NFH 03 Checkmate (32 page)

"More," Rory said, sounding a little
desperate as she spread her legs further and arched her hips to the
perfect angle, baring more of herself to him.

He moved to give her what they both wanted
when a thought had him pulling back. As much as he'd love to take
her like this, and he would damn well be taking her like this one
day, today was not that day. Her arm and ribs were still sore and
leaning against the counter that way while they made love probably
wouldn't feel too good and he definitely wanted her to feel
good.

"Wait!" Rory rushed out, gesturing for him
to put her back down mere seconds after he scooped her up into his
arms and headed for the door. "What are you doing? I need really
quick, hot sex!" she whined adorably.

"And that's exactly what you'll get," he
promised as he carried her into his room and headed for the
bed.

Like most men, he enjoyed sex, at least the
act, but it had always been straight forward with him and always in
a bed. Even when he was a kid trying to work Rory out of his
system, he’d preferred a bed. He'd sneak into the girl's room or
sneak her into his. His sex life had never been kinky or
adventurous and he'd never really cared enough to change that.

Plenty of the women over the years
complained that he wasn't as in to sex as they were. They bitched,
cried, and did everything imaginable to turn him inside out and
make him wild between the sheets. Their attempts only made him
realize that things weren't going to work out that much faster. For
years, he'd wished that he'd been able to give a woman more, be
there for her and want her so damn much that he'd thought he'd die
if he didn't have her, but that never happened.

Until now that is.

Right now he wanted to drag Rory back into
the bathroom, bend her back over the sink and fuck her until his
legs gave out and when they collapsed on the floor he wanted to do
it again. He wanted to take her in every room in the house, in a
thousand different positions and a hundred times a day. He wanted
her, needed her, and he'd be damned if he was ever going to walk
away from her.

He was done.

Rory James was his perfect match in every
way and he'd been foolish to chalk up his feelings for her as a
simple infatuation all those years ago. There was nothing simple
when it came to him and Rory. They drove each other crazy in every
way imaginable and he wouldn't have it any other way. He wanted
her, wanted to be with her, drive her crazy for the rest of their
lives and he was damn well going to do it.

As he gently laid her on the bed, he
realized what he wanted from Rory, forever. He'd get it too. He was
a ruthless bastard when it came to something that he wanted and he
definitely wanted Rory James. It became crystal clear to him what
he needed to do in order to get what he wanted as he moved between
Rory's spread legs and pressed a kiss against her hip.

He was going to marry her.

Acknowledging the fact that he wanted to
marry her didn't faze him in the slightest, because he realized
that he was still in love with her and that fucking terrified him.
For a long time he'd hoped, prayed really, that he'd find a woman
that could make him happy, make him feel whole and now that he'd
found her, he felt oddly terrified and hopeful.

Terrified because this was Rory James he was
talking about here and he would definitely have to sleep with one
eye open for the rest of his life if he married her, but it would
be worth it. She was worth it. They could have a good life
together, not perfect, but good. He knew that he'd piss her off a
lot along the way, but that was okay because he knew Rory wouldn't
hesitate to reach for her pliers.

The only problem as far as he could tell was
this little deal of theirs. It had to go. Things hadn't gone
exactly as planned, but he was pleased with the results
nonetheless. Rory was in his bed, in his life and it was damn well
going to stay that way. He still planned on taking over her
company, but he'd do it as her husband now. He'd handle running the
sites and she could manage the office or whatever the hell it is
that she wanted to do.

First though, he needed to get this deal of
theirs out of the way so that he could make his next move, making
this permanent. He didn't want to hide behind this deal, didn't
need to, he realized. Rory wanted and needed him just as badly as
he needed her. Once the deal was off the table, she'd realize that
and probably be just as relieved as he was not to have to hide the
way she felt any longer.

"If you don't hurry up, I'm going to have to
kill you," she warned him, panting hard and making him smile as his
suspicions were confirmed.

She definitely wanted him.

"You'd miss me," he said, teasingly as he
pressed one last kiss against her hip and moved to cover her with
his body.

"Not this time. My aim's getting better,"
she said, wrapping her arms around his shoulders and pulled him
closer.

He chuckled as he settled himself between
her legs, loving the way she loosely wrapped her legs around him,
ready to keep him locked in place. "And what exactly would you do
without me around to brighten up your day?" he asked, leaning down
to kiss her as he shifted until he felt the tip of his cock slide
over her clit and come to rest at her wet entrance.

"Probably lead a fuller, more productive
life and maybe get a hobby or something," she said, moaning softly
as she tilted her hips only to bring them right down, taking the
tip of his cock inside of her hot wet core that he planned on
worshipping for the rest of the night.

"You'd die of boredom if I wasn't around,"
he pointed out.

She laughed softly as she moved her good
hand to cup his jaw. "Probably."

"You like being with me? " he found himself
asking as he slowly slid inside of her, taking his time and
watching as she arched her back, licking her lips as she moaned,
"More."

He wanted to do just that, needed to do it,
but somehow he found the willpower to stop halfway inside of her
and ask again, "Do you like being with me, Rory?"

"Less talking, more sex," she groaned,
cupping the back of his head and trying to pull him down for a
kiss, but he refused to be distracted. He wanted to hear her say
it.

"Do you like being with me, Rory?" he
demanded softly as he looked down into her beautiful blue eyes.

"Do you want me to kill you, Connor?" she
demanded, sighing in annoyance as she rolled her hips up to force
more of his shaft to slide inside her.

He allowed himself one slow thrust before he
pulled back and forced himself to focus, further pissing her
off.

"Connor!"

"Answer me," he gritted out, wondering why
the woman was being so damn stubborn at a time like this.

She glared up at him for a moment before she
snapped, "I forgot what you asked, you psychotic bastard!"

"Would you like me to refresh your memory?"
he asked, smiling as he leaned down and kissed her.

"If it gets you to move your ass!" she
muttered against his lips with a pout.

He pressed one last kiss against her lips
before he pulled back just far enough so that he could look into
her eyes as he softly asked, "Do you like being with me?"

"Oh my God, that's why you're denying me
sex?" she demanded, letting out a frustrated groan as she once
again tried to roll her hips to entice him, but he was ready for
the move and pulled back just enough to keep her attention.

"Yes and if you want sex then you're going
to answer me," he explained, looking down into her beautiful eyes
as they glared back up at him with murderous intent.

For a moment she simply laid there, glaring
up at him and he didn't need to ask to know that she was
calculating the odds of him doing what she wanted without telling
him the truth. He knew the second that she came to the conclusion
that the odds weren't very good. The glare disappeared as she
slowly exhaled, reaching up and cupping his jaw as she admitted,
"Yes, I like spending time with you, but I still hate you. Does
that make you happy?"

"You hate me?" he demanded, narrowing his
eyes on her as he pulled back until just the very tip of the head
was inside her.

She let out a frustrated groan before she
snapped, "Fine! I don't hate you as much as I used to! Are you
happy now?"

"Extremely," he said, grinning as he leaned
down to kiss her.

"Are you going to tell me why it was so damn
important that you had to interrupt sex time for that?" she mumbled
against his lips as he slowly sank back inside her.

If he hadn't been so damn distracted by the
feel of her hot, wet sheath wrapping around him as he slid back
inside of her and so damn happy that she'd admitted that she liked
being around him, he probably wouldn't have fucked up and told her
the truth.

"Because I'm in love with you, Rory."

Yeah, he was a fucking moron.

Chapter 28

"Get off of me."

"Rory, I-"

"Get the hell off of me, Connor!" she
snapped, pushing at his shoulders, ignoring the sharp pain shooting
through her broken arm as anger and desperation rushed through her,
demanding that she put space between them.

"Baby, relax," Connor said soothingly as he
slowly pulled out of her. If she wasn't so close to a nervous
breakdown, she'd probably be crying in frustration at the loss. She
was going to lose it and she wanted to get away from him when it
happened, afraid that she would truly kill the bastard this
time.

They'd both done some horrible things to
each other over the years, but this.....this was crossing the line.
This was sick, vicious and low even for Connor. If she wasn't so
damn sure that she was falling for the bastard, she would have
laughed off his declaration of love, shoved him off and walked away
without a second thought. Instead, she was trapped beneath him,
struggling against the need to act like a girl and cry as she
screamed and slapped him for this sick joke.

"I love you, Rory," he said softly as he
gently caressed her cheek with the back of his knuckles as he gazed
down at her, a small smile touching his lips that just went to piss
her off even more.

"Stop," she begged, trying to push him away,
but the damn man refused to move.

"Rory, I-"

"If you say that you love me one more time,
I swear to God that I will kill you with my bare hands," she said
evenly as she shoved at his shoulders one more time and this time,
with a small groan, he moved away from her.

She didn't waste any time in getting off the
bed and going to the bathroom to find her clothes. As she yanked on
her shirt, she mentally berated herself for being so stupid. She
should have never slept with him, never mind going along with this
deal. She'd been an idiot to think that she could handle Connor.
She'd never been able to before and she didn't know why she thought
that she could handle him now.

God, she was such a fool. The moment that
she realized that she was feeling something for the bastard, she
should have called off this ridiculous deal of theirs and figured
out another way to get her suites. Instead, she used excuse after
excuse to give and take what she wanted and now she was paying for
it. She'd had her heart broken by several men before, how could she
not?

They treated her like a fuck buddy, someone
that they wanted to get off with. When they became bored or
something better came along, they moved on, leaving her feeling
worthless. As much as it hurt to be treated like crap it didn't
even begin to compare to what it felt like to have her heart broken
by Connor.

"We need to talk," Connor said, coming up
behind her just as she finished pulling her jeans on, and wrapped
his arms around her.

"Get your goddamn hands off of me,
Connor!"

"No, we need to talk," he said, tightening
his hold, but not enough to hurt her, when she tried to pull
away.

"The deals over, Connor! I'm done! You
finally won, okay? You won!" she cried, struggling against his hold
with everything that she had, but he refused to let go even as she
kicked, rammed her elbow into his side and thrashed in his arms as
the first tear rolled down her cheek. She didn't want him to see
her cry, refused to let him know just how badly he'd hurt her.

"The deal doesn't matter, Rory. The suites
are yours," he rushed out on a grunt when she managed to turn
slightly to the left and slammed her elbow in his stomach,
desperate to get away from him.

"I don't want them!" she screamed, hating
herself when a sob broke through.

"Baby, please calm down," Connor pleaded,
tightening his hold on her.

"Let me go!"

"Not until you hear me out."

"I don't want to hear you out, you lying,
life ruining bastard! I hate you, you asshole!" she barely managed
to get out through the sobs.

For a moment he didn't say anything and she
was thankful for that, but even happier when he finally released
her. She quickly stepped away from him and headed for the bathroom
door and her escape when his next words stopped her short.

"I'm sorry about that night, Rory. I'm sorry
for so many fucking things," he said, his voice hoarse.

"You shouldn't have come that night," she
said tightly, forcing herself to face him.

"I regret a lot of things about that night,
but I don't regret that," he said, meeting her glare with a hard
look of his own.

"You ruined my life that night," she said
quietly, not bothering to wipe the tears away as they streamed down
her cheeks.

"I know."

"If you hadn't come that night-"

"You would have had to deal with something
far worse than losing your scholarship, Rory," Connor said, cutting
her off.

Frowning, she asked, "What the hell are you
talking about?"