[Quantum 01.0 - 03.0] Boxed Set Read online

  “You’re supposed to be sleeping,” I tell her.

  “So are you.”

  “Don’t stay up too late.”

  “Hey, Flynn…”

  “Yeah?” As I turn to face her, I hold the backpack in front of me.

  “I’ve been emailing with Liza. She wants to schedule an interview so Natalie can tell her story—”

  “That’s not happening.” The very thought of it enrages me.

  “Liza’s theory is that if Natalie tells her story, then the feeding frenzy will stop that much sooner.”

  “Not. Happening. Feel free to quote me on that to Liza.”

  Addie gives me a challenging look that I recognize all too well.

  I release a deep sigh as my hard-on all but disappears at the reminder of our situation. “What is it you wish to say?” Addie always speaks her mind with me, and I always encourage her to do so because she’s extremely savvy and always has my best interests at heart.

  “For what it’s worth, I think you ought to consider Liza’s advice. You pay her a lot of money to tell you what to do in these situations. I happen to agree with her. If Natalie tells her story in her own words, that makes it impossible for anyone else to tell it. It would put an end to the salacious innuendo that has overtaken the Internet.”

  “You know what I hate most about this?”

  “What?”

  “Every time her name is mentioned for the rest of her life, this story will be tied to it. That’s why she changed her name in the first place.”

  “I hate that, too. We all do. But the cat’s out of the bag. You can’t pretend it’s not happening, as much as you’d like to.”

  She’s right, and so is Liza, but all I can think about is Natalie and asking her to go on national TV to talk about the most painful thing in her life. The very idea of it makes me nauseated.

  “Get some sleep, Addie.”

  “Night, Flynn. And good luck in the morning, not that you’ll need it.”

  “Thanks.” Her comment reminds me that Oscar nominations are coming in the morning, something that would normally be foremost on my mind. But I don’t have the capacity to care about anything other than what’s happening with Natalie right now.

  I return to the bedroom, where Natalie is propped on her upturned hand waiting for me. The sight of her bare shoulder reminds me of what was about to happen before I left the room. Retrieving the box of condoms, I drop my pants onto the floor and crawl back into bed with her.

  “What’s wrong?”

  I force a smile and hold up the box of condoms for her to see. “Nothing now.”

  “Don’t lie to me, Flynn. Something happened while you were out there. I can tell just by looking at you.”

  “How’d you get to know me so well so fast?”

  “The same way you got to know me.” She caresses my face, and her tender touch makes me melt on the inside.

  I love her so fucking much, and I want to protect her from anything and everything that could ever hurt her. “Addie has been talking to Liza. They think we ought to do an interview to give you the chance to tell your story in your own words to put an end to all the speculation.” I watch the light in her eyes go dim.

  “Oh.”

  “I told them it’s not happening. I’d never ask you to talk about something so painful on TV. The thought of it makes me sick. I can only imagine how you must feel.”

  “If we did this, the interview, I mean… Do they think it would put an end to people talking about me? About us?”

  “It might put an end to people talking about what happened to you years ago. It’s probably safe to say they’ll continue to talk about us.”

  “I’ll do it.”

  “What? No. You’re not doing it, and that’s the end of it. I told them the same thing.”

  “Flynn.” She uses the hand she has on my face to turn me toward her.

  “You’re not doing it.”

  “Yes, I am.”

  “No! No fucking way. And that’s the end of it.”

  She smiles at me! The angelic, beautiful smile that slays me every time.

  “Why are you grinning like a loon?”

  Her smile gets bigger. “You’re awfully cute when you’re being bossy.”

  She hasn’t begun to see the full extent of how bossy I can be. The thought of showing her my dominant side reawakens my cock.

  “I’m doing the interview.”

  “No, you’re not.”

  “Yes, I am.”

  I kiss her to make her stop talking, taking possession of her lips and mouth in the fiercest kiss we’ve ever shared. It’s all lips and tongue and teeth. I keep expecting her to push me away in shock that I would dare to kiss her this way, but instead she meets every stroke of my tongue with one of her own. She makes me crazy with desire and the most intense need I’ve ever experienced.

  I break the kiss and move down, cupping her breasts and sucking on her nipples. While I keep expecting her to stop me, she encourages me by arching her back and wrapping her legs around my hips.

  I’m lost, completely fucking lost to her.

  Chapter 4

  Something is different. He’s wilder, untamed, ravenous. Is it because I defied him about the interview? Whatever the reason, I’m not complaining. I like him this way, a little unhinged and overtaken by desire. As his teeth clamp down on my left nipple, I want to beg him to hurry, to take me, to relieve the aching pressure between my legs, but I can’t seem to find the words. He’s stolen them, along with the breath from my lungs.

  I’m on fire for him. He leaves my nipples stiff and aching to kiss his way down my body. His hands are everywhere, touching and caressing and coaxing. I can’t get close enough.

  He settles between my legs, his broad shoulders pushing them as far apart as they can go.

  Every cell in my body is on high alert in anticipation of what’s about to happen. The first time he did this, I nearly lost my mind. Even knowing what to expect can’t properly prepare me for the first stroke of his tongue or the slide of his fingers into me.

  “God, I love the taste of your sweet pussy,” he says in a low growl that sends a flashpoint of heat blasting through me. “I could live right here and never want for anything.” His fingers surge in deeper. “So hot and so tight.”

  I’m not sure whether his words or his actions are having the greater effect, but the combination is positively incendiary. I’m on the verge of a powerful release, and he’s barely begun.

  “Flynn…”

  “What, honey? Talk to me. Tell me what you want.”

  “I…” I don’t have the words.

  He sucks on the very heart of me, and an orgasm rips through my body, making me burn from the inside. He stays with me through it all, coaxing me up and then bringing me back down.

  And then he’s pressing into me, stretching me to accommodate his thick erection. It’s the most indescribable feeling I’ve ever had, his body joining with mine so intimately as he hovers above me, watching over me for any sign of distress.

  My hands coast from his back to his ribs and down to his firm ass.

  With a low growl, he drives into me, making me gasp from the impact.

  He freezes. “Oh my God, Nat. I’m so sorry. I’m being rough with you.”

  I pull him closer to me and wrap my legs around his hips to keep him from withdrawing. “Don’t stop. Please don’t stop. It feels so good.”

  He reaches under me, grasps my bottom and then turns us so I’m on top of him, looking down at his exceptionally handsome face as he stares up at me with those soft brown eyes. “So fucking sexy.”

  “I… I don’t know what to do. Tell me what to do.”

  “Ride me, baby. Move your hips. Yes,” he hisses through clenched teeth. “Just like that. Fuck.”

  It’s the most incredible thing I’ve ever felt. He’s so deep inside me, and I’m stretched to my absolute limit by the size of him. Then he touches a spot deep inside that triggers something…
Oh my God… His fingers press between my legs, and the combination sets off another orgasm. This time he goes with me, pushing deeper as he comes, too.

  I bite my lip to keep from screaming.

  He tugs me down to him, our mouths capturing my scream and his groan.

  “Fucking Christ,” he whispers against my lips. His arms come around me, anchoring me to him.

  With my head on his chest, I can hear the hammering beat of his heart. His fingers burrow into my hair, making my scalp tingle. It never occurred to me before that my scalp could be an erogenous zone. As he continues to pulse and throb inside me, I shiver with aftershocks from my explosive release.

  Without losing the connection between us, Flynn pulls the covers up and over me.

  Memories of the man who hurt me are never far from my consciousness, but Flynn leaves no room for them. When we are together this way, there’s no time or space for thoughts of anything other than what’s happening right here and now.

  “Is it always like this?” I ask him after a long period of silence. “The way it is with us.”

  “It’s never like this. Ever.”

  His fiercely spoken response makes me smile as his chest hair tickles my nose.

  “I’m doing the interview.”

  “No, you’re not.”

  “Yes, I am.”

  He gives my hair a gentle tug. “You’re being a brat.”

  “And you’re being obstinate. I’ve run my own life for a long time. That’s not going to stop just because you’re part of it now.”

  “This is different. I have a lot more experience with these kinds of things than you do, and I know all the ways it can go very, very wrong.”

  “How can it go any more wrong than it already has?”

  He starts to say something but seems to think better of it. “You’d be surprised how that can happen.”

  “I don’t want to spend my life hiding out and worrying about what’s around the next corner. I want to face it head-on and put it behind me.”

  “I know I’ve said this before, but your strength truly astounds me, Nat.” He spins a lock of my hair around his finger.

  “Your love and support make me stronger than I’ve ever been.”

  “Somehow I doubt that.”

  “So I’m doing the interview.”

  He sighs deeply. “We’ll talk about it tomorrow. Go to sleep.”

  “I’m doing it.”

  I hear a chuckle rattle through his chest and fall asleep with a smile on my face.

  I wake much later to intense pressure between my legs and Flynn’s hand on my belly, holding me still as he enters me from behind. Holy moly, that’s hot!

  “Does it hurt?” he asks.

  “No, God, no. It feels amazing.”

  “We’ve got to get you on something so we can forgo these fucking condoms. I want to feel your hot, tight pussy with nothing between us.”

  “Flynn…” I cover the other hand that’s rolling my nipple between two fingers.

  “Do you hate when I say things like that?”

  “No… That’s never been my favorite word, but when you say it…”

  “You get really, really wet when I talk dirty to you.”

  Embarrassment sends a flush of heat to my face and breasts.

  “Yeah, like that.” He pushes harder, and I feel the coarse hair that surrounds his penis rub up against my bottom—another part of me that seems to be an erogenous zone. Hell, my whole body is erogenous when he’s touching me.

  As if he can read my mind, he moves the hand that was on my belly to my bottom to squeeze and caress me there. His fingers slip between my cheeks to press against my back entrance, making me startle with shock and pleasure.

  “Too much?” he asks.

  “No.” My voice sounds high and squeaky.

  He moves his fingers to where we’re joined and then returns them, slick with wetness, to my anus. Good God… The combination of his thick cock stretching me and his fingers teasing me is almost more than I can take. Then he moves his other hand down between my legs and makes me come so hard I have to bite the pillow to keep from screaming from the pleasure.

  I come down from the incredible high to discover his finger is now inside me, not far enough to cause pain, but far enough to force me to confront the dark pleasure of yet another part of my body that’s been awakened to passion.

  “I want to fuck you here,” he growls in my ear as he pushes his finger deeper inside me.

  I can’t begin to fathom how he’d ever fit there, but I trust him to show me how amazing it could be. I want to give him everything, every part of me.

  Fully seated inside me, stretching me to my physical and emotional limits, he doesn’t move anything but his finger, in and out of my bottom. “So hot, so tight… I can’t wait to feel your ass gripping my cock.”

  I’m losing my mind one small piece at a time. He plays me like a maestro, tuned only to me. And then I’m coming again, harder and stronger than before. He’s right there with me, gasping into my ear as he drives his finger and cock into me at the same time.

  I’m a shuddering, trembling mess afterward. My heart beats so fast, I wonder if it will burst free from my chest.

  An announcement from the pilot brings me back to reality and reminds me we’re on an airplane. “Good morning, Mr. Godfrey and Ms. Bryant. We hope you slept well.”

  Flynn snickers and squeezes my breast gently. “We slept great,” he whispers in my ear.

  “We’re about forty-five minutes from arrival at LAX, and we expect a smooth landing. It’s just after eleven p.m. in LA. We’ll have you on the ground shortly.”

  “I need a shower,” Flynn says. “Join me?”

  “It’s too small for both of us. You go first.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “Yeah, go ahead.”

  He kisses my shoulder and withdraws from me slowly and carefully.

  The muscles between my legs contract and spasm, making me squirm. I don’t know how I’ll ever look at him again after what we just did. A week ago, the idea of having sex with any man was unthinkable, and now I’m having dirty sex with Flynn and loving it.

  He’s certainly given me plenty to think about—and to anticipate. I can’t wait for more.

  I’m a fucking animal. That’s the only possible explanation for what just happened. What was I thinking? This is a woman who was sexually assaulted as a teenager. I’m her first lover—ever. And I’m already pushing her for things far outside the comfort zones of most women, let alone one who has been assaulted. I’ll be lucky if she doesn’t leave me the second we get off this plane.

  My hands are shaking as I wash my hair and body. I thought I could control this thing, but I’ve just proven to myself—and her—that I can’t control anything unless I control everything. If I show her that side of me, she’ll leave me for certain, like my ex-wife did, calling me a depraved monster on her way out the door.

  If Natalie ever looks at me the way Valerie did, I’ll never survive it. The parallels are not lost on me. The situation now is similar to what it was then, except I love Natalie more than I ever loved the woman I married. It took years to get over the demise of my marriage. If Natalie leaves me, I already know I’ll never get over her.

  What just happened can never happen again. I need to watch my fucking mouth with her and keep my hands where they belong. There’s far too much at stake to risk driving her away by showing her the depths of my desire for her.

  I want to fuck you here. God, did I really say that as I pushed my finger into her ass? A surge of nausea burns my throat when I imagine what she must be thinking right now. She’s shackled herself to a beast who has systematically dismantled her well-ordered life in the short time we’ve been together.

  She’s going to hate me before long if I’m not careful. As I soap up my chest, I realize I’m hard again, which has me swearing under my breath. I’m accustomed to indulging my stronger-than-average sex drive, not suppressing
it. But I will suppress it before I’ll do anything to scare a woman who has already known more than her share of fear when it comes to men and sex.

  And for what it’s worth, I don’t even yet know the full extent of what was done to her, and I’m already pushing her for things even the most sexually seasoned of women often find off-putting. What if that monster Stone sodomized her? What if I brought back painful memories with what I just did?

  I feel like I’m having a heart attack as that possibility settles on me. I have to know. Right now. I hastily rinse the soap from my body and grab a towel, drying off as I leave the bathroom.

  Natalie is right where I left her, lying on her side, facing away from me. Her exposed shoulder bears a bright red mark from where I bit her in the throes of passion.

  I’m horrified and gripped by paralyzing fear. I force myself to walk around the bed and sit next to her. “Are you okay?”

  She doesn’t look at me when she says, “Uh-huh. All done in the shower?”

  “Yeah. Nat…”

  “I’d better get in there before they’re telling us to take our seats for landing.” She gathers the sheet up around her naked body and takes it with her into the bathroom. The door closes, and the sound of the lock engaging is like a bullet through my heart.

  I’m so fucked.

  Something is terribly wrong. Flynn is fairly vibrating with stress. I’m afraid to even ask because he looks like he’s about to lose it as we get off the plane and into the SUV that awaits us on the tarmac. I’m carrying Fluff, and Flynn has his phone pressed to his ear, but he hasn’t said a word that I could hear since he took the call. Addie has gone in a different car after saying she’ll see us later.

  “Fine,” he finally says, “give me a couple of days and then we’ll talk.” After another pause, he says, “Sounds good.” He ends the call and stashes the phone in his pocket.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “What? Nothing. That was my partner Jasper. Oscar nominations are in the morning and he’s wound up.”

  “I know you well enough by now to be able to tell when something is wrong, Flynn. You’re so tightly wound, you’re about to snap.”