Salvation (57 page)

Nate lifted his head and held my gaze. The one eyebrow he had drawn in with bemusement straightened. Then the corners of his delicious mouth lifted. “I can’t answer that,” he murmured, smudging a thumb over my mouth. “Having these bee-stung lips wrapped around my cock is something I’d happily allow all fucking day long.”

I splashed his chest, laughing. “Oral sex is such an intimate act. I often felt we were missing out, not having that connection. He never went down on me, either. Having that intimacy with you is something I cherish.”

Nate’s mouth closed over mine. I revelled in the purity of his lips, the tender way they caressed mine, the unqualified expression of devotion they conveyed as he set the fireworks off in my belly. “Listen,” Nate murmured, arms wrapped around me, one hand stroking my hair, “about what happened in New York.”

“Let’s not talk about it.” I knew there were things he hadn’t opened up about. Still secrets behind his smile. Whatever happened in New York was only a small chink in a bigger story. Now wasn’t the right time to hear it. There’d been enough confessions already for one night, and I truly believed when the time was right, I’d learn more.

“To be honest, I don’t think I require an explanation.” He gave me an uncertain look, like he wasn’t sure where I was going with this. “You love me. You told me it wasn’t important and I accept that. Right now,” I said, linking my fingers with his, “all I want to do is curl up in bed, lay my head on your chest like this, and fall asleep with your hands in my hair.”

And that’s exactly what I did, safe in the knowledge I was exactly where I should be. In the right frame of mind, and definitely with the right person.

MY feet wouldn’t budge when I tried moving them. I was well and truly riveted to the spot. Nate had his back to me, pummelling a punch bag swinging from the ceiling in the centre of the home gym in the basement.

After waking without him beside me, I’d followed the sound of music playing throughout the house and found this treasure at the end.
Wow.

The muscles of his bare back rippled, taut skin glistening with sweat, the veins in his arms and neck throbbing from exertion. His concentration was so focused, he had no idea I was there as I leant into the doorjamb.

Watching his lower body move, hearing the sounds he made, I fidgeted with a restless desire for him. He bounced lightly on his feet in perfect time to the R&B beat. I imagined dancing with him in a hot, sweaty nightclub, grinding against me, moving with me. He was the type of man that would get women flocking to the dance floor to be near him. Not just because of his looks, but because you’d know he’d be great in bed from the confident way he moved.

I could’ve stayed and watched this performance all day, but I had an idea and dashed upstairs to dress.

“You sound like you’ve been having fun down there,” I called out when I heard Nate coming up the stairs forty minutes later. I stopped chopping fruit and glanced over my shoulder, catching sight of him wiping his face with the towel slung around his neck. All sweaty, out of breath and flushed skin. “Thought I was your favourite way to wake up?”

He grinned wickedly. “You are.” He kissed the back of my head when I turned to chop some mango. “I wanted you to rest, so it was either a workout or a cold shower and my left hand.”

I bit my lip and kept my eyes on the knife slicing close to my fingertips. Nate stole a slice and popped it in his mouth. “I’ve made you blush again,” he murmured teasingly, the backs of his fingers brushing my cheek.

“Go take that cold shower.” I nudged him with my hips. “Brunch is almost ready.”

My timing was perfect. Carrying our coffee to the dining table, I cast an appreciative eye over Nate as he stood perusing the display. Fresh from the shower, smelling so good my mouth watered, sexy as anything in jeans and a t-shirt, his usual state, I concluded.

“You’ve been busy.” He pulled out the chair at the head of the table for me.

“Toast and fruit I can manage. That bakery in town has a great selection of pastries,” I offered casually, stifling a smile.

“You walked into town?” Nate sat and handed me the plate piled high with warm baked goods.

With an innocent expression, I took a chocolate croissant and said, “The Bentley drives like a dream.”

“You took my car?” His brows rose as he tried and failed to hide his delight.

Nonchalantly, I lifted a shoulder and blew the steam from my coffee before taking a sip. I’d terrorised myself to death driving his car, the powerful engine much stronger than I was used to in my own. I thanked God when I pulled into the small car park and found it almost empty. “That okay?”

His amusement increased. “What’s mine is yours.”

We ate brunch, sharing the sort of comfort and easiness that came from years of being a couple, but with the sparkle and excitement of a new relationship. I thought about how far we’d come in such a short space of time. “That first night, outside the wine bar, why didn’t you kiss me?”

Nate sat back in his chair. “I wanted to. Desperately.” One side of his mouth started to curl up. “I thought I’d ruined my chances.”

“By not kissing me?”

He shook his head. “Nothing went as planned.”

“Because you didn’t get me into bed?”

“No.” The blue of his eyes gave way to the growing black as he raked the length of my body, much like they had back then. “I think I knew before then I wouldn’t be taking you home.”

“Liar.” I stood to fetch some more juice from the refrigerator. “Don’t think I didn’t notice the eye-fuck.”

Nate threw his head back and laughed. “God, I love when you curse. That accent gets me every time.”

“That’s another thing,” I said, making my way back. “Why the English obsession?”

“It’s a Kara obsession,” he corrected. “The rest? Merely a country dear to my heart. England was my haven when I needed to get away from here. I have a lot of fond memories from my time there.”

“You moved there seeking solace, I came here.” I topped up our tumblers. “Do you think we were drawn to each other without realising?”

“You mean like fate? Destiny?” He grabbed my hip and stopped me from returning to the kitchen.

I shrugged. “I believe everything happens for a reason, even the bad stuff. At the time, we might not understand why things are as they are. But, I believe eventually a lesson will be learnt.”

Nate nodded in agreement, eyes sparkling, his lips curving. “Wanna know a lesson I learned the first time you spoke to me?” His hand slid under the hem of my t-shirt, around to my lower back, skin on skin. My legs went weak from that simple, innocent caress. “That hearing the simplest of words from your mouth is the craziest turn on. Watching those luscious lips shape vowels is incredibly erotic. Makes me instantly hard.”

Smirking, I set the carton on the table then nudged his legs apart with my knee. I settled onto his lap, hands at his nape for balance. “Let me think about this for a second.” I looked over his shoulder at the kitchen counter, covered with the mess I’d made. “How about…yoghurt?”

“It’s working.”

I moved my mouth closer to his. “Oral.”

“Ooh, good one.” His grin flashed against my mouth, but I saw it in his sparkling eyes.

I angled my head and kissed him with everything I had. He returned it with as much enthusiasm, absorbing me into his kiss so expertly, knowing precisely how firm I needed it. The strength of his hands sliding up and down my spine and rocking me so my clit rubbed against the seam of his jeans made me moan.

“I adore you,” he breathed, “you’re my world. I can be everything you need.” Nate grazed down my neck, the gentle bite into my shoulder making me shudder.

“Talking is great foreplay,” I breathed, “but how about some visuals?” My t-shirt flew in the air as I tossed it over his shoulder. He hummed his appreciation as my breast filled his hand, my nipple pebbling against the white lace of my bra.

“This surge of confidence you seem to have developed is sexy as fuck,” he muttered gruffly. Dextrously, he snapped the catch and launched it in the same direction. He licked at my breasts, sucking and kissing, cupping and caressing. Desire shot through me, muscles twisting and tensing, contracting, a silent call from my body to his.

“I want you, Nate,” I whispered.

A lazy, sensuous smile crept across his face. With his thumb, he freed my bottom lip from between my teeth, then kissed me hard. His tongue invaded my mouth, sliding forcefully against mine, bruising my lips until they felt swollen.

He stood me quickly and peeled my yoga pants down my legs. “Special occasion?” he rasped, his nose burying into my panties, his breath hot on me.

“What?” I lifted his chin, unsure what he was referring to.

He grinned. “You’re wearing underwear.”

I loved when he got playful. “May I suggest you take them off?
Quickly.”

He obliged, eagerly stripping me until I stood nude before him. Hiding my body—the body that demonstrated how deep my feelings ran for him, that had been concealed behind real and emotional barriers long enough—was pointless. Nate knew me from the inside out.

Lounging back in the chair, his tongue darted out over parted lips, his breath heavy. Need consumed me. I yearned to experience the hotness of his skin against mine, the thickness of his cock inside me.

Bending forward, knowing I was giving him an eyeful, I loosened his belt and lowered the zip on his jeans. I grinned when I freed his cock, stiff and ready with such little stimulation, and lifted my gaze to meet his.

A wicked smile spread across his flushed face. “You want me, you got me.”

I straddled his thighs until we were merely inches apart. Instinctively, he reached down, running both hands the length of my legs from ankle to thigh. He straightened, inhaling as he brushed his cheek over the small strip of my pubic hair. Dizzy, my head fell back, eyes closing as my hands found their way into his hair. Struggling to decide what I wanted more, the urge to make love outweighed the craving for his mouth on me. I shoved him back, tipping his chin up to look at me.

“Your mouth between my legs is so good,” I murmured, dragging his full lower lip between my teeth. “But right now? I need this.” I lowered until I’d taken the entire length of him inside me.

“Christ, Kara!” His fingers dug sharply into my arse. My muscles clenched, flexing and drawing his cock deeper, stretching me to the hilt. He hadn’t prepared me for the sheer size of him, so I’d anticipated the sting. “That’s it, baby. Take it all in.”

I moaned and rose again, sliding back down easier than before. I’d missed this connection. The desire, hunger, and the fact Nate could satisfy me in every possible way.

He lured me into a deep kiss as both hands cupped my breasts, fingers working the nipples until the urge to taste me became too strong for him to resist. I arched my back, moving my hands behind me to the table for support. The heat of his mouth as he covered a nipple sparked the familiar tightening low in my stomach.

I dropped forward until I looked him in the eye once more. My chest constricted with love. I stroked a finger down his cheek and ran it over his lips. Everything I felt for him choked in my throat.

“I love this,” I murmured, brushing my lips over his. “Promise you’ll never stop making me feel this good.”

His hands came to my hair, holding me against his mouth. “You’re mine,” he growled, his hand diving between my legs. “I promise I’ll never let you forget that again.” Finding my clit with his thumb, he circled me.

Once, twice, then I was gone.

“HOW did you know I was different to all the others?” I asked Nate as we got ready for bed after our lazy day. He continued brushing his teeth, white Armani briefs his only item of clothing.

“What’s with all the questions today?”

“I don’t know.” I took off my bra and tossed it into the concealed laundry bin in the closet. I was fully nude and didn’t care. “I suppose I’m still adjusting to the enormous change in our circumstances. Just gathering all the pieces of the jigsaw.”

“Well,” he said, drying his face, “other women tended to take whatever they got offered, no questions asked. You were completely upfront in letting me know you wouldn’t settle for anything less than you deserved. I admired your inner strength and fearlessness.”

“I’m not strong,” I snickered, exiting the closet and rounding the corner into the bedroom.

“You are. At the time you didn’t know, but you held all the power. Everything between us happened on your terms. I was so certain you were right for me…you made me break all my rules.”

“What rules?” I tugged back the bedcovers and slipped between the luxurious high thread count sheets.

“Never mix business with pleasure. Never let my guard down.
Definitely
never set myself up for a second knock back,” he said lightly, “or fourth, in your case.” He settled beside me. “The list is endless. I sacrificed it all.”

From the beginning, both of us had recklessly broken rules that had served us well in the past. The immense magnetism between us was too strong to ignore. I tugged his arm around my shoulder and raised his hand in front of me. His fingers laced with mine, playing and stroking.