by L. B. Reyes
He was making a statement, proving his point. There was no way I could deny it; I was his.
No matter how much I fought it, no matter how scared I was, I knew he wouldn’t betray me. He loved me too much to do so. And I loved him just as much.
I broke away from the kiss, squeezing my eyes shut and arching my back sharply when he let two fingers slide inside me with ease.
“Yes,” I hissed, gripping his forearm.
“Look at me,” he said, gripping my chin with another hand. I forced my eyes open as his fingers worked me, his expert hands knowing exactly what to do and how. “Do you not remember me making love to you? How fucking right it was, even with the circumstances? Stop fighting me, Evie. Stop fighting us,” he pleaded, his thumb pressing down on my swollen nub.
That’s all it took for me to come undone in his arms, and I cried out his name, letting go of all my worries and concerns.
He was right; there was no point in fighting it.
I’d lose against him anyway.
***
Nathan had to leave to his hotel to change, and of course, I ended up running late because an array of kisses had prolonged our goodbye. It seemed his plan had worked after all.
Now that he was here and we had talked about what kept me away from him, I couldn’t stop smiling. I’d spent a year trying to numb down my feelings, pretending to be something I wasn’t out of fear. Fear wasn’t something I would keep giving in to.
Having Nathan around and his bluntness made me realize there was nothing to fear. He was still with me, even after so long.
I finished smoothing down the white sweater dress I wore and let my curly hair down, which thankfully was cooperating. After putting on my boots, I took one last glance in the mirror, and once I was ready, I called a cab and headed out.
I was so nervous. It felt as if it was the first time I was meeting his parents.
“You should have told me Nathan was here,” I said to Carter as soon as I saw him downstairs.
“Would you have avoided the meeting?” Carter asked with a knowing smile. He squeezed my hand tenderly, pride shining through his eyes. “You look happy, Evelyn.”
I nodded, interlocking arms with him. “I feel happy, Carter. Thank you.”
The drive to Nathan’s parents’ house was a little over half an hour long.
Carter was excited to see the family he now considered his own. I on the other hand, feared they wouldn’t be too happy to see me after I left everything behind, including their son.
“Don’t worry,” Carter said, bringing me out of my thoughts. “You’ll be fine.”
“I think I messed up by not being with him for the past year.”
Carter snorted, actually snorted at me. I knew what was coming. “Hate to say it, darling, but I told you so. We had this exact conversation the very day we left Pennsylvania, didn’t we?”
Like a scolded child, I nodded. He was right.
Leaving Pennsylvania hadn’t been a mistake. My mistake had been leaving the man I loved and who loved me back behind.
I had wasted time without Nathan when I could have been happy already. Hell, we could have been living together, even have a home of our own.
“It’s okay.” Carter smiled. “You did what you thought was best for you. Now that you know it wasn’t, you shouldn’t let your fears stand in the way anymore. Don’t let fear dictate your future, Evelyn. You’re young. You have a whole future ahead of you.”
When we arrived at the Maxwell household, both Carter and I were surprised. It wasn’t a huge house, but it was much, much more elegant than described. Elegant, yet homey. Everything Hannah’s house hadn’t been.
I knocked on the door timidly, and it flew open, as if they had been standing just behind it. Deborah met us with a beautiful and sincere smile. Her arms wrapped around me almost immediately, and she squeezed me tight. Laughing, I hugged her back, leaning my cheek on the woman’s shoulder.
“Well, you’ve been in New York for over a year and haven’t visited once. Don’t mind this very, very long hug.”
“I’m so sorry,” I whispered, embracing the woman who had been there when my family hadn’t.
“Nonsense. You’re just going to have to eat everything I serve you. Maybe spend the night? I need another woman here if I’m going to be surrounded by Nathan and his dad.” She scrunched up her nose as her husband walked up behind her.
Frank grinned at Carter, shaking his hand before pulling him into a hug.
The house was incredibly cozy, the type of house in which you have family reunions that you never want to leave.
“You have a lovely home,” I said to Frank. He squeezed my shoulder, chuckling.
“I’d like to take credit for the decor and all that nonsense, but who am I kidding? My wife did it all.”
“Men have no sense of style,” Deborah said, rolling her eyes.
I heard footsteps approaching and tensed, knowing exactly who it was.
“Look who’s early.” Nathan grinned, rolling back his sleeves.
God, how I love when he does that.
He cupped my face in his hands, catching me off guard and pressing his lips to mine. The kiss was brief but full of promise.
His mom grinned.
His dad raised his eyebrows.
Carter stared.
And I didn’t know what the hell to do.
We made small talk, like a family who was making up for lost time. All the while, Nathan held my hand in his, squeezing it and every now and then pressing a kiss to the back of it. I should have been used to this type of affection from him; he never hid what he felt.
We ate breakfast together, the most enjoyable meal I’d had in a long time. It was the first meal in a while that Carter and I had eaten in the company of family. Deborah and Frank made us feel at home; it was everything I’d ever dreamed of.
***
“What are you doing back here?”
I walked around in the wooded backyard, distracted by the beautiful sounds of birds chirping. It was only a bit past noon, and it wasn’t the best idea since I had no clue how to get back, but I was so entranced by the beauty of it I didn’t care.
I turned my face, only to see Nathan with a backpack and a bottle of wine.
He wrapped an arm around me, and I leaned my head back on his shoulder.
“I’m thinking,” I whispered, closing my eyes.
“What about?”
“You waited for me even without knowing whether I would want a relationship. Why?”
“Why wouldn’t I wait?” he countered.
“You could have been with someone else, Nate, someone ready for a relationship. And instead you waited for me without any guarantee.”
“I didn’t need a guarantee,” he said. I tilted my head back, opening my eyes to see him.
“I didn’t ever say that I would be ready for a relationship again,” I stated.
“You didn’t need to, Evie.” Nathan smiled, turning me around in his arms and placing his hands on my waist. “When you know, you know. With you, I always knew.”
I looked at him in wonder. How the hell had I gotten so lucky to have a man like him with me? My hands rested on his chest, over the steady beating of his heart, memorizing the feel of it under my hand, and I knew what I had to say.
“I love you, Nathan.”
He smiled, cupping my face in his hands as he ran his fingers over my cheeks tenderly. “I love you too, Evie.”
Nathan kissed me, parting my lips with his tongue gently. There was no hurry in the kiss, only love in every caress of our hands and mouths. It wasn’t until we both needed air to breathe that we broke away the kiss.
“Come on. I have something to show you.”
Chapter 6
Evelyn
There was no hiding the smile on my face.
Nathan wouldn’t let go of my hand as we went through the wooded area, navigating it with ease as if he knew the place by memory.
“Everyo
ne thinks when you buy property the house on it has to be huge,” he commented.
“Some people like big houses,” I said, looking down to avoid tripping.
“Mm, yeah, big houses are nice to have. But that’s not the reason my parents bought this property,” Nathan said, giving me a pointed stare. “This,” I caught up to him, staring in awe at the sight in front of us, “this is why they bought it.”
We stood in front of a small lake. Behind it were more and more trees, small flowers peppered on them. Its beauty was difficult to describe, but it oozed peace. Calmness.
“This is beautiful. I never knew your parents owned this,” I said, turning around.
“I told you we were well off. I just made some bad decisions is all.”
I removed my boots, and Nathan sighed, looking at me in disapproval. Ignoring him, I removed my sweater dress, pulling it up and over my head. It was so fucking cold, but I couldn’t bring myself to care.
“You will be getting sick,” Nathan muttered as he followed behind me while I ran down to the lake. He set the blanket and wine down on a small bench that rested on it and began removing his shirt.
Not bothering to wait for him, I ran to the edge and jumped into the very cold water, closing my eyes and then coming up for air. I smiled, biting my lip when he jumped in, the water splashing around me.
“Shit.” He grimaced, coming up for air. “It’s fucking freezing, Evie. Are you insane?”
“A little bit.” I shrugged, by now used to the feeling of the water. I swam to him, wrapping my arms around his neck. I let my fingers trace his hair and felt him lift my legs so that they’d surround his waist. “I don’t think you mind.”
“I don’t.” He smiled, brushing away my wet hair.
“Do you have a place already bought?” I asked, feeling the warmth of his skin pressing against mine. It didn’t feel as cold having him close to me.
“Apartment near the gallery,” he said. “I would have been staying here, but it’s easier to live near the place of work. The city can be chaotic in the mornings. Besides, the city is where you want to be, so that works perfectly fine for me.”
“You don’t have to do that. You’ve done enough for me already. If you want to be somewhere else, we can do that too.”
“Nope. I like the city, Evie. This was what we wanted from the start. Now that it’s here, I’m not giving it up just like that.”
I buried my face in the crook of his neck, closing my eyes and relaxing.
Hours could have gone by for all I knew, but it was perfect. His arms wrapped around me with care, the quiet chirping of birds around us and the sun warming us up despite the cold air. It was one of those moments I knew I would always, always remember.
“Thank you for waiting for me,” I whispered, looking up at him.
He smiled and kissed me. No more words were necessary. We were the only ones that mattered in that moment.
We’d said we were going to take things slow. But what was the point? I’d wasted time without Nathan, only to realize that the one person I needed was him.
His hand went to the back of my bra, unclasping the material and letting it fall to the water. Hungrily, his eyes dropped down to my heaving chest, eyes darkening with desire.
I felt the blush rise up to my cheek with the way he was looking at me.
His lips went to my neck, and I gasped, both his knowing hands and the cold water around us intensifying the sensations running throughout my body.
“I want you, Evelyn,” he whispered hoarsely.
His warm mouth latched on to a nipple, and I moaned freely, needing and wanting him just as much as he did.
“I want you too,” I admitted. He groaned, letting go of my flesh with a pop, eyes searching mine for any doubt. “I’m sure.” I answered his unspoken question with a small smile, kissing him passionately. His hands went down to my waist, and he made easy work of my panties.
Within a few moments, I felt his hard length pressing against me, and I whimpered, closing my eyes as he teased me. Finally, he pushed inside me with ease, and I clung to him as if my life depended on it, his grunt of satisfaction making me feel powerful.
I had this effect on him.
“I love you,” I whispered as he slipped in and out of me.
“I love you too,” he murmured before he began thrusting into me at a steady pace, taking us both over the edge within a short amount of time.
***
“Oh my God,” I hissed, my trembling hand searching in the water for my damned panties.
Nathan snorted as he put on his jeans from the pier. “Babe, I doubt you’re going to find them now. Just get up here, put on your sweater, and we’ll get back to the house.”
“I can’t,” I said, wide eyed. “I’m going to enter your parents’ house without panties or a bra after having sex in their lake. I hardly think that’s going to end up well.”
“Mom would be thrilled,” Nathan teased.
Glaring at him, I splashed water towards where he stood to no avail. This was far too embarrassing.
His mom had already found us having sex once after my Nana’s funeral. A repeat of that wasn’t something I looked forward to.
“Come on, Evie. They may show up here and find you naked in the lake, which wouldn’t exactly be good, either.”
I pouted, swimming up to the pier and covering myself up with my hands. Nathan chuckled, handing me my sweater dress, and I put it on as quickly as I could. He covered me up with the blanket and helped me put on my socks and boots. “It’s so cold,” I mumbled.
He gave me a small smile. “Come on,” he said as he turned around. “I’ll carry you.”
“Piggy back?” I asked, excited.
I didn’t even wait for his answer. I jumped on, and he caught me, chuckling as I wrapped my arms and legs around him. Thankful that he was carrying me, I let myself relax, simply taking in the beautiful sights that surrounded us. We’d figure out what to say to his parents and Carter when we got there.
Or rather, he would figure out what to say.
When we finally arrived, I tightened the blanket around me, hoping they wouldn’t be suspicious about what we had done.
But the curious eyes that met us along with a single raised eyebrow from Deborah said that they knew exactly what we had been doing. I blushed, hiding my face.
“We’re going to shower,” Nathan said, continuing to walk.
“Together?” I heard Carter’s alarmed voice.
“Yeah,” Nathan said.
“Oh my God,” I groaned, still hiding.
Once in the bedroom, Nathan set me down and went on to turn on the water, making sure it was warm for me. I smiled, grateful, and once again took off my clothes and soon stepped into the tub, letting the warmth engulf me.
“My mom has gone all out.”
“What do you mean?”
“She went a bit crazy when I told her that I was going to visit you yesterday, so she rushed out and bought a shitload of…clothes. Girl stuff.”
“You’re kidding.” Wide eyed, I saw how he entered the tub behind me. I leaned back on his chest, closing my eyes as his arms surrounded me. “She didn’t have to do that.”
“Yeah. But she always wanted a daughter, and you’re the closest thing to that, so I didn’t say anything to her.”
“She’s too sweet. I wish my mom would have been like that.”
He tensed at the mention of my mom, but I thought nothing of it. Our past would always follow us around; there was no way to avoid it. However, when he spoke up again, I was the one to feel uncomfortable.
“Hannah called me a few days ago.” I pulled away from him, but his grip tightened, holding me still. “I’m only telling you because I don’t want secrets between us, Evie.”
“What did she say?”
“She wanted to know about you…said you weren’t answering her calls.”
“I didn’t know you were, either,” I replied.
“I didn’t k
now who it was.” Nathan pressed a kiss to the top of my head before continuing. “I told her it shouldn’t matter to her.”
I felt him squeezing my hand in comfort. This would never get easier…
I closed my eyes. “I wish it could have all been different.”
“I know, baby.”
For the longest time, I simply lay in his arms, thinking how every moment in our lives had led to this, to being with him. I understood that no matter how painful and troublesome it had been, it all had a purpose.
It wasn’t until I heard Nathan’s voice whispering in my ear that I realized I was falling asleep. We rinsed off, and he wrapped me up in a towel before I laid down naked in his bed.
He soon joined me, pulling me close to his chest.
“Isn’t everyone going to be waiting for us?” I asked sleepily.
“Afternoon nap.” He tilted my face up and kissed me softly, letting his lips linger against mine until we both were fast asleep.
Chapter 7
Evelyn
Later that day, we all went to the gallery. Nathan wanted to show it off to his parents and Carter, and none of us minded. When we arrived, the light to the gallery was on, and Nathan raised his eyebrows, surprised.
“I’m guessing Jesse is still here,” Nathan noted.
“Your business partner?”
Nathan nodded. “Come on.”
We all stepped out of the car as Nathan unlocked the door to the gallery. He held the door open for all of us while we walked inside. I smiled, feeling like even this place was home. It was so…Nathan. Everything about it screamed it was his place of comfort.
“Let me see if Jesse is in the office,” Nathan said once we were inside.
I nodded, waving him off while I began analyzing the paintings. My heart swelled with pure joy when I realized that I hoped to share more of these moments for the rest of my life with Nathan…only with him.
“I’m so proud of him,” I heard Deborah say next to me. Her eyes glistened with tears as she stared at the painting in front of us, the one I had been looking at before he snuck up behind me.
