I was getting ready to ask her if she wanted to get out of here when she suddenly stiffened. I frowned, following her gaze. Did she have a boyfriend or husband who was going to come after me? Then I saw two absolutely massive men scanning the crowd.
Shit. Who was this girl?
I looked down at her. Myriad emotions ran across her face before she settled on something I recognized quite well: rebellious determination. She grabbed my hand and pulled me after her deeper into the dancing throng. I followed, too surprised by the gesture and how strong she was to argue about it.
We went out the back entrance and found ourselves in an alley that smelled a lot less pleasant than the club had. She made a face, but didn't stop until we stood on the sidewalk behind the club.
“Did you drive here?” she asked. “Rental car?”
I shook my head. “Taxi.”
She looked up and down the street and then up at me. “Do you have a hotel room or are you staying with friends?”
I doubted I was misreading the signals, but I asked just to be sure. “I have a room. Would you like to go back there with me?”
She took a step towards me and wrapped her arms around my neck, pulling my head down even as she pushed herself up on her tiptoes. I slid my arms around her waist as her mouth met mine. Her lips were soft and pliant, molding around mine. As I traced her bottom lip with the tip of my tongue, her mouth opened eagerly and her tongue came out to meet mine. The two twisted together for a moment and then she was stepping back.
“This can only be tonight,” she said. “I need that to be clear.”
I grinned. A woman after my own heart. “Sounds good to me.” I stretched out my arm and waved down a taxi.
“Where are you staying?” she asked suddenly, as if something had just occurred to her.
“Hôtel Maison Souquet.”
A relieved look crossed her face.
“I'm guessing that's not where you are?”
She shook her head. “Hôtel San Régis.”
My eyebrows went up. I'd known she'd had money just by the way she was dressed, but that was definitely one of the swankier hotels in Paris. It was also one that boasted discretion, more out of the way. People who went to clubs like the one Nami and I had just been at usually didn't stay at places like the San Régis.
She'd tensed again and watched me warily. For the first time, I realized that I wasn't sure what I'd gotten myself into. Huge guys like the ones back at the club didn't come looking for random girls. They were security somewhere or, if she was telling the truth about where she was staying, for someone. I smiled to put her at ease, but I kept watching her, trying to figure out if I'd seen her somewhere before. She was too short to be a model and too curvy, but she could've been an actress. Musician. And there was always the rich family option. As we pulled up in front of the hotel, however, I decided it didn't matter. Like she'd said, it wasn't like we were planning on starting a relationship. As long as she wasn't married, I didn't care about who she was.
As I held out my hand to help her from the car, I discreetly checked out her left hand. No ring, no tan line or faint impression. I supposed she could've taken it off or not have worn it long enough to leave any other mark behind, but short of ruining the mood by straight up asking her, it was all I had to go by.
I kept a grip on her hand as we walked through the lobby to the elevators. She didn't seem impressed by the opulence, lending further credence to my theory that she came from money. When we stepped into the elevator, I pushed all of that aside and concentrated on the only thing that mattered.
I backed her against the wall and claimed her mouth again, exploring it thoroughly. She made a little sound in the back of her throat that went straight to my cock. I grasped her wrists in my hands, pinning them against the wall as I ground my hips against her. The sound turned into a moan. Oh, she was going to be fun.
Before the door of my hotel room closed, we were kissing again, pulling at each other's clothes. I could feel the desperation in her touch and it fueled my own desire. By the time we reached the bedroom, we were both naked, our clothes leaving a trail behind us. It wasn't until we fell back on the bed that I finally moved my mouth from hers.
I leaned on my elbow as I began to kiss my way down her body, my free hand exploring her soft skin as well. She cried out as I flicked my tongue across her nipple, then made a louder sound when my fingers began to tease the other one. Her breasts were amazing. Firm, perfectly shaped and just the right size. Her nipples were a dusky rose color and, if her reaction was any indication, extremely sensitive.
I took one between my lips, looking up at her while I did it. Her eyes were closed and an expression of pure bliss had settled on her face. Damn. Either this woman loved sex or her previous lovers hadn't taken care of her nearly as well as they should've. I scraped my teeth across the tip of her nipple and her entire body jerked, her eyes flying open.
I raised my head. I may have liked things a little rough, but I wasn't about to assume that she did too. “Was that okay?”
“Do it again.” Her pupils were wide, the thin ring of color around them dark.
I repeated what I'd done, a little harder this time, and she watched. Air hissed from between her teeth.
“Yes.” She dropped her head back down onto the bed.
I took that as an affirmative and resumed what I'd been doing. She writhed underneath me as I began to suck on her hardening nipple. The sounds that she made were like nothing I'd ever heard before. Half whimpers, half moans and, mixed in were words in a language I didn't know. I couldn't wait to hear what she did when I was buried inside her.
Reluctantly, I left her breast and moved further down her body. If I'd had more time, I would've loved to see if I could get her to come just from that alone, but I didn't know how long she planned to stay. As I settled between her legs, I looked up and saw her watching me again, something on her face that it took me a moment to place. Uncertainty.
“Do you want to stop?” I hoped to hell she said no because my cock was almost painfully hard, but I'd never forced a woman and I never intended to. For a brief moment, I remembered how I'd felt when I'd learned about my former brother-in-law nearly raping Piper and my stomach knotted.
“No.”
Nami's voice brought me out of the past and back to the present.
“Please don't stop.”
I kissed the inside of her thigh. “I won't until you come.”
Desire flared in her eyes and then I turned my attention to what was right in front of me. She was already wet and I felt a surge of pride that I'd turned her on that much just from the little we'd done. When my tongue flicked out to taste her, she gasped. I used my fingers to hold her open, exposing as much of her as possible to my tongue. She cried out, her hands grasping the bedspread as I teased her clit.
I covered every inch of her, exploring this part of her body as thoroughly as I'd done her mouth previously. I felt her starting to tense and rubbed the flat of my tongue across her swollen clit, coaxing her towards the release I knew she had building. Suddenly, it hit her and her body stiffened. She made a muffled sound and I looked up to see her hand in her mouth, as if she couldn't bring herself to let it all go.
I was determined to see her lose control the next time she came. I wanted to hear her scream my name.
As she was coming down, I slid a finger inside her. Her pussy gripped it tight, still quivering from her orgasm. Damn she was tight. I looked up at her, hoping she'd answer my question in the negative.
“Are you a virgin?”
She gave me a smile that was half coy, half shy. “No. But I'm not very...experienced.”
I nodded. I could work with that. I moved my finger slowly, letting her body adjust to the intrusion before adding a second one. She moaned as I stretched her, preparing her. I put my hand on her stomach, just below her bellybutton, holding her against the bed as I crooked my fingers, searching for that special spot inside her. A sound half like a sque
al, and half like a wail came out as I found it. I pressed my fingertips against the spot, rubbing it until she came again. She tightened around me until I swore. I kissed her inner thigh, waiting for her to relax again.
As she began to come down, I slid my fingers out and went up onto my knees. I leaned over her, reached into the bedside table and pulled out a condom. By the time I'd opened it and rolled it on, Nami was staring up at me, pure desire written on her face. I put my hands on her knees and started to slowly slide them up her legs.
“There are so many ways I want to take you,” I said as my fingertips teased along her thighs. “So many things I want to do to you.”
Something flitted across her face, some kind of regret and I knew that we didn't have the time. Whatever was going on with this young woman, her decision to leave with me had been impulsive.
I leaned over her, capturing her mouth again as I entered her. I groaned at the sheer heat of her and she responded by sucking my bottom lip into her mouth. Her body trembled beneath mine as I slowly slid into her and it took all of self-control not to bury myself into her with one thrust.
She wrapped her legs around me, pulling me in fast and hard. She cried out as I reached the end of her. Her body tightened and I pressed my face against the side of her neck. Every cell in my body screamed at me to move, to finish it, but I fought it back, wanting to enjoy this as much as possible. We fit together so well and her responsiveness was like nothing I'd experienced before. I couldn't wait to see what she did when I started to move inside her.
When I was sure I could move without embarrassing myself, I pulled back a bit and then surged forward. She cried out, her back arching up.
“Too much?” I asked. I could hear the strain in my voice.
She shook her head. “Please don't stop.” Her accent had thickened.
I didn't hesitate, every nerve thrumming. I began to move, driving into her deep and hard. Her nails dug into my forearms as her body moved against mine.
“Fuck,” I growled. If she wasn't experienced, how the hell did she know how to move like that?
I wrapped my arms around her, pulling her up onto my lap as I rocked back on my knees. I buried my hand in her hair, yanking her head to the side. She raked her nails down my back and I hissed as pinpricks of pain intensified the pleasure I was feeling. I scraped my teeth across her neck.
“No marks,” she gasped.
I nodded and used her hair to bend her back. I freed a hand to grasp her breast, lifting it until my mouth closed around her nipple. I felt her still holding back even as our bodies moved together. I took a hard pull on the sensitive flesh and earned a bit of a whimper. Not good enough. She was close. I could feel it. I was too. I needed her to come, and I wanted her to come hard.
I bit down on her nipple, hard enough to hurt, but not to mark. The sound she made wasn't quite a scream, but it was close and all I needed. As her body shook around mine, I found my release. I held her tight, riding out our pleasure until we were both coming down.
Even as the sensations faded, I knew the awkward moment was coming. The decision of how long to let her stay, of what to say. But right now, it was still just us, just two people enjoying each other's bodies. I ran my hand down her spine. Maybe I could convince her to wait for another go around. I wanted to see her on top of me, those beautiful breasts bouncing...
My post-orgasmic brain was still hazy as it began to run through scenarios, but it cleared almost instantly when I heard someone calling out in the main room.
“Mr. Stirling, I'm so sorry, they just...”
Too many things happened at once.
The manager's voice trailed off as the bedroom door banged open.
Nami pulled away from me, rolling onto the bed and grabbing the bedspread as she went.
I turned towards the door to see two enormous men coming at me.
“Stop!” Nami shouted from behind me. She then rattled something off in what I assumed was her native language.
The men both froze, equally horrified expressions on their faces. Whatever Nami was saying to them, they didn't like it. What I didn't like was the way they were looking at me.
Who the hell was this girl?
Six
Nami
My hands were shaking so badly that I almost couldn't hold the blanket up high enough to cover my breasts. I hadn't expected Tomas and Kai to find me so fast. I certainly hadn't expected them to come busting in to Reed's hotel room.
Of course, their initial thought had been that he'd kidnapped me and was forcing me to have sex with him. I knew they'd think that from the moment I heard the manager yell from the main room. They'd stopped because I'd told them to, then they'd frozen because I'd informed them that I wasn't a virgin anymore.
Reed was looking back and forth between me and the men, completely baffled. I felt bad for him, but now wasn't the moment to explain. With as much authority as I could muster while sitting in a bed naked except for the hotel's bedspread, I quickly informed Tomas and Kai that should they deem it necessary to tell my father or mother about this, I would feel obligated to tell my parents that I had, in fact, actually lost my virginity back at Princeton while they were supposed to have been watching me. I saw the realization on their faces, the knowledge that no matter what they said, they were the ones who'd be screwed if this came out.
“Leave.” I switched back to English for Reed's sake. Neither man moved, their eyes darting towards Reed and then back to me. “He's already seen me naked,” I snapped. “You two don't get to. Out! Now!”
Their faces matching shades of red, they left, Tomas slamming the door behind him.
“Um, Nami?” Reed turned to look at me, his eyes wide. “What the hell was that about?”
“I am sorry, Reed,” I said, climbing out from under the covers. I grabbed for my clothes, unable to look at him. “I wish things could be different. I wish I could spend tonight in this room with you.”
I swallowed hard, myriad emotions choking me. I wished I could tell him all the other things I wanted. To be able to choose my own path, my own life. I couldn't say any of that though.
“I have to go. I have a train to catch in the morning.” I fixed my dress and allowed myself a glance at Reed. He was watching me with those dark eyes, an unreadable expression in them. “I'm sorry.”
I walked out without another look back. Tomas and Eli were waiting just a couple feet away from the door, their faces back in those expressionless masks they always wore. I didn't have to see what they were thinking to know it. They thought less of me for what I'd done. I kept my head up though. I had nothing to be ashamed of. A woman taking charge of her sex life wasn't something bad or wrong, and I wouldn’t let them make me feel bad about it.
“How did you find me?” I asked as we stepped into the hallway. I held up a hand before either of them could speak. “Never mind. I don't care.”
“Your father called,” Tomas spoke.
I was always surprised at Tomas's voice. He didn't talk much, especially to me, but when he did, it always made me want to laugh because it was so soft and almost feminine. At the moment, however, nothing was funny.
“He did?” I tensed as we stopped at the elevator.
“Mr. Mikkels has been monitoring the media.”
“Of course he has,” I muttered. Mikkels was my father's PR person. He'd been adamantly against me going to Princeton, sure that I'd be a public relations nightmare. Even after four years of model behavior, he didn't like me. He'd hated the idea of me going on a trip to Europe, making it clear that he thought I'd go wild the moment I stepped foot in London. To my credit, I had at least waited a while before I ran off to a club.
“It seems that there was a model at the club and you were in one of the pictures a reporter took,” Kai said.
Shit. That couldn't lead to anything good.
“Your father has decided that it is time for you to come home,” Tomas said.
“I have a week of my trip left,” I said,
walking out of the elevator ahead of the men.
“King Raj was quite insistent that we take you to your train first thing in the morning. Once we arrive in Italy, we're to make sure you are on the plane immediately.”
“Dammit,” I muttered under my breath. Apparently me telling Reed I had a train to catch wasn't a lie after all. I caught Kai giving me a disapproving look at my use of language. “Do you have a problem?” I snapped at him.
“No, Princess,” he replied stiffly.
I would've felt bad for getting smart with him if I hadn't been fuming about my father's orders. Tomas and Kai had been stuck with me for over four years, away from home and everyone they knew. Neither of them were married or had kids, but I knew that Tomas had a large extended family, including several nieces and nephews, and Kai's mother was elderly and sick. I suspected he'd taken the job to pay for quality care for her. Saja had only two nursing homes on the entire island and it wasn't easy getting someone in there.
A limo was waiting for me in front of the hotel. Kai climbed into the passenger's seat while Tomas followed me into the back. The best thing about my bodyguards was that neither of them ever tried to strike up a conversation. That could be a bad thing if I wanted a distraction from the chaos in my head, but right now, I appreciated being able to think uninterrupted.
Well, not think so much as daydream. I didn't want to think about the future and what would happen when I got home. Right now, I wanted to enjoy the memory of my last vestiges of freedom.
While I'd had fun at the club, it hadn't been until Reed had approached me that I'd truly begun to enjoy myself. It had been crowded and loud, with people pressing all against me. I hadn't realized how much I'd gotten used to the little bubble of personal space that who I was had always accorded. Even at school, people hadn't tried to get close since Tomas and Kai had always been there, lurking in the background.
I wondered if Reed would've tried to talk to me even if Tomas and Kai had been there. Remembering the way he'd carried himself, the self-assured way he'd spoken, I thought he would have. He didn't seem like the kind of man who was intimidated by anyone.