by London Hale
I yanked open the door of the coffee shop and shoved him outside, making him stumble on the sidewalk.
He spun around to face me, smoothing out his shirt as he did so. “I can’t believe you just did that! Do you even know who my father is?”
“I don’t give a fuck who your father is,” I said, pushing him away from Eve. Just to get more space between them. Every nerve ending in my body was begging me to fight. To protect. But the three of us were under a microscope right now, drawing the eyes of several onlookers downtown, not to mention the people who’d been seated in the coffee shop when I’d dragged his ass out. Because of that, I couldn’t slam his face into the brick building. Couldn’t break every bone in his body. Couldn’t smear the sidewalk with his blood. “If you ever even look at her again, I will come after you without this uniform on. Do you understand what I’m saying? I’ll hunt you down until it’s just you and me, and then we’ll see how many different ways I can make you bleed. Am I making myself clear, you spoiled little fucker?”
He paled, nodding quickly before turning on his heel and scurrying in the opposite direction from where I left Eve.
Eve.
I whipped around, frantically searching for her. She stood off to the side, her eyes wide. I couldn’t read what that look meant, but I didn’t have it in me right then to try. She wiped the back of her hand against her mouth again, like she was trying to erase the taste of something foul, and I narrowed my eyes as I stalked over to her.
“Did he hurt you?”
She dropped her hand to her side. “No, he—he tried to kiss me. But I turned my head. He just grazed my lips.”
That fucker’d had his lips on my girl. Forced his lips on her. If we weren’t the focus of a dozen onlookers, I would’ve wiped his taste from her lips right then and there. I needed to get her out of here, as fast as possible if I had any hope at all of not taking her up against the front windows of Bundt and Grind.
“Get in, Eve.” I jerked my chin toward my car.
“But my car—”
“I don’t care about your car. Get in. Now.”
She startled at the harshness in my tone, shrinking back, and that killed me. Fucking killed me. That flinch made me feel like the biggest asshole in the world, despite the fact that all I wanted to do was protect her. The red haze that had overtaken me at seeing Brock advancing on her receded enough that I could contain the rage boiling inside me as I walked toward her.
Balling my hands into fists so I didn’t reach for her, didn’t lift her against me and carry her off to where I knew she’d be safe, I lowered my voice so only she could hear. “I walked in on him reaching toward you and you looking terrified as hell. And now I just found out that he kissed you? He touched what’s mine? I’m hanging on by a thread here, baby. I need you to get in the fucking car. Please.”
Parting her lips, she stared at me for a moment before nodding. I opened the door for her, slamming it shut once she was inside. Circling around the hood, I ignored the commotion the encounter had caused and attempted to get myself under control, but it was like trying to contain an erupting volcano. All I could see was the look on her face, eyes darting around the coffee shop in a panic as she’d tried to flee. Fear. She’d been scared, and I hadn’t been there to help her.
“Nathan,” she whispered, brushing her fingers against my forearm.
I gripped the steering wheel until my knuckles turned white. “I can’t right now, Eve.”
She must’ve heard the desperation in my voice because she didn’t say any more, letting her fingers drop from my arm as she stared out the window. I wanted them back on me, wanted her touching me everywhere. I wanted to pull over and take her against the hood of my car, not caring who could see. Wanting people to see, just so they’d know she was mine.
By the time we pulled into my driveway, my need was so strong I could barely hold myself together. This urgency to claim was something I’d never felt with anyone but her. Despite the view in front of me—Eve walking up my path into my house—I still couldn’t stop the incident from replaying in my head. Him looming over her. Her terrified face. Me being too far from her to do anything.
But here, now, I couldn’t get my hands on her fast enough.
Before the back door was shut behind me, I had her in my arms, her tits pressed against my chest and her ass cupped in my hands.
“Nathan,” she managed to get out before I sealed my mouth over hers. She moaned into the kiss, sliding her tongue against mine as she wrapped her arms and legs around me.
I pushed her against the door, pinning her in place with my hips as I devoured her mouth for long moments until she was gasping for air. “Don’t want you to taste anyone but me. Don’t want you to remember anyone’s hands on you but mine.” I reached under the hem of her skirt, sliding my fingers along the seam of her pussy through the cotton of her panties. “Jesus, you’re wet already. Tell me this is for me, baby. Tell me.”
“It’s for you. It’s always for you,” she said, her head tipped back against the door as I licked up the length of her neck.
I needed to get at more skin, needed to feel her against me, but I didn’t want to take my hands off her. Couldn’t stand the thought of putting her down even to get her naked. Bracing her against the door with my hips, I gripped the front of her shirt and tugged it apart, snapping buttons off until her chest was bared.
“Nathan!”
“I’ll buy you another,” I said as I pulled the cup of her bra down and sucked a nipple into my mouth, then did the same on the other side. Her little hips worked against me, grinding her pussy down on my cloth-covered cock. Like she couldn’t wait. Like she needed me inside her as desperately as I needed to be.
“You need my cock again?” I blew against the nipple I’d just licked a circle around, causing it to harden even further.
She whimpered and scraped her nails down my chest, her fingers tracing around my badge, biting her lip as she stared at me.
“Tell me you need it, baby. Tell me you need me.” I was a selfish fuck for asking this of her. For not staying away in the first place, but I couldn’t. Not anymore.
“I do. I need you, Nathan.”
I clicked the button on the front of my belt buckle and let my uniform pants fall to the floor with the weight of my gear. Shoving my boxer briefs down far enough to free my cock with one hand, I hoisted her up with the other, then pulled her panties to the side. I sank inside in one deep thrust.
“Christ.” I glanced down to where she was wrapped around my cock. “I didn’t think it could get better than yesterday, but I was wrong. This pussy’s welcoming me home, isn’t it?”
She gasped, digging her nails into the back of my neck as she stared at me, flushed and fucking perfect. I gripped her hips, keeping a barrier between her and the door, protecting her from the punishing rhythm of my thrusts as she moaned into my mouth. The kiss was sloppy, her movements uncoordinated as she tried to match my pumping hips before finally giving in and letting me work her how I wanted. My hips slapped against her inner thighs, and some sick part of me hoped I’d leave marks. Wanted her to have a little reminder of me only she could see.
But I wanted a reminder everyone could see, too.
Bending my head to her neck, I sucked a patch of skin into my mouth, sinking my teeth in before soothing it with my tongue. “If he ever comes near you again, you tell me. Do you understand? You fucking tell me.” I worked myself into her faster. Harder. Deeper. Until I felt her clenching around me, her moans nearly nonstop. “You’re mine. I tried—I tried so hard to stay away. I should stay away, but I’m not strong enough. Not strong enough to walk away from you now. I can’t. I can’t.”
“So don’t. Stay with me.” She brushed her lips across my ear, her breathing erratic. “Stay with me, Nathan.” And then she was coming around me, her pussy squeezing me so fucking hard, I couldn’t do anything but follow her.
“Always,” I groaned, thrusting deep and spilling inside her. “
Always.”
It didn’t matter if being with her might cost me the most important relationship I’d ever had. Would probably cost me that. I loved Brandon like a brother. He’d been there for me through every shovelful of shit tossed on me during my life. He’d been the only constant, the only family I’d had.
But none of that mattered. Not in the face of Eve.
Nothing would matter if it meant I had to be without her. If it meant I couldn’t have her by my side. She was mine, and I’d fight for her if I had to.
We need to get out of bed.”
Nathan kissed his way up my neck, running his hands over my breasts in a rough sort of possessiveness that had me arching into his touch. “No, we don’t.”
His thigh pressed against my pussy, and I nearly screamed. I was so sensitive from yesterday and this morning. If he pushed me any harder, I’d probably give in to him. But not yet. “Nathan.”
“Eve.” He pressed his lips to mine again, his weight pinning me down. His entire body practically enveloping mine. I loved him like this—all affectionate and demanding. Refusing to let me out of his sight. I understood it, too, after the situation with Brock this morning.
But…
“I’m starving.” That came out as more of a whine than I’d intended, but I couldn’t help it. My stomach was growling. “We need to eat lunch.”
Nathan sighed in an exaggerated way, as if the thought of food was too much of a bother. “Fine. My baby needs food. But after that, it’s back to bed and no clothes for the rest of the day.”
I wouldn’t have had it any other way.
Nathan pulled on a pair of threadbare sweat pants that hung low on his hips and, with one final kiss, headed for the kitchen. The sight of his tight ass rolling, the muscles of his back flexing, and the tattoo that covered his left arm—my tattoo—almost made me regret letting him leave the bed.
I tossed on one of Nathan’s T-shirts—almost giggling at how it hung to my knees—before heading for the front of the house. As happy as I was with Nathan, though, a sense of anxiety haunted me. I couldn’t stay here forever, no matter how much I wanted to. Not until we talked to my dad. Nathan pulling Brock out of the coffee shop would be major grist for the gossip mill within hours. Even my work-obsessed dad would probably hear it and know something was up. Especially if he spotted my car parked downtown where we’d left it. Not that I expected him to—he’d probably be at work until late in the evening like always.
Still, we needed to sit down with him, to explain things, to reassure him that we were happy together. But even the thought of starting that conversation made me sick to my stomach. Not to mention the fact that Nathan and I needed to have some serious conversations about our plans. How could we be so committed and so up in the air at the same time?
“Eggs okay?” Nathan called from the kitchen.
“Yeah. Sounds good. I like mine—”
“Scrambled with red pepper flakes. I know.”
And he’d have his over easy with so much pepper they were almost black. The benefits of having known your new lover all your life—little things like food preferences didn’t need to be discussed.
As Nathan opened cabinets and banged around in the kitchen, I headed for the back hall. Discarded clothes left a trail all the way to the bedroom, and buttons littered the floor. A sure sign of a good time had by all, if I did say so myself. Still, it was a bit of a mess. Might as well make myself useful.
I was on my hands and knees collecting buttons when the back door swung open.
“Nate. I can’t find… Evie?”
Oh God, that voice. It was the last thing I wanted to hear considering I probably looked as if I’d been doing exactly what I had been doing. Having lots of sex…with Nathan. His best friend.
My dad froze just inside the door, his polished loafers stepping on one of the buttons from the shirt Nathan had ripped off me. There was no way this was going to go well.
I sat back, took a deep breath, and peered up into the eyes of my father. He took one look at me, and his face went red.
Shit. “Dad, it’s not what—”
But I was too late to smooth this over. He grabbed my arm and pulled me to my feet, scattering all the buttons I’d collected across the floor again. The move was so sudden, so swift, I couldn’t help myself. I yelped. A crash came from the kitchen, and then the sound of Nathan’s running footsteps grew closer.
“Eve!” Nathan raced around the corner, grabbing me and pulling me behind him probably before he even saw who was with me. In what felt like a split second, his hands ran over my body as he shoved me deeper into the house, keeping himself between my dad and me. When he seemed sure I was okay and there was enough distance between me and the supposed threat, he whipped back around. “Who the fuck—”
“You bastard.” My dad stepped forward, shoving Nathan hard. “I heard you pulled Eve and Brock out of Bundt and Grind. Do you have any idea how panicked I was when I saw her car there but couldn’t find her? I come here looking for help, and you’ve got her barely dressed and on your floor like some sort of…” He huffed a breath, glaring down at my naked legs under the hem of what was obviously Nathan’s shirt. And then he yelled, “She’s my fucking daughter!”
My dad charged, and I stumbled back, the force of the two crashing together almost knocking me over. Regaining my footing, I spun into the living room, still unable to look away from the fight. But I couldn’t really even call it a fight. My dad swung, hitting Nathan square in the mouth one time. To my surprise, Nathan didn’t duck, didn’t even try to defend himself. Just took the punch my dad dished out.
Nathan’s head snapped toward me, then rocked forward once more. Swiping his thumb across his lip and smearing blood along the way, he flicked his eyes up to mine before turning back toward my dad, still holding me behind him. “I deserved that. But that’s the only shot I’m giving you.”
“You don’t need to give me shit, asshole. You think you can touch my baby and get away with it? I’ll have your ass thrown in jail.”
“Dad, stop.” I slid between them, arms out, hoping like hell they could both just settle down.
Nathan tried to yank me behind him again. “Eve, no.”
I smacked at his hands, refusing to hide from my own father. “It’s fine, Nathan. Dad, he never did anything wrong.”
“What do you know, Evie? You’re just a dumb kid when it comes to men,” Dad roared.
Once again, Nathan shoved me out of the way, putting himself between my dad and me. “I don’t give a fuck if she’s your daughter. You’re not going to talk to her like that, not in my house.”
But my dad had known Nathan most of his life, had probably fought with him a time or two. He didn't back down. Instead, he inched forward, standing toe-to-toe and glaring at his best friend. “I’ll have you strung up in the center of town.”
“No.” I grabbed Nathan by the arm, my fingers spread across the face of the woman in his tattoo. My hold solid over his sign of love for me.
“Let go of him, Evie,” my dad said, almost growling the words.
But I couldn't let go. I wouldn't. I held tighter, clutching Nathan like a lifeline. “No, Dad. You're so wrong about this. I’m an adult, and this relationship was my choosing. Being with Nathan forever is what I want.”
Nathan’s muscle twitched beneath my fingers as his head whipped around. His brown eyes met mine, so much emotion in them. So much heat. “It is?”
My dad huffed, ignoring Nathan’s question. “You can’t know that—you’re only eighteen.”
But I didn't care. Nathan was looking at me as if I was the only thing he wanted, the only thing he needed in the entire world. As if he couldn't believe I would choose him.
“I know I love him,” I said, refusing to break Nathan’s gaze. Needing him to understand my declaration was as much for him as for my dad. “I know there’s no one else I’d rather be with. And I know he's the one person who could ever make me happy.”
My d
ad groaned and started to pace. “This is bullshit, Nate. You're too fucking old for her.”
Nathan just kept staring down at me, looking so damn disbelieving. The fire there, the need…that look was everything to me.
“I’m not good enough for her,” Nathan said, his voice too deep. Too honest. Speaking to me as much as my dad. “I’ll never be good enough, but I’d rather die than hurt her.”
“And when she leaves?” my dad asked. “When she heads off for college this fall?”
“It doesn’t matter. Wherever Eve is, I’ll be.” He gave me a tiny smile, a private one just for me before meeting my dad’s eyes. “I can’t be without her, Brandon. I know that’s not what you want to hear, and it’s not what I want to say. But I wasted so much time fighting it, I’m not going to waste another minute not being with her. I love her.”
“Really?” The word was out before I could think about it, before I could try to filter it.
Nathan wrapped one arm around my waist, pulling me closer into his body. “Was I doing a poor job of showing you that? Yeah, really.”
I grinned and rose onto the balls of my feet, needing to be closer. “Really, really?”
He ducked his head closer, his lips brushing my ear as he whispered, “Now that I’ve had a taste, I can’t give you up.”
“I don’t want you to.” I dropped back down, flushing as I caught my dad glaring from only a few feet away. “And you don’t need to go anywhere. You can stay right here.”
My dad raised an eyebrow as Nathan frowned.
“I’m going to go to Temperance Falls College,” I said, making sure my voice was firm. “I don’t want to leave the island, so I’m staying here.”
“What?” Nathan asked, looking almost as if he didn’t want to believe me. “But Eve, you should—”
My dad cut him off as he said, “You should go to a better school away from here. Experience life before someone”—he waved at Nathan, glaring again—“traps you into a life less than you deserve.”