I glace down to his left side and I abandon his right side and trace another tribal design that curls down his rib cage, disappearing into his pants.
"Take your pants off," I murmur and look back up into his eyes.
"I"d rather get you naked, baby," He tucks my hair behind my ear.
"Oh trust me, you will, but right now I"m on a treasure hunt. This is much more fun with the lights on." I continue to follow the beautiful design with my fingertip. He kisses me quickly, chastely, then stands and shucks out of his pants and boxer-briefs, and there is the finest specimen of man I"ve ever seen standing before me.
I feel my jaw drop as I skim my eyes up and down his perfect body. Holy h.e.l.l. He"s all tanned skin and toned muscle and he"s breathing rapidly. That tattoo on his left side falls down over his hip and onto his upper thigh. It"s s.e.xy as I don"t know what and I am itching to get my fingers on it.
And then my eyes zero in on his impressive erection a holy Moses, what that thing does to me a and I gasp at the silver metal in the tip. It feels bigger than it is, and I don"t even want to think about the process it took to get it there.
Suddenly feeling over dressed, I sit up and pull my shirt over my head, throwing it on the floor. Nate just stands there, at the edge of the bed, his hot gaze locked on mine, and I lay back and shimmy out of my jeans and kick them on the floor with the rest of our clothes. I"m lying on the bed in just my pink bra and matching panties and I smile up at Nate and do the "come here" motion with my index finger.
"Jesus, Julianne, you are so beautiful." His voice is rough with emotion. I"ve heard those words hundreds of times, from other men, photographers, my friends, but they"ve never meant what they do to me right now. With this man.
"So are you. Are you going to join me, or what?"
"You"re quite demanding, aren"t you? I"ll have to do something about that." He smiles mischievously and crawls onto the bed, climbing on his hands and knees until he"s hovering over me the way he was before and starts kissing me in the slowest, most tender way. He"s not just kissing me, he"s making love to me with his mouth. And, oh my G.o.d, it"s sending electricity through me.
I hitch my left leg up around his hip and he grabs my a.s.s and grinds his c.o.c.k against my panty-covered center, sending sparks all the way up my spine.
"Oh, G.o.d, Nate," I whisper, running my fingernails down his back. My hips are moving in a delicious rhythm against him, our breathing is loud and ragged.
"Baby, I can feel how wet you are through your panties." He"s kissing my jaw now, over to my neck and sucks gently on my earlobe.
"I want you." I murmur.
"G.o.d, I want you too." He pulls my bra straps down and pushes the material down my torso, unleashing my b.r.e.a.s.t.s. His delicious mouth closes over one, gently suckling, and his fingers gently pull the other, and with his c.o.c.k rubbing back and forth over my c.l.i.t through my panties, I"m about to come undone.
"f.u.c.k, Nate, you"ll make me come."
"That"s the point. Come for me, beautiful." He rocks those hips again, and his lips close over my other nipple, and I just fall apart beneath him, crying out as my body shudders.
As my breathing calms, and I"m able to open my eyes again, I see Nate braced above me, his elbows on the bed beside my head. He"s brushing my hair back off my face, and his eyes are warm and happy.
"Are you on birth control?" he asks.
This could be a mood killer.
"Yes," I whisper.
"I don"t want to use condoms with you, baby. I know it sounds irresponsible, but I promise you, there hasn"t been anyone for me since before you and I were together the last time."
I shake my head. I want to feel him. Just him. And I trust him completely, which is so new, but we"ve known each other for a long time, and I respect him. "Me neither."
"Really?" his eyes widen in surprise.
"No, no one. Did you think there was?"
"I just a.s.sumed... you"re so amazing... Thank G.o.d."
I push him onto his back and straddle him. He reaches down and rips a literally rips a my panties in two and throws them on the floor.
"Didn"t like those?" I ask with a smile.
"They were in my way," he responds and grins.
I raise my hips and, holding him in my hand, slowly guide him inside me.
Oh. My. G.o.d.
I need to kiss whomever invented the apadravya. A lot. It feels incredible, having those two small b.a.l.l.s ma.s.sage the wall of my v.a.g.i.n.a.
"f.u.c.k, you"re so tight." Nate"s jaw is clenched, his hands cupping my a.s.s, and I lean down and gently kiss him and rest my forehead on his, bracing myself on his shoulders.
I slowly start to move, up and down and the sensation is just... so good.
"Oh, Nate," I whisper against his mouth.
"Yes, baby," he whispers back, and I sit up, and start to really ride him, hard. He raises his hips in a counter-rhythm, bucking me up and down, and I"m lost in him. I throw my head back and revel in the bliss of Nate being inside me, and I start to feel my body tense, my legs start to shake, and Nate suddenly sits up and wraps his arms around my waist and his mouth around my nipple, and I come undone, shattering around him.
He grips my hips tightly and pulls me against him, hard, and cries out my name as he empties himself into me.
Our breathing is ragged as I rest on his lap, he"s still inside me, and I push my fingers through his soft hair. I lay my forehead against his and smile.
"Well, that was... wow."
He chuckles and runs a hand down my back, from the nape of my neck to my a.s.s. "That was definitely wow. Are you okay?"
"Hmmm."
"Is that a yes?"
"Hmmm."
He laughs and lifts me off of him and sets me down on the bed. He switches off one of the lights, turns down the covers and tucks us both in, pulling me against him. I lay with my head on his chest and use my finger to trace the outline of his tattoo.
"You don"t have any tattoos," he murmurs.
"No, I"m allergic to needles."
"Huh?" He pulls back so he can see my face and I grin.
"I"m scared s.h.i.tless of needles. Natalie had to get me stinking drunk in college just to get my ears pierced. So if you prefer girls with body art, I"m not your girl."
He chuckles and kisses my forehead. "You"re my kind of girl, with or without body art."
"Yours are beautiful." I murmur.
"Thank you. Do you want me to turn the light out so you can sleep?"
"I like having the lights on so I can look at you," I whisper shyly.
"Go to sleep, honey." He hugs me close and I close my eyes and drift.
I can"t sleep. It"s two a.m. and I"m wide awake. Nate is sleeping peacefully on his side, facing me. The sidelight is still on, and I can"t help but stare at him. His face is relaxed, his dark eyelashes laying against his cheeks. He"s just so handsome.
And I"m restless.
I slip from the bed, out of the room and down to the spare bedroom where my suitcase and purse still are. I pull on some pajamas, grab my iPad and iPhone out of my purse and go into the kitchen.
Chocolate.
I help myself to a slice of the decadent chocolate cheesecake and check my iPhone. No messages. Good. I fire up the iPad and perch on a stool, nibbling on the second most delicious thing in the world, ranking just below the very s.e.xy Nate.
Suddenly my phone chirps with a text. It"s from Natalie. At two a.m.?
Can"t sleep. So uncomfortable! Are you awake?
I smile and call her. I"ve missed her so much since she moved out of our house and into Luke"s house just up the street from me. I don"t get to see her as often as I used to.
"So, you are awake?" she asks dryly when she answers.
"Yes, can"t sleep. You?" I take another bite of cake.
"I"m so d.a.m.n uncomfortable. This baby has something against letting me breathe these days. And she thinks my bladder is a trampoline." I can hear the joy in her voice and I grin.
"I can"t wait to meet her, Nat."
"Me either. Only a few weeks left, can you believe it?"
"No, it"s gone so fast. Are you excited for the shower next weekend?" I ask.
"I"m excited to see the family, but you know I hate it when you guys spend money on me, Jules. We don"t need anyone to give us gifts, you know that."
I roll my eyes. I am never going to win this argument with her. She makes me crazy. "We love you, Luke and that precious baby girl. We want to spoil her. So shut up and be grateful."
"Don"t be a b.i.t.c.h," she responds, making me laugh. "How are you?"
"I"m fine. But I have a confession." I have to tell her. She"s my best friend.
"What?"
"I"m at Nate"s apartment."
"What?" she squeals.
I explain about his email this afternoon and dinner in his office and how I ended up here. There is just silence on the phone and I think I"ve lost her.
"Nat?"
"I"m here. f.u.c.k, Jules, do you know what you"re doing?"
"I know that I like him, Nat. I don"t know what"s going to happen, but frankly I"m so tired of pretending that I"m not attracted to him. It"ll work out." I bite my lip and push my cake away from me.
"I hope it works out the way you want it to, sweetie. Just be very careful. This could have disaster written all over it."
"Trust me," I respond sarcastically, "I"m aware."
I hear Luke"s deep voice in the background and Natalie"s response. "I"m fine, my love, just can"t sleep. Jules, I"ll call you this weekend. Luke"s awake now."
"Good, I do not want to hear you two go at it over the phone." I roll my eyes again and exhale. "I love you, girl."
"Love you too. Goodnight."
I put my phone down and rest my head in my hands. I told her the truth, I am tired of pretending. I"m not a great actress. But I"m going to have to continue to act at work like there is nothing going on between us. Can I do that?
Do I have a choice?
"Julianne! f.u.c.k, Julianne!"
Chapter Five.
My heart slams into my throat as I twirl at the panicked shouts of Nate in his bedroom. I hear him lunge off the bed and his feet are hitting the ground hard as he runs into the great room. He comes to an abrupt stop when he sees me across the room on the stool, his eyes are raw, feral, and he"s panting, standing there in all his naked glory.
He plants his hands on his naked hips and takes a deep breath.
"I thought you left," he murmurs.
Holy s.h.i.t.
"I"m here, I just couldn"t sleep." I cross to him and wrap my arms around his waist, linking my fingers at the small of his back and lean my cheek on his chest. "I didn"t think it was really that big a deal if I got up for a while."
I feel his lips move against my hair, and I think I hear him whisper, "You have no idea, do you?" but when I lean back to gaze up into his gray eyes, his face is calm.
"Are you okay?" he asks.
"I"m fine. I raided the cheesecake and spoke to Natalie for a minute. The baby is trying to kill her." My hands are running up and down his strong arms, soothing him.
"Trying to kill her?" he raises an eyebrow and I"m relieved to see the humor in his eyes.