Protect & Serve(33)

Nathan half-smiled. “I wasn’t about to let you take the heat for me,” he said. “You were right about me, Detective. I haven’t been taking this seriously...”

I nodded. “You’re damn right. But you taught me something, too: people can change, if they want it bad enough. You just have to let them.”

“And all it takes is a few bullets to the chest? Next time, maybe we can pick an easier way to teach me a lesson…”

I laughed, turning my back on him to study the hotel room. It was much nicer than the one we’d shared at the Peachtree Overlook, with a completely separate bedroom with what looked like a queen-sized bed. I bit my lip as I set eyes on it.

“I’ve been wrong about you...”

I lifted my fingers to my blouse, wincing as I began undoing the buttons at the top. I turned back around to face him just as I revealed the lace and silk cups of my bra.

“But you’re the only good surprise I’ve had in a long damn time, Nathaniel Hale. And I came here to tell you I’m off the case, which means that I no longer have an obligation to keep my professional distance from you. We can make things as personal as you’d like.”

Nathan looked at me, watching me struggle to maneuver my fingers in a way that didn’t hurt. He took a step toward me, gently clasping his hands over mine and drawing them away from my blouse as he stared deep into my eyes.

“Oh, I’d like them pretty damn personal,” he growled, that familiar smolder returning to his jade green eyes.

“Good, because this box of condoms cost a small fortune, and I’m still intent on getting my money’s worth,” I replied as he captured my lips with his.

I moaned into his mouth, encircling his neck in my arms as he crushed me against his chest, lifting me from the floor to envelop me completely. I’d never had a man devour me like this, his mouth closing over mine again and again almost violently, with such a heat and passion that it made me weak in the knees.

I wrapped my legs around his strong waist, feeling his hands slip down my hips and to my ass, where he gripped me tightly as he made quick strides toward his bed. I threw back my head as his lips moved to my neck, nipping and sucking down to my collarbone as he placed me on my back. Heat flushed through me, a consuming flame, one I hoped would leave nothing but ash in its wake.

I needed Nathan. I needed him to devour me. I needed him to take me until there was nothing left. I had never needed anyone so goddamn badly before.

“Thank God for you,” he whispered, working through the rest of my buttons until I was completely exposed. He looked at me with such reverence that it took my breath away. “Goddammit, Sandra. Thank you.”

I didn’t know what to say in reply. I only shrugged my shoulders out of the straps of my bra, letting them fall down my arms as Nathan unhooked the clasp at the back. I arched to make way for his fingers and felt the fabric slip away from me, my light pink nipples stiffening in the cool air between us.

He lowered his head instantly, closing his lips around one of them and lovingly tracing it with his tongue. I closed my eyes, shuddering as he caressed me, his hands tugging at my pants until he pulled them off over my toes and deposited them on the bedroom floor.

This was what I had been waiting for. This was what I had been craving ever since Nathan ended up back in my life. I felt truly naked before him, utterly vulnerable to this man as he peeled away my layers to reach my center and make me his. This time when he took me, he’d be coming away with a lot more than just my virginity or a quick and fun little fuck. He’d come away with my heart and anything else I had to give him.

My underwear was next. Nathan knelt in front of me, kissing between the valley of my breasts and over my stomach, making me quiver with delight until he made it to my waistband, which he promptly took between his teeth. He looked up at me with a hungry gaze as he slid my panties off my thighs at an excruciatingly slow pace, revealing my shaven mound already glistening with desire for him.

When my panties hit the floor, Nathan moved back between my legs, nudging my thighs apart to nuzzle and kiss over my pussy. I shuddered and tugged at his hair with my good hand, my toes curling as his tongue parted my folds and laved hungrily at my swollen, throbbing clit.

I could feel the pleasure rolling over me in strong waves, sweeping me into a blissful oblivion as he lapped at my needy cunt. The way Nathan touched me made my body sing, made my very blood cry out for more. Fucking him was a full body experience that even my nerves got in on, each one firing with joy as he relentlessly tongued me. He lifted my legs over his shoulders, letting me clench his head between my thighs as he sucked at me, making my eyes roll back into my skull.