Breach: The Boxset (11 page)

“No. No fuck Lila. Lila done for tonight. Try back in the morning,” I managed to say. I received a chuckle to my neck and a light kiss against my skin in response.

“I suppose I could wait a few more hours, maybe fuck you while you’re asleep in the middle of the night. Wouldn’t that be a nice way to wake up? My cock buried inside of you?”

I moaned at the thought. “Oh God!”

“I’ll take that as a hell yes, Miss Palmer.”

“I am all for wake up calls like that, Mr. Thorne.”

Steam filling the room drew my attention away from him—the pot was at a rapid boil. Nathan stepped back, and I shuddered as he slipped out of me. He helped me down from the counter before locating a towel to clean us up. My feet touched the cold tile floor, and I turned to shut off the boiling water, but my legs failed me and I stumbled back into him.

He chuckled, his arms wrapping around me as he kissed my neck. “Hmm, maybe we should have something delivered instead of putting you near a pot of boiling water right now.”

“You may be on to something.” My legs gave out and I sank to the floor, laughing the whole time.

Two hours later, we were full of fried rice and cashew chicken, lying in my bed. My head rested on his chest, and his fingers were lightly running through my hair.

“Hey, Nathan?” My eyes and body were heavy, sleep closing in.

“Hmm?”

“I’m yours, just so you know,” I mumbled, my mind drifting off into the dark of sleep before he could respond.

CHAPTER 11

Nathan never brought up my declaration in the following weeks. At least not in words. Sometimes I caught his expression flicker, like he was thinking about what I told him—about being his. It faded as soon as it showed up, and I figured that the thought of it made him edgy.

Every day, his agitation grew. It was subtle, hiding in his perfected act, so most people didn’t notice, but I knew him better than they did. His fingers combed and tugged at his hair and neck more often, his leg bounced in an increasing tempo, and his fuse became shorter.

All in all, he was a ticking time bomb.

His nightmares shook the bed almost every night. His grip was bone crushing as he clung to me, trying to keep it all in. I soothed him as best I could, but I knew it would take more than me to fix him. He needed to let it all out, not keep it in. Purge himself of the emotions he kept tightly locked away. Pot calling the kettle, coming from me, but his pain was earth shattering compared to my own.

Over time, I learned he was taking a myriad of drugs daily—anti-anxiety, anti-depressant, pain medications. I didn’t know everything he was ingesting, but I had a feeling some of them he was taking more than he did before, and it was because of me. The effect I had on him, and the demons I caused to surface, were too much. He could try to deny it, but there was no point in hiding from me. Not
me
.

I was amazed at how well I was beginning to read Nathan when we were in the office. His discomfort for the Boob Squad was clear, but no one else could tell.

I sat in my chair, pretending to work, when in reality I was gauging his reaction, trying to figure out why he didn’t tell the Boob Squad to leave him alone once and for all.

His muscles tensed with every passing minute, and he was
not
good.

Tiffany, member number three, was clamoring for his attentions. Leaning toward him, the top two buttons of her blouse were undone, exposing the top of her breasts as she reached to point at some arbitrary word on a summons her client had received.

In my peripheral, I watched him try to avoid looking down her shirt, not wanting to give her any opening, alluding to his disinterest. However, he was a man with breasts being flashed at him. It wasn’t like he could resist their call for long. Even from my angle I could see right down her shirt, and her ample assets were straining against the hot pink lace of her bra. Of course he was staring at her tits. They were like a fucking neon sign, drawing people in. Who could resist that? Even I was having a difficult time looking away.

One small glance spurred her on, and she walked around to his side of the desk so she didn’t have to read it upside down. To most it looked like he was making room for her, moving over and back a bit. To me, I saw him fleeing, trying to keep space between them.

I was pretty sure if I hadn’t been there, she would have taken it as an invitation to mount him.

Despite his disinterest in the women in the office, especially the Boob Squad, I knew he was attracted to many of his female colleagues.

I caught him sneaking a peek when he thought no one was looking. It didn’t bother me. We weren’t in a relationship, at least in the technical sense, and I knew he was only looking. He had no interest in acting on the attraction.

I learned a lot about him by observation. I was a people watcher, after all. His cocky attitude wasn’t exactly a lie or an act. It was all based on the man he used to be: a smooth, charismatic, arrogant, intelligent, and fuck-hot God. He was playing himself in a role that was no longer his life.

I broke down and asked him one night at dinner about Ian’s comment of him being a playboy.

“Playboy? No. You’ve saved me enough at the office to know that. However, I’m not a monk either,” was his response.

I nodded. “What lonely, angry, sad, and gorgeous man with a strong libido wouldn’t partake in casual sex now and again?”

He pursed his lips at me, his face unamused. “You see more than what’s good for you.”

“Like you?”

“Exactly.”

I still didn’t get it, why he didn’t regard me the same as all the other women. Fuck and run, look but don’t touch. I sighed and leaned back in my chair. What was it about me that attracted him?

“You’re daydreaming again, Palmer,” he said, bringing my mind back to the present. I looked around and noticed Tiffany was no longer hovering over his cock.

I gave him my best bitch brow to keep up the show. “Thinking, Thorne,”

“More fun if you were daydreaming.”

“And why is that?”

He smirked at me and returned to his work, ignoring me.

A moment later my phone buzzed. Why couldn’t he just
tell me
?

Because if you were daydreaming, I would have a valid excuse to punish you for ignoring your work.

Oh, that’s why.
I swallowed past the lump that had formed in my throat before responding.

Okay, no more texting from you during work.

Lame, but that was all I could come up with. My brain had exploded at the implications of his words, wildfire ripping its way through my body. How did he always do that to me?

Telling me what I can and cannot do, Palmer? Now THAT’S something to punish you for.

My jaw dropped as I stared at the tiny screen. He was going to be the death of me in the most glorious of ways.

I was startled out of my thoughts by an unexpected rapping on the door, making me jump.

“Hey, guys,” Mark, from the office next door, called from the entry. “Jack just called a meeting in Lincoln.”

We both nodded and rose from our desks, heading to the south side of the floor where the company’s largest conference room resided. Almost fifty people filtered into the space. Nathan and I ended up being shoulder-to-shoulder, leaning against the wall, as there were only twenty seats in the room.

My eyes scanned the faces of the room, and I did a double take at the man sitting next to Jack Holloway.

“Fuck.” I hissed through gritted teeth. What was Andrew doing here?

Nathan jumped, taken back by my low outburst. “What?”

“This’ll go over like a pregnant pole-vaulter.” I directed his gaze to Andrew.

“What the hell is he doing here?” Venom laced his tone as he shot daggers at him.

“All right, everyone. Settle down,” Jack’s voice boomed out over the murmur of the crowd. “This won’t take too long; soon you will be back to the mounting piles on your desk.”

The crowd chuckled, while Nathan and I turned and raised an eyebrow at one another. We always had mounting piles. It would be a blessing to have the stack some of the other attorneys had awaiting them. Oh, wait, we did. The difference being we had a bit of
everyone’s
work. It came with the territory, and I was happy to have it instead of going to a courtroom any day like many in our office.

“As you’re all aware, we’ve been down a team member since Daniel’s departure late last year. Well, it’s been over six months, and I think we’ve finally have found the right man for the job,” Jack announced. “Some of you may remember the man to my right. He was once an intern here, and I would like your help in welcoming Andrew Carter to our ranks.”

The crowd erupted in applause, and the Boob Squad already seemed to have Andrew in their sights.

“Andrew’s first day will be tomorrow, and he’ll need everyone’s help getting reacquainted with Holloway and Holloway.”

Andrew caught my gaze, and I stood, frozen. A huge grin spread on his face. He looked like such a cute, innocent kid when he did that.

“Hey, Lila!” Andrew called out, interrupting Jack.

My face heated up in embarrassment as everyone turned to see who he was looking at.

“Hi, Drew.” I waved my hand, trying to move the room back to the topic at hand.

Nathan tensed beside me, but my eyes remained on Andrew, and I watched his flicker beside me to Nathan. His gaze hardened, but he kept the smile plastered on his face.

“Well, now that everyone knows Andrew and Delilah are acquainted…” Jack chuckled. “Let’s get back to work.”

With a clap of his hands, the mass dispersed to their separate sections of the office.

Just as I was making my way through the doorway, a hand grabbed my wrist and pulled me back. The sudden halt caused Nathan to crash into me. Andrew’s strong arms wrapped around me and lifted me into the air, then back down for a hug. My eyes widened before I began laughing.

Nathan shot us an icy glare before continuing down the hall, and for some reason I found the sight hysterical. It made me laugh more, but everyone thought it was due to Andrew’s antics. The exchange had been so quick, that I figured no one had picked up on the cold undercurrent.

“Something about that guy rubs me the wrong way,” Andrew said out of nowhere.

“He’s harmless,” I assured him. “By the way…what the hell are you doing here, and why didn’t you tell me?”

A sheepish grin spread on his face. “I wanted it to be a surprise.”

“Well, it worked.”

“I hope you don’t mind.”

I gave him a knowing look. “Andrew, I know you loved working at Holloway and Holloway as much as Caroline and I did when we all interned together. You just chose the dark side.”

“Well, I came back to become a real Jedi.”

“Welcome back, Anakin,” I said with a smile. “Well, I have a mountain and a half waiting for me.”

I turned to head out the door when his voice stopped me.

“What was the name of that bar by your place? Skips? Tips?”

“Nipps,” I responded.

“Later, Lila.”

I waved back and headed in the direction of my office. Once there, the tension was rolling off Nathan, permeating our space. He didn’t say anything for over an hour, and I could no longer stand the tension. I sent him a text, hoping it would cure his foul mood.

So, what was that about punishment? I’d like to hear more about that.

He smirked at the message, and his shoulders dropped and relaxed.

The remainder of the day went off without a hitch, as did the next day. Andrew was nowhere to be seen on Friday, his first official day, and I was thankful.

CHAPTER 12

“What’s this?” Nathan asked as I handed him the jagged piece of metal.

“It’s a key to my condo.”

“I don’t want it.” He thrust his hand back toward me.

“Take the damn key,” I said. We stood at a standstill, neither backing down. “Look, my neighbor is getting annoyed at the late-night knocking, and we haven’t spent a night apart in three weeks.”

He contemplated my words for a moment, the warring indecision etched onto his features before he conceded. “Fine.” Pulling his keys from his pocket, he twisted the metal piece on to the key ring.

He held his hand out to me. “Here.”

“What?” I asked, confused.

“If I can molest you at all hours of the night at my will, you should be able to return the favor.” He smirked as he placed his key in my open palm.

The next day, I yawned and rotated my shoulders, attempting to relieve some of the ache. I should have known not to tease Nathan. He made sure to prolong his own release to torment me.

The day was over, and as soon as I entered my condo, I stripped out of my suit and into a sundress with a shrug. It was a nice spring day, the temperature reaching into the mid-sixties, and I was excited for the coming warmth of summer. I located a pair of strappy sandals hiding in a corner of my closet before heading out the door and up to Nathan’s to pick him up.

I told myself it was to pick him up, as if it was a date, something planned, but once again it was an unspoken thing we did together. I opened the door with my key and walked in.

It had been a difficult trade-off, but in the end, it was a great idea. I felt safer not leaving my door unlocked, as did Nathan, and it came in handy when once, after a night of drinking, I realized I didn’t have my keys with me.

I walked in and called out, my voice echoing on the empty walls and near vacant rooms. I sighed. Again, another reminder. He didn’t care about furniture or decorations. His condo held the bare minimum and nothing more.

The only things on the walls were holes. He was up to seventeen, one more since yesterday. I told him he needed to get a punching bag—it was cheaper than drywall replacement.

I found him out on the terrace sitting on one of the lounge chairs, a cigarette between his lips. His leg was bouncing at near sonic speed, his fingers pulling at his hair. He screamed of nervous agitation, and I cried inside, knowing the cause.

I walked forward and sat down next to him. “I didn’t know you smoked.”

His head tilted to me in acknowledgement as he took a long drag.

“Sometimes,” he admitted as he released the smoke from his lungs.

“It bothers you that much…my feelings?” Brutal honesty wasn’t our thing, but I wanted him to tell me.

“Yes,” he responded after a moment. “I don’t want you to feel that way.”

I nodded in understanding. I hated it, but I had hoped he would open up to me.

After taking a deep breath, I sat down next to him and grabbed his arm. My thumb massaged the surgical scar on the inside of his wrist as I pulled his hand to me and took a drag of his cigarette. It burned, but sparked an old craving. He watched me in intense fascination.

“What?”

“I don’t like the way he looks at you.”

I was stunned at his declaration and the possessive edge around it.

“And?” I pressed.

His face twisted for a moment before a cocky smile presented itself. His hand moved between my thighs and grabbed my pussy, his fingers pushing the thin cotton of my panties against my opening.

“For me only,” he snarled.

I shook my head and huffed. “You are such a fucking contradiction.”

“What?”

“I wish I knew what was going on in that head of yours sometimes.”

He shook his head as he leaned down to put the cigarette out on the concrete. “No, you don’t.” He tapped on his skull. “It’s dark in here.”

With that, he stood. After offering me a hand up, we headed out to Nipps for our Friday relaxation.

Two hours later, we were laughing about who knows what, snacking on bar food, and I was two beers in. I snagged the cigarette from between his fingers and took another puff.

“Delilah Anne Palmer!” I heard my name yelled out from somewhere in the bar. I turned to find Andrew staring at me as he stomped over. “Smoking? You worked so hard to quit, and now you’re at it again?”

I sighed, my body sagging. “It was just a drag, Andrew.”

“A gateway drag.”

I glared up at him. “What are you doing here?”

He pulled the bar stool out from beside me and sat down.

He signaled to John, the bartender. “Well, I was thinking we could have a celebratory drink.”

“Whatever,” Nathan muttered from my other side.

Andrew peeked around me and his face dropped. “What are you doing here?”

Nathan quirked his eyebrow at Andrew’s tone. “It’s Friday night, this is the closest bar to my house, and I needed a drink.”

“Cool. Just stay away from Lila.”

“Andrew!” I shrieked.

Nathan’s body stiffened. “What did you say?” He shifted, starting to stand.

Andrew’s body shifted as well, both ready to get up and beat the shit out of one another. “You heard me. You’re bad news, I can tell.”

Nathan sneered at him. “What the hell do you know about me? Nothing. So shut the fuck up.”

Andrew stood. “I’ve seen the way you look at her. Stay the fuck away.”

“What way do I ‘look’ at her?” Nathan asked, mirroring Andrew’s movement.

“Like she’s another notch to add to your bedpost.”

I had to place my hand in front of my mouth to keep from spitting my beer out at Andrew’s comment.

I stood between them, a hand pressed to each of their chests. “All right, boys, back up.”

Andrew backed down, returning to his seat. Nathan was still standing, but he took a step back.

“I have to go to the bathroom. Do you think you two can be civilized?”

“Don’t worry,” Nathan began, tilting the bottle back and downed the remaining contents of his bottle. “I’m on my way out.”

I couldn’t believe my non-boyfriend and my ex were fighting over me. I hated watching Nathan go, but tried to remain unfazed by it.

“I don’t trust him,” Andrew said.

I sighed. “He’s fine, really.”

“I’m surprised to see you two out together. Word is you can’t stand each other.”

I nodded in agreement. “Word is correct. Like he said, it’s the closest bar to our building, and it’s Friday night. We’ve run into one another here before.”

“I still don’t like him.”

I rolled my eyes and excused myself, leaving Andrew at the bar as I headed to the restroom. Just as I placed my hand on the door to push it open, someone grabbed my arm and pulled me in. I didn’t have to look to know who it was. His grip moved down to my waist as he turned me to face him, his lips attacking mine. We walked backward, and I stopped when I met a barrier behind me that I assumed was the sink.

My body was buzzing, high on the feeling of him being so close. Heat coursed through me, lighting up every nerve ending in a way only he could do.

The hands at my waist tightened their grip and lifted me onto the counter with ease. My legs spread open, wrapping around his waist, welcoming him between my thighs. His fingers moved to the hem of my dress, pushing the fabric up to my hips. He leaned forward. His cock was straining against his pants when he pushed into my now wet center.  One of my hands fisted in his hair while the other kept me upright, pushing against the counter and his body.

His mouth moved down my neck and above where it met my shoulder and he bit me hard. A shiver ran down my spine, and I was pooling between my legs as he clamped and sucked harder.

“But you left,” I managed to pant out.

His teeth detached from my skin, his tongue lapping at the new mark. “I couldn’t exactly follow you into the bathroom to fuck your brains out with your knight in shining armor watching, now could I?”

His fingers worked between us, pulling my panties to the side, and then he plunged two fingers inside. I moaned at the feeling, while I was kissing up and down his neck, my tongue tasting his skin.

He let out a low, dark chuckle. “Already this wet for me? That’s my good little slut,” he whispered in my ear.

I cried out as his fingers flexed upward, hitting my G-Spot.

“Shh!” he hissed then changed to taunting. “I’m going to fuck you. Here. Now. And you’re going to come so hard around my cock while you hold in your screams.”

I shook my head, knowing Andrew would come if he heard.

He pulled his fingers from me, brought them to my lips, and pushed them into my mouth.

“Suck.” I did as he ordered, lapping up my juices from each finger, and he continued to dictate how it was going to go. “So fucking sexy like that. You love it when I tell you what to do. When I tell you how to be my good little whore. Now tell me… Do you taste good?”

I nodded in agreement, my eyes transfixed on him. I watched him lick his lips, his eyes fixed on my mouth. I made sure my tongue made more than one appearance, teasing him in the process.

The telltale sounds of his belt being loosened, and the clicking of the metal teeth of a zipper filled my ears. He forced the rest of his fingers between my lips as he pulled his fucking perfect cock out and tapped the head against my clit. I moaned at the sensation, like the wanton slut I felt like with him. He teased my slit, slipping the tip up and down but not entering.

With his fingers in my mouth, he grabbed hold of my jaw and nipped on the spot just behind my ear. “Remember to keep quiet, baby. You don’t want anyone barging in… Do you? At least not until I’ve gotten mine and filled you up with my come.”

I shook my head, my body tingling in anticipation. I had never done anything like that in my life, but I would do anything he asked of me.

In one swift motion, he was buried inside me, just as he had said. My teeth clamped down on his fingers to keep the scream in, but my body still let out a sob of pleasure, the whimper slipping out. His hips rocked, pushing his cock in and pulling it back out. In with a hard thrust and out as fast.

The hand that wasn’t knuckle deep in my mouth was gripping my ass like a vice as his cock pistoned into me.

“This is your fault. Fucking flirting with another guy in front of me, practically offering up your pussy to him. But it’s not yours to give away, is it?” he asked in a condescending tone.

His fingers were still lodged in my mouth, rendering me unable to respond, but I managed to get out an almost “no.”

“That’s right, baby, it’s not. Your fucking pussy belongs to me, and I’m going to make sure everyone knows that it’s taken.”

My head was foggy as he pounded into me. I couldn’t tell which way was up. I didn’t care that we were in a dirty bar bathroom, or that people could probably hear us. All I cared about was him and the way he made my body sing. Only for him.

“Oh, shit! Baby, I’m so close,” he grunted. “Are you close?”

I hummed around his fingers, my eyes locked on his.

“That’s what I thought.”

He smirked before pulling out. I cried out at the sudden loss, almost sobbing as I had been a few strokes away from my orgasm.

“On your knees,” he commanded, tugging on my jaw, drawing me down from the counter.

Once I was kneeling in front of him, the fingers in my mouth moved to my hair. He grabbed a fistful of my locks and yanked my head back so I was looking up at him, my jaw going slack from the angle. His breath was erratic as he smacked his cock against my bottom lip, the tip running across my lips and cheeks.

“You like that? Fucking dirty girl. Look at you, fucking me in the bathroom of a bar, then begging to suck my cock.”

His fist pumped his shaft at a furious pace. He relaxed his motions and tilted his hips forward, pushing the head to my lips. I began sucking on the tip, licking anywhere I could, tasting myself on him. His eyes were dark and glazed as he stared down at me.

Pulling harder on my hair, he detached my lips from his dick. His stroking resumed, letting the tip bounce on my lower lip. His fingers flexed around my hair, holding me in place. His whole body tensed and his face screwed up in a look of pain. A strangled cry left his lips as I felt the first warm drops hit my lips and cheek.