For almost two hours I pushed myself. Repetition after repetition of weights until failure. None of it helped the violent energy that surged through me.

By the time I was done in the gym, one of our building’s few amenities, it was seven. I stopped by the guard desk to say hello on my way to the elevators. It was really just an excuse to check the cameras to see if her parking spot was still empty instead of going out to the lot.

I went upstairs and took a shower. Busted a nut in there, and still, my veins thrummed.

She was with him, the man who wanted what was mine. Once she’d been his, but that obviously didn’t work out, so his forced injection into her life drove me insane. Even more so when Lila divulged she had barely spoken with him in the six months prior to him joining Holloway and Holloway.

Ever since that night at the club, he seemed to pop up everywhere.

There was no waiting for her at my place.

It was almost nine when I used my key to open her door and still, she wasn’t home. I mashed my teeth together, my fists clenching and unclenching.

Only minutes had passed when I heard movement on the other side of the door. I moved to stand in front of the door, not giving a fuck if Andrew was with her. If he was, fuck it. He was going to get quite the show of my cock in her cunt.

The door slowly opened, and Lila’s eyes widened at the sight of me. She was alone.

“Nathan! You scared me.”

No response, no words. The moment she was through the door, I shoved it shut and spun her around into the wall. I pressed against her, pushing her chest into the drywall.

“He’s getting on my last fucking nerve,” I spat in her ear as I tugged at her jeans while rocking into her ass, pushing them over her hips.

“It was just dinner,” she said, her hands splayed on the wall, purse still hanging from her arm.

“That’s not what he thinks. He’s trying to get back inside you, but that’s reserved for me alone.”

Mine! Fucking mine!

“Yes.”

With a hard tug, I got her panties down her hips enough to expose her. It was all I needed, just enough room.

My dick pressed against her, lined up, and then I thrust forward, pushing as much in as I could. She was tight and hot, and it only took a few bruising slams of my hips to add wet.

With one arm I pushed her into the wall, and with the other, I pushed her hips down as I drilled into her. There was nothing but the pleasure of her warmth coaxing my come.

“You’re a fucking cock tease, Lila, but you’re my fucking cock slut.”

“Yes,” she whimpered.

My thrusts were hard, brutal almost. All of my anger and frustrations I funneled into Lila in the way I pinned her to the wall with my cock. It was her punishment, the pleasure all for me. She was wet, moaning, but it was my show, and I was so worked up.

“Take my fucking cock, whore. Fucking cream on it.”

My balls were tight, and there was no drawing it out any further. I didn’t want to.

My fingers dug into her hips as I shoved into her, my cock firing off in a powerful explosion. With each stream I expelled my irritation, all of the high-strung, powerful emotions dissipating.

As my muscles relaxed and I came down from my ultimate high, I felt my knees start to buckle. My legs gave out, a combination of my workout and the fuck I gave her, and I fell to the floor, landing on my back.

“Nate!” Lila cried out, rushing over to me. “Are you okay?”

My heart slammed in my chest, my lungs burning as I tried to get a full breath.

“Don’t ever fucking go to dinner with him alone again.”

She sat down next to me. “Is that an order?”

“No, it’s a request. I can’t fucking take it.”

Her lips formed a thin line. “That’s a big request. We were talking about seeing a movie this weekend.”

A growl rumbled through my chest as I glared at her.

She took her bottom lip between her teeth, but I saw a pull on one corner.

I narrowed my eyes at her. “Miss Palmer, are you baiting me?”

She reached out and trailed a finger down my chest, the down the length of my spent cock.

“Maybe.”

“Are you sure that’s wise?”

“Well, you were the only one who just got off…”

There was a playful glint in her eyes. It never seemed to matter how far I went, how off-the-handle wild I went with lust and anger, she always wanted more.

CHAPTER 21

For fuck’s sake, this girl is an idiot.

Jennifer sat on my desk, fucking sat on it, to try and entice me. Acting like a moron wasn’t going to make her more attractive, it actually made her much less so and made me question the quality of her work.

During her inane yammering, my phone buzzed in my pocket. The first thing I noticed was the low battery notification from failing to plug it in overnight. The second was a text from Lila.

Change of plans. Caroline is coming over. I can’t hide you from her any longer. I trust her. I’ll come over—

The phone flashed the low battery warning at me and dimmed before I could finish reading.

Can’t hide me…

I knew Caroline was her best friend, and that Caroline was fiercely protective of Lila. It worried me that someone would know, because the more people knew, the more chance the Marconi could find out.

At the same time, I felt that Caroline knowing was a very good idea. That way, if anything happened to us, she would know who was to blame.

Nothing will happen to Lila.

You don’t know that.

We won’t let it.

I wanted to believe that, but I had a past that proved I wasn’t invincible and that those I loved paid the price.

While I hadn’t had much interaction with Lila and Caroline together, I knew Lila, and I was well aware of the reputation Caroline knew from my time at the club. Talking wasn’t going to do it. If we wanted Caroline on our side, I had to be there to show her.

“So what do you think?” Jennifer asked.

I hadn’t processed a word of what she said.

“I’m sorry, I missed the last part.”

She pointed to a line in the contract in my hand. “Does that word sound right?”

I glanced down, then looked to her. “It’s good.”

“Really?”

I nodded and shoved the paper back at her. “All good.”