Page 55 of Mr. Monroe

“Is everything okay?” Nadia asked. “We saw Nat going up to the house.”

“It’ll be fine,” I said. “It’s just Heidi making trouble, but I’ve shut it down. She won’t do anything else tonight.”

“Okay,” Stephen said, looking unsure as he glanced from me to Hillary to the labyrinth entrance. “You know what? I’m not even going to ask.”

“Would you mind terribly if I excused myself to go to my wife, or is there something—”

“Don’t worry about anything,” Nadia responded as she stood and wrapped her arms around me. “It’s just the cake next, and we promised Bex she could be in charge of that.”

I pressed a kiss to her cheek. “Love you. It’s good to have you as my sister.”

She squeezed me tightly before releasing me to clap my brother on the shoulder. “I couldn’t be happier for the two of you.”

* * *

“Nat?”

When I opened the door to our room, I edged inside, strangely feeling as though I were intruding in my own space. It was silent in the large bedroom, the overhead lights shining brightly down on the woman sprawled on her side on the large bed, the flowing, silken fabric pooling around her like the petals of a flower.

“Natalia,” I repeated, shutting the door behind me and walking closer to where I usually slept, sitting down next to her and looking at how the harsh light shone down on her lovely hair, making it glimmer like sunlight. “Babe, you can’t be comfortable like that.”

I said that name like I’d been using it for years for her. As if it were natural. As if being concerned for a woman whom I deeply cared for was natural.

She responded to me by sitting up and turning to face me. She looked defeated, and I had to physically hold myself back from touching her.

“I haven’t really felt comfortable since I got here, Spencer.” Her voice was hoarse, and I could tell from the moment she turned to face me that she’d been crying. “I know I’m only here to help you deal with your family, but I’ve been naïve to think none of it would get to me. Your mother has a way of cutting to the bone, doesn’t she? She’s got the precision of a surgeon; I can tell you that much.” She blinked, and the tears started to crawl down her cheeks slowly. I got up and slowly made my way around the bed to where she lay, reaching out my hands to her. “This is very out of character for me, I know. But I can’t hide it right now.”

“Come here, gorgeous,” I said. “At the very least, let’s get you out of this dress and into something more comfortable.”

I could see from her face that she thought for a second about narrowing her eyes at me, but instead, she placed her hands in mine, letting me pull her to her feet.

I turned her around and worked to ease the zipper down to maneuver the dress off her. “You know, it’s a good thing I didn’t unzip this dress outside because there’s no way I’d allow it back on with this perfect lingerie underneath,” I said, noting her matching lace thong and bra.

She chuckled, pulling the column of golden hair over her shoulder as I undid the chains to the delicate necklace that ran over her silky, perfect skin. She was painfully beautiful as we both made gentle movements to remove her clothing.

“What about you?” she asked as she turned around to face me. “Are you comfortable in that suit and those leather shoes?”

I grinned at her. “Right now, I’m focused on you.” I reached into her hair, pulling at the bobby pins that held the delicate curls in place, easing them out and allowing them to fall around her shoulders, the ends grazing her nipples. I followed her hair with my fingertips, allowing my fingers to veer away from her hair and over the silky skin of her breasts.

I passed my thumb over her nipple, letting it rise and pebble under my hand. When she sucked in her breath, I looked back up at her face and felt my spirits rise as I saw that any residual upset on her face had dissipated, washed away by the lust painted on her cheeks and down her neck by her blush. Her breaths had shortened, and I could practically feel the desire radiating off her.

“I love seeing that look on your face,” I said, leaning forward and allowing my hand to run down her front.

“What look?” The words came out practically on a whimper.

“The one where you either want to devour me,” I said, “or you want to be devoured by me.” I started backing her toward the bed, holding her gaze with mine as the end of the bed frame hit her calves. “Right now, though, I’m feeling a little like I haven’t tasted you in too long.”

“I’m not arguing,” she said, sitting down on the edge of the bed and backing up before she opened to me. “In fact, this might be one of the first times I’ll go on record as agreeing with you.”

“Someone note the date and time,” I said, crawling over her and capturing her mouth with mine, effectively stopping any more sass that came out of her mouth. The kiss was deep and powerful, and she accepted my body into her lovely frame.

I moved my mouth down her neck, gently sucking and biting as I inhaled the fragrant scent of her skin. I heard her breaths getting faster and shallower from above my head as her hands found my back. Her long nails pressed down on my shoulders through my shirt, and half of me hoped she would shred it.

And yet, I knew that this time was different. That right now, this moment in bed marked us moving toward something different, and it would be wrong of me to rush it.

Soon enough, I found myself in front of her center, breathing in that concentrated smell of her. I paused for a second, luxuriating in her decadence. There’d never been anyone I could drink in like her and never get sick of.

“Mmm,” I said, hooking my hand around her ankle and bringing it up so that her leg was draped over my shoulder. “I need a little more; hang on.”

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