And he didn’t. Seeing my rapture, Nathan only pressed further, wriggling his tongue against me until I dug my nails into his scalp and let out a low groan of unbridled ecstasy. My orgasm threatened to overwhelm me as I writhed and flailed, my breasts heaving with each labored breath I took, every fiber of my being unraveling as this man dangled me over the precipice of divine bliss.
“Nathan!” I pleaded. “Please!”
And like so many times before, Nathan knew exactly what I wanted. He stood up, pulled off his shirt, and crawled on top of me, kissing me so tenderly I thought I might melt. Everything about him was burning hot. Touching him was an exquisite kind of pain.
I reached down to unbutton his jeans, pushing them down over his hips until I could feel his hard cock pressing into my thigh. He was warm and thick, as incredible as he’d always been as he pulled back just enough to press into my slit. I was so wet that he slipped along my folds, teasing me with his tip.
I hesitated. “The condoms,” I said, pointing toward my purse. Nathan held me there, our bare flesh on the brink of becoming one.
“You saved my life, Sandra… I want you now, just like this. I don’t care what the consequences are.”
“Oh God… Fuck me Nathan. Please!”
I lifted my hips to guide him toward my center. He held himself at my opening, teasing me with tiny little thrusts that never pushed him entirely inside. I whimpered and looked up at him, caressing his face with both hands as I gazed into his eyes.
“Please,” I implored again. I was feverish, sweat forming on my brow. I needed this man’s cock, and he knew it.
He grinned, and for a moment, he was that cocky and spoiled rich kid who bent me over his desk and too my innocence. Although I’d never let him affect me then, I admitted to myself now that those arrogant grins were so goddamn hot.
I kissed him again as he thrust into me, driving away all the pain and regret I’d held inside me since Momma and Jenny. I held onto him tight, pressing my face into the curve of his neck as he took me, filling me with his warmth, his tenderness, and his love.
He moved inside of me, thrusting steadily, covering my body in tiny grateful kisses as I ran my fingers through his hair, clutching any part of him I could. He was so perfect. We were so perfect, the two of us together. We were broken apart, but with one another, we were healing.
“What if I get pregnant,” I whispered between panting gasps.
“Then you’ll give me everything I’ve ever wanted,” Nathan replied, gripping me tighter and driving him cock deep. With every thrust, our jagged edges collided, smoothing us into jewels that could only shine when we were together. With every gasp, I felt a little bit of him flow into me, forging a bond I knew could never break. With every pass of his hands through my hair, over my neck, down the side of my wriggling body, I felt more and more like we were meant to be.
The deeper he pushed into me, the more I felt how much we belonged together. We fit so perfectly in each other’s arms. It was like I’d been missing a piece of myself since as far back as I could remember, and now I’d finally found it. I was never letting go.
I shuddered as I felt him swell inside me. His breath was hot on my ear, coming in short bursts, in desperate gasps. I pulled back, looking into his eyes and seeing the pleasured strain on his face. I knew he needed the release just as much as I did.
“Let it go,” I cooed to him, holding his face in both my hands regardless of the pain. “Go ahead, Nathan.”
He looked into my eyes as he bit his lip and released inside of me, relinquishing his own pain, guilt, and doubt with each pulse of his orgasm. I held his gaze, watching the rapture overtake him, watching as both our bodies let go of all the darkness we’d been carrying and finally ascended into the light.
When he lay in my arms, head burrowed into my breasts, I knew everything was going to be all right. The trial tomorrow, Peter Wallace’s fate—none of it mattered. We were free.
Chapter 10
I stood outside the doors where Nathan would soon make his exit, dressed in my nicest suit and smiling so hard I thought I might pop the surgical glue on my cheek. He’d done it. He’d testified. I couldn’t possibly have been prouder of the man.
News crews had gathered down the steps near the street, waiting for him to make his appearance. As he finally emerged past the door, he looked around, eyes narrowed.
“So, this is it, huh? I do a good deed and now they throw me to the wolves?”
I laughed, following his gaze toward the reporters. “It’s not so bad. They’re going to love you. You’re a hero!”
“Nobody ever loves a billionaire,” he muttered, straightening his tie. I knew he hated it. It had been a bitch convincing him to wear one during his testimony.
“I wouldn’t count on that,” I said, trying not to grin too hard and hurt myself. “Come on. I’ll be with you every step of the way.”
Nathan smiled. “Did you bring your gun?”
I laughed and shook my head, following him out the front doors and down the courthouse steps toward the clamoring journalists and flashing cameras.
Their voices rose in a chorus around him, cries of “Mr. Hale! Mr. Hale!” so loud they were all we could hear. I knew Nathan had planned on slipping past them without making a statement, but he stopped when it became clear they weren’t going to let up. He held up his hands to calm them down.
“Mr. Hale,” one woman said, speaking excitedly into her microphone. “It only took the jury thirty minutes to reach a guilty verdict on the Peter Wallace trial. How much do you think your testimony tipped the scales in the prosecution’s favor?”
Nathan smiled patiently and looked around at the multitude of stations all vying for footage of the city’s most prominent billionaire. Then he put his arm behind my back and pulled me forward beside him.
“I think when anyone does the right thing, it makes a hell of a lot of difference—more than we ever think it might,” he answered, his arm remaining tight around my waist. I looked up at him as he continued: “We’re made to believe that one person can’t make a difference without money or power. I have both, but none of that mattered. What mattered was a woman—a detective—so driven by the desire to do the right thing that her actions convinced me it was time to stand up for something greater than myself. You all know me as the billionaire playboy Nathaniel Hale, the guy who throws obnoxious parties and spends way too much money on cars and other frivolous things.” He smiled, turning to face me. “But that’s not me anymore. Now I’m the guy who does the right thing, because one woman dared to stand up and challenge me. And that could’ve been any of you. Anyone can stand up and do the right thing, because all it takes is one person to show the rest of the world how powerful they really are.”
Oh God… I thought to myself.
“But this woman,” he added, a grin slowly spreading over his face. “Is the real hero of this story, not me. And she’s my hero.”
I smiled as he leaned down and kissed me, completely aware of the cameras all trained on him, on us in that moment. What he was doing was going to cost me my badge—my entire career. But as the media stuttered, desperately trying to make sense of what was happening, I let Nathan wrap me up in his arms and give me what I’d always wanted, what I’d always needed: redemption.
“Mr. Hale!” a reporter shouted over everything, breaking the stunned silence, but Nathan just put a hand up and released my lips long enough to shout, “No more questions.”
I found myself being pulled away, my whole life leading up to this moment flashing before my eyes. What in the world was I thinking? What in the hell was I going to say to the captain?
And how soon could I get this man somewhere private and do something totally and completely indecent?
Chapter 11
“What the hell is this?” Captain Pierce asked, staring at the gun and badge I’d dropped onto his desk. I was ready for this. Surely he had seen what happened on those courthouse steps as much as anyone els
e did.
“Sir, we both know what this is,” I replied, trying to remain as calm and level as I could. “You saw what happened earlier today, and I’m turning in my badge.”
“Sandra, I’m afraid I can’t accept it.”
Did he think I was stupid? I was an employee of the state, and I could quit right now, walk out of here, and forget any of this happened. “Captain Pierce…” I said indignantly, prepared to give him a lecture about all the bullshit I’d put up with over the last few years in this office, but he cut me off with a hand loudly slamming down onto the table.
“Detective, just stop. Sit there, shut up, and listen to me.”
I narrowed my eyes. I could feel my nostrils flaring like an angry bull. I didn’t have to put up with this. Still, something about the urgency in his voice made me settle back down in my seat.
“Sandra, why do you think I put you on this case?” the captain asked, coming round his desk and standing there, looking down at me. “Do you think it’s because I think you’re the best detective for the job? Hell, did it ever occur to you that maybe a detective shouldn’t be wasting her time protecting a fucking witness?”