Scandalous Series Starter Set: Books 1-3

by R. Linda

  Finally, after the longest and most tense wait, the TV turned on. It meant we could relax a little. He wouldn’t hear us if he was watching something.

  I brushed Harper’s hair to the side and pressed a kiss behind her ear. She sighed and gripped my hand around her waist, fast asleep.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Harper

  I woke in the morning to featherlight kisses behind my ear. My shirt unbuttoned, and his fingers brushed my stomach, over my ribs, tickling as they went until they reached the collar of the shirt and tugged it down over my shoulder. I sat up and allowed Nate to remove it completely. I had given in entirely. I was kidding myself when I said it was one night only. The man was irresistible.

  Looking at him over my shoulder, he still appeared to be half asleep. He smiled up at me and leaned forward to press a kiss to my spine. I shivered from the coolness of his lips on my overheated skin. He pulled me back down on the mattress and rolled until he hovered above me. “Good morning, friend.”

  “We’re still using that line, are we?” I gasped and tilted my head back, driving my fingers into his hair when his tongue glided down the column of my throat until his teeth nipped at my collarbone. Why was that so sexy?

  “Well, you’re my friend…”

  “Friends don’t sleep naked next to each other.”

  “Who’s naked? I’m wearing boxers, so who else have you been sharing a bed with?” he teased, gliding a hand down my side to my hip. His fingers dug into my flesh, massaging, kneading, caressing.

  “Just you. I—” I froze and stared wide-eyed at Nate’s door, waiting.

  Brody’s door had just opened and closed. He was home. I assumed he’d have gone out or something. Nate’s lips continued their delicious assault on my skin, skimming down my stomach until he paused and lifted his gaze to meet mine, a cheeky smile on his gorgeous face.

  “Roll over?”

  “What?”

  “Roll over.” When I didn’t move, he sat back on his knees and flipped me onto my stomach. “That’s better.”

  He braced his hands on either side of me. I tensed, my body and ears on high alert. What was he doi—?

  His tongue flicked my lower back, once, twice, three times on one side before moving to the other side and doing it all over again.

  “Told you I wanted to lick those dimples.” He flipped me back over and—

  A knock sounded at the door.

  Nate cursed, staring at me with wide, panicked eyes. Crap. What did I do? If Brody walked in, we were dead. How could we be so stupid? This was a terrible idea. Awful. Big mistake. Huge mistake. Then why did it feel so right?

  Making a quick decision, one that would have most girls feeling self-conscious and embarrassed, I slid off the mattress and onto the floor, hiding myself between the bed and the window. Brody wouldn’t have a clue I was there unless he walked around the room or peered under the bed.

  Nate snatched up my dress and shoes and threw them under the bed before climbing back under the covers and casually throwing an arm over the side, right where I was lying.

  We waited in silence for Brody to leave or walk in. Nate’s hand was conveniently on my breast, squeezing gently, rubbing. I pushed it away, and he chuckled softly, using his pillow to muffle the sound, before returning his hand to continue touching my sensitive flesh.

  Brody knocked again and called out Nate’s name. The door opened, and I held my breath, not wanting to make a noise. Nate increased the pressure of his hand, massaging my breast, his thumb brushing my nipple. My eyes rolled back, and I bit my lip to stop myself from moaning. It felt amazing.

  “Nate?” Brody whispered, and when Nate didn’t answer, Brody pulled the door closed. Neither of us moved for a minute. We listened to make sure Brody had left, and the instant we heard the fridge door open, Nate was off the bed and on me, pulling his pillows down on the floor with him.

  His lips met mine in a frenzied, hurried kiss. Our teeth clashed together, our tongues sliding against one another while our hands fumbled with our underwear. My heart was beating out of my chest. Brody was just down the hall. He could hear us at any moment, but that made it so much more exciting. The risk.

  Rising to his feet, Nate discarded his boxer shorts, leaving him gloriously naked in front of me. My underwear practically fell off by itself. Combusted. Gone. Like magic. He positioned the pillows in a row and lifted me onto them. Leaning over me, he reached into his side table and pulled out a condom.

  Kenzie’s voice echoed in my head, safety first, and I chuckled.

  Worst time to start laughing.

  “Something funny, friend?” he whispered.

  “No…” I took a deep breath as he settled his body over me. “Not funny at all.”

  “Good.” Nate pulled my lip between his teeth and nudged my legs open.

  Finding my hands and entwining our fingers, he kissed me. Slow, languid movements as his tongue explored my mouth. I lifted my hips to meet his as he eased himself into me, taking his time. Dragging it out. My back arched, needing to feel closer as I moaned at the feeling of him moving inside me. The warmth of his skin sliding against mine. Too warm, but still not enough. Our mouths fused together, breathing each other’s air, stifling our moans.

  I wanted to touch him.

  Explore his body.

  Run my fingers through his hair.

  Scratch my nails down his back.

  But I couldn’t. My hands were pinned. I was completely at his mercy.

  Moving his mouth from mine, kissing my jaw, my neck, caressing my lips with his, Nate’s eyes sought mine. Hazy with lust, our gazes locked, watching every emotion, every thought flicker as the slow, deliberate, and gentle movement of his hips rocking into mine built a pleasure that sent us spiralling over the edge.

  ***

  We fell back asleep, wrapped in each other’s arms on the floor. Something had shifted. I felt it in the way Nate held me. I saw it in his eyes. I felt it in my bones. In my heart. There was no going back, no matter the consequences. No matter the fallout. For six months, I had tried to fight my attraction to him. Evidently, I failed epically for three of those months. But there was no fighting it. It couldn’t be stopped. We were tied together by an invisible thread. A strong, unbreakable thread. A chain. With padlocks.

  I combed my fingers through his hair and watched his chest rise and fall with every breath. Nate lifted his sleepy head and smiled at me lazily. “Hi, friend.”

  “Hi,” I said quietly, conscious of Brody in the next room. We stared at each other with our lips pulled up into cheesy grins. My heart fluttered. He was so beautiful it almost hurt to look at him, but I did. A lot. He was like a fine—very fine—piece of artwork. Sculptors should model all their masterpieces on him. “What are you doing today?”

  Nate inched higher until his mouth brushed mine. “You,” he whispered against my lips.

  My eyelids fluttered closed. “I’m totally okay with that,” I murmured, lifting my chin and kissing him. I wanted to bottle his kisses, his scent, his essence and take him with me wherever I went. I felt like Alice, falling down the rabbit hole, and Nate was my Wonderland.

  Voices sounded in the living room. Garbled at first, I couldn’t understand the words they were saying. Nate groaned and dropped his head to my chest, and then Linc’s husky voice rang loud and clear as it got closer to the bedroom door.

  “I’ll get him.”

  My eyes widened in shock. Linc was going to walk in that door any second, and I was naked on the floor.

  Pressing a soft kiss to my shoulder, he stood and held out his hand, telling me to stay hidden. “This isn’t over.”

  I hoped not.

  He pulled his shorts on just as the door opened. I lay perfectly still. Again.

  “Oh, you’re up,” Brody said.

  “Well spotted.” Linc laughed. “We’re going to play a game of basketball down by the beach. Get dressed. Let’s go.”

  “Uh, nah, you guys go ahead without me
,” Nate said, his tone uneven. I could picture the scene. He’d be rubbing his neck nervously, and Linc would be watching him with curious eyes.

  “Come on, man, get out of the house a little. I’m gonna get changed now. Give me five minutes.” Brody’s footsteps retreated down the hall, and I breathed a sigh of relief.

  “Seriously, you need to get out. Have some fun. Work out your frustrations,” Linc said.

  “Believe me, I have well and truly worked out my frustrations today.” Nate cleared his throat. “Lots of fun.”

  We worked out both our frustrations today. I giggled and quickly slapped my hand over my mouth. I couldn’t believe I did that.

  Dammit.

  Did Linc hear?

  “Who was that?”

  “Shh, keep your voice down. You need to get him out of here,” Nate said.

  “Who?”

  The door closed gently, and the sound of water running in the bathroom drifted through the walls. It wasn’t the shower, though, just a tap, which meant Brody was likely brushing his teeth.

  “Brody. Get him out of the house. I need a little more time.”

  “Nah, don’t think I will. Not until you tell me why your bed giggled.”

  Jeez, Linc was stubborn. I sat up, careful to keep my naked body hidden behind the bed and waved at Linc.

  “Fucking frustrations.” Linc threw his hands in the air and turned away. “Fine. But you get her out of here the moment we’re gone.”

  “Thanks, man. I’ll meet you at the beach.”

  “I hope you both know what you’re doing,” Linc said, shaking his head. He opened the door and walked out, being sure to close it behind him.

  Neither of us moved until the front door slammed shut, no doubt from Linc.

  “Fucking frustrations.”

  I laughed as I got to my feet and walked around the bed in search of my clothes. Nate grabbed my hips and pulled me to him.

  “What are you doing?” His breath was warm on my neck.

  “Getting my clothes.” I moaned and tilted my head to the side when his mouth found that curve between my neck and shoulder and began sucking.

  “Why?”

  “You heard Linc. They’ll be waiting for you.”

  His chest rubbed against my back, and he brought his hand up my body, sliding it around my neck until finally he grasped the side of my head and turned it to face him. “They can wait. I told you this wasn’t over.” And then his mouth was on mine. Hot, needy, demanding. I melted in his arms, completely at his mercy for the second time that day.

  Nate dropped me home a little while later, dressed in gym shorts and a tank, ready to meet the guys at the basketball courts by the beach. We spent fifteen minutes making out like teenagers parked in his car out the front of the diner where anyone could have seen. But we didn’t care. I didn’t care.

  I knew when I climbed out of his car, leaving him with one last kiss, that over the course of the last two weeks I had inadvertently given him my fragile heart to protect.

  It was a risk, but it was worth it.

  I just didn’t know the risk I’d be taking so soon.

  Chapter

  Seventeen

  Nate

  Linc pulled me aside after the game once everyone had left. Ryder had gone to meet Bailey, and Brody was heading to see Audrey. He slapped me over the back of the head, causing me to choke on the water I had just swallowed.

  I rubbed the spot he hit and growled. “What was that for?”

  “For thinking with your dick.”

  “What?”

  “Harper. Seriously. Of all the chicks you could smooth talk your way into bed, you had to choose her. I hope you know what you’re doing.” He tossed the basketball at me.

  “It’s not like that.” I bounced the ball a couple of times.

  “Well, by all means, enlighten me.” Linc lifted his arms in a wide gesture then sat on the hot court. The sun was scorching today, burning the back of my neck.

  “I don’t know, man. It’s just not. It’s not a casual thing,” I said and sat in front of him, the ball between my legs.

  “You know Brody is still in love with her, right?”

  I nodded. I knew, and that was why it was so hard to admit.

  “So am I.”

  “Well, shit.” Linc barked out a laugh and slapped his hands on his knees. “You got yourself in a hell of a mess.”

  “I know. But I can’t let her walk away this time.”

  “You sure about that?”

  “Would you willingly walk away from Indie?”

  “Hell, no,” he growled, his eyes narrowing and a scowl forming on his face from the mere thought.

  “There you go.” I shrugged.

  “So, what are you going to do?”

  I thought about it for a moment and laughed. “Set Brody up.”

  Linc paused, his eyes squinted in concentration before he slanted his head to the side and shrugged. “Not a terrible idea.”

  “I wasn’t serious.” I threw the ball and hit him hard in the chest. He caught it, but the force knocked him backwards.

  “What? It could work. If he moves on, he won’t care as much that you’re sticking it to his ex.”

  “Sticking it to his—” I shook my head in disbelief. “Who even says that?”

  “I know.” Linc dropped his head. “Spend too much time with Jack, and he rubs off on you…or against you. Literally. Seriously. There’s no boundaries with that guy.”

  “Jack arrived two days ago.” He couldn’t have that much of an effect on Linc already.

  “Believe me. I am well aware. He is everywhere. All the time.”

  “Least you know what to expect with him. Anything and everything.”

  “Okay, back to Brody. Do we know any single women?” He was scheming now.

  “None.”

  “There’s gotta be someone.”

  “He doesn’t have time to date anyone, anyway.”

  “Why the hell not?”

  “Between working and spending nearly every other minute sitting in that hospital room with Audrey, he’s hardly home.”

  “He was home today,” Linc pointed out helpfully.

  “Yes. I know.”

  He laughed. “You guys have balls, that’s for sure. Huge risk bringing Harper to your place. I mean, really.”

  He was right. It was stupid, but I’d do it again. And again.

  I smiled.

  “You’re in so deep,” he said, checking his watch, and then cursed. “We have to go.”

  “Why?”

  “Dinner at your parents’. They’ll kill us if we’re late.”

  I’d almost forgotten about the weekly dinners, and I really didn’t want to go, but then my stomach rumbled at the thought of food.

  “Good, I’m hungry.”

  ***

  It seemed I missed the memo that my parents were cooking dinner for everyone. I pulled my car to the side of the street because their drive was full, and I had nowhere to park.

  Opening the front door, laughter rang through the house. I walked through to the kitchen, and Mum was standing behind the counter preparing a salad.

  “Need help?”

  “Nate.” She smiled and gave me her cheek when I leaned in to kiss her. “No, go on outside with everyone. Relax.”

  “You sure?”

  “Of course. It’s just something light. Your father’s out by the barbecue.” She nodded in the direction of the French doors.

  “Okay.”

  “What took you so long?” Indie asked when I stepped onto the patio. She was sitting around the table with Kenzie, Bailey, and Jack, a bottle of wine between them. Linc was standing with my dad watching Ryder flip burgers on the grill. Cole was splashing in the pool.

  Honest answer? I was obsessed with a particular fair-skinned, raven-haired beauty. I swung by the diner on the way home to see Harper. And a good thing I had too. Johnny had said she came home and demanded to know where her brother was and h
ow she could contact him. It took a lot of arguing on her part, but Johnny eventually gave up Jeremy’s number, and Harper called him. She was in full-blown panic mode, on edge, nervous and jittery. He agreed to meet with her next Tuesday. Just to talk. But, there was no chance in hell I would let her go alone.

  I couldn’t.

  What if he told her he never wanted to see her again?

  What if he had changed from the teenage boy she remembered?

  What if he was dangerous?

  I couldn’t let her go alone.

  “Nate?”

  “Huh?”

  “What took you so long? We’ve been here for an hour.”

  “I had things to do. I have a life, you know.”

  Indie scoffed. “You do not.” And then her eyes brightened, and she clapped her hands. “I have an idea.”

  I eyed her warily and folded my arms. I didn’t like her ideas. What was with this group and their scheming ways? “What?” I asked hesitantly.

  She leaned forward with a smile and placed her wineglass on the table. “I’m going to set you up!”

  “No.” I shook my head. “No way.” Shook it again for reinforcement. “I can get my own dates.”

  “You haven’t had a girlfriend for two years. Clearly, you’re doing something wrong. Linc told me about your plan to find Brody a girlfriend, so let’s find you one too.”

  Kenzie watched me curiously.

  “Just because you finally have your first boyfriend does not mean you’re a matchmaker or an expert,” I said.

  “Fiancé.” She wiggled the diamond in my face. “And maybe it does. Maybe I just know how to pick ’em. Soulmate radar.”

  I tipped my head back and laughed. “Soulmate radar. What is wrong with you?”

  “I got Bailey and Ryder together, didn’t I?” she said, a smug smile on her face.

  “Ah…” Bailey raised her hand, her head tilted to the side and her eyebrows furrowed in confusion. “You did not.”

  “I totally did.”

  “Are you crazy?”

  “No. I’m Indie.” She waved Bailey off. “Whatever. If it weren’t for me, you never would have admitted you were in love with him.”