by Soraya Lane
“With one woman, she means,” interrupted Hope. “According to Chase, he’s never been in a relationship longer than, well, never, I don’t think.”
“We’re just having fun,” Faith managed to say, holding her glass to stop her hand from shaking. “I wouldn’t exactly call it a relationship.”
“You might be having fun, but he’s definitely in love with you.” Chloe sighed. “A million and one girls have tried to hook that big fish, and none have even come close. Then you come along and bam, he’s caught the bait and not even trying to get away. I say just enjoy it.”
Chloe and Hope giggled, but Faith was still in shock. Was he actually in love with her? She took a long, slow sip of her vodka. That was being stupid. There was no chance he was in love with her. He’d told her as much tonight, that they were still just having fun, that he loved having her around but that they were still on the same page about where their relationship was going.
“I…”
“There’s nothing to be embarrassed about, if that’s what’s worrying you,” Chloe assured her. “And if you want us to shut up, just say so. We’re not easily offended.”
Faith took a deep breath and smiled. “It’s fine. I just think you’ve both got the wrong idea about what’s going on with us.”
The other two exchanged glances like she was the crazy one.
“We’ve kept it quiet because we decided before anything happened that we just wanted to have fun for a while,” she continued. “Neither of us wanted something serious, so we’re definitely on the same page there.”
“Except for the fact that Nate has gone kind of gaga over you.” Chloe giggled. “He hasn’t worked from home all year as far as I know, and he’s usually traveling all the time, but miraculously now that you’re here he’s hardly left the ranch.”
Hope nodded and Faith just sighed. “Please stop.”
“Because you’re embarrassed or because you feel bad that he feels differently than you?” Hope asked.
Faith picked up her drink and tipped it back until she’d drunk every last drop. She dropped it with a bang on the table and groaned. “I’ve lusted after Nate since I was a horny teenager looking at him like he was a sex god,” she admitted. “All I wanted was for him to make me feel good, to have fun for a bit until I was back on my feet again. And now it’s turned into something a whole lot more serious than it was supposed to and I don’t know how it even happened.”
Hope reached over and squeezed her hand. “We shouldn’t have said anything. I guess we both just presumed that you and Nate were, um, serious.”
“I’ve got to admit that we were eyeing you up as the perfect sister-in-law,” Chloe teased, still grinning. “But look, so long as you and Nate know what’s going on and what you both want, that’s between the two of you. We’d hate to see him get hurt, that’s all.”
Now Faith was the one laughing. “Me hurt Nate?” She shook her head. “No possible way. He’d just shrug it off and move on to the next woman.”
“Whatever you say,” Chloe said. “But I don’t think he’ll ever be getting over you in a hurry. You might just be the first one to break his heart.”
“Don’t listen to us,” Hope interrupted. “Yes, he obviously cares for you and his brothers think it’s hilarious seeing him like this, but it’s none of our business. Let’s just get another round of drinks and have some fun.”
“This might be my last chance to let my hair down for a while. Ryder’s getting all clucky and talking about having another baby, so I’ll probably be knocked up before I know it. Then I’ll be back sipping ginger ale or sparkling water.”
“Chase is the same,” Hope admitted, smiling as she toyed with her straw. “I think they get all primitive and like the idea of us being at home barefoot and pregnant, as much as they claim to like our independence.”
Faith was pleased to change the subject, even if it did reinforce the fact that she was doing the right thing by emotionally distancing herself from Nate. If the women were right about the way he was starting to feel about her, then she needed to end things now before they got any deeper into something she knew neither of them really wanted. Being with Nate was amazing, she could never deny that, but what would happen if she stayed? Either they’d end up married and he’d want children, she’d have to sacrifice what she wanted and end up being someone she didn’t want to be, or he’d tire of her or decide she wasn’t the right kind of girl to marry and she’d end up heartbroken and scarred by the one man she’d put all her love and trust into.
She stared down into her empty glass. Either way she’d be repeating the mistakes of her mother, except that Faith would never leave her children like her mom had, and what was the point of vowing not to repeat the mistakes she’d witnessed if she just changed her mind and gave in because she had a hunch Nate might be different?
“I think someone definitely needs another drink,” Chloe suggested, holding out her hand to her.
Faith looked up, completely lost to her thoughts. “Sorry, what was that?” she asked.
“Drinks,” Chloe repeated. “We all need something else to drink, and then we’re dancing. No more talking about Nate or any of the boys, okay?”
Faith nodded. “Okay. Sounds good.”
She got up, grabbed her purse, and forced Nate from her mind. She knew how stupid her jumbled-up thoughts would sound to anyone else, so she wasn’t even going to try to explain to Chloe and Hope, or to any of her friends, either. Walking away from Nate would be hard, but staying would only end up being harder.
She held tight to Chloe’s hand as they walked through the crowd back toward the bar. They had abandoned their table, which meant it was time to knock back another drink, then dance, and if there was one thing that would take her mind off anything it was letting the beat take over her body and just having fun moving to music.
They stopped at the bar, Chloe pushing past a few guys and Hope following. They were both great to hang out with, and she’d definitely miss them. Hope was busy during the week working as a specialist artificial insemination vet, which was how she’d ended up crossing paths with Chase again, so it was Chloe she’d seen the most of on the ranch, although she liked them both.
“Hey, gorgeous, can I buy you a drink?”
A rough hand landed on Faith’s arm and she froze, wincing as the hold tightened. Arrows of fear shot through her. Nate. She wished he was right here beside her, keeping her safe. But he wasn’t.
“I said—”
“No,” she said, voice frosty. She went to pull her arm away, but he kept hold. “Let go.”
“Sweetheart, I was just having fun.”
She yanked her arm back, glaring at him before moving closer to Chloe and Hope. When Nate called her sweetheart it was one thing, but not some random stranger.
“Uptight bitch,” the guy muttered in a loud voice.
“Excuse me?” She should have ignored him, but she couldn’t. All that talk about Nate and getting all pissed off with her own thoughts, and now this?
Hope slipped an arm around her waist and whispered in her ear, taking her focus off the scumbag smirking at her, egged on by the guys standing with him. “He’s not worth it. Let’s go.”
Faith doubted Hope had even seen what was going on, but she’d quickly come to her aid. The music was starting to get louder and Chloe was turning around with their drinks. It wasn’t in Faith’s nature to back down and take it on the nose, but they were right. If Nate had been here she’d have welcomed his fist flying in the direction of the asshole’s face, but it was time to act like the single, capable woman she kept saying she was.
“Dickhead!” she called over her shoulder just to make herself feel better as she walked in the opposite direction. “What is it with guys thinking they have the right to buy us drinks or chat us up even when we’re not remotely interested?” Faith asked the other two, heads bent together as they sipped their vodkas through tiny black straws.
“Beats me,” Chloe mutte
red. “Although I have to admit I had a hell of a lot of fun playing hard to get with my man.”
They all laughed and carried their drinks with them toward the dance floor. About a third of the place had been cleared to make space for dancing, and there were already a heap of people up making the most of it.
“To dive bars and good friends,” Hope toasted.
Faith held up her glass. Tonight was fun, but it was also sad. Because in the morning she was going to have to make some tough decisions.
* * *
Nate heard the front door open, then shut. He’d been lying in bed for over an hour trying to get to sleep, but all he’d done was toss and turn and get the sheets in one hell of a tangle. He stayed still and listened, heard the tap of heels on the wooden floor, the pipes groan as the water in the kitchen was turned on, then silence.
He stayed on his side, quiet as he waited for some noise to alert him to where she was. It had taken every shred of his willpower not to phone her or get in his car and race off to see if she was okay, but his brothers had talked sense into him, just like he’d talked sense into Ryder earlier in the evening. Not to mention the fact that after a beer and a few whiskeys Nate had had too much to drive anyway. And besides, the overprotective, overbearing boyfriend type wasn’t really him, even if he was scared out of his wits that something might have happened to her.
And then he heard her. She’d been quiet as a mouse walking through the house, no doubt padding across the carpet on bare feet. But still he stayed silent, the only noise coming from him the shallow inhale and exhale of his breath.
He listened to her undress, the swoosh of fabric as it hit the ground. Nate shut his eyes, imagined seeing her body bathed in the moonlight that was filtering into the room through the open drapes. She’d be almost bare now, standing in her panties and bra, her long hair tumbling down her back or over her chest, skimming past her bra. He wanted to turn, to acknowledge her and watch her, to pull her down onto the bed and ask her where the hell she’d been when he wanted her right here by his side, but he didn’t. He stayed silent. He didn’t move. Because she was being as whisper quiet as a leopard on a hunt, which meant she didn’t want to wake him, or didn’t want him to know she was home.
Faith discarded some jewelry, placing it with a soft clink on the bedside table before pulling the covers back, the fall of her body on the bed making it move ever so slightly. Then her body was closer to his, the coolness of her skin like ice against his. She wriggled until he could feel every inch of her nakedness, her breasts pushed to his back, legs tangled against his. Faith either wanted to warm up her cold body or she …
Hell. Her hand slid down his thigh, nails scraping every so slightly against him, moving down to the front and … fuck. Her fingers closed around his cock, just the lightest of touches, but he wasn’t staying silent any longer. He groaned and pushed back farther into Faith, his hand grabbing at her butt, locking her into him.
“I thought you were asleep,” she whispered in his ear, biting at his lobe.
“I was,” he ground out, teeth locked together when she started to rub him harder.
“You weren’t,” she murmured.
“You’re right,” he muttered back. “I wasn’t. I was listening to you and trying to figure out how I was going to get you naked.”
“So you weren’t expecting this?” Faith whispered, sucking harder on his lobe as she pumped, getting him so hard there was no chance he was going to be lying on his side much longer. The primitive need to turn around, flip her, and pin her beneath him was almost too much for him to resist.
“Damn you, Faith. I’ve been worried about you.”
She laughed. Nate growled in response. “I’m here now. Do you want me to go?”
“Go?” He turned around and tangled the sheets some more, kicking his legs to free them of the damn covers. “Don’t you fucking dare.”
Faith stretched as he pushed her hand away, not about to let her get him so damn excited that he had to hurry things. There was something different about her tonight, more confident, determined maybe, but he wasn’t going to ask questions when she was clearly in the mood.
“Any admirers tonight?” he asked, hating that he was jealous, an emotion he’d never experienced before. It was clawing at him, had been all night, the fact that he wasn’t there by her side with her looking so beautiful. He didn’t mind the thought of other men admiring her, but the idea that she could tell a guy to go jump and he might not take the hint made Nate insane.
“A few,” she said, running her fingers through his hair and tugging him closer. “But none that even came close to you.”
“You’ve ruined me for any other woman, Faith. I can’t get you out of my head even when I’m not with you.”
She went silent then, reaching for his face, cupping his cheeks, and leaning in to kiss him. After the way they’d started out he’d expected fast and rough, but she took her time, kissing him so carefully, so softly. Nate took her into his arms, held her close as he kissed her back. Their lips were brushing, so tender, her tongue touching his, exploring, tasting him like it was the first time they’d been together. The spark between them had never dulled, the electricity like a current that just continued to burn.
“I’ve been wanting to do this all night,” she told him, one hand still to his face, her legs tangling around him as he slid his body over hers so he could look down at her.
“I’ve been wanting you beside me all night,” he whispered back, lips back on hers before she could say anything else.
Their kisses were endless, unhurried. Nate had no idea whether minutes had passed or an hour, but for once his impatience didn’t get the better of him when it came to Faith. He reached behind her, took his weight off her completely so she could arch her back and let him unclip her bra. It was lacy, like all her underwear seemed to be, and he slowly took it off her, savoring her body like a Christmas present he got to slowly unwrap and discover.
Nate reluctantly stopped kissing her, moved away from her lips and down her body, trailing kisses across her breasts instead. He cupped one, loved that it fitted perfectly in his hand. He licked and sucked her nipple, smiling to himself when her toes clenched against his leg, her moans only spurring him on more. Faith’s fingers were in his hair, tugging, trying to encourage him back up, but he was on his way down her body and he wasn’t planning on stopping.
“Nate,” she murmured, fingers loosening their hold as he ran his mouth over her belly. Her skin was so soft, her flat stomach taut as he rained kisses over it.
“Slow,” he muttered, “tonight we’re gonna take it slow.”
There had been something about the way she’d first kissed him tonight, the way she’d moved, that felt different, but he wanted to savor every minute of being with her. He wanted to pleasure her and make love to her, to enjoy every moment like it was their last together.
“Nate…” This time she hissed out his name on her breath at the same time as he grabbed her panties between his teeth, tugging them down, fingers hooked to the sides of them helping him to slide them down inch by inch. She raised her pelvis, let him take them off completely, kicking them past his head when they got to her ankles. And then she stopped moving, knees bent, her body quivering beneath his touch as he ran his fingers up her thigh, stopping when he reached the top of her leg and trailing the rest of the way with his tongue instead. He touched her so delicately he doubted she’d even feel it, but her body still bucked, jumping away from him before resting down again, sensitive as hell.
Nate smiled and tasted her again, carefully, slowly, wanting her to enjoy every sensation. Faith’s moan only made him more determined to take his time, to push her to the brink and guide her to climax.
“Nate, stop,” she begged quietly.
He ignored her completely, her groans of pleasure telling him that she was only being silly, legs locking around his head like stopping was the last thing she wanted him to do. She was so determined to be the one ple
asuring him all the time, and that wasn’t the kind of sex he liked. Pleasure him? Sure. But only if the woman he was with was getting as much enjoyment out of sex as he was.
Nate reached up and cupped Faith’s breasts, loving the hard pebble of her nipple, trying not to laugh as she almost choked him when her legs tightened around him. She’d had them around his head before, but they’d slid down as she’d wriggled.
And then her body arched and he cupped her butt, caressed her with his tongue until she climaxed, her legs stiff around him one moment, then soft and supple the next.
He kissed her thigh and then her belly, trailing his way back up her body and then staying poised above her, holding his weight with his elbows to either side of her, knees in between hers.
“You’re wicked, Nate.” Her eyes were still shut, lips moving and tempting him to kiss her.
His willpower was in tatters and he did exactly that, covering her mouth with his and dropping his pelvis, showing her just how much he wanted her. He was still hard and he was ready to pleasure her all over again in an entirely different way.
Nate nudged at her entrance, groaned at how slick she was, then leaned over her to reach in his bedside drawer for protection. He ripped open the packet and sat up to roll the condom on, before settling straight back between her legs again. Faith still had her eyes shut, but a smile played across her lips when he dropped more of his weight onto her; then suddenly her eyes were locked on his when he slowly slid all the way inside of her.
Faith’s nails dug into his back as she pushed her body up, meeting his thrusts with her own. She was making it hard for him to take it slow, but he did, determined to enjoy every single minute without rushing any part of making love to her.
“I thought we were taking this slow, beautiful?” he whispered in her ear, kissing her neck as he kept sliding back and forth into her.
“Faster, Nate,” she begged, “please.”
He ignored her wishes, wanting it to last, but eventually she wriggled so hard that he did start to move faster, slowing only when she forced him to.