by J Grayland
“Shit! Nate, that’s a terrible thing to have to carry around with you, no wonder she’s guarded, she’s protecting herself.” Paxton said with concern.
“Yeah I know and it seems she’s been doing it for at least the last twelve years.”
“What the fuck? Nate Twelve years, holy shit, and now she has to deal with this situation with Peterson?”
“Yeah, well let’s hope the warning I gave him is enough.”
“Well if it’s not, then he has a death wish. I’ve built quite a file on all the dirty shit he’s been involved in including his current side business, so if push comes to shove, we’ll just bring him down the legal way.” He says with such conviction I know he’s got what we need.
“Thanks, Paxton, I always know you have a back- up plan.”
“We need one, especially with that slimy bastard.” He spits out.
“I know.”
I spent the first half of the morning in the office going through my emails and reading through some of the contracts that Paxton had drawn up. This is where it pays to have a brother who went to law school. Pulling everything together for the meeting with the Bank of West this afternoon was my priority today. King Security had secured a contract for supplying all the security for every branch and sub-branches across the country, so I was going over everything with a fine tooth comb, making sure everything was in order.
Looking at my watch and seeing it was getting close to 1 pm, I buzzed Paxton’s office. “Hey Nate, everything good?” he answers.
“Yeah, it all looks great. Listen you want to go get some lunch before this meeting?” I ask.
“Sure thing. I’ll meet you down in the garage in about 10 minutes.”
“Great I’m starving,” I said, as my stomach let out a groan. We ended up at Fires Restaurant and grabbed a couple of pizzas and spent some time talking once again about Casey. “Sooo, it this thing serious between you and Casey?” Paxton asked before he took a large bite of the cheesy goodness.
“You are not going to give up with the questions are you?” I ask quirking a brow at him.
“Nope.” He asks before taking another bite of pizza.
I sighed in defeat then nodded, “Yeah I think it could be.”
Paxton’s eyes grew wide and he started to cough on the pizza he was chewing.
“You. Serious. About a woman? Holy crap, I guess there’s a first for everything after all.” He grins.
“Shut the fuck up.” I threw a balled up napkin that bounced off the side of his head.
“Hey, no violence now.”
“Then mind your own business.”
“Are you kidding me? For years I have watched you bed women and that’s it, no second date, no relationships, no promises, not even a friggin phone call, and now after all those years, my big brother has serious feelings for a woman? Geez, Nate, are you sure the world hasn’t just started turning the other way because I feel like I’ve been knocked on my ass,” he chuckled.
“Ok, ok just contain yourself around Casey with your excitement. I don’t want to spook her with your over-zealous excitement”.
The meeting with the Bank of West board members took way too long for me, through most of it all I could think about was getting back to the Penthouse and seeing Casey. I was relieved that Paxton took on most of the questions regarding the contract because, for the first time in my life, my mind was somewhere else instead of business. After all the contracts and paperwork were signed and the deal was sealed, I was eager to leave, but it was suggested that we head down to the bar for a celebratory drink and I knew when Paxton gave me that “It’s part of the job” look, that my plans for getting back to Casey would be detained.
One drink turned into two for me. Paxton kept the same drink in his hand the whole time we were there, which was a good idea because he had quite a drive to get home. Eventually, I made our excuses to leave and after dropping Paxton off at his car, I drove back to the Penthouse. Walking out of the elevator, I dropped my phone and keys on the table looking around for Casey. Not seeing her down on this level, I was just about to head upstairs when I heard talking, looking around it sounded like it was coming from the balcony. As I got closer to the sliding glass door, I saw her she had her back to me and she held her phone up to her ear. Stopping, I waited and watched, as she pushed a hand through her hair and squeezed the back of her neck as she started pacing. She looked like she was getting agitated with whoever she was talking to as her voice grew louder. I moved closer, “Look, you know I appreciate everything that you do for me Flynn, but things have changed and honestly, I don’t want to do this anymore.” She sat down in a chair and bowed her head. ”Yes, I understand…ok.I will…bye.” Pressing the button to end the call, she stood up and as she started to come inside she saw me standing watching her.
“Hey” she smiled at me.
“Who was that?” I asked nodding towards the phone in her hand. There was a slight pause, a sigh, then she said “Flynn.”
“Everything ok?”
She pursed her lips. “He’s pissed at me, he wants me to come home.” As she spoke those words, I felt a jolt run up my spine.
“Did you tell him that’s not going to happen?” I asked my voice tinged with anger.
“I told him I would talk it over with you.”
“And you just did and I gave you an answer.” My body started to feel tense at the thought of her leaving and I needed to keep a cool head about this. I walked over to the fridge and pulled out a beer, flipping the cap I took a draw on the icy cold liquid, then placed the bottle on the kitchen counter. She came over and pulled herself onto a stool and rested her elbows on the island, her hands propped under her chin, and those icy blue eyes zeroed in on mine.
Silence, she said nothing, just watched as I took another long pull at my beer, our eyes never leaving each other’s, and I could see her mind working like the cogs inside a clock, ticking over and waiting for the right time to strike and knowing her it was coming…right…now. “So, like I told Flynn, I would discuss it with you.” I felt my lips twitch at her smoothness.
“And I gave you my answer, it’s not happening,” I said, pronouncing the words slowly. I could see the tension starting to build in her, then she holds out her arms and starts to inspect them. Pulling up her shirt revealing her stomach, she looks down at it, then she turns her back to me with her shirt still pulled up in her hands. “Could you just take a look at my back for me?” Now she has me baffled by her actions.
”What?”
“Well I can’t see a tag or a label that has the property of Nathanial King hanging off me anywhere, so I am guessing it’s my decision if I go home or not, right?” With her hands firmly planted on her hips and her chin slightly tilted upwards, I make my way around the kitchen bench until I am standing in front of her. I place my hands on both sides of her face and bring my mouth down close to hers.
“Baby, the minute you opened your legs and took me inside of you last night, you became mine.” I breathed against her lips. “And I don’t care what Flynn thinks you are not going anywhere.”
“Really?” She whispers.
“Really,” is all I said as my mouth slid against her lips. I felt her tension slowly start to ease as she wrapped her arms around my waist and opened up to me, as my tongue slid in between her lips. She tasted of fresh mint and the kiss that started off slow and languid, changed, as she softly bit my bottom lip and moaned into my mouth. Slipping my hands down her back and grabbing her ass I squeezed, and pulled her harder against me, placing light kisses down the side of her neck. As I licked and sucked around to the base of her throat, she tilted her head back, giving me better access. Moving my hands slowly up to the hem of her shirt, I pulled it up over her head, dropping it to the floor and ran my hands over the soft satin of the white lacey bra she was wearing. Letting my thumbs move in small circles around her nipples that puckered into hard nubs under my touch. I felt her fingers move up the front of my shirt and work on the b
uttons, opening it, then sliding it off my shoulders, dropping it onto the floor. Then those soft, nimble fingers of hers were moving over my chest and down over my abdominal muscles until she came to the top of my jeans, where she slid her fingers along the top of them. Working down to the button, she opened it and slowly slid down the zipper. I was so fucking hard, it felt like an instant relief from the pressure of the tight denim that was containing me. Breathing hard against her neck, she slid a hand into my jeans and wrapped it around my length. “Jesus,” is all I could say before I took her mouth with a growl of passion and, as our tongues tangled, I worked her shorts and panties down her legs until they pooled at her feet. Lifting her up, I sat her on the back of the couch. “Wrap your legs around me” I commanded, and as she did, I slid my length into her trying to hold myself back as much as humanly possible and not take her too hard. Once I was fully seeded in her from root to tip, I was lost. She let out a gasp at my invasion, but soon tightened her legs around my waist and threw her head back as I thrust in and out of her moist, tight, heat, pushing deeper and deeper into her body. I couldn’t get enough of her. The air filled with moans and heated breath, it was fast and uncontrolled and so damn good. When I felt her tighten around me and she moaned my name, I plunged in deeper, claiming my own release, throbbing and filling her warm body with my own hot liquid.
We stayed connected while we steadied our breathing with soft kisses and she unlocked her legs from around my waist, as I let her feet touch the floor I slid out of her. That’s when it hit me. “Fuck.” The curse came out with such force that Casey jumped .“What?”
“No fucking condom.” Running a hand through my hair and down my face, I shook my head and she placed a hand on my chest.
“It’s ok, I’m on birth control and I can assure you I am healthy.”
Closing my eyes I felt some relief and pulled her into my arms. “ I am too, it’s just I have never lost control before…ever. Did I hurt you?”
“No.”
I kissed the top of her head. “I’m so sorry.” Moving away from me she collected her shorts from the floor and pulled them on.
“Don’t worry about it, I was just as carried away as you were.”
“I know, but it was a stupid mistake to make,” I said pulling on my jeans.
This time when she looked at me, I saw something flash in her eyes. Was she angry at what I had said? “I didn’t mean that the sex was a mistake, that was incredible, I meant an unplanned pregnancy would be a mistake.”
She started to walk towards the stairs, then turned to look back at me. “You’re right, it would be, but don’t stress about it because if for some reason my birth control fails you have nothing to worry about Nate because an unplanned pregnancy is hard to accomplish when you can’t have children.” With that, she turned and walked up the stairs.
I pulled my jeans back on and grabbed a beer from the fridge and a cigarette from the small wooden box on the bar, then went out onto the balcony. Sitting down, I took a drink of the cold liquid, then lit up the smoke, inhaling deeply. I felt the nicotine rush into my veins I know how much Casey hated the smell of cigarette smoke, and logically she was right, it was time for me to get rid of the habit, so I had managed to cut it down to the bare minimum, but right now I needed it. The look on her face as she went up the stairs tonight made me feel like a bastard. Her beautiful blue eyes that minutes ago were filled with passion and desire, had changed to being empty of emotion. Damn, she was like a kaleidoscope, turn her one way and you have beautiful sparkly colors, move another way and you get a mixed up mess, and she can’t have kids? What the hell? My mind started whirring through more questions now, why? What had happened? Was it from her accident or her attack? Would it affect us? Do I want children? I’ve never even thought about any of this shit before because I never saw anything permanent happening in my future with any woman, and now I’m sitting out here bursting a blood vessel over my future. For Christ’s sake.
I sat out on the balcony for about an hour contemplating my next move. Going inside, I found my phone and pulled up Charlie’s number and pressed the button. “Mr. King?” she answered after the third ring.
“Yeah, Charlie, listen we got the contract for the Bank of West today, so I want to organize something for everyone who put in all the hard work.”
“Wow! That’s great, so you want me to book the Club room on the ground floor and get some catering in?” she asks.
“Yeah, just organize the usual stuff you know, finger foods, desserts and an open bar down there as well.”
“Not a problem, when for?”
“Make it Friday around 7 pm and send out memos to the staff.”
“I’ll get on to it first thing in the morning Mr. King.” Charlie enthused.
“Thank you.” Pressing the button, I disconnected the call then started for the stairs. Her room door was open and she lay on the bed facing the door. When I saw that she wasn’t asleep yet, I stood in the doorway. “So am I banished to my own bed tonight?” She didn’t answer, she just pulled back the blanket as an invitation. Slipping my jeans off, I slipped in next to her. “I’m sorry if I said something that upset you.”
“It’s ok, it’s not important.”
“Rolling over to face her and pulling her into my arms, I tucked her head under my chin and kissed the top of it. “You’re wrong, everything about you is important to me, and when you’re ready I want to know everything about you.”
“Don’t ask for things you don’t need Nate.” She said her voice almost a whisper.
“Believe me, I need it, and eventually you will give me everything.”
“Ok caveman, but the only thing you’ll be getting now is me sleeping,” she yawned. “I can live with that baby.For the moment”.
Chapter Twenty-seven
Casey
When I woke the next morning, Nate had already left. He did leave me a note on the kitchen island letting me know that Paxton was bringing Lynda into the office for lunch today, and to come down around noon, which put a smile on my face. In the short time that I had known Lynda, we had started to become close. We talked quite often on the phone through the day. We were very similar to each other and talked about everything and anything, from favorite movies and music to her missing not being able to do much painting at the moment because of how the baby was zapping all her energy, which was understandable at this stage in her pregnancy. She was well into her third trimester, so I was always reassuring her that she needed all the rest she could get right now and that she will always be an artist and it wouldn’t be too long before she would get back into her painting.
It actually felt weird talking about getting back to work. Lynda was getting frustrated with not being able to paint, yet here I was not even thinking about my own professional career that was on hold at the moment. To be honest, I didn’t miss it at all, maybe it was because I had buried myself in it for so long it had burnt me out. Shit, I just reminded myself, I needed to contact the hospital and let them know what was happening and where I was. Making my way into Nate’s home office and turning on the computer, I sent them a quick email, then checked my own before taking a shower and changing into a pair of black jeans and a white silk shirt and slipping on a pair of white sandals. Grabbing my purse and shoving my phone into it, I headed to the elevator and down to Nate’s office.
Lynda was sitting in one of the leather lounge chairs that sat outside his office and as soon as she spotted me coming out of the elevator, she attempted to get up. Quickly moving to her side. I bent down to give her a hug. “It’s ok, you stay seated.”
“Thanks,” she puffed out.“It’s so good to see you. I was starting to go stir crazy at home so Paxton organized lunch.”
“Now how can living on that beautiful beach cause anyone to go stir crazy?” I asked, smiling at her, and she swatted my arm.“You know what I mean.” Just as I sat down on the chair next to her, Nate’s office door opened and out walked the immaculately dressed Charlie.
Leaning closer into Lynda, I whispered: “Here comes Charlotte the Harlot.”Lynda let out a snort of laughter that caused Charlie to give us a stern look as she walked around her desk and sat down. “Paxton should be down soon Mrs. King,” she said smiling sweetly at Lynda while throwing the look of death my way. “Wow, she doesn’t like you does she?” Lynda nudged my arm. “Really? I wouldn’t have noticed.” I said wickedly.
Paxton came down from his office first and bent down, kissing Lynda, and putting both his hands gently on her stomach. “How you feeling honey?” he asked in a smooth and tender voice, “I’m good.” Then he turned to me. “Hey, Casey.”
“Hi Paxton,” I said giving him a smile Paxton stood looking over at Charlie. “Give my brother a buzz and tell him to get out here, we have two beautiful ladies to take to lunch.” She gave him a slight nod and picked up the desk phone and relayed Paxton’s message into the mouthpiece. Within a few minutes, Nate came out, pushing his phone into the back pocket of his jeans.
“Hey” he greeted, giving Lynda a peck on the cheek, then turning to me he leaned down and brushed his lips softly over mine then his hand came up and brushed a loose strand of hair away from my face. “Ok, let’s go get some food,” he said jingling his car keys in his hand Paxton took Lynda’s hand and helped her up from the chair, and proceeded to the lift. Nate slid an arm around my waist and as we started to move I took a quick glance at Charlie. She looked at where Nate had placed his arm, then back at me with a scowl I gave her a huge smile in victory as I placed my arm around Nate’s waist and ran my hand up and down his back.
We ended up going to this great little Chinese restaurant and ordered quite a few dishes that were placed on a large lazy Susan serving platter in the middle of the table so we all could just take what we wanted. The food was heavenly and everyone was so full by the time we were served with coffee. Nate told me about the celebration party he and Paxton had organized on Friday evening to thank all the office staff for their hard work on the contract they had just won.