by Talia Hunter
Laura was already turning away to talk to someone else. Suzie shot Milhouse one last look of hatred before she spun on her heel and headed for the bar. She needed another drink before she had to sit down and endure an entire dinner with him.
“I’ll have the strongest cocktail you have,” she told the bartender.
From the corner of her eye, she watched Milhouse stride to the table Laura had pointed them to and tug out a chair like he wanted to break it into kindling. Another shiver ran over her skin and with a shock she realized her nipples were hard. No, she hated him! She refused to let her body react to him. But he moved with such effortless, animal grace, she couldn’t stop herself from imagining what those hands might feel like if he put them on her.
3
Nate tried to ignore Suzie while the wedding speeches were going on, but sitting next to her was torture. Each time they were asked to toast the happy couple, he glared as she gulped her ridiculous cocktail. It was even brighter than her hair, bristling with too many straws and umbrellas. When it was reduced to nothing but a few half-melted ice cubes, Suzie ordered a big glass of wine and made as big a show of knocking that back, a fake smile determinedly plastered on.
No doubt Suzie wasn’t listening to the wedding speeches at all, but stewing over the single lie Nate had told. He had much more to be angry about. She hadn’t recognized him. Hadn’t known he was the kid who’d been hit with an iron bar when she’d sent her thug of a boyfriend after cigarettes.
But all that was in the past. He didn’t need to think about it, because he was completely over it. And the fact she’d been permanently burned into his memory when she didn’t even know his real name? No, he wasn’t upset about that either.
Nate realized he was grinding his teeth and made a point of relaxing his jaw. If only the perfume she was wearing didn’t keep wafting over and stirring something inside him he couldn’t quite control. He shifted in his seat and she shot him a sideways glare, her eyes narrow slits and her expression dark. Bring it on, Suzie. He needed more looks like that to get through to the part of him that hadn’t got the memo about her being bad news.
The other guests were clapping. Were the wedding speeches over? He got a waiter’s attention and motioned for another beer. He’d already had more than he’d usually drink, but they were fuel to help him get through the evening.
A waiter put their meals in front of them and Suzie snatched the name card from behind his place setting and held it up triumphantly, her bracelets jangling with the movement. “Nate,” she exclaimed.
“Congratulations,” Nate’s voice dripped sarcasm. “You guessed it.”
She stared at the name card and her eyes widened with horror. “Nate Mason? You’re Nathaniel Mason, the one who made that Journeyman website?” She slapped her forehead as though berating herself. “You’re who Laura was talking about. Why didn’t I realize it was you? How could she have sat me next to you, when she knew what you did to me? Sometimes she can be so—”
Nate leaned forward, cutting off her flow of words. “I didn’t create the Journeyman website.”
“Liar.” Her beautiful eyes narrowed. “Laura said you—“
“I came up with the idea, wrote the back end, and designed the engine to connect with airline ticketing systems. My business partner added the hotel booking and rating system. Then the company we sold it to added features that screwed up the user interface. They ruined it. But they spent enough on advertising to make sure it was the product everyone used.”
Suzie waved his name card like it was a stick she could use to beat him with. Her voice rose. “I was a freelance corporate travel consultant, until your stupid software put me out of business.”
He snorted. “Journeyman isn’t the only website for booking travel. There are lots of others out there.”
She tossed her head, making her curls bounce angrily. “I was good at what I did. My clients loved me. But thanks to you, my work dried up and I couldn’t go on.”
She threw the name card back on the table and her blue eyes flashed. They had been striking when she had brown hair. Now, framed by her fiery red mane, the effect was so stunning he could barely drag his gaze away from them.
Everything about her was designed to goad him, from the tangle of curls he wanted to smooth back from her face, to the way she angled her upper body toward him, teasing him with the gorgeous swell of her breasts, emphasized by the low cut of her dress.
Did she have any idea what she could do to a man just by leaning close? Silly question, of course she did. She did it deliberately to drive men crazy. No wonder she’d been stuck in his head all these years.
He gave a slow, deliberate shrug, knowing it would irritate her. “The industry had to change. It was inevitable. Any smart person could have predicted it.”
Her cheeks flushed to match her hair. “Any smart person?”
He held her gaze, though she was so alight with fury the air around her was practically smoking. The implication that she hadn’t been clever enough to see it coming had taken her rage to a whole new level.
Now he knew what button to press to make her react this way, would it be bad to take advantage of it? If only she wasn’t so beautiful when she was angry. The brighter her cheeks got, the more luminous her eyes.
“Change always brings opportunity. Plenty of other people found ways to make money from the shift in people’s behavior.”
She dragged in a breath, her full lips parted in outrage. “Could you be any more arrogant? You think you’re so clever, but all the brains in the world can’t keep you from being a jerk. And you’re not just obnoxious, you’re also a liar.”
She leaned forward, so close that Nate could take a deep, intoxicating breath of her perfume. A single red curl fell over one eye, and Nate burned to tuck it behind her ear.
“Thanks to you, everyone thought I was easy. When people asked Laura about her plans for the future, it was always, ‘What college will you go to?’ And, ‘What’s your major going to be?’ Nobody ever asked me those questions. After the rumor went around about me offering sex to get better grades, all I got was sniggers and rude suggestions. I went through hell because of you.”
Nate had never meant his little untruth to go further than his brother, but he should have guessed Harrison would blab to his friends.
“Technically, I didn’t lie.” That’s what he’d told himself at the time, at least, although the words stuck in his throat now. If he’d ever said them aloud he might have realized how lame they sounded.
“You’re trying to deny it?”
“I don’t deny anything.” He kept his gaze level. She had a right to be angry, but it’d been a defensive move on his part, not an attack. “You came into the store while I was working. Between serving customers, I was doing my term paper. It was on the counter, and you groaned when you saw it. You said you’d do anything to be able to hand in my paper instead of your own.”
She stared at him in horror. “That was me offering you sex? I don’t even remember talking to you.”
Of course she didn’t remember. If only he could say the same. Her hair had been even curlier when it was shorter, and she used to worry one curl between her thumb and forefinger when she was deep in thought. He used to watch her at school. He’d study her face and get totally absorbed in the curve of her cheek, or the tilt of her head, or that dark freckle below her right eye.
And especially the larger-than-usual dip at the center of her upper lip. What was it called? Her cupid’s bow, that was it. Her mouth couldn’t be like everyone else’s. Oh no, it had to have an extra flourish. Her upper lip had two steep peaks like pink mountains, plump and perfectly kissable…
Stop it, Nate!
He grabbed his beer bottle and squeezed it. Kryptonite, that’s what she was.
“All I did was repeat your own words to Harrison,” he said. “That you’d told me you’d do anything if I gave you my paper to hand in.”
“But I didn’t mean it, and you
knew it.” With a toss of her head, she flicked a stray curl back from her eyes. “You lied so Harrison wouldn’t go out with me. You thought he was too good for me. And it wasn’t just an asshole move, it was nothing short of evil. I’m surprised there aren’t horns growing out of your forehead.” She stabbed her finger at him and the curl fell right back down again. “I wish he were here, so you could confess what you did.”
Harrison’s face flashed into his mind, the way he’d looked a few weeks ago, last time Nate had paid him a visit. He spoke without thinking. “Harrison wouldn’t have come.”
“Why not? Unlike you, he has nothing to be ashamed of.”
Nate hesitated. He didn’t like talking about his brother. “Harrison’s busy writing a book,” he said after a moment. If only it were true. If Harrison could summon the enthusiasm to actually start the thing, he might finally manage to crawl out from the grief and depression that had crippled him.
“What kind of book? No, let me guess. Is it a memoir on how he survived a childhood living with his devil brother? A horror story to give people nightmares?”
“It’s nothing you’d want to read.” Nate brushed off the question because he was trying to remember what kind of book his brother had once wanted to write.
Suzie flushed. “You’d be surprised at the books I read,” she said in an acid tone. She must have thought he was implying Harrison’s book would be too intellectual for her.
Hell, Nate even offended her when he wasn’t trying. Maybe he should try to clear the air and end their war. He couldn’t blame her for being angry he’d lied to Harrison to stop their date. It hadn’t exactly been his finest moment.
“Listen, Suzie. I—”
She cut him off with a wave of her hand that made her bracelets clatter. “Don’t bother to apologize, Milhouse. Nothing could make up for what you did.”
Her use of that hated nickname swept away his guilt in a flood of anger. Being moved into advanced classes at school had meant he’d been younger and smaller than everyone else. The bullies had already singled him out, but when Suzie had christened him Milhouse she may as well have painted a target on his chest.
“I never apologize, and I have no regrets,” he growled. “Except the fact I can’t put you over my knee and give you the spanking you so richly deserve.”
She gasped. She was still leaning towards him, her face close. A rebel curl was dangling over one eye, all-but-daring him to smooth it away. The neckline of her dress swept low enough that he couldn’t help but admire the way her breasts heaved with each outraged breath. The small buttons that ran down her front trembled, inviting speculation on how easily they might come undone. Her beautiful lips had paled with the strength of her fury, and he had a sudden, almost uncontrollable urge to pull her to him, to cover her mouth with his. And then he’d yank that dress up and give her the spanking he’d promised.
Hell, what was he thinking? Nate shifted uncomfortably. He couldn’t let himself imagine things like that, let alone get hard at the thought. Hadn’t he learned his lesson the first time he’d been infatuated with her?
“Try it and you’ll wish you hadn’t,” she hissed.
He raised his eyebrows. “Is that a threat or a dare?”
A hesitant cough came from behind him, and Nate jerked his head around. “Yes?” It came out as a snarl.
The waiter flinched and took a deep breath, visibly bracing himself. “Um. Sorry to disturb. Have you, ah, finished?” He motioned to the table in front of Nate.
Startled, Nate looked down. Both he and Suzie had plates of untouched food in front of them. He’d forgotten it was there, and from her expression, so had she.
For the first time since he’d sat down, he tore his eyes away from Suzie to scan the table. They were seated with four other couples who’d all finished their meals. All were pointedly looking elsewhere.
Nate swallowed. He and Suzie must have been putting on quite a show. He’d been totally focused on her, but hadn’t it always been that way? The fact she could make his blood boil didn’t stop him from feeling as though when he was with her, nobody else in the world existed.
“We’ve finished. Thank you. Sorry.” Suzie looked away, one hand going under her hair to rub the back of her neck. Even her ears were flushing pink. She leaned back to let the waiter take their plates, and when she pulled away from Nate, it felt as though the temperature dropped several degrees. Over the years since he’d last seen her, he’d managed to forget how charismatic she was. It seemed like the energy of the universe was contained inside her. How could anyone blame him for being pulled in?
Nate gulped his beer, though it had gone warm and flat. At least it was a distraction. The band was striking up their first song, and Laura and Luke were walking barefoot onto the sandy dancefloor for their first dance as husband and wife. Laura was holding up her white dress and Luke had rolled up the bottom of his trousers as though they were expecting to dance in the incoming tide rather than on dry sand.
Everyone clapped, staying in their seats to watch the dance. It would be rude for Nate to leave yet, but soon he’d be able to escape back to his room and start the modifications to his software.
He drained his beer and motioned to the waiter for a fresh one. Suzie was on what had to be her fourth or fifth drink too, but showed no sign of slowing down. Her eyes were glittering, her attention fixed on Laura and her new husband. When would this song finish? As much as Nate liked Laura, she and Luke were terrible dancers, their movements jerky and awkward. They looked like two chickens trying to catch the same bug.
He’d gulped down a few good swallows of his next beer by the time the song ground to a merciful end. Politely clapping with everyone else, he felt Suzie lean towards him. Her lips moved so close to his ear that her warm breath tickled across his lobe. The sensation was exquisite. His whole body tingled with it, like she’d zapped him with a thousand volts of electricity.
“I hate you, Milhouse,” she whispered. Her voice was so low, it felt incredibly intimate and his body reacted as though she’d murmured an indecent suggestion instead of an insult. He was suddenly hard, shifting in his seat again, fighting the aching lust she could so easily summon in him.
Screw it.
He grabbed her arm, pulling her up to standing.
“What are you doing?” she yelped.
“Time to dance.” He hadn’t planned on dancing, and still had his shoes on while all the other guests moving onto the dance floor had kicked theirs off. But if Suzie’s dancing was anything like her sister’s, it might cure him of his attraction to her. At this stage, he was willing to try anything.
He’d managed to pull her halfway to the dance floor before Suzie wrenched herself free of his grip. “You think I’d dance with you? Not if we were the last two people left alive.” She darted to the nearest table where a man was sitting with a group of other guests. “Excuse me, would you like to dance?” She grabbed the man’s shoulder, practically hauling him to his feet.
The man looked startled for a moment. Then he flicked his gaze over Suzie’s delectable body and a sleazy grin crept over his face. “Sure.”
As the man led her to the dance floor, Nate’s fists clenched. If he had a scrap of sense, he’d either leave now, or head to the bar and finish the job of getting drunk. There was no reason for him to stay rooted to the spot, watching the man’s lecherous hands circle Suzie’s waist. No reason for his blood to heat as a slow song started and the man pulled Suzie close.
4
Just Suzie’s luck to pick a man whose breath stunk like something had crawled inside his mouth to die. And if Nate hadn’t been watching, Suzie would have told corpse-breath that asking him to dance hadn’t been an invitation for him to slide his sweaty hands down until they almost cradled her ass.
Was Nate still watching? She snuck a glance to the side. Yes, there he was, right where she’d left him. He’d found yet another beer and was gulping it while he glared at her.
Suzie leaned in a l
ittle to murmur in corpse-breath’s ear, on the side Nate would be able to see. She let a little smile play over her mouth as though she were enjoying herself.
“Do I know you?” she asked. He looked familiar, but she couldn’t quite place him.
“Suzie, darlin’, don’t you remember me?” When he leaned back to give her a hurt look, another gust of his hot breath almost made her gag. “I’m your cousin Ronny.”
“Oh. Ronny. Of course.” He was the kid who’d tried to convince her to play doctor when she was ten.
“Well, we haven’t seen each other since we were young.” His hurt look turned into a smirk. “I didn’t recognize you either, at first. But the red hair suits you. I like red heads. Even when the drapes don’t match the carpet, if you get my meaning.”
Okay, so she’d clearly picked the wrong man to dance with. Even teaching Nate a lesson wasn’t worth being subjected to Cousin Ronny.
“I’m sorry. I’ve just remembered I need to, um…” She tugged free of his grip, stumbling and almost turning her ankle in the process. “I think I’ve drunk a little too much.”
“That’s okay, sugar. I’ll look after you.”
Suzie looked around for an excuse to get away. Nate had disappeared. Laura and Luke had stopped dancing, and Laura was frowning at her. Usually that look would make Suzie’s stomach sink, but right now she welcomed it. “Laura’s trying to get my attention. She’s probably going to complain that I’ve done something wrong, but I’d better go and see.”
“You’re coming back?”
She shook her head, leaving Cousin Ronny pouting. Then she went to Laura and forced a smile back on. “Everything okay, sis? Great speeches, and I loved your dance. You two are so sweet together.”
