“I guess we’re even now, huh?” Nate said with a lazy grin.
How the hell was he not embarrassed right now? If I got caught masturbating, I’d probably shrivel up and die.
“How so?” I asked.
He cocked an eyebrow. "I saw your ass last night, and now you’ve caught me with my pants down. Literally.”
I couldn’t help but snicker at that, and a good chunk of the awkward tension in the room dissolved. “That’s true. We’ve both been in compromising positions now. Mine might actually have been a little bit worse, seeing as I was fully naked.” My blush deepened at the thought.
Nate chuckled and nodded. I looked at my feet, then back up at him. “Hey, while I’m here, can I quickly tell you something?”
Now that I’d seen him in a horribly awkward, embarrassing position, I was beginning to feel a strange new sense of confidence in myself. It felt like we were equal now, because both of us had totally humiliated ourselves in front of each other. That confidence boost gave me the push I needed to say the things I should’ve said this morning to straighten things out with him once and for all.
On my terms, at least.
Nate smiled. “Sure.”
I cleared my throat. “Well, firstly, I wanted to say sorry again, for being so mad at you these last few weeks. I had no right.”
“It’s cool. I told you this morning, I get it.”
I shook my head slowly. “It’s not just that. I wanted to clear something up.”
“What?”
“I was thinking earlier that it may appear.…” I stopped mid-sentence and coughed nervously. “It might look like I was jealous, seeing as I was so angry after hearing that phone call and thinking you had a girlfriend, way before I’d ever heard of the Ginny Morell rumors.”
Nate tilted his head slightly to the side. “Right.”
I swallowed hard. Yes, I was jealous all those weeks ago, even though I barely knew him and had zero claim on him. I could admit that to myself now. But not to Nate. He’d probably think it was the most pathetic thing he’d ever heard, and the thought of him pitying me made me want to curl up into a ball and roll into a deep, dark hole. So I needed him to think otherwise, as soon as possible.
My face turned hot. “I want you to know that I’m well aware that we’re just platonic acquaintances. Or friends, even. I know this is just a pretend relationship. I mean, it was my idea to do this in the first place. So it wasn’t that I was jealous all those weeks ago. It was just that I was angry because I thought you lied, and I hate being lied to.”
Nate’s lips twisted into an amused smirk. I wondered what I’d said that was so funny.
“Then there’s also my behavior last night,” I went on. “Obviously, laced cookies don’t agree with me, so I guess they made me fling myself at you and beg you to do certain… things. But again, I know we’re not together. So I’m sorry for that. It was inappropriate, and I should’ve apologized for that earlier this morning.”
He lifted a brow. “Inappropriate, huh?”
“Yes. I promise it won’t happen again.”
He moved closer to me. “You know, I wasn’t going to do this,” he said, eyes flashing with intent. “But there’s something I should tell you.”
“Oh?”
He leaned down, his face only inches from my left ear. “I don’t believe you,” he murmured.
I gulped and took a step back, surprised at his words. “What do you mean?”
Nate’s eyes twinkled with amusement. “What you just said—it’s not true.”
“But it is,” I insisted, my hands trembling by my side. “I know very well that we’re not together. We’re just pretend. I wouldn’t have any right to be jealous….” I trailed off and looked down.
“You’re still wrong,” he replied.
I peeked up at him again. “About?”
His right hand went to my shoulder. Tingles shot up and down my spine. “Georgie, we have been pretending, but not in the way we initially agreed to. We’re not just acquaintances,” he said. His voice was firm yet provocative. “And I happen to think you were a little jealous all those weeks ago. I happen to think it will happen again. You just don’t want to admit it yet.”
I stared up at him as his words sank in. Uh… what was happening right now? Was he insinuating that he knew I wanted him, and he actually wanted me as well?
To anyone else, it might be dead obvious, but not to me. Not considering what I’d been through before, which made me second-guess nearly everything I heard or thought. For all I knew, Nate simply found it funny that I so obviously desired him, despite my previous statements to the contrary. It didn’t necessarily mean he wanted me in return.
As if reading my mind, he stepped even closer, reaching for my chin with one finger. He tilted my face up to meet his. “You’ve gone through a lot. It’s affected you badly. I know that. So I also know you need time before you can really trust anyone and let someone in.” He paused and held up a hand. “You’ve built this massive wall between yourself and other people. But you wanna know something about that wall, Georgie?”
“What?” I breathed. He was so close now. His scent made my senses wild, that same heady mix of spice and orange.
His lips slowly curled into a beguiling half-smile. “Since I met you, I’ve been chipping away at it. Because I want you. I want you in my bed. I want you up against that door over there. I want you everywhere. So one day I’m gonna break that wall down. I’m gonna tear it down. Maybe not today, but soon. And when I finally get through, you’ll trust me. You’ll admit you feel this thing too, and then you’ll give yourself to me. I’ll wait, because I know I’m right. It’ll happen.”
My eyes widened. For once in my life, I was utterly speechless. Motionless. I simply stood there staring up at Nate in silence.
If he wanted to take me right now, he could. He could pick me up and throw me on that bed, and I wouldn’t do a damn thing to stop him. I was powerless to resist, powerless against the heat building between my legs. I wanted this man too damn badly.
And now I knew he wanted me too.
Instead of taking another half-step forward to completely close the distance between us and wrap me in his arms like I imagined he would, Nate briskly turned and stepped away, as if he’d said nothing at all. As if he hadn’t just stared right into my soul and clamped his hand firmly around my heart at the same time.
He picked up his laptop and held it out to me. “Here. You better go deal with that work emergency of yours before it’s too late.”
I swallowed hard and took the laptop from him, still unable to find my tongue. He looked down at me, eyes glimmering with mischief and desire. “Think about what I said, okay? I’ll wait.”
I nodded mutely. With that, Nate put his hand on my back and gently steered me over to the door. I was able to choke out a soft ‘thank you’ as he opened it for me. Then I fled the room, the laptop clutched tightly to my chest.
I stood on the other side of the wall for a moment, my heart pounding as I took several long, deep breaths to try and steady my nerves. Holy shit. Did that really just happen? Did Nate really just admit that he’d wanted me this whole time, or did I hallucinate the whole thing out of desperation?
My mind whirled, replaying the conversation in my head. Oh yeah, he wanted me, all right. He made it pretty darn clear with that speech. He also made my panties pretty darn wet. My skin itched for his touch, and I wanted to go back in there right now and kiss him like mad instead of standing out here in the hall alone. But I couldn’t.
Not yet.
Nate was on the money when he said I’d erected a wall between myself and other people. I was holding out from being close to someone again, and there was a reason for that. I still hadn’t been able to rid myself of that nasty little voice in my head which constantly told me that history would only repeat itself. Deep down, I still worried I’d fall for the wrong guy again. I still worried I’d lose everything.
So Nate was
right. I needed time before I could truly commit to anything; before I could let myself be taken in the way I so desperately wanted. But now that I knew I had him on my side, trying his hardest to tear down that wall, I had a feeling I wouldn’t need much longer. Knowing he wanted me and was willing to wait for me allowed me to see a bright light at the end of the tunnel for the first time in years.
Nate was that light.
With a spring in my step and a general airiness I hadn’t felt in years, I headed for the stairs, still holding the laptop close to my chest. When I reached my floor, I almost dropped it with shock as I spied a familiar face in the hall, along with a familiar shit-eating grin.
“Georgie Miller! I was wondering when I’d run into you.”
It was Tripp Huntington-Davis. Oh, lord. I’d almost forgotten he existed.
“Tripp. What are you doing here?” I asked as he approached me. My voice came out in a squeak.
He grinned again, displaying a row of unnaturally white teeth. “Don’t you remember? I told you my family owns a resort on this island.”
Oh, boy. He did tell me that, didn’t he?
I grimaced. “So… why are you here?”
He chuckled and held up his palms. “Don’t worry, I’m not stalking you. There was some business to attend to here, so I offered to do it.”
My shoulders sagged with relief. “Oh. I see.”
Tripp’s smile grew wider again. “It did cross my mind that I might see you here, I’ll admit that. This is the only luxury resort on this island, and you seem like a woman who craves the best.”
“Er. Thanks.” I didn’t actually know if that was a compliment or a dig, but I gave him the benefit of the doubt for now.
“So are you here with that fake boyfriend of yours?” he asked, arching a dark brow.
“Um. Yes,” I admitted in a low voice. There was no need to tell him the whole story, let alone anyone else.
“Well, seeing as that’s not real, and we’re both here, maybe you’ll finally agree to have dinner with me? Tonight, at Amuse. It’s down by the water. Five star, of course.” He sniffed after he said that last part, as if anything lower than a five star restaurant might serve expired dog food.
I smiled thinly. “No thanks,” I said. “Anyway, I better not keep you from your business.”
I went to turn around, but he grabbed my arm, just like he had in the studio three weeks ago. “Come on,” he said in a syrupy voice. “We keep running into each other. You can’t deny fate, can you?”
Urgh. This wasn’t fate. More like ‘hate’.
I wrenched myself away from his rough grip. “I said no. Please stop touching me.”
He lifted his brows. “I’m not a man who likes to hear the word ‘no’, Georgie.”
I rolled my eyes. “Yeah, I can see that. But I’m still not interested.”
Tripp pressed a hand to his heart and scrunched his face up. “Ouch. You’re a cold one. But lucky for you, I can take the pain like a man,” he said. He tilted his head to the side and proudly puffed up his chest. “You know, I actually once tore my ACL and barely felt a thing, even though ACL injuries are the second most painful thing a human can experience.”
Was this conversation the first most painful thing a human could experience? Sure seemed like it.
“Congratulations on your lack of feelings,” I said through gritted teeth. Was he sharp enough to get the double meaning? Probably not. “That’s very impressive. Anyway, if you’ll excuse me, I have somewhere to be.”
He touched a hand to my arm again as he leaned in close. “You’re my favorite kind of woman,” he said in a low, gruff voice. He probably thought he sounded sexy. “You don’t give it up easily. You play hard to get. It’s hot as fuck.”
Once again, I jerked away from his unwelcome touch. “I’m not playing hard to get. I’m seriously not interested.”
I turned and stalked away. Tripp called after me. “You’ll change your mind one day, Georgie. I always get what I want!”
I ignored him and kept heading down the hall. What on earth was his problem? He was acting like no one had ever said no to him before.
Hm. Perhaps I was actually the first.
“Who was that man, Georgina?”
With a start, I looked up. My mother was standing by the elevators farther down the hall, her arms folded and her eyes slightly narrowed in suspicion. She was wearing her mysteriously-sourced diamond earrings again, along with a Ferragamo bag, but I didn’t have the mental capacity to worry about her secretive new income stream right now. There were more pressing issues at hand.
“Hi, Mom. I didn’t even see you there,” I said hurriedly. Don’t tell me you heard the conversation, I silently pleaded. Tripp had distinctly mentioned a fake boyfriend, so if my mother heard that from down the hall, I was dead meat.
“I’ve only been here for a minute. But who was that man? I saw him grab you.”
“He’s no one.”
“Then why was he touching you? Should we call security?”
I wish. Seeing as Tripp’s family apparently owned this damn resort, security wouldn’t do much.
“He’s just some annoying guy I met at the studio and ran into here. It’s fine. Anyway, sorry, I really have to go and deal with this work thing,” I said, holding up the laptop by way of explanation. “I’ll see you later?”
“Okay. I hope you’re feeling better after last night’s…. incident.”
I couldn’t help but smile at that. “I am. Thanks, Mom.”
The elevator door pinged, and she stepped in with a curt wave. I waved back to her, and when the doors closed, I turned and looked back down the hall to make sure Tripp was gone.
He was.
I breathed a small sigh of relief. For now, I was safe… but I had a feeling today’s encounter wouldn’t be the last I saw of him.
22
Nate
“Aye, aye, Captain.”
I gave Georgie a mock salute as we boarded the huge white yacht Libby had booked for us this afternoon. It was probably big enough to fit at least fifty people on the main deck, not even counting the smaller sunbathing and dive decks, but only inner circle wedding party members were invited so Libby didn’t have to shell out even more cash.
Although I wasn’t exactly ‘inner circle’ considering the situation with Robert, I was still on the list, seeing as I was Georgie’s date. Apart from us, there were a few close family members, the bridal party, and the groomsmen. The plan was to take the yacht out to a reef near the island, then do some snorkeling, sunbaking, and drinking. Sounded good to me. I couldn’t remember the last time I took a day off to do something like that.
Georgie grinned and rolled her eyes in a good-natured way as I saluted her. “I’m giving it five minutes before you start making jokes about hot seamen.”
“Five? You’ll be lucky if I make it two.” I patted her on the back, guiding her up the ramp onto the main deck. We were the last ones aboard, and when I glanced over my shoulder, I saw a marina employee waving at another onboard, letting him know he could get things started.
Georgie flashed me another smile as we headed up to the sun deck to check out the view. “It’s a perfect day for this.”
“Sure is. Hope we see some dolphins.”
She clapped her hands together. “Yes! I’d love that.”
This was the first time I’d seen her since our little chat yesterday. She hadn’t been at dinner last night, because her work emergency apparently ended up keeping her busy till almost midnight. As such, I had to sit through a whole three course dinner with her mother, Libby, and Robert, all without Georgie there as my buffer. It wasn’t too bad, though—Margaret asked her usual prying questions, Libby was friendly, and my brother simply ignored me. Nothing too hard to handle.
As for today, I was half-expecting Georgie to avoid me like the plague. I worried I’d gone too far yesterday in laying my cards out on the table, but things seemed fine. Better than fine, actually. There was v
ery little awkwardness between us, and she seemed happier. More relaxed. If anything, I should’ve damn well told her how I felt sooner. If I knew it would loosen her up this much, I would have. Still, I knew it would take time for her to feel a hundred percent ready to let herself get close to me, and I was willing to wait as long as it took for her to finally open up.
That didn’t mean I couldn’t try to hurry the process along…
As one of the charter employees steered the yacht out onto the sparkling blue waters of Clare Bay, I slowly pulled off my grey T-shirt in front of her, making sure she was looking. Then I stretched my arms out toward the sun, ensuring she got a nice view of my chest and abdomen. “Really is a perfect day. I can finally work on my tan.”
Georgie’s cheeks slowly turned pink. I could practically see the internal battle raging in her mind as she struggled to tear her eyes away from my chest. “Um. Yeah. But you already look very….” She coughed and looked over at the ocean, her cheeks flushing an even rosier shade. “Very tanned. And UV rays really aren’t good for you. Maybe you should put your shirt back on.”
I arranged my features into a concerned expression. “You’re looking a bit sunburnt already. Are you okay?” I asked, loving how easily I could make her blush. I pressed my hand to her forehead.
She nodded and swallowed. “I’m fine. Just need some sunscreen. You should put some on too.” She quickly rummaged in her straw beach tote. “Crap, I think I forgot mine.”
“I’ll go grab some from your mom,” I said. “I saw her hauling around a big bottle of it earlier.”
I went to find Margaret inside the yacht’s main lounge and was promptly caught up in a conversation with her about pre-cancerous moles after asking for the lotion. Finally extricating myself from her grip ten minutes later, I wandered around to see where Georgie had gotten to. By now, the yacht had slowed to a crawl and come to a halt right near Clare Island’s famous coral reef.
I spied Georgie down on the lower dive deck, reclining on a white sun lounge. She was surrounded by bridal party members who’d also decided to sunbake, and she’d stripped off her top and shorts to soak in some rays as she relaxed with a book. Her hair was pulled back in a messy bun, exposing her neck, and her swimsuit displayed her arms, legs, and a decent amount of cleavage. It was a demure navy blue one-piece.
Mr. Man Candy: A Fake Boyfriend Romance Page 19