Wrecking Ball, page 8
“Kat,” Nate says as he gives my hand a little squeeze, gaining my attention.
“Yeah?” I say, turning to him.
“We’re going in. You will stay with Stefan as a spectator. You are not to say or do anything. You are merely getting a look at the man you are marrying in action.”
“Duly noted,” I reply dryly, and I hear one of the guy’s chuckle before quickly composing themselves.
“Good,” Nate says before turning his attention to the men. “If anything goes wrong and anyone attempts to get near Kat, you are to make sure that you take whoever it is down. I do not care for anyone thinking that they can touch or get near my fiancée, is that clear?” he tells his guys, and they all nod their heads and say, “Yes, boss.” It’s clearly not their first rodeo.
I gulp as we walk towards the building with its chipping paintwork and graffiti sprayed in several places. It looks deserted, no one in sight, but as we near a door, I can hear the sounds of voices.
Nate turns to me and puts his finger over his lips to warn me to stay quiet. I nod my head and then he opens the door, walking in as if he owns the place, the voices dying down as they all turn to look at him, one by one.
“Good evening,” Nate says as he lets go of my hand and I feel Stefan drop beside me, his hand coming in front of me to halt me. This is clearly as far into the building as I go. Nate keeps walking into the middle of the room, and I count five men. Five to our six, so at least we’re one up on them.
“It’s come to my attention that you’re late with our payment deal, again,” Nate continues, his gaze zeroing in on a guy sat to the left of him. “So, you want to clue me in here, Eugene?” he says, his arms going out wide either side of him.
“We hit a bit of a snag,” this guy––who I presume is Eugene––says. “We can’t get the money to you until next week.”
“Ah,” Nate says as he bobs his head up and down. “Next week. Well, why didn’t you say so?” He laughs, but I know it’s not genuine. I can hear the under-lying threat in his tone, but clearly this Eugene is too fucking stupid to see the same as me.
Eugene looks to his other guys and they all join in the laughter, their shoulders instantly relaxing which is a foolish move if ever I’ve seen one.
“I knew you’d be cool about it,” Eugene says as he gets off of his seat and goes towards Nate, clapping him on the shoulder. I watch as Nate’s head turns to the side and his eyes land on Eugene’s fingers.
And then his face changes.
His eyes darken, his jaw tenses, and before I know what is happening, Nate has Eugene’s hand spread out on a table to the right of him and he pulls a knife from his pocket. Eugene starts to shout, as do his men––or whoever they are. Nate ignores it all as he brings the knife down, holding it above one of Eugene’s fingers.
“I don’t appreciate being fucking lied to, Eugene, so just pay up and I’ll be on my way,” Nate grits out, and I can see the knife is a whisker away from Eugene’s skin.
“I’m not lying, Nate, please, I need more time––” His words are cut off as Nate’s patience wears thin and he cuts Eugene’s finger off, slicing it as if it were no effort at all. Eugene’s men all stand up, some of them knocking their chairs over behind them as they stare aghast at the finger that has been separated from Eugene’s hand. Eugene has gone a shade of grey as he looks to his hand in shock.
“Now, I’ve shown enough patience with you, and I don’t have much more to give. So just hand over my money and this ends,” Nate says, cool as a cucumber. Just another day at the office, clearly.
“Get the money,” Eugene manages to say as one of the guys goes to some cupboard which is hidden behind a dirty as fuck blanket. He pulls a wad of cash out and starts to walk over to Nate, but Stefan beckons one of Nate’s other guys over and he takes the cash from the guy, counting it to make sure the payment is all there.
“One month here, boss,” he informs Nate, and Nate lets out a fake as fuck chuckle.
“Not enough,” Nate says as he gets another of Eugene’s fingers and slices it clean off. Eugene squeals and I can’t take my eyes off of what is happening in front of me.
This is the man I am marrying.
This man is going to be my husband, and I have to be okay with this?
“I want the full amount,” Nate tells him, and Eugene’s panic goes up a few more notches.
“I don’t have that kind of mon––” Another finger is sliced off and Eugene howls so loud that it hurts my ears. One of Eugene’s guys looks like he’s going to be a fucking hero as he moves closer to Nate, but then Nate’s men pull their guns out, training one on each guy. Stefan is the only one who doesn’t, and I guess that’s because he’s fucking babysitting me.
“You only have two left on this hand, Eugene, and I’ve got no problem cutting them from the other hand before moving to your toes because I am not leaving here until I get my money.” Nate’s threat echoes around the room, and I start to wonder why the fuck he brought me here. I’m not sure what this is supposed to achieve.
“Please, Nate,” Eugene begs, but all Nate does is grab another finger and cut it right off. Blood covers the table and I suddenly wish that I were anywhere but here.
“Only one left, Eugene,” Nate taunts him, and I see Eugene is struggling to stay upright. To be fair, I’d have probably passed out by now from the sheer fucking pain of it all.
“Last chance before you lose the last one on this hand,” Nate says.
“Get him the money,” Eugene rasps out between breaths, sweat pouring down his face.
Nate turns to the men behind Eugene and says, “Well, you heard the man, go get my fucking money.”
The guy who grabbed the first wad of cash disappears into another room, returning minutes later with a bag which he drops on the floor. One of Nate’s guys goes and gets it, unzipping it, and I get a glimpse of the amount of cash inside. I feel like my eyes bug out of my head from the sight of it all. I have no idea how much is there, but Nate’s tactics sure worked.
“That wasn’t so hard now, was it?” Nate says as he lets go of Eugene’s hand and he crashes to the floor, blood starting to drip off the side of the table.
“I never want to see any of your faces again,” Nate says as he points the knife to each of them individually. None of them speak, they just stand there, gobsmacked and trembling as Nate swiftly walks towards me, taking my hand and leading me out of the building. I have to walk fast to keep up with him, and I have never been so grateful to be out of a building in all my life. I get to the car and plonk my ass in the seat, shock taking over my body as I start to tremble from what I just witnessed.
Nate gets in the car and buckles up before turning to me. “You okay?” he asks and I turn to face him, fucking flabbergasted.
“Am I okay? Am I fucking okay?” I say to him, my voice high-pitched. “What the hell was that? Was it supposed to scare me?”
“Not at all. I just thought that you needed to see some of what I do and trust me when I tell you that was tame. I wouldn’t usually deal with shit like that, but I didn’t want to throw you in the deep end,” he says, so blasé about it all. He reaches over and takes my hands in his before continuing to speak. “You never have to be scared of me, Kat, but everyone else does. I would never hurt you; I just need you to know that.”
“Right…” My voice trails off because I really don’t know what to say.
“I just… I told you that I have a darkness inside of me, and if you are ever going to accept me then you have to accept every part of me.”
His words hit me deep, and as he lets go of my hands, faces forwards and starts to drive, I have a million emotions going through me, but the one that stands out above all else is how turned on I was by the power he exuded in there. Isn’t that fucked up? Out of everything, I pick out that Nate looked hot as fuck as he commanded the place and chopped some guy’s fingers off.
Fuck. I think I’m going to be in deep shit by the time he’s done with me, because he’s changing how I think already, and I have no idea how to process that.
Chapter Fourteen
Present Day
Nate
I wake up to feel Kat led against me, her head in the crook of my shoulder and her arm across my chest. She’s breathing lightly, so I presume that she is still asleep.
Something has changed dramatically between us during the course of the last twenty-four hours. There has been a shift, almost like an acceptance of the fact that she hates me but wants me. Or maybe she doesn’t completely hate me anymore?
Her words come back to me… “You don’t need to break me to make me love you, Nate, because I’m pretty sure I’d get there on my own.”
The minute those words left her mouth, it was like something inside of me came to life, a part of me that had been dormant for as long as I could remember. No woman has ever made me feel what I do for her. No woman has ever managed to make a crack in the exterior around my heart. I’ve never let myself get too close, but Kat is different, and I knew that the very first time I laid eyes on her. I knew I wanted her, knew I had to have her, knew she was different, knew she would be more. So much more.
Certain people can walk into a room and light it up without doing anything, and Kat is one of those people. Her smile, her eyes, her beauty and her sass makes the room come to life, and in doing so, it’s setting me alight. I’ve always been a hard-faced asshole because I know that people are waiting to fuck you over at the first chance. I mean, trust doesn’t come easy, and love is something you should rarely give because it should only be for the most privileged.
I could love Kat.
And that scares the fucking life out of me.
I’ve never loved anyone before, but I feel this pull inside of me when it comes to her. I have this need to make her smile, keep her safe, piss her off and make her mad at me, because if she feels all of these emotions because of me, then surely, she feels something too?
She stirs and I watch as her eyes flutter open. So beautiful.
“Good morning,” I say as her head tilts back and her eyes meet mine, a slight blush appearing on her cheeks.
“Morning,” she replies, her voice still sleepy.
“Sleep well?”
“Yeah. You?”
“Never better,” I reply honestly. I’m not usually one for lots of sleep, and I’m always up before the birds start singing, but last night, I slept like a log, and I have every suspicion that’s to do with her.
I expect her to try and move away from me, but she doesn’t. Instead, she slides her hand up my chest, her fingers tickling my skin as they move to the back of my neck and stop at the nape as she allows them to tangle with my hair.
“Nate, what are we doing?” she asks me, and fuck if she doesn’t look completely vulnerable as she asks that question.
“What do you mean?” I need to make sure we’re on the same page here and that I’m not about to go and show her my softer side and then get fucking burnt.
“What is this? What is happening with us?” Her voice is quiet, like she’s shy to ask in the first place.
I move so that I shuffle down the bed slightly until I am eye level with her. I bring her leg up and over my hip, hooking her around me.
“I think this is us learning to like each other,” I say, keeping it light because I don’t want a deep discussion to turn into something that may ruin what we have right now. I move towards her and place a kiss on her lips and circle my fingers on the outside of her thigh. Goosebumps immediately appear underneath my touch, and I love how I affect her like this. We’ve only slept together twice and both times have been phenomenal, and her body has reacted to me in a way that tells me that we do belong together.
I move my lips from hers and trail them along her cheek, down her neck and to her shoulder as I move my fingers to the inside of her thigh, circling, teasing. It may only be six in the morning, but I am fucking hungry, and I need to eat now. I continue to make my way down her body, my lips moving over her breast, my tongue flicking her nipple gently. She gasps, arching her back, pushing her front against me.
She wants this, and I’m going to fucking take it.
I move down further and push her onto her back. She widens her legs as I settle between them, my tongue finally getting a taste of her sweet pussy. She’s already wet for me and fuck does that turn me on.
I start slowly, gently working her into a frenzy as I lick, suck and swirl my tongue around her clit. I bring one hand up to tweak her nipple whilst the other grips her hip.
“Nate,” I hear her say, and I can hear the desire in her voice, so I turn up the pressure. I press my tongue harder, moving it quicker, and then I move my hand from her hip, bringing it down and plunging two fingers inside of her. She cries out, her legs lifting up slightly, sinking onto me as much as possible.
Fuck, I need my cock inside of her.
I move quicker, working her towards release, my lips clamped around her, my tongue working double-time as I hear her breathing fasten, and then she comes––hard––her body trembling.
I quickly move up her body until I am over her and my dick is thrusting inside of her. Her hands grip my shoulders as I pound into her, giving us both a glorious wake-up call.
She feels incredible, and I savour every single second as she moans, writhes and tightens around me. I fuck her furiously, relentlessly, until we are both panting, moaning and free-falling through our combined orgasms.
“Jesus,” she says on a breath as I collapse on top of her, totally satisfied and needing more at the same time. It’s like I can’t get enough of her, not now she has let me in somewhat, and I don’t intend on ever giving it up.
I’ve never wanted to fight for someone as much as I do her. It’s like I feel some sense of completeness with her beside me, under me, in my bed and slowly working her way into my heart.
“I need to pee,” she says, and I chuckle into the crook of her neck.
“Way to ruin the moment,” I tease her as I roll off and let her get out of the bed.
“Not everything is perfect, Nate, you should know that by now,” she says as she saunters her delicious ass into the ensuite.
Her words give me food for thought.
Not everything is perfect, but she is for me, and she makes me want to be the man she deserves.
* * *
Kat
Christ. If he keeps this up, I’m not going to be able to walk by the end of the week.
I don’t know what to think, I don’t know what has shifted between us, but something has, and I can already feel my heart opening up to my husband.
I run the tap and splash some cold water on my face before looking at my reflection in the mirror––and I mean really looking. My cheeks are flushed, my hair is messed up, and my eyes sparkle. Actually fucking sparkle. They no longer look dead but full of life, and it absolutely terrifies me.
How can a man who is so dark and depraved make my heart flutter?
How can a man who is so dangerous be so different with me when he needs to be?
And how can a man who takes pleasure in hurting others make me wet for him?
I need to focus on the hate that has consumed me for months rather than the way he makes my pussy tingle and my heart race.
I can’t be with someone who acts the way he does… can I?
I’m already married to him; I’m not going anywhere… unless I can find that escape route.
Do I still want to find that escape?
Do I want to be apart from him and live a life where he is just a distant memory?
Gah. The questions play on a loop in my mind, and I have absolutely no idea of the goddamn answers.
“I think this is us learning to like each other.”
His words from just moments ago.
Like each other.
Shit.
I need to stick to my original plan of getting out of here.
I need to find peace.
I need to find my happy place.
But what if this is my happy place?
What if he is my peace?
I shake my head at myself in the mirror.
Nope. Nuh uh. I refuse to believe that a man who cut someone else’s fingers off without breaking a sweat is the man for me.
Clark was the kind of man for me until he decided to leave me hanging and take off to save his own ass. Before that, he was sweet, kind, caring to an extent, and he never made me doubt being with him.
Really, Kat? You’re gonna pick that loser as someone you want to be with? He ran out on you, and now you have a man who would literally kill for you, who makes you scream his name as he makes you come, who looks at you with pure fire in his eyes, and you wanna try and justify Clark as the man of your dreams?
“Fuck off,” I tell my subconscious.
My mind is a motherfucking mess, and now I have to walk back out there and act like Nate doesn’t affect me.
I don’t want him to affect me, but I do.
I don’t want him to want me, but I do.
I don’t want to fall in love with him, but I fear that I will.
Jesus.
“Come on, Kat, get it together,” I whisper to myself as I take one last look in the mirror, fix myself with some steely determination and grab the robe off the back of the bathroom door, putting it on and wrapping it tight––like the walls around my heart.
With a deep breath, I open the door and my eyes lock on the monster in my bed, and fuck if my steely determination doesn’t waver.
He’s glorious. Magnificent.
He’s looking right at me, his eyes blazing.
Shit.
Those eyes are pools of green that I could get lost in and forget my own fucking name. And this is the problem. He trapped me, made me marry him, told me I would die if I didn’t, and now he’s making me want to fall for him. I can’t. I won’t. I…
“Nate,” I hear a woman call out, and my eyes widen at the sudden intrusion… and the female voice.
