CHAPTER 51

"God, yes, I like it.” His voice was hoarse, his hands flexing on her hips, pulling her tighter against him. “You make me crazy.”

“Good. Because you make me crazy, too.”

When he lost control and went to kiss her, she laughed as she pushed against him. “No, no, no. Tonight, it’s my turn to have you.”

He understood that she was turning the tables, taking charge the way he had that morning in her

house. The way he always did. Who would have guessed that the turnaround would set him on fire

like this?

“I’m yours,” he said again, something he’d never told another person, but which felt impossibly

right with her. “For whatever you want.”

She slid farther back so that she could trail kisses down his abdomen. He remembered doing the

same to her, her skin smooth and sweet against his lips. He was hard, aching, and only just barely

resisting the urge to toss her into the backseat.

The night air was still warm, but his skin was hotter. The sound of an occasional car on the road

was far off and muted. They were in a world of their own, and his heart was pounding in his ears as

she ran her hand over the rock-hard length of him.

“Holy hell.” The words shot out on his exhalation.

“Remember when you said you intended to taste me...and that I was going to taste you, too?” She

pushed her hand inside the denim of his jeans and wrapped her fingers around him.

“I remember.” The words came out a little choked.

“Do you still think we should make good on all those intentions?”

His Adam’s apple slid along his throat. He felt like a teenager who had finally managed to make out

with the untouchable girl he’d been lusting after. Breathless. Desperate. “Yes.”

God, yes.

She touched her lips to his, licked him until he opened for her. But instead of kissing him, she

whispered, “Good, because I’ve decided I want to taste you. All of you.”

“Please,” he said. He couldn’t even come up with a quip or a word of sexy banter.

Each time with Nathalie was new.

And every time it meant more.

* * *

Nathalie had felt out of control with Darius so many times. Every time. Tonight, she’d thought the

final piece of putting everything back together inside of her would be to turn the tables on him. Yet

even as she led their lovemaking tonight, she still felt his power coursing through her body,

everywhere she touched him, everywhere he touched her.

By the time she sank down to taste him, she realized that it didn’t matter anymore who was in

control. All that mattered was the joy—and the pleasure—she felt whenever she was with him.

She used her hands, lips, mouth, tongue on him. He was a savory treat. Better than chocolate. Better

than ice cream. She loved the feel of him, the heady scent of his skin, the quake and shiver of his

rock hard flesh as she took him deep.

“Nathalie.” He growled her name, and then, a heartbeat later, she was on her back against the

leather seat as he came over her. “Need. You. Now.” Each word was separate, gasped, harsh. She

heard the tear of a condom, felt him between her legs.

When he flipped up her dress and tugged her panties aside, she was just as desperate as he was,

miles beyond ready as he pulled her leg high up on his hip and drove into her.

Oh God...being taken hard and fast by Darius in the front seat of his car was better than anything

she’d ever felt in her life.

“Kiss me, Nathalie. Please.”

He was a dark shadow above her, backlit by stars and moon. She pulled him down, locked her lips

to his. His body tensed and flexed inside her as she opened her mouth. She kissed him back as hard

as he kissed her, tasting his heat, savoring his need.

With one foot on the floorboard to brace himself, he thrust deeper, and she put a hand on the car

door behind her head, pushing to meet each plunge. Hard, delicious, explosive. She dug her fingers

into his shoulder as she burst wide open, exploding into a million perfect pieces as he exploded, too,

with her name on his lips.

Just as his was on hers.

* * *

Nathalie snuggled against him as he drove back toward home, one arm thrown around her shoulder,

holding her tight.

There was no point in trying to deny anymore that she was in too deep. But honestly, she was

having a hard time caring about that, no longer counting down the days until he got tired of her and

Zion.

Maybe it was stupid. Maybe she would regret it later. But right now she was simply too relaxed—

and too full of soul-deep pleasure—to keep shoring up her barriers.

The wind blew through her hair, but with Darius arm around her, she couldn’t tell that the night had

turned cool. She could only feel his warmth protecting her.

Other men had been after Zion’s trust fund, or begrudged her the time and energy she gave to her

brother, as though it took something from them. But Darius didn’t need Zion’s money. And he gave

so much of himself to her brother, the car, the new job, driving Zion home. Even Zion’s teacher,

Miss Watsons, had noticed a marked improvement.

All because of Darius.

He slowed for a downhill curve. “I’m having a barbecue on Memorial Day with a few of my

friends. I’d like you and Zion to come.”

“Me? And Zion?” She blinked at him. “You want us to come to a barbecue with your friends?”

“Ares met you both, but no one else has yet.”

Sex was one thing...but meeting his friends? That felt like something different. Something more.

But was it? Or was it just her heart running hopeful because Darius Spencer was the most

irresistible man she’d ever met?

The night air was suddenly a cool draft down her neck as those worries she thought she’d just

buried poked up their heads again. Not only about what Darius wanting her to meet his friends

meant about their relationship, but also about whether his friends—aka the Silicon Valley elite—

would look down their noses at her and Zion.

Darius had surprised her, though, hadn’t he? All those weeks ago, she’d assumed he would be just a

rich man in a fast car, only a slight step up from the father of the teenage boy who’d run Zion down.

But that wasn’t Darius at all.

Was it possible that his friends would surprise her, too?

Maybe it was the beautiful night. Maybe it was the beautiful sex. Maybe it was how exhausting it

was to keep holding up those heavy walls all the time.

Or maybe it was the way Darius looked at her with such hope, as if her attending his party was the

most important thing in the world.

Whatever the reason, she suddenly smiled and said, “A Memorial Day barbecue sounds great. I

can’t wait to meet the rest of your friends.”

Darius couldn’t stop staring at Nathalie as she chatted out by the pool with Ares wife, Keira, and

Keira’s sister Kelsey. Nathalie was gorgeous in her bathing suit and matching wrap skirt, but

trumping even his need for her was his pleasure at having her there with him and his closest friends.

He wished Ares could feel the same way about his own wife, although that was near impossible

when Keira had been engrossed in her cell phone the entire time she’d been at the barbecue. She

had looks that turned most men stupid and as far as Darius could tell, she’d been exploiting that her

entire life. Her sister, Kelsey, on the other hand, was the sweet girl next door, the opposite of Keira

in every way, except for the auburn hair. It was hard to believe the two women had been raised by

the same parents.

His pulse rate jumped when Nathalie came to join his conversation with the guys. Well, mostly with

Zion, who held center stage. Darius had to hand it to Nathalie’s brother—he definitely wasn’t shy.

“I deliver all the mail.” Zion mimed pushing the cart. “I stack everyone’s mail in order of where

they sit on my route. I pass out supplies on my way, too, like pens and Post-its and binder clips and

stuff. And I haven’t gotten any of the deliveries wrong, have I, Darius?”

“You’ve nailed them all.”

“And when there’s a big meeting,” Zion added with a grin, “I make the coffee and go down to the

bagel shop. I get a bunch of different bagels and the stuff for the bagels. Like cream cheese.”

Nathalie had been a little worried when she’d first heard about that duty, afraid Zion would be in

charge of money and have to account for discrepancies. But she’d ended up agreeing that more

responsibility was good for her brother, and so far, Zion hadn’t had any trouble with it.

“Those are really important tasks,” Perseus said with a seriousness that made Zion beam.

Darius had known that his friends would see the same things in Zion that he did—including his

enthusiasm and perpetually upbeat attitude.

“With all those bagels, no wonder Darius here is getting fat.” Argus pushed up his sunglasses and

looked at Darius waistline.

“Up yours.” Darius wrapped his towel at him.

Argus fended it off and gave him the finger behind his hand so Zion wouldn’t notice.

“Darius not fat,” Zion said. “Every day when I get to work, he’s just coming out of the gym. We’ve

got machines in the office that anyone can use. It’s so cool. I lifted weights there yesterday after

lunch.”

Darius liked Zion’s use of the word we. It meant Zion felt like he’d become a part of the place.

Which was exactly what Darius had hoped for.

Hector, who had clearly been playing with the power tools his company was famous for, given the

new bandage on his hand, cut in. “That’s one badass car you’re building, too.”

“It’s the coolest car ever made.” Zion’s mouth was round with pleasure.

All the Baddricks made approving male noises.

Darius and Zion had conducted a tour earlier. He’d let Zion lead the guys through, pointing out

critical components. Darius had helped a bit and his friends had done the rest by asking the right questions, which fed Zion the answers when he couldn’t find the words he wanted.

“So this is the intake manifold?” Hector would ask, and Zion would nod heartily.

Nathalie had stayed by the pool during the tour, watching out for Zeus, Perseus kid, who had the

same dark hair, blue eyes, and the potential for a frame as tall and broad as his father’s. The boy’s

mother was out of the picture, and at five, the little guy had already gone through six nannies.

Darius would have razzed Perseus about the reasons for his quick nanny turnover rate had he not

seen how hard it made things on his friend.

Zeus was now playing in the paddling pool Darius had installed especially for him. A big plastic

ball sailed across the pool deck, and Darius stopped it with his foot. “Hey, Zeus, I think you might

have the makings of a quarterback.”

He kicked the ball up and caught it. A few steps from Zeus pool, he gave it a gentle toss and

watched the ball plop in the water when Zeus missed it. Wading into the pool, Darius scooped up

the ball again. “Hold up your hands like this.” Zeus threw out his arms in imitation. “Now get

ready. I’m gonna throw it. Wait for it, wait for it—” He leaned forward, getting close, and executed

a soft underhand shot right into Zeus hands.

The guys clapped and hooted, especially Perseus, who loved his kid to pieces. Nathalie and Kelsey

clapped, too. Keira, however, never even glanced up from her phone.

“That was great,” Darius said. “Now throw it back to me.”

The ball flew wild again, though Darius wasn’t sure exactly how that was possible since he was

only two steps away. When the ball rolled over to Nathalie’s feet, she picked it up and tossed it back

to them.

Darius caught it, but even as he passed it back to Zeus, he was drinking Nathalie in again. She was

special. She was perfect. And she was too good for him.

But Darius was hoping that he could forget about that last part if he tried hard enough.

* * *

Darius was so good with Zeus. Just the way he was with Zion. Always praising, complimenting,

building up rather than tearing down.

He would make an awesome father someday.

Not that she had any business thinking about him that way, of course. But Nathalie still felt a lump of emotion well up in her throat. Emotion that grew with every kind thing the Bevericks said to

Zion at the barbecue and the realization that Darius closest friends had gone out of their way to

make her and Zion feel like part of their family.

They were an amazing group. Darius, of course, was totally sexy in a pair of black swim trunks. His

black T-shirt emphasized his muscles, the width of his shoulders, and his broad chest. She had to

repeatedly remind herself not to drool. Honestly, she was glad he was the only one wearing a shirt

by the pool, because if he’d taken his off like the rest of the men, she wasn’t sure she’d have been

able to control herself around him. That’s what he did to her—made her lose control again and

again and again.

Zeus dad, Perseus Forbes, was a leading manufacturer of robotics equipment. He was huge with

rippling muscles. And he gazed at his son with such adoration. She couldn’t help but wonder where

Zeus mother was.

Argus Montefalco was the TV media mogul. She’d expected some smooth-talking salesman, but

Argus slouched in his chair, legs spread as he watched Zeus and Darius. “If you’re going to teach

Zeus, you gotta learn how to throw right,” he called out to Darius. He was the tallest of them all,

probably six-three, and his sable hair, chocolate-brown eyes, and chiseled features were even more

mesmerizing up close than they were on camera. Still, she didn’t think he held a candle to Darius.

“If you think you can do better, get over here.” Darius held up the ball while Zeus squealed for

another free throw.

“There isn’t room enough for both of us in that pool,” Argus shot back.

“You’re just worried you won’t do any better,” Hector said. He grinned at Nathalie and told her,

“Argus always sucked at sports.”

Hector Beischel owned a nationwide chain of home improvement stores and produced a TV show

on do-it-yourself remodeling. With dark, wavy hair and some really impressive muscles, Hector

was a mountain-man type. Someone had mentioned during the course of the afternoon that he was

building his own cabin near Tahoe.

“I didn’t suck,” Argus said mildly. “I just figured I might as well let you win at something.”

Hector laughed, taking the ribbing good naturedly. “Still can’t get over that game back in high

school where we all piled on you just outside the touchdown zone, can you?”

They called themselves the Baddricks, and they constantly gave each other a hard time. Yet

Nathalie could see the incredibly strong bond between them, along with the way no offense was

ever taken. Their connection went right through to the way they all looked after Zeus. He wasn’t

just Perseus son, he was precious to all of them, and she had the sense they would each protect him with their lives.

Ares Lowells, however, wasn’t quite like the rest. Not that he didn’t belong—he was just as handsome and big and strong as the other Baddricks—but he was quieter and didn’t always join in the banter. Nathalie wondered if his wife could be the reason.