Alicia's Folly Page 10

  Bring it on, babe! he thought, loosening the chord of his sweats and letting them drop to the floor. He remembered, at the last second, to get them out of the way so they wouldn’t trip him up. It wouldn’t be cool to, let’s say, scoop Alicia up and make a mad dash for the bed, only to get hung up on a pile of clothing.

  That dispensed with, he pushed on the bathroom door. It was effing locked!

  “Alicia!” he growled. There was a responding squeak from inside. Obviously she was up to no good. His pulse kicked up a notch as he considered the possibilities of exactly what kind of ‘no good’ she might be indulging in. He started to say, “Not cool, Alicia,” but the lock released before he could get it out.

  When he opened the door, Nate realized the shower was already running. Alicia, in all her curvy, naked glory stood just in front of the bench seat, posing like a model displaying the grand prize. On the seat were a big, fluffy facecloth, his favorite shower gel and his shampoo.

  “Don’t make me come and get you,” she scolded, her smile kept in place via clenched teeth. He felt an eyebrow go up.

  Challenge accepted, Nate thought, closing the door then leaning on it. For added impact, he crossed his arms over his chest. In an effort to avoid leaving the shower, Alicia eyed him over from the top of his head to the tips of his toes. Her very leisurely perusal of his attributes made his dick jump. It was as if his anatomy had a mind of its own and it was telling him to get the hell into the shower already.

  “Hmmm… Too bad I want all of you, or I’d come and get just that,” she said, pointing at his over-exuberant part. Her words pulled at something inside of him and immediately changed the tone of the situation. All of a sudden, he wasn’t in a playful mood any more. He wanted all of her too, and he wanted her now. Sensing the shift, her arms moved from “Here’s your prize” to “Come here, baby”. Nate didn’t have to be told twice.

  “Put your foot up on the bench,” he whispered. The feel of being in Alicia’s arms, of holding her close made his heart pound in his chest. For a split second, he worried he wouldn’t be able to keep “up” to her, but then her hand softly stroked the length of him and need raged through him, hot and intense. He damn near kicked the bench out of the way and impaled her then and there.

  Alicia did as she was told, one hand braced against the shower wall for support, the other gripping his hip. Nate was sure that hand would have been cupping his ass cheek if she could have reached. He was half tempted to turn his body, just so she could. Then her foot “accidentally” knocked the shower gel onto the floor, against the back wall.

  “I should bend over and get that,” she whispered.

  He laughed. He couldn’t help it. She was too damn – Cute? Sexy? Hot? All of the above and more, he thought, shaking his head. “Not yet. I need you face to face first,” he said. Then, done with waiting, he reached between them to find out if she was ready for him.

  * *

  Alicia stabilized herself then turned her body so she could wrap her arms around Nate’s neck. His touch was gentle as he stroked her sex from front to back. When he pushed a finger into her, testing her readiness, she gave a small gasp and pushed back, taking him in as far as he would go. This brought the butt of his hand up against her clit and it was almost more than she could bear.

  “Please,” she whispered, bucking softly against him. Nate groaned. With a speed that stole her breath away, he replaced his hand with his cock. He filled her so quickly, so completely, she cried out. Her initial cry became a keening wail of rapture as he slammed into her fast and hard, over and over again.

  Other than his hands gripping her hips, her arms around his neck, and his battering-ram shaft inside her, they didn’t touch. There were no tender caresses, no sweet, drugging kisses. They were quite simply fucking and Alicia revelled in it.

  With her head thrown and her back arched, she took the erotic punishment and begged for more. In a mood to oblige, Nate gave it to her. He would have continued giving it to her if not for the sudden, intense eruption of her orgasm from deep, deep inside. Alicia screamed as it took her, her knees buckling and her entire body convulsing. Nate held her up, supporting her as he joined her, pumping everything he had into her. Then, like her, his knees buckled and they sank to the floor.

  Nate was crushing her against him as her mind and senses came back to her. After several minutes, when their breathing had evened out some, his hold loosened slightly and she felt his chin nudging her head. Alicia tipped her face up to receive his kiss, letting him plunder her mouth, just as he had her body.

  Chapter 17

  “You have to go. You’re late.” Alicia breathed the words against Nate’s mouth when he broke for air. Every time he started to leave for his meeting with Elizabeth, he charged back into the room and kissed her senseless. Their tongues danced and duelled, the taste of his cinnamon toothpaste doing things to her she didn’t think toothpaste ever would. His hunger for her was sexy as hell. It was also scary.

  Nate moved away, but not very far. He was panting slightly. A little thrill went through her that she could do this to him. At the same time, she needed some time alone to think and his meeting with Elizabeth would afford it to her. She needed to examine her feelings and try to put them into perspective.

  Was she bothered by the fact he was going to see his ex? She’d by lying if she said some small part of her wasn’t. However, after this morning and the intense emotions she’d felt as he loved her, she knew there was no chance they would get back together.

  “You’ll be here when I get back?” Nate asked, and not for the first time. Alicia let him see her frown of exasperation. “Right. Sorry. I just hate like hell leaving you so soon after – ”

  She waited for him to finish he sentence, wondering what terminology he would use. When the sentence simply hung, unfinished, and a blush stained his cheekbones, she knew he was trying to avoid sounding “sappy”.

  “Real men do say ‘make love’, you know,” she teased. “It’s the cowards who use the cruder terms.” Nate forced a laugh. His eyes darkened and he opened his mouth to say something. At the last second, he changed his mind, shaking his head. With a last, lingering kiss, he stood, backed completely away, then turned and left the room.

  All of a sudden, the anger she’d felt toward Elizabeth was back. Here was a man who was self-assured enough to not only start a business from the ground up, but run it well enough to have made his first million. And yet, when it came to his personal life, he was like a teenaged boy who was still figuring himself out. The two came together in the bedroom to make an incredibly sexy mix of sweet and devastatingly sensual. She groaned, burying her face in her hands.

  “Who the hell am I kidding?” she muttered. “I wouldn’t have fallen for him if he didn’t have that awkwardness about him. Sure, I might have slept with him still if he was all Mr. Important Businessman, but afterward, when we were both done with one another, I’d at least be able to walk away without looking back. Now my heart’s fully engaged and I want nothing more than to spend more time with him and figure out where this is going.”

  Alicia sighed. Thinking out loud wasn’t helping. Especially since her mind kept telling her she was only imagining falling for him. After all, people didn’t develop such strong feelings for one another in such a short period of time. That kind of thing only happened in romance novels and chick flicks.

  Then, of course, there was that persistent voice, the one speaking out for her heart, which added, “And where do you think romance novels and chick flicks come from? Obviously this kind of thing does happen, or there wouldn’t be so many damn books and movies about it.” When that voice piped up, a small thrill of happiness coursed through her and she knew she was done for.

  So, the question now was “What am I going to do about it?”. The only good answer was to extend her vacation for another few days – Nate had mentioned he had to be back for a board meeting by the end of the week – and try to figure out if this was more than a passing
romance or not. The sardonic, pessimistic voice in her head scoffed.

  Oh and you’ll definitely be able to make a proper judgement, now you’ve decided to be ‘all in’. Right.

  Alicia did her best to quell that voice with the rational yet heart-rending thoughts of the both of them returning to their lives at the end of it all. It was inevitable they do this. He had a business to run and she had her life to put back together.

  And who’s to say it has to be put back together in Winnipeg, the voice attached to her heart whispered. That organ everyone associated with love and romance skipped several beats. Her pulse raced as she dared to consider this. With great effort of will, she pushed the thought aside. She was not going to be the one to bring that option up. She wasn’t that needy or desperate for a man in her life. If Nate brought it up, however…

  Her heart rate spiked painfully as she mulled over all of the ramifications. When she realized she was jumping the gun, she pushed thoughts of Nate from her mind altogether. With a firm resolve, she threw back the sheets and got out of bed. She would shower, have breakfast out on the balcony, then make a decision about whether or not to stay for a few extra days.

  * *

  Liz turned to look toward him as he approached, almost as if she’d sensed him coming. Her eyes were huge and sad and, for a brief moment, they pulled at his heart. He crushed the tender feelings easily as he sat down and ordered coffee and toast. One of her neatly plucked eyebrows went up at this but he ignored it. The way he figured it, he could have ordered a full breakfast, he was so hungry, but he was opting for politeness. She’d already told him on the phone she wouldn’t be eating because her stomach was too upset.

  She remained silent as they waited for his order and he wondered if this was going to be another long-drawn out affair where she tried time and again without success to tell him what was wrong. He was just about to tell her he wasn’t in the mood for another bout of guessing games when their server appeared with his breakfast, such as it was. He waited until the woman was gone before speaking his mind.

  “Is this going to be another case of – ” he began. He stopped short when he noticed her hands. They were working almost violently on trying to shred a cloth napkin. Warning bells went off in his mind, loud and insistent. Liz was well aware of her penchant for shredding when nervous. So much so, in fact, she’d taken to carrying around hankies instead of Kleenex, just so there wouldn’t be a mess to clean up afterward. He looked into her face again and watched uncomfortably as silent tears rolled down her cheeks.

  “I’ll get through it this time. I promise,” she whispered. “Just please don’t hate me when I’m done, ‘kay? I know what I did to you, these past few years. I can see – ”

  “Really? What did you do?” he asked quietly. His heart was racing and his palms were suddenly sweaty. Was she about to confess to her affairs? Did he want to hear about them and have them confirmed? All of a sudden, he wanted to be anywhere but here. Not one to run from unpleasantness though – the fact he stayed with her, despite their horrible physical relationship attested to that – he stayed put.

  Liz took a deep breath and let it out in a rush. When it didn’t soothe her nerves, she took another one. This one she released slowly. Then she did something which took him completely by surprise. She stuffed the nearly rendered hankie back into her purse and put her purse to the side. When she was done, she clasped her hands tightly together on the table in front of her and cleared her throat.

  This was a new side to her, a stronger side, Nate realized. It reminded him of the old Liz, the one he first fell for. His appetite all but vanished as a voice inside his head yelled, “For three years, you were this timid, scared creature and now you suddenly decide to be strong again?” It was all he could do to keep from speaking the words out loud as pain and anger coursed through him. The fact Linda was able to bring this back in her so effortlessly when he’d been trying and trying for so long tore at his heart, guts and, of course, pride.

  “The videos are fake,” Liz said matter-of-factly. Nate blinked several times, forcing his mind away from his own feelings in order to fully comprehend what she was saying. Expecting a confession, he had to take a few extra seconds to process her words. Taking his silence as an invitation to explain herself, she continued.

  “I’m sure you’ve seen them. He told me he sent them to you. I know it’s the last thing you want to do, but if you look at the male in each video close enough, you’ll see it’s the same body with different faces. And the women… If you can’t see the differences in the woman’s bodies, then you’re blind. They’re all – ”

  Nate held up his hand, forestalling any further descriptions. He’d seen the videos enough, he knew them practically from memory. They were replaying in his mind as he stared sightlessly at his cold toast and the niggling feeling in his gut was back. It was the one he had after watching the videos for the twentieth or so time. His mind kept telling him things didn’t look right. Hurt and angry, his heart told him he was just trying to avoid the truth, that acceptance would help him get over her faster.

  “That would make the P. I. Jared hired one really sick bastard,” he said quietly. No sooner were the words out than he remembered Dana telling him Jared was in jail. He felt his jaw go slack. “What the hell?” he growled, seeing the truth in Liz’ face before she spoke the words confirming the thing he didn’t want to voice out loud.

  “No, Jared’s the sick prick who doctored those videos. There was no P. I., Nate. They’re his stash of home porn. Did he send you the one with the woman who was sloppy drunk and unresponsive, the one where the man was doing literally everything and doing his damndest to make it look as though the woman was into it?” she asked.

  Nate’s gut twisted. He remembered that one most vividly. The woman in it was wearing the lingerie set he’d bought for Liz when – His mind stuttered to a stop as her words hit home. “Sloppy drunk.” “Unresponsive”. That was exactly what he’d thought when he saw the video. And that the man’s passion was over the top exaggerated. It was the very first video he opened.

  All of a sudden, his mind slammed into full gear as he realized the first video was actually of Liz, and that she wasn’t at all a willing participant. The implications of this hit home in rapid fire succession, one after the other and it was all Nate could do to keep from puking, right there on the patio.

  “Jared raped you,” he breathed, struggling against the sudden mix of helplessness and rage he was feeling. “He raped you and you didn’t tell me. God, Liz! Why. The. Hell. Not?” he growled. His hands were balled into fists on the table. It was all he could do to keep from lifting them and slamming them down with each word.

  Tears streamed down Liz’ extremely pale face as she begged him with her eyes to understand. He couldn’t. He wasn’t an ogre. Sure, he might have argued and made some nasty accusations at first, but he would have pushed for the truth in the end, whatever that truth might be. And the damn truth of it was his business partner, his best friend raped his girlfriend.

  Nate’s heart lurched in his chest as understanding dawned like a freaking sledgehammer to the head. He wouldn’t have believed her. There would have been no push for the truth. Jared was his best friend and business partner. Right from the beginning J kept trying to drive a wedge between them. The constant put-downs and hate-filled statements he spewed about Liz would have been taken, finally, as truths and Nate would have dumped her.

  That was the reason she didn’t tell him. Guilt slammed through him, making him nauseous. He regretted ordering anything as the smell of the expensive coffee and butter turned his stomach.

  “He did it on the night I told you I was pregnant, Nate,” she whispered. “You were so angry about the baby. If I would have come to you with what he’d done, you know you would have made me the villain. I was so terrified of ending up alone to raise our baby, I kept my mouth shut. Then I lost it and you were such a mess of conflicting emotions. Hating yourself for being angry in the fi
rst place, then sad and relieved the baby was gone. You were trying so hard to make it work between us, I felt I had to try too. I just – I – I – ”

  He was out of his chair and holding her in a flash. Her sobs deep and soul-searing as she cried into his shirt. Nate remembered all of the pain and confusion of that time as clearly and sharply as though it was happening right now. He recalled it being all the worse because Liz kept shying away from him whenever he tried to get close. He thought she was shrinking away because of how angry he’d been about the baby and became determined to make it up to her. Then, when she lost it, he took that on as being his fault as well and tried all the harder.

  For three years, he tried in vain to make it right between them, only he didn’t have a clue what “it” he was actually trying to fix. The bastard of it all was he knew damn well she was right for thinking he would have tossed her out. No matter how much he tried to ease his conscience by telling himself he would have tried to believe her, he knew damn well he wouldn’t have. He was too young and full of his plans for the future and those plans didn’t involve babies until much, much later, if at all.

  “I am so sorry,” he whispered. “I’m sorry I was such self-absorbed bastard. Why did you wait so long though? Why did you wait until I felt like – God, Liz. You were so cold. Then when I couldn’t respond, you mocked me. And what about the times you threw yourself at me and demanded I hurt you? What the hell were those about?” Nate asked, pulling away. Liz’s sobs became body-jarring hiccoughs as he held her face gently and looked into her eyes. “Why?” he asked, even though he suspected he knew the answer.

  “Punish – ment,” she whispered brokenly. “I h-hurt and couldn’t m-make it stop, so I hurt-hurt you. I knew I was m-making you feel horrible. I c-couldn’t h-help myself. Then I f-felt b-bad and-and tried to m-make it up to – to – ”