Salvation (66 page)

There was no time for the steady build-up to orgasm, every decadent lick and taste making my body jerk and tremble. I’d been craving this since this morning. From the last time Nate had touched me, I’d been counting down until I experienced his touch again.

“Nate.”
My orgasm crashed through me in sharp bursts of pleasure. I clamped my knees to his head, the covers scrunched in my fists, his name falling repeatedly from my mouth. “Make love to me,” I begged through the spasms still wrecking my body.

Nate crawled up my body and slammed his mouth to mine. I’d never have enough of his kisses, each one like a drug, a potent force that numbed the mind and made the heart race wildly.

Without pausing for breath, Nate shifted us until he sat in the centre of the bed, his crossed legs the perfect cradle for me. I rocked my hips, seeking him out, and lowered onto him with mutual groans of relief. Nate’s arms were wrapped firm around me, holding me against him. There was no space between our stomachs, Nate’s cheek pressed to my chest, mine to the top of his head. I don’t think I’d ever been held so tightly.

It was an act of pure, intense, unequivocal love.

In a steady even pace, not wanting the night to end, we made love. Slow and deep, with little friction from the minimal movement, I felt like I had days of lost time to make up for and didn’t want to miss a second of our love.

I tilted back his head. Dark, azure eyes, endlessly expressive, were filled with adoration and wonder. “Are you all right?” I whispered, curling the hair at his nape.

“More than,” he breathed, leaning me back so the angle of penetration shifted. “Why?”

I moaned as his cock stroked deep inside me, the sensation rippling across my stomach. “You’re quiet.” Propped up on my hands, I allowed his one hand at my hip to support and guide.

Nate groaned and reached an arm behind him for balance. The sting of being this stretched was delicious. “I don’t wanna talk. I want to listen…to
feel
.” He gripped my waist, dictating the pace as I started to reach the peak again. It all became a sensory experience—the touch, the taste, the sound of heavy breaths ringing in your ears in an alternate rhythm to the heartbeat.

A thin film of sweat covered us both, making it harder to hold on. My impending orgasm weakened my arms, making me tremble. “Do you feel that?” Nate rasped. His chest heaved, his face glistening, damp hair clinging to his temples.

I nodded. Overcome by how deeply I truly loved him, I drew him close, wrapping my arms around his neck.

“This is real love, Kara. This is us.”

Nate came the exact moment my orgasm rode through me in a tender wave. Never had I experienced a more intense connection with a person. The pulse of exhilaration flooded every part of my psyche, throbbing over and over, taking me somewhere I’d never been before. With tears of happiness, I whispered, “I love you so much.”

“Kara.”
My name spilt from his lips with a rawness that cut me to the core. That’s when I got it. The extent of just how hard he’d fallen for me, when those three words weren’t enough. All of that power, that meaning, that soul-claiming obsession was there in the simple whisper of my name.

We collapsed onto the bed, limbs twisted until we were one. I nuzzled into his neck, his pulse racing against my nose. Nate stroked my spine, soothing until my breathing slowed.

My eyes fell closed with the words, “I love you” falling from my lips.

“YOU ALWAYS KNOW the best way to wake me.” Laying side by side on the bed, I ran my fingers through Nate’s just-fucked hair and placed a kiss on his smiling lips.

He took my hand and placed it around his waist, shifting closer. “You look a little sleepy still. Think you need another alarm call.”

I threw my head back, laughing. He took advantage of the opening and worked his mouth down, cupping my breast to meet the wash of heat from his mouth. Laughter turned into a gasp, then a purr of content when he sucked harder.

The doorbell to the suite rang, followed a second later by the holler of “Housekeeping!”

“What the fuck?” Nate bolted upright. “Can’t they read?”

“I thought you hung the sign on the door?” I cried, hoisting the crumpled sheet up from the foot of the bed.

Nate swung his legs off the bed, cursing as he stalked towards the chaise. “I did.”

“Hey.” I lunged for his hand and pulled him back. “You can’t go out there like that.
With that.
” I pointed to his erection. “I’ll go.” I jumped out of bed and fished out my panties from his jacket.

“Hello? Housekeeping.” The voice grew louder.

I slipped them on and grabbed his shirt, buttoning it up as I rushed to the door. “That body is for my eyes only,” I warned. “Stay there.”

“Going nowhere, sweetheart.” I turned at his playful drawl. Flat on his back, propped by a mound of pillows, he fisted his cock. The large hand wrapped around the base, barely covering half up, slid smoothly up and down in practised strokes. I was riveted to the spot, mouth open. Nothing was going to move me. Until the door handle turned in my grip and the door opened, hitting me on the back.

I spun so fast, using all my strength to keep it from opening further and giving the maid an eyeful of my man.

“Oh, I’m so sorry.” Beetroot red, the young girl backed away from the door. “I thought the room was empty.”

Careful to close the door behind me, I followed her out, conscious I’d only managed a few of the buttons. “We’re checking out later. Can you leave it until then?”

“Sure.” Relieved, she darted out the main door and rushed off with her laundry cart.

When I checked the notice, it was
Please Make Up the Room
side facing out. I flipped it around, shut and dead-bolted the door.

“Some idiot switched the notice,” I said, re-entering the bedroom. Nate hadn’t moved an inch. Ravenous eyes devoured me as I began stripping off. He met mine just as I realised the culprit.

“Will,” we both said together. I collapsed onto the bed in a fit of giggles.

“His dues are gonna have to wait,” Nate murmured, hauling me on top of him. “I need taking care of.”

AN hour later, all the family had gathered in a private dining room for a buffet brunch. Sadie and Thomas were deciding on the right time of year to take their all expenses paid trip to Paris, courtesy of Nate’s generosity. Will was close to finishing his second plate of waffles and bacon, covered with maple syrup, but the seat beside him was empty and Bethany was nowhere in sight. Mel sat beside Simon, white as a ghost, nursing a mug of steaming black coffee.

“Sure I can’t tempt you with some food, Mel?” Will shoved his chair back and strolled to the back of the room for more food. He smacked the shapely backside of a petite blonde waitress as she bent over to replenish a tray of fruit. She wasn’t offended, in fact she seemed to enjoy it. Not wanting to mix business with pleasure wasn’t a standard shared by the two Blake brothers, that was for sure. As he passed Mel on the way back, plate piled high, he shoved it under her nose. She heaved and smacked his hand away.

Smiling, I sat back to let my brunch digest. I don’t know why I’d been so worried about fitting in with Nate’s family. They were all gracious and welcoming. I imagined my own, and the family meals we used to take together. Precious times I could never get back.

“You okay, baby?” Nate asked quietly.

I stopped twisting the eternity band on my finger. “Just thinking about my family, my mother especially. She would’ve really liked you.”

Nate’s eyes softened. “If you’re anything like her, your dad was a lucky man.”

I nodded and gave a small smile of gratitude.

“I know it’s not quite the same,” he said, stroking my hair behind my ear, “but they’re your family too now. I can’t do anything about Will, but the rest of them aren’t so bad.”

My future flashed before me, life with Nate, something I never imagined happening. “You are.” I touched his smiling face and brought him closer, brushing my lips against his. “Thank you.”

NATE took me back to the lake so I could see it in daylight. This time, my choice of beaded flat sandals paired with an off-white chiffon sundress was far more practical. Light and airy, it stayed cool against my sun-warmed skin. My hair, still wavy, was loosely pinned half-up in a knot.

“Will has some great plans for this place.” Nate stood on a rock beside me, skimming stones across the tranquil surface of the water. His tanned arms stood out against the white of his shirt, and the navy shorts let me see his calf muscles flexing each time he stepped back to throw another. “Over there” —he pointed to the far side where the land had been cleared— “will be organic fruit and vegetables. We can bottle juices and sell the produce. It’ll also supply the hotel kitchen.”

“Why didn’t you tell me you own the hotel?” I glanced up, unsure if he’d realised his slip of the tongue.

“Does it make any difference?” he asked, not taking his eyes off the view as he sat.

“No, it just surprised me when I read it in the room brochure the other night.” He had a sizeable property portfolio, but it hadn’t crossed my mind this was part of it. I just assumed it belonged to his family.

“I bought it a few years ago to work in partnership with the vineyard.”

“So Will manages the hotel, too?”

“He does it all,” he confirmed, turning towards me. “I’m a silent partner.”

It wasn’t a big deal, so I left the conversation at that. “Who does the farmhouse on the hill over there belong to?” The shell of the building was intact, but there were a few vans and a bulldozer parked up at the side. It had a bright red terracotta tiled roof and was set back a few hundred feet from the edge of the lake.

Nate smiled fondly. “It used to belong to my grandparents. I spent all my summers as a kid there.”

“Really?” I smiled, gleeful at the discovery of a childhood memory.

“See the big oak?” He pointed out the massive tree standing all on its own near the waters edge. “We used to have a swing on it. One day, I climbed it to shake Mel off. She’d been on it way too long and wasn’t sharing.” His grin widened. “I crawled along the branch, then my foot slipped and I fell ten feet to the ground.”

I winced at the visual of a naughty little boy getting injured.

“I was lucky. All I got was this,” he said, touching the hairline scar I’d noticed a few weeks back. Then he shrugged. “Well, that, and an ass-kicking from dad.”

I laughed at his boyish smile. “Ah, poor baby.” I leant my head on his shoulder. “Is it being demolished to make way for the farming?”

“It’s being renovated.”

“Who by? It looks like the development will be right next door. Are they okay with that?”

Nate smiled mysteriously as he swung an arm around my shoulder. “They’re good. Not gonna be a problem.”

AFTER arriving back at the condo late last night, neither of us woke until mid-morning Monday. Fortunately, it was Labour Day, so I didn’t have to work. Nate, of course, spent a few hours in the home office preparing for the busy week ahead. I called my father and caught up on his news. We were both excited by the prospect of Liam visiting. A little after 7 p.m., Nate found me in the media room on his iPad, catching up on some personal emails.

“I’ve been neglecting you.” Wandering in, dressed casually in black sweatpants and matching t-shirt, unkempt hair and two days worth of scruff on his face, he stopped in front of me and held out a hand. “Let’s go work out.”

Tilting my head up, I met his warm gaze and smirked. “Are you inviting me to have sex?”

A corner of his mouth curved. “I was thinking of showing you the gym, but wearing those glasses, I can be persuaded otherwise.”

I set the iPad beside me and unfurled my legs, taking his hand and allowing him to pull me into his arms. “The gym could be fun. I feel like I haven’t exercised in days.”

“No?” he asked, steering me through the apartment to the stairs. “Maybe we do need to have sex then. Remind you of my favourite way to burn off calories.”

With a quick change of clothes, we headed down to the Ground Floor where the private fitness centre was located. The air-conditioned space had all the latest top of the range equipment. Treadmills were lined up to face outside to the pool, behind them elliptical trainers and rowing machines. There was a space cleared for floor based activities, with light grey mats and cushioned benches, and weights and dumbbells stacked in front of mirrored walls. Then there were assorted weight machines, stability balls, resistance bands and skipping ropes.