by Soraya Lane
“I’ll be back in a moment,” Faith said as she stood, carefully smoothing her hands over her skirt to make sure it was in place. She collected her purse and made her way through the crowd, heading in what she hoped was the right direction for the restroom. She needed a minute to gather her thoughts, to figure out what the hell she was doing.
Once she was in there she checked her reflection in a mirror, reapplied her lip gloss instead of splashing the cold water on her face that she was craving. After spending so long on her makeup she wasn’t about to ruin it. What she did do was let the cool water run over her wrists, cooling her body and calming her at the same time. Nate hadn’t even done anything, yet she was all twisted in knots over just the thought of what he could do to her.
Once she’d finished in the restroom she stepped out, was about to brave the crowd and head back to their table when a hand closed over hers, taking her by surprise.
“Faith.”
Her pulse ignited, first from the shock of a man grabbing her unexpectedly, then all over again when she realized it was Nate. Her heart was pounding, her initial reaction to shove his hand off and run. But he wasn’t Cooper. It was Nate. Nate wasn’t going to hurt her.
“I was just making my way back,” she said, trying to slow her breathing.
“Your brother’s up dancing. I was just coming to get you.”
She stood dead still, stared up at him, heart pounding so loudly she was certain it was about to beat right out of her chest.
“Nate . . .”
He stepped closer, released her wrist, his eyes fixed on hers.
Screw it. Maybe it was the alcohol, the fact that they’d been dancing around whatever the hell it was going on between them since the moment she’d arrived at his place, or the fact that she’d harbored a secret fantasy for him since she was a teenager; whatever it was, she wasn’t going to just ignore it any longer. Couldn’t. It was Nate-- she could trust him; she needed to trust him.
Faith pushed him back against the wall, her hands to his chest, his only protest a grunt as he let himself be moved. She stood on tiptoe and pressed a kiss to his lips, tentatively at first and then with more force, her hands on his shoulders before snaking up higher, fingers looping through his too-long hair, tugging him closer. She was no man’s victim, wasn’t going to let her ex ruin what she could have with another man.
Nate groaned; she heard the noise at the same time as his body tightened, his shoulders bunching like he was about to pull back, before giving in, his mouth suddenly crushing hers. His arms wrapped around her, holding her close, pulling her body forward and hard smacked into his. She relaxed, pushed any stupid thoughts away that told her to stop.
Because Faith couldn’t get enough of him; the taste of him, the feel of him, the . . . she moaned as his tongue found hers, his lips moving fast one moment, then slow the next, his hands skimming her back, settling just above her butt.
“We shouldn’t be doing this, Faith,” he murmured, his sinful dark eyes trained on hers.
“Don’t stop,” she whispered back, still on tiptoe, her mouth hovering over his.
“This is every kind of bad.” He plucked at her lips with his again. “So bad.”
“I want you to teach me, Nate. I need you to”--she kissed him back, her knees turning to liquid and making it almost impossible to stay upright--“show me what to do.” It was what she’d always wanted, Nate in her bed. And this was her chance to get what she’d been craving, to prove to herself that she was nobody’s victim. And to make sure no other man could ever insult her like Cooper had.
“Sugar, you know exactly what you’re doing.” His kisses were like fire across her skin, the most delicious, sensuous, burning-hot fire.
“I’m not talking about kissing, Nate,” she murmured, moaning as his tongue dipped into her mouth again, his lips so slow and careful one minute and rough the next.
“You . . .” He paused, his mouth hovering over hers, recognition shining in his eyes. “You want me to teach you in the bedroom?”
She nodded, refusing to be embarrassed, not wanting to back down now she’d finally said the words. “Yes.”
Nate’s groan wasn’t an answer, but she couldn’t mistake his desire, his arousal impossible not to notice pressed against her, his mouth no longer slow even for a moment, just rough and sexy as hell and making her want to strip her clothes off right then and there.
“Faith . . . ,” he muttered, but his hands were tangled in her long hair, like his mouth couldn’t stay away from hers even for a second.
“What the fuck!”
Nate’s hands were still on her, but his mouth was gone, leaving her wondering what the hell had happened and who was-- Shit. Her brother was barely a foot away from them, the disbelief on his face fast turning to all-out fury.
“You fucking asshole!” Sam roared, moving so fast that Faith jumped back, hard against the opposite wall in the narrow space leading to the restrooms where they’d been standing.
She heard herself scream as Sam launched at Nate, his fist connecting with the side of his face, Nate’s hands rising to stop him but Sam moving too fast. It was like she was at a train station, right on the tracks, a roaring noise so loud in her ears that she couldn’t hear anything, could just watch on helplessly as her brother swung at Nate again. It brought everything back, the terror she’d felt the night Cooper had hit her, and she wanted it to end now, wasn’t going to sit by and watch them fight.
“Sam, no!” she yelled, forcing herself to act, moving closer but not wanting to get in their way. The way they were acting right now, especially Sam, his rage was so absolute that she doubted he’d even see her if she tried to intervene.
But it looked like Nate wasn’t going to take any more punches. Faith wrapped her arms around herself, felt Kelly put a hand on her shoulder, yelling at Sam, too, but the fight was over. Her brother wasn’t small, but Nate was bigger. Suddenly he had his hand around Sam’s wrist, not letting him swing again, dodging his other fist as it came swinging, ending up grazing past Nate’s neck.
“Enough!” Nate commanded, his booming voice so loud it sent chills through her. “Enough, Sam!” Her brother had turned into a maniac, throwing his head forward and trying to head butt Nate now that he couldn’t successfully use his fists.
“Sam!” Faith demanded, moving closer now that the worst of the fight was over. “Just stop. Stop!”
He looked at her, the fury in his face simmering to a different kind of anger, one she thought looked more manageable than rage since it seemed to be filled with disappointment. She wasn’t used to disappointing anyone, least of all her brother, but she was pretty sure that’s what she was seeing right now.
“Don’t you ever fucking touch my sister again. You hear me?” Sam spat out the words, looking at Nate like he’d kill him with his bare hands if he had to. “Don’t you fucking dare.”
Nate stared at him. He hadn’t looked over at her, not once, but his words were for her.
“Are you okay?” he asked.
“Yes,” she replied, her eyes fixed on him now instead of Sam.
“Leave her out of this, Nate. She’s not yours to protect and she never will be.”
Faith swallowed, hard, looking between the two men. She loved Sam; he’d been an amazing brother when they were kids and he still was. She was insanely proud of the career he’d made for himself and the man he’d become. But just because she loved him didn’t mean he could decide who she was allowed to kiss, or do anything else with. If she wanted to get into Nate’s bed, that was her choice, and no one, not even her brother, was going to stop her.
The two men were still staring at each other, like they could be fist fighting in a second without warning, but Nate was slowly backing away and putting some distance between them.
“She’s a grown woman, Sam,” Nate finally said. “And after what she’s been through I don’t think she needs to see us fighting.”
“She’s my sister! My little sister.�
�
They were talking like she wasn’t even standing there, but from what Nate had told her this was a feud that had started when she was a teenager, something that had been simmering between them for some time. Sam had thought he’d stamped it out all those years ago, and now his worst nightmare had come true.
“Can we at least talk about this in private?” Nate asked, his voice still deep and calm as ever.
“What, you don’t want everyone knowing that you’re trying to get into my sister’s pants?” His laugh was cruel as he turned to her. “Because that’s all he wants from you, Faith. And once he’s had you, he’ll discard you. And who’ll be there to pick up the pieces then, huh?”
Silence stretched out between them, but Faith was at least starting to catch her breath, her heart no longer hammering like it had been. Her only concern was what Nate was about to say now, because if he told Sam the truth it might end up making the entire situation even worse.
“Don’t forget that Faith came to me, Sam. I never went looking for her, did I? I stayed the hell away, just like you asked me to.”
“So now it’s her fault? Now that she’s near you it’s her problem that you can’t keep your tongue out of her mouth.”
Faith felt like she was about to stop breathing, all the oxygen in the room gone, waiting for his answer. He’d turned what had just happened between her and Nate into something forbidden and it wasn’t.
“No. But I’d never make a woman do anything she didn’t want to do, and you’re still my friend, Sam. The best goddamn friend I’ve ever had.” Nate ran his fingers through his hair, glancing at her for the first time, the look in his eyes one she couldn’t decipher. “I wouldn’t do anything to ruin our friendship, Sam.”
“Yeah?” Sam glared at Nate like he’d like to kill him. “Well, you just did. We’re through.”
Sam spun around and marched off, leaving her standing there wondering what the hell had happened as Kelly ran after him. Nate was immobile for a moment, then launched forward, went to go after him, but Faith quickly grabbed his arm.
“Don’t,” she said. “Just give him some time.”
Nate stopped without her needing to try to restrain him further. He turned slowly, his eyes falling to hers, his smile grim, nothing like the brightness she’d witnessed earlier when she’d been in his arms.
“We really screwed up,” Nate said, reaching for her anyway and stroking his fingers down her arm. “
“No, I screwed up,” Faith said, wishing she didn’t crave his touch quite so much. She wasn’t going to lie—Nate’s skin on hers sent shoots of pleasure rippling through her, the anticipation of what could happen between them almost as sweet as each touch. And she wasn’t afraid of him, had expected to be scared of him touching her, of going there so soon, but she wasn’t. “This is all on me, not you.”
He shook his head, one side of his mouth curving up into a smile. “I didn’t exactly try to push you away,” he said, cupping her face and looking deep into her eyes. “I’ve wanted you for a long time, Faith, which is why I never should have let you stay.”
Her pulse had ignited again, the flames in her belly stirring into a full-on fire now. “But you did,” she murmured. “And you didn’t seem to mind me kissing you.”
“Darlin’, kissing you is something I could do all night.” Nate chuckled and cupped her cheek, staring at her, before letting his hand fall away. “Every damn night of the week if I had the chance.”
Faith swallowed, moistened her lips with the tip of her tongue. “So just because my brother tells you I’m out-of-bounds, that’s it? You’re going to let him control you like that?”
“No one controls me, Faith. Make no mistake about that.” Nate’s voice had gone from smooth and sexy to deep and gravelly now. “But Sam and I have been buddies since pre-K. He’s the only friend I’ve ever trusted, and I’m not going to throw that away for--”
“A night between the sheets with me?” Faith interrupted.
“Anything,” Nate corrected. “I was going to say that I wouldn’t throw away our friendship for anything.”
Faith wrapped her arms around herself again, suddenly feeling a chill even though it probably wasn’t even remotely cold where they were standing.
“You need to let him calm down before you go after him,” she said, wishing things could be different between them but not wanting to ruin their friendship, either. “He’ll need some time to himself; otherwise he’ll just try to kill you again.”
“I let him have that first punch,” Nate muttered.
She stepped closer to him and put her hand to his chest, palm flat as she pushed him back into the light to see how bad the bruise was.
“Damn!” she swore softly under her breath.
“Does it look bad?” he asked, staring down at her.
“Yeah. It’s gonna be a serious black eye.” Faith traced gently around the skin of his eye with one soft fingertip. “Sorry.”
She looked up at him, no longer focused on the purple bruise, and her breath caught in her throat at the look on his face, at the desire so evident in the way he was looking at her. He was a different kind of hurt than she’d been, but it still wasn’t nice to see.
“We can’t.” Nate’s voice was guttural and it only made her want him more.
“He already hates you right now, Nate,” she said, her eyes fixed on his lips now, her breath coming in fast pants. “What harm could it do if he never finds out?”
Chapter 7
Nate groaned, the noise coming from deep within him. She might be younger than him, his friend’s little sister, but she was sure as hell all grown-up just like she’d claimed to be. There was nothing about that girl left.
“That’s the worst excuse I’ve ever heard,” he muttered, but he still didn’t back away.
“Sam’s gone,” she said, both hands to his chest now, then running up and over his shoulders. “It’s just you and me.”
“No.” He forced himself to say the word, wanted so badly to do the right thing, but it still wasn’t enough. Because he wasn’t good, never had been, and the more he knew he wasn’t allowed something . . .
“I wasn’t lying that I needed a teacher,” she whispered, on her tiptoes now, mouth so, so close to his.
“And I made it very clear that you don’t need a goddamn teacher.” His fists were balled, his fingers tightening as he tried to resist the urge to touch her. Why was she doing this to him?
“You’d rather I find another man for the job?” she teased.
But he didn’t want to be teased, wasn’t in the mood.
Nate used every inch of his willpower as he slowly closed the gap between them, mouth hovering over Faith’s as he bent down. “You so much as mention another man . . .”
She sighed into his mouth as he closed his lips over hers, kissing her so softly it almost killed him, was almost impossible to maintain.
“I won’t,” she whispered when he pulled back. “I feel safe with you. It’s only you I want.”
Nate slipped an arm around Faith, the other hand snaking around the back of her head, fingers tangling in her long hair so he could lock her in place, kissing her rough. He wanted to do wicked things to her, things he’d fantasized about for years and refused to ever think could come true.
“No one can know about this,” he muttered.
“About what?” she innocently replied, the rise and fall of her breasts as she caught her breath making him want to rip her dress down to expose them, to finally see what she looked like bare.
“We’re going home!” he commanded. “And I’m not touching you until we’re away from here, okay? If Sam sees me so much as look at you like I want you in my bed, the next time I see him he’ll have a gun to my head.” He looked down at Faith and wished he’d kept that last part to himself. “Sorry.”
“Let’s just go,” she said. “You can make it up to me later.”
Nate grabbed her hand when they neared the crowd, needing to get past a t
on of people to make the main exit. He’d only had a couple of drinks all night, so he was fine to drive, and he just wanted to get the hell out and to his car. Faith’s petite hand fitted perfectly into his, her hold tight. Whatever the hell he’d just done, there was no going back. And as much as he didn’t want to piss Sam off, Nate also wanted Faith. Like he’d never, ever wanted a woman before.
“So here we are.”
Nate pushed open the front door and took a few steps inside. It was dark and he’d forgotten to turn any lights on, so he fumbled his hand along the wall until he connected with the switches. His brothers had all sorts of fancy lighting at their new places, but he didn’t care that the main house was a bit ancient. It was immaculately maintained and the old girl had one hell of a history, so he wasn’t exactly hankering for something brand-new. He dealt with shiny glass and chrome buildings on a daily basis, so many of their investments in New York were in the city, and he liked a bit of history at home.
He glanced back at Faith, saw her standing awkwardly near the front door still, suddenly looking a whole lot like the young Faith he’d been warned away from so many years ago and not at all like the confident young woman who’d just propositioned him in the bar.
“I was half-expecting Sam to be waiting on the porch for me.”
She smiled, but her lips only just moved, hovering at the corners. “He’d had too much to drink to be able to drive, and I don’t think Kelly will let him out of her sight until he sobers up.”
“He wasn’t drunk; that’s what worried me,” Nate said grimly. “It’s gonna take a while to repair the damage.”
“And us?” she asked, her bottom lip catching beneath her top teeth.
Nate groaned and stepped toward her, taking her hand in his and looking down into her eyes. “There is no us, Faith,” he said. “It’s not because I don’t want there to be, but you don’t need me as some sort of a rebound guy. And you sure as hell don’t need an angry brother on your hands.”