Текст книги "Love Hate Relationship"

Автор книги: Jessica Prince

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Текущая страница: 10 (всего у книги 16 страниц)

He hadn’t been lying.

Holy hell, I was bored out of my ever loving mind. Sure, we’d had fun bidding people up on some ridiculous auction prizes, but that had been the highlight of the evening. There was schmoozing. Oh, dear Lord, was there schmoozing. My face ached from the fake smile I had to keep plastered in place as people came up to Rowan, droning on and on about the most trivial bullshit.

During dinner, it had taken Rowan pinching me on my knee several times just to keep me from falling asleep. I was pretty sure I was going to have a bruise tomorrow. And I might have dug my knuckles into the meaty part of his thigh in retaliation. Or just to liven up the mood. Whatever.

I was never doing a black tie event again. Never!

“So, this is what Hell’s like?” I leaned over and whispered to Rowan just as dinner was wrapping up.

“I told you so,” he chided.

Giving him a glare, I responded, “You know, a gentleman doesn’t say I told you so.”

He looked at me with an oh, you dear, sweet, simple girl expression. “I think you know me better than that.”

“Damn it, you’re right,” I conceded. “Fine. If I’m going to be stuck in Hell, might as well take advantage of the open bar. I’ll be right back.” Without a backwards glance, I took off in the direction of my salvation. I needed alcohol like I’d never needed it before.

Making my way through the crowd that had started to form, I stepped up to the bar and rested against it, more tired than I had felt in a long time. Who knew acting fake could be so exhausting. I placed my order and waited with my back to the room.

“You look like you’re enjoying this event about as much as I am,” a familiar voice spoke from behind me.

I rolled my eyes as I began to turn. “Very funny, Row—,” I trailed off as I stared in shock at the man before me. It was Rowan, but it wasn’t. Same eyes, same build, same stature… hell, same damn face! But where Rowan’s face was marred only by the scruff on his jawline, the man in front of me had an inch-long, crescent-shaped scar on the side of his left eye.

“Holy shit,” I said on a whoosh of breath as my lungs deflated in shock.

One corner of his lips tipped up in a crooked smile so like Rowan’s, yet visibly different at the same time. “Well, hello to you, too. Can I get you a drink?”

“I—uh—you’re—holy shit!”

“I’ll take that as a yes.” He chuckled. Had my brain not been fried completely, I would have informed him I already had a drink. But at that point, I was incapable of rational thought. Rowan had a doppelganger! Or, at the very least, a twin. He stepped into the free space right next to me at the bar and ordered two glasses of champagne, which was so not something I’d ever drink, unless forced due to some sort of celebration.

“For you, beautiful.” He offered a smile full of perfectly straight, white teeth as he clinked his glass against mine. “To luck,” he toasted. “Seeing you across the room made this event much more tolerable.”

I squeezed my eyes shut and rubbed at the spot between my brows, trying to ward off the headache I felt coming on. “I’m sorry. I’m so confused right now.”

My eyes widened in surprise when I felt his fingers on mine, pulling my hand away so he could see my face. However, instead of letting go, he wrapped his grip around my hand more firmly, rubbing small circles over my pulse point with his thumb. “A woman as gorgeous as you should never frown. What has you so confused, beautiful?”

I felt him before I saw him. “Get your fucking hands off her before I break every bone in your goddamned body.”

My body went rigid. The air around us grew arctic as my gaze bounced back and forth between the two men who looked so much alike. I’d seen Rowan mad, plenty of times. But the pure, unadulterated hatred that was radiating off him had my heart thundering in my chest.

“Rowan,” the man spoke, sounding almost surprised. “I wasn’t expecting to see you here.”

“I’m not going to fucking tell you again,” Rowan growled in response, the muscle in his jaw ticking double-time. “Get your goddamned hands off her, Richard.”

He released my hand and held both of his up in surrender. “Row, I had no clue—” but he didn’t get any further.

Rowan let out a laugh so callous it sent chills up my spine. “Like it would matter, brother. We already know you’ve got a hard-on for my sloppy seconds.” Hold the hell up. I was about to interrupt, angered by his implication, when he cut me off. “You get tired of the last one already, Rich? Was that it? You got done with Bree and shoved her to the side for a newer model?”

“Bree?” I nearly shouted. “Like the crazy stalker email chick? That Bree?” Neither of them acknowledged that I’d even spoken.

“Rowan,” I warned. Not only were we garnering some very unwanted attention, but I really didn’t like how he was demeaning me in the process of attacking his brother. Unfortunately, he was too far gone. And who in the ever loving hell was Bree?!

Right in Richard’s face, he hissed, “You stay the fuck away from Navie, you hear me? She’s mine.” What the holy hell? “You try the same bullshit on her that you did with Bree and they’ll never find your fucking body. You understand me?”

“Rowan, please,” Richard spoke. “Can we please just talk about this? Privately? There’s a lot that needs to be said. I didn’t know—”

“There’s a reason I haven’t talked to you in years, you sorry piece of shit. If you think we’re going to start now, you’ve lost your mind.”

“Rowan, please,” I whispered urgently, tugging on his arm in an attempt to get him to back off. As his assistant, I saw getting into a brawl at a charity event ending badly from a publicity standpoint—a hit Rowan couldn’t afford to take. But as someone who actually cared for him, I simply didn’t want to see him get hurt.

“How long are you planning on holding a grudge without knowing the full story, brother?” Richard asked, and I had to stifle my groan.

“Don’t poke the bear,” I hissed quietly. “For the love of God, man, don’t poke the fucking bear.”

Rowan stepped up to his brother, way too close for comfort. “What’d you just say to me?”

“Rowan, stop!” I nearly shouted, my tone firm, leaving no room for argument. That seemed to pull him out of his red-clouded daze.

“We’re leaving,” he informed me, grabbing me by the hand Richard had been holding, which had started the whole mess. He didn’t give me a chance to respond as he pulled me, none too gracefully, from the ballroom at a clip so fast I had to run to keep up. I barely had enough time to snatch my clutch from the table as we passed.

“Rowan, slow down. My legs are shorter than yours!”

“I can’t fucking believe that motherfucker!” he bellowed once we made it outside to the waiting limo.

“Stop!” I shouted, jerking my hand from his painfully rough grip. He came to a halt as soon as his hold on me detached. Standing in front of the Plaza, my chest rising and falling with each ragged pant, I propped my hands on my hips and scowled. “What the hell was that?!”

“Navie, don’t start. I’m not in the mood for your—”

Oh, no, I’d had just about all the insults I could handle for one night. “I don’t give a shit what you’re in the mood for, Rowan! I might not have a clue what just happened back there, but what I do know is that in your fit of rage, you managed to insult me in the process of verbally attacking your brother!” His shoulders slumped as my words seemed to sink in. “I didn’t do a damn thing to deserve you disrespecting me just because you were in the mood to prove who has the bigger dick. You need to get your shit together! I am not your personal punching bag!” I ended on a yell, my own anger having reached a boiling point.

Rowan stomped to me, eating up every inch of space between his body and mine. His eyes flashed maniacally with something I couldn’t put my finger on. I had to admit, for the first time since getting to know him, I wasn’t sure how to react. “Do you want him?” he clipped.

“What? Have you lost your damn mind?!”

He grabbed my forearms harshly, jerking me flush against his body. It was bizarre how much that action both scared and excited me. I’d long since given up trying to understand my body’s reaction to this infuriating man. It was never as it should have been.

“Answer the goddamned question, Navie! Do you want him?”

I tried to pull free, but it was pointless. “Jesus, Rowan, of course not! I didn’t say more than a handful of words to the man. I was too shocked at discovering there were two of you! I didn’t even know you had a brother until ten minutes ago. How could you even think I’d want him?”

At my words, the floodgates opened. And I had no choice but to go with the flow or risk drowning.

Something inside of me snapped and I couldn’t have stopped myself if I wanted to. Slamming my lips against hers in a bruising, punishing kiss, I took her mouth with more force than I had that night at the club. My need to feel her, have her, mark her went from borderline obsessive to positively primal. Using my tongue, I forced my way between those lush lips, swallowing down her needy whimper as her taste exploded in my mouth, fueling me on.

I had to have her.

Right then.

There was no more waiting. If she denied me at that moment, I had no idea what I’d do—probably combust. Pulling back from her mouth, I trailed wet, openmouthed kisses down her neck to her collarbone. “Rowan.” She exhaled my name in that breathy, exotic way that ramped me up even further. “Rowan, we’re in public.” She tried to push at my chest, but it was weak, and the second I latched onto her smooth, creamy skin, sinking my teeth into that flesh, her body softened even more.

“Get in the limo,” I growled my demand, pulling away to look into those dark blue eyes. The moment I saw them glazed over with lust, I knew I’d won. On shaky limbs, she stepped to the car. I pulled the door open for her and quickly followed her in, yanking her into my lap the instant my ass hit the seat so she straddled my thighs. I wasn’t letting her get away this time. There would be no distance between us. The divider between us and the driver was already up, so there was nothing stopping me. No more obstacles. No more waiting.

“Oh, God.” Her head tipped back as I sucked on her neck again, trailing my hands up her tiny waist. My thumbs brushed across the rigid peaks of her nipples over her dress and I was overcome with the desire to taste them. Pulling the top of her dress down as low as I could, I latched onto a dusky-pink tip and took a long, slow pull. Navie ground her hips further into mine, rubbing herself against my aching cock. Christ, I could feel her heat though the layers of clothing between us. I couldn’t stand the barrier.

“Oh, shit,” she whimpered as she circled her hips, chasing after the release she was just as desperate for as I was.

“You want me?” I asked, trailing one hand down between us, pushing her panties aside so I could get to what I wanted. “Shit, Navie. You’re soaked.”

“Don’t stop,” she panted as I circled her clit with my thumb before shoving two fingers deep inside her.

“Not stopping,” I returned. I had to breathe deep to try and stave off coming in my pants. The feel of her grinding on my dick and the way she clamped around my fingers was almost too much to bear. “No fucking way I’m stopping. Not until I’ve fucked you.”

Her head came up, a cascade of golden hair swishing across her shoulders as her hazy eyes landed on me. “Do it.”

“Tell me you want me,” I groaned, wrapping my free hand in all that gorgeous hair so I could guide her mouth back to mine. I couldn’t explain it, couldn’t understand it, but after seeing her with Richard, I needed to hear straight from her mouth that it was me she wanted, no one else. I hadn’t needed that kind of validation in years. If I hadn’t been so far gone, it would have scared the shit out of me.

“I want you,” she whispered against my lips before sliding her tongue against mine.

I pulled back and demanded, “Tell me you want my cock.”

“God, Rowan,” she cried out as I pumped my fingers in and out of her tight heat even harder. “I want it. So bad. Please.”

The sound of her begging pushed me to my limit. I lifted us both up so I could reach my wallet in the pocket of my pants. Flipping it open quickly, I pulled out the condom I’d stored—just in case—and tossed the wallet aside, not caring where it landed. Navie rose up on her knees and reached for my fly, unbuttoning and unzipping with shaking fingers so she could free the rigid erection beneath.

“Dear God,” she breathed as she stared with wide eyes. My cock swelled further under her attention.

“Not God, sweetheart.” I chuckled. “But thanks for the compliment.”

At that, her eyes flew up, her expression immediately sobering as she furrowed her brow. “Don’t call me that,” she said in a pained whisper and I remembered that night in my car on the way back from the police station, when she’d first asked me never to call her that. The name I used for all my women.

“Hey,” I spoke softly, taking her chin between my fingers and tilting her face to mine. “I won’t call you that,” I told her earnestly. “I swear. You believe me?”

She gave a jerky nod before taking the condom packet from my fingers and ripping it open. I watched in awe as she slid it down my length and aligned the head of my cock to her opening. I didn’t give her any more room for thought. Taking her hips in my hands, I thrust up at the same time I shoved her down, filling her completely in one hard thrust. Her head flew back on a loud cry and I knew right then once wasn’t going to be damn near enough.

“Perfect,” I grunted as I hammered into her, drawing out every single moan, every breath, every sound I could force from her. “You feel so fucking perfect, baby.”

She bucked against me, meeting me thrust for thrust, never one to just sit idly and expect someone else to do all the work. Her fingers dug into my hair as she mashed her lips against mine in a breathless, panting kiss. Moving my hands up to her waist, I dug my fingers in, desperate to hold on to her as tight as I could as we were forced from our kiss to suck in some much needed air.

“I’m close,” she groaned. I could feel her tightening around me as I licked and nipped at every inch of exposed flesh I could reach, tasting the thin sheen of sweat that had broken out against her skin. Had sex ever felt so goddamned good before? As Navie rode me, I couldn’t remember ever being with anyone else. Nothing from my past compared.

Moving my lips to her ear, I said, “Want to feel it, baby. Want to feel you come all over me.” I bit down on the lobe and that was enough to send her over the edge, crying my name and a few other unintelligible words as her movements became uncoordinated. Navie’s walls clamped tight around me as I continued to pump my hips, dragging out her orgasm as long as possible while chasing my own at the same time.

One, two, three more harsh thrusts and I came on a ragged groan, burying my face in her neck and biting down as I came so hard it was damn near painful. I lost all sense of time as spots clouded my vision. It could have been minutes or hours that passed as the sounds of heavy panting—hers and mine—filled the back of the limo. The smell of sex hung heavy in the air around us. That alone was almost enough to get me ready for round two.

“Wow,” she gasped as she pulled my head from the crook of her shoulder by my hair. When I looked into those denim colored eyes, I couldn’t help but return the smile that was shining back at me. “So that’s what angry sex is like,” she giggled.

That sound. That happy sound.

Good Lord, there was no way in hell once would be enough.

I needed her in a way that scared the living hell out of me.

Nerves coursed through me as I trailed closely behind Rowan into his apartment. It was ridiculous, really. We’d just had sex in the back of a limo only minutes before, yet walking into his home, aware that we were about to spend the night together, caused hummingbirds to riot in my belly.

Flipping on the lights as he walked, Rowan casually removed his jacket and tossed it onto the coatrack. I stood frozen in place just inside the foyer, watching in wonder as he pulled at his bowtie, leaving it dangling on either side of his neck before working the buttons of his sleeves and rolling them up to mid-forearm.

I’d been so focused on watching his fingers work the cuffs I hadn’t realized he was watching me until his deep, rich voice, laced with humor, echoed through the space. “Planning on making a run for it?”

“Huh?” Shaking my head to clear away the fog, I looked up and met his eyes.

“You look like you’re about to run.”

“I’m—” I started to protest, until I realized I was actually considering it. I wondered how things had suddenly become so awkward. People were supposed to clam up and get all weird before sex, not after. Well, at least based on what I’d learned from my limited experience.

“You’re not running,” he spoke authoritatively as he walked back to me, hands firmly planted on his hips. My nerves began to diminish as my agitation rose. How the man still managed to piss me off right after giving me probably the best orgasm of my life was mind-boggling. I should have been in seventh heaven. But no, I was standing in the middle of Rowan’s tiled entryway, copying his stance with my hands on my hips, eyes narrowed in angry slits.

“Excuse me?”

“You heard me,” he answered, stepping closer.

Reverting into moody-teenaged-girl mode, I responded, ever so eloquently, “You’re not the boss of me!”

“Oh, the irony of that statement,” he laughed.

“Are you trying to piss me off intentionally?”

He stepped even closer. Close enough to reach out and twirl a loose strand of my hair around his finger. “As much as I delight in watching you get riled up, picking a fight with you would more than likely put a damper on what I have planned for the rest of the evening.”

I wanted to get madder, I really did, but his words were a reminder of just how perfectly he worked my body over. Dampness flooded my core at the thought of having more than that.

“But I will admit, watching you get so heated is better than the shy, nervous thing you had going on the moment we walked through the door. So the answer is, if it’ll get you back to normal and give me back that fiery girl I’ve been craving for so long, then yeah, I guess I am trying to piss you off intentionally… on a subconscious level, at least,” he finished with a smile.

Give me back the fiery girl I’ve been craving for so long… Those were the only words playing back in my head as I lowered my arms and tossed my clutch onto the table by the door, taking in a deep breath to try and calm my rioting emotions. When I met his eyes once more, they were glittering with lust, darkened to a deeper blue than normal. He knew I’d just surrendered, that I wasn’t running. It was written all over him in the way his chest rose as he pulled in air, the way his pupils dilated, almost eclipsing the blue completely. But mostly, it was in the way he grabbed hold of me and pulled me into him just before melding our lips together in a hungry kiss.

“Want you again,” he groaned as his hands roamed to the back of my thighs so he could lift me up. On instinct, I wrapped my legs around his waist, locking my ankles together behind his back. I wanted him again, too. “Wanted you the minute we finished. You’re in my fucking head.”

I tried not to let his admission penetrate too deeply. I wouldn’t let this… thing between us mean more than it was supposed to. I couldn’t. It was just sex. Just hot, sweaty, blissful sex. It wasn’t anything more. Rowan wasn’t the type of guy to ever let it mean anything more. And if I didn’t want to have my heart trampled on, I needed to remember that.

But it was so damn hard when he said things like that.

“Kiss me,” I pleaded, wrapping my fingers in his hair to guide his lips back to mine. It was the only way I knew to make him stop talking, stop saying things I was discovering I was desperate to hear. I couldn’t imagine this ending well between us, but I was helpless to stop it.

I heard a door slam and jerked my head up to see we were in his bedroom. He’d kicked the door shut behind us as soon as we cleared the threshold. It wasn’t until right then that I realized I’d never really paid much attention to what Rowan’s bedroom looked like. And from the feral expression on his face, that wasn’t going to change right then, either. From the brief glimpse I was able to get, it looked to be very much his style. Dark wood furniture, dark bedclothes, minimal decorations on his beige walls. But that was all I was able to take in before his lips on my skin distracted me from anything but the man I was currently wrapped around.

“This dress…” he mumbled as he slid me down the front of his body, resting my feet on the carpeted floor. “This fucking dress.” It came out like a growl as his eyes trailed over every inch of me. “Jesus, you look beautiful in it, but I need it off you. Right now.”

I couldn’t formulate a single word as he reached behind me and lowered the zipper of my gown before sliding the strap from my shoulder. I stood, frozen as it slid down my body and pooled on the floor at my feet, leaving me in nothing but a white, lacey thong since the design of the gown wouldn’t allow for a bra.

“Good Lord,” he groaned, sounding almost pained. “Knew you’d be gorgeous. Fucking knew it.” As he spoke, I tried not to fidget, forcing myself to keep my hands at my sides when I wanted nothing more than to cover myself from his blatant stare. “But never knew you’d be perfect.”

My whole body heated at Rowan’s confession, and suddenly, I was desperate to feel his hands on me, his skin against mine. I wanted every part of him touching every part of me. “You’re wearing too many clothes.”

His eyes came back to mine, an impish grin tilting the corner of his mouth as his fingers went to the buttons of his shirt, moving purposefully. “You want me?”

All I could do was nod as I licked at my dry lips.

“Say it.”

“I want you,” I answered, sounding hoarse as my mouth grew dry with every inch of solid, muscular skin he exposed.

“On the bed.”

I never broke our stare as I stepped out of my shoes and moved backwards to the bed. Once the back of my knees hit the mattress, I sat down and scooted to the very center, lying down against the mound of soft pillows.

Rowan dropped his shirt to the floor and said, “God, you look amazing there,” as he worked the button and zipper of his slacks. Then, just like that, he was completely naked. I sucked in a sharp breath. I didn’t know where to look first. Perfection, pure unadulterated perfection; that was the only way I could describe Rowan in all his bare glory. I couldn’t memorize every dip and curve fast enough.

“You have any idea how hard I get when you look at me like that?” he asked as his knees hit the bed.

“Show me.” What the what? My response shocked me. But just like Rowan brought out my serious attitude, it also seemed he brought out a part of me I’d only kept relegated to my fantasies. I had no doubt I could be as adventurous as I wanted with him. And that he’d encourage every second of it.

For just tonight, my brain whispered from out of nowhere. I had to bite my lip against the sting of that reminder. It was one night. Rowan didn’t do repeats.

At least I can live out some of my fantasies for tonight. It’s better than nothing.

It had to be, because it was all I was getting.

“Hey.” His breath wisped against my cheek, and I was stunned to find he’d moved to hover right over me as I was sucked into a murky haze. “What’s that face about?”

He sounded so sincere, so soft. The question in his eyes as he focused on me ripped at my chest.

“Nothing,” I lied, my voice gravelly from the lump that had formed.

Leaning closer, he trailed his nose along the side of mine. “You sure? You want me to stop?”

Gah! I really needed him to quit being so sweet!

I felt panicked at the thought of him stopping, at the idea of not having this one night. “No. Don’t stop. Please.”

He pressed soft, gentle kisses on my lips, down my neck, between my breasts as he traveled down my body, each one breaking something inside of me until I feared I might cry. I expected hard. I expected fast. I expected more of what we had in the back of the limo. I never would have guessed Rowan Locklaine was capable of soft and sweet. And that newly exposed layer he just revealed shredded me.

“Rowan, please,” I begged on a whimper. Please what? What was it I was asking for, exactly? I was so confused. I wanted him to stop, fearing I was moments away from a crushed heart, but another part of me was desperate for him to continue, wanting to take in as much as possible before it was all ripped away.

I felt the rough pads of his fingers as he slipped them into the thin straps at my hips and pulled my panties off. “What do you need, baby?”

“God, please... just… just hurry.”

He was back over me once again, resting on his forearm while his other hand reached out and opened the drawer to his nightstand. “Not hurrying this time. This time, we’re doing it slow. I want to feel you wrapped around my cock. I want to savor what it feels like when you come around me.”

My heart thundered in my chest as he ripped the condom open between his teeth, the heat of his body only leaving me long enough for him to slide it down his rock-hard length. Then he was back, pushing into me slowly, inch by torturous inch.

My head tilted back into the pillows as my lids fell shut. A deep moan rose up from my chest as I gloried at the way he filled me so completely.

“Look at me,” he commanded, one of his hands tangling in my hair as he pulled my face back to his. “Keep those eyes on me, baby. Don’t look away.” I gasped at what I saw when my eyelids slid open. I couldn’t understand what I was seeing in the depths of those crystal eyes as they stared back at me. It was something I’d never seen from him before.

The sounds that he pushed from my throat as he pumped in and out of me filled the room, mingled with the sounds of his panting and skin slapping against skin.

“So good,” he rasped. “So tight. Touch me, Navie. I want to feel your hands on me.”

Incapable of denying him anything at that point, I slid my hands over his ribs, up his defined chest, running my fingers over every rise and indention I’d been craving to touch since the first time I saw him without a shirt. A tiny bead of sweat trailed from his temple down to the column of his throat, and I found myself leaning in to lick it off his warm skin. At the touch of my tongue, his chest rumbled against me with his deep growl.

A gasp caught in my throat when he pulled out and thrust back in harder, faster. “Again,” I pleaded.

“You like that?” he asked, offering me exactly what I asked for.

“Yes.”

Each hard pump of his hips pushed me closer. I was hanging from the precipice. “Close. So close. Need you harder.”

“No, just like this,” he insisted, never once speeding up or slowing down, keeping an infuriatingly perfect pace as I hungered for more. “You’ll come just like that. With your eyes on me.”

My insides coiled tight then snapped in a release that overtook my entire body. I writhed and moaned, chanting Rowan’s name over and over as he continued moving inside me, drawing out every single bit of my orgasm. Tears pricked the backs of my eyes at its intensity. I wasn’t sure how I managed, but somehow I kept my eyes open and on him the whole time.

“Fuck,” he hissed as he began moving faster, chasing after his own bliss. I felt him swell inside me and clamped down around, squeezing him as hard as I could, wanting to push him over the edge just as he had me. “Shit… Navie!” he shouted as he buried himself as deep as he could possibly go. Each twitch of him as he came inside me sent electric shocks over my sensitive skin, throwing me headlong into another blinding orgasm. By the time we were finished, I couldn’t speak. I could barely breathe.

I felt a feather light brush of his lips against mine as he pulled out and climbed from the bed to handle the condom, but before he even had a chance to return, my lids drooped with exhaustion and I was pulled into the darkness of sleep.

I could have sworn it was just a dream when I felt Rowan climb back into the bed, pulling my back flush to his chest as he draped the covers over us. And I was positive it was a dream when I heard his raspy voice say, “Never felt anything so good in all my life, Navie. Not once.”