With Me in Seattle Bundle One (57 page)

I walk downstairs, jacket unzipped, and find Nate finishing with the dishes.  His back is to me. He’s taken off his suit jacket, rolled the sleeves of his white shirt—yum, that tattoo—and his ass just looks so fantastic in those black slacks.

 “Need any help?” I ask, getting his attention, and am not disappointed by the drop of his jaw when he turns and looks at me.  His eyes go wide and dilate, and I smile smugly, my hands on my hips.

“I see you got a leather jacket,” he murmurs as he slowly saunters toward me.

“I had orders.”  I shrug.  “I’m good at taking direction.”

“So you are.”  He stops about two feet away from me and rakes those hot gray eyes over my body, from my Choo-clad feet to the top of my blond head, then looks me in the eyes and takes a deep, deep breath.  “Fuck, you’re beautiful.”

I can’t speak.  I can’t move.  I can just gaze back into those lust-filled eyes, and the blood rushes south, pooling between my thighs.  I bite my lower lip and reach out, bunching his shirt in my fist, my eyes still on his, and jerk him forward so his chest is just an inch from mine.  His hands are still hanging at his sides, balled into fists. Our lips are inches apart, and I can’t stop gazing into his eyes.

“Nate,” I whisper.

“Yes, baby?” he whispers back.

“If you don’t touch me, like thirty seconds ago, I’m not responsible for my actions.”

His lips curve up into a half smile, and he exhales, his eyes moving down to my lips, then back to my own.  His fingers lightly brush down my cheek, the pad of his thumb across my lower lip, and I bite that pad, gripping his wrist in my hand, and then gently suck it, rolling my tongue around it.  His eyes close and teeth clench, and the next thing I know, he’s kissing me like crazy and pushing me back into the living room. 

“Jesus, you’re so fucking hot.” His face is against my neck, licking and biting, just under my ear, and it sends the most delicious tingles down my back.  He parts the front of my jacket, exposing my breasts, and kneads one, brushing his thumb back and forth over my nipple, making it pucker and my back bow.

Nate lays me down on the couch and covers my body with his, hitches my right leg around his hip and grinds his still-covered erection against my center.

“Oh God.”  My hands dive into his hair, and I hold him against me, rubbing against him, feeling his lips and teeth on my neck, and it’s pure bliss.  “Nate.”

“Yes, baby?”  He rocks a little harder against me and kisses me tenderly, and I fucking come apart beneath him, writhing and pushing against him.

Holy shit.

Before I can recover, Nate has unzipped his pants, and I feel the tip of his glorious cock, and those magnificent metal balls, at my opening, and he slams into me, burying himself inside me.

I cry out, lifting my hips against him.

He stills and lifts his head, his molten gray eyes boring into mine.  “Did I hurt you?”

“No, God, no, don’t stop.”

He growls and pulls out almost all the way, then slams in again, over and over.  I feel my body tightening, and I try to hold it back, wanting this to last.

“You’re so goddamn tight,” he growls, his jaw clenched shut.

It feels so fucking good.

“Let go, baby.”

“Not yet,” I whisper back.

He bites my earlobe and starts to slam into me even harder, gripping my ass in one hand and pulling me tighter against him.

“Yes, now.  Do it, babe.” 

And I can’t stop.  The orgasm pushes through me with such intensity I can’t even feel my teeth.  I grip his ass in my hands, and he cries out as he slams into me one last time, and I feel him erupt inside me.

“Holy hell, happy birthday to me,” I murmur and feel him grin against my neck.

He rears back and pulls out of me, stands up and pulls me up into his arms, cradling me against his chest, and carries me up the stairs.

“Where are we going?” I ask, as I run my fingers through his hair.

“I’m not done yet.  We’re going to bed.”

Holy shit.

***

There are many things that I love about my job.  It makes me think, it’s challenging, I’m surrounded by incredibly intelligent people.  On the downside, it is fiercely competitive, and colleagues can be brutal.  In my experience, women are especially catty.  The men I’ve worked with have been driven and don’t involve a lot of emotion in work.  There’s just no time for it.

But women are a different breed.  What is it with women and drama? 

I’m not here to make friends. I have friends. But having an amicable working relationship with my colleagues is preferable.  This hasn’t been a challenge for me, for the most part. 

Until Carly Lennox.

Carly joined our firm last summer, and she hated me on sight.  She’s really good at plastering a fake smile on her pretty face in front of the bosses, but her eyes are cutting.  She’d give her right tit to throw me under the bus.  I’ve managed to ignore her for the most part because she works on a different team, and I’m thankful.

But then there are days that I just can’t seem to avoid her.

I breeze into the restroom at five p.m. on Friday afternoon.  It’s the end of the workday, and Nate and I are going to spend a good portion of the weekend together, again.  We’ve spent every night together since Monday, alternating between his place and mine.  We take separate cars to and from work, leaving at different times so we don’t attract any attention.

Pretending Nate is just my boss, acting professional and detached, has begun to wear on my nerves.  I never realized before how often I see him throughout the day.  A few days away from the office to just be
us
will be a welcome reprieve.

“Jules,” Carly sneers as I walk into the large, plush restroom.

“Carly,” I respond, smiling sweetly.  My mom always says, Kill ’em with kindness.  It seems to especially work with the bitchy Carly.

“Plans for the weekend?” she asks and smoothes pale pink lip gloss over her pouty lips. 

She really is stunning, with naturally curly red hair, big brown eyes, and creamy skin.  She’s super thin, though, with no muscle tone and no boobs. 

That’s what you get when you’re a bitch.

“Yes, I have a few,” I respond, deliberately vague.  “You?”

“Oh, I have a date.”  She smirks and looks around, as if she’s about to confide a deep secret and wants to make sure we’re alone.  “With Nate.”

What the fuck?

My face doesn’t change.  I apply my lipstick, smooth my tongue over my front teeth and smirk at her.  “Good luck with that.”

I saunter back out of the restroom, my mind whirling.  Obviously, she’s lying.  I have no question that Nate is not seeing her. He spends every free minute with me.

So what’s her game?

I shrug her off and head toward Nate’s office.  He’s requested another “after-work meeting” so we can firm up tonight’s plans.

And so he can see me.

It’s really quite ridiculous how addicted we’ve become to each other.  But it feels so damn good.

Entering his office suite, I see that Mrs. Glover isn’t at her desk, so I just continue to Nate’s office door, knock once, and before he can answer, I open the door and breeze right in.

“Sorry I’m late, Mr. McKenna—” The words stop, and my world tilts on its axis.

Nate is sitting at his desk, leaned back in his chair, looking up at a very beautiful brunette perched on the edge of his desk, her long legs crossed, black stiletto-clad feet dangling.  She’s wearing a simple, casual maxi dress. 

Nate is scowling up at her. Her fingers are running down his face.

I want to claw her fucking eyes out. 

Nate’s gaze swings to mine when I enter the room, and for a brief moment there is a look of surprise, perhaps regret, then he’s his cool, calm, professional self.

Mrs. Glover clambers in after me.

“I’m sorry, Mr. McKenna, I wasn’t at my desk to ask Miss Montgomery to wait.”

“That’s okay, Jenny. Audrey was just leaving.”  He rises from his chair and comes around the desk. 

The brunette jumps gracefully off his desk and smiles adoringly up at him, but he ignores her, his gray eyes pinned to mine.

I clear my throat and thank the baby Jesus that I’ve maintained a neutral, professional expression, conscious that Mrs. Glover continues to hover behind me.  “I’m sorry to intrude. I thought we had an appointment, but I can see you’re busy. I’ll be leaving for the day.”

I turn to leave, but he stops me.  “One moment, please.”  He turns to Audrey and says sternly, “The answer is no.  As always.  Don’t come back here.”

She exhales in frustration and looks like a spoiled girl who doesn’t like to be told no.

“Fine.”

She glares at him and turns on her heel to stalk out of the room, pausing by me.  She gives me a cold smile. “We haven’t met.”  She offers her hand, and I take it before she says, “I’m Nate’s wife, Audrey McKenna.”

Chapter Eleven

I feel the blood leave my face, but I don’t flinch.  It’s the hardest thing I’ve ever done.

“Hello,” I murmur and shake her hand, then step back, avoiding Nate’s gaze.  I can feel his eyes on me, silently begging me to look at him.

Fuck him.

“Bye, babe.” Audrey waves at Nate and saunters out of the room, and I decide to make a hasty escape as Mrs. Glover watches.

“I really do have to go.”  I back toward the door.  “Let’s reschedule our meeting for Monday.”

“Julianne…”

I vaguely hear him say my name, but I ignore him and walk quickly, and with all the dignity I can muster, with my head up, out of his office.  I know he won’t follow me, not with Mrs. Glover and anyone else still in the office watching.

I use this to my advantage, quickly gather my handbag and jacket and leave the office, just catching the elevator.

What in the name of all that’s holy just happened?

Nate’s married? 
Married?

How is that possible?

My hands start to shake, and I just need to get the hell out of here.  Once in my car, I race out of the underground parking lot and fight downtown traffic.  Tears have started to fall, and they piss me off because I never cry, and he’s made me cry twice this week.

I hear my iPhone ringing in my handbag and ignore it.  I can’t talk to him.  I don’t want to hear his excuses.

I risked my career for him.  But even worse than that, I risked my heart.

Fuck.

My phone continues to ring.  He just hangs up then dials again.  Finally, I rummage in my bag, pull out the phone and turn it off.

I don’t want to go home.  He’ll just come there, and I don’t want to see him, so I go to the only other place I can think of.

I need Natalie.

I guide my little red Lexus through the gate to Luke and Natalie’s home and down to their beautiful, white, modern house.  I ring the bell and frown.  I hope I’m not waking Nat up from a nap.  She’s so pregnant.  Luke made her stop working a few weeks ago, and she’s been taking it easy.

Natalie answers the door, takes in my tear-streaked face and steps back.

“What’s happened?”

“I can’t talk about it yet. Give me a minute.”  I close the door behind me, and she holds her arms open for me.  “How do I maneuver around this thing?” I ask and hug her over her baby bump.

“Where there’s a will, there’s a way, believe me.”  She hugs me close and strokes her hand down my hair.  “What’s going on, sweetie?”

I shake my head, pull back and rub her belly.  “She’s almost here.”

Natalie smiles widely and covers my hand with hers.  “I’m scared out of my fucking mind.”

“You’ll be fine.  Luke and I will be there.  I’ll kick the doctor’s ass if anything happens to either one of you.”

“That’s why I have you.  You’re the brawn in this operation.” 

We laugh, and I follow her through the great room into the kitchen.  From behind, you’d never know she was pregnant.  She’s hardly gained any weight, mostly due to the horrible morning sickness she’s had.  Natalie is the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen, and I’ve seen plenty of beautiful women.  She has long, chestnut-brown hair and green eyes, and her body is kickin’ with luscious curves. 

But her heart is the most beautiful part of her.  She is kind and generous to a fault.  She thinks I don’t know that she paid off my parents’ mortgage last year.  Of course I know.

“Tea?” she asks and fills a kettle in the kitchen sink.

“Please.” I sit on a stool at the breakfast bar and hang my head in my hands, my thoughts returning to Nate.

“Hey, Jules.” Luke smiles at me as he walks into the room from his office.  He kisses me on the cheek then moves into the kitchen and wraps his arms around Natalie, kissing her deeply,  his hands roaming to her belly.

“Jesus, guys, really?  I just got here.” 

Luke pulls back and smiles smugly at me, and Natalie goes back to making tea.  He really is a handsome son of a bitch, with messy blond hair and the bluest eyes ever.  And he treats Nat like a goddess, so I can’t help but love him.

“What’s up, Jules?  You don’t look so good.”  He leans his hips against the counter and crosses his arms, frowning. 

I shrug and look into the great room at all the baby gear.  “There’s a lot of pink going on here.”

I see Nat and Luke share a worried glance, then they both look back at me.  I’m so not getting out of here without spilling the beans, but I’m not ready yet. Maybe if I don’t talk about it, it didn’t happen.

“It’s a girl, Jules.”  Natalie smiles at me and rubs her belly.

“I know.  Thank God.  I’m going pink crazy myself.”  I grin and feel my eyes widen when Natalie flinches.  “What’s wrong?”

“She’s kicking the shit out of me.”

“Oh, I wanna feel!”  I run around the island and kneel before her.  She guides my hands where the baby is, and I lay my head on her belly, listening.

“This would be so much more fun if you two were naked,” Luke remarks, earning a slap from Nat.

“Shut up, perv,” I mumble and caress the baby bump while Nat runs her fingers through my blond curls.  Oh, how I’ve missed them. 

Suddenly, the enormity of what happened in Nate’s office hits me, and my loneliness for my best friend overwhelms me, and tears start to roll down my cheeks.