Page 57 of Ace of Spades
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Nate covered Taylor’s mouth with his before she could ask any more questions. He was venturing into foreign territory with this woman, and it scared the living hell out of him. He never saw the same woman twice, or never had before Taylor. What was he supposed to do with this need to be with her? She took his breath away, and he didn’t know what to do with that either.
She arched her body when he kissed his way down to her belly and then lower. Bewitched by everything about her, he stopped thinking. He loved the sounds she made, her sighs and moans and gasps. Yet, as he’d learned the first time they’d made love, she climaxed quietly, nothing more than an exhale of breath, and a shudder that traveled through her body like the wave of an ocean.
“You’re so sexy when you come,” he said, crawling up her body. He grabbed a condom, ripping it open. She gave him a dreamy smile, her blue eyes soft and not quite focused. “But let’s see if I can make you scream.”His name. That was the part he liked best.
Losing himself in the rhythm of the oldest dance in the world, he held her hips with his hands as they rocked together. His musclesstrained as he fought to keep the wildness inside him leashed. If he let go, taking her the way he wanted—hard, fast, and deep—she’d think she was in bed with an animal.
“I’m not fragile, Nate.” She slid the pad of her foot down his leg. “You’re not going to break me.”
He knew that better than anyone, considering they did their best to kill each other every time they met on the mat. “Tell me what you want,” he said, staring down at her.
“You.” She arched against him. “The man who takes no prisoners.”
“I don’t think you have a clue what you’re asking for, Taylor.” She didn’t get it. He was doing his best to treat her like a lady, the way she deserved to be treated.
“The other night when we made love? I knew you were holding back, but that was okay. It was our first time together, and we were learning each other. Now I want the real Nate.”
“Are you sure?” When she lifted her head, sucked his earlobe into her mouth, and then bit down, sending pleasure searing through him, raw lust hit hard. He could smell the musky scent of her arousal, and with a low moan, he sought her mouth, needing to feed the hunger growing inside him. Fisting a hand in her hair, he thrust his tongue deep, ravishing her mouth.
Letting go of her hair, he flipped them over. “Ride me, tiger.” He put his hands on her hips, helping her move. Even though she’d said she wanted the real him, he wasn’t sure she understood what she was asking for. He wasn’t into kink, but he liked his sex hard and fast and raw. Better to let her set the pace.
“Nate,” she said, her voice breathy. Her eyes slid closed, her skin flushed a pretty pink, and she sucked her bottom lip into her mouth. Nate knew he’d never seen anything more beautiful than Taylor in the throes of passion.
“Nate,” she breathed again.
“You can let go. I’ve got you.” He dug his fingers into her skin, forgetting that he had intended to be gentle with her. She moaned, the sound of it eliciting a growl low in his throat. He lifted his hips, thrusting deep inside her, his climax close.
Rolling them back over, unable to hold back, he let out a little of the leash he’d been holding on his urges. His hair, which she’d freed earlier, hung around his shoulders, and she buried a hand in it, pulling hard. And then a shudder traveled through her as she shattered in his arms.
He looked into her blue eyes, dark with desire, got lost in them as the intensity building low inside him grew until he could no longer contain it.Taylor,he thought as he buried himself to the hilt, his muscles shaking from the force of his orgasm. He’d never felt anything like this with any other woman.
Taylor,he thought again as he buried his face against her neck. To say her name aloud would reveal too much. If he did, she would hear the wonder of what just happened in his voice. He had no idea what to do with the storm of emotions roiling through him, especially the possessive feeling he was suddenly hit with where she was concerned.
He rolled off her. “You okay?” She hadn’t said a word, making him curious as to what she was thinking. Had it been as good for her? And why was he even thinking that? He’d never been concerned about his bed partners’after-sexfeelings before. They satisfied him, he satisfied them, and then he went home. This new thing, worrying that she was happy with him, was unsettling.
“That was amazing,” she said, turning toward him.
“Yeah, it was.” And like his first night with her, he had no desire to leave her bed. Also worrisome.
She made circles on his chest with her finger. “Please don’t feel weird about this, Nate.”
That was exactly what he was feeling.Weird.“I don’t. Come here.” He helped rearrange her so that he spooned her, her back against hischest. At the moment, he didn’t want her staring into his eyes because he hadn’t a clue what she would see in them. He wasn’t ready for this thing taking root inside him, didn’t know what to do with the tenderness, much less the possessiveness he was feeling toward her.
“It’s late. Go to sleep,” he said.
She sighed as if he’d disappointed her. “Good night.”
“Night.” He didn’t want to disappoint her, but somehow, someday, he would. Actually, he probably was doing exactly that even now by not talking about whatever it was women liked to talk about after sex.
It was a big step that he was still in her bed, but she didn’t know that. Not only would he never marry, but he didn’t have the first idea of how relationships functioned. It wasn’t like his parents were good role models for how a marriage should work. These warm and fuzzy feelings were so foreign to him that it was a surprise he even recognized them.
Taylor’s breathing evened out, and as she slept, he put his hand on her hip, wanting to sigh as her body heat seeped into his hand. But he didn’t. He did, however, bury his nose in her hair, breathing her in.
For the first time, the thought of never marrying saddened him, sent an odd pain through his chest, right where his heart lived. His brothers were the happiest he’d ever seen them since they’d fallen in love. Marriage had settled them, and contentment rolled off them in waves. And when they were with their wives, love turned their eyes soft.
Nate didn’t envy them. They were the only beings in the world he loved, and as their brother-mother-father—and he had been all those things to them—seeing them happy was the one thing that brought him pure joy. But that state of bliss wasn’t for him. He’d never allowed himself to dream of a white picket fence, kids, a woman he looked forward to coming home to.
