PLAYED - A BRITISH BAD BOY ROMANCE (54 page)

“You know, nobody tells you how fucking bad it hurts
to get shot in one of these things.”

“What if he shot you in the head?” I replied, tears
pouring out of my eyes.

“Would you still love me if I wasn’t quite as
beautiful?” Nathan replied, offering up a faint smile.

I nodded mutely, meeting his gaze. “I saved you,” I
whispered. It was the only thing I could think of, the only thing I knew to
say.

As sirens approached form around the corner, Nathan
grinned. He nodded and pulled me into his arms.

“I owe you one,” he replied, holding onto me as I
swayed in shock.

The cavalry was here. I could see the blue and red
lights flashing around us, hear the squeals of ambulances and the steady
beating of a chopper above us.

None of it compared to the comfort Nathan’s arms
brought me.
We held each other, and the world fell away.

CHAPTER NINE

“Detective…
You’re a
mess.”

I shook my head at Nathan, stepping into his hotel
room as he closed the door behind me. A pair of private security guards stood
in the hall to hold vigil. He wasn’t completely wrong. The first shot fired had
grazed my cheek, cutting a line shallow enough not to leave much of a scar, but
deep enough to make me bleed all over the damn place. Forty-six stitches later
my face was covered in enough bandage to start the mummification process.
Thankfully, my hand was in better condition than I expected. There was still
enough pulverized safety glass that a doctor had to spend a few hours with
patience and a pair of tweezers, but thankfully, most of the damage was
superficial.

It had taken days to convince the hospital to release
me, but the hassle had been well worth it. I had no intention of staying there
when I could be standing in Nathan’s hotel room instead.

My work wasn’t over. There was still something that
had to be done, and I was the only one who could do it.

“You are a pain in my ass,” I told him, shaking my
head as I looked him over. There wasn’t a scratch on him, but I could tell he
was still shaken. And who wouldn’t be? We’d been through hell together. “I’m so
glad I’m off your case.”

“Off my case?” he echoed, raising an eyebrow. “So you
won’t be at the trial?”

The attempted kidnapping and assassination had caused
the entire trial date to be pushed back a few days, but I had every intention
of being there. Nathan still needed me.

“Oh, I’ll be there,” I corrected him. “Just in a
support capacity. Don’t want you falling off the wagon now that your life’s not
endangered anymore. I need to make sure you do the right thing.”

“Right,” he said, narrowing his eyes as he looked me
over. “That’s what you came here for? To tell me you’re off the case and insult
my morality?”

“Well, that,” I answered, suppressing a grin, “and to
tell you something else, too. I wanted to say
thank you
for what you did
back there. It was stupid, but it was damn brave, too. I don’t know what
would’ve happened to either of us if you hadn’t given me that shot.”

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.

“Fuck!” I whispered, knowing that I couldn’t be too
loud. There were still his security guards right outside the doors, and even if
I was off Nathan’s case officially, I still didn’t want them to hear what was
happening in here. People talked…

But I needed Nathan in a way I hadn’t needed any other
man ever before. He was my drug, my heroin, except I knew in my heart he’d
never hurt me, never make me waste away like what had happened my mother and
Jenny. He would only ever make me whole and safe. He was an addiction I could
succumb to, lose myself in, knowing that he would always find me and bring me
back to where I was supposed to be. With Nathan, I could never truly be lost.

I arched again as he focused on my sweet spot, his
thumbs pressing into the soft flesh of my hips as I stifled a wail. I felt like
I was being electrocuted, my muscles twitching uncontrollably as he worked me
to his heart’s content. He had me so close to cumming already. I couldn’t bear
for him to stop.

And he didn’t. Seeing my rapture, Nathan only pressed
further, wriggling his tongue against me until I dug my nails into his scalp
and let out a low groan of unbridled ecstasy. My orgasm threatened to overwhelm
me as I writhed and flailed, my breasts heaving with each labored breath I
took, every fiber of my being unraveling as this man dangled me over the
precipice of divine bliss.

“Nathan!” I
pleaded. “Please!”

And like so many times before, Nathan knew exactly
what I wanted. He stood up, pulled off his shirt, and crawled on top of me,
kissing me so tenderly I thought I might melt. Everything about him was burning
hot. Touching him was an exquisite kind of pain.

I reached down to unbutton his jeans, pushing them
down over his hips until I could feel his hard cock pressing into my thigh. He
was warm and thick, as incredible as he’d always been as he pulled back just
enough to press into my slit. I was so wet that he slipped along my folds,
teasing me with his tip.

I hesitated. “The condoms,” I said, pointing toward my
purse. Nathan held me there, our bare flesh on the brink of becoming one.

“You saved my life, Sandra… I want you now, just like
this. I don’t care what the consequences are.”

“Oh God… Fuck me Nathan. Please!”

I lifted my hips to guide him toward my center. He
held himself at my opening, teasing me with tiny little thrusts that never
pushed him entirely inside. I whimpered and looked up at him, caressing his
face with both hands as I gazed into his eyes.

“Please,” I implored again. I was feverish, sweat
forming on my brow. I needed this man’s cock, and he knew it.

He grinned, and for a moment, he was that cocky and
spoiled rich kid who bent me over his desk and too my innocence. Although I’d
never let him affect me then, I admitted to myself now that those arrogant
grins were so goddamn hot.

I kissed him again as he thrust into me, driving away
all the pain and regret I’d held inside me since Momma and Jenny. I held onto
him tight, pressing my face into the curve of his neck as he took me, filling
me with his warmth, his tenderness, and his love.

He moved inside of me, thrusting steadily, covering my
body in tiny grateful kisses as I ran my fingers through his hair, clutching
any part of him I could. He was so perfect.
We
were so perfect, the two
of us together. We were broken apart, but with one another, we were healing.

“What if I get pregnant,” I whispered between panting
gasps.

“Then you’ll give me everything I’ve ever wanted,”
Nathan replied, gripping me tighter and driving him cock deep. With every
thrust, our jagged edges collided, smoothing us into jewels that could only
shine when we were together. With every gasp, I felt a little bit of him flow
into me, forging a bond I knew could never break. With every pass of his hands
through my hair, over my neck, down the side of my wriggling body, I felt more
and more like we were meant to be.

The deeper he pushed into me, the more I felt how much
we belonged together. We fit so perfectly in each other’s arms. It was like I’d
been missing a piece of myself since as far back as I could remember, and now
I’d finally found it. I was never letting go.

I shuddered as I felt him swell inside me. His breath
was hot on my ear, coming in short bursts, in desperate gasps. I pulled back,
looking into his eyes and seeing the pleasured strain on his face. I knew he
needed the release just as much as I did.

“Let it go,” I cooed to him, holding his face in both
my hands regardless of the pain. “Go ahead, Nathan.”

He looked into my eyes as he bit his lip and released
inside of me, relinquishing his own pain, guilt, and doubt with each pulse of
his orgasm. I held his gaze, watching the rapture overtake him, watching as
both our bodies let go of all the darkness we’d been carrying and finally
ascended into the light.

When he lay in my arms, head burrowed into my breasts,
I knew everything was going to be all right. The trial tomorrow, Peter
Wallace’s fate—none of it mattered. We were free.