My breath hitches. It is the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen. But I frown. I don’t wear bracelets. I thought he knew this. I hesitate for a minute wondering if I should say anything.
“Nate, it’s beautiful . . . breathtaking even. But I—”
“You don’t wear bracelets,” he interrupts me. “Trust me. Try it on.” He unclasps it and holds it out to me.
He puts it on my wrist and pulls on a tiny piece of chain by the clasp which tightens it and makes the bracelet fit me like a second skin. “There. It’s a perfect fit.” He smiles down admiring my wrist. “It’s so tight that it shouldn’t get caught on anything, but if it does, I had the clasp designed to give way while still keeping the bracelet from falling off your wrist. That’s what this little piece of chain is for.”
“You had it designed?” I ask, tears welling in my eyes.
“Yes. And I had it inscribed, too.” He takes it off my wrist and turns it over. “See?”
I read the tiny print. To remember the past ~ To trust in the future.
“Consider it a gift from both me and Michael.” He brushes a stray hair behind my ear. “But if you don’t like it, I can get you the ring back exactly as it was. I had them keep the setting just in case.”
Tears are spilling over and running down my cheeks. I can’t understand how this man keeps surprising me in ways I never thought possible. Who does this? Who takes another man’s engagement ring and turns it into something wonderful that has me thinking of the two most important men in my life? It is the most incredible, romantic and selfless thing I can imagine him doing. I feel like the wind has been knocked out of me. My hands tremble and my breathing is shallow.
“God, Brooklyn. You don’t like it.” He lowers his head. “I’m sorry, I thought—”
I move my fingers up to his lips to stop him from talking. “Nate.” I clear the frog in my throat. “This is undeniably the best gift I have ever gotten in my entire life.” Another tear falls down my cheek and he reaches out to wipe it with his thumb. “Words can’t describe how you have made me feel by giving this to me. ‘Thank you’ just doesn’t seem enough. It—it’s incredible. You’re incredible. I’ll wear it every day. I promise.”
He lets out a breath and visibly relaxes with my revelation. “Thank God!” He shakes his head. “You scared me for a minute. I thought you hated it.”
“I could never hate anything you give me. And after this . . . I mean, somehow it will be easier to let you go today, because I’ll always have a piece of you with me.”
He pushes the jewelry box aside and leans down to whisper through my hair into my ear, “I’m not going anywhere until I watch you come two or three more times.”
And with that, all thoughts of jewelry and moving are gone. I can only think of what he is doing to me, where his hands, his fingers, and his mouth will go next. What sensation he will extract from my body. What love he will instill in my heart.
Chapter Twenty-seven
I’ve done a decent job of keeping myself busy with the bakery these past few weeks. I’m working a lot more than usual to help pass the time. My phone is practically overheating with all of the texting going on between Nate and me, and we have a nightly Skype date at precisely nine o’clock. I went up to Raleigh last weekend and he is coming back here tomorrow after work. It’s all going exactly as planned. Our bubble has just expanded by a few hundred miles.
Brooklyn’s has been very busy with new catering business and Ryan and I are in the process of hiring another employee. We came up to my apartment to go over all of the applications and decided to eat Chinese take-out while we work.
My computer dings at me and when I look at the clock, I realize that we have completely lost track of time and that my nightly Skype time with Nate is upon me. I excuse myself from Ryan and run to my room to say hello.
“Hey you,” I say when his gorgeous face pops up on the screen.
“God, I love to hear your voice and see your beautiful face at the end of every day.” He bites his lip seductively then continues, “And I can’t wait to have you in person in—,” he checks his watch, “—twenty-three hours.”
I giggle and start to tell him I’ll have to call him right back when he gets a stern look on his face. “Who the hell is that?” he asks, looking over my shoulder.
I turn around and see Ryan standing in the doorway behind me. “Hey man, how is Raleigh?” he asks Nate and then mouths ‘sorry’ to me as if Nate can’t see him.
“Lonely,” Nate says harshly. “Mind telling me what you are sorry about and why the hell you are in my girlfriend’s bedroom at nine o’clock at night?”
I roll my eyes at my over-protective boyfriend and say, “Ryan was just leaving. We were going over job applications at dinner and we lost track of time.”
“Were you going over a new contract as well? One that protects your interests?”
I shake my head. “No, not yet, but we will. Do you want me to Skype you back in a minute, after Ryan leaves?”
“No. I’ll wait right here while you put him out.” I can see him lean back in his chair and cross his arms.
“Fine,” I huff. I get up and walk Ryan to the front door while whispering my apologies to him.
“Don’t worry about it. I don’t blame the guy for trying to mark his territory,” he says. “You have told him he has nothing to worry about, right? I mean why would I want a girl with a face as ugly as yours?” he teases.
“Very funny,” I say. “See you tomorrow, dork.”
I head back into my room and am rewarded with, “Took you long enough, did he try to kiss you or something?”
I let out a long sigh as I sit in front of my computer. “Nate, you really need to be nicer to the guy. He likes you and you should remember that when I’m with him, he keeps the other guys at bay.”
“Other guys?” His eyes open wide. “What other guys?” he asks. “And you had him to your apartment—our apartment—for dinner?”
Well, crap, now I’ve gone and pissed him off even more. I’m tired of the same old argument about Ryan. Almost every night we do some kind of dance around the Ryan issue. I spend a lot of time with him, yes. He’s my partner. He’s my friend. But my reasoning falls on deaf ears.
Rather than waste our precious Skype date on meaningless bickering, I do the one thing I know will get his mind off Ryan. I stand up and adjust the monitor. I take a few steps back and slowly remove my shirt. I smile as the shirt comes over my head because Nate has stopped talking mid-sentence. I’ve never done a striptease for anyone before. I haven’t even been able to touch myself like I told Nate I would and bless him, he hasn’t pushed me.
But the Cosmo I had earlier is making me brave and I commit myself to following through. He is still sitting close to his screen so I can see the desire building in his eyes as I unclasp my bra and slide it down my arm, dangling it off of my finger before letting it fall to the floor. His mouth opens slightly and he bites his lip so I know he is enjoying this.
I continue my seduction by slowly and deliberately peeling my jeans off and away from my body. Then I hook my thumbs into my tiny pink panties and shimmy them down my thighs ever so slowly. I’m embarrassed and completely out of my element but when I look up and see Nate licking his lips and devouring every inch of my body with his eyes, I get the courage to continue.
When I skim my hands up the sides of my body and cup each of my breasts, I hear him moan. Then I hear, “Wait! Give me a sec.”
I see him moving the laptop and realize he is carrying it back to his bedroom. I can tell he has placed it on his bed and I long to crawl under the sheets with him and be wrapped up in his warmth. He angles the laptop so we can see each other. I follow suit and put my machine alongside me on the bed. Once we are both in position, Nate removes his clothes. Not quite as seductively as I did. In fact, I think he’s just set a record for the quickest striptease in history.
I laugh at him and he says, “Please continue,” in a very business
like manner.
“Yes, sir.” I resume the placement of my hands on my breasts, squeezing them and pushing them together, giving him a close up view of my cleavage.
I soon realize that my actions are not only affecting him, but I feel my own build-up, causing moisture to spread between my thighs. I pinch and roll my nipples, closing my eyes to imagine that it is Nate’s hands on me. I throw back my head and moan.
“Good God, woman,” he groans.
When I open my eyes, I take in a surprised breath as I see him running his hand up and down his hard length.
Oh. My. God. That is incredibly hot.
Liquid heat pools inside me. Watching him touch himself is the most erotic thing I’ve ever seen. The thought that he feels the same way about me gives me the courage to take the plunge. I remove a hand from my breast and run it down over my stomach and below my small patch of dark curls. I find my slick opening and use my finger to spread the moisture up to my clit.
“Sweet Jesus,” I hear Nate breathe out. His strokes are getting faster and I see his eyes cloud over with desire.
As my wet finger rubs in little circles around my nub, I watch his hand stroke rhythmically up and down his shaft and I feel my orgasm building up deep inside. The quivering starts in my middle, spreading down to my thighs and I know I’m getting close.
“Baby, I’m gonna come,” he grunts. “Come with me. Slip your fingers inside yourself and come with me,” he commands.
I do what he says without a thought. I’m so turned on right now watching him and hearing him direct my actions that I instantly start falling into spasms and explosions as my climax takes me over and has me squirming under my own hands. My eyes are closed as I ride out the final waves when I hear him yelling out his own exaltations. I open my eyes just in time to see his forceful stream jet up and over his naked belly.
As I come down from the most illicit, erotic experience I’ve ever had, it dawns on me what I’ve just done and I feel my entire face heat up. I bring the bed sheet up to cover myself.
I see Nate reach for a tissue and wipe himself up. Then he looks over at the screen and finds my eyes. “Wow, Brooklyn!” He smiles. “You’ve been holding back on me. That was incredible.”
My goddess within takes a bow and blows air kisses to the crowd.
Chapter Twenty-eight
“To us!” Ryan exclaims, handing me a glass of Cristal that he purchased right after our most successful client meeting ever.
I think about how nervous I was earlier today during our proposal with the suits of a local literary publishing house. But we pulled it off, thanks to Ryan, and all of a sudden, Brooklyn’s Bakery is on the map.
I almost jump out of my skin when I hear the door to my apartment slam shut and see Nate storm in and glare at Ryan and me, eyeing the champagne glasses in our hands.
“Nate, you scared me!” I look at the clock and smile. “You’re early.”
“Apparently not early enough.” I can see the hurt in his eyes. He turns to head back out.
I quickly hand off my glass to Ryan and run after him, catching him in the stairway. “Nate, I’m not sure what you think is going on here, but let me explain.”
“It looked pretty damn clear to me what was going on.” He peels my hand off his arm.
I squeeze around him in the small stairwell, blocking his exit and then I put my hands on his chest. “Hold on. We just landed a huge catering account. Bigger than I thought would ever happen—it will double my business. We are celebrating. Please come back and celebrate with us. With me.” I stand on my toes and plant a kiss on his cheek and run my hand over the stubble on his jaw.
I can feel him relax under my touch. He leans back against the wall and closes his eyes and mutters something to himself about not being like her, but his words are garbled and I can’t make out what he is saying. He grabs my hands, pulling me against the length of his body. “Of course I will celebrate with you. God, Brooklyn, I’m sorry. I thought . . . when I heard him say ‘to us’, I thought—”
“I know, Nate. It’s okay.” I wrap my arms around him. “I’m yours . . . always.”
He picks me up to give me a proper kiss hello then he carries me back up the stairs into the apartment where a confused and slightly pissed off Ryan is packing up his papers to leave. “Ryan, don’t leave,” I beg. “You were the catalyst for this job. Please, stay and celebrate.”
He looks at Nate and they must have some brief, silent, man conversation with their eyes because he shakes his head at Nate and says to me, “No, that’s okay. You guys enjoy the rest of the champagne. I know how much you look forward to your time together.”
I start to protest when Nate pipes in, “Thanks man, that means a lot. We’ll see you around then.”
The door closes after Ryan makes a quick exit. Nate walks over and grabs the two half-full glasses, tops them off and says, “You heard the man. Let’s make good use of this.”
My body is still high from the memory of last night and adrenaline is still coursing through my veins from my meeting. I don’t want to ruin this night by fighting with Nate over Ryan. Eventually he will have to get used to my being around him.
So, I do what I do best, I fling myself at him and lose myself in him for the rest of the night.
~ ~ ~
Saturday mornings are like Christmas morning now. Waking up in Nate’s arms after being apart for the entire week is a precious gift. We lie in bed exploring each other, regaling stories of our week and giggling under the covers. These are the moments I will cherish the most when he leaves again tomorrow. I try not to think about it, I simply want to live in the moment.
My phone chirps. So much for the moment.
“Really?” Nate stretches his head over me to glance at the clock. “It’s only seven o’clock in the morning, what could possibly be so important?” he says, yawning.
I reach for my phone and see that Ryan has texted me. I read the text and sigh, knowing that this isn’t going to bode well. “Nate,” I say sweetly as I turn to him, “it seems that I have to go into work for a few hours. Ryan was able to set up some interviews for this morning.”
“Of course he was.” He gets up and pulls his boxer briefs out of the pile of clothes we left at the side of the bed last night. As he’s walking away to the bathroom I hear him mumble, “Douchebag is getting me back for last night.”
I shout at him through the door he just slammed, “I’ll be quick. I promise. A few hours tops!”
“Whatever,” he grumbles. Then I hear him turn on the shower.
Less than two hours later, Missy has become the newest addition to Brooklyn’s Bakery. On my way back up to the apartment it dawns on me that I now have three employees and a partner. I’ve come a long way from a year ago when it was only Kaitlyn and me. I’m practically bouncing up the stairs. I can’t wait to crawl back into bed with Nate.
But I come up to an empty apartment. Nate has left me a note on the counter telling me that he’s gone for a run. I decide, instead of counting the minutes until his return, that I’ll head down and give Kaitlyn a little break.
While restocking the cases after the morning rush, I look out front and see Nate stretching after his run. I’m getting ready to drool over his hot, sweaty body when I notice the woman standing next to him. She is also hot and sweaty. My eyes are glued to the front window as I watch her remove her headband, shaking her hair out seductively over her shoulders. They talk for a few minutes and when she puts her hand on his forearm and laughs, my entire body stiffens. He shakes her hand and allows his hand to remain in hers a little too long. Then I watch Miss Hair-flipper mentally undress my boyfriend as he walks away from her and into the bakery.
He smiles at me sweetly as he walks by but doesn’t say a word. I follow him into the back. “Nate?” I say, silently asking him a thousand questions with that one word.
He turns back to me right before he reaches the stairs and says, “It sucks, doesn’t it, being on the other side of
things?” And then he walks away.
What just happened?
Kaitlyn relieves me after her break and I get up to the apartment as he is getting out of the shower. I throw my phone down on the bed just to emphasize how mad I am. I’ve had a few minutes to stew over this. I understand that he is jealous of Ryan, but I have never given him a reason to be. Ryan doesn’t want me like Miss Sweaty-pants wanted Nate. I don’t flirt with Ryan—he is a business partner and a friend. Huge difference.
“Listen, Nate.” I sit down and cross my arms over my chest. “I know what you are doing. You are trying to make me jealous.”
“Is it working?” He raises his eyebrows at me and I try to ignore the drops of water running down the lines of his torso.
“Of course it is, you idiot!” I yell at him. “That girl was pretty and she obviously wants you. And it didn’t much look like you were discouraging her.” I hesitate before asking him, “Do you want her?”
He quickly answers, “No, Brooklyn, I don’t want her. But I wanted you to feel what it’s like to have someone else want me.”
I roll my eyes at him. I’m not ready for another fight about Ryan. “Nate, I don’t know what else I can do to show you that I don’t want Ryan and he doesn’t want me. Why don’t you go talk to him? Let him tell you.”
He laughs. “Oh, and you think he will come right out and tell me he’s after my girl? Yeah, right. Besides, I already tried that once before and if I recall, it resulted in you telling me to ‘fuck off’ before you had your little beach holiday,” he provokes.
“Oh my God, Nate, you are so frustrating.” I stomp my foot. “I love you. I want you. It doesn’t matter if other men may want me—which they don’t—I’m with you and nothing else matters.”
Be My Reason Page 23
