8. Julia
8
JULIA
“ I know you said you didn’t want anything, but we’ve been here for hours and everyone’s gone home,” Nick said, standing up and going into one of his filing cabinets. He pulled out a pretty crystal snifter filled with a dark, malt-colored liquid. “Would you like to try? It’s aged about seventy years and I think we both need a break.”
The warm glimmer in his sapphire eyes had me saying, “Sure, why the hell not?” before I could even think about it.
We’d already gone over the new budget, but there were still a few things I wanted to talk to him about, and honestly, I was enjoying his company. I’d found out that he’d been a chef in Manhattan working under some of the best chefs in the world and the only reason he moved home was to help take care of his sick mother.
His father was heartsick when Nick’s mom passed away, and Nick’s dad died a few weeks later. By then, Nick was heavily involved with Kendra and they decided that being a big fish in a small pond was more lucrative.
Plus, Nick’s parents left everything to him since he was an only child.
While he and Kendra didn’t live in his parents’ old house, they kept it as a rental, and once he and Kendra separated, Nick moved back into his old house. Sadly, his parents' deaths left him without parents anymore, but they also left enough money and the house to where Nick didn’t have loans.
It sounded like a bittersweet kind of story.
“Excellent.” He pulled out two crystal tumblers that matched the snifter and poured.
“Do I want to know why you have glasses and alcohol in your filing cabinet?” I asked as he placed a glass in front of me. I looked into the glass and could already smell the oak and cherry that had a deeper sweetness than just the bourbon I’d had earlier in the evening.
I checked my phone out to see the time.
I placed the glass to my lips and took a sip.
It was almost midnight.
Oops.
I placed the glass back on the desk and gave Nick my attention.
“Well...” He released a long sigh. “Kendra, the woman who barged into my office, is my ex-wife. She was only a fan of alcohol as long as she was drinking it.” He huffed and shook his head. “But you don’t want to know about that.”
“That’s why you asked me to leave? Acted like we were in a relationship?” I asked. I didn’t want to get too far into that subject, but I did need to understand why he kissed my cheek and lingered close to me. It threw me off at first, but I could sense something was up and I didn’t want to call him out on it when the look in his eyes was so desperate.
Not that I was complaining, I definitely didn’t hate his being so close, especially when he smelled of food and spice. I picked up the glass and took a sip of the warm liquid while picturing myself burying my lips into his neck while my fingers ran through his thick salt-and-pepper hair.
The bourbon didn’t burn going down, at least not in a cheap alcohol way. It was a smooth cinnamon caramel flavor that made me want more. I took another sip as he sat down. “I’m sorry about that. It was unprofessional of me.”
He took a drink and placed the glass down. “We’ve been separated for about two years, but everything got finalized over the last six months. We were going back and forth about the business. I only wanted my restaurant, and the day we had our first court meeting was the day I won it.” He rocked back in his chair proudly, crossing his ankle over his knee and raking his hands through his hair.
I wondered what it felt like and took another drink.
I sat back and crossed my legs too, watching as his gaze carved its way around my legs. I shifted again, trying to see if he really was checking me out or if the alcohol was affecting me.
He was, and it was.
I took another sip, settling into the heady feeling of flirting and the soft buzz of the drink.
“I wasn’t trying to make Kendra jealous, if that’s what you’re asking. She’s a bit of a hornet, and if she sensed anything about you, that we’re working on changing the restaurant, she would have tried to sabotage it, and you, to boot.”
A little charge of fear sliced through my chest. I'd already been sabotaged in business. I didn’t know Kendra, and I was confident in my work, but the thought of having to put up another battle like the one I was still fighting with Jared twisted in my stomach. “Well, that’s sweet of you, then,” I said, trying to come up with some other reason to get up and leave and then turn the job down despite the money.
I snapped my eyes closed. I wasn’t going to be run off by anyone. I was better than that. When I opened my eyes, he was looking right at me. There was sadness in his smile when he said, “Not a problem.” He held up his glass. “Now I just have to try to keep her off my tail for the holidays.”
My brow perked. I took another drink. “Why’s that?”
“We were together for thirteen years. We have had the same friends even before that. None of them know how to handle the breakup and are still trying to understand it even after this long. They still invite both of us over, and both of us are too stubborn not to go.” He played with the rim of his glass.
“But really, our friends are good, and I don’t have any family alive anymore, and I like spending the holidays with them. So, it should be interesting to watch what happens.” He finished his glass and poured another. “Would you like some more?”
I nodded. It tasted amazing. I stood, walking around his desk. I placed my glass in front of him and sat on the edge of his desk. He leaned forward and poured another, and his fingers brushed against my leg. The electricity shot straight to my core, and a low throb pulsed between my thighs. I hoped that he’d done it on purpose.
“Would it help you if I were your plus-one for the holiday season?” I didn’t know where the thought came from, but it seemed like the right thing to say to help. Or was it?
I picked up my glass and took another drink. It was probably just me trying to be kind. Right?
Even that seemed like a flimsy excuse. I released a sigh and shook my hair out. I’d examine it another time. Right then, I was in the company of a very nice man who seemed to have a problem, and I was a problem solver by trade, so I could definitely get behind that logic.
I decided it was best not to think about it anymore.
Nick sat back, pensive. He steepled his fingers together and searched my face. “Why would you do that?” he asked. I shrugged and took another drink, trying to figure out why I would say that.
After I swallowed, I said, “You seem like a really nice guy who’s just trying to start over. If I can help you do that, I’m happy to.” That almost sounded rational.
I wanted to kick my overthinking brain.
“Even though I’m pretty old?” he said with a teasing glint in his eye.
“I think you know you’re not old,” I said, standing to go back to my chair. I tripped on my heel and almost toppled to my side. Somehow, I didn’t. When I looked up, I realized Nick had moved lightning fast and his muscled arm caught me around my waist. “Pretty nimble too,” I teased, but not really, now painfully aware of how close we were.
The air surrounding us wrenched tighter, and I shifted just a little, letting my body line up with his. Placing a hand on his shoulder, my other arm draped over his arm, and I got to feel how tight his muscles really were. There was a warning flashing in my mind, but despite that, I moved closer as his hand tightened over my ribs.
“You okay?” his voice rumbled down my spine, spreading throughout my hips and settling between my legs. My fingers tightened on his shoulder, bunching up the fabric of his T-shirt.
I forced my eyes to meet his, and the connection mixed with his spicy scent and before I knew it, I pushed myself up and our lips met.
His lips were as soft as I hoped, and his strength supported me enough where I no longer had to be tiptoed. He held me to himself and leaned into the kiss. His hand threaded through my hair and he spun me, pressing me into the desk.
A burst of excitement popped in my chest as he took control and leaned over me as he laid me on the desk, pushing away some of the trinkets so I wouldn’t land on them.
The realization that I was kissing my client broke through, and I severed the kiss with heavy breath, instantly missing the feeling of his lips on mine.
“Is that your way of telling me you're okay? Cuz if it is, I liked it.”
I smiled as he lowered his lips to mine again, this time opening my mouth and letting his tongue tease my bottom lip.
I lifted myself up, moving with the kiss when he backed away. His eyes were stuck on mine, lips painfully close. A whimper threatened to slip over my lips because he was no longer touching them.
“You’re sure about this?”
I nodded. The draw of him was too big, too overwhelming. I wanted to give this to myself because it was time, because I deserved it, because I never jumped the gun, because I'd always planned everything out, even the relationship with Jared.
And that blew up in my face.
I shifted off the desk, and he let me, backing away slightly.
I turned, holding his fingers as I walked around the desk to my briefcase. I shoved my hand in the tiny pocket and pulled out a little foil wrapper. I held it between two fingers and waggled it under his nose.
He yanked me to himself, and I tossed the condom onto the desk, giving myself over to the kiss. The hard line of his cock dug into my stomach, and a moan slipped out of my mouth. I needed to touch it.
My hands traced over the line of his defined muscles down to his belt, and I tore it away from his waist, which seemed to excite him more. He bit the bottom of my lip, sending a charge of pleasure to my core, and he grunted as he pushed me back onto the desk.
I fumbled with the button and zipper on his pants for what felt like too long. I pulled away from the kiss as he leaned me back, and when I got his pants unzipped, I pushed everything down, releasing his thick cock to the room for me to look at in awe. I reached out to stroke it. He growled, and my hand jerked faster as he pushed my legs open.
His hand rode up my skirt, and he tore my panties away and down, past my knees, and over my ankles, leaving my heels firmly in place.
He groaned as I squeezed his dick harder, and his large hands pressed me to the top of the desk. He pressed himself between my legs, and I spasmed feeling his rock-hard erection rub over the most sensitive part of me.
He ground down into me, and I cried out, the tender throb of want saturating my thighs.
“Is this what you want?” He ground into me harder, letting the friction pump need into my body, making me putty for whatever pleasure he would bring me.
“Yes,” I whispered through a hushed breath. “Please.”
“Ooh. I like to hear you beg.” He rubbed the head of his cock over my clit, and I trembled at the sensation, each stroke of his dick over the bundle of nerves, toying with me, and I liked it.
I closed my eyes and arched my back, moaning, biting my lip as his other hand pushed up my skirt and grabbed my ass with just enough pressure to bring a little pleasure with the pain. I wasn’t sure how much longer I could wait for him, but I’d play the game he wanted.
My eyes snapped open and with another stroke of his dick against my clit, my eyes locked on his. “Please,” I said, scooting back on the desk and opening my legs up to him fully. The hunger in his eyes was enough of a reward as he shoved two fingers deep inside me, and my scream echoed through the room as he pushed and pulled and pumped. “This is what you want?” he hissed, and my hips ground down on his finger as I whimpered for him.
I ripped my shirt open, not wanting any fabric between us. His fingers pumped harder as he bent over, pushed the lace down, and sucked at my nipple hard.
Pleasure overtook me. My hums and moans and calls out for him to fuck me grew louder and more desperate the closer he brought me to climax.
“You’re so goddamned wet, Julia.” His sapphire eyes linked with mine. “Just the way I wanted you to be when I first saw you.”
His words practically had me coming all over his finger, but he pulled away, lifted his shirt off, and grabbed the condom. I took my bra off, wanting nothing more than to feel his skin against my own. My body yearned to feel it.
His chest was well-defined, and I did my best not to tell him to hurry up, even though the words were right at the tip of my tongue. I watched him slide the condom on, anticipation swelling the walls at my center, filling me up with pleasure before he even got close to me.
Once he was done, he brought both hands on either side of me. “How do you want it?” he asked, his voice low, twisting the sensation deep inside me. I looked at him, unsure of what to say as he waited for me to answer, his cock painfully close to my pussy.
“I just want you to fuck me,” I said through heated breath. He pulled me to himself and cupped the back of my head.
The teasingly slow way he played at my entrance had me squirming. “Nick,” I moaned, my eyes rolling back into my head as he circled slowly then slammed into me without warning.
My scream of passion ripped from my throat as he thrust into me. The louder I went, the harder he pumped, and soon, my hips were pumping over his cock too. He filled me up and pushed me into the desk. His mouth came to my nipple as my legs wrapped around his hips, holding on for dear life as he delivered me pleasure from his dick, his mouth, his finger.
I couldn’t believe I was fighting this.
I couldn’t believe it’d been so long since I’d had sex.
I couldn’t believe I’d ever enjoyed sex with Jared after spending three minutes with Nick inside me.
Soon, the twisting and tightening in my core sparked, igniting the flame in my system, and exploded through me, rocketing at the highest level of pleasure that I ever experienced.
My scream rode out my climax as Nick fucked me through it. With a few more pumps, his body went rigid and he tensed, growling and grunting as he spilled into the condom. His gaze met mine, and he jerked me up toward himself, and I kissed him through the rest of his climax.
As his hips slowed, he pulled out of me, and he leaned deeper into the kiss, supporting the back of my head as his tongue lapped over mine as if he couldn’t get enough of me.
He moved his head to my neck, kissing at the base of my throat, licking up the line of my neck, sending another shiver down my spine.
As the heady sensation faded and we started to clean ourselves up, the very first thought I had was, Mia’s going to kill me.