Utterly Yours (Book Three) (An Alpha Billionaire Romance) (3 page)

              Nathaniel stood over Lillian as she slowly started to awaken after what he was certain had been an uneasy sleep.  She mumbled slightly and rolled onto her back, jolting slightly when she blinked her eyes open and saw Nathaniel standing over her.  “Morning, gorgeous,” he said and slowly sat himself down at the foot of the bed.

              Her face turned red.  “Good morning,” she said, hardly able to make eye contact.  “I should probably go,” she said, throwing back the sheets so quickly that Nathaniel wondered if he was going to have to chase her down to keep her from leaving.

              “Please don’t,” he said, slowly reaching a hand out to her.

              She took his hand, but she still would not look him in the eye.  “I’m sorry about last night.  I’m really sorry.”

              “Lillian, please, let me help you,” he said and pulled on her hand slightly, drawing her towards him. 

              She was quiet, but she allowed him to nestle up close.  “I’m sorry I left.  The truth is, I need help.  I’ve needed it for a long time.  I just don’t know where to get it.”

              “Right here,” he said and leaned into her.  He ran his fingers up her thighs and brought his face closer to hers, his lips lingering less than an inch away from her mouth.  It did not take much for her to concede.  She pressed her lips against his and took hold of him by his hair.  Nathaniel grabbed her under her legs and pulled, causing her to fall onto her back.  She wiggled out of her shirt and bra as he yanked her pants and underwear down and threw off his own shirt.  He kicked off his pants, struggling slightly because he was preoccupied with her breasts.

              Nathaniel cupped one of her breasts with his hand and sucked on her other breast, licking her nipples and occasionally biting down gently.  She arched her back and moaned as he wrapped his arms underneath her, pulling her hips up slightly.  He reached his fingers down, and his hand was greeted with a surprising bit of moisture.  “Oh,” he said, grinning down at her.

              “I’m ready for you,” she said, and he entered his cock into her in one quick, forceful motion that caused her to call out excitedly.  “Damn, Nate!”

              “I want you so bad,” he said and licked her neck.

              “You’ve got me,” she said and bit down on one of his ears.  She tilted her head until she was able to look him in the eye, and she kissed his lips –dipping her tongue into his mouth for a moment.

              “Mmmm…” Nathaniel grumbled, his sound slightly muffled by her lips.  He moved his hips slowly, gradually picking up speed and increasing the strength behind each thrust until she was becoming incredibly vocal.

              “Oh, God!” she shrieked, shaking.  “Don’t stop!  Please, don’t stop!”

              He hooked one of her legs over his arm, causing her to spread wider for him.  She went wild over the new position as he crushed her slightly under his weight.  He held her leg with one arm and squeezed one of her breasts.  Her cries grew louder, and he could no longer contain himself.  A mountain of sexual relief flooded through him as he came inside her, and she collapsed beneath him –panting slightly.

              Nathaniel laid down on top of her and pulled out, and he reached his hand down to give her some additional pleasure.  She had not been expecting his fingers to enter into her, so she flinched slightly at his touch.  “Oh my,” she said, a smile reappearing quickly after her face had relaxed after her last orgasm.  “Oh, God!” she cried out.  “Nate, keep going!  Keep going!”

              A new round of moisture soaked his fingers, and she let out a final cry of pleasure before curling up close to him.  He wiped his hand against the sheets, and then he pulled her close.  They laid there mostly in silence, exchanging kisses for a while until they both had grown tired.  He took her hand in his, playing with her fingers.  “I was serious when I said I want to help you,” he said.

              “Oh, you certainly did,” she said, laughing slightly.

              “You know what I mean, Lillian,” Nathaniel said and gently kissed her lips.  “Will you let me help you?”

              She smiled.  “Yes.  I think it’s time I did something other than sulk on a park bench.” Nathaniel reached around, searching for his phone.  He sent a quick text message and then tossed it aside so that he could give her some more attention.  She pushed him back for a moment.  “Who did you text?” she asked.

              “My assistant,” he said, attempting to give her a kiss, but she pushed him back slightly.

              “You have an assistant?” she asked.

              “I’m a CEO, Lillian,” he said.  “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about all of that before.  Now you know, though.  And I can help you.  Come on, let’s get dressed.  He’ll be here in a minute.”

              Lillian followed Nathaniel’s lead, climbing out of bed to throw on some clothes.  They headed out of the bedroom to the kitchen area where Nathaniel found that Tony had already had room service for two delivered.  They ate their breakfast together and a few minutes later Tony was arriving at the door.

              He entered and smiled at Lillian, putting on a professional persona that Nathaniel normally would only see at board meetings.  “Good morning,” he said to them both, holding out his tablet.  “Miss, my name is Tony, and I am Mr. Lynch’s personal assistant.  If it’s all right with you, Mr. Lynch would like for me to set up some appointments for you.”

              “Oh,” she said, covering her mouth with a napkin.  “Um…” she looked across the kitchen island at Nathaniel.  “What sort of appointments?”

              “Well, we’d like to start out with a therapist to help you to cope with your PTSD,” he began, and Lillian cringed slightly.

              “So you told your assistant all about me, huh?” Lillian questioned, though she did not sound too angry.

              “It’s my job to know pretty much everything,” Tony said with a smile.  “I know this might seem a little strange to you, but I am quite involved with Mr. Lynch’s personal life.  He does run a multi-billion dollar company, and my job is to keep him sane.”

              Lillian chuckled slightly.  “I like him, Nate.”

              “Good,” Nathaniel said, laughing.  “It took a while for him to grow on me.” Tony rolled his eyes.

              Lillian put her napkin down.  “So, a therapist?  That’s probably a good idea.  What other appointments were you talking about?”

              “Am I to assume that it has been a while since you’ve seen a physician?” Tony asked.

              “Yes.  A while is probably a bit of an understatement,” she said.

              “All right then, no problem, I’ll be sure to set up an appointment for you,” Tony said, smiling.

              “Um…” her face turned red.  “If it’s not too much trouble…” she paused, thinking twice about whatever request she was about to make.

              “Lillian, anything you need, you just ask.  Tony is here to help.  And it’s no trouble.  I will pay for anything that you need –you don’t have to worry that you’re putting me out.  Honestly, anything you need,” Nathaniel said.

              “Um, okay,” she said and then whispered something to Tony.

              “Oh!” Tony said, and his face turned red.  “Yes, yes, I can do that for you.  No problem.”

              “Would you like to take a shower, Lillian?” Nathaniel asked while eyeing Tony; he seemed slightly flustered by whatever she asked him to do.

              “I would, actually,” she said, and Nathaniel pointed her in the right direction.  She left the two men behind.

              “What did she ask you to do?” Nathaniel asked.

              “Oh, well, she, um,” Tony shook off the embarrassment.  “She hasn’t been to a gynecologist in a while.”

              “I’m good.  No more details needed,” Nathaniel said, laughing at his young assistant’s embarrassed face.

              Nathaniel cringed when he saw his mother’s face appear on his phone.  He certainly was not in the mood for another conversation filled with guilt trips and constant pestering about his love life.  He had just sent Lillian on her way to her first appointment when he had decided to take the day off from running back and forth from the shelter.  He figured he would just enjoy some time at the hotel after spending much of the night looking for Lillian throughout New York, but it was as though his mother sensed from across the country that he had some down time.

              He sighed and answered the phone.  “Hello?”

              “Nathaniel, hello,” his mother said.

              “What’s going on, Mom?  I’m kind of in the middle of something,” he said.

              “I can tell when you’re trying to blow me off, Nathaniel, and I do not appreciate it,” his mother replied.  “I only called to tell you that I had a lovely conversation with Eliza this morning.”

              Nathaniel rolled his eyes.  His mother was relentless.  “Oh, really?” he asked, trying his hardest not to sound annoyed. 

              “Yes.  As it turns out, Eliza has enrolled herself back into school,” she said.  “She never finished her degree, you see, but apparently she has decided to complete her program.”

              “Really?” Nathaniel sat upright, quite surprised at what he was hearing.  Eliza was the party girl drop out, so this was not what he had expected.

              “Yes.  Apparently she fancies herself an academic,” his mother said.  “Veterinary school.  The woman loves animals, apparently.”

              “I did not take Eliza as the type to want to go to school –or at least, to go back,” Nathaniel said.

              “You sound impressed?” his mother questioned.

              “Well, what can I say?  I like smart women,” he said.

              His mother laughed.  “Oh, really?  That’s an awfully different change in attitude since I last saw you.  You used to just go after floozies.”

              “Gee, thanks, Mom,” Nathaniel said and chuckled slightly, surprised that he was laughing at all.

              “Oh, hush,” she said.  “I think it must be a sign that you are growing up –about time.”

              Nathaniel laughed. 
Did she just make me laugh again?  Well, this is rather pleasant –a nice change of pace.
“Well, it had to happen eventually,” Nathaniel retorted.

              “Well, it’s been a while since I’ve heard you laugh like that, Nathaniel,” she said.  “I miss it.”

              “I guess that’s your way of telling me I’ve been a little short with you lately?” Nathaniel questioned.

              “Perhaps,” she cooed.  “But I’m glad to hear that you’re sounding a bit more like yourself.  I miss being able to have a conversation with my son that doesn’t end with us angrily hanging up on one another.”

              “I guess things between you and I have been a little rocky since Dad died, huh?” Nathaniel asked, surprised he brought up his father at all.

              There was a pause on the other line before she was able to reply.  “Yes, I suppose so.  Your father knew when to tell me to shut up and leave you alone.”

              “He was always the mediator, wasn’t he?” Nathaniel said.

              “Definitely,” she said.  “You and I are both too stubborn.  Listen, Nathaniel, I know I have really been getting on your nerves lately, but I want you to know that it’s only because I care.”

              “That and you really want grandchildren, right?” Nathaniel asked.

              “That too,” she said.

              “Listen, Mom, how about this.  I’ll be back home in California soon.  Let’s you and me go to dinner.  I think it’s been a while since we’ve had a real conversation,” Nathaniel suggested, a slight smile appearing on his face.

              “That sounds lovely,” his mother said, and he could hear the happiness in her tone.

              They said their goodbyes, and Nathaniel hung up the phone with a smile on his face.  It had been a while since he had had a pleasant conversation with his mother that did not end in a fight.  He leaned back in his chair, still deciding to take the personal day he had planned for himself.  He had a busy night that evening, so he wanted to rest; he had planned a rather lavish date for Lillian, and he was looking forward to it.

              Nathaniel adorned himself in his favorite suite –a charcoal gray slim-fit that he knew drove women crazy.  The tie was a dark, navy blue, and it went well with the ensemble.  He smiled as he looked at himself in the mirror, knowing he was going to sweep Lillian off of her feet that night.  There was a knock on the door of the presidential suite, and it opened shortly afterwards.

              Tony entered, his laptop in hand.  “All right, I need you to sign a couple of things for the shelter.  If we’re staying in Troy, I do have to make you work a little bit, you know?” Tony called out from the main room.  Nathaniel exited the bedroom, and Tony gave him an awkward thumbs up that was soaked in sarcasm.

              “Sure, Tony, whatever you say,” Nathaniel said and signed the digitized paperwork without giving it much thought.  He was far too distracted with his plans for the evening to worry about paperwork on a homeless shelter.

              “Got some good news,” Tony said as he plopped himself down on the couch.  “The media in both California and here in Troy are going nuts over the shelter.  Looks like the plan to fix your playboy persona is working out nicely.”

              “Well, that is good news,” Nathaniel said, laughing slightly.  “I suppose I have to be more private about my playboy routine, then?”

              “Or you could take a few notes from your mother,” Tony teased.  “I’m pretty sure she’d appreciate you dropping the act.”

              “Fuck off, Tony,” Nathaniel said with a hand wave.  “Everything set for the evening?”

              “Yes.  Lillian is going to have a wonderful time, I’m sure,” Tony said while checking his watch.  “She should be getting flowers delivered to her room right about now.”

              “Great,” Nathaniel said and headed towards the door.  “I’m off.”

              “Enjoy your night, playboy,” Tony said and headed towards Nathaniel’s couch.

              “If you want to live it up in the presidential suite while I’m gone, be my guest, but you better not be here when I get back,” Nathaniel warned as he left the room.

              He headed down the elevator to get to Lillian’s room, and he was walking up on the room just as she was receiving flowers from the delivery guy.  “I see you got my gift,” he said, nodding politely at the delivery guy as he hurried off down the hall.

              “That I did,” she said, smiling.  “Lilies.  Cute.  Do you have any idea how many
Lilies for my Lilly
routines I’ve been through over the years?”

              “And here I thought I was being original,” Nathaniel teased.  “Yes, I can imagine so, but I bet those other guys didn’t know that your favorite lilies were Easter lilies, and if they managed to guess right that’s all it was –a guess.”

              She blushed.  “You remember me telling you that when we were kids?”

              “Are you kidding?” Nathaniel laughed.  “I had my poor mother drive me to five different flower shops trying to find you some Easter lilies for your birthday one year.”

              Her face turned even redder than Nathaniel thought possible.  “Give me a moment.  I want to put these on water,” she said and hurried into her hotel room.  She returned, and Nathaniel got a good look at the stunning blue dress she was wearing; Tony had picked out the dress and had it delivered to her door for their date. 
Nice job, Tony
, he thought as he got a glimpse of her bare back. 
Little devil knows I like backless dresses.

              “Are you ready?” Nathaniel asked, reaching his arm out.

              She hooked her arm in his, and she smiled.  “Are you?”

              They headed out; Nathaniel took her to New York Harbor, a considerable drive from Troy, but he had rented a limo for them to enjoy on the ride.  Once in the harbor, Nathaniel pointed to a large yacht.  “This is where we will be having our date for the evening,” he said.

              “We’re going on a yacht?” she asked somewhat excitedly.  “Is there like a party going on there or something?”

              “You and I are the party, Lillian,” he replied.  “I rented the yacht and its crew for the evening.  It’ll just be the two of us sailing around New York Harbor.”

              “You can do that?” she questioned.

              “Of course,” he said and took her on board.

              They shared a five course meal, including a delicate New York style cheesecake and several classes of Champagne.  “I’m starting to get a little tipsy,” she said, putting down her glass.  “I’m not used to this sort of treatment, Nate.”

              “Well, get used to it.  I like spoiling you,” Nathaniel responded with a grin, taking another sip of Champagne.

              “Honestly, I think back to when we were just a couple of kids in Troy, and I laugh at this.  So your father started some big time company, made it rich in California –taught you the ropes, and then left you to figure it out on your own after that?”

              “He left a little for mom to take care of herself with –plenty for her to live a lavish lifestyle with, and he left me a small trust fund to get started.  This company is ten times bigger than anything my dad ever started,” Nathaniel said proudly.

              “I’m sure he’d be proud.  So him and Adam’s father ran their business together?” she asked.

              “Yeah.  Adam’s father was my father’s business partner.  My dad was CEO of their company too.  After he died, though, Adam’s father took over the business.  Poor guy ran it into the ground, though.  That’s why Adam jumped on the bandwagon when I started talking about starting my own company.  We kind of followed in our fathers’ footsteps.”

              “So what exactly happened to your father?” she asked, and Nathaniel frowned.  It was a rather sensitive topic.

              “His car broke down along the highway one night,” Nathaniel said, not willing to beat around the bush with her.  “He tried to change his tire, I guess, and some guy didn’t see him.  The guy ran him over and then fled the scene.  A hit and run.  They never caught the guy.”

              “That’s messed up,” she said.  “I’m sorry, Nate.  Your mom, how is she?”

              “She’s good.  She’s on my back a lot, but that’s what mother’s do.  What about your folks?” he asked.

              “Dad didn’t make parole, so he’s been living it up in the state prison.  Same as when we were kids.  I don’t really go see him anymore.  Mom passed away when I was seventeen.  Liver failure from her drinking.  I was on my own at that point.  That’s why I joined the army,” she said, shrugging off the family drama as though it was something trivial.

              Nathaniel worked to turn the conversation around have providing his sympathies.  The conversation grew more pleasant, and soon they were making use of the large honeymoon suite below deck.  The image of her dark blue dress hitting the floor drove him wild, and he knew he was going to have one hell of a night ahead of him.