by J. L. Beck
Nathan took her hands and stared at her with a frown. She’d seen this frown before. When she wanted to pass on law school in favor of pastry school. He’d given her this same look and then fixed everything.
When her dad told her she’d have no prospects baking, Nathan handed him the deed to the Greenpea Teahouse and Bakery and said she’d have her own business forever.
He squeezed her fingers, and tingles ran up her arm.
She’d seen this look before then, too. Just before he had a word with the players on the football team who called out about her curtains and carpet while she was at cheer practice during her senior year. Whatever he’d said, her last year of cheering was free from crude barbs about her red hair.
Except this time, he wouldn’t be able to wrap her problem in a neat little bow.
She cleared her throat. “You know me better than anyone, don’t you?”
He did, because he clamped his palm over his mouth then dragged it down his chin. “Christ, what have you done?”
“You know I’d never take off from home without telling anyone where I was.”
His eyes closed briefly. She could practically hear the curse words rattling through his head, but he didn’t offend her with his language.
“I couldn’t lie to them.” She gripped his fingers harder. “And I couldn’t let you take the blame, so I told them the truth.”
He took a deep breath that expanded his broad chest. “What’s the truth?”
“That I’m following you to Seattle because it’s my fault you took off. And that I’m in love with you.”
His gaze fell to their joined hands. His expression inscrutable.
A solid crust seemed to form around her chest, making breathing difficult and heartbeats painful. “Maybe you feel the same, or maybe you just care about me but also want to—” She licked her lips before saying a word she hated but seemed like the most fitting one. “Fuck me.”
His gaze snapped up, skewering her.
“Either way, it’s up to you how you want to do this.” She smoothed under her eye with her free hand. That crust seemed to grow upward, restricting her throat. “If you want to tell them I’m a stupid girl who developed a crush on her stepbrother for no reason, you can go ahead. I’ll take responsibility because I’m the one who did this.”
His breath rushed out, his gaze flickering back and forth across her face. The only times she’d seen him this quiet when spoken to was when his Gran was in the hospital, and his mom talked with him about tough decisions.
He hadn’t spoken a word for at least four hours.
And she had no idea what it meant that he seemed to be reverting that way now.
She clutched his hand tighter. “Or you can tell them you love me, too, and that we’re going to be together.”
He gripped his chin close to his mouth, drawing her gaze to sensual lips she may never kiss again.
Her eyes burned, the urge to cry creating a pressure at the back of her skull. Maybe he loved her…
But Nathan adored his mother.
Respected his family.
He’d never do anything to hurt or disappoint them. And that’s what giving in to this would do—hurt and disappoint.
Except this was worth the pain.
He still thought of her as young. Sweet. Naive. Sheltered. Maybe in some ways she was, but not where it counted. Much of it was by choice.
“Before you decide, I need to tell you everything.”
His expression sharpened, and he dropped his hand from his face.
Her pulse hammered. After the revelations she’d already made today, no wonder he’d be apprehensive about her confessions.
“I can only ask you to make the decision that speaks to your heart.” She squeezed his hand. “But, Nathan Hendricks, if your heart gets stupid and tries to tell you some kind of misguided, chivalrous crap, like pushing me away would be better for me, I’m not going to let that slide.”
He snorted, shook his head, and remained silent.
“If you turn me away because of what anyone else might prefer we do, I’m not just going to be heartbroken—I’m going to be ruined the way I have been for the past four years.”
“Ruined?” He dropped her hand.
Her heart thudded. She wasn’t sure if it was better or worse he’d decided to join the conversation.
“Yeah, ruined.” She let out a shaky exhalation. “I’ve been completely destroyed since my senior prom.”
“I don’t know what you’re telling me, Aria.”
He drew back, but she saw it dawning, an uncomfortable realization.
“Yes, you do,” she whispered. “Maybe my prom date was a creep, and maybe he did grab my ass, but it was senior prom. You didn’t have to tell my dad.”
His expression flattened.
“You didn’t have to offer to take his place and keep me safe.” She leaned in and let him know it all. “You didn’t have to dance with me the way you did, and you most certainly didn’t have to look at me as if you never wanted to take your eyes off me.” She tried to catch a breath. “You didn’t have to tell me I was the prettiest girl you’d ever seen.”
He grasped her shoulder, and his throat bobbed. “No. You were only seventeen. I’d never have touched you.”
“I know.” She sighed and ate up the sincerity in his expression. He was the one person who never had and never would break her trust. “You’ve always been the best man I’ve ever known. No boy could ever compete, and no man ever will. Which is why none have touched me before today.”
He snapped straighter. “What are you saying?”
His gaze tore over her as though he only truly noticed her for the first time. They might not discuss relationships, but he couldn’t have assumed she’d be a twenty-one-year-old virgin.
“There’s only one man I want and only one man I’m going to have.” She grabbed the sleeve of his shirt and dragged him in. He let her tug him until his chest hit her knees. “I love you, Nathan, and you’re all there is for me.”
He grabbed the hair at the back of her head and yanked her down against him. “Fuck, Aria.”
His chest shuddered with emotion, and the look on his face made her want to let him curse any time he frigging wanted.
His mouth covered hers, and she drowned in his kiss. In the slow plunges of his tongue, the secure way he held her and the way it all felt so good no one could ever tell her it was wrong.
But he let her go too soon.
He eased her off him, his eyes so solemn her chest clenched at the sight. Nathan wouldn’t shy away from responsibility or making the hard choice.
Or doing what was right.
He released her and stood. “You need to wait here for a while.”
Except this time, she had no idea what the right thing was to him.
6
It was four in the morning before he made it back to the apartment. With the city lights casting shadows through the kitchen windows it was almost like every night he’d returned home late in the past three years.
Too quiet. Too empty.
Similar to the feeling inside his chest.
Except tonight, everything was different. No amount of fatigue could dull his excitement or ease his nerves.
The gentle sound of her sleeping filtered through his bedroom as he entered.
He stood beside the bed and just breathed until the rhythm in his chest matched the sound she made. Fuck, fuck, fuck. This was what he’d dreamed of and never thought possible.
Coming home to his gorgeous Aria all curled up in their bed.
He removed his clothes but left on his underwear. He’d only hug her. Hold her. Not rush her.
Not even wake her up.
It’d be enough to be beside her.
He peeled back the sheets then froze. Oh, that wicked girl. He reached out and turned on the lamp. So much for that plan.
She opened her eyes and blinked at him. Her soft white arm thrown up over her head, her beautiful tits expose
d.
“This is the third time you’ve been naked in my bed without permission, and despite earlier reprimands, you don’t seem to be learning your lesson.”
Even though her eyes squinted against the light, her face cracked in one of her stunning smiles. Little troublemaker.
“Whatever am I to do about this?” His gaze raked her. There were a thousand things he could do. A million.
She shrugged then behaved the way he’d only expected in his dirtiest fantasies. She rolled onto her stomach and lifted—actually fucking lifted—her ass.
For a spanking.
He dragged a hand over his face. Stick a fork in him. He was done. She’d be the death of him. His little, spankable virgin was about to send him out of his mind.
This wasn’t what he’d planned. But then, who the fuck was he to deny a lady what she asked for?
He reached for her then stopped and set his hand on her lower back. His chest clamped, squeezing his lungs. Goddamn. This was too much.
She was really here.
And this time, she was his, and there was nothing and no one to keep him from her. He brushed his fingers along her spine and caressed the curve of her juicy ass.
Her hips settled down on the mattress, and her muscles relaxed.
She rolled over. Her hair was a fiery riot. Her eyes dreamier than usual and his heart just wanted to crack open and spit glitter.
“Hey, Nathan?” she asked casually.
He had to clear his throat twice in order to answer. “Yes?”
“Why is Santa’s sack so big?”
In an instant, the bursting feeling eased, and he smiled. “Why?”
She flashed her even teeth and wiggled her brows suggestively. “Because he only comes once a year.”
Laughter exploded out of his chest. Sassy girl. He flopped down beside her and hauled her close. Innocent, dirty girl. This woman knew him best. Knew just how to make him laugh and talk and feel.
“What happened?” She brushed her fingers under the split on his brow, and her mouth pinched.
He grabbed her fingers. “That’s where your dad socked me in the eye.”
“He did…” she said, confirming not asking.
“Before he gave his blessing.”
Her eyes widened. “He did?”
“Maybe not a blessing, but he accepted how it’s going to be once I explained the truth.”
Her lips parted. “And what’s the truth?”
“That I’m in love with his daughter. That I’d follow her to Greenpea or wherever in the world she wanted to live.” He took her by the back of the neck. “That I’m done pretending not to be, and I’m going to marry her. So, if they want to see their future grandkids, they’re going to have to understand you’re mine now, and I’m never letting go.”
Her head lulled in his grip, and her eyes went misty. “I love you so much, Nathan.”
“I love you, too, and I’m not saying it’s going to be easy, but I swear it’ll be worth it.” He pressed his lips to hers. Her sweet tongue delved into his mouth, curling the happiness his life had been missing into his heart. He couldn’t stop kissing her, but her sexy body wiggled against him.
Made him need so much more than kissing.
He broke the connection and rolled on top of her. “You’re going to have to try to behave now, honey. I want to go easy, but you make me need to be hard on you.”
“I don’t have any problem with hard.” She bit her lower lip.
His blood rushed in anticipation. How’d he find a woman so perfect for him? Sweet and naughty, all wrapped up in a sexy package fit to make him fall to his knees and get religious every single time he looked at her.
“Oh, you’ll get hard.” He grabbed her wrists and lifted them above her head. “But right now, you’re going to control yourself and take what you have coming.”
“Coming sounds all right, too—”
He bent down and nipped her nipple.
She giggled, jerking in his grip. “Okay, behaving.”
He released her and finally, finally cradled her breasts into his palms. “I bet they’re sweeter than peaches.” He lowered his lips to her left tit and sucked her entire nipple into his mouth before letting it go and moving to the other. “They are, honey, they are.”
Need clenched his balls, but he only let his body sag against her. She spread her thighs, taking his weight.
He sucked on her nipples until they went hard, and she ground her wet pussy on him with a whimper.
He’d waited this long; no way was he rushing things now.
Her juices soaked his abdomen, but he wasn’t ready to give her everything she had coming just yet. Had to savor her.
Had to get a proper taste of her.
He slid down between her thighs. She kept them nice and spread, like a good girl. Her arms still raised where he left them. He parted her glistening, swollen lips. Her hard, greedy clit jutted, begging for his mouth. He couldn’t resist anymore and sucked the bundle of nerves just as he’d sucked her nipples.
Her hands flew down to grip his hair. “Oh, lord, Nathan!”
There was nothing as sweet as his name whispered in her throaty voice, but having her scream it in his bed was pure magic. He’d make sure she had plenty of chances to scream it tonight to ensure the sound rang in his ears for the next week.
He licked her from opening to clit and back again. She moaned, but it wasn’t enough; he wanted his name again. He pressed two fingers to her entrance and worked them in. Her snug pussy gripped him. Fuck, she was a tight, little virgin. He still couldn’t believe she’d saved herself for him. The joy of that reality made him tremble. Made him feel as though he were the virgin because nothing ever felt like this before.
He’d make this so damn good for her.
Make it worth the wait.
He tongued her clit, working it in small circles while he stroked inside her.
“Oh, shit, Nathan.” She twisted her hips.
Shit?
From her? He must be on the right track. He moved his fingers harder and faster, preparing her for when he’d soon be inside her, and sucked her clit.
Her nails drove into his scalp. “Nath—”
Her entire body shuddered, robbing him of the rest of the sound. Her pussy pulsed around his fingers, and his self-control shattered.
He moved up her body and positioned his cock at her wet, little cunt and, in an effort to dilute her pain, drove into her pulsing entry while she still came.
Her tightness clenched around him, and she screamed. He buried his hands in her hair and kissed her, letting her ride out the remaining pleasure as well as the sting.
When her arms wrapped around him and her tongue met his, he let her have all of his weight and sank deeper into her.
He broke the kiss. “You ready, honey?”
Her cheeks burned a deep pink, but her lips smirked. “You have no idea how long I’ve been ready for this.”
He groaned and pulled out to the tip before sinking all the way back into her magnificent warmth. She gasped and grabbed his ass.
He gave it to her like that, slow and measured, tip to base, until her pussy gave in to him as sweetly as the rest of her.
“See, I knew you were really a good girl.” He thrust harder, buried himself all the way then pulsed there. “You like taking it deep like a good girl, don’t you?”
Her back arched, and her eyes went big. “Oh, heck.”
“You haven’t seen heck yet, honey.” He kissed her before taking her by the back of the knees and shoving her legs up to her chest. He glanced down and nearly came.
Heck. Fucking, heck.
The sight of her stretched around him made his entire midsection clamp in ecstasy. Her pussy lips were engorged and hugging him, and that wasn’t the worst of it.
The smear of virginity on her pale thighs sent animal lust raging through him. He was going to blow, but he’d give it to her properly first.
He lifted up and slammed straigh
t down at an angle that’d get her G-spot just right.
“Nathan!”
His ears echoed with her scream, and he drove into her until she gave him his name again and again.
Bliss squeezed his balls, and he spurted inside her. “Aria.”
His cock pulsed, and she came again, milking every drop from him. He slumped onto his side, rolling her with him. Not withdrawing for an instant.
“I love you,” she whispered into his neck.
He wrapped her in the biggest hug. He’d loved her for-fucking-ever, and for the first time, he was free to give her all of him. “I love you, Aria. And now you’re mine forever.”
The End
Read more by Eden Summers
http://www.edensummers.com/
Read more by Amber Bardan
http://amberabardan.com/
About Eden
Eden Summers is a bestselling author of contemporary romance with a side of sizzle and sarcasm.
She lives in Australia with a young family who are well aware she's circling the drain of insanity.
Eden can't resist alpha dominance, dark features and sarcasm in her fictional heroes and loves a strong heroine who knows when to bite her tongue but also serves retribution with a feminine smile on her face.
About Amber
Amber is a #1 Bestselling, award winning, author, and member of Romance Writers of Australia, Melbourne Romance Writers Guild, and Writers Victoria.
After spending years imagining fictional adventures, Amber finally found a way to turn daydreaming into a productive habit. She now spends her time in a coffee-fuelled adrenaline haze, writing romance with a thriller edge.
She lives with her husband and children in semi-rural Australia, where if she peers outside at the right moment she might just see a kangaroo bounce by.
Love Torn
Lena Bourne
Love Torn © 2017 Lena Bourne
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