The NSC Boxset: Heart of Stone Read online

  Shivering, I twisted around to bang straight into a hard, male body. “Feeling me up already Liv?” Looking up into his face I could see he’d had a lot to drink, his face was red and sweaty, his breath could’ve gotten a rhino pissed and his eyes were half closed.

  “Shit,” I swore under my breath. I tried to prise him away as his arm snaked round my waist, making a beeline for my breast.

  Looking round desperately for Beth, knowing she’d abandoned me, I scanned the room for Lexi or Pete, realizing that they were in the kitchen and wouldn’t be of any help either.

  Leering at me, Tom pressed me up against the wall, smelling my hair and putting his mouth to my ear. ‘Come on darling, wearing a dress like that, you’re asking for a fuck!’ he spat almost cruelly through his teeth.

  “Shit, fuck, bugger!” I flustered quietly.

  Tom’s hand had now found my hip and he was grinding his erection into my stomach. “Look, Tom,” I tried. “I think you’re a great bloke but I’m not interested in a relationship at the moment.” Peering up at him I was starting to freak out a bit.

  “Me either darling, but you know I wanna have a relationship with your hot pussy!” he smirked.

  Pushing as hard as I could into his chest, I managed to shove him back. He stumbled, leaving a tight gap for me to manoeuvre myself out of. I scurried to the kitchen in search of my friends. Finding Lexi, I stayed by her side for a while until I saw that Tom had managed to hit it off with ‘Slutty Sarah’ from my course.

  Breathing a sigh of relief I went back in the room for another drink. The music was playing at an alarming volume and the bodies were still swaying to the up-tempo beat.

  That’s when I felt it again, the sensation of been watched. I viewed the room but turned exactly to the man staring at me, an eerie knowledge of where to look.

  He was watching me intently, not taking his eyes off me even when he took a long pull on his bottle. The blue smog of the room had cleared a little and my view had now considerably improved. There was a girl stood at the side of him, jabbering in his ear, desperately trying to get his attention but he didn’t seem to notice her.

  I couldn’t remove my eyes from his. My throat restricted, my mouth was suddenly too dry and all my body was covered in goose pimples. Fuck me! He was an Adonis! He had the most amazing body, full of muscles and ripples, his face was made from the gods, his head was full of blonde curls and his chin was square with a dimple, but his eyes. Oh. My. God. His eyes were the purest, brightest blue I’d ever seen.

  He pushed himself off the wall, put his beer down and started walking towards me, slowly making his way through the crowd but never looking away as I gradually retreated until my back hit the wall.

  Sliding up to me he placed one hand on the wall at the side of my face and enclosed me entirely in his huge frame. He stood gazing at me for a minute or two, just . . . gazing. His amazing blue eyes never closed or shifted from mine as he slowly leaned down and brushed his lips over mine, oh so gently.

  He grinned slightly as I shivered and then came down again. This time the kiss was more intense, putting his lips over mine and claiming me. His other hand came up to cup my cheek as his tongue swiped delicately over my bottom lip demanding for me to open up to him; I did.

  As his tongue entered my mouth and started the playful dance with mine, my core lit up, shooting straight down into my lower stomach, a dull ache sparking an immense feeling of lust down into my inner thighs. It was such an alien feeling and I was already wishing his hands would slip under my dress and take care of this god damn throb for me.

  My hands reached up for his hair of their own accord, like I’d got no control over them. I pulled him closer, feeling his erection throbbing through his jeans, telling me exactly that he was reacting the same way I was.

  His hands slid behind me, glided down my back and rested on my bottom pulling me closer to his hard body. My breathing hitched and a small moan escaped my mouth. He growled low in response and pulled his mouth away from mine.

  “Hi,” he stated simply, a sexy slow grin appearing on his face.

  “Uhh, hi,” I whispered, shocked by the way my body had reacted to him.

  His gaze lowered from my eyes to my mouth and then back up. “Nate,” he declared holding out his hand for shaking.

  “Liv,” I replied with a slight smile and a handshake of my own.

  His eyebrows lifted slightly as he asked, “Do you?”

  I gave him a puzzled look, shaking my head slightly in confusion to his question. “Do I what?”

  Smirking at me and taking my jaw in his grasp, he brushed his thumb across my bottom lip. “Live?” he questioned.

  Laughing at his sly smile and twinkling eyes, I placed my hands against his arse and shamelessly pulled him back toward me. “Not yet,” I sighed.

  Chapter One

  3 YEARS LATER

  NAKED AND STARTING to sweat with panic, I looked at myself in the full length mirror.

  It was the last day of uni and we had all graduated with high marks. Now we were packing our belongings into huge brown boxes ready for the move back home.

  I’d managed to secure a placement at London’s largest, prestigious communication business as an apprentice. Beth had to continue studying to become a doctor and Lexi was starting at a primary school in September as a teacher’s assistant, hoping to climb her way up to a head teacher status. Nate was waiting to hear on a couple of apprentiships, getting rather worried about the situation because as yet he hadn’t heard from any. He didn’t have a great relationship with his parents and point blank refused to go back home to live.

  Bringing my mind round to the present problem I started to feel sick. What the hell was I going to do? Everything was going pear shaped and the timing couldn’t have been worse.

  Nate was due to pick me up in an hour, taking me out for our final night here and I was starting to wonder how the night was going to pan out.

  I pulled myself away from the mirror and dressed in Nate’s favourite underwear. Pulling on my favourite tight black jeans, I teamed them with my red frilly blouse. It was important that I looked good for him tonight.

  Looking a bit despondent when he had grabbed me at the end of my last lecture, he’d said he had news and that he would pick me up at seven. Giving me a sweet, gentle kiss and brushing my cheek with the back of his knuckles, I had felt the tension rolling off him and I wondered if he’d worked it out. Panicking slightly I had looked at him intently and asked if there was a problem. “Later,”’ was all he had said before he stalked off, leaving me to watch his retreating back and his beautiful backside.

  Emptying my makeup out on my dresser, I started to carefully smoke up my eyes, applying lip gloss and a little mascara.

  When I heard his bike pull up, I slipped into my red heels as I took a large calming breath and tried to hold back the tears that had been threatening to surface since this morning’s news, when my world had come crumbling down on my shocking discovery.

  Nate opened my room door, giving me a smile that I noticed didn’t reach his eyes. He reached for me and pulled me into his arms, enclosing me in his scent. He always smelled delicious, musky with a hint of spice, part cologne and very much his own mouth-watering goodness.

  “Hey, baby.” He sighed softly, resting his chin on my head, inhaling my scent as he always did when I was held tight against him, as though he needed me to breathe.

  “You okay?” I asked anxiously. He pulled in a breath and sighed before he drew me away from him. Placing his hands on my upper arms, he slid them up and down as in an attempt to warm me up even though I wasn’t cold.

  “Mmm,” he grumbled. “You ready?”

  Smiling at him as he put on my leather jacket for me, I picked up my bag and slipped it over my head, placing it across my shoulders, the only way to secure it to my body on his bike.

  We sped through the city, approaching the countryside at a worrying velocity. Something was definitely on his mind and I was
beginning to worry.

  Passing pubs and restaurant’s I wondered where we were going, thinking we were going out for lunch.

  Nate eventually steered the bike down a long, gravelly road and pulled it to a stop at the side of a beautiful, peaceful lake.

  Dismounting the bike and removing my helmet, I took a look around and realised we were in a stunning secluded spot; the place was surrounded by full, green trees and water. The calm, ripples of the lake gave an absolute tranquil feel, making me stretch my arms up and roll my head round my shoulders.

  Nate stalked towards the bike and lifted the seat before pulling out a container, a bottle of my favourite wine and a blanket. Shaking out the blanket he laid it on the ground, sat down and opened the carton of food then patted the space beside him.

  Lowering myself down onto the blanket he leaned over and gave me a stunning kiss. “I love you Liv . . . so fucking much, baby,” he simply stated, his sharp eyes blazing.

  My heart was pounding in my chest; it always did when he was near, always giving me his total attention when he was with me.

  “I love you too, baby.” And I did; an overwhelming love that threatened to suck the entire life out of me from the first time he had kissed me at the Christmas party.

  Over the years our love had deepened, he was my soul mate and I was his. We both adored each other with a passion neither of us had ever felt before; we needed each other to breathe, to survive and to live.

  We had been inseparable since that night and our passion had soared from the first time we made love, making us both in awe of how intense our sexual chemistry was; it was hot, extreme and mind blowing all at the same time.

  Pulling the cork on the wine, he poured us both a glass then placed a bowl with salad, cheese, cold meats and crusty bread between us. Picking up a small tomato, he popped it in his mouth and fed me one. He continued feeding me in silence, never taking his eyes off mine until the food was all gone.

  Taking a sip of his wine he turned to me. “I’ve been offered a great job, Liv,” he revealed suddenly.

  Grinning broadly, finally relaxing that everything might be okay when I told him my news, I flung my arms round his neck. ‘It’s about time,’ I declared. “See, I told you one would come along.”

  He was quiet and pensive for a few moments. He refused to look at me as he uttered the words that changed my life forever. “It’s in Edinburgh.”

  I sucked in a heavy breath and gaped at him. “Oh!” I countered.

  He searched my face, running his finger across my eyes and down my nose. “It’s my dream job, everything I was hoping for when I left university.”

  He’d been hoping to get into the technology business after university, giving him the opportunity to live away from his parents whilst being able to support himself financially.

  Taking a deep breath and looking honestly into his eyes I said, “Then you must take it, Nate.” I gulped and carried on. “You need this, you’ve wanted this, and by god you’ve worked hard studying for it, we’ll be fine. There’s phones and trains, we can meet half way once a month and phone every night. It’s always been your ambition to do this, baby. Don’t turn it down for me.”

  I glanced away, trying to blink back the tears that were pushing into my eyes. Steadying my breath and putting my arms around my middle, I drove away the crushing feeling that was strangling me.

  I felt his hand stroke down my hair, holding the back of my neck he turned me to him. “Oh Liv!” His voice sounded as strangled as I felt. “If I take it, I have to leave tomorrow. The job starts in two days and they’re only holding the position for me till then.”

  A choked sob escaped my throat when I stood and walked to the waters edge as I demanded myself not to let him see my shock, tears and utter devastation.

  I turned into him as I felt his arms slide round my waist and his mouth nuzzled my neck. I inhaled his scent and engrained it to my memory as I returned his embrace with a fierce hug, holding on for dear life and so afraid of letting him go.

  “I need to do this, Liv” he said softly.

  Peering upwards I whispered, “I know, Nate.”

  He slung his arms under my legs, lifting me and walked us over to the blanket before he laid me gently down, spreading himself out beside me. His hand caressed my face and he lowered his lips to mine then kissed me, fervently but so tenderly for a long moment.

  “Make love to me, Nate,” I begged, stroking his cheek.

  A low groan rumbled from his throat as he brought his lips back to mine, kissing me with a new found passion as though he wanted to consume me and never let me go.

  His fingers skated down my neck followed by his lips, kissing the shivering trail his fingers had left.

  As his hand reached my breast, his thumb circling my nipple, my back arched and I pushed my heavy breast further into him. His thigh slid over mine and I could feel his hard cock throbbing against me, shouting for its release. He slowly opened each of the buttons of my shirt, kissing the skin between each one as it appeared. Taking my bra encased nipple into his mouth, he nibbled and sucked it making me moan and grind my hips into him.

  Lifting me up, he removed my blouse and undid the clasp on the back of bra, freeing my breasts into the open summer air. “So beautiful, so fucking beautiful,” he murmured as his eyes raked over me, the passion and love burning through my skin.

  Popping the button on my jeans he pulled them off my legs and drew me onto his lap. Taking my lips on him again he reached up to cup my breast, rolling my nipple round his thumb and finger making me gasp and grind my sex on his bulging jean clad lap.

  His hand continued down to cup my mound, slightly flicking my clit as he tugged my knickers to the side and inserted a finger before he took my breast to his lips, sucking and slurping the more aroused he got.

  My breath quickened and a low moan escaped my lips. “Oh Nate,” I sighed, letting my head drop back.

  “That feel good, baby?” he asked, groaning against the swell of my chest and entering another finger.

  “God, yes!” I cried, aroused beyond restraint. “I need you inside me, I need to feel you, Nate.” I whimpered as I rode his fingers.

  Laying me gently onto my back on the ground, he leaned up and pulled his t-shirt over his head causing me to take a sharp breath at the sight of his lean chest. God, this man was beautiful.

  He slipped off his jeans and boxers, and after leisurely sliding my knickers down, he loomed over me, nudging at my entrance with the tip of his engorged cock. My legs snaked round his back, thrusting my hips upwards, inviting him in. He pushed in, all the way to my womb. “Fuck, Liv!” he growled. “You never cease to amaze me how good you feel. You were born for me, just me.”

  Panting, I cupped his magnificent arse as I brought him in closer to me. I drew his lips down to mine as I lifted my hips to his relentless rhythm. His thrusts increased with every breath, pushing me nearer to my orgasm.

  “Yours Nate, always yours.” I screamed when he ploughed into me with everything he possessed, moaning as he neared his own release.

  “Come on baby, together,” he roared as he thrust deeper and harder.

  His beautiful, remarkable blue eyes that always made me melt when they looked at me, never left mine as I exploded round him and he detonated violently into me, filling me with his seed and his love.

  Tears streaked down my face as he rested his forehead against mine and kissed me tenderly. He caught my tears with his thumb as he wiped them away and placed them on his lips.

  “I love you Olivia May Thomas and I always will. I’ll never be far baby, always with you. You’ll never leave my heart. You own it Liv, you own all of me. Your beauty will follow me to the ends of the earth,” he whispered into me as he placed my hand over his heart.

  He rolled over and took me with him. His fingers gently stroked down my bare back, “You’re the other half of me, Liv. The angel of my soul.”

  We lay there in silence for a long time. I knew that I co
uldn’t tell him my news then. I couldn’t ruin his life like I’d stupidly ruined mine. One mistake would live with me forever, but I knew in those precious moments laid snuggled in Nate’s chest, that my life, from the instant he left the very next day was going to change. I wasn’t going to see Nate again, no matter how much love we had for each other.

  Chapter Two

  20 YEARS LATER

  “MATTHEW!” I YELLED up the stairs. “Will you get out of bed now, you’re gonna make me late on my first day.”

  Turning back to the kitchen when I heard his grumbled reply, I poured more coffee, trying to calm my nerves for my first day at my new job; Personal Assistant to the financial director at NSC Industries.

  I had worked as a secretary for the past ten years at a small bank but, as a single mum, I was struggling balancing the bills now that my savings had run out.

  I had applied to NSC as a receptionist but was absolutely thrilled when I went for my interview and they informed me that they were also looking for a personal secretary as one had just walked out without giving notice and left them in a mess. The salary was more than twice as much as the receptionists’ job, so I didn’t hesitate in accepting, even though my boss gave me the creeps, but hey! I needed the money badly.

  Matthew came sauntering into the kitchen and flopped into a chair. He was the most laid back eleven year old I’d ever known, and given the hugely terrifying circumstances he was put on this world, I was damn proud of him. He was mature and had a wicked sense of humour.

  “Morning,” he yawned. “Nervous, are we?” He grinned at me.

  “Just a bit,” I grimaced.

  “You’ll be great mum, you look very professional by the way,” he declared glancing at my outfit.

  I had a passion for clothes, along with Haribos and wine. I was constantly hammering my credit card and updating my wardrobe. It was my way of hiding the devastating truth to my life, hiding all the untold secrets and disappointments.