I curse inwardly and roll through my options. I’m not letting her slip away that easily.
“Find her for me. I’m about to crash her party.”
Chester takes a few strides toward me. “I’ll get you her location. But you better watch your ass. Don’t do anything stupid.”
“I can handle this.”
He doesn’t look convinced. “Fix this or I will. And you may not like the way that goes down.”
I nod tightly, because I can read between the lines. Chester’s a comrade, but his loyalty is to Charlotte first.
And if I lose my job or get reassigned, I’ll never see Charlotte again.
CHARLOTTE
“This one or this one?”
Kat peers at my reflection in the tall mirror. We’ve been in her closet for at least an hour, contemplating every red dress she currently owns.
She’s already dolled up in a red lace bra and underwear that has me terrified about how far she’ll go with Demitri tonight. There’s only room for one terrible decision maker in this friendship, but of course I can’t tell her that. If there’s any silver lining to today’s heartbreak, it’s that I could tag along with her to Crave and make sure she doesn’t do anything crazy.
She’s holding up a pleather minidress that screams “woman of the night” and a thin-strapped V-neck dress with a flowy bottom and a slit up the side. I point to the latter.
“That one, I think.”
She rolls her eyes with a sigh. “You think? This is important. I need you to focus.”
“I am focused. That one.” I glance down at my watch. “Speaking of staying focused, when does Demitri expect you?”
Kat slips the dress on and spins in front of the mirror as she assesses my choice. “We didn’t set a time, which works out perfectly. You and I have time to take a detour on the way. I got a last-minute invite to a party. I need a drink or two before I see him again.”
“What party?”
She shrugs. “I don’t know. Some rooftop thing. Someone in my study group is getting us in. Should be fairly anonymous, I’m hoping.”
“Okay.” I stand up and check my appearance in the mirror again. A basic black cocktail dress for me tonight. Nothing too flashy or revealing.
I strongly consider opting for one of the losers in Kat’s red dress pile, but tonight is about moving on, not advertising myself for another fucked up sexual relationship. I think back to the woman on her knees at the club, taking her Master’s violent thrusts. The thought of submitting to anyone but Zane makes me nauseous.
I plan to disappear in the shadows tonight. If nothing else, the club will be a much-needed distraction with its many characters and torrid sexual displays. Plus, the way Kat has been buzzing around her place preparing for her next encounter with Demitri has me on high alert. I need to be there for her tonight, first and foremost.
After another half hour, I force her out the door. The back door, of course. We’d called a cab to help us make our escape as we’d done before.
Twenty minutes later we’re in the crush of a raging rooftop party. House music thumps at a level loud enough to muffle every conversation we pass on our way to the bar. Outdoor heaters buzz and the walls that line the enormous balcony are lit up with vibrant blue and purple beams. So far, we haven’t run into anyone we know.
Kat orders four shots, flattening her hand over my mouth when I try to protest.
“Don’t argue. Just drink.”
I brush her hand away. “I don’t know this guy very well, but I’m guessing he wants you conscious when you show up at Crave.”
She waves me off. “I’ll be fine. I just need to take the edge off. And you.” She lifts her shot and clinks it with mine. “You need to get laid. Tonight.”
I down the first shot with her, but my brain won’t accept the prospect of hooking up with anyone new tonight. Zane is still heavy in my system. But maybe when the alcohol hits, he’ll start to fade away. As I take the second shot, I’m not even sure I really want that.
I gasp after the sugary concoction funnels down my throat. Gross.
“What the hell is in this?”
Kat starts answering, but her voice and the music blur into the background when I see Nate over her shoulder. He’s several feet away. I don’t recognize the people around him. All I know is that I don’t want him to see me. Not tonight. Not without Zane or Chester.
For the first time, I regret that I’ve made every effort to thwart their protection. There was a time when I was confident I could handle someone like Nate. But now that he’s threatened me, I know without a doubt his resentment and strength are enough to overpower me no matter how much I fight back. A vision of him exposed and ready to fuck when I’d offered myself to him flashes to the front of my mind, causing the shots to curdle in my stomach.
“We should go,” I say, interrupting whatever Kat was saying.
She frowns. “No way. I need at least one more.”
I roll my eyes. She’s my best friend, but I swear to God she’ll put me in my grave one of these days.
“Whatever. Order your drink. I’m getting out of here.”
“What? You’re ditching me?” Her red lips are agape, like I’ve just devastated her whole night.
“Let’s just say this party isn’t anonymous anymore. Text me when you’re ready. I’ll meet you at the front door.”
As she scans the crowd, I slip away without looking back. I’m afraid one last glance at Nate will draw his attention toward me. Hopefully I can hide out somewhere inconspicuous while Kat drowns her anxiety. The party inside the expensive condo is no less jammed with people. I’m relieved to find the room filled with strange faces, vaguely aware of how comfortable I’ve become with loneliness.
It’s better than getting hurt by the people who pretend to care…
I close my eyes and Zane is behind them. Those gray eyes and dark lashes, his full lips claiming me. Mine.
I open my eyes when a strong arm bands around my waist. The strike of fear that hits me softens instantly when I recognize Zane in front of me.
“Zane, what are you doing here?”
“I’m getting you out of here,” he says in his usual business-like tone.
I rile instantly and shake out of his embrace. “I’m here with Kat. And this isn’t your shift. How did you find me?”
“You think a night off means you can disappear and make shitty decisions? It’s my job to know where you are twenty-four hours a day, and if you haven’t noticed, I take it pretty seriously.”
I resist the urge to slap him for barking at me. But something else dawns on me as I try to piece together him being here.
“Chester helped you find me, didn’t he?”
“Obviously. He figured you and Katherine would be up to no good tonight, as usual, and tracked your phone.”
“Then why isn’t he here instead of you?”
The tight set of his jaw has me worried.
“Zane…”
“We need to talk,” he says, eyeing the front door again.
“I can’t leave without Kat.”
He rolls his eyes, takes my hand, and tugs me down the nearest hallway. Together we duck into a bathroom that’s more lavish than mine and boasts more square footage than most undergrads’ apartments.
He slams the door, locks it, and turns toward me. “Have you told Katherine about us yet?”
My jaw falls. “Is that why you came here? You’re worried about me exposing you? Well the answer is no, I haven’t. I don’t plan to. And for the record, there is no ‘us.’”
I expect him to go all he-man on me and convince me that I belong to him, but he doesn’t. He’s eerily still.
“If this is about last night…you caught me off guard. I’m not used to talking about relationships. Or feelings, for that matter. I know I came off as cold, but I didn’t mean to hurt you.”
My heart picks up its pace, but any hope I try to cling to is shot down when I remember the woman in his apartme
nt.
“You did hurt me. I obviously care more about this than you do. But I agreed to your terms, and I was ready to accept them all over again. Maybe it was stupid of me to assume exclusivity, but I did.”
“That’s not stupid at all. If anyone else touches you, I swear to God…”
“I’m not talking about me, Zane.” I take a step toward him, raising my voice as I do. “I’ve been with one other person before you. You think I’m going to let you come inside me while you’re fucking other people? How naïve do you think I am?”
His eyes widen. “I’m not fucking anyone else.”
I almost want to believe him.
“Then who’s the beauty in your apartment? Another submissive from the club? You expect me to believe that someone like you wouldn’t have a girl on the line ready every time I kick you out of my apartment?”
He shakes his head and then stills. “Jesus. Charlotte, that was my sister.”
I laugh and turn away, wrapping my arms around myself. “That’s rich.”
He spins me toward him, and for a second, I want to climb into his arms and let him kiss me until I can’t breathe anymore. Why do I want him so badly?
Because you’re gullible and weak. The perfect submissive. Why else would he choose you for this sick game?
“You don’t need to make excuses, Zane. Really.” I look away, suddenly exhausted. All I want is to go home, crawl into bed, and forget Zane ever happened. “I wrote you a letter. I was going to tell you that I wanted to try again, try harder. But when she answered the door, I knew I couldn’t be who you needed me to be. I can deal with the pain and the punishments, but seeing her there did something to my heart that hurt so much worse.”
He touches my cheek, sifts his fingers into my loose curls, and guides my gaze back to his. “I’ve only ever lied to you once. I’m telling you the God’s honest truth now. Lauren is stunning, but she’s my sister. She’s a flight attendant, and she crashes at my apartment between flights sometimes. And when we get home, I’d be happy to supply the family photos to prove it to you.”
I part my lips, my mouth suddenly dry. I want to believe him, but I still feel like such a fool. If he’s lied to me once…
“You asked me if I felt nothing when I was inside you, and I lied. The truth is, I feel everything when I’m with you. I feel your heartbeat against me. I feel your anger and your pain and your loneliness. I feel when you need to come, just before you give me everything. I feel you open yourself up to me, and I want to crawl inside and live there, be with you, protect you, fill you up with everything that’s missing.”
Zane is gutting me with his words. Tears pool in the corners of my eyes. I couldn’t speak if I tried.
“You’re everything I need. All I’ve ever wanted,” he utters softly. “I lied to you because I don’t trust myself. It’s so dangerous to feel this way. I could lose everything. But I can’t lose you.”
“Zane…”
His name leaves my lips in a breathless sob, disappearing as his mouth covers mine. With his lips comes relief. With his tongue, a wave of deep satisfaction. Somehow, despite everything that still stands between us, the huge chasm that will keep us from ever having a normal relationship, I believe that everything will be okay. Someway, somehow.
Our kiss deepens, and Zane lifts me onto the cool countertop. He slips my panties down deftly, never breaking our connection, like we already know this dance by heart. Sliding me to the edge and parting my legs around him, he frees his cock from his jeans and presses into me slowly.
My head falls back as he pushes deeper. Somehow this physical connection becomes the embodiment of all the feelings I’ve been fighting. And when he roots, twining his arms around my torso so we’re flush, so close, completely connected, I could cry. I’ve never known intimacy like this.
I whimper his name when he thrusts again. He whispers mine into my ear, kissing down the column of my neck as he fucks me gently. When I open my eyes, I see a dozen versions of us making love on the counter of this opulent room. The different angles of our reflection reveal everything—my rapture, something like awe and anguish tightening Zane’s features, my fingers clawing into his shirt, the muscles of his ass tightening with every thrust.
I have a strong sense that in this moment Zane is giving me something he’s not used to giving anyone.
I hold him closer against my chest and tighten the grip of my thighs around his hips. Silent praise, silent pleas for more.
I love him. I’ve loved him since before I agreed to be his…
But I can’t say the words that bloom around my heart and make my chest hurt.
Before I can convince myself otherwise, he groans, driving deeper. The friction is divine, but the way he hits the deepest part of me… That’s pure heaven. My eyes roll back, and I stifle a cry. Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine sex could be this way. With Zane, everything is intense. Everything is incredible. The places he takes me, no one ever has.
“Charlotte,” he rasps against my skin, “You’re mine. I can’t let you go. Tell me you’re mine, baby.”
“I’m yours,” I say, sliding my fingers against his scalp, tugging the damp roots of his hair. “I’ve always been yours.”
With that, his tempo increases. I feel him everywhere. I tighten and tense.
“Come for me, beautiful. Give me everything. Everything you have. Give it all to me.”
I lean back, propping my hands up on the vanity so he can fuck me harder and deeper. I give up his heat and his heartbeat against me, but I gain the visual of his gorgeous features as he gazes down, riveted to where our bodies meet. He holds my thighs apart. Smoothing caresses become tight desperate grasps that will leave bruises tomorrow. Both give me equal measures of satisfaction.
Energy collects in my belly and builds with every deep drive until I’m trembling. The erotic visual of our bodies joining, his thick cock shoving into me, and me accepting him with ease—all of it takes me down.
“Zane!” I scream as I come, a tearful proclamation on the edge of my lips… I am undeniably…yours.
ZANE
I find a cloth and clean her, as I always do. The truth is, I want to collapse into a dreamy slumber with her nestled by my side, my seed warm inside her all damn night. But that’s a fantasy all its own.
I have no idea where all this is going. I can’t overthink it right now. Not when I just poured my goddamn soul out. Not after I just fucked her in someone’s bathroom, with a party raging beyond every wall. Far in the background I hear Chester telling me not to fuck this up.
I probably am, but what can I do? I can’t think straight around this woman. I’m falling hard and fast. This isn’t who I am, but it’s quickly who I’m becoming.
A loud bang hits the door, and we both jolt. Playtime is over. She slides off the counter and straightens, slipping her hand into mine, which feels so goddamn right.
I open the door, and Katherine is there. She’s pale, nearly green, and holding herself up by her hands pressed on each side of the doorframe.
“Kat, are you okay?” Charlotte goes to her, but Kat steps back as if a mere touch will set her off.
“I… I’m going to throw up.”
We both move to the side and into the hallway, giving her privacy as she locks herself in the bathroom.
“Well, well. Look who it is.” A high-toned male voice echoes from behind us.
Charlotte’s hand is in mine again in a death grip, but I tuck it behind my back as I turn.
Nate Christiansen stands a few feet away, drink in hand, a smirk plastered all over his smug face.
“We meet again,” he says, his bleary-eyed gaze floating from Charlotte to me. “You’re the one getting that prized Charlotte Daley pussy then? So that’s why she’s not giving it up anywhere else.” He purses his lips. “Too bad.”
In an instant, I’m made of stone. My blood is ice. I’m ready to pound this man-child into sand. I drop Charlotte’s hand behind me and take a step for
ward.
“You’re not going to talk about the President’s daughter like that in front of me. Do you understand?”
He laughs weakly. “Right. Maybe I’ll just let her parents know that she’s fucking the help. What are you going to do about it then?”
My breath catches and my thoughts tumble. What has he seen?
Nothing. It’s all conjecture. He may have noticed we were holding hands. Or that we were in the bathroom together. Who cares? He’s drunk. We could have been helping Katherine, who I can faintly hear heaving on the other side of the door. Still, I’m not on shift. I really shouldn’t be here, but I can even explain that, with Chester’s help.
I take an intimidating step forward, and Nate steps back, raising his hands.
“Maybe we can work something out, big guy. Tit for tat.” He laughs again. “You can’t be that attached already. I’ll keep my mouth shut, and you can look the other way. I just want to hit it once. Just a little taste. Who can it hurt?”
I ball my fists tightly and exhale.
“If you even so much as breathe in her direction, I will end you. Do you understand?” I’m seething. My chest rises and falls rapidly.
He has the nerve to smile back at me. Maybe the alcohol is giving him the courage to challenge me. But the evil glint in his eyes tells me differently. He knows exactly what he’s doing. He’s pushing my buttons, taunting me for a reaction.
He takes a step closer, narrowing his eyes at me. “I wasn’t asking for your permission. I don’t need it.” He looks to Charlotte, raking his eyes down her body. “Enjoy her while you can. Because, one way or another, I’ll have my way with America’s Little Princess.”
Nate’s expression darkens and he winks at Charlotte, as if she could be anything but repulsed by his words. She’s completely still, her expression tight. But I recognize the fear in her eyes.
A murderous rage unlike anything I’ve ever felt before overtakes me. I could kill him. I could wrap my hands around his pale throat and choke the life out of this sick little bastard. But I can’t. Even thinking that way could get me in a world of trouble.
Misadventures of the First Daughter (Misadventures Book 5) Page 10