Filthy Rich (16 page)

“I like the way you try to dominate a conversation.”

His eyes were on her breasts as she let the bra slip down her arms. Hunger was glittering in his eyes again, filling her with confidence. He locked gazes with her.

“I can't wait to see what your tactics are going to be during this debate, counselor.”

She crawled toward him. “Since you just tried to pin me down during your opening statement—”

“I did pin you down,” he countered. “Flat on your back.”

She lifted her leg and straddled him, holding herself above his cock as she settled her hands on his shoulders. “Which makes it imperative that I get on top of you immediately.”

“I couldn't agree more.” He cupped her hips, smoothing his hands over her bottom before returning to grip them again.

But she held herself above him, letting only the head of his cock nestle between the wet folds of her sex. “Maybe I should make you rise to my bait…”

“Maybe I plan to hold out and count on my ability to resist your barbs.”

She rotated her hips and watched him grind his teeth. “In that case, I'd have to plunge straight on to my hardest point.”

She was drenched from the orgasm he'd sent ripping through her. When she pressed down on him, his cock penetrated with a smooth, hard thrust that filled her to bursting. But she stopped once she'd sheathed him and tightened her internal muscles, squeezing him as hard as she could.

He gasped, his expression losing focus. He was dissolving into the same pit of savage hunger that she'd been mindlessly mired in only minutes before.

“I wonder who is getting more of the point, you or me?” he rasped out.

She lifted herself off him, unable to stay still. A new craving was pounding through her, one that was rooted deeper and only satisfied by the hard flesh she was riding.

“Maybe I like it,” she growled, perspiration coating her skin as her heart began pounding.

He cupped her hips and shoved her down as he thrust up into her body. “You
love
it.”

Yes, she did, if she told herself the truth, but that was too much to absorb right now. For the moment it was enough that she craved him with the same insanity as an addict.

She was fascinated by his face. His eyes dilated, his lips thin as he worked beneath her, commanding the tempo even as she tried to control it from above. It was a battle between them, a challenge both of them rose to. Her hands curled into talons on his shoulders as she dug in for the hardest part of the ride. He was slamming his cock up into her, fucking her with a ferocity that made her snarl at him.

He yanked her back down onto him as he grew harder and thicker inside her. The need to close her eyes was strong, but she wanted to watch him crumble at the moment of release, needed to see him ripped apart by what was between them.

But her own body was tightening, release only a few more thrusts away.

“That's right… Come on my cock, Celeste… Squeeze me again…”

She tumbled into climax, crying out as she felt him give up the first spurt of cum. It was hot and scoring, and he hammered himself up into her as his cock jerked and emptied its load.

“That's it…
Squeeze
me
…yes!

Pleasure was ripping through her but she clamped her muscles down, the rapture in his voice demanding action. He shoved deep and shuddered as his cock let lose its last jerk. For a moment, he was frozen, rigid as he lifted his body off the bed to make sure he was buried inside her.

But he relaxed at last, the bed rocking as it took both their weight. She rolled over in a jumble of uncoordinated limbs that felt too weary to control. He followed her, cradling her and curving around her body.

It was tender.

So tender she shifted away.

He blew out a long breath and followed her. He cupped her shoulder and stroked her arm. “I was being an asshole. The art of being in a relationship is going to take some practice.”

He kissed her shoulder before getting up. She sat up, startled by his exit. She didn't care for how exposed it made her feel. He found his jacket and fished his cell phone out of his pocket. He tapped something into it before dropping it on her dresser.

“We've got enough time for a shower.” He offered her a hand.

“Before what?”

“Dinner.” He grasped her hand and pulled her out of the bed. “Third time's the charm. One of the boys will be over with it in about half an hour.”

He strode right into her bathroom and opened the shower door to turn on the water. Celeste hesitated in the doorway, soaking up the sight of him. He turned and lifted an eyebrow in question.

“Like what you see?” he asked.

“Do you like your current position?” she countered. “This is hardly what you're accustomed to.”

He turned and caught her in a gaze that mesmerized her.

“From my vantage point, it's perfect.”

He crooked his finger, beckoning her forward. She was moving before she thought. Placing her hand into his without hesitation as something new moved through her. A familiar sensation that she hadn't had any experience with in a long time.

It was happiness.

“You threw out my flowers?”

Nartan had picked up the card that came with the basket and was fingering the edge while he looked at the few petals that had fallen onto her table. Celeste considered him over the rim of her coffee cup the next morning.

“I was a bit…passionate when I got home last night.”

His expression didn't relax.

“Let's examine the facts.” She put her coffee aside. “I think this calls for a reenactment of the crime scene.”

She moved toward him and pressed up against him. “Your hand goes on the top of my butt…”

“It was her lower back.”

“Eyewitness account says the fingertips were definitely on the swells of the gluteus maximus.”

His expression gave little away as he complied, slipping his hand down until he was cupping her bottom. “Satisfied?”

“Hardly.”

His eyes narrowed. “Liar.”

Heat teased her cheeks as the memory of the night before rolled through her mind with a vividness that started to turn her on. Which was astounding with the lack of caffeine in her system. She was not a morning person.

“You're redirecting,” she accused before pressing her body against his and slipping one fingertip beneath his tie.

“Just as I suspected…” His cock was thickening behind the fly of his trousers. “I knew she could feel your cock.”

“Except that I wasn't hard.”

His words astounded her. She was frozen for several moments before breaking away from him to return to her coffee.

“Which was a real game changer for Laura,” he finished. The card landed on the counter next to her.

“Have you slept with her?” She probably shouldn't have asked, but she really couldn't stop herself.

He shook his head.

“That was too fast.”

He pressed his lips into a tight line. “Laura is Apache.”

“Why is that a problem?”

He was gripping the tile lip of her countertop so tightly that his fingertips were white. “When I left with Tarak to go up to Alaska, we were the joke of the reservation. The girl I was stupidly in love with drew a line in the sand when I told her I was going. I crossed it and never looked back.”

Satisfaction glittered in his eyes.

“Was that Laura?”

“Her cousin. Laura showed up about six months ago with a head full of personal knowledge about me, and she's been cozying up to my grandparents for the last year.”

“Gold-digger land mine.”

His lips twitched.

“But it proves I wasn't overreacting.”

“It proves you don't trust me.”

His words hit her hard. She took another slow sip of her coffee.

“You're a stunning woman, Celeste. I expect men will hit on you. What matters is our commitment to each other. Trust is what makes a relationship solid.”

“True,” she answered. “But Laura is a special case.”

“How so?” he questioned gruffly.

“She's the approved, pure-blooded bride being sent after the wayward son. Bet she's already got a list of baby names picked out.”

He made a low sound in the back of his throat and eyed her for a long moment before lifting his hands in surrender. But his lips twitched with a very familiar arrogance.

“I think I love the fact that you're jealous.”

She had been. Even after the night they'd shared together, it was still smarting. “What are we doing, Nartan?” she blurted out. “I think I really need to know the boundaries of this thing between us.”

He settled back against the other counter and took a long draw off his coffee before answering. “The short answer is, you're making me crazy.”

She choked back a dry laugh. “I told a perfect stranger to insult you in your own restaurant. I win points for insanity.”

“I chased you out of there, in front of a member of my tribe, and left a business I built from the ground up. Game point.”

She picked the card up and pressed it against her chest. Another long pause stretched out between them. It was awkward, but that was fine by her. There was one thing about Nartan she was pretty sure she couldn't handle, and that was a polished brush-off.

She didn't doubt he was accomplished at them.

“Why are you still here?” The question sounded pathetic, unmasking her uncertainty completely.

He drew in a deep breath and moved toward her. He didn't stop until he was curled over her, his body pinning her against the counter.

But today, there was a difference. She felt sheltered instead of cornered.

“I need to be.” His words were rough, his jaw tight. “I can't explain it, but the idea of leaving before I get a commitment out of you for tonight is unacceptable.”

“I have class Monday through Thursday.”

He smoothed his hands down her sides. “That's important to you.”

“Essential,” she confessed. “It's the only way I got past the nightmares.”

He stiffened and she laid her hand over his lips when he started to ask more questions. “Small steps. No one, not even Sabra, knows everything about my marriage. I was very much a typical victim of spousal abuse. I thought it was just a rough patch. Made excuses, avoided the truth.”

“Now you doubt your judgment.”

She slid her hand down his chest and locked gazes with him. “Logically, no.”

“Emotionally…yes,” he confirmed before pressing a kiss against her lips. He squeezed her in a quick hug.

“Go now, or all bets are off and I'm keeping you home. In bed.”

“Ha.” She turned off the coffeemaker and grabbed her purse and cell phone. “Like you don't have a business day to get to. No one enjoys the sort of success you do by being lazy. You're a workaholic too.”

“But that doesn't mean I'm not interested in keeping you in bed all day.”

She scoffed at him before heading for the garage. The workday was suddenly not her haven. The piles of work waiting for her were no longer a welcome relief from being alone with her memories. It was like some great burden had been lifted from her shoulders. Nartan caught her before she made it to her car and claimed a last kiss before he headed for his Jeep with that sexy prowl of his. The sensual way he moved sent a tingle through her as she slid behind the wheel of her car. His collar was open, his tie stuffed in the pocket of his designer suit jacket that he had slung over one arm. She was seeing a private side of him. Something she doubted anyone else had witnessed.

Yeah, she doubted her choices but there was no way she was going to stay away from him.

Even if she was headed for a crash-and-burn.

Nartan sent flowers to her work this time.

A rather amused secretary carried the large vase filled with star lilies and roses into Celeste's office.

“This smells divine,” Sandy commented before flashing Celeste a smile and disappearing.

The arrangement was colorful and the star lilies, with their pink and cream colors, did have an amazing fragrance. Celeste reached for the card with a happy little smile on her lips.

Is it quitting time?

Her smile grew brighter and it felt like a bubble of happiness was lodged in her chest.

“That's a new look for you,” Marcus said from the doorway, his expression pensive as he contemplated the flowers and the look on her face. “Who's the guy?”

Celeste lifted one eyebrow and went back toward her desk with the card clasped securely in her hand. “Maybe it's a girl.”

Her boss's lips twitched before he pegged her with a hard look. She knew from experience that there was no escape. Marcus would keep at her until he gained what he wanted.

“Nartan Lupan,” she supplied.

“As in the owner of Angelino's and the adjacent spa?”

Celeste lost a little of her composure. “I didn't realize he owned the spa.”

“And golf course, as well as all those new condos along that stretch of coastline,” Marcus fired back. “Some women would be ecstatic over how loaded he is.”

Celeste shrugged and looked at her laptop. But she realized she was avoiding the topic. She looked up at her boss. “I met him up at Sabra's wedding. He's Tarak Nektosha's buddy.”

The moment the words were out of her mouth, she realized she'd made an error. Marcus's face tightened.

“Did you come back early to be with him?”

Marcus was always direct and nosy.

“Jury is still out,” she said, settling on something that wasn't a flat-out lie. Marcus would see through one anyway.

Marcus also knew when she avoided giving him a direct answer. He looked back at the flowers and nodded. “Just be careful. If you need him out of your life, you know who to ask. But your timing is good. Your ex is out of prison.”

A tingle touched her nape as she saw the hard glitter in Marcus's eyes. He left silently, leaving her with the unshakable knowledge that he knew exactly what was in the police files concerning her and Caspian.

Of course he did.

Who was she kidding?

She drew in a deep breath and blew it out. Marcus was likely more comfortable looking at classified documents than he was working with civilian ones. What on earth had made her think he wasn't fully aware of her past?

She was holding the little card so tightly that the corners were cutting into her. She released it and looked at the card again.

She tapped the interoffice button on her computer screen and selected Marcus's icon.

So what else do you know about Nartan Lupan?

***

Class was hard.

But she liked it that way.

There was no way to get stuck dwelling on her personal demons. If she wasn't fully focused, she was likely to get dumped on her butt. Celeste wiped the sweat on her sleeve, and before the night was finished, her uniform was wet. She plopped down on a bench near the back door, grateful for a moment of rest while she drained her water bottle. Master Lee was locking up the front of the studio and starting to flip off the lights.

She took another drink as the light above her went dark. It was suddenly easier to see through the open back door into the parking lot. They left the door open most of the time to air out the studio. Most of the lowlifes in the area had the sense not to wander too close. Curious people would stop near the front windows when class was in session, but the back door was attached to a short hallway that made it hard to see into the studio.

Celeste lowered her water bottle, looking out into the night because someone was watching her. He stood just far enough away to make her strain to see his features. She stood up and pushed her feet into her shoes, but the guy didn't move.

“Good night, Instructor Connor,” Master Lee said.

“Good night, sir.”

She reached for her gear bag and fished her car keys out. Her car was parked just outside the door, but her belly knotted with tension as the man continued to watch her. She slipped behind the wheel and pushed the key into the ignition. Putting the car in reverse, she tried to ignore the urge to look over at the guy. But she lost and turned her head.

A street lamp was casting light down on him through the branches of a tree, illuminating a face that was thinner than she recalled, but still just as chilling.

He was watching her, his lips curving with satisfaction, before she pushed down on the accelerator. She hadn't quite made out his features, so she couldn't be absolutely sure who it was.

Her heart was pounding as hard as it had been during class, but the sweat coating her skin felt cold. Icy dread gripped her as she drove through the streets while checking the rearview mirror.

You're overreacting.

She'd only taken a quick look at him. There was no reason to think it had been Caspian.

But it might have been. He was out of prison.

Still, the back parking lot of the strip mall where the studio was located was hardly his sort of place.

You're making excuses.

When it came to Caspian, she was good at that. But there was something calming about telling herself it might not have been him. A sort of victory against letting him control her.

And if it had been?

There was nothing to do. She'd given up that right when she refused to testify against him. She didn't have a restraining order.

There were times when she was a fool.

***

“Finished at last?”

The driver closed the door with a soft touch that sent only the briefest sounds through the limousine. Caspian settled himself before looking toward the female sharing the ride with him. She was scantily clad, showing off her sculpted figure.

“Your body gives me pleasure. Make sure your personality doesn't dilute it. You are here because I desire it. I am the master. Never forget it.”

She stopped working the emery board along the edge of one fingernail. Her lips pressed into a pout as a temper snapped in her eyes, but she remained silent and slowly worked the file along her nail again as she smiled at him.

Disappointing. She had no spirit.

Caspian drew a smartphone out of his pocket and made a notation. The driver pulled the car onto the city street and began the journey back toward the exclusive mansions nestled in the Hollywood Hills. It would be a good hour before they made the distance.

He'd have to make sure Celeste understood how little he liked having his precious time wasted. The state had already robbed him of too much of it. Now that he was free, he didn't intend to let a moment go unused. That was the only reason he was sharing his limo.

“Take your dress off.”

There was another snap of temper in his companion's eyes, but it lasted only a moment before she uncrossed her legs and pulled her dress up and over her head. That was a shame. But then again, Celeste was one of a kind. A creature with a rare spirit, the sort that renewed no matter how far he bent her. The creature crawling across the limo toward him was nothing compared to his wife. She would be amusing on the ride home but that was all. She reached him and slid her hands along his thighs to his groin, rubbing his cock and purring as it hardened behind the fine wool of his pants.

He leaned his head back as she began to open his fly. As the night air touched his cock, he closed his eyes and let Celeste's face fill his mind. He'd gotten very good at imagination while in prison. When a pair of lips closed around his cock, all he saw was Celeste.

Ah yes. His wife.

His.

***

Nartan was waiting for her when she got home.

She recognized the Jeep, but didn't see him until she made the turn into her driveway and found him sitting on her porch. She wrinkled her nose because she reeked from two hours at the studio.

“Thanks,” he remarked.

“I'm not at my best,” she offered as she disarmed the security system.

Nartan followed her into the house and surprised her by wrapping his arms around her and pulling her back against him, wet uniform and all.

“You smell hot,” he said next to her ear.

“Yuck.” She squirmed.

He buried his head in her half-wet hair and inhaled.

“Double yuck!” she insisted. “I need a shower, Nartan.”

He chuckled and released her. “Since you put it that way…”

She looked over her shoulder at him and found him grinning. “What way?”

“If your plan is to get naked, I'm happy to let you go.”

“Ha, ha.” She started up the stairs, her legs complaining. She peeled her uniform off and stepped into the shower. It was the oddest feeling, knowing Nartan was near.

It made her feel secure.

Relief swept through her. She hadn't realized until that moment just how tense and knotted her insides were after that non-encounter in the tae kwon do studio's parking lot.

Nartan appeared in the doorway carrying a large candle, which he set on the bathroom vanity. A moment later he killed the lights, leaving Celeste and himself in only the yellow glow of the single flame. She forgot what she was doing as he stripped down, revealing the hard body she'd found impossible to forget during the day.

He pulled open the shower and stepped in. The candlelight made the water golden. Her imagination was running rampant with ideas of how his ancestors would have looked by firelight. It was suddenly very easy for her to understand how captive women had fallen in love with their warriors.

“Your thoughts are racing.” He captured the bar of soap and began to rub it along her arm.

“Yes.”

He made a low sound of male disapproval. She shrugged. “I keep trying to understand why I've let you into my life so quickly.”

“Starting a relationship wasn't on my calendar either.” He lathered up her torso, cupping her breasts and smoothing the soap along her skin. “I'm not complaining.” He turned her so that the water washed the soap down her body, and pressed a kiss against her neck. “I feel more alive than I have in years.”

It was an admission, one that sounded like it came from the deepest part of his soul. She reached for him, splaying her fingers out on top of his hard thighs, leaning back against him, surrendering completely.

“Me too.”

She shivered, the intimacy of the moment shaking her to her foundation. But he was just there, folding around her, surrounding her until she didn't want to know where either of them ended. She couldn't stop touching him, didn't want to move away. He forced the breath from her body with a climax that made her scream.

He provided dinner again. She hummed with enjoyment as they sat on her bed with only the candle and some music from his smartphone going. Eating five-star cuisine while they sat cross-legged.

“I'm going to need double workouts if you keep feeding me like this.” She savored a last bite before reaching for a glass of dark wine that reflected the candle flame.

“You're addicted to your workouts,” he accused. “And if I never eat another blackened excuse for food again, I'll die happy.”

He popped something in his mouth, and his eyes closed with enjoyment. “But my shower is bigger.”

She looked around the master bedroom. “I know it's small.”

“You could afford more.”

“It's plenty big enough for me.”

“That's not the whole reason.”

She used the excuse of biting into a breadstick to avoid answering immediately. Nartan continued to watch her, his expression giving her no hint of backing off. He was just so
there
in her life. It was unsettling, but in a way that made her giddy.

“Okay, I didn't want to have all my assets tied up. In case I needed to leave quickly.”

Nathan's face tightened. “You think he might come back for you?”

She reached for her wine and took a sip, gathering her courage. “That's not Caspian's way.”

Nartan straightened up. “Meaning what?”

She bit her lower lip as she swallowed the first thing she wanted to say. Running wasn't the answer.

“He has a fascination with submission. That's the only reason I ended up married to him. I was the girl who wouldn't chase him. Somehow, I became a challenge to him. The ultimate challenge.” She watched his eyes narrow. “He'd find a way to force me to bend to his will if he wanted me back.”

A chill touched her nape. The man in the parking lot flashed through her mind.

“He was convicted of assault.” She frowned, but Nartan wasn't repentant. “Yes, I checked into it.”

“You and Marc, it would seem.”

Nartan didn't even offer her a shrug. “Why don't you have a restraining order?”

“Because a bondage date night gone too far landed him in prison, not a domestic dispute turned violent.”

Nartan's eyes narrowed. “You're saying he didn't hit you?” His tone told her he didn't believe it.

“I already told you I'd convinced myself it was a rough patch.” She drew in a deep breath. “I was young and stupid and thought I wasn't sophisticated enough to understand mature sexual games.”

“Bullshit,” Nartan cut in. “He was a predator looking to exploit you.”

“I married him when I was fresh out of law school. Who knows what they want at that age? By the time my marriage was sinking, I had too much pride to admit what sort of colossal mistake I'd made.”

Nartan had the good grace to nod in agreement. “Pride is tough to swallow. Tell me how he landed in prison if it wasn't you who turned him in.”

“Caspian expects the world to jump at his command, or suffer his wrath.” She reached for her wineglass again, needing something to cover how dry her mouth had become. “Whenever I had my period, he'd spend that week with someone else. I cried about it for the first few months, but it turned out to be my saving grace, because he went too far once with one of his liaisons and she went to the police. Sabra's father was largely responsible for talking some sense into me and introducing me to Marcus, who handled the divorce while Caspian was in prison.”