might as well enjoy the feeling because he fully intended to drive her as crazy as she made him feel.
Elle beamed as he guided Chelsea to the two remaining empty seats. “You made it.”
Which, of course, made everyone stop talking and take notice. Nathan didn’t miss the way Ian’s gaze zeroed in on his hand touching Chelsea. His best friend looked up and met Nathan’s eyes. “Yeah, we thought you’d get distracted and miss dinner entirely.” There was a question there—not one he was willing to answer yet.
“Wouldn’t dream of it.” He made a show of looking around. “Where are your parents?”
Ian winced. “Dad dragged Mom off for some dinner or something. I don’t know a damn thing about it.”
“Right.” Roxanne laughed and leaned into him. “God forbid your parents do something romantic. It might even make your mother a little more tolerable tomorrow.”
“Roxanne.” Elle covered her mouth, but her blue eyes danced. “You shouldn’t say things like that.”
“And you should know me well enough to know that I’m always going to be the one saying the inappropriate thing.”
Gabe held up a hand, silencing them all. Nathan didn’t mind the silence, but he wasn’t too much a fan of all their attention once again pointed at him. Or, rather, at Chelsea. Gabe draped his arm over the back of Elle’s chair. “So how have things been with you, Chelsea? How’s the family?”
She went stiff next to Nathan, but her smile came easily—at least to anyone who wasn’t looking at her shoulders. “They’re the same as always. Dad is up for Senate, so everyone’s busy preparing for the coming election year.”
“And your grandmother?”While Gabe hadn’t met her personally, he’d heard about her from both Nathan and Chelsea.
“Plotting and scheming, just as you’d expect. She’s taken up poker, much to everyone’s embarrassment.” Chelsea’s smile became a little more real as she talked about her grandmother.“I think Nana’s finally decided she’s old enough that it doesn’t matter what she does as far as the public image goes. And she’s quite good at Texas Hold ’Em.”
Nathan snorted.“I wouldn’t doubt it for a second.” “She does have a rather good poker face, doesn’t she?” Chelsea turned that smile on him and, just for a second, he could almost believe they were both here of their own free will.
That they actually had a future together.
He watched her out of the corner of his eye while she answered Elle’s questions, enjoying the ease in which Chelsea dealt with what could very easily be a painfully awkward situation. She had a lot more strength than she seemed to realize. Not only was she in the middle of a situation where she knew practically no one but him and was handling it beautifully, she was handling him in a lot of ways. She hadn’t sat back and let him railroad her at any point during the weekend— she fought back.
He loved it.
After they ordered, talk turned to the wedding, effectively taking the heat off Nathan and Chelsea— at least for now. Roxanne sipped her drink and went into great detail on how things would play out. “I don’t know if you guys have had a chance to check out the outdoor stuff we have set up, but it’s brilliant. The amphitheater is all very romantic and Roman.”
Nathan leaned close to speak in Chelsea’s ear. “Would you like to see it tonight?”
She spoke just as softly as he did. “You were going to give me a choice in the matter?”
In response he slipped his hand into his pocket and flipped on her panties. Chelsea glared, though the effect kind of fell apart when she bit her lip. Nathan turned it up a notch, igniting a hazy look in her amber eyes. “You’ve always had a choice. You know that as well as I do.”
“You’re not playing fair.”
“All’s fair in love and war. You should know that by now.” He turned the panties down to the lowest level—just enough to keep her on edge. “I think I’d like to see that amphitheater.”
11
Chelsea was enjoying herself. While they finished up their meal, Roxanne entertained them all with a story about a nightmare of a sweet sixteen party.Apparently the girl had attempted to contract exotic dancers secretly, wound up hiring prostitutes instead, and the cops had shut down the whole thing before anyone got to eat the thousand-dollar cake.
All through the story, Nathan kept up the steady, pulsating vibrations in her panties. It was never enough to make her truly uncomfortable, but she actually ached for him. Though he’d allowed her to orgasm earlier, she’d been so turned on by their power play it had barely taken the edge off. She wanted him— needed him.
As the waitress cleared their plates, Elle looked at Gabe. “We should probably mingle a little bit.”
“Babe, there’s only one person I want to mingle with right now.” He smiled. “Let’s get out of here.”
She blushed. “Okay.” The love on her face made Chelsea’s chest twinge. She wanted to have a man look at her the way Gabe looked at Elle.
She’d had it once before, longed for it still, but she’d always believed her trust was too hard to rebuild to get it back. Her heart gave another painful thud.
Nathan pressed a hand to her knee. “That’s our cue.” He raised his voice a little so the rest of the table could hear him. “We’re getting out of here. See you all tomorrow.”
“Please don’t be late for the rehearsal. That’s the only thing tomorrow that we need you for.” Elle let Gabe pull her to her feet.“Do something fun tomorrow while they’re setting up the tents in the amphitheater.” “Not too much fun,” Roxanne warned, shaking a finger. Chelsea might have laughed, but she didn’t think the other woman was joking. Roxanne reminded her of Danielle, but her carefree manner didn’t translate over to her work ethic. This woman was a force to be reckoned with.
“We’ll try to keep out of trouble.” Nathan pulled out Chelsea’s chair, looking every inch a gentleman. If they only knew he had control of the vibrator in her panties.
“Because that’s worked out so far.” Ian snorted. “You should probably stay away from the river.”
Only years of practice kept her from blushing at the memory of how terrible she’d acted when they were canoeing. Nathan had always been able to draw out the parts of her that no one else could touch, for better or worse. It was one of the reasons she’d loved him so much—one of the reasons she’d married him.
She followed him from the restaurant but stopped when he started off in the wrong direction. “Nathan?” With her damned panties buzzing between her thighs, all she wanted in this moment was to replace them with him.
Apparently he had other ideas. “I want to show you something.”
Chelsea let him take her hand and followed him from the building. They circled around back and stopped where the walkway ended. “Lose your heels.” She slipped them off and bent to pick them up, her breath hissing out when the panties slid more firmly against her clit. She debated telling him to take them off himself but finally decided against it. Doing so would only admit how much he was getting to her.
Had already gotten to her.
He reclaimed her hand and they padded across the lawn. In the darkness, it was difficult to see, but he never faltered. It reminded her painfully of all the times they’d snuck out to the woods east of her family’s property. He’d never faltered then, either. “This is where they’ll hold the wedding on Sunday.”
As her eyes adjusted, she could make out the large tiers descending to where the ceremony would take place. The sheer beauty of it, even at night, rocked her—lots of open space beneath the stars, with a framework of trees around the edge. Roxanne had been right—this was amazing. “It’s gorgeous.”
Nathan led her down the center and, if he noticed that he was, i
n essence, leading her to the altar, he didn’t say a single thing about it. For that, Chelsea was grateful. It allowed her the freedom of ignoring it, too. Once they reached the bottom tier, he sat down and pulled her to the grass with him. When he lay on his back, she followed suit, and he propped his arm under her head so he could tuck her against him.
In the silence, she could almost pretend they’d gone back to a simpler time, when all they had to worry about was her curfew or if her parents would check on her after she went to bed. A time with long drives through winding country roads, not caring if they got lost because they were so caught up in their conversation. A time full of firsts—her first time making love, her first overnight trip with a boyfriend, the first time she allowed herself to consider a future her family didn’t approve of.
She reached up and traced the Big Dipper. And then she kept going, her finger moving from star to star, over the constellation no one knew about but the two of them.
Though Nathan’s body stayed relaxed, some tension leaked into his voice. “I didn’t think you’d remember.”
“I couldn’t possibly forget Tiberius, protector of all broken things and lover of beautiful women.”
He chuckled and pulled her closer.“If I remember correctly, he was a great lover of beautiful women.”
“That was always your addition.” She smiled against his shirt, easily falling back into their old game. “I’d always maintained that he loved them from afar, never wanting to sully himself with separating fantasy from reality.”
Here, in this safe place, she finally allowed herself to ask the question that had been hanging over her head for the last eight years. “Why did you never go through with it, Nathan?”
He didn’t pretend to misunderstand. He sighed. “You already know the answer to that.”
The problem was that she didn’t. After he got on the plane, Chelsea had left without a word or note or anything. The only logical response to that was to file for divorce. Unless he couldn’t find her? But no, that didn’t make any sense either. Obviously Nathan knew where she was, or he wouldn’t have been able to send her the wedding invitation. “How long have you known I was in Seattle?”