Nate

by Tijan

  “What? I like the name Matty. There’s a certain ring to it. Just need to make sure to enunciate the tt and not make it sound like Maddie. Never mind. Second thought, you’re right. Instead of Matty, how about I-ass? That’s got a better ring to it.”

  My best friend. I didn’t think the delinquent would ever grow out of him.

  And I loved him all the more for it.

  Duke spoke up, “I want you to stop sleeping with my daughter.”

  This guy.

  I inclined my head forward. I hadn’t heard that right.

  “You what?”

  “Speaking from personal history, Nate has a really awful time following orders. No. Really. You tell him not to sleep with someone, and that’s the person he fucks. So, save your breath. That’s not going to work.”

  “Have you been tested for delusional disorder? What world do you live in that you think you can tell me to stop seeing your daughter?” I moved forward.

  Logan edged me back, hissing in a way so everyone would hear. “There’s no such thing as Delusional Disorder. I looked. The closest thing he hits is Narcissistic Personality Disorder. He checks all those boxes.”

  Duke looked at Logan as if he were a fly to swat away.

  That pissed me off, too, but thinking of Quincey living with this man? Living under his rule?

  I shook my head. “You fucked her life up.”

  His eyes sharpened. “Excuse me?”

  “You made her feel guilty about having a relationship with her mother, her sisters, her brother. You’re like cancer in her life. That’s why she wants nothing to do with you any longer.”

  His eyes sharpened even more.

  He didn’t like being insulted.

  Logan made a soft sound of delight. He saw it, too.

  Oh, boy.

  Who was I kidding? I wanted to go in on him.

  This was my kill.

  “You’ve failed at being a father. You isolated your daughter. You’re the cause of any problems she had. You’re the baggage that she’s had to work through letting go, and she hasn’t even mourned losing Valerie yet. She’s too busy working on getting your demons out of her head.”

  His mouth went flat. He really didn’t like the demon analogy.

  “You’re the worst father I’ve ever met, and I’ve met some shitty ones. Trust me. You are the lowest of the low. Everyone you think that you’re above, you’re the dirt under their shoes. You will never have your daughter again, and you’ll for sure never have your granddaughter again. I don’t want you to ever even see Nova, and there’s not a goddamn thing you can do about any of it.” I edged forward another step.

  We both had lawyers here, but I was beyond caring.

  “We called this meeting because I had a call this morning.”

  Logan frowned at me.

  Duke didn’t. He went still, very very still.

  I took a step forward. “A certain ex in jail informed me about a phone call he got, about a couple things you wanted from him.” My nostrils flared. “You fucked up, Royas. Since he was still in jail, I’m assuming you called him on their line. It was recorded. The call he made me? Blocked number. I’m betting he called on his lawyer’s phone, with his lawyer sitting across from him. Know why either is significant?” I didn’t wait. “Because if you go through with your second question to him, I’ll point everyone in that direction. Every mother fucking person I know. Judges. Police. Investigators. I will raise holy hell in my defense and all those calls are going to get put into the evidence pile. You set yourself up, and you didn’t even know it until now.”

  I got him. He wasn’t moving, so I know that I got him.

  Rocks moved as the lawyer stepped forward. “What call are you talking about?”

  I motioned towards him. “Inform your lawyer of your mistake, or trust me; I will. You try to set me up? Fuck you.” My voice was soft, almost chiding. “I’ll do everything in my power to not only keep Nova away from you, but also your daughter.”

  It’d all been a head game.

  I narrowed my eyes. “That was your last shot at control over a situation completely out of your fucking control. You’re going to leave your daughter alone. You got me?”

  Logan stepped next to me. “Your daughter is the one who predicted what you would do.”

  Duke was still glaring at me, but at those words, his head jerked to the side. That surprised him.

  My tone went mocking. “She saw you coming long before you made any moves. Want to know something else you failed at? Your daughter knows you, but you don’t know your daughter. And now you’ll never know her again.”

  Mathias made a sound, but I couldn’t discern what it was. If it was a signal or an urge to stop this, I didn’t care.

  Duke stared back at me.

  I waited, expecting something from him.

  But nothing came.

  He had nothing.

  We’d taken him by surprise. He had no moves left.

  As if on my same wavelength, Logan scoffed. “Let’s go. He’s done.”

  We headed to the vehicle.

  Logan got in his seat and said as we started to leave, “When the fuck were you going to tell me that shit?”

  I glanced at him. “When I wanted to detonate the bomb to take him out.”

  He narrowed his eyes at me, and something flashed there. Something good. He lounged back in his seat. “He really did all that?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Only guy we know in this scenario in jail is Mancini. That’s who we’re talking about, right?”

  “You’re right.”

  “Do I want to know what he wanted Mancini to say?”

  My fingers curled tight around the steering wheel, real tight. “No.”

  “You going to tell me at a time if I absolutely need to know?”

  I gave him a look, a slight grin on my face. “You know I will.”

  He nodded, his tension easing up. Then, he laughed. “You’re like the new Mason.”

  I shook my head, feeling more sad than anything. “I’m just a father, and a partner now.”

  I gave him ten seconds.

  He only needed five. “So you and the baby guardian-mama, huh?”

  41

  Quincey

  I was in Nate’s sauna, my towel wrapped around me because he said his friend was here. My whole body was aching. We were doing doubles for rehearsals to make sure everything was ready to go, and our first show was in a week. I was ready, but I was sore.

  So sore.

  The door opened, and Nate came in wearing a business suit.

  “What are you doing?”

  He started shedding his clothes.

  “Nate.”

  “Taylor flew in to surprise Logan, and both of them are going to watch Nova for a few hours. I told him I wanted private time with you down here.”

  “Where are they now?”

  “In the toy room.”

  “Oh.”

  The shoes were first.

  The shirt was next.

  The pants.

  His socks.

  He pulled off the T-shirt he wore under his business shirt.

  Then his hands paused just above his boxer briefs.

  I sighed. I so loved his boxer briefs.

  “Am I going to be alone here?”

  “We’re in the sauna.”

  “It’ll be great for our lungs.”

  “I don’t think this is healthy.”

  He gave me a wicked grin before taking his boxers off and coming toward me. “Well, I’m fully hydrated, and I was thinking of playing our game again?”

  “What?”

  But he had whipped my towel off, and he lowered me down on the bench.

  He didn’t come over me. He moved so he was at my feet, and then he rested a hand just above my navel right before he lowered his face.

  His mouth found my clit, and I was gone.

  I arched up, but his hand held me in place. That’s why it was there.

/>   “Nate.” I was already panting.

  He was magical with his mouth. His fingers were magic. His dick, too. Holy. Everything about him was magical.

  His tongue slid inside.

  Pleasure burst through me, almost ripping me in half. It was intense and overwhelming, and just as I thought I was getting used to it, he did something new, and I was soaring right back up all over again. And again. And again.

  I was writhing in place, but he held me down as he was sucking and tasting.

  His tongue moved in, flicking over me.

  He was working me up, and just as I thought I would burst, he pulled back.

  I groaned, now biting into my arm. The type of scream he was getting from me would’ve scared everyone in the house. I felt another sweep of his tongue, and I bit farther down, my legs moving in place.

  He moved farther up. Both his hands palmed my hips for a second, but then he switched his angle, and his tongue thrust back in. His hand moved to my nub, and he was rolling it in a smooth circle. Both, at the same time, and I was exploding in his arms.

  I had a moment before he rose over me.

  His gaze was dark and hungry. “Are you clean?” he rasped out.

  His need was piercing.

  “I—yes.”

  “Birth control?”

  “Yes.”

  “Can I?” He moved up. “I don’t have a condom here.”

  I reached down, took his cock, and pushed him back on the bench. I sheathed myself on him, and that was my answer.

  His hands grabbed my ass, and then I started rolling my hips, a whole new need rising all over again.

  It was my turn but for both of us this time.

  He panted into my neck. “I could start loving this. I swear to God.”

  I paused but shuddered, and I moved even harder over him. A new burst of energy was taking me over.

  * * *

  I was dead.

  I had died.

  I was in heaven.

  Nate lifted his head from my shoulder as I was draped over his body. We were both sitting, or he was. I didn’t know what I was.

  “I don’t think I can move. I think you broke all of my bones.”

  He chuckled, a hand smoothing down my back, but he only pulled me closer. “I had to come see you, and then I saw you, and I had to eat you.”

  I laughed. “Nice. Well, I loved it, every second of it, so feel free whenever the urge hits you.”

  He laughed. His hand went back to smoothing up and down my back. “I have to tell you something.”

  “Oh.” I tensed and pulled back to see his face. He was still inside me. “If you are going to say any words that rhyme with friends, Logan, Taylor, or Duke—I don’t want to hear it.”

  He frowned, tracing a strand of hair down the side of my face. He moved it back, his fingers trailing over my neck and down my arm. “How’d you know about your dad?”

  I groaned, lying back on him. I pressed my forehead into his shoulder. Nova liked to do this, and I could understand it, but I had no idea why. “He called.”

  Nate tensed. “He did?”

  I nodded, still pressed into his neck. “He told me that he saw you, and he was beyond disappointed in my choice of bedmate. He said I could do so much better, and once I woke up and returned to his estate, he’d consider who he thought might be willing to be his future son-in-law.”

  A moment.

  Nate was like cement now.

  Then he exploded. “Are you kidding me?!”

  I leaned back, my arms curling around his neck. Loosely. “Why are you upset? I actually think it’s a good thing that he’s calling. Now I know what his move is, stupid lectures. He has to feel like he still has some sort of control over me. I’d rather know what he’s doing than what he’s planning. You know?”

  “You’re not taking any more calls from him.”

  “Nate.” I frowned. “I know what my dad is like. His words aren’t hurting me. A few months ago, I would’ve been devastated. Not anymore. I’m making a lot of progress. I feel like half a human now.”

  He was quiet, but he was still so tense.

  “Nate?”

  He shoved up to his feet, and I let out a yell because he took me with him.

  My legs tightened around his waist when he wasn’t going to let me stand on my own. His hands went under my ass, grabbing two handfuls, and he hoisted me higher. I readjusted, much closer than I had been on his lap.

  His eyes were grilling right into mine.

  “If I talked to Nova like that?”

  Everything wilted inside me.

  He saw it. “Exactly. If I called her and said any of the shit that he’s said to you? That’d be okay?”

  “Of course not.” My chest was hurting just thinking about that.

  “Then do me a favor and don’t let him talk to you that way.”

  He didn’t get it. If Duke was doing this, then he wasn’t plotting to hurt me in another way.

  But I got what he was saying. I’d kill him before I let anyone talk to my daughter like that.

  Not—I meant Valerie’s daughter. My goddaughter.

  Some of the fight faded, and he rested his forehead against mine, still holding me. His fingers flexed in my ass. “I don’t want him to hurt anyone I care about.”

  Pleasure flooded over me, centering right where my heart was.

  “That shit could leak to Nova in ways you couldn't even think of. None of this can touch Nova.”

  Right. Cold reality crashed back into me.

  Nova.

  I couldn’t let Duke hurt me, and somehow that could get through to Nova. I understood what he was saying, and he was right.

  He was being the dad to Nova that my dad never was to me.

  “Quincey?”

  I missed the Quince.

  “Hmm?”

  “You’ll stop taking calls from him?”

  I nodded. “I will.” I pressed a soft kiss to his lips. “Thank you for being a good parent to Nova.”

  The fight completely left him.

  “She’s not the only one I care about here.” He was staring right at me.

  My heart squeezed.

  Did I dare feel… Of course, he cared about me. We had magical sex nights together. There was a whole bunch of caring going on there.

  I tightened my arms around his neck. “Back at you, you know.”

  He grinned, his eyes soft. “I think Logan would cover another hour.”

  “Yeah?”

  His hands were flexing over my ass again, and he began rolling me over him.

  I tightened my legs, grinding with him, and soon neither of us cared.

  42

  Quincey

  Logan’s girlfriend was gorgeous. Her hair looked smack on the line between dark blond and a caramel light-dark color. When she turned her head one way, I saw blond. The other way, caramel. It was pulled in a messy fish-braid, and I loved it.

  Looooved it.

  She also had sparkling warm eyes and a warm aura that oozed from her. I liked her immediately.

  I’d started to feel comfortable with Logan. He flew out so much, and after he helped against Duke, meeting his girlfriend was a big deal to me. She’d been at the surprise baby shower and around the day after, but there were so many of them. Nate and I weren’t together together, or together how we were together now, so they all seemed like a cohesive “them,” and I was not one of “them.”

  Now I didn’t know what I was, but I felt more “in” than I had been before. I wasn’t all the way. Maybe an arm. Or a hand. Or an elbow.

  One of those.

  Maybe an ankle.

  Yes. I felt like I had an ankle in.

  And tonight, I felt like I was getting a shin in, too, or half of my calf muscle. Just one, though. Not both.

  We were at Keela. The atmosphere was private, and elegant, and romantic.

  I was trying not to think about the romantic part because I didn’t want to get ahead of myself. Nate a
nd I were sleeping together, but he’d not said anything about a relationship status. I was operating on the assumption that we were sleeping together, and that was it. My priorities were Nova, dancing, and Nate’s bed. I was fine keeping with that status quo unless something changed.

  “Logan mentioned you’re in a dance production now?”

  We’d been seated. Logan and Nate were conferring over the drink menu, but I’d eaten dinner enough with both of them to know they were probably talking about anything but what kind of wine to order. They were like two giggly boys at times. When I focused on Taylor, she was holding back a smile, and I had a feeling she knew instantly what I’d been thinking.

  I flushed, laying my hands on my lap and straightening more in my seat. “I am, yes. It’s a new type of program, so it’s exciting.”

  “That’s amazing.”

  “And you’re a nurse?”

  She nodded. “It’s hard work, but addicting.”

  The guys had quieted. Logan’s gaze rested on Taylor, a softening, but also a very focused look came over him at the same time. As if feeling it, she looked over, and the two shared a gentle smile.

  I wanted that. Badly.

  Pain sliced through me, and I had to take a second because it rose so swiftly and powerful that I felt it in my throat. I felt seared.

  Glancing to Nate, seeing his gaze on me, I couldn’t discern what he was thinking or feeling. I gave him a small smile, and then his gaze gentled. “Did you want some wine tonight? We ordered red, but I know you don’t usually drink.”

  “Graham was all insistent on some pink drink for you.”

  I was surprised, seeing Logan grinning at me. He had a hand under the table, his arm veering toward Taylor, and I glanced down. They were holding hands.

  Another dart of envy pierced me, but it wasn’t as strong as the first.

  Small miracle.

  “I’m going to stick with water because of the production, but I wish I had tried some of that pink drink. My brother looked enamored with it—”

  “What the fuck?”

  I stopped, confused at Nate’s biting tone, but he wasn’t staring at me.

  He was glaring beyond Logan and then at Logan. His jaw clenched. “You did this?”