by Maria Luis
Jade thought of Nathan’s childhood, and wondered if he realized how close to his own words he had endured for over a decade. There was a difference, she understood, between living in a home that was unstable and a country that was unstable, but still . . . Had he ever known what it was like to live or had he spent years living in the shadows, behind a façade that wasn’t fully accurate?
“So, you joined the NOPD,” she said slowly. “And a career as a homicide detective allows you to try to help the families of deceased loved ones, families not so unlike the ones you couldn’t save in Iraq.”
He blinked back at her, perhaps startled by how clearly she’d read him. “Yes.”
With the tip of her finger, she pushed the gum pack off the cigarettes and toward him. The Reds she clutched in her hand and dropped them into her purse. His expression didn’t change.
“I wouldn’t recommend starting,” was all he said, very nonchalantly, “It’s a bitch to quit.”
Pointedly, she said, “But you quit.”
“I did.”
“And now?”
He seemed to understand what she was asking, perhaps even more than she knew what she’d been asking. So, maybe she shouldn’t have been all that surprised when he hooked his foot around the leg of her chair and tugged her close. The sudden movement jolted her forward, and Jade found herself with her hands on the table holding up her weight.
“Now,” he said in a husky murmur, “I need something else.”
“Yeah?” She inched her chin up, trying the best she could to ignore the hot anticipation threading through her veins and hardening her nipples beneath her work shirt. Feigning disinterest was futile, especially when her voice cracked as she asked, “What do you need?”
“You.”
Yup, there was no such thing as ‘disinterest’ when it came to Nathan Danvers. Feeling more than a little lightheaded from the adrenaline, Jade scanned the dark bar. It was nothing to write home about, that was for sure—she doubted even the lone bartender realized that their drinks had sat empty for over twenty minutes.
“Should we go?” she asked, already gathering her purse and workbag. “My apartment isn’t far. Neither is your house.”
“Here.”
Her gaze snapped up to meet his. “Here?” she repeated dumbly.
His eyes were hot, turned on, and she highly suspected that it wasn’t the only part of him alert and interested. That part of him was hidden beneath the table where he still sat.
“You like being adventurous.”
“Sí, well”—Jade looked down at the table littered with leftover food and peanut shells—“I’m not doing it on top of the fries. You can be bottom.”
His burst of laughter warmed her insides. He came to stand by her side, hand held out for her to take. “Do you trust me?”
“You asked me that last time, right before you blindfolded me and tied me to your bed.”
“Which you also liked,” he said, entwining their fingers and raising their hands so he could place a gentle kiss on her knuckles. “You liked it a lot.”
I like you a lot.
Yeah, she definitely was not saying that out loud, no matter how true it might be. She stared pointedly at his mouth, knowing that it drove him wild with need. “Sometimes a girl wants to be treated nicely.”
As expected, his gaze turned molten. “You saying I haven’t treated you nice, honey?”
She worried her nose would grow like Pinocchio’s when she fibbed, “I think you’ve got more in you to give.”
Abruptly, he wrapped a solid arm around her waist, anchoring her body to his muscular frame. His warm breath teased her hairline, sending shivers rocketing down her spine. “I think you’re right.”
“You do?” Her voice shook as she spoke, which did nothing to create the illusion of disenchantment. Fact was, everything Nathan Danvers said or did left her craving more. More of his presence. More of him. It was a bit of a hindrance, the way she so enjoyed spending any amount of time with him.
His mouth claimed hers in a deep kiss, bypassing the flirtation stage as he rocked her to her very core. He pulled back, just far enough to say, “I’m going to give you everything I have until you don’t even remember your own name. And before that, I’m going to give you my trust,” before grabbing her hand and dragging her out the front door of the bar.
Oh.
Why did he know exactly what he needed to say to butter her up?
If Jade liked him a lot before, she had the feeling he didn’t plan to stop until he owned her heart and soul.
She just didn’t know what he’d do once her heart and soul were marked as his.
Chapter Twenty-Four
CARROLLTON, NEW OLREANS
Nathan’s back hit the wall with a loud thud, but he had little time to worry about the way his teeth snapped together when Jade—his Jade—was unbuttoning his slacks and drawing down the zipper with a slowness that screwed his eyes tight with lust.
He sucked in a breath and looked down at the sight of her on her knees, teeth worrying her bottom lip, ponytail loose. “Honey,” he said, more harshly than he’d intended. She chose that exact moment to reach into his pants and take out his hard cock. She pumped the length of him, just once.
“Jesus.”
He was going to die.
He didn’t know if he’d make it to heaven—he’d done some pretty fucked-up shit during his life—but he found himself not caring.
If she were the last thing he ever saw, he would thank his lucky stars.
“You were saying?” she asked, her mouth tantalizingly close to home base.
So close, he thought, when the only other thoughts racing through his head were, Please, take me in your mouth, and, You own me, completely.
Nathan rocked his hips forward, not so subtly telling her exactly what he wanted. She relished her control over him with a single lick against the crown of his cock, and he groaned.
“Nathan?”
“I don’t remember.”
“No?” Another lick. Another heartfelt groan that reverberated deep in his chest. “Are you sure?”
What was she even asking him?
Not so gently, he wrapped a hand around her ponytail and tugged her head back. He swelled further in her hand when he saw the pure excitement in her dark eyes. Fuck. She liked it when he was rough.
The last time they’d had sex, his bedroom had been pitch dark. Then, with the blindfold further concealing her gaze from him, he’d only had her body language to read when it came to determining what she liked and what she didn’t.
Now, there were no barriers between them. Nothing to shield her thoughts from him. Nothing to keep his secrets from her. Shit, he’d spilled everything he had to give at dinner. He’d never told a single soul about the true reason he’d joined the NOPD. But with Jade . . . he wanted to tell her everything.
Wanted to tell her how much he loved her, too.
His shoulders jerked at that unbidden thought. Did he love her? He didn’t know. Wasn’t love something you realized without any second-guessing? He didn’t know that either.
Still down on her knees, she arched her back and silently begged for more.
He’d promised that he would give her everything he had until she didn’t remember her own name. He’d think about the love thing later, when her lips weren’t inches from his penis, and he wasn’t about to go cross-eyed from unfulfilled desire.
Releasing her hair, he curved his hand against the back of her head and guided her to him. “No teasing,” he said in a commanding tone he knew got her off.
She didn’t tease him.
With a soft mewl, she claimed him, sucking and drawing him farther into her mouth until he was panting against the wall, her name a litany on his lips.
“No more.” His voice sounded warped, guttural. He barely recognized it.
She didn’t ease up on him, tongue tracing the length of his sensitive flesh with insistent strokes.
“Jade.”
Those beautiful dark eyes of hers blinked up at him. “You said no teasing.”
Far be it from him to put a kink in her plans. Still . . . “You keep that up and this night is going to be a wrap.”
She lowered her mouth, teasing, but never actually making contact. “What’re the magic words?”
I love you.
No, not those words.
Planting his hands on her slim shoulders, he yanked her off the floor. “No more games, Jade.”
With a gentle hand to his heaving chest, she murmured, “Okay, no more games.”
Nathan wasn’t what many would call a romantic, but he could have sworn, in that moment, that some level of understanding passed between them. Whatever they had going on wasn’t a game, not to him and not to her either. It was special, unique, and he’d be damned if he didn’t spend the next few hours worshipping her.
His hands went to the curve of her ass. “Put your legs around my waist,” he urged with a kiss to her neck, her cheek, the small freckle on the line of her jaw. “Now.”
Up she went, cradled in the circle of his arms, trusting him to take care of her.
“Bedroom?” she asked, gently nipping at his neck, “yes?”
“Yes.”
He could care less where he took her as long as he did, tonight, now.
Four long strides brought him to the doorway of her bedroom. Two more had him at the foot of her bed. Nathan glanced around, noting for the first time the white door at the corner of the room.
“Where does that door lead?”
“Balcony,” she breathed. “Looks out over a small courtyard.”
“How small of a courtyard?”
“I don’t know, small.”
He set her down, wrapping a hand around hers and pulling her behind him. The door opened silently, the light from the bedroom illuminating the, admittedly, tiny balcony. A chair and tiny table were set up, leaving little room for other outdoor decorations.
It was perfect.
Closing the door behind her, he settled his big body onto the slim chair, sending up a quick prayer of thanks when the legs didn’t buckle and snap under his weight.
“What’re you doing?” she demanded, throwing a cautious look about the apartment complex. But no one else was out on the balconies, and the apartments were even darker, their windows curtained. Plus, there were the trees that swooped up and above them. Branches cut in the way of any sort of “view.”
He motioned for her to sit on his lap.
She resisted.
“Trust me.”
Arms folding over her chest, Jade glared down at him. “We can’t do this out here.”
“Says who?”
“The law.”
Nathan spread his arms wide. “Honey, I am the law.”
He knew the minute that she cracked because her lips firmed, pressing against a bubbling smile.
“That’s the sort of talk that’ll get you in trouble,” she told him.
He gave her his most innocent grin. “Don’t tell on me?”
Her breath hitched, signaling that she wasn’t nearly as unaffected as she wanted him to believe. “What’ll you do for me?”
“I have plans,” he said, dropping his voice to a raspy purr. “Just sit down on my lap.”
“You mean that you have one plan,” she grumbled. But she delicately perched herself on his lap, her sweet ass settling perfectly against his straining cock as she faced away from him. “I can feel your plan, Danvers.”
“Nathan,” he corrected instinctively.
Jade sent him a sleepy-eyed look over her shoulder. “I’m waiting.”
That she was. But that was the thing about his Jade Harper—Nathan could want her with every fiber of his being, but he could never resist their banter. He starved for her body, but thrived off her wit and her warm personality.
Vivacious, indeed.
The courtyard was quiet, save for the quiet chirping of the frogs and cicadas. Garden lamps provided a gentle glow on the first floor, but from where they sat on Jade’s second floor balcony, there wasn’t much beyond the live oaks.
“Lean back against me,” he whispered in Jade’s ear, reveling in the shiver that shook her.
Tentatively, she did as he asked, pressing her back against his chest.
He moved his hands to her collarbone, gently running his fingers over her smooth skin. He stayed there a moment, lulling her into languid relaxation before continuing the path down her body.
She gasped when his hands cupped the weight of her breasts, gasping again when he tugged her polo up and over her head. The fabric landed in a heap on the table, and Nathan went back to work: unclasping her bra and letting that drift to the table, as well; flicking her nipples with his fingernails, tweaking them until her hips were rolling incessantly against his crotch.
“Shhh, keep quiet,” he whispered.
“Please,” she echoed, thrusting her chest forward against his hands, “don’t stop.”
He had no intention of stopping anything, not until she came apart in his arms.
Trailing his fingers down her sternum, he circled her belly button, and then went to the button of her slacks. Her hands shoved his aside, nimbly going to her slacks and pushing them down her legs with no hint of modesty.
A quick glance about the courtyard proved that they were still alone in the darkness.
Nathan played with the hem of her underwear, tempting her with the inevitably of his touch.
“You’re teasing me,” she breathed, shoving her hips up to meet his hand. “I thought we said no more games.”
“No more games,” he agreed, knowing that he was about to push her again, knowing that she would love it. “Tell me if you’re ready, honey.”
She pumped her hips up in answer. “I’m ready.”
“No,” he said, placing a hand on her belly to still her movements, “I want you to touch yourself. Then tell me if you’re ready.”
They both knew she didn’t need a single bit of foreplay. If he wanted to slide into her right now, her body would take him easily.
Still, he waited, body tense in forced patience, as she deliberately took her time kicking off her panties. It was beyond hot to know that she was completely naked in his arms while he still sat nearly fully clothed.
At the sound of Jade’s feminine moan, he knew she’d struck gold. It was almost too much.
Nathan wanted more, and so he laid his hand over hers, taking the note of the way her body jerked.
“Keep going,” he told her huskily.
For the next few minutes, he mimicked her ministrations and doubled her pleasure. When she circled her clit, he slipped a finger inside her and crooked his finger to hit the spot he knew made her sing. When she stopped to trail her finger to her opening, pressing into her hot folds, Nathan added a second finger—his—and pumped in alternating thrusts that drove her wild.
It was the hottest, most honest sexual experience he’d ever shared with another person.
And he couldn’t wait one moment longer.
With his pants still unzipped from earlier, he shifted her off his lap long enough to strip his slacks and remove the condom he’d stored away in his wallet. Tearing at the foil with his teeth, he rolled the latex down his length and sat back down on the chair.
“C’mere,” he ordered, “face me.”
She did, straddling his legs and settling her opening right over the hot tip of his cock.
“No more games?” she asked.
“No more games,” he answered firmly.
Jade sat down, and her tightness around his erection was enough to send his eyes rolling to the back of his head. He bit out a curse, and yet another and another, when she began to rock against him.
His hands would leave bruises on her hips tomorrow, but hell, he was unable to loosen his grip. He directed her movements, drawing her up, up, up before driving her back down to the hilt.
They groaned in unison, two people so in sync that
Nathan doubted either one of them would ever know who was truly leading whom.
“Nathan,” she whimpered, “Nathan, Nathan—”
“Yes”—he yanked on her loose ponytail, laying a wet kiss against her exposed skin, suckling her puckered nipples—“God, Jade.”
She shattered above him, hips spasming against his, as she clamped her arms around his neck and pressed little kisses all over his neck, the underside of his jaw, the sensitive spot behind his ear.
It was the touch of her lips to that sensitive spot that sent him over the edge. He gripped her hips tightly, pistoning himself in and out of her until his vision turned blurry at the edges and he came with a silent roar.
Their clammy skin stuck them together, leaving Nathan to wonder just how he could keep her forever.
Chapter Twenty-Five
NEW ORLEANS
“I need a search warrant.”
Josh Cartwell lifted his gaze from the paperwork on his desk to his stepson standing impatiently in his office doorway.
And Nathan was impatient. He’d needed that search warrant yesterday—a month ago, if he wanted to be honest here—but the district judge had denied Nathan’s request. It hadn’t escaped his notice that they could reach out to Shawna for the documentation, but since being released from jail, she’d actively avoided Nathan’s calls. A search warrant it was, then. He had a feeling that when they were allowed into Miranda Smiley’s home, they’d find a lot more than they originally thought.
“Is this where I invite you in, Detective?” Cartwell asked, cool and collected, per usual.
Nathan took that as good of an invitation as he’d ever get. He kicked the door shut with the heel of his combat boot and took a seat at the chair he’d once claimed belonged to him.
Funny how in the month since Cartwell had ordered Nathan to show Jade around New Orleans, he hadn’t sat his ass in this chair once. Jade wasn’t just good for his personal life—it seemed she was good for his professional one too.