Never Say Never

by ilovenaley

AU Nathan and Haley. Nathan stumbles upon a list Haley wrote that was never meant to be seen, which results in some drastic changes in their friendship.

10. Chapter 10

AN – Once again, thank you all so much for the lovely comments you continue to leave for this story and sorry I couldn't get this chapter out to you all sooner, but work continues to be extremely busy and I'm writing as quickly as I can – these long chapters seem to just take me forever though! :o)

As always a few words to those of you without accounts who reviewed so I couldn't respond personally… Mazzy – So pleased you liked the last update. I'm going to keep quiet about your Lily theories cos you'll find out soon enough and as for that kiss… I'm saying nothing! Hope you enjoy this chapter! BlueJean452 – So glad you enjoyed the last chapter and I hope you like this update too… Leah – So pleased to hear you liked the last chapter and Nathan coming home to see Haley. The Ryan/Nathan meeting is soon… and no – no kiss thus far! Hope you enjoy the new chapter! Keeta – Hope you got the email with the preview okay? So glad you enjoyed reading the last chapter and glad you like the changing feelings. Hope you enjoy the update! Lou – I'm so pleased you're enjoying my writing and the long chapters. I'm glad you're excited for the Ryan/Nathan meeting – I'm excited to write it – and Lily will be revealed very soon so I'm going to keep quiet. Sorry I couldn't send you the preview but your email address didn't show up in the review you left (try putting some spaces in it), but I hope you like this update! Audrey – I'm so pleased you enjoyed the chapter and the ending! Sorry I couldn't send you a preview but your email address didn't show up in the review (try putting some spaces in it). I hope you enjoy the new chapter though. Rachael – So pleased you're enjoying the story so far and that you're anxiously waiting for that kiss! I hope you enjoy this update! Anon – So glad to hear you're enjoying the story! Lily will be revealed very soon and the Ryan/Nathan meeting is coming up soon too! Hope you enjoy this chapter!

Right – as per usual I need to thank Kristen and Rebecca who do a wonderful job encouraging me to write and read through my long arse chapters before I post them – and generally put up with me!

I think that's all I have to say – so I hope you all enjoy the update!

Chapter Ten

"So this is where you've been hiding."

Haley jumped about ten feet in the air when she heard someone speak to the side of where she was currently running. She was using the treadmill at the gym and had over the past couple of days been successfully avoiding Ryan, or so she'd thought. She couldn't come up with the reasons as to why she hadn't been on a run with him since she'd cancelled on him at the weekend, but something had felt odd, and kind of awkward. Only now that he'd found her, things seemed to grow from feeling slightly awkward, to off the scale awkward. She didn't know if she should continue running, or whether she should slow the treadmill down, or if she should just stop it altogether. And then she started to panic even more because she was putting so much effort into thinking about how she should react to Ryan finding her here when it shouldn't matter that much to her… but she still didn't quite know what to do.

Ryan could see the slight alarm in Haley's eyes as they darted from left to right, not to mention the fact that he'd startled her when he'd finally spotted her running on one of the machines and decided to come over to talk to her. He was slightly pleased that he had decided to come to the gym for a workout on his day off and found her here and also slightly pissed that she'd actually been here. She'd been batting away his text messages like she was in the middle of the Wimbledon final and he didn't quite know what to make of that.

Luckily for Haley, Ryan decided to take the initiative as she was still in the middle of having a mild panic attack, and she looked down just in time to see his hand move over the rail and press the huge stop button. Immediately she felt the machine begin to slow down and she altered the pace of her legs accordingly. Only once she had stopped moving, she didn't know what the hell she was going to say to him, or what he was going to say to her for that matter, and that caused a whole new wave of anxiety to wash right over her. She actually wished that the treadmill was still running, at least that way she'd have something to occupy herself with, rather than having to just stand still.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to make you jump." Ryan apologised as he rested his hands on the railing at the side of the machine. He was trying his hardest to act nonchalant when actually on the inside a whole mix of emotions were running through his veins. He'd thought they were getting somewhere last week, and although she'd made a point to mention the fact that their trip out to see a film was not a date, he still liked to think that they were simply more than two training buddies heading out together. Weren't they supposed to be friends, even though he clearly wanted more with her? If that was the case, as he'd thought, then the fact that she was so very clearly avoiding him didn't make any sense whatsoever.

Haley licked her lips nervously, wishing that her water bottle wasn't on the floor because she could really do with a drink right about now. She couldn't bring herself to look at Ryan just yet, but she knew that if she didn't look like she was at least trying to look at him, things would turn even more awkward than they already were, which she honestly didn't think was possible. So she focussed on the clock which just so happened to be on the wall behind where Ryan was standing, and was conveniently located just above his head. She tried to gather her thoughts but she felt rather embarrassed that he had found her here and so they were all jumbled and nothing coherent or appropriate would form in her head. "I didn't think you were working today." She blurted out and then realised what she'd said and gasped slightly because she'd just openly admitted that she was doing exactly what he'd accused her of when he'd come over here to speak to her. She had been hiding from him.

Ryan felt his shoulders slump ever so slightly from her obvious mistake of an admission, but luckily for him, his arms were still resting on the side of the machine and so it wasn't entirely obvious. He felt slightly hurt that his words, which were meant to have been a joke, although he now knew it to be true, hadn't been returned in a jovial way by Haley. He wished that she would have at least pretended that she hadn't been avoiding him, if only to make himself feel a little better. However, he glanced down at the floor, took a deep breath and then brought his gaze back up to Haley's face, noticing that she still wasn't looking at him properly, even though she was pretending to. "Ah, so you were avoiding me then." He said in what he hoped was a light tone, hoping that he'd be able to mask his disappointment.

Haley slowly brought her eyes down from where she was looking at the clock over Ryan's head and cautiously met his gaze. She felt so horrible, because he'd done nothing wrong, yet she'd just completely disregarded him ever since the weekend. They were supposed to have gone training on Sunday and yesterday too, as well as this morning yet she'd managed to text back a couple of excuses about why she couldn't make training, and had surreptitiously been going to the gym instead, at times when she knew Ryan wouldn't be working to keep up her exercise regime. And the fact that she couldn't quite put her finger on why she'd done that made her feel absolutely awful. "I'm sorry, Ryan, I've not been ignoring you… it's just…" She really didn't know what to say.

"Just what, Haley?" Ryan prompted, half wanting to know what was causing her to pull away so clearly from him and half fearing what she was going to say.

Haley closed her eyes and leaned back against the opposite rail of the machine, shaking her head at herself. "I don't even know!" She exclaimed in frustration, wringing her hands together in front of her body, wishing she could give Ryan a more coherent answer.

Ryan could see how tense she was and he didn't want her to feel that way, even if she had hurt his feelings a little by kind of ignoring him for the past couple of days. So he decided to help her out. "So you don't know… how about we start on Saturday and why you didn't want to go and see a movie with me and we can see if you can explain that before we get onto why we've not been training together in a couple of days?" He asked softly, smiling at her when she opened her eyes to let her know that he wasn't mad at her, even though he was slightly on the inside.

She could explain Saturday easily enough, it was the other stuff that she couldn't get her head around. "Well, Nathan came home on Saturday from Madrid, just for the night, and so I needed to kind of spend the night with him instead." Haley explained before quickly adding an apology onto the end of her sentence.

Ryan shrugged, not quite knowing what to make of that. He knew from conversations he'd had with Haley that she and Nathan were close, but he didn't quite understand the current of jealousy which ran through his veins because he had no right to feel that way. Nathan had been in her life a hell of a lot longer than he had. So he sucked it up and smiled at her once again. "Okay, so that explains why you bailed out on me on Saturday, what about training?"

Haley didn't know what to say because she didn't understand the way she was feeling at all. It wasn't that she didn't want to see him, it's just that it felt a bit… uncomfortable maybe, being around him. She kind of knew, in a way, that he wanted to be more than friends with her, which is why she'd made a point to clarify that their trip to the movies wasn't a date. But it wasn't just that. There was a whole host of emotions running through her mind at the moment and they never seemed to relent, causing her to feel incredibly confused. So she thought it best to distance herself from him. But she sometimes felt a bit confused about Nathan too and never felt the need to pull away from him, which she put down to the simple fact of knowing him longer and also the fact that she was so used to having him in her life. How the hell could she explain that to him? How could she explain that it felt weird, all of a sudden for him to be in or near her home which she shared with Nathan, when she didn't even understand it herself? "I don't know about training. I…" God, she needed to come up with an excuse quickly. "I guess I just got bored with the park."

"You got bored with the park?" Ryan responded incredulously, raising his eyebrow at her. What kind of an excuse was that? Hadn't she told him that she preferred running in the park a couple of weeks ago?

"Yeah." Haley shrugged, blushing because that sounded absolutely pathetic, even to her own ears.

"Okay… so why didn't you just tell me that and ask me to meet you at the gym?" Ryan questioned.

"Because I know how much you enjoy running there and I didn't want to ruin training for you." Haley responded lamely, but quickly, so she was rather proud of herself for that at least.

Ryan frowned, because clearly she wasn't telling him something, and she obviously didn't want to either give her rather ridiculous responses to his questions. So instead of continuing to ask questions, he decided to leave it be. "Well, shall I meet you at the gym tomorrow morning then so we can continue training, since you've suddenly become bored with the park?"

"Yeah, that sounds good." Haley said and then nodded her head at him.

Ryan considered her for a moment, before he nodded his head at her too, straightening himself up a little. He tapped the railing of the treadmill a couple of times, which he was still clinging onto, wondering what else he should say to her. The air around them both was starting to become filled with awkward tension. "For the record, Haley, I enjoy running with you wherever, the park, the gym… it doesn't matter where we are."

Haley blushed and chewed on her lower lip, giving Ryan a small smile because she didn't know what to say to him now, especially after the way she'd treated him these past couple of days. She felt really bad about it all.

"Tomorrow, here, at seven thirty?" Ryan asked as he stretched his arms out in front of him.

Haley nodded her head again a couple of times and then watched as Ryan nodded his head once at her before he turned and headed towards the free weights.

~*~

Haley sighed as she dragged the laundry hamper along the hallway, over the tiled kitchen floor and through to the small utility room which housed the washing machine, wanting to put a wash on before she headed down to the gym to meet Ryan for the second morning this week. Nathan had been up at the crack of dawn and had somehow managed to get out of the house before she'd even had the chance to get up herself, despite the late hour he had got home last night, or more accurately, the early hour he'd returned home from Madrid this morning. She honestly didn't know how he did it, how he was able to function on so little sleep and still work these crazy hours. She shook her head as she grabbed the dirty clothes and placed them inside the machine, honestly believing that Nathan was some kind of superhero or something.

Realising that Nathan hadn't even placed his dirty clothes from his business trip in the hamper, and seeing that she had enough space in the machine to fit some of his washing in too, she wandered back along the corridor towards his bedroom. Opening the door, she walked inside and saw that his suitcase lay completely zipped up on the floor. She turned it on its side and unzipped it, grabbing his shirts, boxers and crumpled suits from the case, placing them in two different piles, one for washing, and another which needed to go to the dry cleaners at some point.

Picking up the pile which contained the washing, she carried it carefully back down the hallway to the utility room and then put a wash on. Taking a quick sip of the coffee she'd left abandoned on the countertop in the kitchen and wincing at how cold it now was, she then walked back towards Nathan's bedroom. Once inside, she picked up one of the three suits which were all so crinkled she knew he'd probably appreciate the gesture if she were to get them dry cleaned for him, instead of having to do it himself, and so she carried them all over to his bed, dropping them in a heap on top of his covers.

She began to check the pockets of his suits, finding crumpled Euro notes in most of his pockets and she couldn't help but giggle at him, why he didn't just put the money in his wallet she'd never know. Picking up the last of his suits, which just so happened to be her favourite one; it was dark grey and when he wore it with his blue shirt and tie, he looked so incredibly handsome, she began to check the pockets. She found three twenty Euro notes, two business cards and a scrap of paper with his scrawl on it. Placing the suit in the pile with the other two which she had already checked, she then gathered all of his bits and bobs and moved them over to his desk.

It was then as Haley placed the money, business cards and scrap of paper down on the desk that she caught a glimpse of what was written on the piece of paper. "Nathan's List". She instantly looked away from the paper and glanced behind her, feeling as if she'd just seen something that she wasn't supposed to have seen. And she wasn't supposed to see it, was she? She knew automatically what that list was; it was Nathan's fantasy list, the one that he had written all those weeks ago when they had first talked about their arrangement.

The curiosity to see what he had written down on it was so strong; it was almost overpowering any other thought which occasionally fluttered through her brain. She so very desperately wanted to read what was on his list, she wanted to know what he wanted to do with her, and she wanted to know what his desires were. And it was only fair that she got to see what was written there, wasn't it? After all, he knew what was written on her list, didn't he?

But then there was this conflicting thought which screamed back at her, despite how much she tried to push it away. It told her that he hadn't wanted to share his list with her, and that she should respect his privacy, and his wish to keep his list as a surprise. But then the thoughts of what could be written on there flowed through her mind and the curiosity she felt only grew, so much so that she could actually feel it burning inside of her. The counter argument was fading away incredibly quickly, until it was barely a whisper inside of her brain, and then, there was nothing, no voice telling her not to do this, no voice telling her to not read it.

So, like an excited child who had found the secret stash of presents weeks before Christmas Day, she picked up the scrap of paper and began to read.

~*~

Sorry gorgeous, not going to be home for dinner, don't wait up x

Haley sighed slightly in frustration as she read Nathan's text message, although she wasn't at all surprised that he wouldn't be joining her for dinner. It was only his first day back in the office since his trip to Madrid, and he had to be absolutely knackered given the little rest he'd had, but she knew that he wouldn't let something as trivial as needing sleep stop him from working and doing a good job. There was a wave of anger which quickly rolled through her body; didn't he know how much damage he was doing to himself by working this hard? The conversations she'd been having with Luke lately flittered into her mind and it was those thoughts which made that anger she felt stay inside of her, simmering underneath the surface of her skin instead of dissipating. She knew, deep down that Nathan was using work as a distraction from Lily, it was clear as day to her the more she thought about it, and she knew she desperately needed to talk to him about what had happened and how he was, or rather wasn't, dealing with it all. She just couldn't figure out what would be the best and most effective way to draw him into having a detailed conversation about it.

She'd managed to make some headway of sorts at the weekend, but it wasn't enough. She needed him to talk to her openly about it, instead of him clamming up and getting defensive and withdrawn like he always did whenever her name was mentioned. She felt rather lost and a bit put out, because she wanted to be there for her best friend, she wanted to be there to listen to him, to talk to him, to comfort him, but he just wouldn't let her all the way in. He hadn't let anybody in over the five years that had nearly passed.

She took a deep breath and cleared her mind, because she knew if she continued to think about this, she'd only end up going round and round in circles, and the result of that would be driving herself crazy with frustration. So instead she turned the TV off and picked herself up from the sofa, beginning to think about what she'd have for dinner, seeing as she'd now be spending the rest of the evening by herself.

She wandered into the kitchen and opened up the fridge, screwing her nose up at the contents that were inside. Not feeling like cooking anything extravagant just for herself, she pulled out some ham and proceeded to make herself a sandwich for dinner.

Picking her now completed sandwich up from the counter, she took a bite and began to think about that list of Nathan's which she had found earlier this morning. Truthfully, she hadn't been able to get his list out of her head all day. She'd been fantasising about it with every spare second she'd had, it had been rather distracting, in a good way. Chewing thoughtfully, she pondered over whether Nathan's list was slightly more personal than hers had been, because he had written it knowing that they'd be acting it out together, whereas hers had been written with no one particular in mind. And that meant that these were things which he wanted to do with her, didn't it? She felt a warm glow rush through her veins at the thought and couldn't help the smile which stretched slowly over her face.

She did wonder how he thought he was going to be able to do one particular item on his list though, without disclosing it to her, anyway. She couldn't seem to work out how he'd be able to orchestrate it, because it would be absolutely impossible. Finishing off her sandwich, she grabbed the dish cloth and wiped the counter down methodically, finding herself lost in her thoughts. She managed to bring herself back from her daydreams and glanced warily at her phone, remembering his text message to her about working late. She then glanced up at the clock as an idea popped into her head. If he was going to find it difficult to organise then the least she could do was help him out a little, right? Before she completely lost the fleeting thought, and her nerve, she threw the dish cloth into the sink and marched towards her bedroom.

Haley couldn't quite believe what she was about to do and with every step she took towards her bedroom, she had to mentally block out the voice which was telling her not to do this and instead she concentrated her efforts on gathering some of the inner confidence Nathan had inspired after they'd ticked off the mirror sex from her own fantasy list. Walking over to her walk in wardrobe, she picked up the bag which contained the underwear she'd purchased on a whim, or perhaps subconsciously intentionally, during her lunch hour at work and tipped it upside down, the black lace contents falling into a heap on the floor.

She quickly changed into the new underwear and then stood in front of the mirror, blushing slightly as her eyes swept over her figure in the reflection. The underwear was much sexier than anything she'd usually buy and the thought that she looked slightly ridiculous crept annoyingly into her mind. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes for a brief second, but quickly opened her eyes again when her brain screamed out at her to not do this once again. However, as she stared into her eyes in the reflection in the mirror, she summoned her inner goddess and decided, without hesitation that she was going to do this. And if Nathan didn't like it, then she'd endeavour to get him back in some way, because she'd be absolutely humiliated and completely mortified if he just told her to leave. She might even throw herself out of the nearest window rather than run out of his office, should the need arise.

Ten minutes later, after having poured and drank a few sips of vodka from the freezer for Dutch courage, Haley wrapped her knee length coat around her body some more and crossed her legs, watching the lights of New York city pass her by as she headed towards the Financial District in a cab she'd managed to hail outside of the apartment. She continuously chewed on her lip nervously, because only now had she realised that she was breaking rules, rules which she had demanded so as to keep the boundaries and lines of this agreement clear between herself and Nathan. She released her lip from the grip her teeth had on it and wrung her hands together in her lap, frowning at herself. She should tell the cab driver to simply turn around and take her home? She shouldn't be doing this; she shouldn't be on her way to Nathan's workplace, ready to pounce on him once she got herself into his office. It was dangerous and wasn't she being a complete hypocrite after she'd demanded that he sign a piece of damn paper saying that he'd agreed to her rules? Hadn't she signed that paper too? What the hell was she doing?

She'd been so caught up in thinking about what she was planning on doing, and had got so caught up in how she felt about it, in inspiring herself to find the confidence and in gathering the courage she needed to actually move herself out of the apartment that she hadn't given an ounce of thought to the implications of her actions.

It was a Thursday. Not a Saturday.

Nathan would know, without question, that she'd found and read his list.

If they actually went through with this, and Nathan didn't scream and shout at her for being so foolish, would they still tick something else off on Saturday, or would this be all they'd do this week? She frowned as she pondered this, because she wanted them to still be able to do something on Saturday, Saturday's were their time together almost and just the mere thought of them not ticking an item off either list had her feeling rather empty and despondent.

She sighed heavily and was filled once again with thoughts that she shouldn't be doing this, yet somehow, the words she needed to speak in order to get the taxi driver to turn around and take her back to the apartment wouldn't form. She simply couldn't get them out of her mouth. And while she lost herself in worry and confusion, while she thought deeply about whether the lines she'd so carefully drawn in this agreement had become unmistakably blurred, or whether it was simply some irrational urge she had to prove a point to herself, she conveniently didn't linger on the issue of why she was doing this, because things were already too convoluted for her to analyse these actions any further than she was already doing.

Before she knew what was happening, the cab driver shouted at her through the glass, telling her that she needed to pay and that they'd arrived at Nathan's office. With a shaky hand, she reached down for her pocket and pulled out some notes, handing them to the man before stepping out of the car. She turned herself around and watched as the car sped away, wishing that she'd stayed inside and was now on her way back to the comfort and safety of the apartment instead of standing on a street in the middle of the night. However, she eventually turned around when she saw the tail lights from the car turn the corner and was met with the intimidating height of Nathan's office building, huge and towering above her, making her feel rather small and weak.

Gathering her resolve, she squared her shoulders and told herself that she was being stupid for thinking such things. She walked confidently into the building, her high heeled back shoes clanking on the marble floor and she told herself once again that she was really helping Nathan out, and if he didn't want to tick this item off his list tonight, then he shouldn't have written it down in the first place. The fact that he had written it down meant that it was something he wanted to do anyway, so he should be pleased that she was taking the initiative and had made her way down here when he was working so late. And besides, after the number of hours he'd been working lately, coupled with all the travel he'd been doing, he could probably use the distraction she'd inevitably provide.

She strode self-assuredly along the marble floor, intent on getting to the elevators as quickly as possible with Nathan's words from the mirror night echoing in her mind, giving her the confidence to do this, despite the fact that most of her brain wanted her to feel embarrassed, timid, shy and inexperienced. He thought that she was good enough. She repeated it like a mantra, in time with each click of her shoes as she floated towards the corner of the vast lobby which housed the elevators. Her hands were in the pockets of her coat as she walked, and she had a smile on her face as memories of that amazing night continued to filter through her mind, pleased that she could draw on those thoughts for a moment of inspiration and encouragement, wondering if that had been Nathan's intention when he'd said those words to her.

"Excuse me, miss?"

The noise broke through Haley's Nathan induced haze and she halted her movements, turning around to face the voice, seeing a man dressed in a security uniform standing across the foyer with his arms placed on his hips, looking slightly menacing. She gulped, instantly realising that she hadn't factored in enough thought to this little plan of hers, evidently, because she hadn't counted on there being an actual issue with her getting into the damn building.

"Can I see your pass, please?" The security guard asked, eyeing her sceptically. It was on its way to ten o'clock in the evening, and he had no idea why this young lady was walking into this office building so late at night. He puffed out his chest in an effort to look more authoritative, rather pleased that she had come into the building really because it meant that his monotonous, boring night shift became that little bit more interesting. At least he'd be able to say that he'd talked to someone other than the cleaners and that dude who worked late all the time.

Haley gulped again, audibly this time and her hands began to shake in the pockets of her coat. She felt rather exposed, standing in front of this man, despite the fact that she had a coat wrapped incredibly securely around her body. It felt as though he could see through the material and see what she had on underneath. And she didn't want any other man to see her dressed like she was, the underwear she was wearing was supposed to be for Nathan's eyes only. "I'm sorry, I don't have one." She responded, the sound of her voice shocking her slightly, which was ridiculous, but she couldn't help how nervous she now felt. She berated herself and once again squared her shoulders, realising that if she was going to get past this man, she needed to come up with a decent plan, quickly. She wasn't going to give up without a fight, especially after all the internal monologue it had taken to actually get herself here in the first place.

"Do you mind telling me what you're doing here at this time of night then without a pass?"

~*~

Nathan dragged both of his hands through his hair, gripping onto the ends of his locks in complete frustration, before wincing in pain slightly as he realised that he was pulling just a little bit too hard. He'd had the day from hell, literally, and was utterly exhausted. He'd arrived back in New York at some ridiculous hour in the morning, and for whatever pointless reason, he'd gone home to the apartment for what had to be the shortest sleep in the history of all mankind, and then had crawled into the office for a seven thirty meeting, arriving an hour early so that he could prepare adequately for it.

He also desperately missed Haley while he had been away in Madrid, and although the only thought that had entered his head as he walked into the apartment earlier that morning had been to get to his bed, he'd snuck along the corridor to her room and had a peek through the door, just to make sure that she was okay. He found her sleeping soundly, her breathing regular and almost silent and he hadn't been able to keep the smile from forming as he watched her resting, completely enchanted by simply the sight of her. Being away from her for any length of time had always been hard, and in a way, leaving her again after coming home at the weekend had been harder for him than leaving her earlier on in the week in the first place.

But he was home now. And work was just as demanding, if not more so that it had been before the trip to Madrid. He was working on a presentation and the asshole from Accounting hadn't mailed him the right slides. Of course, the idiot had gone home for the night which meant that instead of being able to finish the presentation tonight, he was going to have to add it to his already overflowing To Do List for tomorrow.

With a heavy sigh he saved the presentation as it was and flipped back to the designs he'd been correcting before he'd got sidetracked with the presentation. He lost himself in changing the fonts because the client had now decided they wanted that to change that too. He knew, obviously that it was their prerogative to change things, and he should probably be grateful that they were choosing to do so fairly early on in the project but he still found it frustrating. Especially when, if he didn't have to do this, he could be heading home right about now and possibly be spending some much needed quality time with Haley.

His phone rang, and he stopped his work to glance at the caller ID, seeing that Lucas was calling him yet again. He growled in frustration and silenced the call, grabbing his phone in his fist, wishing that he could throw it against the wall, but he managed to stop himself at the last minute, because he couldn't be bothered with the hassle of having to get a new one, and equally he had no spare time to head down to the phone shop anyway. He released his grip and dropped the phone to his desk, pissed off that he'd been interrupted, once again by Luke.

His brother had been calling him incessantly for the past week, even when he wasn't in the country he'd still call. And it was always about the same subject, always about whether he'd changed his mind about going to see Lily with him and Brooke next weekend. He gritted his teeth together as his phone buzzed, indicating that he had another new voicemail, but he didn't bother listening to it because it'd only say the same thing as the one he'd left at lunchtime. Instead he made himself fall back into his work, putting up that internal wall and blocking out any thought which had Lily attached to it.

He didn't know how much time had passed, but the next thing he knew, the door to his office was opening. He glanced down at the clock on his computer and noted that it had just passed ten o'clock and as far as he was aware everyone else on his floor had gone home many hours before. Grant had popped his head through at eight o'clock and given that he was the big boss around here, Nathan had presumed that he was the last to leave. He then lifted his head up and could have sworn that his jaw dropped wide open because Haley was stepping inside. He didn't know if he was just exceptionally tired and was hallucinating or whether this was reality and was really happening.

Haley closed the door to Nathan's office and turned herself around, leaning her back against it as she rested her eyes on Nathan, who was sitting behind his desk looking completely and utterly confused. The vodka she'd drunk earlier was making her feel a little more confident and bold than she would usually be, and she was glad of that because if it hadn't have been for the vodka, as soon as the cab had pulled away from the curb of the apartment, she would have screamed at the driver to stop so that she could go back to the safety of their home, instead of having the courage to come down and do what she was about to do in Nathan's office, of all places.

She was smiling at him with that incredibly sexy grin of hers, and she was leaning back against his office door with her legs crossed at the ankle, wearing that pair of ludicrously expensive shoes he'd inadvertently paid for. Nathan couldn't help the way his gaze wandered up from the pair of black shoes, up over the curve of her legs which were covered in a sheer pair black pair of tights, until he got to her knees where the bottom of her coat lay. She had on her black, wrap around coat which showcased her slim waist off to perfection and then his eyes wandered up towards her face, stopping to admire the curls of her brown hair, until his gaze rested back on that sexy smile and those deep brown eyes of hers, which seemed to have an incredibly naughty glint in them. She really did look absolutely stunning, but then again, to him, she always did. He quickly reined in his wandering mind and pushed his swivel chair behind him, standing up so that he could walk to the other side of his desk, his mind suddenly piecing together the information which had been momentarily blocked from his brain by just the sight of her. "What are you doing here, gorgeous? I told you I'd be working late." He said as he rested his hands behind him on the back of one of the chairs which faced his desk.

Haley licked her lips as her eyes ran hungrily over his body. His suit jacket and tie had been discarded during the day and he had a white shirt with deep blue stripes on and a pair of grey trousers. The shirt was tailored enough so that she could see his defined chest underneath and it nipped in deliciously at his waist, and she closed her eyes for a second, remembering the deep V of his pelvic bone which resided underneath the material, longing to run her tongue along it for some obscure reason. She had to bite back the moan which threatened to escape from her mouth at just the thought of tasting him, of having her tongue on his skin and she felt this fire of desire rush through her veins. She opened her eyes once again and considered his question. What was she doing here again? She could barely remember, but then as her eyes skimmed around the room, images of Nathan taking her against the wall, of her leaning against one of those chairs as he pounded into her from behind, or better yet, him thrusting into her as she lay spread across his desk, raced through her mind and her reasons for being here suddenly became very clear to her. This may well be one of Nathan's fantasies but it was quickly becoming one of her own too.

Nathan couldn't help but be dragged in by the wild look she had in her eyes once she had opened them again. Her eyes were flying around the room and he glanced around where he was currently standing, wondering what was causing her to act this way. "Gorgeous?" He asked again, prompting her to shift her eyes back to meet his. He frowned as he looked at her, sure that he could see this hunger in her eyes but wondering why that was, and given how exhausted he was, he couldn't very well say that his perceptions and Haley-reading skills would be all that accurate at the moment. However, when a coy smile began to play on the corner of her mouth, he wondered if he had been right, if that really was hunger he could see in her eyes, and not just any hunger, hunger for him.

Haley could see the way he was studying her and she could feel herself beginning to flush under his scrutiny. She knew what she was doing was so out of character but those thoughts of being with him in this room kept fluttering in her mind, reminding her of why she was here and also of how much she wanted to do this for him. So she took a deep breath and once again summoned her inner goddess, ready to begin to play with him, because she had no doubts at all that this would be extremely fun. "Well, I was happily putting my washing in the machine this morning and had some spare room in the machine so I thought I'd go and grab your dirty clothes too and wash them for you." She started.

Nathan didn't know where the hell she was going with this. So she did some washing for him, that was quite nice of her, wasn't it? She knew how much he hated doing it himself, but still, that didn't explain why she felt the need to come down here and tell him about it. "Okay, thanks for doing my washing for me, Hales." He said, the confusion clearly evident in the tone of his voice.

Haley raised her eyebrow at him, wondering if he'd be thanking her once she revealed what she'd seen as she was going through his suits. "I also dropped your suits off at the dry cleaners." She said nonchalantly, though continued to grin widely at Nathan, the vodka making her admission that little bit less stealthy than she'd actually intended.

Nathan clearly was missing something here. She felt it necessary to come down to his office at some ridiculous hour of the night to tell him that she'd done his washing and had taken his suits to the dry cleaners? "Okay, thanks." He replied sceptically, and then shook his head at her, because she was acting incredibly weird.

Nathan wasn't getting it. She decided to give him a more obvious clue, just to help him along a little. "You don't have a camera in this office, do you?" She asked as she looked around the ceiling. Haley knew from her brief inspection that he didn't, and was glad because she'd have been completely mortified if he did, and would have probably backed out on her plan completely, not that she expected him to have one in here anyway.

"Er, no Hales, there's no camera in here. They're just in the lobby by the elevators." Nathan responded and wondered what the hell she was doing, being here in the first place, and switching gears from talking about washing to security cameras. "Have you been drinking?"

"I might have had a sip of something before I came here, but I'm not drunk Nathan, so don't you dare start that crap again." Haley said sharply, indicating that the topic of conversation was now closed, just so that she could get back to playing with him. "So you're sure there are no video cameras in here?"

Nathan shook his head at her. "No, Hales, what's this sudden fascination with video cameras about?" He asked, really not knowing what in the hell had gotten into her. He pushed himself up off the chair he was leaning on and walked over towards her, seeing her eyes darken slightly as he did so, which once again only served to confuse him. He stopped once he was right in front of her and reached out a hand, gently placing a lock of her hair securely behind her ear, leaving his hand to linger in her soft hair.

God, Haley could smell him now that he was this close to her and she closed her eyes for just a second as she felt Nathan's hands begin to play with her hair, the hunger and desire she felt for him growing even more than she'd felt previously. She opened her eyes and found that she was met with the piercing blue of his eyes staring right back at her, and she couldn't help the smile that covered her face, unable to hold it all in any longer. "I can't believe you want to film us having sex!"

Nathan immediately narrowed his eyes at her and then connected the damn dots as he dropped his hand from her hair. "You read my list." He stated, wanting to be pissed off at her for doing so but equally knowing that he shouldn't have left it in his suit pocket of all places. He watched as Haley nodded her head and he groaned. "Why did you have to do that?"

"I didn't want to read it, Nathan, but it was just staring at me when I was emptying your pockets and I couldn't seem to control my hands, and they just kind of picked it up… I tried to stop myself but I was just too curious…" She said and then raised her eyebrow at him as she took in his increasingly narrowed eyes. "Are you annoyed at me?"

Was he annoyed at her? He wasn't sure if annoyed was the right word. He was more pissed off at himself for leaving the damn list somewhere so obvious, though he hadn't known that she would go rooting through his pockets in all honesty. "A little bit, Hales, I kind of wanted some of it to be a surprise…" He whined and then pouted a little bit, because now she knew everything which they had to tick off both of their lists.

Haley smiled up at him from underneath her eyelashes before she lowered her gaze down to his shirt, noticing that he'd unbuttoned the top two buttons at some point during the night while he'd been working away. She breathed in deeply as she reminded herself of why she had come here again tonight, the images of them having sex together in various positions returning to her mind once more. "Well, you managed to surprise me with the pool table, so I suppose it's my turn to surprise you, huh?"

Nathan looked down at her, once again with an incredibly perplexed expression on his face. "Well… seeing as I know what's written on your list, gorgeous, and you now know what's written on mine, I'm not really sure how you'd manage to do that."

Haley licked her lips while she moved her hands up towards his body until her fingers gripped onto the material of his shirt, pulling him towards her so that her mouth was level with his ear. "What do you think I'm doing here, Nathan?" She muttered into his ear.

Nathan didn't have a clue why she was acting like this, and he didn't have an answer to her question either, especially when she was acting so strangely. "I have no idea, because all you've done so far is talk about washing and cameras, and my list… I don't know why you couldn't have just waited until I got home, or told me about all of this tomorrow actually."

Haley pushed herself away from the door and then took a step forwards, causing Nathan to stand upright instead of be leaning towards her, and she closed the distance between them. "Isn't me coming here a surprise? I seem to remember it was the first thing you had written on your list – 'have sex in my office,' right?" She returned as she released her grip on his shirt and spread the palms of her hands out on his chest, feeling the definition of his muscles through the material while she looked up at him from underneath her eyelashes coyly, licking her lips once again.

Nathan's eyes nearly popped out of his head as the realisation and purpose of Haley's impromptu trip to his office dawned on him finally. "Hales, we can't do that here, now… what the… I mean…" He stuttered, bringing his hand up to run through his hair, hoping that the action would somehow mean that he'd be able to organise his thoughts a little better than the jumbled mess they currently were and he also hoped that he'd actually get his head around what she was saying to him.

Haley moved her hands over Nathan's chest until she got to the third button on his shirt, and deftly began to unbutton it, following with the rest until she'd managed to unfasten them all. "Sure we can do it now, when the hell else were you going to get me to come down here?" She asked as she ran her eyes hungrily over his bare chest, moving her fingers up his abs until she reached his shoulders, pushing his shirt down his arms and then discarding it beside her, bringing her hands back to his arms and then once again resumed with running her fingertips over his extremely well defined body.

"True, but, Hales, it's not Saturday." Nathan stated, wondering why in the hell he wasn't just shutting the hell up, because his cock was already hard and the thought of her coming down here purely to act out an item on his list was making him even harder, and then the thought of actually taking her on his desk like he imagined nearly caused him to rip that coat and all her clothes off her body and take her right this instant.

Haley moved her eyes away from his fascinating chest and looked him in the eye, cocking one of her eyebrows again. "So how exactly were you planning to do this on a Saturday?" She questioned, pleased that he was arguing with her a little bit about this, because it showed that he cared and respected the rules of their arrangement. She was highly aware of how hypocritical she was being at the moment but the desire to have him was proving too much for her to challenge.

Okay, so he clearly hadn't thought of the logistics when he had written that one down on his list. How exactly did he plan to make that particular wish come to fruition on a Saturday? He pondered this for a while, because it was serving as an extremely welcome distraction from the thoughts which were currently running through his head. However, he must have really been lost in his thoughts because when he looked down, ready to tell Haley that he didn't know how he was going to orchestrate that particular item, he found that she was promptly pulling his boxers and his trousers down his legs. "Jesus Christ, Hales," He said as he exhaled a harsh breath and watched as she sunk to her knees in front of him, all thoughts of the arrangement and trying to be a gentleman fluttering out of his mind completely. Besides, it seemed that whether he wanted it to or not, this was going to happen today, Thursday night be damned. And who the hell was he kidding, he wanted it, he so very, very badly wanted it.

Haley looked up at him as she gripped his hard cock in her hand, pumping her fist up and down the shaft once, smiling as she heard a quite groan escape from his lips. She then slid her lips over the head of his cock and sucked him into her mouth before he had a chance to argue any further with her, though judging from the guttural groan he let out as her lips moved down his thick shaft, she didn't think that he'd be complaining or making excuses about this any longer.

"God, Hales!" Nathan moaned as he felt his cock reach the tip of her throat, before she raked her teeth over his shaft as she pulled her mouth back to the tip of him, using her tongue to then run languorously around the tip before slipping his cock back into her mouth. She was absolutely amazing at giving head and he couldn't stop himself from telling her so. "God, your mouth feels so good."

Haley moaned around his cock at his words of encouragement, and she then heard Nathan murmur an expletive under his breath, obviously enjoying the vibrations of her voice. She felt his hands move down to her head as she found a steady rhythm of moving her mouth over his cock, using her teeth each time she moved her mouth back up his shaft, which he seemed to like a lot given the low groans which were falling from his mouth.

Nathan wrapped his hands around her hair, creating a ponytail and used his hands to help guide her mouth on his cock, not that she needed any help whatsoever because she was doing a fine job of it by herself, he just wanted something to grip onto truthfully. He glanced down, previously having his eyes clenched shut and he was met with Haley gazing up at him from her kneeling position, still with her damn coat on, and he couldn't help but be mesmerized with the image of his cock disappearing into her mouth as it was. It had to be one of the hottest things he'd ever seen and caused his orgasm to come much quicker than he'd have liked. "Fuck!" He managed to grate out loudly before his body tightened and shook with the restraint he was using in order to prevent himself from slamming himself into her mouth like he so desperately wanted to.

Haley took in as much of his cock as she could, swallowing as he came inside of her mouth. She continued to watch him as he panted heavily over her, loving the way her name fell quietly from his lips. She moved her mouth back up his cock, running her tongue lightly over his shaft, causing him to hiss slightly before she released him from her mouth. She smiled sheepishly up at him as he reached down to help her stand.

Nathan watched her lick her lips as she stood in front of him and it had to be one of the most erotic things ever, knowing that she was tasting him on her tongue. He couldn't help but smirk at her and he quickly wanted to return the favour. He reached out, wanting to pull her close to him but she stepped to the side quickly with a playful grin spread across her face and he couldn't help but growl at her, because she looked really, really sexy, her hair all messed up because his hands hand been running through it, and she had that look in her eye, the one which he knew meant trouble was coming, only he hoped it was trouble of the good kind.

Haley ran her tongue over her lips once more, closing her eyes and moaning softly as she continued to taste Nathan in her mouth. She then opened her eyes and continued her playful grin. "You taste good." She whispered to him, her grin widening when she saw the shocked look in his eyes as he processed her words. She was standing with just enough distance between herself and Nathan to mean that he couldn't reach out and grab her, which was perfect.

Oh yes, this was definitely trouble of the good kind. Nathan couldn't believe the words which had just fallen from her lips. Once he'd managed to take in what she'd just said to him, he watched with rapt fascination as she moved her hands across her body to untie the waist band which was wrapped around her coat. Once she had it open, her hands moved up to undo the buttons which ran down the side, and she was taking her sweet time which annoyed him incessantly, so he stalked forward because she was being a tease and he didn't like it one bit.

Haley tried to bat his hands away but he gave her a meaningful look, to which she sighed and relaxed her hands at her sides. The buttons were incredibly fiddly and she honestly didn't think he was going to be able to take it off her without ripping it off her body. He was muttering incoherently under his breath as he concentrated so hard on taking it off her, words such as 'stupid fucking things' and 'why would you make it so impossible to get off' falling from his mouth, causing a small smile to play at the corners of her mouth at his irritation with her choice of clothing.

Finally, Nathan released the last button and pulled her coat off her form, revealing her body to him. He actually gasped as his eyes fluttered over her body, because what he found underneath her coat was not what he was expecting to see at all. She had on lingerie. And that was it, no clothes, just lingerie. And not just any kind of lingerie, she had sexy, black, see through lingerie on, which made his cock hard again the instant his brain processed how incredibly sexy she looked. He took a step back and allowed his eyes to run freely over her body, taking in every single curve, the suspender belt and the stockings, together with those damn shoes of hers. It was really fucking sexy, but he wanted to see all of her. "Take the coat off." He demanded in a low, guttural voice.

Haley complied with his request and shimmied out of her coat, hearing the thud of the material as it hit the floor. She gazed cautiously at him, but quickly realised that he more than liked what he saw and she finally took a deep breath in relief. However, she wanted to be sure, because, although she was a little bit better than she'd previously been, she was still a little bit insecure when it came to things like this. "Do you like it?" She asked hesitantly.

Nathan couldn't believe she needed to even ask him that, wasn't his reaction obvious? "Yes I fucking like it." He growled as he stepped forward, closing the distance that was between them. While the lingerie was incredibly sexy, he wanted to see what was underneath it even more. He wasn't entirely sure if he could resist the urge to grab the bra and rip it off her body given that he could see right through it, so instead he reached out and ran his fingers from the centre of her chest down over the soft lace of the suspender belt which sat over her sheer panties.

"I wasn't sure if it was too much. . ." Haley said softly as she bit down on her lip, biting back the moan she could feel rumbling up her throat when she felt his fingertips run along the lace of her suspender belt.

He looked up at her face and saw that she was all flushed and was biting down on her lip. It was times like these that he understood just how insecure she could really be. He wanted her to be comfortable around him, after all, he was her best friend. And although she was getting much better, because the Haley before they'd started this arrangement would never have been able to turn up to his office like this, she still wasn't entirely sure of herself. But he didn't mind because her innocence was such a turn on. He loved it when she blushed like she was doing just now; he loved watching it spread down to her chest. His eyes continued to run over her body, dressed in the sheer, black, lacy lingerie with the shoes he had bought her on her feet, just waiting for him to do something. "Oh no, Hales, it's never too much." He responded in a sultry voice, and licked his lips in anticipation of peeling, or ripping, the lace off her body in just a second.

Haley smiled up at him coyly and stared into his eyes for a second, seeing that they had glazed over and were now a much darker, dangerous shade of blue. She felt the wetness begin to pool in her panties, wondering how it was possible that someone could turn another person on so much by just a look. She felt his hand move over the lace which covered her hip and his hand trailed down her thigh and she shivered in response, unable to control how her body reacted to his touch, and not wanting to control it either.

Nathan continued to run his hand down her thigh and smiled when he felt her shiver, loving the way her body reacted to him. "So where were you thinking of doing this?" He asked and took another step forward so that he was invading Haley's personal space, pulling her body into his and leaning his head down to kiss the side of her neck slowly, softly. Right now he wanted to focus on Haley, and the way she felt under his fingertips, and eventually his body, nothing else.

"Seeing as this is your list, I guess wherever you want, Nathan." Haley returned in a quiet, breathy voice as she leaned her neck to the side, allowing Nathan all the access she could give him, feeling his tongue touch her skin and run in languorous circles around her pulse point, causing a light moan to fall from her lips. His stubble was scratching deliciously along her neck, causing her entire body to tremble with desire and anticipation. "You can have me however you want me." She ran her hands down his chest, feeling her fingers move over his gorgeous muscles, relishing in the feel of his skin underneath her fingertips.

"However and wherever I want, huh?" Nathan mumbled against her skin unable to keep from smirking against her neck at her words, because there would be no way in hell that she'd want to know what was currently running through his mind in that precise moment. He moved his mouth up towards her jaw, and eventually moved his lips to her ear, his tongue running along the edge of it, before he whispered hotly in her ear. "Are you sure about that, gorgeous?"

"Mm hmm." Haley nodded and managed to move her hands around to his back, running them down to his bare ass, squeezing him lightly, feeling his hard cock press into her stomach. She was so caught up in the feel of him, of simply being here with him that she was sure he could have asked her to do anything and she would have happily agreed. Knowing that she was doing this for Nathan, knowing that she was helping one of his fantasies come to life made her feel good, really good.

"Careful, gorgeous, you don't want to know what's currently running through my mind." Nathan warned her as one of his hands moved up to cup her jaw and his mouth moved down from her ear to her neck again, continuing his assault on her skin.

"Hmm, I don't know, I think I could probably handle it." Haley replied, lolling her head back once again and closing her eyes as she felt Nathan's nose run along her jaw, before dipping down to her neck again. She loved the feel of him against her skin, the stark contrast of the softness of his lips and tongue moving along her neck compared to the scratchy stubble prickling her skin, it felt simply delicious.

"I don't know about that." Nathan murmured against her neck with a smirk, working hard to bite back the scoff which was threatening to escape from his mouth, because in all honesty, she had absolutely no idea what he was currently thinking about and he was absolutely positive that she wouldn't have been able to handle it, no matter if she thought otherwise. He also knew that if he scoffed at her she'd end up going off on one about how she 'could handle anything he threw at her' but in all seriousness, where sex and his mind was concerned, that was not the case.

Haley felt Nathan's hand move down the side of her neck which wasn't currently being attacked by his mouth and over her shoulders, the lightness of his touch causing her skin to tingle. She moaned when his mouth moved up to her ear and he grasped onto her earlobe, tugging it lightly, while his hand continued its trail down her back, causing a rush of yearning and longing to sear along her veins.

Nathan moved his hands down to her hips and gripped onto them as he quickly took a step forward so that Haley now had her back right up against the wall. He dragged his hands up the sides of her body from her hips roughly, moving his hands up over the lace of her bra, causing an incredibly sexy moan to fall from her lips when his fingertips brushed over her nipples. "Well seeing as you're intent on leaving this decision up to me, maybe I'll take you against this wall…"

Haley felt Nathan push his hips into her body, feeling his cock press against her stomach, causing her entire body to shudder, from not only his words but also from his actions, as well as in anticipation of what was to come. Her hands trailed up his back and she wove her hands into his hair, tugging on it sharply, causing him to hiss and bite down on her skin. "Oh, God." She half whispered, half moaned as images of Nathan pounding relentlessly into her while she had her legs wrapped around his waist came rushing through her mind.

"Would you like that, me fucking you against this wall?" Nathan grunted as he moved his hands around to her back and unclasped her bra, desperate to feel her chest flush against his without any material getting in the way.

Haley felt Nathan grab a hold of her bra and pull it off her body and as soon as she was free of it, he thrust his hips into her body, crushing her back against the wall. She was panting, feeling absolutely desperate for him, and also for some friction of any kind. "Yes." She breathed as her hands wandered down his back, pressing his body closer to hers even though it was impossible for him to move any further towards her.

Nathan growled at her, rather shocked at the primal noise which escaped through his mouth and moved his hands down her body, over her ass and down to her thighs, following the suspender straps until he got to the top of her stockings, and then he lifted her up off the ground. Her legs automatically wrapped around his waist and his mind went absolutely crazy as he thought of taking her right there, against the wall of his office. He pressed his chest against her and felt Haley begin to grind herself onto his cock, creating the delicious friction he'd be searching for earlier.

"Mmm." Haley moaned as she continued to rub herself up against him, her fingers tangling in his hair as she felt his mouth move languorously along her neck and down her shoulder. Nathan's hand began to move up her thigh and he gripped onto her ass before slipping one of his fingers towards her pussy, pressing into the lace, causing her to moan when he rubbed it around in a circle right outside her entrance, and she threw her head back against the door and pushed herself into his hand, always wanting more.

Nathan couldn't help but smirk at her, loving the way she was when she was like this, so relaxed and simply allowing herself to feel. It also turned him on so much to know that it was his ministrations which were causing her to act that way, and he was also rather proud that her panties were absolutely soaked through. "Well someone's a little bit eager tonight, and it isn't even Saturday." He said with a smirk on his lips, continuing to run his finger around her entrance, knowing that he was driving her crazy but enjoying himself far too much to stop.

Haley most certainly didn't like the whole teasing thing, especially when he wasn't applying more pressure where she craved it. His finger was still strolling around her entrance at a torturous pace, and she desperately wanted more so she leaned her head forward, the fire burning in her eyes and proceeded to bite down on Nathan's neck and then shifted against his finger harder. "Don't you dare tease me, Nathan Scott." She growled against his skin.

With another smirk, Nathan quickly kicked his trousers, boxers, socks and shoes off and then pulled her away from the wall, moving his hand back down her thigh and turned them both around, hearing Haley yelp in the process because she clearly didn't know what was going on. "As much fun as fucking you against the wall would be, I've been imagining it happening on my desk." He murmured in her ear. "And besides, we can save the wall for another weekend." He carried her over to the desk and then tried to let go of her, but she clung to him, her hands locked at the back of his neck while she continued to grind away against his cock. The friction she was creating was really intense and he had to clench his teeth together to stop the groan from actually coming out because given the way she was acting this evening, he knew that would just spur her on. He reached around and unlocked her hands from around his neck and pulled her off his body. He then he took a step away from her, purely so that he could admire her gorgeous, sexy body as she sat, naked and wanting on his desk.

Haley completely drank him in as he stood in front of her, fully erect and simply divine. Her eyes ran over every single muscle of his body, the need she felt for him growing to exponential levels. She lifted her feet up from their dangling position on the edge of where she was sitting and pressed the heels of her shoes into his desk, pushing herself backwards so that Nathan could hop on too.

"Where do you think you're going?" Nathan asked as he grabbed onto her ankles, pulling her back toward the edge of the desk, and inevitably himself. She was now sat at the edge of his desk again, her body close to his and he stared down at her for a moment, completely mesmerised by her beauty, before he decided to tease her some more. Fiery, snarky Haley was always fun to play with. "What did you say before? Did you say you wanted me to tease you?" He asked her as he moved his hands up her legs, bending them at the knee and gripped on her thighs tightly. He felt her struggle against his hands, though her efforts were completely futile because he wasn't letting her go anywhere.

Haley arched her chest, giving up her struggle because it was useless; he was far too strong for her to contend with. She leaned her hands back behind her on the wood of his desk, which caused her breasts to push out towards Nathan and she saw the shift of his gaze. It made her smile slightly, because he clearly wasn't as in control as he was making out before she collected her face again and glared at him, but she was biting down on her lip at the same time and she knew that Nathan would understand that she wasn't as angry about this situation as she was pretending to be. "It's not very nice to tease, Nathan." She whimpered and then sighed to herself, hoping that he'd give this up soon, because she was absolutely desperate for him to be inside of her.

"It isn't, huh?" Nathan asked and then smiled as he watched Haley shake her head at him, continuing to bite down on her lip and still trying to shift under his hands slightly. Her eyes kept darting to his cock and then back up to his face which was making him feel even more desperate for her, because he kind of liked the way she was looking at him. "You don't like this at all?" He moved his hands further up her stocking covered thighs, unclipping the suspender belt from the stockings before moving his hand up further, loving the feel of her skin and the straps of the suspender belt underneath his fingers. Bringing his hands around her hips and taking a step closer to the desk, he deftly unfastened the belt and pulled it off her body, allowing it to fall to the floor beside him. His nose was running along her jaw, breathing in her scent as he leant over her slightly while his hands travelled along the line of her panties from her back and then once he got to her hips he hooked his index fingers into the waistband of her tiny, black, sheer panties and slid them back and forth along her pelvis.

Haley let out a moan as she pushed herself up off the desk and latched onto Nathan's neck, her fingers burying in his hair. She could feel his fingers running lightly over her hip, until he finally brought one of his hands further down inside of her panties, grazing the area just above her clit, causing her to shudder with need. "God." She whispered, her entire body feeling extremely sensitive, given the way that Nathan was currently working her up.

"Sorry, gorgeous, what was that?" Nathan asked, really enjoying the way he was torturing her because the sounds that she was making and the way that she was desperately clawing at his back was so hot.

"Please, Nathan, stop teasing me, I need you… please." Haley begged in a breathy voice, hating how desperate she sounded but she couldn't help it, her entire body was craving him in ways she didn't think was possible. Her hands ran down to his neck and over his strong shoulders, where she dug her nails into his skin in frustration.

Simply the sound of Haley's moaning and her pleading words caused Nathan to groan and his cock completely demanded his attention so he stopped touching her and pulled his hands out of her panties, hearing Haley's growl of frustration as he did so. He grasped his cock in his hand, running his thumb over the head and spread the wetness around before he pumped himself slowly for a minute while Haley's breathing grew shallower as she watched him and his own breathing quickly followed suit.

Haley watched, completely mesmerised as Nathan continued to run his hand up and down his stiff cock. She wanted to be slightly angry, because he was giving himself relief and in the process was making her wait for hers, but the sight of him doing that to himself was far too hypnotic for her to even consider interrupting. So instead she moaned, her eyes completely trained on the way he was working himself over because she couldn't bring herself to look away from him for even a second.

Nathan eventually released his cock from his hand because if he didn't stop now then he was going to end up coming again before he'd got inside of her, and he most certainly didn't want to do that. He licked his lips as he took a step forward towards the desk and placed his hands inside her panties, watching as he silently communicated to Haley that he wanted them off. She leaned back a little and lifted her hips up off the desk, allowing him to pull her panties off in one swift move, watching as they dropped onto the floor, leaving her in just her heels and her stockings. He pressed one of his legs between her own before he leaned forward and left a line of hot kisses along her shoulder to her ear. His cock was pressed against the sharp bone of her hip and she was grinding against his leg desperately again as he moved his hands down her arms and held her wrists to the desk, restraining her so that she couldn't move.

Haley continued to move her pussy against his leg but she wasn't getting the friction she craved because it wasn't enough. She felt Nathan begin to kiss her neck and jaw, and all she could hear was the sound of herself whimpering as she finally gave her futile attempt at relieving herself up. She pulled her leg up and wrapped it around his hip, trying to see if this position would work a little more in her favour.

Nathan ran his tongue along her neck, before he finished his line with a hot, wet kiss right on her pulse point. He pulled away from her and looked into her eyes which were shining bright as she groaned in frustration at him once again. "I think I'm going to take my time with you tonight," He murmured, a small smirk playing at the sides of his mouth.

Haley shook her head furiously, closing her eyes, willing this sweet torture to end. "Please, Nathan, I need to come, I need your cock inside of me, don't make me wait any longer." She pleaded.

Nathan couldn't help himself as he groaned and ground his cock into her hip, releasing the grip he had on her wrists. As soon as she was free from his grasp, he felt Haley wrap her arms around his neck, her fingernails scraping against the skin there as she leaned forward and kissed his chest, his shoulders, any bit of skin that she could get her mouth to fiercely, obviously trying to communicate just how much she needed him, but he refused to relent. This was, after all, his fantasy, they were ticking an item off from his list on this unorthodox night, and he wanted to be in complete control. "Not yet, Hales, but don't worry, I'll make you feel so fucking good." He promised.

Haley held onto Nathan's hair tightly and pulled his face back from her neck so that he was looking in her eyes. "You'd better, Nathan." She growled, making sure that he knew that she was holding him to that promise he'd just made, because she was about to combust with frustration and he'd barely even touched her yet.

Nathan untangled himself from her once again and pressed on her stomach gently, causing Haley to lay down on his desk. He watched as she leaned herself up on her elbows, obviously intent on at least being able to look at him instead of the ceiling, which he could understand. His eyes moved down her body while his hand trailed up towards her breasts and he circled one of her nipples, watching as her eyes fluttered in response. Truthfully, he wanted to be inside of her just much as she wanted him to be, but he wanted to play a bit first, purely for his own amusement, and eventually hers.

Haley felt him roll her nipple between his index finger and his thumb, causing a quiet moan to fall from her lips and she closed her eyes, completely giving in to the sensations he was causing her to feel deep inside of herself. She felt him release her nipple and she opened her eyes when she felt his fingers begin to trail down her chest, watching him as he focussed on the path his hand was currently taking down her body, seeing him lick his lips, making her want him that much more.

Nathan continued the trail down Haley's body and allowed his fingers to drift down towards the smooth skin over her pussy, following the movement fervently with his eyes. He hesitated for a slight second, so that he could rake his eyes up Haley's body, and he found that her chest was heaving and her arms were trembling as she continued to lean on them and he immediately grew concerned. "Lay down, properly." He commanded, not wanting her to cause herself any damage because she was too stubborn to not see what he was doing. Luckily, she complied with his demand, and feeling satisfied that she wasn't straining herself, his eyes moved back down to where his hand was placed, right above her soaking pussy. He lowered his hand, sliding two fingers between her slick, wet lips and moved them lower, circling her clit with his thumb as he slid his fingers slowly inside of her. He watched in rapt fascination as Haley arched her back off the desk and her whole body shuddered now that she had got what she sort of wanted.

"Oh, fuck yes." Haley moaned as she felt his fingers press ever so slowly inside of her and then halt once they were situated deep inside. She clenched her inner muscles around his fingers, wanting more from him because if he didn't start to move them soon she was actually going to have a complete hissy fit. Purely for the reason that he knew exactly what he was doing, and equally he knew that he was pissing her off too.

Nathan groaned as he felt her muscles clench around his fingers desperately and he began to move his fingers inside of her slowly, twisting and curling them up at the ends while he applied a little pressure to her walls, just to see what her reaction was going to be because he knew that this was clearly not all that she wanted from him.

Haley lifted her hips up off the desk slightly, which was rather difficult because her legs were still hanging over the edge so she didn't quite have the leverage she needed. She groaned in frustration and then felt Nathan slowly begin to draw his fingers out of her, running his fingers along her upper wall, causing her to then moan audibly at the sensation they created. She began to move her hips to meet the slow thrust of his fingers, whimpering because the pace just wasn't enough to satisfy her at all. "Mmm, harder and faster, Nathan, please." She moaned breathily, really hoping that he was going to comply with her request.

Hearing her ask freely for what she wanted caused a surge of primal desire and pride to course through Nathan's veins and he shifted his hand, angling it differently so that he could go deeper inside of her, not ready to replace his fingers with his cock yet, even though he was absolutely desperate to bury himself inside of her.

Haley felt Nathan's fingers begin to speed up a little and she moaned when she felt him add a third finger to the two which were already moving inside of her. She lifted her hips off the desk as best she could given her current position which caused his fingers to move deeper into her pussy, exactly what she had been looking for and she moaned in contentment, through the speed at which he was moving was still incredibly slow and a complete hindrance compared to how she wanted them to be moving inside of her. "Oh god, please."

"Please what, Haley?" Nathan asked as he twisted his three fingers insider her, causing her to buck her hips off the desk and groan at him. He wasn't expecting an answer though and he already knew what she wanted, so this time, when he moved his fingers out of her body, he slammed them back inside of her pussy and began to move them at a furious pace.

"Oh, Jesus Christ." Haley cried out as she sucked in a harsh breath and her body dropped down to the desk, finding herself completely tense given how quickly Nathan's fingers were moving in and out of her body. This had been exactly what she'd wanted from him. She could already feel her orgasm beginning to build, and it actually felt heavenly.

"Is that what you wanted?" Nathan breathed out, grunting as he fought the urge to pull his fingers out and push his aching cock inside of her. He really wanted her to come more than once tonight, especially after the amazing blow job she'd already given him, it only felt fair. And so he continued to move his fingers, this time arching all three of them as he quickly dragged them along her walls, once again causing her hips to buck off the desk.

"Oh, fuck . . . yes." Haley responded, and clenched her hands into fists at the sides of her body, loving the feel of his fingers but craving his cock even more. "I want more, I want you…" She breathed out, moaning as his fingers continued to pass over her walls.

"You'll have me but I want you to come like this first." Nathan responded, his fingers continuing to move inside of her at the fast pace he had set. He could see that she was close to coming; he could see her body tensing as she lay on the desk in front of him. Her eyes were clenched shut and she was breathing in deeply, like she was desperate to get some air in her lungs. He reached his free hand down her thigh and lifted one her legs so that her ankle sat on his shoulder, and Haley automatically moved the other leg up so that it too was resting on his shoulder. She felt so much tighter in this position and he was practically shaking with the anticipation of what his cock being inside of her was going to feel like with her legs on his shoulders like this.

Haley felt his fingers continue to move inside of her, the feeling that much more intense given the new position of her legs being on his shoulders and his thumb began to move over her clit, rubbing tight, hard circles over it which was all she needed to just let go, especially with the promise of his cock being able to be inside of her once she had done so. She shuddered and moaned as she came, screaming out Nathan's name, her inner walls clenching around his fingers, though he wasn't relenting in his pace as wave after wave of pleasure rolled over her, her eyes remaining clenched shut the entire time.

Nathan didn't stop moving his fingers inside of her, not even when Haley started to whimper, because he enjoyed the feeling far too much and her moaning was really getting to him in a good way. Once she had come down from the orgasm, she opened her eyes and met his stunned and incredibly needy gaze, because in all honesty he was pretty much ready to fuck the hell out of her.

Haley's breathing was incredibly heavy and she was struggling to make sense of anything after her intense orgasm, but the one thing she did know was that she wanted Nathan, she wanted him, right now. She had no idea how after coming so hard, she could still be craving more but she didn't feel half as satisfied as she should have done. "You…" She panted in a quiet and longing voice. "I want you inside…"

The desperation that was clearly evident in her tone was enough to make Nathan literally growl at her. He removed his fingers from her body and moved them along her pelvic bone until they settled on her hip, the other hand moving down to grab a hold of his aching and throbbing cock. He turned his head and kissed her stocking covered leg as he moved his cock up and down her slit, gathering some of her juices before he began to push into her slowly, hearing Haley join him in his moaning, so pleased to finally be inside of her the way he wanted to be. She was usually so amazingly tight, but this position made her even more so, meaning that he could feel her all around his cock and it felt so good to be able to fill her like this.

"Oh, God, Nathan, it feels so tight like this." Haley moaned out, her back arching off the desk in an attempt to allow him to move even deeper inside of her. She was already slightly sensitive from her previous orgasm but the intense feeling of him finally being inside of her far outweighed any other emotion she felt rush through her body. She felt his hand move to her hip so that both were now situated on her body and he began to move himself out of her, only to then thrust back inside of her.

"Fuck I know." Nathan groaned, because quite frankly, no previous position that they'd tried had felt like this. He quickly upped the pace, thrusting his hips into her body, his hands gripping onto her hips and moving them along with the pace that he had set. Because of the position Haley was in, she had very little control over what her body was doing and he kind of like being in control like this, he liked the fact that, save for her arms, which were rendered pretty useless given how they were clenched into fists at her sides, she was completely at his mercy. "You look so sexy, lying on my desk like this… I don't know how the fuck I'm going to be able to concentrate at work tomorrow." He watched with total fascination as her breasts moved while he continued to thrust in and out of her, leaning forward carefully and listening out for any signs that he was pushing her too far, desperate to have one of her nipples in his mouth.

Haley let out a loud moan at his words, feeling a warm glow rush through her body. She didn't know why but she liked the fact that tomorrow he'd be sitting at his desk when he was supposed to working, thinking about the way she had been spread out, naked on his desk while he ploughed into her. More than that, she wanted him to remember it; she wanted him to be distracted by her, to think of her like this. He had one of her nipples in his mouth now and her legs were straining but she didn't want him to stop because the new angle was causing him to move deeper inside of her. "You're going so deep." She managed to breathe out, moaning as he pushed himself more harshly inside of her, causing that familiar build up of sensations to swirl inside of her.

Nathan felt Haley's walls clench around his cock as her orgasm flowed through her body, and that coupled with the way she was softly moaning his name was his undoing. He pulled on her nipple which was clasped between his teeth and then released it as his body started to tremble. "Shit." He groaned, unable to contain the creeping feeling of his orgasm from exploding any longer. It was just far too intense, and he came, thrusting hard into her as he groaned out her name, his mouth hovering above her body, her legs stopping him from collapsing on her body entirely.

"God that felt so good." Haley mumbled, barely coherent as she shifted slightly, trying to get comfortable. She watched through hooded, sated eyes as Nathan hovered over her body, his breaths coming out in rough pants over her skin, causing this delicious shiver to run up and down her spine. She moved her hands around his back and raked her fingernails over the skin she found there, working her hands up towards his hair where she began to softly run her fingers through his raven black locks while she tried desperately to regain some semblance of control over her own breathing and her rapidly beating heart.

Nathan closed his eyes as he felt Haley's fingers move soothingly over his scalp. He loved it when she did that and after the incredibly stressful day he'd had, he felt utterly and completely relaxed now in her presence. He heard Haley moan a little and he opened his eyes, realising she was trying to move her legs from where they were resting against his shoulders. He immediately found himself getting concerned, because if he'd hurt her he was going to be really mad not only at himself but also at her for not saying something to him. "Are you okay, Hales?" He asked as he quickly pulled himself out of her, hissing slightly at the loss of contact and stood up straight. He then grabbed onto her left leg first, which seemed to be the one that was troubling her given how she was wiggling it around, and he gently lowered it from his shoulder, before repeating the action with her right leg.

Haley moaned in pleasure as Nathan began to run his fingers soothingly along her aching leg. "Mmm, fine, just a little stiff, that's all." She responded as she stretched out the leg which Nathan wasn't attending to while she stretched her hands up above her head, arching her back off his desk in the process.

"For God's sake Hales, if I was hurting you, you should have said something to me." Nathan muttered angrily at her. He was vaguely aware of her stretching and he felt the desire for her begin to pool in his stomach again, but he managed to bat it away successfully and concentrate on her needs instead of the uncontrollable and insatiable hunger he seemed to hold for her. He continued to rub his hands into her stocking covered leg, narrowing his eyes at her as he lifted his gaze to look into her eyes.

Haley couldn't help the eye roll. "What's your problem now?" She retorted and yanked his hands off her leg. Once she'd successfully freed her leg from his grasp, she lifted herself up into a seated position on his desk with her legs dangling off the end of it.

Nathan sighed as he ran his hand through his hair again before taking a large step backwards. He felt a chair behind him fell down onto it in a huff. "I just don't want you hurting, so I would appreciate it if you'd tell me when I am hurting you, so that we… so that I can stop."

"I'm not hurting Nathan, I'm just a little bit sore. And believe me, if I wanted you to stop, I would have said something. But I didn't. So please stop being so ridiculous." Haley returned as she folded her arms across her chest.

"I'm not being ridiculous, Hales, I'm just worried about you, that's all." Nathan responded, running yet another hand through his hair.

Haley raised her eyebrow at him even though he wasn't looking at her in that precise moment. "Yeah, well, I'm worried about you too." She said flatly.

Nathan's eyes snapped back up to meet hers and the instant that he connected his gaze with hers, he knew that she was about to wander down that dangerous path again. He had little over a week to go… and he knew next weekend wasn't going to be pretty, but at least it'd all be over for another year once he managed to get past that horrible date. Although he'd end up carrying the guilt inside of him for another year, as he would for as long as he was living, at least it wouldn't be as intense as it seemed to be around this time of the year. He was trying his best to ignore it, that was partly why he was throwing himself into his work, it was the only effective distraction he'd found so far. Well, being with Haley also helped, because when he was with her like this he found himself incapable of thinking about anything other than the feel of her, the smell of her, the sounds she made, how her skin tasted or how she looked, wanton and full of longing for him. But he didn't want to dwell on that fact because next year, they wouldn't have this agreement in place and he'd be back to dealing with this all on his own again, so it was far better for him not to become so dependent on her. And he didn't want to either; he didn't want to feel like he was using Haley in that way because this was his problem to deal with. He didn't want to drag Haley into the dark abyss where the demons inside of his head lived. He didn't want her to see how ugly and broken he truly was underneath his carefully controlled exterior.

Haley continued to hold his gaze, waiting for him to say something, to tell her to 'back off' like he had before but when she was met with nothing but a thoughtful stare from him, she decided to proceed, a little more cautiously down the path, stepping into previously unknown territory, hoping to gain more of an insight into how he was feeling about all of this. "Are you going to go with Luke to see Lils next weekend?" She asked softly, unfolding her arms from her chest and relaxing her stance somewhat, hoping that this would help Nathan to open up a little to her.

Nathan didn't like it when she used that nickname of hers. It made his chest ache, so much so that the guilt which flowed through his veins felt like a bubbling volcano and he was waiting for his entire body to be burned with the force of his feelings. He was already scarred, he knew that, but at the moment, it felt like one day they might heal, like if he ignored the problem they'd mend by themselves. He didn't even want to think about the irreparable damage he'd do to himself if he allowed himself to drown completely, to let go and just feel. "I already told you, I'm not going." He responded tightly, feeling the emotions wrapping themselves around his body, binding against him firmly until he felt his whole body begin to constrict, like he couldn't breathe properly.

"Why, Nathan? Why don't you want to go?" Haley asked gently. She could hear his breathing becoming ever sharper, like he was gasping for air and the tears began to pool in her eyes as she took in his distressed form, feeling herself physically hurt for him. He was staring at the ground but she could tell from the distant look in his eyes that he wasn't focussing on anything, he was trying to block out the memories that were seeping into his brain. He was trying to lock them back in that box, believing that they couldn't hurt him there. But he had to understand that they still got to him, he had to understand that by putting this off he was making things worse, not better.

Nathan turned his gaze to meet Haley's as her words vibrated through to his brain, calling him back from his haze. And the instant he met her watery eyes, his control dropped for the briefest of seconds, and he remembered far more than just that horrific night. He remembered her, her laugh, her smile, her voice… and he gasped, desperate for the air to reach his lungs as he frantically tried to organise his brain again, desperately trying to lock that box shut so he wouldn't remember any more, so that his mind wouldn't completely overflow with those memories he worked so very hard to keep at bay. He managed to calm himself down by taking some deep breaths, though his heart was still beating wildly in his chest. He shook his head, hating how defensive he became on the subject of Lily and did his best to rein in the anger which seemed to act as a shield to releasing his true feelings on the subject and decided to try to give her an honest answer, instead of spouting off at her, because she really didn't deserve his wrath, the only person he needed to be angry at was himself over this subject matter. "I just can't, Hales, I can't go there, I can't deal with it…"

Haley felt herself crumble completely as she listened to his frantic and desperate words. He sounded so lost and so desperate, like he was searching for some kind of relief and he couldn't find his way towards it. She knew that this was eating away inside of him and she wanted to help him, she wanted to soothe him and tell him what he needed to hear, she just didn't know what that was. The only thing she knew she could do was to comfort him and so she catapulted herself off the desk and sat herself in Nathan's lap, wrapping her arms around his neck and burying her face into the side of his neck. She held him tight to her and felt his hands eventually wrap around her back, pushing her even closer to his body. "Tell me what I can do, Nathan, please tell me how I can make this better for you." She murmured against his skin, feeling the tears she had been trying to stifle fall from her eyes. She clawed desperately at his back, almost wishing that she could crawl inside of him, so that she could get an honest glimpse of him and then know precisely what he needed to hear, so that she could know what she needed to do to help him.

Nathan closed his eyes and turned his head, burrowing himself into her, breathing in the scent of her hair. He instantly found comforting relief and was finally able to drag himself out of the whirlpool of emotions swirling inside of him. He could finally see the light and he began his desperate attempt to continue towards it, the thoughts in his mind slowly retreating to their dark corners. "Just be here with me." He whispered into her hair. "You always make everything better."

AN – Please let me know your thoughts on this chapter by dropping me a review.

And if my writing goes according to plan – you're all going to find out about Lily in the next chapter.

A lot of you have been asking about jealous Nathan… and he's going to rear his ugly (somehow I don't think that's the right word!) head in a couple of chapters time too…

I also think we're nearing the halfway point of this story.

A preview of the next chapter will be available as soon as it's written, like always just let me know in a review if you want it and I'll send it back to you.