Chapter 11
Nolan
I looked up at the woman who had owned me from the moment I’d seen her at a college party, and for the first time, I saw how vulnerable she really was. In all the time that I’d known and loved her, she’d always been so confident and strong. She’d always had a kind of aura around her that exuded brilliance and power. After she’d confided in me who her family was, I understood why.
Never had I suspected that beneath all that, she was a scared little girl who just wanted to run and hide from the bad people who wanted to use and hurt her for no other reason than what her last name was. She was finally letting me in, but at the same time, she was telling me that I didn’t stand a chance.
Unacceptable.
I clenched my fingers around her hip, and I pulled her closer as I rose slowly to my feet. I watched the pulse at the base of her throat start to flutter like a hummingbird’s wing as I slid my body along hers, letting her feel every inch of me along her perfection. I heard her gulp, but she squared her shoulders and tipped her head back, the vulnerability that had been shining out of those blue depths only moments before buried deep below the surface once more.
“You’re not willing to put your heart back on the line because I was stupid enough to break it.” I cupped the side of her throat, letting my thumb flick over her rapidly fluttering pulse. “But your body sure as fuck misses me, Red.” I lowered my head until my breath shifted a few strands of her hair. Closing my eyes, I inhaled the sweet scent of her shampoo. “Don’t lie and say you don’t feel that mine misses you to the point of agony, Zariah.”
There was no mistaking the way her body trembled against mine. Or maybe I was the one shaking.
“Let’s ease this misery, baby,” I breathed next to her ear. “I won’t ask for more. Not until you’re ready.”
Her mouth fell open, a weak whimper that was barely loud enough for me to hear leaving her.
“Remember how it used to be between us?” I nudged her hair aside with my nose. “We’d be so wild for each other that I’d have to get us off fast and hard the first time, but then we would go for hours. You used to say riding my dick all night was better than any cardio workout. I kept those thighs in shape, that heart pumping healthy.”
“N-Nolan,” she whined when she felt my cock twitch against her belly.
“I need you so bad, Red. And I’m desperate enough to take you however you’re willing to let me have you.” It wasn’t a complete lie. I was desperate. I did want her to the point of agony, but I was hoping that if she would give me enough time, I could show her that this time would be different. I would find a way to make it clear to her that she was my first priority.
Baseball was important, because it had always been the answer to all my problems growing up. When you were a kid with holes in your shoes so big most of your socks stuck out the end of them, standing in line hoping the lunch lady didn’t tell you there wasn’t enough money on your account for you to have a few chicken nuggets because you knew there was only another ketchup sandwich waiting for you at home that night for dinner, then your way out of that life became everything,
But baseball wasn’t themostimportant thing now.
Zariah was.
Her and only her.
I just had to prove it to her.
Those baby blues flashed up at me with a need that nearly brought me to my knees. It almost matched my own, but there was no way she could possibly crave me as much as I did her. Not when every molecule of my being was begging for a simple brush of her fingertips.
“Your place or mine?” she whispered, her breaths coming in quick little pants.
“Yours is closer, but you decide, baby.” I licked the shell of her ear, making her shiver and my cock pulse to the pounding beat of my heart. “You’re in charge. Tell me what you want, where you want it, and when. I will move heaven and earth to make it happen.”
“I…” I heard her breath hiss out of her before she gulped. “I want you. Inside me. Now.”
The voices of the other patrons sounded as if they were coming from a deep well, but they were still there, reminding me we weren’t alone. And then Tony cleared his throat, letting us both know he was standing close enough that he could hear her even though she was whispering.
I sank my teeth into her lobe before pulling back enough to capture her gaze. “You can have me. Inside any part of you. But you’re going to have to wait. Now, pick a place.”
“Yours,” she answered with a quaver in her voice. “I-I think I can wait until we get to your house.”
Linking our fingers together, I guided her through the restaurant and straight to my car. It was still double-parked and already had two tickets. Helping Zariah into the passenger seat, I jogged around to the driver’s side, grabbing the tickets and tossing them onto the floor at Zariah’s feet. Tony was waiting for the valet to bring whatever vehicle he’d driven her there in, but I didn’t wait and she didn’t ask me to.
“He will follow us,” she said when she caught me looking at her bodyguard. “Then wait around downstairs until I tell him if I’m staying the night or not.”
“You’re staying,” I growled as I merged into traffic and headed for Brooklyn Heights.
She made a humming noise in the back of her throat. “We’ll see.”
Knowing she was just fucking with me, I concentrated on getting us to my place without killing us or someone else in the process. It was difficult to switch gears when my dick was so hard it was taking up every available spare space in my crotch. At one point, I released an agonized groan from the pain when I had to stop for a red light.