“Patients, Mom. They’re patients.” Ellie sighed, sounding annoyed even from a distance. “Because I’m a doctor, remember?”
“An eye doctor, not a medical doctor.” Mrs. Marshall sniffed. “I still don’t understand why you didn’t go further and become a real doctor, rather than taking the easy way out.”
“I like my profession, mom.”
Good girl, Nate thought, taking a long sip of his beer, fortifying himself. Ellie was a smart, successful professional woman. Who the hell did they think they were, putting her down?
“I’m going to introduce you to someone tonight, Ellie. Since we’re still waiting for your wedding,” Holly interjected, her smile just a touch too bright. “Harry is an ex of mine. He’s a real doctor.”
“I don’t think—”
“You can’t stay single forever. It’s not healthy,” her mother said in agreement.
Nate, on the other hand, vehemently disagreed. If she wasn’t with him, then he was quite happy with Ellie staying single. As long as he was nearby, no other man was going to get near her.
Leave it alone, Nate. Who she dates isn’t your business, he reminded himself. He’d agreed to be her wingman, after all. He frowned at the reminder, pushing those thoughts aside. For now, his mission was to get Ellie away from the women who were doing their best to steal her smile.
“There you are.” Moving quickly, Nate slid through the last throng of people and placed his hand on Ellie’s back. The warmth of the skin there was addictive, and he couldn’t resist rubbing his fingers over her flesh in a small circle.
“Nate!” He’d never seen a woman look more relieved. Damn it, but he liked how real she was. With Ellie there was never any of the phoniness always a part of the women he usually spent time with.
He pressed the martini into her hand, smothering a laugh when she downed half of it in one swallow.
“Mom, Holly, you remember Nate Archer.”
“Indeed.” Mrs. Marshall looked him up and down, lips curled in distaste, and he stared right back, impassively. “How… lovely… that you could make it,” she said, her words clearly at odds with her real feelings.
“Yes, I’m sure you’re thrilled that all of Chase’s oldest friends could be here.” He cast her a benign grin, one that would never let her know her attitude stung.
She’d never forgiven him for coming from the wrong side of the tracks and befriending her son. He could only imagine how she’d feel if he made a move on her daughter. Still, it felt damned good to face the woman after all these years, knowing he’d made a success of himself, a fact even she couldn’t dispute.
He slid the hand touching Ellie’s back up to rest on her shoulder, hugging her to his side. Despite his touch being casual, she stiffened, and her unexpected rejection took him off guard. Ellie had never been embarrassed to be seen with him in the past, and it never dawned on him that she’d have changed.
Had she? Or was he misreading her signals?
“We’re wanted at the bridal party table,” he said, determined to find out.
“Bye, Mom. Holly.” Without a backward glance, Ellie hurried away from the conversation. She tilted her martini glass to her lips as she moved, draining the rest of the liquid, then blinked down at the empty glass in surprise. “Oh. I didn’t mean to drink that so fast.”
“I’d say you deserved it.” Snagging it from her hand, he handed it off to a passing waiter. “Good thing I showed up to rescue you from your family.”
Craning her neck up—man, she was a little thing—she narrowed her eyes up at him. “I can take care of myself.”
“You can. But a little help never hurts.” He smirked down at her.
“True.” She flushed and started to move in the direction of the wedding party table, but he wasn’t ready to let her go.
Her reaction to his public touch niggled at him, wounding him deeply. Placing his hand on her shoulder, he steered her toward an emergency exit that was almost invisible behind one of the lush fabrics covering the wall.
“What are you doing?” Ellie asked. “I thought we were needed at the table.”
“I just said that to get you away from your mom and cousin.” He pushed through the heavy door and they exited the room. The air outside had retained the heat of the summer day, but carried the metallic scent of promised rain.
Nate suddenly craved a wild Washington storm, one that would wash away all the strange, painful, uncertain feelings that accompanied him being back in his hometown. A storm that would set he and Ellie on a clearer path.
He watched as she turned her face up to the sky, inhaling deeply. She’d clearly needed the break as much as he had and he gave her a moment to settle herself.
“Ellie.”
She met his gaze, curiosity in her big blue eyes.
“If you don’t like me touching you, I’d prefer you just say so.” He kept his voice mild, but inside he was feeling anything but. He didn’t want to stop touching her… he wanted his hands on her again and again and again.
“What?” Ellie’s eyes had been closed, but they snapped open at his words. “What on earth gave you the idea that I don’t like you touching me? I mean, why would you think …” That adorable flush stained her cheeks and his words obviously flustered her.
Interesting, he thought. Pushing his insecurities aside – and wasn’t that a kick, Nate Archer having insecurities when it came to women – he moved closer to Ellie. “When I put my arm around you in front of your mother, you stiffened. Why?” He fixed his stare on her face, searching for clues, intrigued by the flush spreading over her skin.
Ellie stared up at him wordlessly for a moment, and he found himself shifting restlessly under her bright stare, frustrated with his inability to read her thoughts.
“Oh, Nate.” She finally spoke and their connection clicked in again, the pull between them honest and real. “Of course I don’t mind you touching me in public. I never cared what my mother thought. I never will.”
He released the breath he hadn’t been aware of holding. She wasn’t ashamed of him, she never had been.
God, he’d been an idiot.
Ellie looked up at him with sky blue eyes. “You know, Nate, you have enough of a reputation with the ladies that I kind of figured you’d be a little less dense than this.” Huffing out an exasperated laugh, she patted him on the shoulder.
Freaking patted him, like he was a puppy – and had she really just called him dense? But she’d done him a favor, breaking not just the tension but his embarrassment at baring his soul and a weakness he’d preferred not to show.
“So we’re all clear now right? Touch me all you want.” Her eyes opened wide at that statement. “I mean … we’re fine.”
They were, he thought, aware that her sudden discomfort and rambling were signs. Damned good signs. Maybe he had been dense when it came to her, but now he wasn’t. Not anymore.
“Anyway, thanks for taking me out here and giving me a second to breathe. Now let’s head back in,” she continued, quickly turning and brushing past him in a sudden rush to get to the door.
He shifted deliberately so that she had to press up against his chest to get by. Her gaze flicked up to meet his, and she sucked in a startled breath. At the same time, her nipples beaded into hard points against his chest, and her lips parted, ready for a kiss, confirming his suspicions.
It wasn’t that Ellie didn’t like him touching her—it was that she did.
The realization, combined with that heady and familiar strawberry scent that seemed to emanate from her very skin, had him hardening uncomfortably against the harsh denim of his jeans.
They stood there for a long moment, lightly pressed together, breath mingling, the air around them thick with unspoken words and longing.
With any other woman, Nate would make his usual slick moves, kiss her and take her to bed. But this was Ellie. The woman he wanted most in the world—the woman who, he was now sure, wanted him back. But she was also the woman he’d th
ought he could never have because she was special. And she deserved more than perfected moves that meant nothing, so he let her go.
He’d need to approach her differently, he thought, processing the fact that not only was she different to him, but she caused him to act differently as well. It was worth letting the moment pass … for now.
She was worth the wait.
Nate took a moment to breathe a last mouthful of crisp air before he followed her back in, eyes trained on the sway of her body as she hurried across the room to their table, well aware that a distinct and irrevocable shift had just taken place. Before, he’d never considered that he could have Ellie. He’d never been good enough, and he hadn’t wanted to put Chase in the position of having to point that out.
But now that he knew Ellie wanted him too?
Holding onto his determination to keep his distance just became infinitely more difficult.
* * *
Nate arrived at the large circular table designated for the wedding party and caught up with Ellie. He touched her elbow and opened his mouth, planning to tell her that they weren’t done talking. But the words were swallowed in a chorus of hellos from friends he hadn’t seen in years, along with introductions to the others at the table.
“Nate. Son of a bitch.” Gavin pounded him on the back and Nate choked on a mouthful of beer. He glanced up to find the other man grinning, obviously pleased to see him.
Warmth suffused him and he turned away from Ellie to greet his old friend. “Shit, it’s been way too long.”
“Well, we’ve got time to catch up.” Gavin pounded on him again, his heavy thump on his back strong. Ex-soldier strong. “Sit down. Let’s drink,” Gavin said.
He gestured to a seat across the table from Ellie.
Too far. It wasn’t going to work for Nate. “I’d rather sit here.” He winked at his friend, then very deliberately slid into the seat next to Ellie instead.
She reached for her glasses, which of course weren’t there, a sure sign his nearness flustered her. Her reactions was really fucking cute, something that had never appealed to him in anyone but Ellie. And something he would have warned himself against thinking, but that little exchange outside—the realization that she wanted him too—had the alpha beast inside his ribcage pounding on its chest and declaring her as his.
Nate took another long swallow of his beer, listening to Gavin and Lucas with one ear as he eyed Ellie. As he watched, her gaze flickered over his guy friends, assessing them in a purely female way.
Nate narrowed his gaze, well aware of what she was doing—sizing them up for that one-night stand she was so hell-bent on having. And that same alpha beast inside him let out a low growl. She’d leave with Gavin or Lucas for a wild romp over his dead body. He refused to let anyone touch her but him. And oh, how he wanted to touch her. All over. To lay his palms on the sweet curves of her ass, and watch them flush with his mark.
He sobered at the thought. The other reason he ought to keep his distance. What would Ellie think if she knew what he liked when it came to sex? How would this strong, sassy woman feel about submitting in the bedroom? Would she hate him for his needs? The thought had a ball of ice forming in his gut.
He watched, on edge, as she talked to Gavin and Lucas, and when she laughingly dismissed them, turning away, relief filled him from head to toe. And when Ellie looked at him, then flushed and dropped her gaze, an electric current whipped over his skin.
Maybe… just maybe she wouldn’t be as opposed to his sexual preferences as he’d believed.
* * *
The other members of the wedding party were all seated at the same table, and once Ellie had had another drink and chatted a bit with most of them, she relaxed. While some of her family might make this weekend hellish, with these people, she could enjoy and be herself.
“So if I told you that you had a nice body, would you hold it against me?” Gavin Hunter, one of her brother’s groomsmen, settled back in the chair on one side of Ellie, and grinned at her, tilting his beer up to his lips.
“Been sitting on that one long?” Ellie rolled her eyes, but his compliment made her feel good, and she couldn’t help smiling. She gestured to his drink. “And how many of those have you had? That sentence had like twenty words. Don’t you usually settle for two?”
“Got to get through this charade one way or another.” Gavin shrugged and took another sip.
Ellie cast him a sidelong glance, assessing him as a potential candidate for her night. He’d always been a good-looking guy, even back when he thought that having a cigarette hanging out the corner of his mouth equaled irresistible sex appeal. With his rock-solid body, close-cropped hair, and pale green eyes—in a perfect world, he’d be a prime candidate for her currently empty one-night stand list.
Ellie stifled a sigh as she reached for her own drink, shooting down that thought immediately. Lame pickup line aside, she couldn’t muster up more than a whisper of attraction for him, and she knew exactly why – the man sitting on her other side.
Nate leaned in so close that Ellie could feel his warm breath the back of her neck. “Does Chase know you’re saying things like that to his baby sister?” he asked Gavin.
He spoke mildly, but when he placed his hand on Ellie’s shoulder and squeezed, the sensation of his fingers pressing into her skin felt… Well, it felt like he was marking her. And she couldn’t lie, it made her breath come a little faster and her pulse quicken.
“And why do you care, old buddy, old pal?” Gavin grinned before thumping his empty beer bottle down on the table. “Nate and Ellie, sitting in a tree…”
She rolled her eyes at his childish behavior. “Gavin, grow up,” she muttered, though her cheeks flamed in heated embarrassment.
She ought to be used to this old rhyme directed at her. Back in high school, when she’d actually had a crush on Nate, her brother had teased her mercilessly, as had Gavin and Lucas, and she hoped no one remembered or brought that up tonight.
She waited for Nate to react but he remained silent. Remembering their interaction outside, her heart pounded against her ribcage.
Gavin, who was obviously already a few steps past tipsy and on his way to drunk, pushed away from the table, presumably to get another. The chatter from the rest of the group—Lucas, another groomsman, and two bridesmaids who’d introduced themselves as Kate and Harper, along with Harper’s much older date—was loud. Almost enough to cover the sudden, heavy silence from the man seated on her left side.
“So he’s being ridiculous, huh?” she asked Nate, needing something to break the tension after Gavin’s teasing.
Bracing herself, she twisted in her seat to look at Nate. The mixture of emotions she found in his expression—definite heat, a touch of tenderness and a bit of possession—were startling and more than a little confusing. Because earlier when she thought for sure he’d lean in and kiss her, he’d backed off. She didn’t know what to make of his hot and cold behavior. And she wasn’t going to figure it out in the middle of a crowd.
“I’m going to get another drink,” she said, needing a break. She started to rise from her chair, and suddenly his fingers were at the small of her back again—and oh, she liked the way he touched her there.
Slowly, she sank back down into her seat.
“I don’t like Gavin hitting on you,” Nate said, a bit of dark surprise in his husky words.
“I didn’t like it either,” she admitted. Gavin wasn’t the one she wanted flirting with her.
In fact, there was only one man here tonight who made her blood sing—and he was staring at her, the corners of his lips curling up and a storm swirling in his eyes.
She’d never dreamt that Nate might actually be interested in her. And though she’d never been particularly adept at flirting, she’d have to be blind to miss the heat he was throwing out.
Without warning, a hand clamped down on her shoulder, interrupting her thoughts and causing her to jump.
“Evening, folks.” Her br
other grinned down at them, interrupting and breaking the moment. “I’m so happy you’re here! You all came!”
She pushed aside the little hum of her interaction with Nate and turned to her brother. “Of course we came.” Ellie looked past Chase to where Meredith stood beside him, and they shared a mutual eye roll. “I’m your sister, remember? And these are your best friends? Where else would we be?”
“I know. But…” Chase exhaled deeply, then cast a look down at Nate, whose own expression seemed a little… tight. “I knew you’d come, Ellie. But Nate… I’m really glad you’re here.”
Why would Chase doubt that Nate would come? Before she could ask, Meredith pulled Chase along with her to greet the other bridesmaids. Ellie shrugged off the odd encounter as she watched Chase and Meredith settle into their seats.
Despite the fact that he was a little bit tipsy, Chase doted on his bride. The expressions on the couple’s faces made Ellie sigh a bit inside as she watched. She was happy enough being single—she’d never been the type to feel like she needed a man to complete her. But even with Miles, she’d missed the companionship that came with having someone real and true by her side.
And she’d be a big fat liar if she didn’t cop to missing sex. Oh she’d had sex with Miles. Nice sex. But she’d wanted hot, panty-melting sex. The kind she’d never experienced before. The kind a guy she desired badly could give her.
She cast a sidelong glance at Nate to find him watching her in return. The heat in his stare stoked the low flames already burning in her belly. She wanted him. And she was kind of getting the idea that he wanted her too—though she had no illusions that it would be for anything more than one night. His reputation assured her of that. But one night was all she needed to scratch the itch, right?
“I’m going to make a toast!” Chase banged his butter knife against his water glass, hard enough that Meredith winced and took it away from her fiancé, laughing.
“Easy, hon.” She placed a hand on Chase’s shoulder, and the look he cast her was so… just so full, that Ellie felt her heart swell.
Never Say Love (Never Say Never #1) Page 4