Authors: Janet Nissenson
Shattered: (50 page)
Nick slowly, carefully, withdrew his fingers from inside of her, deliberately licking the wetness off. “Even more delicious than I remember,” he purred. “Now, get on the bed, Angel. And get naked. I can’t wait any longer to have you.”
She was too dazed to resist, and climbed onto the plush king sized bed as Nick undressed with uncharacteristic haste. She watched him with unabashed interest, her eyes starved for the sight of his powerfully muscled body, and especially the thick, heavy girth of his cock. She’d almost forgotten just how huge he was, how long and intimidating, and she shivered in anticipation, hoping that her out of practice body would still be able to accommodate him without too much difficulty.
And then Nick was splendidly, majestically nude, and he was kneeling in front of her, spreading her legs wide. Without another word, he took hold of that almost ruthless looking cock and began to slowly, inch by inch, guide it inside of her.
He was just about halfway in when his control snapped, and she cried out in alarm as he rammed himself the rest of the way in, buried inside of her now from tip to root. She froze in shock as her body struggled to accept him, her head thrashing against the pillow as she whimpered in distress.
“Shh. Easy, baby,” he soothed. His hand stroked the side of her hip, gentling her, letting her get used to the unfamiliar feel of him filling her, stretching her. “It
has
been a long time, hasn’t it? You feel tight as a virgin,” he groaned. “And – Christ – I don’t want to hurt you, Angel, but I need this more than I need to breathe right now.”
has
been a long time, hasn’t it? You feel tight as a virgin,” he groaned. “And – Christ – I don’t want to hurt you, Angel, but I need this more than I need to breathe right now.”
She hooked an arm behind his head and pulled his mouth down to hers, a move she would likely never have dared to try before. “You won’t hurt me,” she urged. “And I need it as much as you do. I need – to be fucked.”
Nick swore roughly as he pulled her legs up to wrap around his hips. “Then hold on tight, Angel, because that’s exactly what you’re going to get.”
“Ah, God,” she sobbed, her back arching off the mattress as he began to thrust powerfully, pounding that big, hard cock inside of her without mercy. And quickly, all too quickly, her body remembered him, opened for him, welcomed his fierce, primitive possession. Their arms and legs tangled together, their mouths fused tightly in a never-ending series of hungry, desperate kisses as they fucked like a pair of wild beasts. She came once, twice, was still shuddering in reaction as Nick, too, found his release. Never before could she remember him bellowing that loudly, his body shaking that hard as he emptied himself inside of her, filling her up with his cum until she could feel it trickling down the inside of her thighs. He collapsed on top of her, his body still twitching, as she struggled to breathe with his heavy weight crushing her into the mattress. Finally, he heard her gasping for air and hastily slid off of her, his arm draped limply across her stomach.
“Your hair’s a mess,” he mumbled against the side of her neck. “Sorry.”
She laughed, the sound distinctly hoarse. “Like I really care. Besides, you prefer it loose, don’t you?”
Nick pulled the remaining pins out of her hair, then spread the long raven strands out on the pillow. “You didn’t cut it,” he marveled. “In fact, it seems longer than ever.”
She gave a small shrug. “I didn’t pay much attention to my appearance these past few years, didn’t always bother with things like haircuts. It just didn’t seem important.”
“I could tell,” he replied quietly. “Looks to me like we’ll need to start from scratch, Angel – putting that weight back on you, ditching those butt ugly pantsuits. Not to mention -”
“Hush.” She placed two fingers over his lips and shook her head. “Not now. Please. I can’t, Nick. I just can’t deal with your rules and demands right now, okay? Just don’t – spoil this.”
“All right.” He wrapped her in his arms and kissed her forehead. “And I know I need to back off on some of that stuff, know that I can’t dictate to you the way I used to. Things need to be different.
I
need to be different.”
I
need to be different.”
Angela caressed the damp skin of his stomach, kissing a path across his chest. “Well, not with everything,” she teased. “For example, I always liked the demands you made when we were in bed.”
He snickered, giving her a light smack on her bare ass. “Good. Because I’m going to be very, very demanding tonight. Good thing I planned ahead and booked this room. I don’t think I could have waited until we got to your place.”
Angela’s hand stilled as she fought off a sudden sense of unease. “That wouldn’t have worked anyway. Lauren’s crashing at my place this weekend.” She took a deep breath before adding quietly, “We could have gone to your place instead, you know. After all, that’s one of the ways you’re going to need to compromise if we’re going to make this work between us.”
His body tensed up immediately, and she could feel him beginning to withdraw, both physically and emotionally. “Angel, don’t. I agreed not to push you, so why don’t you agree to return the favor?”
“Favor?” She sat up abruptly, easing herself away from him. “For God’s sake, Nick, you’ve never even told me what city you live in, much less invited me to see your place. How is this relationship ever going to work if you can’t do something as simple as that?”
He growled, pushing himself to a sitting position and reaching for her. “I’m trying, Angel,” he bit out. “It’s not easy for me, but I’m trying. But you’re going to have to give me space, realize that it’s going to be baby steps all along the way.”
“Baby steps?” she repeated in disbelief. “Are you kidding me? If you’re really serious about making this work, Nick, then you need to be taking leaps right now. Great, big flying leaps.”
“That’s not going to happen,” he argued. “You’re asking too much of me, Angel, more than I can give you right now.”
Angela felt her heart begin to sink, along with all the hope she’d begun to feel this evening. She eased herself off the bed and began to gather up her clothes. “What I’m asking for, Nick,” she corrected, “isn’t anything out of the ordinary, isn’t anything that every other normal couple doesn’t accept automatically. But I’m beginning to see that you’re still not ready to change. Worse, I’m doubting if you ever will be.”
He bounded off the bed, splendidly nude, and she forced herself to avert her gaze while dressing hurriedly. If she kept looking at him, she’d be tempted to touch him again, and if she touched him she’d be back on that bed within seconds, with Nick buried inside of her.
“Where the hell do you think you’re going?” he demanded. “Get back in that bed right now. I’m nowhere near done with you tonight.”
“No.” She shook her head as she zipped up her dress. “But I’d gladly go back with you to your place, spend as many hours there with you as you like. It’s your choice, Nick. Either we continue this at your place or I leave right now. Alone.”
His mouth tightened in mutinous anger. “Are you threatening me, Angel?”
“I’d prefer to think of it as an ultimatum,” she corrected, buckling her sandals. “But whatever you want to call it, I’d say it’s pretty obvious you aren’t ready to do your part to make this work between us.” She picked up her clutch and wrap, pausing with her hand on the doorknob. “You know where to find me when you finally decide you’re ready.”
And even as he began stalking towards her, she fled, heading for the elevator as quickly as possible before she lost her nerve and ran back in the opposite direction.
“Jesus, Nick. Are you trying to kill yourself this morning? Or maybe avoid murdering someone else? Take it down a notch or two, man.”
Isaac Ochoa had been Nick’s personal trainer for more than a dozen years now, dating back to his days in pro football, and it had been a long time since he’d seen his client – and friend – work out with this much intensity. Isaac had arrived at the private gym around eight a.m. this morning, and from the looks of things Nick had already been hard at work for at least an hour. The trainer had watched Nick with mingled concern and awe as he put himself through a grueling workout, one that would have dropped any other man within the first twenty minutes or so – lifting weights, doing pull-ups, sit-ups, push-ups, back to the weights, then a round with kettle bells and medicine balls before heading to the punching bag. Nick, who was usually always controlled and deliberate about his workouts, was instead like a maniac today, unfocused and filled with raw power.
When Nick forced himself to do another fifty pull-ups, then dropped to the mat to start another series of push-ups, Isaac placed a restraining hand on his arm.
“Okay, that’s enough, man. I don’t know what the hell is bugging you this morning but you need to take a break. Even an ironman like you needs to back off once in a while. Here, drink this.”
Nick scowled as Isaac handed him both a towel and a bottle of Gatorade. He reluctantly mopped up the sweat pouring off his face before twisting the bottle open and drinking it down thirstily. “I’m fine,” he grit out between tightly clenched teeth. “And if you don’t approve you can get the hell out. It’s not like I need anyone telling me what to do around here.”
“You’re right,” agreed Isaac calmly. “Frankly, sometimes I think you just keep me around because you think I need the paycheck. Which is totally inaccurate, by the way. I’ve got plenty of clients who actually need my help, not someone like you who probably knows more than I do about working out anyway. But today, right now, you do need to listen to my advice and finish this, Nick. Go grab a shower and some food and then put your feet up for the rest of the day. I know you won’t listen to a word I say, but at least I’m covering my ass by suggesting it.”
Nick shook his head. “No, you’re right. As you can probably tell I needed to work some shit out. Life is – complicated at the moment.”
“Hmm.” Isaac was puzzled, because in all the years he’d known Nick he had rarely seen him stressed about much of anything. Nick simply didn’t tolerate things like stress, and if something didn’t sit well with him he merely removed it from his life. “Can’t imagine what that would be. You’re the most footloose guy I know – no obligations, no commitments. So it’s either work or, well, I don’t know what else it could be.”
Nick finished off the bottle of Gatorade and tossed it into a nearby recycling bin. “It’s a woman,” he acknowledged reluctantly. At the look of shock on Isaac’s face, he shrugged. “Yeah, I know. I’m still in disbelief about it myself. But, damn, this one – she’s wriggled her way under my skin, got inside my head. Not to mention constantly finding ways to really, really piss me off. And I’m afraid I could work out for another six hours and still not get her out of my head today.”
Isaac shook his head in amazement. “I’ve known you a long time, man, and have
never
seen you rattled over a woman. So this one must be something special, huh?”
never
seen you rattled over a woman. So this one must be something special, huh?”
Nick hesitated for long seconds before giving a reluctant nod. “Yeah, apparently so. I can’t think of any other logical explanation for why I’m putting up with this kind of shit at my age. Hey, I’d better get going. Thanks, dude. For stopping me from killing myself today. Or, worse, passing out. My reputation would have never been the same if anyone had seen that happen.”
Isaac grinned and gave his longtime friend a fist bump. “So am I ever going to meet this chick?”
Nick smiled wryly. “Yeah, one of these days I’ll bring her around. That is, if she’s still speaking to me after the – ah, disagreement we had last night. I’ve got a feeling I have some major kissing up to do this weekend.”
“Now
that
I’d pay
you
good money to see.”
that
I’d pay
you
good money to see.”
Nick was still chuckling to himself as he made the short drive from his gym across the bridge to Sausalito. The weather was foggy and cool this morning, so typical for summer in San Francisco, but he knew that by early afternoon the sun would be out and his incredible view of the bay from his back deck would be as clear as ever. Though given the condition he was in right now, he might very well be taking a nap by then.
He’d been
furious
after Angela had stormed out of that hotel room late last night, and had pulled his clothes on hurriedly, determined to chase after her and drag her back with him. But as he was lacing up his shoes, he thought better of the idea, especially since he would likely only make things worse given the black mood he was in. Both of them needed to calm the hell down and then talk things out when they were in a more rational frame of mind. And, admittedly, trying to have a serious conversation right after a round of especially frantic sex was not the best timing in the world.
furious
after Angela had stormed out of that hotel room late last night, and had pulled his clothes on hurriedly, determined to chase after her and drag her back with him. But as he was lacing up his shoes, he thought better of the idea, especially since he would likely only make things worse given the black mood he was in. Both of them needed to calm the hell down and then talk things out when they were in a more rational frame of mind. And, admittedly, trying to have a serious conversation right after a round of especially frantic sex was not the best timing in the world.
He pulled the Ferrari inside his garage before entering the kitchen through the side door. He started a fresh pot of coffee brewing before heading for the shower, badly needing both the caffeine and the pounding of the hot water to revive him this morning. After Angela had ditched him last night, he had left shortly afterwards, not caring that the four hundred dollars he’d casually dropped on the hotel room would be wasted. But sleep had evaded him once he reached home, and he’d had a restless night, tossing and turning, and finally giving up on the idea altogether around five a.m. It was then he’d headed to the gym, arriving when it opened at six, and putting himself through the workout from hell. If Isaac hadn’t intervened, he’d probably still be there, punishing his body until he finally dropped from exhaustion.
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