She started walking, felt resistance on her arm when he didn’t and looked back. She gave a little, inviting jerk of her head and an encouraging smile.
Nate relented and started moving forward.
The smile she directed at him deepened.
He immediately stopped, tugged on her arm and she stumbled backwards, whirled and fell into him.
His arm closed around her and he bent his head and brushed her lips with his.
Even though it was feather-light, she stared up at him dazed and, she noticed vaguely, her knees were going weak.
He seemed satisfied by something then said, “
Now
we can walk.”
She shook herself out of her daze and fell into step beside him.
“I’ll hold one of the helmets,” Lily offered.
“I’ve got it,” Nate returned.
“No, really –”
“Lily, I’ve got it.” His voice sounded like he was trying not to laugh.
“Okay,” she gave in, somewhat disgruntled that he found her funny when she wasn’t trying to be.
They walked hand-in-hand down the sidewalk until suddenly they reached Hyde Park.
Lily knew London well, had been there many times but Hyde Park (which she
loved
), regardless of its enormity, always seemed to creep up and surprise her.
“Let’s walk in the park.” She changed direction not waiting for him to answer or refuse her and entered the park. To her astonishment, he followed without argument.
They walked more and she realised that she had never been so content, so happy, in her entire life.
And she’d had led a contented (mostly), happy (mostly) life.
She sighed with pleasure.
After awhile she felt conversation was in order. Not because she was uncomfortable but because she was curious.
“Are Laura and Victor your parents?” She was timid at asking him questions. She’d tried a couple at dinner and he hadn’t been very forthcoming with answers. He’d answered, of course, but he went into no detail and seemed to prefer, vastly, getting her to talk about herself.
Nate answered, “In a way.”
She looked at him out of the sides of her eyes.
“How can they be your parents
in a way?
”
She thought he wouldn’t answer her but he did. “They adopted me when I was twelve.”
Reflexively, her hand tightened in his with this knowledge.
All sorts of thoughts raced through her head as to why he was available at the age of twelve to be adopted none of them near as bad, although her heart broke at them, as what had actually happened.
“Are they family?” she asked quietly.
“How do you mean?” She could tell by his tone that he was distracted and was thinking of something else and if she knew
what
he was thinking, she might have run screaming from the park or possibly thrown herself at him.
She walked, and always had done, watching the ground. He walked, she noted with another sidelong glance, facing straight ahead, confident and self-assured.
She found this rather affecting.
“Laura and Victor. Is one of them family? An aunt, an uncle?” she explained, thinking of his parents and how they so obviously loved him and were equally obviously proud of him, yet he didn’t call them “Mum” or “Dad”.
“No relation.” His answer was short and didn’t invite further questions.
They walked deeper into the park.
He didn’t want to talk about it, she knew. But she needed to talk about it.
He was, quite simply, hers. She’d wished for him. He didn’t know it, even she didn’t really know it at that moment, she would only really know it later but he was the love of her life.
For these reasons she carried on.
“What happened to your folks?” she enquired, her voice soft.
This time, his hand tightened reflexively and she didn’t know what to make of it except that it couldn’t mean anything good.
He stopped walking.
She did as well, turned to him and tilted her head up to look into his eyes.
“Lily,” he said quietly and looked down at her. She liked the way he said her name, it sounded good on his lips. His eyes, so dark (she didn’t know how, if they were grey or if they were blue), were intense. Nate kept talking. “I never knew my father. My mother was murdered.”
Her eyes rounded in shock and her hand shot to her mouth, her fingers pressing against her lips. He said it tersely as if it was torn from him as if he’d never said those words to anyone in his life.
“Nate,” she breathed against her fingers, she injected so much feeling in his name that she was surprised it didn’t come alive and hover in the air.
He carried on, still watching her, assessing her reaction.
“I knew Victor. He took me in and he and Laura adopted me. End of story.”
And that it was for he turned and headed back the way they came. The walk was over.
“Why didn’t you take their name?” Something made her whisper, it was none of her business and everything about him said so.
“I never want to forget who I am,” he replied, though his answer made little sense to her.
“And who are you?” she asked, curiosity getting the better of her.
And this curiosity took her irrevocably
out
of the safe, protected, sheltered bubble she’d resided in her whole life.
He stopped, halted her with a tug on her hand and turned to face her. Then his arm slid about her waist and brought her toward him until her body hit the heat of his. Then his head bent, she thought he was going to kiss her again and she held her breath in anticipation.
But instead he said more words to her than he’d ever said before in their short acquaintance.
And they were very,
very
shocking. And very,
very
effective.
“I’m the man who’s going to put your lush body on the back of his bike and take you to my flat. Then I’m going to take every piece of that lovely outfit off that lush body. Then I’m going to take you to my bed and I’m going to memorise, slowly, every inch of your skin. Then I’m going to watch you come while I’m inside you. That’s who I am.”
Her mouth had dropped open.
She hadn’t been spoken to like that in her whole entire life. She didn’t even imagine anyone spoke to anyone like that. And she hadn’t been naked in front of anyone, not another living soul since, well, since she could remember.
“Lily?” Nate called.
If there was a time when she should run, hide, escape, that was it.
But Lily wasn’t even thinking of escape because she was too busy staring at him in dumbfounded awe.
She realised he was waiting for her to answer.
“Yes?” she whispered.
It was then he bent his head to kiss her.
This kiss was not hard and reactionary. This kiss was not feather-light.
This kiss was something else.
His lips settled on hers firmly as his arm tightened about her waist, pulling her deeper into his body. His tongue came out and touched her lips and not really knowing what to do but thinking her best bet was to open her lips (slightly), she did so.
He took advantage, his tongue sweeping in her mouth and at the touch of it, the feel of it, the taste of it, her belly stopped all pretence at somersaults and launched right into several back handsprings and, she was pretty certain, a forward pike.
She moaned (she couldn’t help it, it felt so good and she felt his kiss not just in her belly but
everywhere
) and her arms went around his shoulders, her fingers sifting into the crisp, soft hair at his nape.
She heard from what seemed a great distance the helmets hitting the ground and his other arm came around her and crushed her to his body. One hand slid down over her bottom.
She moaned again (she couldn’t help it, his hand on her bottom felt so… very…
nice
and what she felt of him straining against her front was even
nicer
).
His tongue played with hers, danced with hers, duelled with hers and she matched him, mimicking his actions, going on instinct not able to wrap her mind around a single thought. She pressed her hips against his, wriggling them for good measure and to get better purchase because she
liked
what she felt and she slid her fingers deeper into his hair, holding his head to hers.
It was his turn to groan and she absorbed it in her mouth, realising with knees going weak, how he felt when he absorbed hers.
It was luscious.
He lifted his head or rather ripped his lips from hers in what appeared to be a great effort.
Then he murmured, “Fucking hell, you’re magnificent.”
It might not have been a compliment every girl who’d been addicted to romance novels for a decade desired to hear but it worked really well on Lily.
“We’re going home.” His voice was both determined and urgent.
Lily nodded.
Their stroll back to the bike was more like a race. In fact, halfway there she pulled her hand free and stopped while he looked back at her impatiently. She didn’t say a word, just bent over, slipped off her shoes and held them dangling from their straps in her fingers.
When she straightened, she tilted her head and smiled a quirky smile at him.
And then she ran all the way back to his bike.
Nate did not run. He strode purposefully with long-legged, ground-eating strides and he watched her as she ran.
And even though he didn’t run, he made it to the bike mere moments after she did.
And then they went home.
Nate, Lily and the Conception of Tash
Nate nearly killed them on the way home.
It was sheer, erotic torture having her sweet body pressed against him after that kiss.
Once there, thankfully safely, Lily alighted from the bike first but he didn’t wait for her to take off her helmet. He grabbed her hand and dragged her behind him, using his free one to tear his helmet off as he strode into the building, completely ignoring the doorman who called out a greeting.
She struggled to keep up and struggled with her helmet but managed to pull it free at the elevator. Just like she did before, she tossed her head and her shining, gold-red hair flew free about her face and tumbled down her back as she tugged it off and she immediately tilted her head up to him.
She looked scared and excited and he found he liked that look on her face.
Very much.
The elevator came, its doors opened and he shoved her roughly inside. He followed her, tagged the button for his floor and as they ascended, he pushed her against the wall and pressed against her.
The minute his lips met hers, she moaned and at the sexy little sound, he fought to control the impulse to tear her clothes from her body in the elevator.
She opened her mouth and he took immediate advantage. She still tasted like wine and the rich chocolate dessert she’d ordered and eaten with abandoned relish, this being a first for him, most women flatly refused dessert or even acknowledged that they desired it.
Her arms wrapped around his waist under the jacket he was too impatient to force her to wear on the way home and he wondered how she could bear to touch him. He felt like a fever had overcome him and he was certain a single touch would sear her skin.
The elevator doors opened and he wasted no time, he dragged his mouth from hers, grasped her hand and advanced down the hall. She had to run to keep up with him and when he halted abruptly at his door, she couldn’t stop herself and ran into him.
This caused her to giggle as she righted herself and his head swung to look at her as he dropped her hand to put the key in the lock.
She smiled her quirky, effective smile and said, “We’re rather in a hurry, aren’t we?”
He shoved open the door. “Damned right.”
He grabbed her hand and pulled her in.
He threw his helmet in the vague direction of the couch, ripped hers from her hand, not noticing she was glancing about inquisitively, and sent it flying in the same direction. Then his hand locked on hers again and he headed for the bedroom.
“Nate,” she said behind him.
He didn’t answer and his step didn’t falter.
“Nate,” she called, louder this time with her hand tugging at his.
He heard her but he still didn’t respond nor did he release her hand. He walked into his bedroom, straight to the side of the bed.
Then
he stopped.
“Nate.”
His hands went right to her cardigan as his eyes locked on hers.
“You know, Lily,” his voice was deeper than normal, and harsh, as he pulled the jumper from her body, “you get in that bed with me and it’s anything like what I felt the first time I laid eyes on you, anything like when you first touched me,
anything
like that kiss in the park, I’m never letting you go. Do you understand me?”