Page 21

CHAPTER 21

THE GANG HAS THEIR SAY

Nadira

T onight is my last night in the hotel. Everyone will pack the things we bought during our stay and depart in the morning. I’ll be happy to leave, but also a little sad.

After my friends confronted me about Julian and it became obvious that I had more going on than keeping my relationship under wraps, Danae, Moni, and Chelsea banded together to focus on me and Tamara for the rest of our stay.

Despite my initial embarrassment at being the center of attention rather than the person giving support, I began to appreciate the depth of my friendship with these women. True, I’ll never be one hundred percent honest with them, but I share more of myself with them than almost anyone else. Except Julian.

He seems to be my exception for everything, and I’m not sure how to feel about his position in my life. Especially with everyone’s expectations for Thanksgiving hanging over my head.

In the living room of our suite, my friends have popcorn and chilled margaritas in readiness for a Hallmark movie fest. Blankets cover them from chest to feet, and their bonnets and scarves are in place. They eye me as soon as I enter, eager to pounce but respecting the boundaries I established.

“Going to see your new beau?” Tamara asks, her voice more tentative than usual.

“I am.”

They all nod as one. Then Danae rises and hands me an envelope. “Here, this is for him. Please don’t open it.”

“I thought you agreed to give me time.”

“And we are,” Moni says. “We might as well tell her what’s in it, otherwise she’ll toss the letters as soon as she leaves.”

“Letters?” I stare at the thick envelope in my hand.

“The last guy you were remotely interested in tried to humble you every chance he got. He made so many unnecessarily cruel comments about your scar, we thought you would lose your confidence.” Tamara hugs herself. She must feel some parallels with her recent experience.

“Instead, I lost him. Or, more accurately, I tossed him out.” I close the gap between us and sit on the center table to face each woman.

“But we don’t know if this guy is different.” Tamara nibbles her bottom lip. “And we understand that you don’t want to share him with us yet. It’s just…even if we don’t meet him, we need him to know there’s nowhere he can hide if he hurts you.”

“You want to threaten him?” I smile while envisioning Julian’s reaction.

“We might be law-abiding citizens, but we’re smart. With my medical expertise, we can unalive and disappear a body. And if we get caught, Tamara will get us off, Danae can hide all our money for when we go on the run, and Chelsea will teach us whatever language we need to learn in our new home country.” Moni throws and catches popcorn in her mouth as if it’s the equivalent of a mike drop.

“And what will I do?”

“Girl, you’re the most important. You’ll smuggle us out of the country with your shipping contacts. But make sure, we get a luxury container with air, electricity, proper furniture, food—you know I need a daily supply of chocolate. And?—”

“How do you not have diabetes with that sweet tooth of yours?”

“Take that back! I don’t need those curses following me. I rebuke thee! I rebuke thee!” Chelsea mimics throwing holy water on me and we all burst into laughter.

“Alright, I’ll deliver the letters.” I hold my hand against my heart. “And thank you for being the most amazing friends a girl could ask for.”

“Damn, you here making us all teary-eyed and shit and we didn’t even start the movies yet.” Moni fans her face. “You’re a menace.”

“I can take a hint.” I leave with a lighter step as I make my way down the hall to Julian’s suite.

I open the door to a familiar sight. Julian kneels, knees spread and naked, as he’s done every night since we slept together. And I…I’m nothing like I was. For the first time, I’m not wearing makeup to conceal my scar, and the sexiest thing about what I’m wearing is… Actually, there’s nothing sexy about the flannel hotel pajamas I have on.

But from Julian’s heated stare and rising dick, my sleepwear must be pretty damn provocative.

“How long have you waited for me like this?” I ask.

At my voice, Leaper runs from a side room to rub her head against me. I squat to pet her while Julian responds to my question.

“Since the food arrived, so I’d say a minute.”

“Thank you.” I leave Leaper to stand beside Julian. I tilt his face up and lean down to kiss him.

He opens his mouth in invitation, and the temptation is too much for me to pass up. I stroke my tongue inside and moan. “You ate chocolate.”

He grins. “I couldn’t resist the opportunity to have a taste of you on the side.”

I kiss him again, lingering over our connection with a needy moan. “Mmm, I think you might become my new favorite dessert.” I leave him to survey the food he had delivered.

A colorful spread tantalizes my vision. The deep purple and gold beets with herbed goat cheese, vibrant collared greens sauteed with garlic, and vivid carrots accompany a thick ribeye.

“Everything looks delicious. Join me.”

Julian rises and seats me before pulling a chair beside me.

I’m still getting used to this new dynamic between us. A couple nights ago, I questioned why he always had food waiting for me when I arrived. He said it was one way serving me fulfilled him, which reminded me of his joy while cooking for me, even if at the time I was less than welcoming of his advances.

Because of that, I offered to eat with him once a day. His gratitude, kneeling and kissing my feet in reverence, left me speechless. Alongside my inability to speak, another sensation I couldn’t name grew. His happiness touched my heart, making me want to find more ways to please him.

As Julian noted on more than one occasion, I go hard for my people, but there’s more meaning when I do so for him. I don’t understand it, but I like the feeling too much to resist it.

“Did you follow me again today?” I ask while he spoons food onto my plate.

An unrepentant grin flits across his face. “You saw me.” At my nod, he chuckles. “That’s why you went into the lingerie store. You were toying with me.”

“Are you disappointed I didn’t buy anything?” I lick my lips before taking a bite of steak.

Julian’s heated irises zero in on my mouth. “Not at all. I bought everything you liked and had it delivered.” He nodded toward the stack of packages in the corner I hadn’t noticed upon entering. The bags sport more than the lingerie store’s logo.

I shake my head. “Of course you did.” I hand him the envelope from the ladies. “My friends know about you. They caught you leaving the office.”

He removes the letters inside while I eat. Every once in a while, he chuckles. “They seem like good people. If I didn’t know any better, I’d think your bloodthirsty nature rubbed off on them.”

I quirk my brow but ignore his dig. “They want to meet you.”

He studies me in silence. “What do you want?”

“I don’t like discussing you when you aren’t around, so maybe it’s not a bad idea.”

“When?”

“Thanksgiving.”

“I’ll be there.”

His easy acceptance lifts the invisible weight I’ve carried since they first interrogated me about Julian. Maybe it won’t be so bad for both my worlds to intersect.

When we finish eating, I ask, “What did you do with the man in the bookstore?” I stand and slip the top button on my pajama shirt free.

While browsing the Denver specialty shops, I spied a man following us. He was oblivious to Julian. When I thought I would have to find an excuse to leave my friends and intervene, the man and Julian disappeared. Although I have an idea, I want confirmation, and to reward Julian for his good work.

Julian’s gaze focuses on my movements and he pushes his chair away from the table, granting me an unobstructed view of his naked body. “What any good protector would do.”

I free another button and expose the curve of my breast. “Who is he?”

“He was an associate who chose the wrong target.”

“And what did you learn?”

With the last button loose, I let my top hang open.

Julian licks his lips and swallows. His voice is strained when he answers, “He was surprised to see me, which works to our advantage, but…”

“But?” I play with the pajama bottom’s waistband.

“He was more concerned with your memory returning.”

This development concerns me, and I cease toying with Julian. “What did he say, exactly?”

My frown causes Julian to mull over his interaction.

“He asked if you remembered anyone else from your past, then said there was still time before you destroyed everything with what you know.”

“What am I supposed to know?”

Our eyes meet as the enormity of the revelation hits us.

“Whatever it is, it’s big enough to threaten the organization.”

A new realization hits me. “The last time you saw me before the nightclub, I was ten years old. What knowledge could I have had?”

“You were searching for your parents. Maybe you saw or heard something you weren’t supposed to.”

I think back to the few memories I remember from my youth. The clearest are the ones after my accident. Shit! I gasp. “If that’s the case, my accident might not have been by mere chance but a hit on my life.”

“Well, fuck! They just put a ticking clock on jogging your memory.” Julian pulls me into his arms. “I won’t let them hurt you.”

“Hmm.” I push him toward the chair.

“Nadira?” He releases me but the frown crinkling his brow tells me he’s not sure if I’m pushing him away again.

“There’s nothing we can do about them tonight.”

“True.” He watches me with an intensity that belies his simple response.

When he bumps against the chair, I shove him until he drops onto the seat. “And because of you, I know more than I would have without you.”

“Also true.” His shoulders, tensed from the moment I separated from him, now droop in relief that I don’t equate him with the man he killed for me or the rest of his organization.

I drop my pajama top and bottoms. “That’s deserving of an award. How do you want me?”

Julian licks his lips. “I can get whatever I want?”

“Within reason.”

“I want an entire night holding you in my arms where you don’t sneak out in the early morning hours. And your face is the first thing I see when I wake.”

His response shocks me into stillness. “I’m standing naked in front of you and the reward you ask for isn’t sex? Have you tired of?—”

“I could never. You are incomparable. Being inside you is almost as necessary to my sanity as being able to watch over and protect you.”

“Then why?” I wave my hand in front of my body.

“Because I’ve waited over twenty years and I still haven’t experienced having you to myself for a whole night.”

I close my eyes as the sweetness of his need washes over me. “That is definitely within reason.” I open my eyes to see him rise from the chair, so I forestall him. “But, you have some more work to do, because I need to feel you inside me, to taste your screams as you come, to look in your eyes as pleasure breaks…” Verbalizing all the ways I want him causes my core to clench in anticipation.

“I’m here for you—” Julian kneels “—My queen.”

Fuck! Does Julian know how seeing him this way affects me? Inside, my body stages a revolt at the calm I exert over myself when all I want to do is lay him out and make him forget his name. But if I do anything now, I’ll come before he does.

Instead, I position myself on the bed and spread my legs to show him the state of my arousal. “Strap up and get to work. My pussy can’t fill herself, and my dick is looking awfully lonely over there.”

Julian jumps up to follow my commands, his eagerness matched by my need.

When he joins me, I pull his head to mine for a filthy kiss, full of tongue and teeth, licking and biting and sucking. He nudges the head of his dick along my clit, toying with the bundle. But I’m too impatient to play around. I wrap my fingers around him and position him at my entrance.

Without further direction, he enters me, stretching me. The slight burn sends endorphins throughout my body as he continues to fill me and touch places inside me I can’t; at least not without toys. But no toy compares to the hot flesh between my thighs pulsing with life.

“Nadira…” he moans into my mouth, and it’s as delicious as kissing him after he’s eaten chocolate.

I clench my walls, and he moans again. I fist his hair and pull him away from the kiss. “Fuck me, Julian. Tonight I want to see how many orgasms it takes before you get soft.”

“Yes, my queen.” He thrusts inside me. Controlled. Powerful. Amazing.

“You fuck me so good, you know that?”

He clenches his jaw and closes his eyes. “Keep saying stuff like that while I’m inside you and I won’t last.”

“Look at me.” I wait until he meets my gaze, then I rake my nails down his nape, freeing his hair, and gently scrape around to his chest. With our sights locked on each other, I twist his nipples. “Then don’t try.”

He shudders, his eyelids droop to cover all but the tiniest sliver of his eyes, and he groans from his gut. “Nadira…” He presses his forehead against mine.

Our closeness allows me to see every desire-cloaked brown and golden shard in the tiny glimpse of his irises.

I twist his other nipple, delighting in his reaction. A tremor passes through me as well, and it’s not solely from his dick game. How is it Julian’s pleasure magnifies my own? His every gasp and moan, the tiniest quiver that tells me he is closer to an explosion, they’re all gifts offering me endless delights and unimaginable pleasure. I reach around and grab his ass, soaking in his powerful thrusts as he flexes his globes. “Give me what I want, Julian.”

His body shudders, muscles contract, and his movements become more erratic, signaling his oncoming orgasm.

I raise my head to meet his in a kiss as he opens to scream his release into my mouth. I swallow every delightfully tortured note, feeding on the music of his soul while he empties himself into me.

He slumps over me and I push him on his back, groaning at the emptiness as he withdraws from my body.

“That’s one,” I say.

To give my body time to cool down, a way of self-denial, I remove the condom covering his erection and take him deep into my throat. God, he feels and tastes so good. I lick and bob on his dick, cleaning his emissions and slobbering over him because he’s so mouthwateringly good. No night is complete without satisfying my hankering for his dick.

“Fuck, Nadira, I’m going to come again.” He gasps and clutches my shoulder without pushing me away.

I rise long enough to glare at him. “And your point is what, exactly?” I grip his shaft and stroke in a firm up-and-down motion.

“Did I have one? I forget.” He throws back his head and covers his face. His stomach clenches and releases in a faster and faster dance, a foreshadowing of another climax.

When his body seizes and shudders, I proclaim, “That’s two.”

I caress his chest until his breathing normalizes. The moment I deem him ready, I straddle him.

“Wait… You’ve touched and tasted me to your heart’s content, let me do the same.”

Poised above his dick, my pussy weeping to be filled again, I calm the passion raging inside me to give into his needs. I sit on his thighs, his dick standing upright and rubbing against my clit. Unable to deny the delectable shocks from the contact, I wind my hips to give my clit the stimulation my body needs. “Okay,” I moan. “What part of me do you want to taste?”

“Your breasts.” He licks his lips. “I want you to feed me your breasts.”

I pull him into sitting upright and place one of his hands on my right breast. He immediately rubs his thumb in circles around my areola. While he toys with my breast, I rise and impale myself on his dick. “You want to suck on my titties?”

I slowly drag my pussy along his dick, torturing myself alongside him, and delighting in the sparks that burst along my nerve endings.

He swallows, his Adam’s apple bobbing up and down until he foregoes speech to nod.

What else can I do but fulfill his request? I raise my breast and brush my nipple against his lip. When he opens, I push the nub into his hot mouth and close my eyes as sensations overwhelm me. He flicks his tongue against the sensitive bud and a burst of stars momentarily blinds me.

With his hardness inside my pussy and Julian doing his best to suckle me into a screaming orgasm, I double my efforts to make him come, clenching my pussy and twisting his nipple. Sweat pours down our bodies and our pheromones fill the air as we race toward an epic explosion. My trembling thighs make a mockery of my initial determination to hold out and delay my gratification.

With one last thrust, I plummet over the edge, buffeted by waves of unending pleasure, blinded by sensations. When I come to, I’m on my side, clutched to Julian’s chest with his face buried in my neck. We’re still connected, but he’s no longer hard inside me.

“And that’s three,” I mumble and start to pull away.

Julian tightens his arms, pulling me closer. “Not yet. Let’s stay this way awhile.”

My core pulses at the thought of keeping him inside me, of sleeping like this, although he’s more likely to slip out during the night. While connected, I comb my fingers through his hair and softly whisper words of praise and gratitude to him until he loosens his hold. When he lifts his face, I cup his cheek and kiss his lips.

“You keep treating me this way, and I might have to keep you for good.” My eyes widen as he hardens inside me again.

“Please, don’t dangle my dream in front of me.” He rolls me onto my back and pushes inside me. “Tell me you’re going to keep me or don’t say a word. Or else I’ll have to act out.” He punctuates his point with another thrust.

This time, I lose count of how many times he comes because he pushes me over the edge time and time again. After my voice disappears, lost from the many ways he makes me scream, he continues, punishing my pussy with his energizer dick. If he didn’t feel so good inside me, I would protest his way of acting out.

Julian twists and bends my body, stretching my limits as he fucks me over and over until I black out. When I come to, I’m in his arms, my back to his chest, with his dick carving a home inside my pussy.

The clock reads 9 AM. At least I’ve given him the reward he wanted last night.

But what about the other?

Within the security of his arms, I wonder, what’s stopping me from completely claiming him?