Page 43 of King of Justice

He met my gaze and held it.

Over, and over, he eased out and slammed back into me. My eyes roamed over his face, taking in every inch of his handsome features, from his sharp jaw to the straight nose and stopping at his full, seductive mouth. Nathan’s lips lifted into a smirk as he saw where I was looking. He swooped down and captured my lips with his, tasting of alcohol and mint.

A heady combination that had me feeling even more intoxicated.

So, I threw my head back and raked my hands over his bare back. He grunted and growled as we moved together. Together, we moved back and forth, teasing each other and pushing each other closer to the edge. I was hurtling closer and closer to the edge when his mouth clamped down on my nipple, and he bit, hard.

“Oh, fuck. Nathan. Please.”

Nathan moved to the other nipple and did the same. I wound my fingers through his hair and arched my back. The sound of skin slapping against skin reverberated through my head. I could smell him all over me, and it made my heart thud against my chest. I sucked in a deep breath and inched closer, until he was all the way inside of me, buried to the hilt. I’d never felt so full in my life.

“God, you’re so tight, Soph.” Nathan growled, before throwing his head back. He was bathed in the soft glow of the moon, and I couldn’t take my eyes off of him. Especially when he looked down at me, and his gaze softened. Suddenly, his pace changed, and we began to move faster, with a wild and frenzied sort of energy.

Unable to get enough of each other.

When I came again, the force of it knocked the breath out of me, and I was left gasping for breath. Nathan slowed to long, practiced strokes until I caught my breath. As soon as I did, he pulled me closer and slammed into me. His heart beat frantically against my chest, and his breathing was uneven and heavy. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the world outside change colors, from a dark and dusky gray, to a kaleidoscope of orange and red. He exploded on top of me, and warmth seeped in between my legs. When he regained his breath, Nathan squeezed himself next to me and drew me against him.

I hesitated before burying my face against his side.

I wanted to freeze this moment and preserve it forever.

All too soon, we heard voices outside, and Nathan sat up. He ran his hands through his hair and pulled on his clothes. When he had his shirt and trousers back on, he got back into the driver’s seat and pulled out of the parking lot. In silence, he drove us back to his apartment. Once we got there, he stepped out of the car and waited for a few seconds while I got dressed. Then he opened the door and held his hand out.

Reluctantly, I took it and allowed him to lead me upstairs.

fourteen

Wishful Thinking

Nathan

When my eyelids fluttered open, a smile drew itself up on my lips in a millisecond of anticipation of Sophie’s form sleeping next to me. But when the empty pillow greeted my eyes, I squeezed my eyelids shut again before burying my face in the sheets.

Why did she keep doing this?

It was clear as day that she couldn’t resist me, just as I failed at resisting her. So why did everything have to be so complicated? Why couldn’t she just go with the flow and see how things would organically go between us? She could hate the fact that I snored. I might grow repulsed by her little ‘stoner’ hobby. A thousand things could come between us, but she was this relationship’s worst enemy.

Relationship?

That was someone else’s thought intercepting my brain, and I resented the way Sophie got me chasing after her like a puppy. It wasn’t like me to think this way, or consider being with a woman who was far too scared to let the light of day see us together.

Lifting up my head, I regretted every motion as my temples tormented me with the inevitable headache that came after last night’s binge. But I wasn’t so used to sleeping like a log after a night of heavy drinking. My mind even dared to wonder if she had spiked my drink when we’d come back and had one last bottle of wine before collapsing in bed.

Shaking off the absurd thought, I slowly pushed myself up, and as I looked down, I chuckled at the sight of my nakedness. Sophie must have had a field day filming me in my sleep like this.

Getting out of bed, I slid my feet into the slippers, grabbed my phone, and leisurely shuffled downstairs. I knew that I looked like an escaped lunatic, but who cared at this point? Everyone was off today, and I needed coffee more than air.

In the middle of my kitchen, I stood in front of the coffee machine, squinting as the whirring sound felt like drills through my ears. When my cup was ready, I took it and downed a big sip, feeling my stomach turn as I did.

I should say, “I’m never drinking again,” but who was I kidding?

With lazy steps, I walked out of the kitchen and checked my phone. A thousand ‘Happy New Year’ texts that need a response. A missed call from mom. Three missed calls from my lawyer friends. I wasn’t ready for any of it.

I didn’t know how I’d arrived back upstairs and in the bedroom, but as I grabbed a dressing robe, I noticed a stick of lip balm on the floor next to the bed. Smiling, I crouched down and picked it up. It was a drugstore brand in peach. Putting aside the coffee, I pulled off the cap and lifted up the tube to my nose, inhaling deeply. That was the taste of her lips last night—or early this morning—mixed with cheap beer and a thrill that made my heart race.

Who would have thought that this seemingly introverted, seemingly innocent and reserved woman from the Cold Spring NGO could explode like a million suns in the privacy of any space alone with me?

With my thumb, I unlocked the phone and dialed her number. This time, her phone was off. So I started typing instead.

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