“Really?” I say. “You had the sheriff run me down?”
He shrugs sheepishly. “We were drinking. I couldn’t drive. And my brothers couldn’t drive me, either.”
“I won’t stand for drunk driving in my town, you know. We’re a sleepy little establishment. Can’t have my citizens getting into accidents,” says Teddy. He glances over at me and winks. I roll my eyes again. “I’ll be in the car,” Teddy adds, then leaves us.
I turn back to Nathan. “Okay.”
“Okay.”
I cock a brow. “Oh, this one’s all you. I already bared my soul.”
He grimaces. “Yeah, you’re right.” He steps closer. “Jude, I’m so sorry for the way I just treated you. It was simply uncalled for.”
“I’ll say,” I mutter.
“I know I deserve that, but you have to understand—”
“Oh, do I? Do I just have to believe you? Because I seem to remember just an hour ago, our positions were reversed, and you wouldn’t give me the time of day.”
His jaw clenches. “Okay, yeah. You’re right about that. You don’t have to hear me out. If you don’t want to, I swear I’ll get back in this car and never see you again.”
I consider him for a long moment. He stares back, gazing deep into my eyes. There’s complete honesty in his expression. He really means it. One word from me, and he’ll go back to Ovid.
Maybe he really is here to finally clear the air.
Dropping my hands from across my chest, I say, “Okay, Nathan. Let me hear it.”
He slumps in relief.
“I was wrong. Completely. I fucked up, big time. You were always straight with me. You always said you were helping me. I should have remembered that. But when you ended it between us, I was so hurt that I wanted to believe you’d also betrayed me so that I wouldn’t be forced to admit that you ended it because you no longer wanted me.”
I wince. “That’s not true. I never stopped wanting you. He found out about us, Nate.”
Nate’s eyes narrow fiercely, but I know it’s not directed at me. “What? Don’t tell me—”
“Northwood found out about us. Somehow. I still don’t know how he did it. I assume the investigator he hired to find out about your loan with Lipton hung around long enough to find out about us, too. But Northwood said if I didn’t end it, he’d tear up your deal and also fire me.”
Nate sucks in a breath. “Christ, Jude, I’m so—”
But I have to keep going. Now that he’s finally listening, I have to get it all out, so he finally understands. I cut him off. “I thought I was saving both of us. I didn’t want you to know what Northwood was threatening because you were the one who originally asked if we shouldn’t get involved, and I said it was fine. It was my fault and my responsibility to solve.
“I thought I was doing the right thing. Obviously, that was wrong. So now you know. That’s everything. And I don’t want this to end. God, Nathan, we’re so good together. I’ve never had so many orgasms in my life.”
He grins a smug smile of typical male satisfaction. “It’s a talent of mine.”
“Yeah. And as we’ve also discussed before, so is modesty.” We both smile at each other, but then I sober. “I also ended it because Noah—”
“Forced you to. Threatened you if you didn’t.”
I stumble back in surprise. “You know about that?”
He plows a hand through his hair. “Yeah. He told me.”
“He told you?”
“Yeah. About all of it. Hell, I’m so sorry he did that, Jude.”
“It’s not your fault.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“The reason he did it was because he didn’t want me to hurt you. Or come between the two of you. And I know it was shitty of him, but I also understood. I’d do anything to have James back. I’d do anything to protect him.”
Nathan looks stricken. “Jude—”
“You deserved to have your label distributed, Nate. I understood why Noah was so protective of you. Your bourbon is incredible. You didn’t deserve to have Northwood pretend to be interested in your product just long enough for him to steal it. You deserved an honest deal from an honest company. That’s why I told you what he planned to do during the final negotiation. That’s why I told you not to sign the deal, even though I knew doing so would most likely mean losing my job.”
“You didn’t have to do that,” he says in frustration. “You could have come to me. We could have attacked it together.”
“I know that now. I should have told you.”
Nathan shakes his head, then asks miserably, “Did you get fired, or did you quit?”
I smile for the first time since returning to Georgia. “I quit. When Northwood told me what he had planned, I couldn’t stand to work for him a minute longer. I quit on the spot. Northwood threatened me yet again, saying I could only leave if he let me. So I told him Noah had done his own investigation and knew all about his shady dealings.
“I followed that up with Noah’s threat to sue NBI if Northwood didn’t back down from stealing your product. That’s why you don’t have to worry about him ripping off Old Abe’s. He also had no choice but to let me quit. Security escorted me out within minutes.”
Nathan gapes at me. “Whoa. That’s badass. Noah’s going to be so happy he ended up having some use in all this. I would have killed to see the look on Northwood’s face.”
“Oh, it was delicious. I’ll never forget the impotent fury in his eyes. Wait. How did you even know I got kicked out of NBI in the first place?”
“Noah.”
I roll my eyes. “Of course.”
“I guess he has contacts in your old company.”
I shudder. “That sounds so ominous.”
“It kinda does. In any case, he texted them while you were there, and they told him that rumors were circulating.”
“Yeah, I bet.”
Nathan steps closer, taking my hands. He squeezes them slightly, swallows, then stares deep into my eyes and says, “I know this happened so fast. I know our relationship began with a damn broken condom. But I feel like I’ve known you forever. It felt right to have you by my side. It mattered. I want to spend all of my days waking up with you sprawled atop me. I want you forever, Jude.”
“You just want to keep screwing me,” I say dryly.
He winks at me. “You bet I do. But it’s more than that. I want to know you. I want you to know me. God, Jude, we’re so similar. Can’t you feel that? That night with you and my brothers, when we toasted Alice? I felt like for the first time in my life, I had everything I wanted. I’d stumbled into having it all, without even realizing.”
Whoa. I mean, hot damn. My eyes go all misty. I blink furiously; I won’t cry at a time like this. Not when I know what I need to say.
“There’s something I need to tell you,” I say.
He pales slightly, dropping my hands. “Jude, I know I’ve upset you, but can you give me that second chance you offered? I will work every day to prove we belong together.”
“Nathan, I—”
“I love you, Jude.”
“—love you.”
We gape at each other. Then I throw myself at him. He grabs me around the waist as his mouth tangles with mine. I plow my hands into his hair, my tongue moving against his in the fading light.
Nathan tears his mouth away. “I love you,” he whispers against my lips.
I smile back. “No, I love you,” I say, then kiss him again.
“You can run my label,” he says after we finally come up for air.
I shake my head. “I couldn’t—”
“Sure you can. Run it with me. You have infinitely more experience than I do. Help me get it off the ground. Let’s make Old Abe’s the best bourbon in the state.”
“Well,” I say, “it does appear that I have no job.”
“Yes,” he whispers.
“And I do rather like the sensation of you inside me.”
&nbs
p; “God, yes,” he groans, his dick already hardening against me.
“I suppose it wouldn’t be entirely terrible if I moved here permanently, right?”
“Not even a little.”
“There’s just one thing,” I say.
He stills. “What?”
I wink at him. “You get to be the one who tells your cats.”
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Nathan
Jude takes me back in her car, Teddy escorting us the whole way. We’re both still too shocked to make much conversation, but I do hold her hand. Every once in a while, we glance over at each other and smile softly.
What’s going to happen now? Where will Jude live? If I had my way, she’d move in this very evening, but something tells me that step is going to take a while. But it doesn’t matter. What matters is that she’s back. That we have a future together.
When we pull up to the bar, the parking lot is deserted. Teddy honks, then continues on back to the station.
I’m still looking around. “What the—what happened to all the people?”
“I was just here, and it was packed,” says Jude.
We get out of the car. Heading to the entrance, I push inside. Sure enough, it’s empty as well. Someone has left a note on the bar. I snatch it up and see it’s from Noah.
“They figured we’d want privacy, so they closed early,” I mutter.
“Well. I’m definitely down if you are.”
My head snaps up. “Why, Miss Shaw. Do you have ideas?”
She stalks closer. “Oh, I have all sorts of ideas.”
I snatch her up, kissing her deeply before putting her back down. “Come with me.”
Taking her hand, I lead her to the back. Jude slows when we near the stairs to my apartment, but I keep going.
“Where are we going? The poker table?”
I send her a sly look. “That can be the next spot. I’ve barely been able to look at it since you left. But I want to show you something.”
“What?”
Leading her into the supply room, I head for the back wall. I remove the boxes until the hidden door is revealed.
Her brows knit in confusion. “Nate, what is this?”
I smile. “I forgot there’s one last thing you don’t know about Old Abe’s.”
Unlocking the door, I lead her inside, then turn to get her reaction. When she sees all the barrels lined up inside the room, her hand flies over her mouth and tears fill her eyes.
“Nate, is this what I think it is?”
“Oh, yeah.”
“But, Nate, there are barrels in here! Is it fully aged?”
“Most of it. The rest is in various stages. But the reason I got the loan was so I could start bottling this.”
She stares at me. “You could start shipping immediately.”
I grin at her. “Yep.”
“You never told me! In fact, you lied!”
I wince. “Uh, yeah. I’m sorry about that, too. But when you asked, I just got this funny feeling like it was a more important question than you were letting on. Something told me not to disclose all this.”
Jude takes another look around the room. “You know what? It was for the best. Northwood wanted to see how easy it would be to steal your product. You telling me that you had none played right into his hands. Who knows what he would have done if he knew you had a bunch of product ready to go. He might have changed course and you might have ended up with a shitty deal that even I wouldn’t have known about until it was too late. But now he’s going to have to watch while you start distributing within weeks. He’s going to be pissed. This is incredible, Nate!”
I come up behind her, nibbling on her neck before whispering, “I guess you’re not regretting that decision to quit now, are you?”
She turns in my arms. “I wasn’t before, and I’m definitely not now.”
I slide my hands under her shirt. “You know, I’ve always had this fantasy.”
“Oh, yeah?”
I pull her shirt over her head, then groan at the sight of her perfect breasts cupped by a flimsy black bra. “Uh huh. God, I love your bras.”
“I’ll have to keep that in mind the next time I go lingerie shopping.”
“Christ, yes.”
I cup her, thumbs rolling over her nipples. She moans and sways closer. “So that fantasy of yours?” she pants.
“Hmm,” I say, distracted. I tug her bra down and lower my head, taking a nipple into my mouth and swirling my tongue against it. Jude’s head drops back, her eyes drifting closed as her hands clutch my shoulders.
“Nate …”
I release her. “I’ve always had this fantasy about fucking a woman on one of my bourbon barrels.”
Her eyes pop open. “You know, I think I have a new fantasy as well.”
“Maybe we could fulfill this very important fantasy of ours.”
Jude stares at me, her eyes lit with desire. “Oh, yeah. We’re definitely doing that.”
I unhook her bra while she unbuckles my jeans. For once, neither of us hurry. We have all the time in the world. No longer does Jude’s departure date linger in the back of our minds; no longer do we feel the need to wring as much pleasure out of every moment we have left.
We undress each other slowly, pausing to press kisses to each newly revealed part of our bodies. The heat builds slowly, a gradual ignition instead of an instant flashpoint. By the time we’re fully naked before each other, I’m trembling, burning with the need to be inside her.
“Kiss me,” she whispers. I do, drawing her against me. She’s shaking as well, each of us desperate for fulfillment. I wrap my arms around her and lift, placing her on one of the barrels along the wall.
Jude places her hands behind her, back arching as I spread her legs wide. My gaze trails down her body, spread obscenely for my pleasure. I shudder, nails digging into the wood on either side of her.
“Holy shit, that’s hot.”
Jude smiles, then leans her weight on one hand so she can lift the other and crook a finger at me. “Come here, handsome.”
“Not yet,” I growl. Falling to my knees, I lift her knees over my shoulders. Staring up at her from between her thighs, I press a line of kisses from a knee up her leg, moving closer and closer.
Jude stares down at me in anticipation, but instead of kissing where she wants me most, I switch to her other knee and then start kissing my way back up again.
“Nathan,” she says in warning.
I chuckle against her skin, then finally kiss the center of her. My tongue darts out, circling her clit with perfect pressure. Jude moans and arches her back again, her thighs squeezing my shoulders. I slide my tongue down and then stroke back up, taking her in firm, languid strokes. Jude writhes against me, pleading for me to fill her.
I dip my tongue inside, groaning at her taste as my tongue glides in and out. Jude rocks against me harder, her legs trembling. My tongue returns to her clit, teasing her leisurely as I slide a finger inside her, then two, stretching her perfectly as my tongue works her higher. Humming against her skin, my fingers stroke faster, moving in time with her hips as she starts riding my mouth.
When she starts to squeeze me, I withdraw and straighten. Jude barely has time to register the fact that I’ve released her before I grip her hips and in one motion bury myself inside her.
She shatters against me, crying out my name as she pulses around my cock. I thrust into her again and again, drawing out every moment of her pleasure as I take her mouth with mine.
Jude collapses against me, burying her face in my neck.
I turn my head, kissing her hair, then whispering, “I love you, sweetheart.”
She raises her face to mine, eyes wide. A brilliant smile steals across her face. She lifts her arms around my neck, her legs wrapping around my waist.
Jude clutches me to her, those incredible blue eyes entrancing as she says, “I love you, Nathan King. More than even all this excellent bourbon.”
A
laugh escapes me, answered by one of her own. And then I begin to move, thrusting in and out of her achingly slowly. Our gazes stay locked together, never straying for a moment as I move inside her. Jude’s thighs squeeze me, her hands stroking my hair.
“I love when you’re inside me,” she says.
I shiver, hips thrusting faster. “Oh, yeah?”
“Mhm. I do,” she moans. The next time I withdraw, nearly leaving her completely, she clenches me deliberately, rolling her hips at the same time.
“Fuck,” I groan, burying myself deep inside her. “Fuck do that again.”
She does, squeezing me every time I begin to withdraw. Her smile widens as I struggle to maintain my pace. Sweat breaks out on my forehead, my chest, my muscles trembling with the need to release, to plunge into her again and again until I’m mindless from it.
Jude draws my mouth closer to hers, nipping my bottom lip. Pure heat jolts directly to my shaft. I lift her higher on the barrel, driving into her harder and harder.
“You’re going to come soon,” Jude says. “I can feel it.”
“Fuck, sweetheart, so are you,” I pant, fingers digging into her hips.
Jude grins up at me, wraps her legs tighter around my waist. “I think we should come together.”
I groan, my entire body burning for her. “Hell, yes, let’s.”
Jude falls back, bringing me with her as she stretches out across the barrel. The new angle slides my pelvis against her clit. She cries out, beginning to tighten. I thrust faster, desperate for the end now.
“That’s it, sweetheart. Send us over. Take us there,” I growl, burying my face in her neck and sucking hard.
Jude explodes again. With a roar I follow, hips grinding into her helplessly as waves of pleasure roll through me. I can’t stop moving, can’t stop driving into her. Just when I think I’ve finally finished, she twitches around me and I thrust once, twice more before finally collapsing on top of her.
For a moment, I swear I black out. I’m lost on such a wave of blissful exhaustion time seems to stop. Eventually, I catch my breath and manage to lift my chest off her.
Lush (The King Cousins Book 1) (The King Brothers 4) Page 28