Chapter 16 – cat
CAT
The way Nate’s looking at me makes my belly flip.
He looms over me, his broad shoulders blocking out the lights in the hotel living room. His face is cast in shadows, making his handsome features look sharper—crueler, even. But his steel-gray eyes are molten.
I was so sure he was going to fire me for messing up the deal. Instead…
I want to show you my gratitude.
There’s only one thing he can mean by that, right? He’s going to kiss me again—and this time, there’s no reason for him to stop. My breath grows short and fast as a hot ache spreads from my low belly down between my thighs.
This is so wrong. He’s my boss. We’re still wearing the clothes from that disastrous meeting. Hell, we’re standing in a hotel suite that I booked as his assistant As much as I want to jump into his arms, wrap my legs around him and relieve the pressure between my legs, I can’t go there.
Nate reaches forward, setting his fingertips at the side of my neck. He rubs light circles against the sensitive skin there, and it feels so fucking good. I take a shaky breath, and his eyes drop to my chest’s rapid rise.We shouldn’t.
I shouldn’t.
But I’d rather throw myself from the top floor of this building than ask him to stop. I want him so badly, it clouds all my rational thoughts and judgments.
He drags his hand back up my arm, and the light touch makes goosebumps rise on my skin. “You deserve respect,” he says, his voice low and rough. “You’re deserve everything.”
His praise sends hot currents of desire through my veins. My entire body is kindling, and one compliment from Nate is the spark that’s going to set me aflame.
My hand trembles as I reach for his suit lapel. The expensive wool fabric feels both soft and coarse against my fingers. I have to touch him—I can’t not touch him—and this is the closest I can get before I end up somewhere dangerous.
Nate leans forward so his forehead’s touching mine. “If…if you want me to stop, just nod, and I will.”
I squeeze his lapel tighter. I should do it.
I should nod my head and go back to my room for a long, cold shower.
My mind whirls with all the reasons this is a bad idea.
It could mess with our professional relationship, putting my job at risk.
Even if I quit, he lives in the same building as Terrace—I’d see him all the time.
I can hear Pippa’s warnings echoing in my head.
He goes through women like Kleenex.
Unless you’re into getting railed in a luxury bed…
Would that really be so bad? I don’t want a relationship either. Maybe I could be the sort of girl who’s alright with something that’s just physical. After all, I haven’t been with a man in months. And the last guy was so underwhelming, I had to finish myself off afterward every time.
Something tells me, I won’t need to do that with Nate. No, my intuition promises that Nate won’t leave me wanting…and I want to find out if it’s right.
Nate’s gray eyes flicker down to my lips. Instinctively, my tongue darts out to wet them, and his pupils expand in the darkness.
He pulls his hand away from my arm, tightening it into a fist. His lips tighten into a firm line, and he takes a full step back. I can feel the distance between us instantly, like a spell has been broken.
He’s changed his mind.
What did I do to make him reject me already?
A disappointed whimper escapes my mouth before I can stop it. God, how humiliating. He must think I’m pathetic and desperate for him. Which, honestly, I am. I’m practically salivating for him at this point.
Maybe it wasn’t enough for me to just let him touch me. Maybe he wants me to ask for it.
“Please,” I whisper. It’s about as articulate as I can be right now.
Nate hesitates, and tears prick at my eyes. Embarrassment, disappointment, and frustration battle for prominence in my head.
“Fuck it,” he groans. He charges toward me, grabbing me by the waist and hauling my body against his.
He kisses me, and it feels like he’s branding me. There’s nothing gentle about how he parts my lips with his tongue or how he tastes me. He’s claiming me. No matter who else I kiss, I’ll think back to right now and know it wasn’t as passionate as this.
It’s a kiss that sets every nerve on fire while simultaneously making my panties drenched. I wrap my arms around his neck, arching my back so I can press my breasts and stomach against him. He feels so goddamn good against me.
He tears his lips away from mine and flips me so the front of my body is pressed against the glass.
It feels frigid against my cheek and hands.
Nate yanks down the right shoulder strap of my dress, kissing a hot path from my shoulder up to my neck.
His kisses are slow, masterful, claiming.
He’s got one hand in my hair holding my head against the pane, the other grabbing the lower hem of my dress.
Directly ahead, I can see Central Park’s dark trees. But if I look to the side, I see other high-rise buildings. Close enough that I could look through the windows. My muscles tense up, even as slickness gathers in my panties.
“Someone could see us,” I gasp.
Nate grinds his hips against my backside and I can feel his rock-hard length through my clothes, pressing against me.
“Let them watch,” he growls, his mouth finding the hinge of my jaw as his palm presses flat to my sternum, feeling the frantic drum of my heart.
Nate yanks my skirt up around my hips and in the building closest to us, I spot several men in suits walking down a hallway. All they’d have to do is turn their heads to see my little pink panties and my bare legs.
“What’s your favorite color?” he asks, and I’m thrown by the question, but I answer it anyway on instinct. I’ll tell him anything he wants to know right now as long as he doesn’t stop.
“Pink.”
“Of course, it is,” he says with a chuckle against the nape of my neck. “What’s your least favorite?”
“I-I don’t have one.”
“Not surprising. Red then.”
“What?”
He runs his nose up the side of my neck and I shiver.
“Pink means keep going,” he says, a whisper against the curve of my neck. “Red means you want me to slow down.” A kiss to the sensitive spot behind my ear. “Black means stop. Nod if you understand.”
I nod, my shuddering breaths fogging the glass as his hands explore my body.
Nate nudges my ankle with his dress shoe, coaching me to shift it to the side. The wider stance forces me to lean back against him for balance.
I reach behind me, delving my fingers into his soft hair. He angles his jaw, pressing a kiss to my wrist like it’s holy. The warmth of it makes me relax into the nudges of his feet and shift my legs wider.
“That’s it,” he whispers. “Nice and wide for me. Just like that.” Another kiss to my wrist, then my neck, making me tremble. “Good girl.”
His praise makes me melt. Warm, glowing heat spreads through every inch of my body, and my muscles feel loose and relaxed.
I let Nate’s body fully absorb my weight.
No guy has ever talked to me like this. It’s more than compliments—it’s approval, mixed with admiration and desire.
I didn’t know how much I needed to feel that from someone.
His fingers trail over the curve of my bare hip, down the sensitive skin in the crease of my leg, lower, and lower.
“Color?” he asks.
My brain races to remember. “Pink.”
Definitely pink.
It’s like Nate’s claiming me in front of the whole city. Telling them who I belong to.
Him.
Just thinking about it makes me feel high. Every rational thought bleeds away, leaving just how good this feels. All my apprehension and doubts vanish. My body goes loose and pliant, accepting everything Nate gives me.
Maybe it’s not forever, but for tonight, I’m Nate’s, and he’s not afraid to show everyone.
Nate releases my hair so my head can fall back against his shoulder. His fingers move over my panties, tracing my folds through the soaking fabric. My mouth falls open as I gasp.
“You feel fucking perfect.” He strokes all the way from my entrance up to my clit and back, setting my nerves alight. “My brilliant Kitten.”
My hips circle, grinding my core against his hard hand. It feels sinfully good. Normally, my thoughts race at a million miles a minute, always thinking about what’s next. Now, it’s like everything’s gone quiet and dark. My body and mind are humming with the same good energy.
When Nate’s hand lets go of me, I whine loudly. “Don’t stop!”
He chuckles darkly and pulls the fabric of my panties aside, exposing me to the cool air. My hips roll forward as I try to press my bare pussy into his hand
“Oh Kitten, I’m not stopping until I see those pretty eyes roll back.”
Two broad fingers stroke my clit and heat shoots through me. My body feels tight and loose at the same time. He strokes me again and I moan. Fuck, it’s embarrassingly loud. I clap my hand to my mouth before I can do that again.
Nate tsks behind me. “None of that. I love hearing you moan for me. Don’t hold back. Come on, Kitten, purr for me.”
He circles my clit, pressing a little harder this time. I sigh heavily and he makes a low grunt of approval. He plays with me patiently, experimenting to see what I like. When he gets the pressure just right, I moan again. This time, I don’t hold back.
“God, Nate, yes!”
Without warning, he slides one thick finger deep inside me, and I freeze. It’s not that it doesn’t feel good—it feels amazing. It’s just, I haven’t had anything inside me but me vibrator for so long, and now I’m letting my boss finger fuck me?
I know Nate can feel my tension because he nuzzles my neck. “Color, Kitten?”
“P-pink.”
“Mmmmm,” he moans against me.
He lightly scrapes his teeth against my earlobe. “Please, let me show you how grateful I am. Let me make you feel good.”