All that matters is Cole.
Mum’s pretty rubbish at being a mum. But I think I can be a good sister. Dad says I’m rubbish at everything. That I’m useless.
I’ll try to be better for Cole though.
11
Nate’s POV - The Request
BEFORE JAMAICA LANE
Nate felt impatient as he sat with his friends in Club 39. Joss and Jo used to work at the bar on George Street, so although it was a wee bit up its own arse for Nate’s taste, he didn’t really care where they hung out as long as there was alcohol and good company.
That night, however, his usual ease was replaced by anticipation.
He was waiting on one of his best buds. Olivia.
When she first confessed the depth of her insecurities, Nate was surprised. Not shocked, because Olivia had never pretended to be an overly confident sex kitten. But if someone had told him that Liv looked in the mirror and saw what she saw, it would have fucking floored him.
It did floor him.
In Liv Nate found the perfect woman. She was hilarious—like seriously made him laugh more than any other person on the planet—and sweet but with edge. She was kind, loyal, adorable and pretty fucking loveable really. Problem was Liv was also sexy. And the fact that she didn’t realize she was sexy made her this complicated mix of cute and sexy which was really quite disarming, he’d realized.
All of this relegated Liv to ‘off limits’. To be fair Nate had relegated her to ‘off limits’ the moment they met. If she hadn’t been Jo’s pseudo cousin and a permanent fixture in his mate Cole’s life, Nate would have taken one look into those exotic golden brown eyes of Liv’s, felt her smile tug at his cock, and then proceeded to seduce her into his bed for a weekend marathon of no frills sex.
But Liv was a permanent fixture which put her in the friend zone.
Then she well and truly put herself in the friend zone by insinuating herself into his affections.
Adding sex to those affections would lead to bad places.
But the affection couldn’t be ignored. Nate cared about Olivia. A fuck of a lot. Which meant he hated how down on herself she was. He hated that she felt lonely. He hated that she didn’t feel wanted. So it had become his particular mission in life to get her confidence levels up so she could go after this Benjamin guy she had a crush on.
That included a shopping trip for a sexy new outfit that would have been funny if she hadn’t surprised him once again by being all sassy and shit and maneuvering him into paying for her stuff in retaliation for him smacking her arse.
When she threw him that wicked smile, leaving him no choice but to pay he felt a dangerous rush of blood to his cock. She needed to stop that shit.
“You seem quiet, Nate,” Jo said loudly over the music.
He flashed her a dimpled smile before taking a drag of his beer.
She rolled her eyes at Ellie. “I’ll take that to mean his quietness is none of my business.”
“I’d say I’m happy to make it your business but your fiancé might clock me one.”
Everyone but Cam laughed. His friend smirked but there was still a hint of warning in it.
Fuck me, Nate thought, shoot me before I ever get that possessive over a woman.
Suddenly Cam, Jo and Ellie turned to look at something and his and Adam’s eyes quickly followed suit to see what had caught their attention.
And there she was. Liv. Looking a million times hotter in the outfit they’d picked out than he’d even imagined.
Blood shot southwards as his eyes travelled down the form-fitting outfit to the high blue heels she wore. Those legs. Shit, those legs. Even before he reluctantly agreed to offer her help in learning to flirt, Nate had been fascinated by Liv’s legs. There were more than a few times they’d been lounging around watching TV, and she was wearing those tight yoga trouser thingies or a pair of pajama shorts. Her legs had inspired many a fantasy of them wrapped around his back while he fucked her.
This didn’t bother Nate too much. He was a hot blooded male with a high sex drive and Liv was a gorgeous woman. Of course his dick would want in there. But there was a difference between fantasizing about it and making it a reality.
Christ, though, lately she wasn’t making it easy on him.
“Oh my God, Olivia, you look… amazing,” Jo grinned.
It bugged Nate a little that they all looked so surprised that Liv was gorgeous. Did they not have eyes before she put on a sexy dress and some make up?
As for Liv she fidgeted, looking uncomfortable with the attention, and he immediately wanted to touch her, soothe her. “Uh thanks,” she said and then shot them an adorable smile, “Moving on.”
Sensing she was going to move by him and sit by Ellie, Nate grabbed her hand and tugged her down beside him so her side was flush with his. Her perfume was different. She usually smelled fresh and citrusy. Tonight she wore something feminine, floral. Musky. Sexy.
He ran his gaze down her body again, wondering how the fuck she could be so blind to her own appeal. The plump tops of her breasts trembled a little against the tightness of her neckline and somehow they looked even more mouth-wateringly impressive against the smallness of her waist in the black top she wore. Then there were those shoes and how they managed to make her legs look even more amazing.
He looked back at her pretty face and into those stunning, feline eyes. He fought a hard-on and felt she should know this in a roundabout way. “You look insanely fuckable.”
Liv’s whole face lit up as she laughed in surprise. “As always I’m charmed by you, Nathaniel.”
Nate grinned, knowing she sounded sarcastic but actually meant it. He could see her almost preening with feminine pleasure and it made him pleased as fuck to give her that.
“You have such a way with words, Nate,” Ellie said.
“He’s worse than Braden,” Adam agreed.
He shrugged, taking a swig of beer, thinking he and Braden got on so well because they both were men who said it like it was. “I say it how I see it.”
Glancing back at Liv he caught her profile as she scanned the bar like she was looking for someone. It was then he remembered their bargain. Shit. Of course. The whole point to the clothes. She was supposed to ask someone out tonight.
“Another round?” she suddenly asked the group.
Nate glanced down at her knee and saw it was bouncing ever so slightly. She was nervous. He just curbed the urge to slide his hand along her thigh to calm her. He and Liv might understand their relationship, their closeness, but he didn’t want their friends getting the wrong idea and filling Liv’s head with romantic shit about him.
“I’m buying.” Adam stood up. “Corona and lime?”
“Talisker and ginger ale. On the rocks,” she replied.
Bloody hell she was nervous.
“You okay?” Liv asked Jo for some reason.
Jo nodded. “Are you? Whisky?”
“I just felt like something a little different tonight.” She looked away, scanning the bar again.
Nate leaned into her and murmured in her ear, “See anything you like?”
“I’m looking.” She murmured back. “I feel like I’m going to throw up all over my new shoes.”
And this was why he liked her so damn much. Liv said it how it was too. He felt affectionate sympathy for her and tried to tease her out of her nerves. “Please don’t. I know how much they cost.”
It did the job. She beamed that Hollywood smile of hers at him. The first time she ever smiled at him it knocked him for six. Liv was pretty with unusual eyes that made you look at her. But when she smiled… well, fuck, she was just drop dead gorgeous. “I’ll try not for your sake.”
“Appreciated,” he murmured back, again resisting the urge to touch her. Instead he shifted a little closer so his thigh pressed deeper into hers, letting her know in his way that he was there and that he believed she could do this.
Then suddenly he felt her freeze against him. Concerned, he too
k hold of her wrist, drawing her toward him. “What?”
Liv looked like a cat in the headlights for a second and then she threw a look at the bar. “I found him.” She nodded toward a group of guys at the bar, not sure who she was talking about. The one that stood out was a tall blond guy but he was not at all what he pictured Liv would go for. For a start he was blond.
He thought she had thing for dark-haired dudes.
Shrugging that thought off since it was unimportant Nate decided to push her. Once she did this she’d realize how easy it was. It was being scared of the unknown, of rejection, that made a person nervous. Nate wanted her to realize that whether or not this guy gave her his number or rejected her, that it wasn’t the end of the world. Though, he doubted the way she was looking tonight any man would be stupid enough to reject her unless he was already spoken for and loyal.
“Good. Now, go up to the bar to retrieve your drink from Adam, and start flirting with the guy you’ve picked out.”
His girl still looked nervous but he was proud of her for nodding and standing up to do as he’d asked. He watched her make her way across the bar, her round, pert arse swaying from side to side in that tight skirt. Nate sighed and ran a hand through his hair. He needed to get fucking laid, pronto.
Watching her at the bar, he smirked a little when he saw her throw back the whisky Adam had bought her and make a face at the obvious burn. Feeling heat on his face, Nate followed the feeling and his eyes collided with Jo. Hers were narrowed, speculative, and he realized why when she threw a disbelieving look at Liv and then back to him.
No.
Fuck no.
Like he said he didn’t want anyone getting any ideas about him and Liv and stirring shit between them. If anybody messed with his friendship with Liv he’d take them down, whether they happened to be engaged to his childhood friend or not.
Irritated, Nate looked away not only for distraction but to find something to throw Jo off whatever scent she thought she was following.
Almost immediately his attention snagged on a petite blonde with curves in all the right places. She smiled outright at him and he gave her a chin lift as he got to his feet. The blonde immediately made her way over to him and was forward enough to plant herself against him.
She got on her tiptoes in her strappy sexy heels and said in his ear as she rested a hand on his chest, “I’m Georgie.”
Georgie smelled nice, not as nice as Liv, but she was hot and her body language told him he wouldn’t have to work for it.
For some reason, Nate was suddenly bored out of his fucking mind. Disgruntled he looked over at the bar and saw Liv was flirting.
And with the blond guy.
Huh.
He felt a pang of something in his chest.
“Your name?”
Distracted, Nate turned back to the blonde and leaned down to say his name in her ear.
When he pulled back she grinned at him. “Want to get out of here, Nate?”
Nate was not shocked by this and usually not turned off by it. Sure he liked the chase but easy was good, too.
Tonight, easy held no appeal whatsoever. “Sorry, darlin’, here celebrating with some friends,” he lied.
Not at all put off, the blonde opened the little clutch she had tucked under her arm and pulled out a business card. When a strobe light hit it he saw it was for a law firm. She was a solicitor.
“Give me a call some time.” She got on her tiptoes, pressing her chest to his upper body and a kiss to the corner of his mouth.
He gave her a smirk and a nod and headed back to the table, tucking her card into the back pocket of his trousers. Just in case.
Jo and Cam seemed to be deep in conversation, smiling and murmuring to each other in that secret way folks in love did. It was good. It meant Jo’s focus was off him and where his attention was this evening. So as Adam and Ellie engaged him in conversation he got away with casting looks toward the bar to see how Liv was progressing.
The guy was into her.
Unfortunately, he also seemed to be doing all of the talking which meant he was more into himself.
You can do better than this prick, Liv, he thought, irritated.
When he saw her pull her phone out of her bag and hand it to the guy that irritation became full blown agitation. Obviously she wasn’t put off by the prat prattling on (about himself, no doubt).
Then Nate froze completely as the guy handed the phone back to her and used the move to tug her into him and kiss her.
What the fuck?
Nate nearly came out of his seat with the intention of rescuing her and decking the prick when the red haze of anger cleared and he realized Liv was kissing him back. In fact letting the guy stick his tongue in her mouth.
“Nate?” Ellie said and then he heard, “Oh. Oh my. Looks like Liv found a date.” She giggled.
Nate wasn’t giggling.
Not that he ever fucking giggled. The point was this wasn’t funny and was so not funny he had to bury how not funny it was. He buried that shit deep.
“What was that?” Ellie asked Liv as she returned to them.
Liv waved off the comment, nonchalantly. “I got myself a number.” She said it like she was in the habit of asking men for their numbers. That shit he buried deep leaked a little, burning his gut. When she looked at him, he forced the burn back down again and gave her a chin lift.
Understanding he wanted her to come to him, Liv sat down next to him.
Her lip gloss had come off and he couldn’t help but wonder if she liked that guy’s kiss. Nate knew she liked it when he kissed her because her gaze got all hazy with lust. Remembering their kiss and how close he’d come to throwing off his concerns and suggesting they fuck, Nate discarded the memory. However, he couldn’t help but ask, “Enjoy yourself?
She shrugged. “I passed your little test.”
So was that all it was? Just part of his test. His test hadn’t involved sticking her tongue in a stranger’s mouth after all. “I didn’t say you had to kiss a stranger.”
“No. But I did.”
Frustrated by her non-answers, he replied, “Seems I’ve got an overachiever on my hands.”
Liv didn’t say anything. In fact she barely said a word for the rest of the night. Nate wanted to know what she was thinking. If she liked the guy at the bar enough to go on a date with him and what that would mean for their friendship.
That was it. Christ, Nate breathed a sigh of relief.
That was what was fucking with him. He hadn’t thought about what it would mean for him and Liv when she actually started seriously dating a guy. Things would change between them and the truth was he didn’t want them to change. He’d miss getting to hang out with her whenever he wanted.
Oh Jesus, he felt much better.
That made total sense.
However, it was selfish. Liv deserved to find love. He needed to put his feelings aside and still help her do that. In fact, he should be proud of her tonight. She did brilliantly.
Insisting on seeing her home safe, Nate tried to think of a way to tell her he was proud without it coming across as patronizing, but Liv beat him to conversation.
“So,” she said breezily, “It looked like you got a number too tonight.”
Aye, he still had the card in his back pocket and now that he understood what he was actually feeling toward Liv, he thought he might give it a call once he dropped Liv off at her flat. “The blonde.”
She snorted. “Is that her name?”
Liv knew he made no apology for his manwhore ways and gave her a look that reiterated that. He didn’t need his friends giving him shit about it when most of the women he slept with didn’t. “It’s the only name I need to know.”
He could tell Liv wanted to say something sarcastic but she proved time and again she was smart and bit her lip, keeping her opinion to herself. And before he knew it they were at the main entrance to her building.
“Nate?” she said his name tentatively, drawin
g his frown to her.
“Aye?”
She cleared her throat, obviously nervous, which annoyed and upset him because he thought by now she knew that she could say anything to him.
“When we kissed it helped.”
That fucking kiss. He held his breath waiting to see where she was taking this.
“I felt better. I felt more confident.”
Nate’s heart started to pound a little harder. “What are you trying to say, Liv?”
“Um,” she wet her lips and suddenly his gaze was transfixed by her shining mouth, “I want you… I want you to teach me how to be… good at sex.”
So focused on her lush mouth it took Nate a second to process the words that had just come out of it. Calmer than he was inside he asked, “In theory or in practice?”
“Practice.”
The word, the meaning, seemed to bounce between them and visions Nate really wished he could shut out swam in his head and every single one of them involved his cock buried inside Liv.
And there was no denying his cock was very, very interested in burying itself inside Olivia Holloway.
Fuck.
“Nate—”
“How much have you had to drink?” Before he even contemplated thinking about this, weighing the risks etc, he needed to know she wasn’t pissing about.
“I’ve only had a few whiskies,’ she insisted. And she did look and sound sober. Nervous but sober. God, it took guts to ask him this. “I’m not drunk. Look, I’m sorry if I’ve made you uncomfortable. I didn’t mean to. We can—”
He reached up and pressed a finger to her trembling mouth to shut her up. “You are one of my closest friends. I don’t want to do anything that might ruin that.”
ON DUBLIN STREET: THE BONUS MATERIAL Page 9