You Are My Air: Breathless Book 1 (28 page)

"She dragged me into that too."

"I'm glad that she did." He lifted my hand and kissed the back of it softly.

"Does that mean you're glad Ford broke his foot too?"

"Yes," he said sheepishly. "Does that make me a bad person?"

"Probably," I answered him with a snort. "I'm even worse though, he's my own brother, and I'm glad about it."

"Maybe we shouldn't ever tell him that."

"Agreed." I nodded.

A little while later, we pulled into the parking garage of my apartment building. David parked and shut off the car.

"Do you want to stay with me tonight?" I asked him.

"I do, sweetheart." He squeezed my fingers tighter. "I need to be inside you tonight," he added in a hoarse whisper. I shivered at his words and the hungry look in his blue eyes.

By the time David followed me into my apartment, he was shaking with need. I closed the door behind us and met his eyes. His feral gaze pinned me where I stood. "Natalie," he growled as he came for me. He scooped me up in his arms and carried me to my room. He set me on my feet next to the bed and fisted his hand in my hair. "I missed you," he moaned then pulled my head back and crushed his mouth against mine. He devoured me, his lips and tongue dancing with mine fiercely. He took my tongue into his mouth and sucked on it, scraping his teeth across my lips. I moaned and writhed against him, eager for everything he wanted to give me.

His hand came up to wrap around my throat, and my body softened. I moaned as he squeezed my throat slightly. He let out a dark rumbling chuckle. "You like that, don't you?" he said. "You're such a bad girl."

"Please..." I whined softly.

"Be quiet," he said harshly; his eyes glittering in the low light. "Stop begging. I'll do as I please when I'm damn ready." A long whine escaped my parted lips, and he sucked it down with another animalistic kiss. "Take off all your clothes and bend over the bed," he demanded as he took a small step back. I suddenly felt lost without him touching me.

"David," I pleaded in a small voice.

His eyes softened almost imperceptibly, despite the harsh tone of his voice. "Why are your clothes still on? I told you to take them off." He crossed his arms on his chest and stared at me expectantly. I hastily pulled my sweater off over my head, followed by my jeans and then my bra and matching red panties. His eyes traveled down my body appreciatively. "Gorgeous," he mumbled as his harsh demeanor cracked for just a second, then he looked at the bed meaningfully and back to me.
Oh, yeah.
I turned and bent at the waist until my upper body rested on the mattress; my ass high and my nude body exposed to him.

I was so worked up already that I jumped as he came up behind me and ran his hands across my backside. I could feel the rough fabric of his jeans rubbing up against my tender flesh, and it made me shiver. I felt one of his hands lift away from my skin, only to come back down with a hard strike of his palm, a loud smacking sound filling the room. I jumped and gasped in surprise at the sudden bloom of pain, then he massaged my ass with a firm pressure that soothed the sting. A deep groan left my body in a rush. "If you could see what I see," he breathed out. "So beautiful, sweetheart."

His hand came down on my other cheek painfully, but chased by delicious warm pleasure as he massaged the pain away again. My body shook with desire, my legs starting to feel like jelly. David spanked each cheek twice more before he had to lift my knees up onto the edge of the bed to keep me from falling. He bent his still fully clothed body over my back, the fabric rough against my hot skin and his mouth next to my ear. "You liked that too, didn't you, you bad girl?"

All I could manage for a reply was a long pleading whine, that abruptly turned into a moan as his hand wrapped around my throat again.

"Do you want me to fuck you like this?" he asked in a growl. "You, naked and exposed to me. Me, still fully clothed. Does that turn you on? Does it make you feel helpless and vulnerable?"

"Yes," I groaned out with need, trying desperately not to beg for his cock.

"Do you want to beg for my cock?" The man could read my mind.

"Y...yes." I needed him so badly now, and I was having a hard time catching my breath.

"Then do it," he demanded in a rough voice. "Tell me how bad you want me."

I began begging and pleading shamelessly. My voice was needy and pathetic, but I didn't care. I was practically in tears, by the time I finished, and I heard the zipper of his jeans slide down slowly. He nudged the tip of his cock against my soaked pussy then rubbed it up and down, spreading the wetness across my swollen flesh.

"Your so wet, so ready," he growled out. "Should I fuck you now or tease you some more?"

"Please fuck me now, sir," I begged, using the word "sir" to egg him into doing it. "Please."

Then I was just suddenly filled, penetrated, as he slammed into me in one wonderfully pain-tinged thrust that almost made me come on the spot. "Don't you dare come until I say," he warned me. "Or you won't come at all."

"Yes, sir."

"Good girl."

He straightened, his hand moving to the back of my neck to press my upper body down into the mattress. He began fucking me hard and deeply; each thrust rubbing a magical spot inside me that made me wail in pleasure. "So
fucking
good," he forced out between thrusts, his voice ragged and out of breath.

Suddenly, I could feel my orgasm coming on so fast that I wasn't sure I could stop it, but David already knew. "Come, Natalie," he bellowed. "Come now."

I screamed as it hit me, so powerful that I thought I might black out. It blasted through my body like a gale-force wind, sucking me up and dragging me along whether I willed it or not. I screamed on and on until my voice was hoarse, and my body went limp.

"Again," he commanded through clenched teeth.

I cried out again; the sound was inhuman and unrecognizable as my own voice. This one obliterated me, and I was only vaguely aware of David shouting along with me as he found his release. I think I actually did pass out for a few moments, because the next thing I knew I was on my side in the bed with David's now naked body wrapped around me. He whispered sweet words of appreciation into my ear, and his voice lulled me into a deep satisfied sleep.

CHAPTER TEN

David

Diana smiled widely as I walked into her hospital room. It was Wednesday, and I had just finished my shift in the psych unit, and like everyday this week, I went to check on my sister. She was in her bed with magazines strewn around in front of her.

"How are you feeling today?" I asked her as I walked up to her bed and sat in the recliner next to it.

"I feel fine," she told me with a frown. "I don't know why I can't just go sit around like this at home."

"Diana," I chided her gently. "You know you have to be here so they can monitor the baby and you."

"I know," she grumbled. "But I'm bored out of my mind. I think I've read all these magazines a hundred times already."

"Do you want me to go get you some new ones?" I offered in a sympathetic tone.

"No," she said. "Tony is bringing me more when he comes back later. He went home to check on Baba and the boys."

"Are they dealing with you being gone alright?"

"T.J. is doing okay, but Michael has been crying a lot," my sister said after a deep sigh. "Tony brought them to visit me yesterday, and he had to drag Michael crying hysterically out of here when it was time to take them home. It was a nightmare."

"Be patient, this will be over before you know it," I said with a nod. I reached out and took her hand.

"I don't do patient very well, David," she added with a wan smile.

"I know," I added with a chuckle.

"How's Natalie?" she asked as her smile turned sly.

"She's fine," I answered succinctly, not really wanting to talk about her.

"You really like her, don't you?"

"I do," I admitted as I looked away and started rubbing at my beard. She looked at me with narrowed eyes.

"Oh my God," she blurted out as her eyes widened suddenly. "You do love her, don't you?"

"Diana," I warned her, "I don't want to talk about this."

"Why not?" she asked incredulously. "I'm so happy that you've found love again. You've been alone for so long. Does she not love you? Because she looks at you like she does."

A wave of guilt hit me. I could see how Natalie felt about me every time she looked at me, and I felt the same way about her, but I couldn't say it. When I tried, the words would just freeze in my mouth. Telling her would make me vulnerable again, and if she broke me like Paige did, I knew that I would never recover this time. I was terrified of loving her, and equally terrified that she would get tired of waiting for me and leave if I couldn't tell her. I came so close several times already, but each time the fear would hit me and still my tongue. The closest I had gotten was that damn Ukrainian saying that just wasn't enough.

"I have to go," I mumbled as I stood abruptly. I didn't have it in me to have this conversation with my sister right now. How could I articulate what I was feeling to my sister when I couldn't even tell Natalie about it?

"David..." Diana began in a concerned voice.

"I'll come see you again tomorrow," I interrupted her. I leaned down and gave her a brief hug, ignoring her worried confused expression as I left her room before she could say anything else about Natalie.

A few hours later, I was driving over to Sydney and Jensen's for dinner. Natalie hadn't been able to come with me since she was stuck working late on a project that was due tomorrow. I was disappointed that she wasn't with me, and I missed her. I missed her whenever we were apart. These powerful feelings for Natalie were almost too much to bear, and the fear began to claw its way through me again. I was grateful to have plans tonight, so I wouldn't be pacing around at home once more, trying to figure out how to get over my fear. I needed a distraction from my own damn head.

Sydney let me in after I rang the doorbell. "No Natalie tonight?" she asked in disappointment as I followed her up the steps into the condo.

"She had to work late tonight," I explained.

"That's too bad. I was looking forward to seeing her again."

"I wish she was here too," I agreed, my voice coming out more pathetic than I had intended. Sydney gave me a sympathetic glance as we walked into the kitchen.

Jensen was busy setting the table and looked up at me with a grin as I followed his wife into the room. "Hey, brother." He glanced behind me, and his face fell. "No Natalie tonight?" God, they were like the same person.

"She's at work," I told him with an amused smile. "I'm glad that you both like her."

"What's not to like?" Sydney added. "She's beautiful and has no problem helping me harass my husband."

Jensen scowled at his wife. "Why am I always the victim around here?"

"Don't feel too bad," I told him with a wry smile. "Natalie has no problem dishing it out on me either. She's kind of mean, and she calls me a nerd all the time."

"You're not a nerd," Jensen said vehemently, trying to defend me.

"You never saw me in high school," I said. "I was all gangly with bad hair."

"I've seen pictures, baby," Sydney told her husband. "He was a total nerd." She leaned toward him conspiratorially. "Still is."

I smiled at her as I shook my head. "What's for dinner?" I asked, trying to put an end to the nerd references. All it did was make me miss Natalie more.

"I made salmon with rice and steamed asparagus." Sydney said with a nod. "Jensen made the asparagus."

"Wow," I said sarcastically. "I'm impressed. I can't wait to get food poisoning."

"Shut up, nerd," Jensen told me with a growl.

I laughed as I took my seat at the table while Sydney served dinner. The food was delicious as always, and we chatted about our families for a while. I let them know that Diana was doing fine right now, and I found out that Lauren, Sydney's older sister, was engaged to her boyfriend, Adam. Eventually, the topic of Natalie came up, like I knew it would.

"How are things going with Natalie?" Sydney asked nonchalantly, but I knew my love life was something she was very interested in.

"We're doing fine," I answered vaguely, focusing on picking up the last bits of rice on my plate with my fork.

"David," Sydney said in chiding tone. "Come on, I can tell when something is bothering you."

"Is it that obvious?" I asked in resignation.

"Yes," Jensen chimed in. "It is." I glanced at him in annoyance.

"What's going on?" Sydney asked me sternly.

I closed my eyes and let out a bone-deep sigh. "I can't tell her."

"Can't tell her what?" Syd asked.

"How I feel about her," I explained. "I'm so terrified that I can't even say it out loud."

"You love her," Sydney stated with a small smile.

I nodded, unable to acknowledge it with words. I was such a damn coward it made me feel sick. I put my fork down and stared at it. "How am I going to make this work if I can't even tell her how I feel?"

"Does she love you?" she asked quietly.

I nodded again.

"If she cares that much for you, then she'll wait until you're ready," Syd said with certainty. I glanced up to see her eyes filled with concern.

"What if I'm never ready?" I asked in a tremulous voice. "What if she gets tired of waiting and walks away? I need her. I can't breath without her, and I'm terrified that she'll destroy me like P...Paige did." I was in so deep with Natalie now that I didn't think my heart could survive her leaving me.

"Have you told her that?" she asked.

I shook my head stiffly. "Not exactly, but I have told her to be patient with me."

"Has she told you how she feels?" Jensen asked me.

"No, but I can see it her eyes when she looks at me," I answered him. "I've come close a few times, and I could see the disappointment in her eyes. I hate what I'm doing to her. I feel like a failure."