“Get back into the house.”
She blinked, momentarily thrown by his harshly voiced command coming so quickly after he’d shared something personal about himself, something she hadn’t had to wheedle out of him. Determined to get to the bottom of what was bothering him, she decided to ignore it.
“We need to talk. Something’s –”
“Lily, get back into the f**king house. No woman should stand outside barely clothed, especially not you. You’re the mother of my child, for God’s sake. This is a terraced house, the neighbours can see you.”
She had to shake her head trying to clear away his words, his tone, his meaning.
“Nate, it’s nearly midnight, no one –”
“Get back into the f**king house,” he snarled savagely, losing patience and leaning into her so menacingly, she couldn’t help but take a step back.
She hesitated, her heart stuttering again.
Then she squared her shoulders, determined to have it out even if it was midnight and she was in her pyjamas. Yes, they were pyjamas and yes, there wasn’t much to them but she wouldn’t describe herself as “barely clothed” for goodness sake.
“Don’t speak to me that way,” she snapped. “We have to talk. Something’s wrong with you and I want to know what it is.”
Without answering, he turned away from her and resumed his contemplation of the pier.
At this action, she tried a different tactic.
She stepped into his line of sight and put her hand on his arm.
“Nate,” she said in a gentler tone, “please talk to me.”
He looked down at her like he had when he was standing in his parent’s foyer and Victor was shaking her, like when they were in the conference room that awful day talking about Natasha’s custody, as if she was a not very interesting bug he was watching crawl across the pavement.
Pulling all her courage to her like a shield, she threw pride into the wind and leaned into him, putting her arms around him even though nothing about him was inviting her actions.
“Talk to me,” she urged, all her love for him in her words.
He didn’t touch her. Instead, he calmly flicked his cigarette over the cliff as if she was a mile away instead of holding him in her arms.
“Nate!” she cried, beginning to panic. “Talk to me.”
That’s when he touched her. His fingers went into the hair on either side of her head and held her there while his mouth slammed down on hers in the first kiss he’d given her in days.
It was not a loving kiss, it was hard, insistent, greedy, taking everything while giving nothing in return.
She was too happy he was touching her, kissing her, to let it register. She simply opened her mouth under his and gave him everything as she’d always done.
Lily heard his groan and was thrilled by it, but inexplicably he tore his mouth from hers. Then she was being lifted, carried, not to their room but downstairs to the family room. All the while he kissed her in that awful way, his mouth then moving to her neck, shoulders, behind her ear, his teeth sinking into her flesh in a dangerous, erotic way.
He kicked the door to the family room shut behind them and threw her on couch, following her down. He pulled off her clothes, tore off his own, his actions not gentle, nor were his mouth and his hands on her na**d body and it finally slid into her consciousness that he was not the same. This wasn’t violent, stormy passion. This was selfish and devouring.
“Nate –” she whispered, trying to slow him, trying to reach him.
“Shut up, Lily,” he growled against her mouth and on those ugly words, he changed.
Instead of taking, he was giving but not in his usual way. It was like he was driven to force a response from her, to bend her body to his will and, damn it all, she loved him too much to deny him. She gave then she gave more then even more.
And he took it, all of it, everything.
Until she was there, waiting, needing him to come inside, her heart pounding, her breath coming in gasps, her body on fire for him.
“Nate –” she whispered again urgently, using her hands at his h*ps to try to bring him to her but he pulled away.
Her eyes opened and looked into his and she felt her heart rip apart at what she saw.
His were blank but his hand between her legs moved enticingly and her hips, of their own volition, pressed against him.
“Beg,” he demanded, his voice rough and sharp.
Lily stared then blinked, thinking for a moment she hadn’t heard him correctly.
“Wh… what?”
“You want me, Lily?” he asked, then his head descended and his mouth moved along her cheek to her ear.
As he did this, she nodded.
“You want me then beg,” he said into her ear.
She felt her chest seize as emotion filled it even as he manipulated her with his hand and her body betrayed her.
“Nate –”
“I want to hear you say it. Say, ‘Please, Nate, f**k me’.”
At his shocking demand, a demand so not Nate it was frightening, the tears crawled up her throat and his mouth moved from her ear to her breast, sucking in her nipple sharply, sending waves of pleasure through her. Then he rolled his tongue around it as his thumb simultaneously rolled at the core of her, knowing, from what was now months of experience, she loved this, responded to it, it made her soar.
This time, she fought it.
“Please don’t do this,” she pleaded and he came back over her.
“You want to know my secrets?” he asked and her head jerked. She wasn’t keeping up with his lightning-quick changes of mood, his shifting of topics, his shocking behaviour.
His hand was still working at her and she was close to cl**ax, could feel it coming. She closed her eyes, arched her neck, wanting it to come so this would all be over and, hopefully, they could talk. Then his hand went away.
Her eyes snapped open and her chin jerked down to look at him.
“Do you want to know my secrets?” he repeated.
“No!” she cried, louder than she should in a house harbouring sleeping people, one of them their daughter.
His mouth silenced her and she struggled but his hand came back, tormenting her and her body swiftly descended into need even as she continued to fight it.
With supreme effort, she tore her mouth free. “Stop Nate.”
His thumb swirled and she couldn’t help herself, it felt so good, she moaned low in her throat.
“You don’t want me to stop,” he taunted cruelly at her moan. “As ever, you’re gagging for it.”