I Knew You Were Trouble: A Texas Kings Novel (22 page)

And then he heard her
. She’d been quiet as a mouse walking through the house, no doubt padding across the carpet on bare feet. But still he stayed silent, the only noise coming from him the shallow inhale and exhale of his breath.

He listened to her undress, the swoosh of fabric as it hit the ground. Nate shut his eyes, imagined seeing her body bathed in the moonlight that was filtering into the room through the open drapes. She’d be almost bare now, standing in her panties and bra, her long hair tumbling down her back or over her chest, skimming past her bra. He wanted to turn, to acknowledge her and watch her, to pull her down onto the bed and ask her where the hell she’d been when he wanted her right here by his side, but he didn’t. He stayed silent. He didn’t move. Because she was being as whisper quiet as a leopard on a hunt, which meant she didn’t want to wake him, or didn’t want him to know she was home.

Faith discarded some jewelry, placing it with a soft clink on the bedside table before pulling the covers back, the fall of her body on the bed making it move ever so slightly. Then her body was closer to his, the coolness of her skin like ice against his. She wriggled until he could feel every inch of her nakedness, her breasts pushed to his back, legs tangled against his. Faith either wanted to warm up her cold body or she …

Hell
. Her hand slid down his thigh, nails scraping every so slightly against him, moving down to the front and …
fuck.
Her fingers closed around his cock, just the lightest of touches, but he wasn’t staying silent any longer. He groaned and pushed back farther into Faith, his hand grabbing at her butt, locking her into him.

“I thought you were asleep,” she whispered in his ear, biting at his lobe.

“I was,” he ground out, teeth locked together when she started to rub him harder.

“You weren’t,” she murmured.

“You’re right,” he muttered back. “I wasn’t. I was listening to you and trying to figure out how I was going to get you naked.”

“So you weren’t expecting this?” Faith whispered, sucking harder on his lobe as she pumped, getting him so hard there was no chance he was going to be lying on his side much longer. The primitive need to turn around, flip her, and pin her beneath him was almost too much for him to resist.

“Damn you, Faith. I’ve been worried about you.”

She laughed. Nate growled in response. “I’m here now. Do you want me to go?”

“Go?” He turned around and tangled the sheets some more, kicking his legs to free them of the damn covers. “Don’t you fucking dare.”

Faith stretched as he pushed her hand away, not about to let her get him so damn excited that he had to hurry things. There was something different about her tonight, more confident, determined maybe, but he wasn’t going to ask questions when she was clearly in the mood.

“Any admirers tonight?” he asked, hating that he was jealous, an emotion he’d never experienced before. It was clawing at him, had been all night, the fact that he wasn’t there by her side with her looking so beautiful. He didn’t mind the thought of other men admiring her, but the idea that she could tell a guy to go jump and he might not take the hint made Nate insane.

“A few,” she said, running her fingers through his hair and tugging him closer. “But none that even came close to you.”

“You’ve ruined me for any other woman, Faith. I can’t get you out of my head even when I’m not with you.”

She went silent then, reaching for his face, cupping his cheeks, and leaning in to kiss him. After the way they’d started out he’d expected fast and rough, but she took her time, kissing him so carefully, so softly. Nate took her into his arms, held her close as he kissed her back. Their lips were brushing, so tender, her tongue touching his, exploring, tasting him like it was the first time they’d been together. The spark between them had never dulled, the electricity like a current that just continued to burn.

“I’ve been wanting to do this all night,” she told him, one hand still to his face, her legs tangling around him as he slid his body over hers so he could look down at her.

“I’ve been wanting you beside me all night,” he whispered back, lips back on hers before she could say anything else.

Their kisses were endless, unhurried. Nate had no idea whether minutes had passed or an hour, but for once his impatience didn’t get the better of him when it came to Faith. He reached behind her, took his weight off her completely so she could arch her back and let him unclip her bra. It was lacy, like all her underwear seemed to be, and he slowly took it off her, savoring her body like a Christmas present he got to slowly unwrap and discover.

Nate reluctantly stopped kissing her, moved away from her lips and down her body, trailing kisses across her breasts instead. He cupped one, loved that it fitted perfectly in his hand. He licked and sucked her nipple, smiling to himself when her toes clenched against his leg, her moans only spurring him on more. Faith’s fingers were in his hair, tugging, trying to encourage him back up, but he was on his way down her body and he wasn’t planning on stopping.

“Nate,” she murmured, fingers loosening their hold as he ran his mouth over her belly. Her skin was so soft, her flat stomach taut as he rained kisses over it.

“Slow,” he muttered, “tonight we’re gonna take it slow.”

There had been something about the way she’d first kissed him tonight, the way she’d moved, that felt different, but he wanted to savor every minute of being with her. He wanted to pleasure her and make love to her, to enjoy every moment like it was their last together.

“Nate…” This time she hissed out his name on her breath at the same time as he grabbed her panties between his teeth, tugging them down, fingers hooked to the sides of them helping him to slide them down inch by inch. She raised her pelvis, let him take them off completely, kicking them past his head when they got to her ankles. And then she stopped moving, knees bent, her body quivering beneath his touch as he ran his fingers up her thigh, stopping when he reached the top of her leg and trailing the rest of the way with his tongue instead. He touched her so delicately he doubted she’d even feel it, but her body still bucked, jumping away from him before resting down again, sensitive as hell.

Nate smiled and tasted her again, carefully, slowly, wanting her to enjoy every sensation. Faith’s moan only made him more determined to take his time, to push her to the brink and guide her to climax.

“Nate, stop,” she begged quietly.

He ignored her completely, her groans of pleasure telling him that she was only being silly, legs locking around his head like stopping was the last thing she wanted him to do. She was so determined to be the one pleasuring him all the time, and that wasn’t the kind of sex he liked. Pleasure him? Sure. But only if the woman he was with was getting as much enjoyment out of sex as he was.

Nate reached up and cupped Faith’s breasts, loving the hard pebble of her nipple, trying not to laugh as she almost choked him when her legs tightened around him. She’d had them around his head before, but they’d slid down as she’d wriggled.

And then her body arched and he cupped her butt, caressed her with his tongue until she climaxed, her legs stiff around him one moment, then soft and supple the next.

He kissed her thigh and then her belly, trailing his way back up her body and then staying poised above her, holding his weight with his elbows to either side of her, knees in between hers.

“You’re wicked, Nate.” Her eyes were still shut, lips moving and tempting him to kiss her.

His willpower was in tatters and he did exactly that, covering her mouth with his and dropping his pelvis, showing her just how much he wanted her. He was still hard and he was ready to pleasure her all over again in an entirely different way.

Nate nudged at her entrance, groaned at how slick she was, then leaned over her to reach in his bedside drawer for protection. He ripped open the packet and sat up to roll the condom on, before settling straight back between her legs again. Faith still had her eyes shut, but a smile played across her lips when he dropped more of his weight onto her; then suddenly her eyes were locked on his when he slowly slid all the way inside of her.

Faith’s nails dug into his back as she pushed her body up, meeting his thrusts with her own. She was making it hard for him to take it slow, but he did, determined to enjoy every single minute without rushing any part of making love to her.

“I thought we were taking this slow, beautiful?” he whispered in her ear, kissing her neck as he kept sliding back and forth into her.

“Faster, Nate,” she begged, “
please
.”

He ignored her wishes, wanting it to last, but eventually she wriggled so hard that he did start to move faster, slowing only when she forced him to.

“Stop,” she said, voice firm.

Nate stopped immediately, looking down at her with concern. Only he was met with a smug grin as she moved from underneath him and pushed at his shoulders, palms flat as she forced him to his back.

“I think I need to practice what you’ve been teaching me,” she murmured, moving to sit astride him and leaning forward, her hair covering his face until she shook it away and kissed him on the mouth.

“What’s that?” he asked, happy to be part of any performance she wanted. For all the talk about him being her teacher, there hadn’t exactly been so much teaching as just plain old fun happening between them.

“To do whatever feels good for me.”

He chuckled, then groaned as she moved up, lowering herself over him and starting to rock back and forth. Her head was tipped back, long hair touching his thighs as she moved, brushing against him, teasing him. Faith moved slowly at first, and he raised his hands to cup her breasts, loving the fullness of them above him, holding them as she rode him. Faith’s eyes were shut, but he didn’t shut his for a second, wanting to watch every move she made, keep his eyes locked on the breasts that drove him crazy.

Then she started to ride him faster, her body locked to his, and he cupped her ass instead, held on to her hips, and rocked hard inside her. Just when he started to lose control, knew there was no way in hell that he could hold back, Faith slowed, her body more gentle, the intensity of her actions gone at the same time as he gave in to his own climax. Nate kept hold of her, not letting go of her butt until his body relaxed, then scooping his arms around her so she could collapse on top of him.

Nate inhaled the sweet smell of her hair, hated that it was mixed with the faint aroma of cigarettes from her night out but liked that it was covering his face nonetheless. He kissed her neck, held her tight, their bodies still fused together as they lay in silence.

“You’re amazing,” he told her, surprised by how gruff his voice sounded. “Best sex of my life.”

She let out a low laugh. “How can one man make me feel like utter crap and then you come along and make me feel like a goddess?”

He held on to her tight, wishing she knew how amazing she was without him having to tell her. But then if she knew that already, he probably wouldn’t have fallen for her so hard. The fact that she seemed to have no idea how goddamn beautiful she was or that she was incredible whatever she was doing was all part of the reason he liked her so much.

“I’ll tell you now and I’ll tell you again, Faith,” he said, smiling up at her as she looked down at him. “You are the most amazing creature I’ve ever met. I only wished you could see in the mirror what I see whenever I look at you.”

“Thank you, Nate,” she whispered, looking shy as he stared at her.

“For what?”

She dropped back down on top of him, mouth just close to his ear. “For everything. What you’ve done for me will change my life forever.”

*   *   *

Faith fought the tears that were burning—stinging—her eyes. Just saying the words to Nate made a choke form in her throat, the finality of what she’d done weighing on her so heavy she could hardly stand it. When she’d come home tonight, she’d told herself that this was it. Her last night with Nate. They couldn’t keep going on like this, couldn’t live in this delicious bubble any longer without one of them getting hurt. And so she’d decided to give herself one more night with him. One more night to enjoy him, to let her body feel pleasure like it might never feel again. To lie with the man who’d changed the way she looked at the world.

She wasn’t lying when she’d told Nate that he’d changed her life. He’d helped her find the job she had, which had put her on the first step of the ladder in the art world. He’d explained to her how to make a success of herself, been so genuine in his appreciation for her, made her feel worthy and beautiful, like nothing or no one would ever be able to stand in her way again.

Which was why leaving him was so heartbreaking.
She’d told herself repeatedly to leave before she fell in love, but the reality was that she’d already fallen.

“You okay?” he asked.

Faith nodded and held him tighter. “Yes.”

They lay a bit longer together, neither one of them wanting to move. Their bodies were warm, her mouth was against his skin, and Nate’s hands were stroking her back in big, slow circles.

“Are you going running in the morning?” she asked.

Nate cleared his throat. “Yeah. I’m heading out at daybreak with Chase.”

She excused herself to go to the bathroom, kissing Nate before she pulled away from his embrace.

“Why? You want to come?” he asked with a chuckle.

“No!” she called out, the door to the bathroom still open.

Faith washed the makeup from her face and brushed her teeth before joining him back in bed, still naked, and tucking up beside him. Nate lay on his back and she dropped her head to his chest, making herself comfortable.

“Good night, gorgeous,” he said.

“’Night.”

She listened to the steady beat of his heart, heard his breathing change as he fell asleep almost immediately. Faith stroked his chest, squeezed her eyes shut to block the tears again, then eventually moved and reached into her purse that she’d left beside the bed to pull out her phone. She texted her brother, hoping Sam would have his phone with him. He always rose early, which meant he should at least get it first thing if he didn’t receive it now.