False Pretenses Read online

  The man paled. “Mr. Corde, of course, sir.”

  Alyssa groaned. “Does everyone know you and kiss your ass?”

  Nathan’s lips tightened into a straight line. “Not everyone.”

  “I know you’re not talking about me, because if you are, you should get it by now. I’m never kissing your ass.” She grabbed her dress and shoes and turned on her heel to stalk away. He caught up with her and directed her to the hotel. Now that she had left the beach, dressed the way she was, she couldn’t wait to get out from under the bright lights.

  They strode through to the front entrance where his car waited. Nathan didn’t wait for his driver to open the door. He wrenched it wide, and she shuffled inside the dark interior. The snide remarks from her side and the cold parries from his continued on the road home.

  “So what? I’m supposed to put up with any kind of treatment just because I’m pretending to be your girlfriend?”

  “No one said you did, Alyssa. If you would just calm down…”

  She managed to scramble into her dress, and she felt his eyes on her the entire time. Goodness knows she wasn’t trying to entice the insufferable man when she wiggled to get the material to lie properly over her breasts. For some reason it felt tighter. “Calm down? It’s not like you’re paying me to do this, Nathan.”

  “Money, you bring that up a lot.”

  “You’re counting. And no, it’s not about money. It’s about respect.”

  He growled in frustration. She rolled her eyes at him. When the car pulled to a stop, she jumped out and ran up to the front door. Aziz opened it before she got there, and she muttered her thanks before continuing up to the bedroom she shared with Nathan. He burned her up with that superior attitude. He didn’t see where he was wrong, or his uppity friends. Well, he could kiss her ass. She would ask for another bedroom too, because it was for damn sure she wouldn’t spend the night in the same bed with him.

  Hearing him coming up the stairs, she slammed the door and headed toward the bathroom, chuckling under her breath. The move was childish, but at the moment, she didn’t care. She turned on the hot spray and stripped her dress and bikini off. The bathroom door crashed against the wall, and she jumped, covering her breasts with one arm and cupping her pussy with the other hand.

  “Get out, Nathan!”

  His gaze full of rage swept her from head to foot, and if possible, it darkened. Her mouth went dry, and behind her arm, her nipples pebbled. To her annoyance, her pussy moistened just having him look at her.

  “We were not finished with our discussion.”

  “Discussion? That’s what you call it? Why don’t you go have a discussion with Natasha? I’m sure she’d enjoy it. Me, I’m already bored silly.”

  He advanced into the spacious room. At her apartment, she would have been trapped. Here, she could run around like a mad idiot and maybe avoid him. Well, that would be if Nathan didn’t have the speed and grace of a damn animal. She spun on her heel, about to jet, but he crossed the space between them and grabbed her arm. A sudden crouch to the floor surprised him enough for her to get free, but when she stood and took a step, he was on her once again. She stumbled and had to uncover her breasts to keep from slamming into the wall. Nathan had no mercy. He followed and pinned her there. How the hell did I end up like this? She drew in a deep breath and was glad he couldn’t see her face at that moment. To be butt naked, pissed, and facing the wall and him so close behind was not a good thing.

  “Why would I want Natasha,” he demanded, “when I can have this?” His fingertips skimmed the back of her thigh up to her ass, and he squeezed. She shut her eyes and swallowed hard.

  “I-I’m not going to be your mistress. What we did before…” Damn it, she couldn’t say it. She couldn’t flat out tell him no.

  He released her arm and thumped the wall beside her head with a heavy hand. Even while he wanted her, the anger hadn’t lessened. “You will not deny you want this, Alyssa.”

  She scowled over her shoulder at him. If she tried to move, her ass would brush his leg, or worse, she’d confirm he had a hard-on, and something told her there was no coming back from that knowledge. “If you’re not going to get out, then move so I can take a shower. You’re wasting water.”

  He stepped closer and bent his knees, bringing his pelvis in line with her ass. No, no, no! The barest touch had her back arching, and she stuck her butt out. Chin to her chest, she shut her eyes. The bastard played dirty.

  He kissed her shoulder. “I want you.” Another kiss landed at her nape. “You want me.” He moved to the other side and nibbled her ear. “Nothing else matters.”

  She curled her fingers into her palms and sank toward the wall. He didn’t follow, so she turned around to face him. Panting, she couldn’t help her breasts rising and falling, and she had no energy to raise her hands to cover them. He stared as if mesmerized. Her stupid body responded to that alone. Looking at him made it worse, so she shut her eyes again, but she felt it when he neared. His lips touched hers. Don’t open your mouth, Alyssa.

  She parted her lips, and he snaked his tongue inside. Somehow, she broke the kiss. “We’re not doing this.”

  “We’re not?”

  The rustle of clothing made her open her eyes. He undressed, and at the sight of his bare chest, she swore.

  “Don’t even think about it!”

  His pants hit the floor, followed by his boxers.

  “Why the hell!” She raged while taking in the angle of his cock, all hard and jutting from his body. The thought of sucking it flitted through her mind, on the heels of it pumping deep inside her pussy. Both ideas seemed impossible to walk away from. “This isn’t fair. You need to give me space to make my own decision about whether to have sex with you, not seduce me into it. I thought it was important to you that I have no regrets.”

  The jumbled words seemed to have an effect. He backed off a step, and she sighed in relief.

  “You’re right. I apologize.” All the anger appeared to drain out of him, and he turned his back.

  Her gaze lowered to his muscled ass. Even that was pretty. Did the man have any physical imperfections? She lit on a small scar at the back of his right calf. No satisfaction came from knowing it existed. When he walked away, she followed his movements with hunger eating at her core. He opened the shower door and stepped through it.

  “I will not follow him,” she whispered to no one.

  Even with steam rising, she saw through the glass door as Nathan raised his hands to his hair and let the water cascade over his form. He stood strong and erect, legs apart. His biceps flexed with his actions, and the gel he’d used bubbled on his taut skin, glided down his abs, and coated his muscular thighs. He turned around, facing her way, his eyes shut, and she was drawn not just to his body but him, the enigmatic man. She wanted to be near him, to hear him speak, to have him look at her and listen to her.

  “You’re an idiot, Alyssa.” She stumbled toward him as if there were an invisible cord drawing her closer. He seemed to sense her and opened his eyes. For a moment, they stared at each other, and then he opened the door and stood aside. She joined him. He made no effort to touch her but waited for her to make the first move. “I’m not going to be your mistress.”

  “Okay.”

  She squeezed around him to get closer to the water and let its warmth ease some of her tension. After working gel into suds in her sponge, she began smoothing it over her body. Still Nathan didn’t touch her.

  “This thing we’re doing.” She licked her lips. “It’s just this week. You can do what you want to do. We aren’t exclusive.”

  What the hell was she thinking? She’d just broken it off with a guy because he wanted her and any woman who crossed his path, too. No, this wasn’t the same. Nathan wasn’t her boyfriend, and if she kept it straight in her head, she might never let her feelings for him grow to love. If he could sleep with whomever and she knew it, she could walk away with her heart intact. After all, they were from
two different worlds, and she’d never thought she had the kind of hang-ups she’d displayed in the last few days. That also made it easier. Good, it’s settled.

  She held out the sponge to him. “Can you get my back?”

  He took it and began stroking the ball over her skin. Tingles skidded along her spine despite the fact that he hadn’t touched her with his hands.

  “Are you sure about this, Alyssa?” He sounded doubtful.

  “Why not? Men…and women…do it all the time. No big deal. Like I said, we aren’t in a relationship, and this arrangement isn’t permanent. We’re having a little fun. Nothing wrong with it.”

  “You said before you didn’t want an open relationship.”

  Damn, had she said that? “Oh, well, we’re not together.”

  Nathan dropped the sponge and spun her to face him. He drew her close and wrapped his fingers at her waist to raise her in his arms. Together they stood beneath the stream, and when he kissed her lips, she forgot all protests, everything except him and the way he felt, the way he smelled, and his taste. She breathed him in, her lids heavy from the drunkenness that he caused. Her heart threatened to beat out of her chest, and her breaths—when he let her drag in air—were noisy.

  “Right now, there’s just you and me.” He kissed her again and turned off the water while still holding her. She protested when he stepped out of the shower and didn’t let her go.

  “Nathan, put me down. We have to dry off.”

  His hold loosened, and she slid down a few inches. The head of his cock pushed against her pussy entrance. She moaned.

  “If you make that noise, how will I let you go?”

  “How am I going to keep quiet when your dick is about to slide into me?”

  He shrugged. They stood there in the middle of the floor, him taking all of her weight without a problem. She held on to his shoulders, dripping wet and trying not to give in, but her heat was moist and ready. One more inch and he’d fill her.

  “Nathan,” she begged.

  He allowed her to fall a little more, and she cried out his name once again. His cock pierced her sex an inch. She had to have more and wriggled her hips. A hiss escaped between his teeth. When she raised her head, she caught the same hunger she felt glimmering in his eyes, but his grip tightened.

  “Not yet.”

  She let her head fall back and shut her eyes. “You want to torment us both.”

  “Isn’t it good?”

  “Yes.” She panted, trying to get it together. The effort cost too much energy. Nathan lowered her down his shaft until he filled her to capacity, and then he raised her higher. She clenched his shoulders. “More.”

  “You want all of it, baby?”

  A tremor shook her, and she nuzzled his neck, snaked her tongue along his throat, and sucked with gentle pressure at his Adam’s apple. This time, he moaned, and she grinned in satisfaction.

  He brought her down again and then back up. Her pussy walls seemed to swell around his dick, squeezing it. She exercised her internal muscles, trying to keep him where she wanted him. Nathan palmed her ass to maintain control. He set the pace, and no matter how much she pleaded, he didn’t speed up or slow down. Her body thrummed to the beat he set, and nothing she did changed the fact. She kissed his lips, along his strong neck, and even tweaked his nipples. The man gave in to moans of pleasure but nothing more.

  “Nathan.”

  “Yes, baby,” he murmured, “say my name. Tell me how I make you feel.”

  “You’re a bastard,” she complained and struggled against the wonderful onslaught of his cock grinding into her, only to be taken away. Her core wound tighter, escalating toward an orgasm, but every time her thighs began to quiver, he stopped moving. “You’re driving me crazy!”

  “That’s the aim, sweetheart.”

  She looked into his eyes, frowning. “Is this payback for what I said?”

  “You think I would punish you by not letting you come?”

  “I don’t know.”

  She tried reading his expression, but couldn’t determine what he thought or if he was still mad. Was this on purpose? Did he intend for them both to find satisfaction? She opened her mouth to demand to know the answer, but he brought her down hard on his cock, and she screamed in delight. He turned and strode toward the closed door, but rather than open it, he thumped her against it, withdrew his cock, and thundered home in her pussy again.

  “Yes, yes!”

  Now her hands shook, and her thigh muscles spasmed so much, she teetered on the edge of an orgasm. Unable to hold on to him, she depended on his strength, but he had no problem pinning her to the door and thrusting into her over and over.

  “How can I deny myself this, let alone you?” His words were slurred, lust filled, and heavy. “You have no idea how tight your pussy is and how little I can resist being inside it. Do you feel the way you squeeze me?”

  “You’re so big,” she whimpered.

  “No, you make me swell.”

  “Nathan.”

  “Damn it, woman, what you do to me.” He pounded her harder, and his pelvis rubbed her clit each time, driving her desires higher. In the morning, she would be sore, but right now…let it never end…

  Nathan hung one of her legs over his forearm. The other he shifted farther until her ankle rested on his shoulder. Her ass rose and spread, and still he ground deep into her wetness. The moist sounds their bodies made as they came together, along with the slap of their flesh meeting, took her plummeting over the precipice. She shouted his name one last time, and then she couldn’t hold back even if she tried. Her orgasm took hold, and she sobbed in pleasure. Nathan didn’t stop pumping into her until he, too, found his release, and then his pace eased, slowing to stillness.

  He let her stand, but her knees gave, and he zipped her into his arms again.

  “It’s okay. I can—”

  “Shh.”

  He nodded toward the doorknob, and she opened it for him to carry her through to the bedroom. By now, with all their lovemaking, they were dry, so she didn’t protest when he laid her on the bed. Longing to be in his arms consumed her, but he didn’t deny either of them the pleasure. He sank down beside her and stroked her hair from her face.

  “You’re beautiful. Do you know that?”

  She suppressed a smile. “Who me?”

  “Silly woman.”

  He didn’t need to see how his words affected her, so she lowered her head and nestled against his neck. She shivered when he ran a thumb over her anus.

  “I want to take you here. Is that okay?”

  “What?”

  “If you’re afraid, I won’t. Don’t worry about it.”

  She looked at him. “I’m not afraid.” She’d had it before and liked it with the right man who knew what he was doing. Did Nathan? Usually, she didn’t go so far with a lover unless they were in a committed relationship. Despite the temporary status of her and Nathan, she wanted to do it with him. Which is probably why I shouldn’t. “Oh crap, we didn’t use a condom.”

  Her words couldn’t have been more of a splash of cold water on him. He sat up. “Is there danger of you getting pregnant?”

  “No.”

  He studied her face, and she could just guess what thoughts roamed his mind. She had no reason to try to trap him, and it was his ass that teased her in the bathroom and wouldn’t let her go. He’d first seduced her, not the other way around. She saw when he came to that conclusion.

  “I apologize.” He rose from the bed. Something told her the sex wouldn’t continue tonight. Damn.

  She rose and found a clean nightie from the drawer and drew it on. Then she clicked off her bedside lamp and climbed into bed. Nathan moved around in the bathroom a while, but she ignored him. Eventually, he came to bed, and she pretended to be asleep.

  “Alyssa.”

  “What?” She tried to keep emotion out of her tone, but failed.

  “Turn around. I want to hold you.”

  Somethin
g warmed inside her. She resisted a little longer and then rolled over. He drew her close to his bare chest, and she luxuriated in the feel of him. They were just a bit too intimate for her liking, but she melted into his hold anyway. He encircled her in his arms and stroked her hair. When he pushed a leg between hers, she let him, and they snuggled tight from chest to thighs. After some time, she began to drift off, forgetting everything except Nathan.

  Chapter Ten

  Alyssa came downstairs the next morning well rested if a tad sore between her legs. Just outside the dining room, she caught the sound of angry voices and paused. Maybe the family needed some time to sort out whatever their issues were. Nathan had left their bed early with a note to her that he had something to take care of. He would meet up with her in the afternoon. For some reason, she thought of Natasha, but pushed the woman from her mind. The more likely explanation was probably work. The man never rested. She’d like to see the day he had no responsibilities whatsoever.

  Something Piper said pulled Alyssa from her thoughts. “I can’t go because I’ve…got a prior engagement.”

  “What prior engagement?” Lydia demanded, and Alyssa thought the woman sounded like her son. She had never imagined Lydia angry, but now that she was, her tone matched Nathan’s. That surprised her because she would have thought he got the controlled and calculated trait from his dad. “Explain to me why we agreed to spend time with Dad this week, and even when you’re here, you act like you want to be somewhere else. Now you’re saying the rare time Dad is strong enough for an outing, you’re busy. Even Nathan says he’ll be back in time. So who is this person you’re seeing?”

  “It’s someone important to me.”

  A shiver raced down Alyssa’s back. If she didn’t miss her guess, Piper was ready to come clean, and she would not be around to witness the possible fallout. The Cordes were friendly, and in the face of Nathan bringing home a black woman as the love of his life, Leo Corde had not batted an eye. What would he feel about his daughter being gay? No one could predict that. Either way, she would not be around to find out.