Silent No More (6 page)

He sees the concern on my face and smiles. “I’ll
take it easy. I promise,” he says. I scoot farther back on the bed and he
follows, taking his place on top of me. He straddles me as I lay back on the
bed. He lowers his face, kissing me on the lips while both hands palm my
breasts. My lips part; his tongue enters my mouth, tangling with mine. He
pinches both nipples simultaneously, causing a moan to escape my mouth.

He smiles and moves from my mouth to my neck,
trailing gentle kisses down to my left breast. He caresses one breast while
twirling his tongue around my other nipple. Parting my legs, he moves between
them, continuing to trail kisses down my stomach until he reaches my hungry
center. 

Oh yes, please.

He looks up at me and then smiles, a big boyish
smile as he parts the lips of my wet sex with his fingers. I throw my head back,
moaning out loud when he licks up the center. His tongue moves to my clit and I
grab the duvet, fisting it in both hands.

“Oh, God!” I scream as he pushes a finger inside
me, then adds another. I’m already on the edge and the man’s just started.

“Shannon, I like that you’re so fucking wet for me,”
I hear through tingles of pleasure as I cry out. He’s sucking my clit hard and
I’m screaming again, thrashing my head from side to side. He continues his
assault until the last of my shudders slow down; he then removes his fingers.
My legs are shaking from the best orgasm of my life. Fuck, I don’t think I’ve
ever come so hard, that fast. 

He crawls back up me until we are face-to-face and
I’m panting. He kisses me, hard, like I’m his life raft and he’s holding on for
dear life. I taste my arousal on his lips and it makes me hot and hungry for
more. When he releases my mouth, I’m panting even more than when he gave me a
mind-blowing orgasm.

He presses his forehead to mine trying to slow his
breathing. “I don’t have a condom,” he admits with pain in his eyes. I realize
he really wants this, just as much as I do. I can feel how hard he is and I
want that hardness inside me. I’ve never had sex with a guy without protection,
but I don’t want this to end. Ending this now isn’t an option.

“I’m on the pill,” I say in a low breathy voice,
silently praying he doesn’t stop. I need more. I need him inside me…like now.
I’m completely not thinking clearly. I’m not thinking about STDs or my health
at all.

He raises his head and looks at me. His expression
surprised. “Are you sure? You don’t have to do this. We can wait.”

“Nick, please fuck me,” I say almost begging him.
He takes that as his green light. He sits up then guides himself to my
entrance. Using my wetness to lube himself, he slowly presses forward until
he’s a few inches inside me. He waits the length of a heartbeat before
continuing. But when he does, he fills me until I’m full, full of him.

My breath catches in my throat and pleasure washes
through my body. It overwhelms me as moisture pools into my eyes. I blink the
tears away, rapidly, afraid he will notice. If he does, he doesn’t say
anything.

Nice girl moment, Shannon, but I’m too caught up
in the moment to feel embarrassed. That is sure to come later. He starts to
move slowly at first. It’s incredible, but I want it faster. Just as the
thought crosses my mind, he begins to increase his speed, and before I realize
it, he’s driving into me, fervently. I fist my hands in his hair pulling hard.
He grabs my ass so he can hold me in place. I feel the pressure rising up
within me. I don’t remember ever having more than one orgasm in one day before.
Damn, this feel good…too good to be real.

“Give it to me, baby,” I hear him whisper into my
ear, and with his command, I start falling over the edge, into a sea filled
with pleasure.

He comes almost as soon as I do, spilling himself
inside me. It’s warm and like nothing I’ve ever felt before. He falls on top of
me, still deep inside me. He stills himself, trying to catch his breath.
Pulling out slowly, he rolls onto his back taking a deep breath. A second later,
he’s standing, and striding across the room.

“Don’t
move. I’m going to fetch a cloth to get you cleaned up,” he says, as he walks
into what I assume is a bathroom. I’m content and happy as I let out a breath I
didn’t know I was holding. 

“Wake up, beautiful.” I hear a soft soothing voice
say to my left, and then I feel a dip in the bed. I’m lying on my front with my
hands snuggled underneath the pillow. I’m comfortable and I don’t want to move.
The sheet is pulled over my bottom, but my back is bare. Nick’s fingers feel
like feathers going up and down my spine. My eyes flutter open to see him
staring down at me. He’s dressed in a grey suit with a white shirt and black
tie underneath his jacket. His hand comes to rest on the small of my back. His
simple touch warms me.

“I have to leave for work and I don’t have an
alarm clock to set for you.” Panic washes over me, but not because I’m in a man’s
bed, whom I really do not know.

“What time is it?” I ask, panicking that I might
be late for my meeting at Lockhart Publishing.

He smiles at me. It’s warm and sweet. He leans
down giving me a light kiss my cheek. “Don’t worry. It’s early. It’s six in the
morning, but don’t go back to sleep.” I start to rise up, but his hand applies
pressure so I can’t move. “And don’t get up until I’m gone.” My confusion must
be evident on my face. “If I see any more of this beautiful skin, I’m not going
to make it to work today and neither will you.” I sense he is serious so I smile
and stay snuggled into the pillow as he walks out of the room.

I hear the jingle of keys from the living room,
and then a door closes. A minute later, I’m getting out of bed. I’m stunned,
stopped in my tracks.

Hanging from the knob of the top dresser drawer is
my grey dress, black belt, and jacket. Sitting on top of the dresser drawer is
my new white silk bra and matching panties, along with my nude stockings. My
black pumps are sitting neatly on the floor next to the dresser drawer.

“When did these get here? How did the man know
what I planned to wear today?” I say out loud with one hand hovering over my
mouth.

I look around the rest of the room, neatly sitting
on a soft bench in front of the window are the rest of my things that I had in
my room last night.

What the he...oh, I can’t think about this. I need
a shower and I have to get ready. I turn on my heel and head to the door that I
assume is the bathroom. Opening it my assumption is right and I enter walking straight
to the shower and turn the water on hot. While I wait for the right temperature,
I pee and brush my teeth. My toothbrush from my room has made it up here too. I
guess he doesn’t want me using his.

Rinsing the remains of my toothpaste off my
toothbrush, I remember the broken mirror from last night. Now it makes more
sense. They have to clean the mess up, but why didn’t he just move me to a
different room?

“Apparently, this is
his
hotel,” I say as I remember his orders to the big scary guy. I
assume he is security at
The Cove
.

Stepping into the shower, the water feels good
against my skin. I’m not tired. In fact, I feel thoroughly rested. I don’t
remember the last time I felt this good. Maybe I never have. Is this what great
sex does to a girl? I ask myself while applying shampoo. The contents of my
shower did not make it up here, so I use his shampoo and conditioner. It smells
of fresh air after rain; it smells like him. 

I use his body wash and razor too. Once I rinse
the conditioner out of my hair, I turn the water off and open the door,
stepping out. I towel off and wrap it around my hair. Walking to the vanity, I
grab body lotion and notice the small bruise on my left shoulder. The right one
doesn’t have any evidence of Luke’s attack last night. 

I can’t believe he did that. He’s never acted like
that in the six years I’ve known him. I need to put this out of my mind. I
concentrate on applying lotion all over my body instead. It smells tropical and
I love it. I walk into the bedroom to retrieve my makeup bag. It has a small
container of deodorant inside that I take out and quickly apply. 

I finish up by drying my hair and applying a small
amount of makeup. I hope he’s okay with me using his stuff, but I really don’t
have time to dwell on it or ask him.

Once I’m back in his room, I put my bra and
panties on first, then the stockings. Grabbing for my dress on the hanger, I
look it over. I guess it was nice of him to put it on a hanger. I’m sure it had
a few creases from being in the bag. I really should have hung it up last
night.

Removing the hanger, I unzip the dress and step
into it. I zip it up and put the black belt in place. I step into my black pumps
and place my folded jacket over my arm. I’m still warm from the shower and I
don’t want to put it on yet. I grab my purse and head for the living area.

I stop at the door where I heard wood crack the
previous night. There are small pieces of the door jam on the floor. It’s
broken where it latches shut. I disregard this and walk through. I reach into
my purse to make sure my keys and phone are there. They are so I head to the
door.

It’s 7:30 am. I have to hurry to get my portfolio
from my office so I can make it to Lockhart Publishing on time. I shouldn’t
have spent so long under the water in the shower, but it felt so good. 

I get into my car and drive a little over the
speed limit to get to my office. This isn’t rare for me. Even when there is no
fear of me being late, I still drive a little over the speed limit. I don’t do
it on purpose. I just can’t stand driving at what I consider a slow pace. 

I unlock the door to my gallery and rush to the
back. I grab my portfolio from the tote I left it in and hear the door chime. I
know it’s not Jenny. We don’t open until 9:00 am. Walking back out front with
my portfolio tucked under my arm, I see Luke closing the door.

“Get out. Now!” I say as anger washes over my
face. I can’t believe this. He has some nerve showing up here after what he
pulled last night. 

“Shannon, I’m sorry. Baby, I lost control last
night. I didn’t mean to act that way, but we have to talk about us. That’s all
I was trying to get through to you,” he says with a solemn voice as he
approaches me. 

I ignore the “baby” remark.

“Luke,” I say as I hold my hand out to stop him
from getting any closer. “I don’t have time for this. You know I have a
meeting at LP this morning. Leave, Luke.” My hand is touching his chest and I
push him backwards. “Now.”

He grabs my left arm hard and I’m pulled forward
into his embrace, then his lips are on mine. There is nothing tender about it,
and I don’t kiss him back. Instead, I bring my knee up to meet his crotch,
causing him to double over, but not before he scratches my arm beside my elbow.
It hurts and I know it’s going to leave another mark. 

“Get out!” I shout. “We are
over
and I never want to see you again! I’ll be getting my things
from the apartment tomorrow, so don’t be there when I come by!” I hiss at him.

Luke just glares at me in disbelief, but doesn’t
say anything else as he gets up and walks out the door. I wait a moment to calm
myself, and then I leave too, locking the door behind me. 

I will not let this prick ruin my day.

* * * * *

Walking off the east elevator on the eleventh
floor of the LP building, I have two minutes to spare. I’m wearing my jacket
now. Not because I’m cold, but because Luke left a nasty scratch on my left arm.
The same arm where there is still a small bruise. My fair, sensitive skin does
not need any more damage.

I walk up to the receptionist and she greets me
with a warm sweet smile. “Hello, Miss Taylor. How are you today?” she asks.

“Please stop calling me Miss Taylor,” I say, smiling
brightly at the sweet woman who I have come to know as Rachel.

“Okay, Shannon, if you insist,” she says, shaking
her head. "Mr. Lockhart is ready to see you now.” 

“Mr. Lockhart?” I question, confused. “I thought I
was meeting with Teresa.” This is a change I would have liked to been prepared
for. 

“Miss Matthews couldn’t be here this morning, so
Mr. Lockhart is handling all her appointments today.” She is gesturing for me
to follow her. My nerves sky rocket. I’ve never met him before, but I know he’s
the president of Lockhart Publishing. I’ve heard Nicholas Lockhart has a brutal
business reputation. I do not need this today. 

I follow Rachel into his office. She announces my
arrival and walks out of the door while closing it. I see him standing behind
his desk with his back facing me looking out the window.

This is the west side of the building so I assume
he has a view of the ocean. His desk is large with two plush chairs sitting in
front. There is a large couch and coffee table off to my left and a meeting
table and chairs to my right.

My nerves have just started to calm down when I
barely hear him say, “Please, take a seat, Shannon.”

His voice is soft and familiar. I walk farther
into the room as he turns and I see him. I stand, stunned. My eyes widen a bit
and I drop my portfolio on the ground.

“Nick.” It’s all that comes out of my mouth. What
the hell? He rounds the corner of his desk to come stand in front of me. He
bends down to the floor and retrieves my portfolio. Standing back up, he
gestures towards the couch.

“Why don’t we sit?” Everything washes over me and
reality sinks in. This is where he saw me months ago. He knew I was going to be
here this morning, yet he said nothing. The nervousness I felt only a moment
ago is replaced by bitchiness.

“No,” I say, taking a step back. I know if he
touches me, my anger will dissipate after spending last night with him, a
really shitty night that turned out spectacular.

“Would you please take a seat? It’s going to be
difficult enough getting through this meeting knowing what’s underneath that
dress.” His warm eyes glide down my body and his lips turn up into a small
smile. Warmth washes over me as his eyes come back up to meet mine. I am
determined not to give in to him so easily, so I place my hands on my hips and
I continue to look at him. I can’t believe he is Nicholas fucking Lockhart!
He’s my damn publisher. This can’t be real.

“Did you know I was coming here this morning? Nick,
why didn’t you tell me who you are?” I demand to know. 

He takes my hand, pulling me to the area with the
couch and coffee table, but I catch the eye roll he does as he turns. Not
letting my hand go, he places my portfolio on the table and turns back to me. My
strength is slipping the longer he holds my hand. He pulls me into an embrace.
Wrapping his left hand around my back, he continues to hold my left hand in his
right hand.

Ughhh…since when did I become this weak? So much
for not giving in to him so easily.

“I didn’t tell you who I was because I wasn’t sure
you would let things go as far as it did last night, and I couldn’t take that
chance.” He has a point there. I probably would not have. His hand glides up my
arm. When he reaches the top, he pushes my jacket off my shoulder. Seeing the
small bruise causes his eyes to harden for a brief moment. 

“I didn’t know until I got here this morning your
meeting would be with me. Teresa’s sister went into labor several weeks early.”
He gently kisses the area where the bruise is located. Although I’m still upset
he didn’t tell me who he is, I don’t protest. He pushes my jacket completely
off and it falls to the ground. I close my eyes. My mind is clouded and I can’t
think straight. His lips, his hands, his everything feels so good touching me.

“What the fuck is this?” I’m brought out of my
haze.

Huh?

He’s staring at my arm. He’s staring at the fresh
red scratch there. “This wasn’t here this morning. Where did it come from?”

He’s still holding my arm and has me around the
waist with his other hand.

“It’s not important,” I say, turning my back to
his front. I’m lying and I know I’m a shitty liar, so I can’t let him see my
face. I just don’t want to think about my ex. The sooner I’m done with him
completely, the sooner I’ll never have to think about him again. Besides, I saw
the way Nick reacted last night. He was so angry at the site of the marks on my
body. He looked like he could murder someone.

“The hell it isn’t,” he says as he is turning me
to face him. “You’re withholding something from me. He did this, didn’t he?” He
lifts my chin to look at him. He’s mad. I can see it in his eyes.

“Yes,” I say in a shallow voice. Damn me, and my
inability to think fast enough to come up with something better to tell him.

“God damn it! I can’t leave you alone for two
fucking seconds.” He runs both hands through his hair. He’s angry. Is he angry
with me?

“This isn’t my fault!” I shout. Does he think I go
around letting men hurt me? God, I am certainly not someone who willingly takes
abuse. Well…not that kind. It’s not like Luke is really physically abusive. At
least, I don’t think he is. I was with him for five years. He never showed any
signs of aggression.

“I didn’t mean it like that, Shannon,” he sighs
out as his face relaxes. It doesn’t last long as his eyes darken and his
eyebrows knit together. “I’m going to fucking kill that shit-fuck.” He says the
last sentence deadly serious. I need to get his mind on something else.