All of You Read online

  He gave her a genial, but sort of tense smile. “You’re probably itching to get out of here, anyway.” Danny stood up and walked into the kitchen. He grabbed his keys off the counter. “I’ll go warm up the car. Be right back.”

  Kat hated that she missed him already.

  See? Told you.

  Not. Smart.

  Kat told her inner voice to shut-the-fuck-up and tossed her cell back into her purse. She trudged up the stairs, found her shoes and socks on Danny’s bedroom floor, and sat on the edge of the bed to put them on.

  She inhaled deeply, not sure when she’d get to sniff Danny again, and looked around his bedroom. Taking it all in was irritating, interesting, and confusing all at the same time.

  Kat turned and stared at the mattress.

  She could only imagine the sheer number of women who had been on it and probably couldn’t imagine the shenanigans that Danny had participated in with them.

  It made her sick with jealousy, but also sad, because she had a pretty decent suspicion Danny hadn’t felt any less alone or any more satisfied afterwards.

  Which, upon further introspection, actually made her deliriously happy. Not that he’d had all that mindless, soulless sex, but because he hadn’t felt anything for those women.

  It was a thought that brought Kat a lot of selfish joy.

  Then she thought about all of the mindless, soulless sex he would continue having and that killed all joy.

  And made her want to vomit.

  Kat headed back downstairs and found Danny standing in the hallway, hands jammed into his jacket pockets.

  He glanced up at her expectantly. “Ready?”

  Kat paused on the last step, wanting to say something about what had gone down between them, but finding herself totally unequipped to identify her feelings – let alone verbalize them.

  “Danny…” she said, totally unsure of what her next words would be.

  “Yeah, Kat?”

  “I-”

  His cell phone rang. After Kat gestured for him to answer it, Danny slid it out of his back pocket…

  And Kat exhaled a long breath…because she had a sneaking suspicion that whomever was calling had just saved her from saying something very, very stupid.

  Danny checked the screen and inwardly cringed.

  “Is it Nathan?” Kat asked.

  “No…” Danny hit a button and slipped the phone back into his pocket. He smiled at Kat. “Nobody important. Now, what were you saying?”

  “Hot date tonight?”

  Kat’s tone suggested teasing, but the sudden stiffness of her smile screamed otherwise.

  Lie to her. Or change the subject. Or, better yet, pin her up against that wall until you both forget ex-fuck buddies, ugly pasts, phones, relatives, jobs, and the ten million reasons any relationship would never work between you.

  Danny headed in a different direction instead.

  “It was a woman. Samantha. Someone I fuck around with when she comes to town. Met her-”

  Kat lifted a hand. “That’s okay.” She managed a half-smile. “I think I get the picture. Don’t need all of the supporting details.”

  Danny knew exactly why he was spewing shit again, but, unlike earlier, this time his revoltingness seemed to do the trick.

  Kat stepped off the bottom stair and headed toward the front door. “I better get over to my sister’s or poor Nathan will be forced to form a task force and head a search party.”

  Danny wanted to laugh. Or at least smile.

  But all he felt like doing was punching something.

  Or puking.

  Or – and this was the weirdest urge of all – calling every woman he’d ever fucked around with and apologizing. Because it hadn’t really been him fucking them. It had been his body, but not his mind. Not his soul.

  Those women had been fucking, and had been fucked by, a robot. A shell.

  And, even though Danny knew not one single one of them would give even the tiniest shit, he still felt like shouting the profound truth he’d just stumbled upon to the world.

  To Kat.

  For Kat.

  Because of all the crazy shit that had been going on between them since last night.

  Actually, for the past year and a half since he’d met her.

  But Danny did none of that, instead just silently following her out the front door, pulling it shut behind them, and driving her home.

  They made polite chit-chat all the way to her apartment and even managed to laugh a few times, but things were different and they both knew it.

  Their unexpected, surreal moments together were coming to an end and it was time to get back to the real world. To extract themselves from the emotional and sexual vortex they’d been caught up in for the past day.

  When they got to her apartment, Danny insisted on doing a walk-through, just to make sure. After running out of valid reasons to stick around any longer, Danny finally left. Nothing profound was said and, really, what could either of them say?

  Danny left her apartment, but not the parking lot. Not until he’d kept an eye on Kat’s apartment while she showered, dressed, and did whatever else she needed to before walking out to her car forty-five minutes later.

  By the time she’d reappeared, Danny had made peace with his stalker-ish behavior.

  He was worried about her and he wasn’t taking his eyes off her until he knew she was safe.

  Period.

  Danny watched her drive off in the direction of Nathan and Stella’s and fought a strong urge to follow her.

  So when exactly does your watch end, officer? You gonna spy on her for the rest of her fucking life?

  Danny pulled out of the parking lot and headed toward his condo.

  Because Kat was not his to protect.

  Because she was going to spend time with her family – a family Danny was not, and never would be, a part of.

  Because he had to call Samantha and tell her he had a raging case of blue balls with her name all over it.

  Chapter Fourteen

  ‡

  Kat could affix a tight mask when she wanted to or needed to. And the several hours she’d spent at Nathan and Stella’s had definitely warranted one hell of a performance.

  Kat had managed to convince Stella she’d simply missed Nathan’s knocking both times. Never mind Nathan had fists the size of small cantaloupes and his knocking had probably woken up half the city block.

  When Stella had pointed that out, Kat had countered it by saying she’d taken a muscle relaxer for her leg and zonked out. Thankfully, Stella seemed to buy it hook, line, and sinker. Oddly enough, Kat had caught Nathan giving her a weird, furrowed-brow look that suggested he wasn’t quite as convinced.

  Good thing Nathan was the last person on earth who would pry.

  Once Stella’s concern had been quelled and her curiosity satisfied (because Stella was the first person on earth who would pry), they’d ordered pizza, busted open a bottle of cabernet, and spent the evening eating, playing with Gia, and chit-chatting.

  Well, Stella and Kat had chit-chatted.

  And so had Nathan and Kat.

  But, after a while, it became painfully obvious that Nathan and Stella weren’t speaking to each other unless absolutely necessary, which shocked Kat. And kind of worried her.

  Despite their ginormous personality differences and penchant for silly bickering, Kat knew they hardly ever fought. And Stella very, very rarely – if ever – ignored anyone.

  Not that she was above that sort of psychological warfare; it was just her huge mouth wouldn’t allow it. Stella would rather verbally assault and hound someone up and down than keep her thoughts and feelings to herself, so watching her freeze Nathan out was painful to watch.

  And going by Nathan’s tense expression and defeated body language, pretty damn painful to take.

  The few times he’d tried to touching her, Stella had shirked away, which was especially telling since Stella typically couldn’t keep her hands off Nathan. An
d the yearning on his face as he watched Stella’s every movement was awful. The man looked like a beaten, love-starved dog.

  Around eight-thirty, Nathan warmed up a bottle for Gia and walked back into the living room. When he leaned in to grab Gia off Stella’s lap, Nathan tried to meet her eyes, but Stella was having none of it. Kat gave Gia some kisses and a squeeze and Nathan carried her to her bedroom.

  As soon as he was out of earshot, Kat hissed, “Stella, what in the hell is going on?”

  “What do you mean?” Stella picked up her glass and gulped down the rest of her wine.

  “Why are you treating him like that?”

  Stella reared back, all faux innocence. “Like what?”

  “Oh, you’ve got to be kidding me! You are torturing that poor man! What the hell happened?”

  Stella slammed her glass onto the end table. “You know what, Kat, don’t feel sorry for him for one second!” She pointed toward the hallway. “He and Danny were shot at last week! Shot at. He didn’t tell me until right before you came over. And that was only because I could tell he was hiding something and forced it out of him. They had to pull their guns. Both of them ended up getting into a physical altercation with some perps.” Stella scoffed. “That’s how Danny hurt his shoulder, not at the gym.”

  Kat’s stomach dropped.

  Stella shook her head. “He lied to me, Kat. The one thing I cannot fucking handle. And he’s been lying to me for a goddamned week! It makes me sick!”

  Stella’s eyes filled with tears and a few ran down her cheeks. She dashed them away before pouring herself another glass of wine.

  “Stella, I’m sure he was only trying to protect you. I’m sure he-”

  “I. Don’t. Care. Lying is lying and I am so furious with him I could wring his neck with my bare hands!”

  Nathan appeared in the doorway of the hallway, arms crossed over his chest and muscles jumping in his clenched jaw. “Stella, I need to talk to you in the kitchen. Now, please,” he said quietly.

  “Screw you!” Stella shot back over her shoulder and went back to sipping her wine.

  Kat needed to get the hell out of there as soon as humanly possible, because her huge brother-in-law looked like he was about to lose his shit.

  “Uh, I should probably go,” Kat said, pushing to her feet.

  “No, no, no!” Stella shook her head vigorously. “You stay right there. If the liar has something to say, he can say it to both of us.” Stella shrugged. “Of course, whatever he says will probably be a lie, anyway, so…”

  Nathan’s eyes were glued to the back of Stella’s head and his terrifying jaw muscles were twitching like crazy. “I’m sorry about this, Kat, but it’s probably better you do leave. Stella and I have some stuff to discuss.”

  Kat didn’t need to be told twice.

  She stood up. “Yep. No problem.”

  “Oh, no you don’t!” Stella stood and turned to face Nathan, hands on hips. “My sister is staying! ‘Cause, guess what? She’s not a liar! But you?” She pointed to the front door. “You can leave! And don’t come back until you’ve figured out how to-”

  Nathan’s patience clearly hitting its threshold, he strode over to Stella and threw her over his shoulder. Nathan turned to face Kat, oblivious to Stella’s fists pounding on his back or the hushed stream of obscenities coming out of her mouth.

  “Sorry, Kat,” he said evenly.

  Kat waved off his words, already pulling her jacket on. “No problem.” She took one last look at Stella’s squirming, near-violent display and smirked at her brother-in-law. “And good luck.”

  *

  Nathan got Stella into their bedroom, shut the door, and tossed her unceremoniously onto the bed. When she scrambled off and tried to stomp around him, Nathan blocked her.

  Stella shoved at his chest, hard. “Get out of my way, Nathan! Or, so help me God, I will smack your face off!”

  Nathan grabbed her wrists and yanked her against him, loving the feel of her squirming and struggling against his body. “Oh, yeah?” he whispered huskily – sorry for his sin and pissed at Stella’s irrationality – but so fucking turned on he could hardly breathe. His lips curled. “I’d like to see you try.”

  Stella’s dark-brown eyes widened and her cheeks reddened as she pushed and pulled and did everything she could to free herself. “You must be out of your ever-loving mind if you think I’m going to let you touch me now. You’ll be lucky if I ever let you touch me again!”

  Nathan laughed. “Oh, you’re gonna let me…touch you and taste you and do whatever else I want to fucking do to you. Tonight. Right now.”

  She laughed right in his face – or as close as she could get, given their twelve-inch height difference. “Not only are you a liar, you are a delusional-”

  Nathan wrapped his right hand around the back of her neck and side of her jaw, holding her face still. “Listen to me…I did not lie to you. I withheld information I knew would upset you and needlessly worry you. I did it because I love you and I don’t want you obsessing over things I already have under control.”

  Stella jerked her head out of his grip. “Under control?” She scoffed and shoved at his chest. “I know you’re Mr. Big, Tall, and Strong, but – and I hate to be the one to break this to you – you cannot control bullets that come flying at you! And you can’t control bad guys coming at you when you’re not looking and hurting you – or…” Stella’s breath caught. “God, killing you, Nathan!”

  Nathan scoffed. “Nobody’s gonna hurt me. Or kill me.”

  “Yeah, ‘cause that never happens, right? No cops ever get killed in the line of duty! Nope, never happens! Especially not in one of the most crime-infested cities in this country!” She jabbed her finger into her chest. “I got shot! And I almost died! Remember that? And I’m not even in a dangerous occupation! So, yeah, not really beyond the realm of possibilities here, Nathan!”

  When Nathan didn’t respond, because he despised remembering that day, even for a millisecond, Stella huffed.

  She tried walking around him again. “Just leave me alone, Nathan. I can’t deal with your bullshit right now.”

  Nathan lunged, pushing her up against the closed door, face first. He fisted his right hand in the hair at the nape of her neck and shoved his left hand into the front of her jeans, inside her panties.

  “Get off me!”

  Nathan’s fingers found their destination and he groaned, loudly, against the top of Stella’s head when he found her already dripping for him.

  “Doesn’t mean anything,” she spat out, still struggling. “You know I get turned on when you press me up against stuff like this.” Stella gasped when Nathan slipped a finger inside of her. “Just because my body likes you right now doesn’t mean I do!”

  “That’s okay. You don’t have to like me right now. But you’re sure as fuck gonna come for me right now.”

  Nathan quickly unbuttoned Stella’s jeans, pulled down her zipper, and yanked her jeans down around her ankles. Two seconds later, his jeans were down, Stella’s panties were pushed to the side, and Nathan had positioned himself behind her amazing ass.

  Stella could hardly wait.

  She was still pissed and she was still scared, but, at this moment, her desire for Nathan was overriding all of that.

  Stella pushed her ass back against him and hated/loved his triumphant, husky chuckle. “Oh, yeah, Little One?” Nathan brushed her hair aside and lowered his lips to her ear. “Interesting…why don’t you tell me what exactly it is that you want, Stella?”

  She scoffed, but it was an embarrassingly weak one. “Nothing from you.”

  Nathan laughed again, the vibrations traveling through his chest and into hers, raising goose bumps everywhere. “Who’s the liar now, baby?” He buried his hand in her hair again and tilted her head to the side, exposing her neck.

  Nathan used his other hand to shove her panties down and then continued the brutal assault on her nether regions as he gently bit, licked, and kissed up
and down the side of her neck.

  “Damn you,” she whispered between pants. “You know I love that…”

  Nathan pressed a soft, sweet kiss to the sensitive skin behind her ear. “And you know that I love you.”

  Stella sagged back against him, eyes filling with tears. “Let me turn around, Nathan,” she whispered.

  Nathan loosened his hold and Stella turned to face him, tears streaming down her cheeks. His expression softened and his eyes searched hers as he brushed her tears away. “Stella…”

  Stella threw her arms around his neck, clinging to him when he lifted her up and held her against his body. She kicked at the jeans and panties around her ankles until she was free, then wound her legs around his waist.

  She cradled his face in her hands and pulled him down to meet her mouth, kissing Nathan with all of the passion, love, and fear she felt for him. And Nathan gave it right back to her, making love to her mouth with his until they were both too frenzied to wait a second longer.

  Nathan pressed her back against the door, grabbed her ass with both hands, and – in one smooth, hard movement – entered her completely.

  “Oh, God…Nathan!” Stella cried out as he stretched her. Filled her. She grabbed his face and went back at his mouth as he slammed into her again and again.

  Nathan broke their kiss and pressed his face to her neck, panting. “Stella…God…I love you…”

  A few more pumps and they broke apart together, crying out in unison, as the amazing waves of pleasure overwhelmed them both. After a few minutes, their heartbeats slowed, their breathing evened out, and Stella sagged in Nathan’s arms. She pulled on his neck until Nathan’s eyes lifted to meet hers. His old-soul, whiskey-colored eyes shone back at her with nothing but love and adoration and Stella knew she was the luckiest woman in the world.

  Stubborn, silly, adorable man.

  Stella pressed a soft kiss to his lips. “I love you, too. So very, very much. With every fiber of my being. For always.” Stella gripped his chin hard, met his eyes, and smiled her sweetest smile. “But if you ever lie to me or ‘withhold information,’ from me again, I will kill you myself. And it won’t be anywhere close to being as quick and painless as a bullet. Do you understand me?”