I reached between us, popped the button on his pants, and lowered the zipper, then reached in the opening and pulled his hard cock out. He drew in a shuddered breath, his eyes fluttering as I pumped up and down his length.
“Fuck, baby.” He gritted his teeth and picked me up, setting me down on the conference table a few feet away. He pushed my panties aside and slapped the head of his cock against my clit. “Something you want?”
“Please!” I was needy, desperate for our connection. He ran the length of his cock against my pussy, pushing the tip in, then out, torturing me. “Nate, please.” I was a whimpering mess.
He pulled on the back of my neck and smashed his lips to mine, then lined up and thrust in. My eyes rolled back in my head, shivers running through my skin as flames licked the inside. I groaned against him.
“I’ll take care of you, baby,” he whispered.
His hips rocked, pulling out and pushing back in until he was all the way in. For a minute he sat like that, as close as we could be. The tension started to leave me—the world was coming back into focus. One hand still held my neck while the other gripped tight on my ass as he moved in a slow, steady rhythm.
My hips moved against him, a plea for more. Harder. Faster. Everything.
His hand on my neck moved away, sliding down my back, and I grabbed tight on his shoulders. When he reached my other ass cheek, I knew the message was received. His eyes met mine, desire and lust clouding them and sending another shiver through me.
He kissed down my jaw to my neck as he pulled out, then slammed back in. I drew in a hard breath of surprise and bit back a moan. My nails dug into his shirt, wishing it was skin to pierce, driving him as the pounding picked up.
He leaned back and used the leverage on my body to pull and push me like a ragdoll with each of his thrusts. It was what I asked for, what I needed. Each thrust fanned the fire, whiting out everything around me. I was gasping for breath, muscles coiled tight, on the edge of falling.
It wasn’t enough.
I let out a strangled, muffled sob. He leaned forward, pressing his lips to mine.
“Come for me, baby.” He trailed kisses down to my neck, then turned them into tiny bites.
His teeth sunk into my shoulder right as his cock slammed in. I crumbled, shaking in his arms as I came, his body rocking with mine. He was still latched onto my neck, marking me, as he tensed and shuddered.
I stayed curled in his arms, my legs holding him securely to me. Once we were breathing steadier, he leaned back and looked me in the eyes.
He brushed away a strand of my hair with his fingers. “What was this really about, Honeybear?”
My brow scrunched, and I looked at his chest. “It was about the wedding, but it was also about the—”
“Deposition?” I nodded and snuggled into his neck. He ran soothing strokes up and down my back. “I won’t lie to you—tomorrow is going to suck, and in the worst way possible. The wedding is going to be easy compared to the trial and all the shit that goes along with it, but you know what?” I shook my head in the crook of his neck. His voice softened. “At the end of it all, you and I will be together, husband and wife, and that piece of shit will be locked up. It’s not going to be pretty, but it will be worth it in the end. I promise.”
I wanted to believe him, and I hoped he was right. Could it really be my first step to ending my nightmares?
I was drained. My mental state was affecting my physical state as I stumbled out of a conference room at the prosecutor’s office. It felt like my limbs were filled with lead, all the while my brain was drifting in the waves of the ocean.
Giving my deposition had been harder than I thought, and I was wrecked. Nathan wasn’t there to help as he was stuck at work until it was time for his. Not that he could have been in the room with me, but his presence outside might have helped.
All the trouble was in an effort to put my psychotic stepbrother, Adam, away for life.
“Hey, there,” a familiar voice said, calling me from the depths of my mind.
I looked up to find Caroline smiling down at me.
“What are you doing here?”
She sat next to me. “I had a feeling you’d be beaten down and in need of a friend.”
My bottom lip quivered and tears filled my eyes. Caroline wrapped her arms around me, drawing me close.
“Thank you.”
She ran her hand up and down my back. “How was it?”
“Bad. Really bad.” I sniffed and sat back. “I had to retell the whole thing—answer questions.” I let out a hard breath, trying to settle myself.
She ran her hand up and down my back. “Soon you’ll never have to talk about it again. You can push it all away and live your life.”
I nodded. “I know, but I’m still not looking forward to telling it all again at the trial and all the time in between then and now.”
“You should be.”
I looked at her, questioning her sanity. “Why?”
She smiled at me, her hand brushing a strand of hair from my face. “Because in two weeks you’re marrying the man you love and who loves you more than anything.”
Her words washed away all the bad as I thought about all the good coming my way. It helped, more than words could say, to be reminded of where my future was going. Adam and his actions kept yanking me into the past, but soon that would be done, and he would be out of my life forever. Soon I would have a husband and be part of a family that loved me. All my wishes I once thought were an unrealistic goal for me were coming true.
“Come on.” Caroline stood and held out her hand. “Let’s go get some lunch.”
“What about work?”
She rolled her eyes at me. “You forgot, didn’t you?”
“Forgot what?”
“Jack told you to take the day off. We’re meeting Sarah and Teresa at the dress shop at two.”
“Oh, yeah.” Only I would forget about shopping for my own wedding dress. My brow scrunched. “Were we meeting for lunch?”
“No.”
“Then why did you come?”
She grabbed my hand and squeezed. “Because I knew my friend needed me.”
I pulled her in for another hug. “I’m so happy you’re my friend.”
It would’ve been so much easier on me had I at least considered getting married any time in the last fifteen or twenty years. All that I didn’t know—and had no idea I needed to know—was brought up by Sarah, Nathan’s mom, and Teresa, my foster mother, and had my head spinning. At least we had a venue, and, with that, a helpful coordinator who worked to streamline the process.
Over the years I’d seen movies where the bride had a ton of people with her while picking out a dress. Somehow, that was how it ended up being for me, as well. Caroline, Sarah, Teresa, and Erin were scouring the racks, asking me questions that I had no answer to. What color did I want? What style? Plain or glitzy? Form-fitting or loose?
My impression that all dresses were white was squashed. Even though they all looked the same color to me, they were, in fact, not.
Caroline worked the dressing room, helping me bounce, slip, and slide into each dress. After each one, I couldn’t help but think some gym could market the experience as a workout class, because it was. Some dresses weighed what felt like almost twenty pounds. By the third one of those, we whittled away the heavier fabrics. I finally knew something—I wanted a light dress for my beach wedding. A fabric that flowed in the ocean breeze.
“So, when do I get to repay this favor with you and Ian?” I asked Caroline as she yanked another dress off.