I should have bought a gun, he thought to himself as he pulled up on the curb and rolled down his window. A woman in fishnet stockings popped her head in the window, her elbows propped up on the door. “Hey hon,” she said with a surprisingly charming smile. “Looking for some fun tonight?”
Nathaniel pulled out his phone and showed a picture of Lillian he had snapped during one of their dates. “Sorry to disappoint,” he said, attempting to smile at her, “I’m just looking for a friend.”
“Your friend a whore?” she asked and snatched the phone right out of his hand.
“No,” Nathaniel said, knowing damn well he would not dare get out of the car to get his phone back if she decided to steal it. “But I think she’s about to do something she’s going to regret.”
The woman frowned, and she seemed legitimately concerned as she looked at the picture. “Hey girls,” she waved the other three women over who had been standing with her. “Any of you recognize this chick?”
Nathaniel was a bit taken off guard, but apparently women on this side of town looked out for each other –even if they weren’t fellow street walkers. “Shit, I saw her three hours ago,” one of the women say.
“Really?” Nathaniel asked, sitting upright. “Can you tell me where?”
The woman pointed, “Three blocks down that way.”
“Damn, that’s Rodney’s corner,” the woman who had originally taken the phone said as she handed it back. “Rodney’s a pimp. He’ll beat your ass if you piss him off.”
“I’ll take my chances,” Nathaniel said, although he certainly planned to heed the women’s warning.
“Go get her, hon,” one of the women said with a wink. “She looks like a keeper from that picture. Don’t let her get drug into this shit.”
“Thanks,” Nathaniel said and peeled out, heading down the three blocks the women had pointed him towards.
Some incredibly whorish looking women eyed his car as he made his way up towards the curb. He kept his window rolled up, and almost instantly he spotted the women’s pimp over in a corner watching him. He assumed the guy was Rodney. He certainly looked like the kind of guy who would beat someone’s ass. One of the women approached his car, but he kept his window rolled up. The woman seemed hesitant. Nathaniel looked around, and then he realized Rodney was talking to someone.
He whipped his head around, and there she was. The man had Lillian pinned up against the side of a building, and he was talking to her with a finger in her face. She looked scared. An instinctive anger rose up inside of Nathaniel, and he flung open the driver’s side door of his car and jumped out. The other women scattered; the man, Rodney, did not seem to pay him any mind. Now that he was out of the car, Nathaniel could hear the man’s voice shouting at Lillian. “You’re my bitch now, got it, Lilly-girl? You’re my bitch!” Rodney shot his gun up in the air as though it was nothing –apparently a single gunshot was not enough to get the police called in this neighborhood. It had merely been a show of force.
Nathaniel walked with a quick pace around his car and towards Rodney, and the man spun around the moment he realized Nathaniel had started in his direction. Nathaniel could see Lillian holding her hands to her ears and shaking her head, and he realized she was having an episode likely brought on by the gunshot. “Rodney!” Nathaniel shouted, hoping this was the right guy.
“Who the fuck are you?” Rodney waved his gun in Nathaniel’s direction.
“You need to back up, man. She’s having a flashback, man. She’s going to hurt you,” Nathaniel said, honestly trying to warn the asshole.
“What the fuck?” Rodney seems very confused by the interaction, which Nathaniel understood. To Rodney, Lillian was probably just fresh meat for the market, and he was just some random man coming up to him trying to tell him his meat was no good. “Back up, asshole,” Rodney warned. “You want one of my girls, you got to pay.”
With Rodney’s back turned to Lillian, the woman lunged on him. She got him in a chokehold, and his gun fell out of his hands. She placed her foot over the gun and proceeded to squeeze her arms around his throat. “Lillian, let him go!” Nathaniel shouted. Rodney was flailing around in her arms, but she had him trapped and was choking him out. She was unresponsive; it was as though she was in another world. Nathaniel saw the way she had gotten the gun into her possession, and he assumed that if he did manage to save the bastard from her that she’d have the gun in her hand the moment he came too close. He thought fast. He thought back to the conversation he had had about her life in the army, and a name stuck out. Turns out, he had been listening much more intently than he had thought. “At ease, solider!” Nathaniel shouted. “Commander Jorgen wants you in the caravan! We got to move!”
By some miracle, Lillian listened. “That way, solider!” Nathaniel pointed towards the car. “Get inside and wait for me there, that’s an order!”
Lillian seemed dazed and confused, but she still waddled over to the car and sat herself down in the passenger’s seat, closing the door behind her. Rodney was on the ground coughing and gagging while his girls steered clear to avoid receiving the blunt of his frustration. “You all right?” Nathaniel asked.
“What the-” he paused to cough several times and gasp, “The fuck was that?”
“She has PTSD,” Nathaniel said, slowly backing away. “I’ll get her out of here.”
“Fuck you! I’ll shoot the bitch!” he said, jumping up to his feet. He looked down and then cringed. “Fuck, crazy bitch has my gun.”
Great, Nathaniel thought. “I suggest walking away because the crazy bitch thinks you’re a Libyan combatant.”
“Fuck, man,” he said. “I need my gun.”
“I suggest forgetting about your gun,” Nathaniel said, and Rodney decided that this was his best option. He and his girls put some distance between themselves and the car.
Nathaniel made his way over to the car and slowly opened the passenger’s side door. “Give me your sidearm, solider,” he said confidently.
“Yes, sir,” she said and handed over the gun; he tossed it instantly and hurried to the driver’s side.
He sat down and looked at her. She looked out of her mind. She was rubbing her temples and rocking slightly in her seat. “Lilian?” Nathaniel beckoned. She didn’t answer him, but she merely mumbled under her breath, still rubbing the side of her head with her fingers as though she was trying to rub the delusion away. He pulled the car away from the curb; he felt a pain in his chest from seeing her like this.
On his way there he had come across a bit of construction, and although it was significantly later and he was certain the yard would be closed for the night, he still took the long way back to Troy just in case. The last thing he needed was for a jackhammer to start her back over at square one. After a while, she started to calm down. She looked over at him, still slightly dazed. “Where are we going?” she asked.
He was not sure how to answer. She seemed to be coming out of whatever delusion she had been in, though, so he decided to answer honestly. “We’re taking you home,” he said.
“Home?” she questioned.
“To Troy,” he said. “You can stay in my hotel suite, okay?”
She nodded. “Nate,” she said his name as though she was just now recognizing him, but there was a comfort in her tone. She sounded relieved.
“Hey, welcome back,” he said when he realized the Lillian he knew had made her way home.
“Oh, God, you must think…” she paused. “It’s not what you think.”
“What?” Nathaniel questioned.
She sat upright, shaking her head slightly. “Rodney was a friend from high school,” she said. “I thought I could trust him. I went to see him to see if he could loan me some money to help me get out of town. That’s it. That’s the only reason I went to that damn neighborhood. Then he just grabbed me and told me I had to earn it.”
“I’m sorry, Lillian,” Nathaniel said. “I hate that you felt like you needed to do that.”
“I just wanted to get out of Troy, you know?” she said sadly. “It’s been nothing but bad luck for me.”
Nathaniel reached across the car and touched her hand. She grabbed his. “Well, maybe we can change that luck around,” he said. “I’m sorry I lied to you, Lillian. I really am. I treated our relationship like a game, and it was wrong.”
“Relationship?” she questioned, but she laughed it off before he had to defend himself. “Thank you for looking out for me.”
Nathaniel brought her to the presidential suite on the top floor; she was too exhausted to act impressed. Instead he helped her out of her dirty clothes and put her to bed. She passed out on the hotel bed, and he watched her sleep –glad to have gotten her out of trouble for the time being.
Chapter 5
Nathaniel stood over Lillian as she slowly started to awaken after what he was certain had been an uneasy sleep. She mumbled slightly and rolled onto her back, jolting slightly when she blinked her eyes open and saw Nathaniel standing over her. “Morning, gorgeous,” he said and slowly sat himself down at the foot of the bed.
Her face turned red. “Good morning,” she said, hardly able to make eye contact. “I should probably go,” she said, throwing back the sheets so quickly that Nathaniel wondered if he was going to have to chase her down to keep her from leaving.
“Please don’t,” he said, slowly reaching a hand out to her.
She took his hand, but she still would not look him in the eye. “I’m sorry about last night. I’m really sorry.”
“Lillian, please, let me help you,” he said and pulled on her hand slightly, drawing her towards him.
She was quiet, but she allowed him to nestle up close. “I’m sorry I left. The truth is, I need help. I’ve needed it for a long time. I just don’t know where to get it.”
“Right here,” he said and leaned into her. He ran his fingers up her thighs and brought his face closer to hers, his lips lingering less than an inch away from her mouth. It did not take much for her to concede. She pressed her lips against his and took hold of him by his hair. Nathaniel grabbed her under her legs and pulled, causing her to fall onto her back. She wiggled out of her shirt and bra as he yanked her pants and underwear down and threw off his own shirt. He kicked off his pants, struggling slightly because he was preoccupied with her breasts.
Nathaniel cupped one of her breasts with his hand and sucked on her other breast, licking her nipples and occasionally biting down gently. She arched her back and moaned as he wrapped his arms underneath her, pulling her hips up slightly. He reached his fingers down, and his hand was greeted with a surprising bit of moisture. “Oh,” he said, grinning down at her.
“I’m ready for you,” she said, and he entered his cock into her in one quick, forceful motion that caused her to call out excitedly. “Damn, Nate!”
“I want you so bad,” he said and licked her neck.
“You’ve got me,” she said and bit down on one of his ears. She tilted her head until she was able to look him in the eye, and she kissed his lips –dipping her tongue into his mouth for a moment.
“Mmmm…” Nathaniel grumbled, his sound slightly muffled by her lips. He moved his hips slowly, gradually picking up speed and increasing the strength behind each thrust until she was becoming incredibly vocal.
“Oh, God!” she shrieked, shaking. “Don’t stop! Please, don’t stop!”
He hooked one of her legs over his arm, causing her to spread wider for him. She went wild over the new position as he crushed her slightly under his weight. He held her leg with one arm and squeezed one of her breasts. Her cries grew louder, and he could no longer contain himself. A mountain of sexual relief flooded through him as he came inside her, and she collapsed beneath him –panting slightly.
Nathaniel laid down on top of her and pulled out, and he reached his hand down to give her some additional pleasure. She had not been expecting his fingers to enter into her, so she flinched slightly at his touch. “Oh my,” she said, a smile reappearing quickly after her face had relaxed after her last orgasm. “Oh, God!” she cried out. “Nate, keep going! Keep going!”
A new round of moisture soaked his fingers, and she let out a final cry of pleasure before curling up close to him. He wiped his hand against the sheets, and then he pulled her close. They laid there mostly in silence, exchanging kisses for a while until they both had grown tired. He took her hand in his, playing with her fingers. “I was serious when I said I want to help you,” he said.
“Oh, you certainly did,” she said, laughing slightly.
“You know what I mean, Lillian,” Nathaniel said and gently kissed her lips. “Will you let me help you?”
She smiled. “Yes. I think it’s time I did something other than sulk on a park bench.” Nathaniel reached around, searching for his phone. He sent a quick text message and then tossed it aside so that he could give her some more attention. She pushed him back for a moment. “Who did you text?” she asked.
“My assistant,” he said, attempting to give her a kiss, but she pushed him back slightly.
“You have an assistant?” she asked.
“I’m a CEO, Lillian,” he said. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about all of that before. Now you know, though. And I can help you. Come on, let’s get dressed. He’ll be here in a minute.”
Lillian followed Nathaniel’s lead, climbing out of bed to throw on some clothes. They headed out of the bedroom to the kitchen area where Nathaniel found that Tony had already had room service for two delivered. They ate their breakfast together and a few minutes later Tony was arriving at the door.
He entered and smiled at Lillian, putting on a professional persona that Nathaniel normally would only see at board meetings. “Good morning,” he said to them both, holding out his tablet. “Miss, my name is Tony, and I am Mr. Lynch’s personal assistant. If it’s all right with you, Mr. Lynch would like for me to set up some appointments for you.”
“Oh,” she said, covering her mouth with a napkin. “Um…” she looked across the kitchen island at Nathaniel. “What sort of appointments?”
“Well, we’d like to start out with a therapist to help you to cope with your PTSD,” he began, and Lillian cringed slightly.
“So you told your assistant all about me, huh?” Lillian questioned, though she did not sound too angry.
“It’s my job to know pretty much everything,” Tony said with a smile. “I know this might seem a little strange to you, but I am quite involved with Mr. Lynch’s personal life. He does run a multi-billion dollar company, and my job is to keep him sane.”
Lillian chuckled slightly. “I like him, Nate.”
“Good,” Nathaniel said, laughing. “It took a while for him to grow on me.” Tony rolled his eyes.
Lillian put her napkin down. “So, a therapist? That’s probably a good idea. What other appointments were you talking about?”
“Am I to assume that it has been a while since you’ve seen a physician?” Tony asked.
“Yes. A while is probably a bit of an understatement,” she said.
“All right then, no problem, I’ll be sure to set up an appointment for you,” Tony said, smiling.
“Um…” her face turned red. “If it’s not too much trouble…” she paused, thinking twice about whatever request she was about to make.
“Lillian, anything you need, you just ask. Tony is here to help. And it’s no trouble. I will pay for anything that you need –you don’t have to worry that you’re putting me out. Honestly, anything you need,” Nathaniel said.
“Um, okay,” she said and then whispered something to Tony.
“Oh!” Tony said, and his face turned red. “Yes, yes, I can do that for you. No problem.”
“Would you like to take a shower, Lillian?” Nathaniel asked while eyeing Tony; he seemed slightly flustered by whatever she asked him to do.
“I would, actually,” she said, and Nathaniel pointed her in the right direction. She left the two men behind.
“Oh, well, she, um,” Tony shook off the embarrassment. “She hasn’t been to a gynecologist in a while.”
“I’m good. No more details needed,” Nathaniel said, laughing at his young assistant’s embarrassed face.
Chapter 6
Nathaniel cringed when he saw his mother’s face appear on his phone. He certainly was not in the mood for another conversation filled with guilt trips and constant pestering about his love life. He had just sent Lillian on her way to her first appointment when he had decided to take the day off from running back and forth from the shelter. He figured he would just enjoy some time at the hotel after spending much of the night looking for Lillian throughout New York, but it was as though his mother sensed from across the country that he had some down time.
He sighed and answered the phone. “Hello?”
“Nathaniel, hello,” his mother said.
“What’s going on, Mom? I’m kind of in the middle of something,” he said.
“I can tell when you’re trying to blow me off, Nathaniel, and I do not appreciate it,” his mother replied. “I only called to tell you that I had a lovely conversation with Eliza this morning.”
Nathaniel rolled his eyes. His mother was relentless. “Oh, really?” he asked, trying his hardest not to sound annoyed.
“Yes. As it turns out, Eliza has enrolled herself back into school,” she said. “She never finished her degree, you see, but apparently she has decided to complete her program.”
“Really?” Nathaniel sat upright, quite surprised at what he was hearing. Eliza was the party girl drop out, so this was not what he had expected.
Utterly Yours (Book Three) (An Alpha Billionaire Romance) Page 2