Breach (24 page)

In a nervous motion
, I pulled my hair back around to try and hide the newest bite mark created by Nathan. It wasn’t that I was ashamed, because I wanted to display them, but it wasn’t appropriate for work. Especially in our profession.

“Nothing,” I replied.

“Nothing my ass, Lila. That is a fucking bruise in the shape of teeth!”

I shushed her, covering her mouth with my hand.

She laughed as I pulled my hand away, and I couldn’t help but join.

“Your guy really goes at it, huh?”

“Yeah, he gets a little…overzealous sometimes.”

“Am I ever going to meet Mr. Biter? You’ve been together for what? Over tw
o months now?” Her eyebrow quirked, her expression demanding an answer.

“It’s complicated,” I explained
with a sigh.

“Well?” She motioned with her hand for me to explain.

I looked from side to side, right in time to catch Mark entering.

“Later, ok
ay?”

I returned my attention to the coffee pot and poured myself a fresh cup. Caroline saddled up next to me a
s we waited for Mark to leave.

As soon as he was out of earshot she was on me again, unrelenting
. “What the hell is the big secret, Delilah?”

It was never
a good thing when she used my full name. I took a deep breath and let it out slowly.

“Dinner?”

She studied me, her bitch brow quirked. “Fine. But no more bullshit, that’s all you’ve been feeding me for weeks. I want to know everything.
Everything
. Hear me, missy?”

I nodded in agreement. “You better bring some wine.”

“Oh shit, it’s
that
kind of talk?”

I thought about it for a moment before changing my suggestion to something stronger.
“Maybe some tequila.”

Caroline wrapped me into a hug and leaned in to whisper in my ear. “Fuck. Who the hell are you messed up with? I can see you
’re in deep, and that worries me. Because you know I’ll fuck him up if he hurts you, right?”

I gave her a hug in
thanks before agreeing. I headed back to my office with a fresh cup, thankful that I’d met her. Caroline was such a great friend, and one of the few I’d divulged my past to. It was strange and so wonderful to have someone who cared so much about me.

My hopes were high that Jennifer was gone, but alas she was still there.

Twenty-five excruciating minutes later, she left, and I was free to turn and glare at Nathan. He smirked at me and chuckled at my obvious disdain. All I could think the entire time she was there was, how in the hell did she make it through law school let alone pass the Bar?

T
he realization she was
acting
stupid popped into my head, and I wanted to slam my hand on the desk at the hilarity. She was stupid, just not law-stupid. She really thought he’d be interested in her if she acted like a dumb blonde?

An email
showed up from Caroline, pulling me from my inner thoughts and reminding me to warn Nathan not to come over. I pulled my phone out of my purse and typed up a quick message, and sent it off to him.

Change of plans. Caroline is coming over. I can’t hide you from her any longer. I trust her. I’ll come over once she leaves.

In my peripheral, I could see him looking down toward his hip where his phone rested. His features scrunched up before returning to the computer screen in front of him.

The afternoon wore on
, and at about half-past-five Nathan said goodnight, and I decided it was time to call it a day. I gathered up my belongings and walked down the hall to Caroline’s office. We headed down to the parking lot, talking about our day before separating and driving to my place.

As soon as we walked in, Caroline headed to the bathroom
, and I walked into my bedroom, stripping off my skirt suit and finding some shorts and a tank top to slip on, as well as a set for Caroline.

I was surprised when
not five minutes after we had arrived, my front door opened.

What surprised me even
more was when I shuffled out of the bedroom, and found Nathan setting down a few bags on my kitchen counter.

He greeted me with a smile. “Hey
. I picked us up some food to make dinner with. I was thinking that chicken bake you made a couple of weeks ago. God, that was good.”

My eyes were wide as I looked back to the bathroom door, willing Caroline to stay in until I could
shoo
him out.

“What are you doing here?” I asked, s
hocked he would still come over.

Didn’t he get my text?
I needed to get him out before Caroline found him.

He smirked and pulled me into his arms as soon as I was within grabbing distance.
His mouth moved down my jaw to my neck, nipping and sucking as he went.

“
Mmm, well a song on the radio said something about disrobing, then probing. I was thinking we could do a lot of that tonight.” His fingers made their way under my shirt to my nipple, tweaking it.

“Fuck,
” I cried out.

In a sudden movement,
he picked me up by my ass and sat me down on the counter, pushing his way between my thighs. Not that I minded, it was my favorite place for him to be, but he was sidetracking me from my mission.

H
is hand had made its way up my shorts and his fingers began teasing my clit and folds. “You like that, don’t you, my little whore?”

My eyes fluttered close.
“I love your fucking dirty mouth.”

“
Mmm, I love it when you say fucking. I like being in control, fucking you how I want. You’re so willing to please me, and I love watching you come. No one is as beautiful and sexy as you when you’re coming undone around me.” His fingers pushed forward with each word.

I stifled a cry, not wanting to alert Caroline and have her come out before I could get Nathan to listen to me.

“Nathan, didn’t you get my text?”

“You sent me a
text? My phone died after lunch.”

M
y blood ran cold. “Crap!” I cried out, trying to calm the situation that was rapidly spiraling out of control.

This was a very difficult task as my bod
y complied to his every request, silent or spoken.

“You taste so fucking good.
” He thrust his fingers into me with slow, deep strokes, seeming to be lost to his state of lust.

“Nathan
, please…wait.”

“You’ve made me wait all day;
I’m not waiting any longer. Wearing that skirt to torture me…you little cocktease.”

“You don’t
…
ah
!” I cried out as he pinched my nipple. “Hold on! W-what skirt?”

“The skirt you were wearing the first time I fucked you in our office.”
His tongue swirled around the mark on my neck, his teeth nipping at it, his hips grinding his hand further into me.

“Na
than, don’t be mad,” I said, the sound of the bathroom door closing hitting my ears, making my panic rise.

His hands and
lips stopped, his body frozen. “Lila, is there someone here?”

“I tried to tell you…
the text I sent.”

“Shi
t.” He growled, his grip tightening, his head buried into my neck.

“Oh. My.
God!” Caroline’s voice rang from the hallway.

I lifted my head to
glance over Nathan’s shoulder and saw her shocked face. The sound of her purse hitting the tile floor rang out, echoing off the walls.

“Fuck,” Nathan whispered into my ear followed by a sigh of resign
ation.

He turned to look at her
, his fingers still buried in my now soaking wet pussy. He removed his fingers, my body letting out a shudder as he did, and brought the fingers to his mouth as he stared at me. Sucking them between his lips, he cleaned his fingers off and returned his attention back to Caroline, who was staring slack-jawed at him.

“Hi, Caroline.
Dinner?” Nathan asked, walking to the sink and washing his hands. He moved to the abandoned groceries and began putting them away in their proper place.

Caroline watched on
, in stunned silence, while my attention volleyed between the two. I was wondering when she was going to snap out of it, and when I was going to have to explain what was going on.

In the mea
ntime, Nathan moved about my kitchen in fluid motions, putting the groceries away before pulling out the cutting board, and a mixing bowl.

Boy, did I hope I had some sort of drink hidden in
my fridge that would help me make it through the night, because I was going to need it and so was Caroline.

The situation
was not how I had envisioned revealing Nathan to Caroline. A quiet, wine-filled evening as I slowly divulged the real identity of “Christopher” and explained what I could without exposing too much, too many of his secrets and pains.

D
ue to bad luck and dead cellphone batteries, I was sitting on my kitchen counter after having been fingered, watching him move around my kitchen with Caroline still staring in shock.

No, not how I saw the evening going at all.
I was scrambling, wondering how to tell my best friend I’d been in a fucked-up relationship with my work partner, against company policy, before she exploded.

CHAPTER
19

T
he scene in the kitchen was stagnant, waiting to unfold when Caroline finally found her voice. She turned and gaped at me, her mouth popping open and closed, reminding me of a fish. The sight would have made me laugh if the situation hadn’t been so serious.

With a deep sigh, I jumped down from the counter and walked to stand in front of her.

“Nathan?” Her voice was almost shrill.

I nodded and turned
to find him already cleaning the chicken for me, letting me deal with my friend’s initial outburst.

Caroline struggled to string her words together.
“How… I mean… Really?”

Again
, I nodded.

“But…
it’s
Nathan Thorne.
You
despise
him.” She grabbed my arm and pulled me closer. “
He’s
your Christopher?”

“Yes,” I replied.
“I wanted to tell you, I did…I wanted… ”

Caroline silenced me,
placing her hand up between us as she stared at Nathan’s back. Her fist grabbed the front of my shirt and she dragged me into the living room. Her eyes were still glued on the kitchen when she stopped and pulled me closer, her face mere inches from mine.

“Let me get this straight. You are fucking Nathan-fucking-Thorne
?” she hissed.

I swallowed hard before responding. “Yes. Caroline, I
…”

“Shush.
” She slapped her hand over my mouth. I stared at her in shock. “
You
are fucking Nathan Thorne?”

I rolled my eyes and nodded. How many times did I have to tell her?

“Holy. Fucking. Shit. You are fucking Nathan Thorne.” She smiled, beaming at me.

I grabbed her hand and removed it from m
y mouth. “I wanted to tell you. It’s just…well… What are you smiling about?”

Her grin widened. “
You
, Lila Palmer, are fucking
Nathan Thorne
.”

“Yes, J
esus, how many times do you have to say it?”

“That means t
he Boob-Squad doesn’t have their hands on him. That means that
you
gave him all the hickies I’ve seen on him…and he gave you yours.” Her mouth popped open. “That means the reason he hasn’t gone to the bar in the last few months is because he’s been with you.”