A DEAL WITH MY BEST FRIEND'S HUSBAND

Chapter9

Nathalie.

I waved her goodbye and slid into the car. My breath caught completely in my throat as a large hand clamped down tightly over my mouth. I struggled to breathe as I frantically thrashed against the seat, hitting the person’s arm with all my strength, but he completely refused to budge.

Then, suddenly, the hand came off my mouth, followed by the click of a cigarette lighter. I clutched my chest tightly as I tried to control my rapid breathing, turning my head only to see Grayson laughing out loud like everything was the funniest joke in the world.

“This isn’t funny,” I said in a stern, hard voice. “You seriously scared me.”

He nodded, still grinning. “Yeah, I’m sorry. You actually look pretty cool when you're scared. How was the long meeting with the boring man?!”

I furrowed my brows in confusion.

“Arthur Harrington,” he cleared up my confusion with a smirk.

“It was fine, I guess,” I murmured.

“You seem exhausted. Let’s go out for a drink.” He tapped the shoulder of the driver in front, who had acted completely like a robot until that exact moment.

“Drink? Tired? I don’t think those words belong in the same sentence,” I pouted as the car started moving forward.

“In my world, they do! Let me show you how my world actually works.”

“I don’t think this is a good idea, and Nathaniel might not like it,” I mumbled, picking up my phone to see if he had texted me.

No texts. Mmh.

“f**k Nathaniel,” Grayson grumbled playfully. “C’mon, Nathalie. I covered up for you and got into major trouble with him, remember? You owe me.”

“Ugh!” I groaned, rolling my eyes. “You are way too persuasive.”

A few minutes later, the car stopped in front of a high-end bar. I stepped down, and Grayson led me straight to the bar counter where a group of young guys were already seated. Within the next few seconds, I figured out they were his wealthy friends.

I noticed one of his blonde friends kept his gaze locked completely onto me, but I ignored him. I checked my phone continuously for a text from Nathaniel in between sips of my drink. My heart tightened with every passing minute, seeing my inbox completely empty.

I kept drinking to numb the anxiety, and the bar around me started to sound way too loud. I finally picked up my purse and lazily walked toward the restroom.

I couldn’t tell if Grayson even noticed I left the table, since he was too busy arguing with his friends. I washed my hands in the sink and paused. Suddenly, a male—no, Grayson’s blonde friend stepped right inside the female restroom.

“This—this is not the men's restroom,” I stuttered, pressing my back tightly against the marble sink.

“You are clearly drunk,” he smirked, taking a slow step closer to me.

I gripped my metal lipstick tube tightly, ready to stab his eyes out if he laid a single finger on me.

“Stop moving,” I warned him, but my voice sounded way too slow and slurred from the alcohol.

He laughed mockingly, taking slow, predatory steps toward me.

“I’ll scream!” I shouted.

Right at that exact second, the restroom door burst completely open. I think it was the alcohol messing with my vision, but I saw a pair of very familiar blue eyes darkened with absolute rage. Nathaniel took quick, dangerous steps toward the blonde guy, fisting his hand and landing a brutal punch right against his cheek.

I flinched hard at the pure force Nathaniel used as he relentlessly beat the blonde guy onto the tile floor. The guy shuddered violently, his face pleading for mercy as it looked like the cat had completely caught his tongue.

Grayson burst into the restroom, his eyes darting towards me before he quickly tried to pull Nathaniel off, stopping him from beating the guy straight into his grave.

When Nathaniel finally stopped, he took a few heavy steps toward me. His eyes were still darkened with pure rage as he looked at me. I squinted my eyes in confusion, wondering why on earth he had that look on his face.

Before I could even process my thoughts, he grabbed my wrists and pulled me right out of the bathroom.

“You’re hurting me, Nathaniel!” I cried out, struggling to keep up with his long, angry strides.

“You never cease to amaze me.” His deep voice came out as a dangerous growl.

The moment we stepped outside into the parking lot, I yanked my hands away with so much force that I knew it would cause a bruise. He turned to face me sharply, his eyes flashing. “Get into the car, Nathalie.”

“NO!” I shouted back. Most of the people around the parking lot were turning their heads to see what went wrong, but Nathaniel’s security team quickly moved in, completely blocking the view.

“What did you just say to me?” His voice was calm, but a low, menacing growl laced underneath every word.

“I won’t get into the car! And why the heck did you bring so much security with you?!” I screamed at him. I couldn’t tell if the alcohol was messing with my senses, but my blood was boiling because of the way he thought he could just control my life.

“Don’t push me, Nathalie,” he warned, taking a threatening step closer to me, but I quickly took a step back.

My eyes stared at him in utter disbelief. How dare he say that to me? I thought. I gasped loudly as he suddenly took long strides toward me. Before I could even blink, his strong hands went around my waist, and he threw me over his shoulder in less than a second.

“LET ME DOWN!! LET ME DOWNNNNN!!” My voice came out as a loud screech, pulling the immediate attention of every single passerby.

At that moment, I was absolutely fuming. He marched over and dropped me into the passenger seat. He walked around the front, entered the driver's seat, and drove off into the night like a complete maniac.

“Slow down!” I huffed, tapping my feet relentlessly against the car floor in pure anxiety. He did not spare me a single glance. His fingers were clenched so tightly around the steering wheel that his knuckles were turning white.

The moment we reached my apartment building, I threw the car door open and stormed right into my apartment. I turned around to slam the door shut, but he was already one foot inside my house.

I wished with everything in me that I could slam the wood right into his handsome face.

“Don’t you dare,” he warned, looking at me like he could see right through my skull.

“Get out!” I pointed a shaking finger at the open doorway.

“Seriously, Nathalie? What is it with you and these clubs and bars?!” His voice was ragged, but low and insanely calm. However, his hands were clenched into hard fists at his sides.

“I can’t even go to a bar anymore, all because I’m with you?!” I rolled my eyes at him dramatically.

“A bar? I don’t want you anywhere near those places. I went looking for you, just to find you inside a male restroom with that piece of garbage!”

“It was the female restroom, you jerk!” I retorted in a shout. How dare he accuse me of that?!

“Call me that again, and I swear, Natha—”

“You’ll do what? WHAT!!” I screamed, walking further back into my living room. “I’m exhausted by your rules! I was the victim there! Why are you making me look like the bad guy?!”

“I know that, but you were in the male restroom,” he said, his heavy footsteps resounding right behind me. “Look me in the eyes while I’m speaking to you, Nathalie.”

I bit my lip hard, forcing myself to turn around and face him fully.

“I don’t want you drinking out. You didn't even realize you had entered the wrong restroom! I need you to be focused for a few months before I introduce you to my family. Why don’t you get that?!”

“Did you just refer to me as if I'm a mess?!” My voice cracked completely, the implication cutting deep into my chest.

“No! Don’t twist my words!” He took a massive step closer, until we were sharing the same breathing space.

“Don’t shout at me!” I cried out.

Suddenly, his strong arms pulled me closer to him, slamming my full chest directly against his hard, muscled body. He put a single finger up and gently wiped away a stray tear from my cheek. An intense, electric energy passed through both of us the exact moment his skin grazed mine.

The very next thing my brain could catch up with was my body turning desperately hot. Tears kept running down my eyes as our lips met, desperately sucking the sweetness out of each other's lips, our hands roaming with a frantic energy over each other’s bodies.

His voice dropped a whole octave as he pulled away slightly, his breath ragged against my mouth, his gaze burning into mine.

“Promise me. Don't let him be intimate with you.” Caroline’s faint, warning voice suddenly rang loudly inside my head.