Nova
Nova
B y the time they got back to her place, and Alex helped her to pack some clothes and personal items, it was nearly midnight. They loaded up his SUV and got to his house just after one in the morning. She was exhausted, but thankful to have a safe place to sleep for the night. If she would have stayed the night at her apartment, she would have gotten zero sleep.
“You had a big day,” Alex said, “with your first day at work and everything that happened with your ex, you must be exhausted.”
“Sex,” she mumbled as he helped her into his home with her bags. “Don’t forget the morning sex. And I am exhausted.”
“I don’t think that I’ll be able to ever forget the morning sex, sweetheart,” he taunted. “Let me show you around and then, we can get some shut-eye.” Nova wondered if he meant alone or together, but she was too much of a chicken to flat-out ask him. “Just drop the bags by the stairs and I’ll carry them up in a minute,” he ordered.
“This place is massive,” she said. It had old-world charm and looked like something out of a magazine. “It’s beautiful.”
“It was my grandfather’s home,” he said. “I have others, but this one is my favorite.”
“Wait, you have other homes?” she questioned.
“Yes,” he said. “I haven’t hidden the fact that I’m loaded from you, honey,” Alex defended.
“I never said you did,” she said. “I’ve just never met anyone with multiple homes before.”
“Well, now you have,” he said. She wondered if she somehow hurt his feelings as he continued the tour. “This is the kitchen and through there is the pantry. Help yourself to whatever you want. I have someone who does my shopping for me, so if there’s something that you need, just add it to the grocery list on the fridge.”
“Thanks, but I’m not too picky,” she admitted. He showed her the rest of the downstairs of the house and promised to show her the lower level in the morning.
“How many levels does this place have?” she asked.
“Four, but the top floor is just a ballroom that no one really uses anymore. I sometimes let some of my friends use it for weddings or charity functions, but it doesn’t get as much use as it used to. My grandfather used the ballroom just about every weekend. The man seriously loved his fancy parties.”
“Wow,” she breathed. “I couldn’t imagine throwing a party every weekend. I got worn out just planning my son’s first birthday party.” Thinking about Jack’s birthdays now always made her a bit sad. She wondered if she’d ever be allowed to celebrate another one of his birthdays with him again. If Simon had his way, she’d never see her son again, and that just pissed her off.
“You look sad and angry all at the same time, honey,” he said. “What just happened?”
“I guess I’m thinking about Jack’s birthdays now and Simon keeping me from them. I’m still bitter,” she admitted.
“Of course you are. Anyone would be.” Alex soothed. “Let’s go up and I’ll show you around upstairs.” She nodded and followed him up the stairs. He refused to allow her to carry any of the bags and she wondered if that had anything to do with wanting to control where they landed. He walked straight back to the corner bedroom and pushed the door open with his foot.
“This is the master,” he said, dumping her bags onto the bed. “You will be staying in here with me, honey,” he said. Nova wasn’t sure if she wanted to argue with him or not. Honestly, she was too tired to fight about where she slept, and then there was the whole wanting to be in his bed thing she had running through her mind. Nova found herself nodding her agreement before she was sure that she even made up her mind.
“All right,” she agreed.
“Well, shit,” he grumbled. “I expected you to give me a fight.”
“You sound disappointed, Alex,” she said. “Would you like for me to give you a fight?”
“Um, no,” he said. “I’m just surprised is all.”
“I’m tired and honestly, I want to be in your bed,” she admitted. “I’m sure we’ll fight about something tomorrow, but for now, I’d love to get some rest.”
“I’m going to take a quick shower before bed,” he said. “Want to join me?” A hot shower with an even hotter man sounded like a perfect end to their crazy evening.
“Yes,” she agreed.
“Wow, another yes with no fight,” he said. “A guy could get used to this.”
“Don’t,” she ordered. “I’m not usually so compliant. But I’d love a shower and seeing you completely naked is just a bonus.” When they had sex earlier, they kept their close on, but now, she wanted to take her time to explore his body and all of the tattoos he might have hidden under his clothes.
“Oh—seeing you naked will be quite the bonus,” he agreed. “Come here, Nova,” he ordered. She quickly did as he asked, closing the distance between them.
“You are a very bossy boss,” she teased.
“Get used to it,” he breathed. “I’m not going to change; I’ve always been bossy.”
“Honestly,” she squeaked, “I kind of like it.” He was undressing her and when he tugged her t-shirt over her head and ran his hands over her lacy bra, cupping her breasts, she hissed out her breath.
“You do?” he asked. “Then, I’m definitely not changing.” She giggled and he unzipped her jeans, rolling them down her thighs. “I love the matching panties,” he whispered into her ear. Somehow, this man had taken her from zero to sixty in seconds flat and now, she was standing in her bra and panties soaking wet for him.
“Thank you,” she stuttered. “I think that I wore them just for you, Alex,” she admitted. When she was changing earlier, all she could think about was if Alex would like her sexy bra and panties—or if he’d even see them tonight.
“I never wear panties, but I thought you might like these,” she said, hopeful that he would agree with her.
“I do, but I need to see you without them, honey,” he insisted.
She pouted up at him and he chuckled. “What about you?” she asked.
“I’m not wearing a bra and panties,” he teased.
“Well, darn,” she joked. “I was hoping you would be. How about you just get naked and let me see what I’m working with here,” she said.
He threw back his head and laughed. “I might be bossy, honey, but you’re just as bad as I am.” He pulled his t-shirt over his head, revealing that most of his upper body was covered with tattoos.
“You are so hot,” she said, running her hands over his pecks and down his abs. She let them rest on the waistband of his jeans and when he nodded for her to go ahead with what she had planned, she felt almost giddy.
She couldn’t help but smile up at him as she slowly lowered his zipper and tugged his jeans down his massive thighs, letting his cock spring free. He was beautiful naked, just as she envisioned. As soon as she released his jeans, letting them fall to the floor, Nova wrapped her hands around his cock, causing him to hiss out his next breath.
“You keep that up and we won’t make it to the shower,” he insisted.
“I’m good with that,” she admitted. He lifted her up against his body and walked with her across the bedroom, pressing her up against the wall. He wasn’t gentle with her, taking what he wanted, and Nova had to admit, she liked it.
Alex slid her panties to the side, not bothering to take them off of her, and thrust into her body, filling her completely. “So good,” she moaned. His breath felt hot on her neck, and she realized that he was panting. Alex was holding back with her and that was the last thing she wanted him to do.
“Give me all of you, Alex,” she insisted. “I can handle whatever you’re planning to do to me.”
“I’m afraid that I’ll hurt you,” he admitted. He was a lot bigger than she was, but she knew that he wouldn’t take things too far.
“I trust you,” she admitted. “I know I have no reason to, but I do. Please,” she begged. Alex pulled out and slammed back into her pussy, pressing her against the wall. She felt like he would take her breath every time he slammed back into her, and she was sure that she’d be wearing his handprints on her thighs in the morning. Nothing about him was sweet or gentle. Alex took from her just as she asked him to and gave her so much more in return. She found her release, shouting out his name as he used her body, pressing her against the hard wall, riding out his own orgasm. It was too much and not enough all at the same time. He was perfect—they were perfect together.
“That was,” he breathed, pausing to find the right word.
“Perfect,” she finished for him.
“Yes,” he whispered. He pulled free from her body and lifted her into his arms, carrying her back to the shower, and turned it on. She cuddled into his chest as they stood like that, waiting for the water to heat up.
“Did I hurt you?” he asked. He sounded like he was pained and that was the last thing she wanted him to feel after what they had just done.
“Not at all,” she said. “I loved it, Alex. I like things a little rough. I never had it that way before, but with you, it feels real—as if it’s the way things should be. I loved every second of what we just did, and I wouldn’t have changed any of it.”
Alex gently kissed her forehead and she leaned into him. “I don’t want to jinx things between us,” he whispered, “but, I think you might be the perfect woman for me, Nova.”
“Luckily for you, I don’t believe in jinxes, Alex,” she said. He opened the glass shower door and stepped into the hot spray of water with her. He let Nova slide down his body so that she was standing in front of him. Alex grabbed the body wash and soaped up her body, making her feel alive and on fire all at once. What was it about this man that just one simple act or touch had her panting with need?
After he finished with her body, he grabbed the shampoo and worked it through her shoulder-length hair, gently massaging her scalp. She moaned at how good his fingers felt working their way through her hair.
“That feels so good,” she groaned. He gently pushed her back into the spray of the shower, letting the shampoo wash down her back. As soon as he finished with her, he lathered up his body and quickly washed his hair.
“Let’s get you dried off and into bed,” he ordered. Nova wanted to protest that she wanted to play some more, suddenly feeling more needy than tired, but she could tell that he wouldn’t agree to that.
“We have a busy day tomorrow,” he said. “I hear that your boss is a real slave driver and I’m sure you will need to get at least a few hours of sleep before heading into the office.”
“Well, when you put it like that, I guess you’re right, boss,” she teased. He turned off the water, grabbed a white fluffy towel from the heated towel rack, and wrapped it around her body. Alex pulled down another towel and wrapped it around his waist.
“Let me help you out,” he said, opening the door while holding her hand so that she could step out of the shower.
“Thank you,” she said. He grabbed her town and quickly dried her body, wrapping it around her head to let her damp hair dry. “Do you by chance have a blow dryer?” she asked. If she didn’t dry her curly hair, she’d be a frizzy mess by the morning. “I left mine back at my place.”
“Under the bathroom sink,” he said. She took the towel off of her head and wrapped it around her body for warmth and grabbed the blow dryer from the cabinet.
“Here,” he said, taking the blow dryer and brush from her. “Let me.”
“You don’t have to dry my hair, Alex,” she insisted.
“I know that I don’t, but I like taking care of you, Nova,” he admitted. She had to admit, she had never been a pampered woman, but she could get used to being taken care of like this.
“I’m glad that you talked me into staying with you, Alex,” she admitted.
“I’m glad you agreed, and I didn’t have to kidnap you, Nova,” he said. He sounded as if he might be teasing her, but she was pretty sure that he meant it. Alex would have no problems kidnapping her to get his way. Sure, that thought should have her running for the hills, but it didn’t.
He dried her hair and it looked better than it usually did every morning that she attempted to tame her curls. “I like your hair curly,” he admitted. She liked it too, but she never thought that she looked professional with her hair that way. Simon was constantly telling her to straighten her hair so that she looked like she belonged in his office. She believed that little lie too, but that was on her. Simon had brainwashed her into believing so many things that weren’t true—the first being that he loved her. He was incapable of loving anyone except himself. That was one of the reasons why she had to work to get her son away from him. He’d grown up never knowing love and that broke her heart. It’s why she told Jack that she loved him about a million times in the twenty-four hours that she got to see him every week.
“I wear it straight because I worried that it didn’t look professional this way,” she admitted.
“Well, I think it looks very professional—and sexy,” he said, bobbing his eyebrows at her, causing her to laugh. “You ready to get some sleep?” he asked, holding his hand out to her.
“Yeah, I just need a minute to brush my teeth and find some pajamas,” she said.
“I’m fine with you brushing your teeth—just no pajamas,” he insisted.
“I’ll freeze,” she said.
“I’ll keep you warm, honey,” he offered. How could she refuse an offer like that? It had been so long since she was with a man, let alone slept with one, it would be nice to cuddle and be held while she slept.
She brushed her teeth as Alex brushed his own in the side-by-side vanity sinks. It felt so domestic to be with him like this, she almost forgot that she had only just met him yesterday. It felt as though she had known him her whole life. Being with Alex was easy and natural, almost like breathing.
He helped her into bed and leaned over to kiss her forehead as if he was tucking her into bed and the gentle gesture had her almost swooning. How could a man so in control, a man who was admittedly rough with her during sex, be so gentle and nurturing otherwise? Every time Nova thought she had him figured out, he’d prove her wrong again. She wondered if she’d ever figure Alex out, but she was pretty sure that she already knew the answer to that question—she wouldn’t.
She woke the next morning to find the bed empty before the sun had even come up. “Alex,” she called, but he didn’t answer. A part of her worried that she had just dreamt the whole wonderful night that she had just spent curled up beside him.
Nova got out of bed and found Alex’s T-shirt on the floor from the night before. She smiled to herself as she slipped it on, remembering the way she took it off of him just before he pushed her up against the wall and took her. Nova made her way down to the kitchen and tried to remember what he said about where everything was in his house. This place was enormous and finding her way around was going to require a map.
She found a note on the kitchen counter, next to the coffee pot. “Help yourself to coffee. I’m in the basement—come find me when you’re up.” Nova poured herself a cup of coffee and sauntered down to the basement to find him.
“Hey,” he said as she walked into the home gym he had built in the back of the basement.
“A ballroom on the top floor and a gym in the basement. Where’s the bowling alley?” she teased.
“You joke, but it used to be here,” he said. “In this space. My grandfather had it built when my brother and I lived with him for a while,” he said.
“You had a bowling alley?” she said. “Right here.” She pointed to the gym, and he nodded.
“I tore it out to put in the gym. While I love bowling, I use the gym every day. I’m kind of private about my workouts. Plus, I don’t like waiting for machines, so this works for me,” he said. She had to admit—it worked for her too, seeing him lifting weights, glistening with sweat, and making her hot as hell.
“Well, I love bowling. I can’t say that I love working out. In fact, I don’t do much of it,” she admitted.
“Your body says otherwise, honey,” he said.
She shrugged, “I guess I can claim good genetics,” she said.
“I’ll have you down here with me in no time, honey,” he promised. “Good genetics or not, you still need to work out. It will give you so much more energy.” She did feel like a slug most days. By dinner time, she felt ready to drop.
“Don’t hold your breath,” she said. “Mind if I take a quick shower to get ready for work?” she asked.
“My house is your house, honey,” he said. If only. Nova wouldn’t have a clue as to what to do with a house this size.
“Thanks,” she said, “I’ll be ready to go to the office in thirty minutes. You have a nine o’clock meeting.”
“I’ll be up in a few minutes to shower,” he said. She nodded and turned to go back up the steps. “Oh—Nova,” he said. She turned to look back at him and he smiled at her. “I like the way you look in my t-shirt, honey,” he said. All she could do was sigh —just sigh, like a lovesick schoolgirl. Yeah, she had it bad for her boss, and there wasn’t anything she’d be able to do about it.
They got into the office and even though she expected all eyes on them and everyone to be whispering behind their backs—it didn’t happen. No one seemed to even know that they had arrived together to work. No one questioned the fact that Alex was holding her hand on the way to her desk or that he had kissed her cheek before heading into his own office. Not one single peep.
He had spent most of the morning locked away in his office while she worked at her desk. She was deep into a training guide that HR had sent up when her cell phone rang from inside her desk. She stowed her purse and phone in there to keep them out of the way and out of sight. She’d be tempted to check her phone every few minutes if she kept it on her desk. The question was, should she answer it on company time or not? The HR manual she had just started reading was adamant that company time was just that and personal business should be conducted during her hours off.
Alex poked his head out of his office and smiled at her. “Honey, I don’t want to alarm you, but your desk is ringing,” he said.
“I know,” she whispered as if she didn’t want to get caught with her phone ringing. That was laughable since Alex was her boss. “But the HR manual I just read said that I’m not supposed to take personal calls while at work. I should save them for my free time.”
“Well, I’m your boss and I give you permission to disregard that rule, Nova,” he said.
“I can’t just disregard the rules, Alex,” she insisted. “What will people think?”
“I don’t care what anyone else thinks, honey,” he said. “I thought I made that very clear when we arrived at work together today. Hell, let them all talk.”
“You think anyone’s talking about us?” she asked. Her phone had stopped ringing, to her relief, and just when she was about to tell him that it didn’t matter anymore, it started to ring again.
“I’m sure that rumors have already started to spread, Nova,” he said. “But it doesn’t matter to me and shouldn’t matter to you either.” Yeah—it shouldn’t, but it did. She hated the way other employees at her old firm looked at her when rumors started spreading that Simon was cheating on her. Of course, her digging around to prove the rumors right didn’t help. She hated the pity she saw in their eyes when they realized what was going on with her and Simon. That was the worst part about all of it—the pity.
“Just answer your phone, Nova,” he grumbled. She sat and looked at the drawer that held her cell as it was going to tell her what to do. “Fine,” Alex said, crossing the office to her desk. He pulled the drawer open and grabbed her cell from inside.
“Hello,” he answered, putting it on speaker, “This is Nova’s phone. How can I help you?”
A woman’s laughter filled her office and Nova rolled her eyes. “Um, I’d love to speak with Nova, please,” she said. “This is her best friend, Evie Jones.”
“Hold please,” he said, holding out her cell phone to her, “it’s for you, Nova.”
“Gee,” she said, “thanks. Hey, Evie,” she said. “I’m at work, can I call you back tonight?” she asked.
“You can, but I’m assuming that sexy-sounding man I just spoke with is your new boss, Alex McTavish, and you’ll both want to hear this,” Evie insisted. Her best friend always had a flair for the dramatic.
“All right, go ahead,” Nova said. “You know the rumor about certain lawyers in the firm paying off judges?” she asked. Nova had not only heard it, but she also knew it well. She believed that was how Simon won their case in court and got custody of Jack.
“Yes,” she and Alex said in unison, causing Evie to giggle again.
“That’s adorable, guys, really,” she said.
“Get on with it, Evie,” Nova grumbled.
“Fine, I think that I’ve found the evidence that we need to prove that Simon has been paying off judges. Not just the one in your case, Nova, but others too,” Evie boasted.
“Can you get the evidence out of there?” Alex asked.
“Yep,” Evie said. “I’ve just downloaded it onto my thumb drive. I’ll drop it by your office on my way out to lunch later. If I leave right now, it will look suspicious.”
“Agreed,” Alex said. “I look forward to meeting you, Evie, and thank you for helping us.” Nova’s heart did a little flutter at the way he referred to them as “Us”.
“Not a problem,” Evie said. “I’d do anything for my girl. Nova deserves the best,” she said.
“Subtle,” Nova mumbled. She didn’t miss her best friend’s warning to Alex, even if she hadn’t said it out loud. “See you when you get here, Evie,” she said, ending the call and tossing her phone back onto her desk.
“I like her,” Alex said.
“Yeah, well you should withhold judgment of my friend until you meet her in person, and she threatens to murder you if you hurt me,” Nova said. She wouldn’t put it past Evie to do just that, too.
“That will only make me like her even more, honey. You need good people in your corner and if your friend is willing to help you, at possibly the cost of her job, she’s good people. If your ex finds out what she’s doing, what will he do to her?” he asked.
“Nothing, I hope, but I can’t be sure. Simon is a hothead and he’s a bully. You saw him last night at that restaurant. If you weren’t there, I don’t know what he would have done to me. You heard the way that he threatened me, right?”
“I did,” Alex growled, “and if I have anything to say about it, he’ll never touch you again.”
“I appreciate that, but I hate that Evie is stuck at his firm, gathering evidence for me. I don’t want to put her in danger, but she insists on helping me get Jack back. God, if anything happens to her, I’ll die,” Nova said.
“I know, honey,” he said. “I have a few friends over in the firm. I can ask a couple of them to watch Evie’s back if it makes you feel any better.”
“That would, thank you, Alex,” she breathed.
He nodded, “Not a problem,” he said. “I’ll make the calls now, before my meeting. Do you need me for anything else?” he asked.
“You mean, besides answering my cell phone and pretending to be my assistant?” she asked.
“Hey—I’m a full-service boyfriend, honey,” he said.
She gasped and he turned back to give her his wolfish grin. “You heard me right,” he said, guessing at what had her staring him down as if he’d lost his mind.
“Boyfriend?” she squeaked.
“Yep,” he agreed. “You good with that?” All she could do was nod her head at him as if she had lost the ability to form sentences or even words.
“Good,” he said. “I’ve got calls to make and you have an HR handbook to finish studying. After you're done with that, burn it because I plan on breaking just about every damn rule in that book with you.” She watched as he walked back into his office and pushed his door shut.
“Boyfriend,” she whispered to herself. “How about that?”