Indiscreet by Nicole French

6

“No.”

Benny mashed his lips around and pressed a hand atop his close-cut hair. “Is he always like this?” he asked me. “No, don’t answer that. I already know.” He turned back to Will. “You’ve gotten way harder to please living in solitary confinement, my friend. Tell me what the fuck is wrong now.”

Will rapped a knuckle on the double-paned windows of the sixth apartment we had looked at that afternoon. First had been a loft in Tribeca, then a townhouse in the village that was vetoed simply because it had street access. Two high-rise condos in Midtown, and a classic six on the Upper East Side. Every place had been gorgeous. Stunning. The kind of places where, well, a movie star would live.

And every single one Will had nixed almost immediately, much to the increasing irritation of Benny and the broker, Carol.

“It’s the windows,” Will said. “We’re too exposed here. Come on, Carol, there has to be something better than this.”

Benny, Carol, and I all stared out the massive picture windows that provided a panoramic view of Central Park. Several stories below, the trees that carpeted the park rustled noiselessly in the light wind, almost like feathers.

Benny sighed. “Seriously? This again? Who the fuck do you think is going to be looking in here? This is the twentieth floor, my friend, and the only thing you’re looking at is green. It’s twice what you wanted to pay, but it doesn’t get any more private in New York. You know this.”

“Private? Then what’s that?” Will pointed out the window. “Right there, I can see the twentieth floor of another building. And another. And ten more just like it. Where I’m sure about five different cameras are going to rent windows next week. Don’t tell me these fuckers don’t have telephoto lenses, Benny.”

Benny rolled his eyes. “Come on, man. This is New York. Pull the blinds and get over it.”

Will turned to me. “What do you think?”

I shrugged. “I like it.”

But I had liked every apartment we’d seen. John Lennon. Madonna. We’d be joining the ranks of some serious star power on this side of town. Walk-in closets. A view to die for. More space than two people would know what to do with. Truth be told, I thought every apartment we’d looked at was way too much. I would have been happy camping out in a studio for a few weeks, or, for the same price, a cheap hotel.

But a hotel wasn’t going to be good enough for the great Fitz Baker, and without fail, Will found some kind of problem with every place we’d seen.

Will snorted. “I’m being difficult, aren’t I?”

I continued to stare out the window. “I get it. You want to feel safe where you live. You don’t even want to be here to begin with, so I don’t really blame you for being picky.”

Will slipped a hand around my waist and pulled me close. “I want us to feel safe where we live. And I want to be here with you, Lil. So if you don’t like it, that’s important.”

I blinked up at him. I understood why we needed to stay together. On our way to meet Carol, Benny had asked the driver to pass Calliope’s street, which was already horded with cameras. Will was right. I was going to be a target for the press too, and Calliope’s walk-up didn’t provide anywhere near the security I would need.

But there was still a lot to learn about Will. A whole person’s worth of information, actually. There was a part of me that wondered if we weren’t diving in a little fast.

So I shrugged again. “It’s temporary. I don’t really care where we stay. As long as we’re safe, whatever you want is fine with me.”

Will examined me for a long second, then turned to Carol and Benny, who were both standing by the door, impatiently swiping through their phones. “Guys, could we have a minute in the place alone?”

They both looked up with something resembling relief, or maybe hope.

“Mr. Baker,” said Carol. “If this apartment isn’t to your liking, we really need to move on quickly before the last building’s manager goes home for the night.”

“Nah, we don’t have time for that,” Benny added. “You got dinner with Trish in a few hours. It’s this, or we keep looking tomorrow. Choose, Will.”

“We’ll take the apartment, all right? We just need a minute in it together.” Will’s tone turned to steel—one I was beginning to recognize. It was the tone he used to cut through the many voices that seemed to surround him here. Voices that wanted things from him. Voices he wanted to silence.

He took my hand and squeezed. I stayed quiet.

Benny sighed irritably, then turned to Carol. “Let’s step out and look at the paperwork, Carol.”

Carol nodded amiably, seemingly used to the unorthodox requests of high-profile clients. Since she was someone who specialized in showing these kinds of buildings, I wondered how many other famous people she’d met.

The door closed behind them, and Will took my hand and walked me through the rooms again. It was fully furnished—a corner apartment with three full bedrooms, a massive closet, and a huge living space that could probably accommodate a crowd over a hundred. Not that we would ever have that many people in here.

The farther in we walked, the more I shrank. The place was huge, and I was so small. What was I even doing here, in this world? Me, with my scuffed Converse and faded t-shirts. I didn’t belong here.

“Why did you send them out?” I wondered as I trailed a finger over the crown molding of one window.

“Because I was fucking tired of people,” Will said. He pulled me toward him. “And I’m worried about you. You’ve been too quiet.”

He released my hand and leaned back against the wall, then followed as I wandered into a bedroom.

“Would this be—would this be my bedroom or yours?” I wondered. Were we going to live here as roommates? Lovers? We had made up, of course, but I had no idea what this arrangement was going to entail. How do you move in with someone after knowing them—but not really knowing them—for a little over a month?

Will’s brows rose at the question. “You really think I would ever share an apartment with you and sleep in separate rooms?”

I bit my lip. “Honestly? I don’t really know what you want here, Will.”

“I swam a mile to get to you at three a.m., Lily pad. What makes you think I would ever find a couple of plaster walls between us acceptable? Why do you think I really sent out Benny and Carol?”

I blinked at the window. “I d-don’t know. Why did you?”

“Well, for one, I didn’t think they needed to be around when I stripped you naked.”

I swung around. “Wha-what?”

Will smirked, but behind the cocky expression was a bit of empathy. “It’s been two weeks. Two weeks since I touched you. Kissed you. Was inside you.”

My mouth dropped. “Will…”

“A couple of kisses on Benny’s roof aren’t enough, beautiful. Come here.”

I crossed my legs and leaned back against the windowsill. The city was at my back, the light shining from its rooftops behind me. But the only thing in the world that mattered seemed to be in this room. And here I was…frozen.

Will closed the door. There was the audible click of a lock. He paused.

“I swear to God,” he muttered.

“What?”

Will turned back to me. All of the stress, annoyance, and frustration of the afternoon seemed to have concentrated in his deep green eyes—the full extent of which was being fired at me in a very different set of emotions. Need. Desire. Lust.

Each of those fourteen days felt like anchors that Will’s heated gaze was cutting free. Other than today, it had been two weeks since I’d felt him touch me. Had his lips on mine. Felt that…moment…where his subtle domination of my body overwhelmed everything else.

Will made me feel big when the world made me small. And here, in this city, I felt smaller than ever.

“Lily,” he said, his voice low and serious.

“Y-yes?”

The heat on his face faltered slightly at the sound of my stutter, but only slightly.

“I swear, baby,” Will said. “I swear to God. If you don’t get your ass over here in three fucking seconds, I’m going to spank you until you are black and fucking blue.”

My eyes popped open. “Wh-what? You want to spank me?”

Will growled. Or maybe he laughed. I couldn’t really tell.

“Lil,” he said. “Get over here. Now.”

The palpable need in his voice set something free, like a spring that had been released. I didn’t walk. I didn’t run. I flew across the room and into his arms, accepting the kiss that was messy, raw, and practically shouted desperation. The two weeks we’d been apart felt like an eternity, and that Will-shaped space inside me needed to be filled. In every possible way.

The tension between us wasn’t fully resolved. Maybe it never would be. After all, he had deceived me for almost the entire time I knew him, and then, of course, I had left him cold. But even as the walls were closing in around us, both of us knew that this—this—was the only way that either of us would keep a finger on our freedom.

I hoped. Oh, God, I hoped.

“They’re going to come back,” I said, heaving for breath as Will’s teeth closed around my ear. My core, my center was already pulsing for him. “We should stop, don’t you think?”

In response, I was whirled around and shoved against the bedroom door. My shirt and bra were torn off, hips were pulled out, skirt yanked up, panties shoved down.

“Do you really want to stop, Lil?” Will growled. His tongue licked down my earlobe, and when he bit softly, I barely registered the clink of his belt unbuckling before his cock slipped between my legs. “Say the word, and I will.”

His hand found the fleshier part of my ass with a loud smack that echoed through the empty space. It was hard, with a sharp sting that made my desire even sharper.

“Say it,” repeated Will as he slapped me again. “Yes or no?”

“Mmmm.” I was practically wordless, shocked, yet pushing back into his harsh touch, tipped my hips to welcome him. “Y-yesssss.”

But he teased, having harnessed his need to keep me waiting.

“Fuck me, you’re wet.” Will shuddered as he gently thrust between my thighs, keeping his cock trapped between them, the friction creating a slippery preview of what was to come. “Always so ready. You need this as bad as I do, don’t you, baby?”

“Y-yes-Oh, God!” I whispered, long and loud as he breached my entrance. I did need it, but I still wasn’t ready to take him. The sheer size of him simply required more…time.

“Take me, Lil,” he said, wrapping an arm around my shoulder as he eased himself in, inch by terrible inch. “God, you’re so damn tight.”

“I…can’t…Will!” I gritted the words through my teeth. He was so big, and it had been so long. He almost—almost—hurt, but nothing that came close to how amazing he actually felt, to the exquisite match of our bodies together.

“You can, baby.” His low voice rumbled against my neck. “You can, and you will. Because you need to, and I need you to. Take it. Take me, Lily. All of me—for all of you.”

He sank in that final inch, sheathed completely, and stayed there, perfectly still except for the way I could literally feel him throbbing inside me.

“I could come like this, you know that?” His breath was hot over my neck, and his teeth grazed my nape slightly. “Being in you, feeling you squeeze my dick the way you do. Jesus Christ, Lily. Do that again.”

Instinctively, I inhaled, pulling up and in with my body, feeling the way he pulsed. I could come this way too. One swipe of his thumb, and I’d be a goner. I was so, so ready to let go.

Will’s big palms slid up my sides, dipping around my waist, pausing around my rib cage, feeling my curves before he cupped both of my breasts.

“Do you feel that?” he said as he pulled out almost completely, then sank back in to the hilt.

“Mmmm.” I was beyond words, my forehead pressed to the wall, urging him shamelessly to shove back in, again and again.

“Say it, Lil. I need to hear you say it.”

Out. Back in. His pace was immeasurably slow, centered while his hands kneaded my breasts in time with his movements. He tugged lightly on my nipples. I moaned.

Will paused. I pressed backward into him, urging him on, but he was resolute in his stasis. Then one hand left my breast and threaded into my hair, pulling it tightly so I was yanked against his chest.

“Say it,” he ordered.

“S-say what?” My stutter had become so much worse in the past few weeks, but right now, it wasn’t out of fear. It was from anticipation. Only Will had the power to undo me this way.

“You know what.” He yanked lightly on my hair. The slight pinch made me moan. “Say it, Lily.”

So I said the only thing I could think of that hadn’t been said. He had murmured the words to me, but I had kept them to myself, letting them sing inside my chest, a vulnerable gift I hadn’t quite been ready to give.

But now, the words sang. “I love you.”

Will’s entire chest relaxed. “Thank fucking God.”

In a blur of movement, I was flipped around and picked up, and Will attacked my mouth like he had been starved for days. He took three long steps to the windows, set me atop the deep sill, and plunged back inside me.

“That’s right, Lil. Spread out, just like that.” Will licked his thumb, then drew it down my torso, between my breasts, grazing my navel, and landing on top of my clit. “Fuck, I could eat you alive, you know that?”

I peered up at him. “Why don’t you?”

A sly half grin tugged the corner of his mouth, revealing one dimple that I wanted to lick. “You little vixen. Don’t tempt me.”

He leaned over and sucked on my lip, giving me a very good idea of what it would feel like to have that done lower down. He thrust deeper, and I moaned.

“Sometime soon, when I have more than five damn minutes, I’m going to spend an entire day with my face between your legs.” He pushed in again, and the friction of skin on top of skin, rubbing that sensitive spot, caused me to jerk against him. “Breakfast.” Thrust. “Lunch.” Suck. “Dinner.” Shove. “And every snack in between.”

He licked his lips––it was all too easy to imagine him licking me instead, and the idea was my undoing as he pulled my lower lip between his teeth.

“Will,” I hissed. “I’m…oh, God, I’m so fucking close!”

“Mr. Baker?”

We both jerked toward the door, where Carol was trying and failing to turn the knob.

“Mr. Baker?” she called again. “Everything all right?”

“Don’t stop,” Will whispered as he continued to pummel forward.

I arched back into the window, but right as a moan threatened to escape, it was clapped silent by Will’s big palm over my mouth.

“We’re just talking it over, Carol,” he called out, snaking his other arm around my back and yanking me close so we were chest to chest.

“Let go, Lil,” he commanded in a whisper only I could hear. The muscles carved into his chest, his abs, his hips, his arms—all of them clenched and rippled with each movement. He dropped his thumb down to my clit and rubbed. “Let go, baby. I’m right here with you. Let me fuckin’ feel it.”

“Anything I can help with?” I could barely hear Carol’s voice as my head tipped back again. The only thing keeping me fully upright was Will’s steel arm.

“We’re fine, Carol!” he shouted in a choked voice as he pistoned forward. “We’ll meet you out front.”

As the sound of her heels echoed down the hall, Will gripped my hips and pounded into me with everything he had. I exploded.

“Will!” The name erupted from me, a deep, visceral shout that was quickly swallowed by his kiss. I arched upward as my climax steamrolled through me, pounding me into the window along with Will’s unforgiving movements.

“Fuck, LILY!” he shouted in a voice that I swear all of New York could hear.

We grasped at anything and everything—limbs, fingers, hips, hair. Nothing was enough, and yet everything was too much as pleasure roiled through us both. Wave after wave. Sigh after sigh. Until finally, there was nothing left to release.

And then, at last, time and breath slowly put us back together.

“Well,” I said, still trying to catch my breath. “That was, um, unexpected.”

“That was needed,” Will corrected me gently. He cupped my face, urging me to look up at him. “Feel better?”

I nodded. “I do.”

His mouth quirked in a funny smile—one he reserved only for me. “So is this it? Is this home, at least for another two weeks?”

I glanced at the windows, which were, ironically, completely uncovered. If Will had issues before about snooping photographers, they were gone now.

“We’ll have to draw the blinds next time,” he said, with no little resentment as he read my thoughts.

Will slouched over me, skin meeting skin as he slid out. He pressed tender kisses up and down my collarbone, somehow still full of hunger, but a different sort. He needed to be close. We both needed to be close.

“Damn,” he muttered. “I wish we could stay here. I want to go to dinner with my mother like I want a hole in my head.”

He dropped his forehead onto my shoulder while I threaded a hand into his hair, combing it lightly through my fingers. My stomach dropped too at the mention of tonight. He wanted me to go, but if I was being honest, Tricia Owens-Baker scared the hell out of me.

I wouldn’t leave him alone in this, though. Not now. Not ever.

“I love you,” I said again, squeezing him with what little comfort I could offer with my small frame.

“Love,” Will repeated with no little wonder as he stood up and looked down at me. He pushed a strand of curling hair out of my eyes and smiled ruefully. “What’s that, huh? How would I ever know it from anything else?”

“Because you know me,” I said.

I cupped his face between my hands, enjoying the feel of his cheekbones under my thumbs. I tipped my head up to kiss him again, and his tongue slipped around mine delicately. Vulnerable.

“Then love is freedom,” he whispered between kisses. “Because that’s what I feel when I’m with you.”