by Bella Jewel
“Hello,” he says. “Can I help you?”
I force a smile. “I’m just here to meet my friend. He gave me the name of the hotel but not the room number.”
The older man raises his brows.
“His name is Nathaniel Alexander.”
He tilts his head to the side and nods. “I’ll ring him, find out if he’s expecting you.”
Shit.
He reaches down and lifts the phone, dialing a number.
“Mr. Alexander, yes, it’s Timothy from reception. I have a young lady here saying that you were expecting her.”
There’s a long moment of silence.
“What’s your name, miss?” the man asks, staring at me.
“Avery,” I whisper.
“She said her name is Avery.”
He nods a few times and then says, “Very good.”
He puts the phone down and turns to me. “He’s in room two. Head out the door, turn to your left, and follow the doors down until you see it.”
“Thank you,” I say, turning and rushing out.
I follow his directions until I reach the fading yellow door with a rusty 2 hanging on it. I hesitate with my hand in the air, ready to knock. Have I truly made the right choice coming here? Before I can bring my hand down, the door opens and Nate is standing, looking at me. His eyes widen when he takes in my expression and my damp clothes. I know I must look like hell.
“I know you don’t really want to see me,” I croak, “but I had nowhere else to go.”
“You’ve been crying,” he says, his voice low and throaty. He’s wearing nothing but a pair of low-hanging sweat pants that are a light grey in color. They hang on his hips in that way.
My lip trembles as memories of this afternoon swell in my mind. “I . . . got news about my mother and I ran out. I didn’t know where else to go.”
He pushes the door further open, his eyes softening. “Come in. Tell me what’s happening.”
I take a step in the room, going to move past him but he stops me with a hand to my upper arm. He closes the door and turns to me, running a finger over my cheek. “You’re freezing, Dancer. Before we do anything, you’re going to shower.”
I nod, too weak to argue.
“I have some clothes you can borrow. Come on.”
He takes my hand, warming it with his larger one, and he leads me to the bathroom. It’s got an older-style shower, with lime-green tiles and a glass door. The towels match the tiles in a really, really bad way. Nate watches me, his eyes worried as I slowly pull my shirt off.
“You going to be okay?”
I nod, not lifting my eyes from the floor.
“Shit, Dancer,” he says, stepping in closer and putting his hands on either side of my face, forcing me to look up at him. “You’re scarin’ me.”
“They can’t be right about her, Nate. If they’re right about her then everything I ever believed was wrong,” I croak.
He runs his thumb over a tear that slips out. “Your perception of someone is just that: yours. What you believe can only be changed if you let it.”
I close my eyes and nod, turning my cheek into his hand.
“Shower, honey,” he murmurs. “Then we’ll talk.”
He drops his hands and turns, leaving me to shower alone and in peace. I’m so grateful for him in this moment.
So grateful.
~*~*~*~
NATE
She looks like hell. She’s sitting on my couch wearing one of my long, black Cubs shirts. She’s got her knees tucked up to her chest, her arms firmly wrapped around them. Her hair is damp still and she hasn’t yet brushed it, so it matts around her face. Even like this, she’s still breathtakingly beautiful.
“Tell me what happened,” I say, my voice as affectionate as I can make it.
She doesn’t lift her head when I speak, but she begins talking in a low, soft tone. “Max said they found another lead. He said there was a hotel owner that came into the mix and gave them the name of a man who used to stay there often. This man was seen with my mother a few times. Max contacted him and he said . . .” She takes a shaky breath. “He said they were having an affair, that they were going to run away together but she suddenly went missing.”
“Oh, baby,” I murmur, my heart breaking for her.
She begins to cry again, her tiny body shaking. “It can’t be right, Nate. She was so pure, so perfect. She loved us, loved my dad; there wasn’t a time she wasn’t full of smiles and laughter. How could she have been having an affair when she was so happy?”
“People can pretend,” I say carefully. “A smile can cover so much pain.”
She looks up at me with tears sliding down her cheeks. “But her smile was so real, so beautiful - so amazing. I just can’t believe it wasn’t right. I can’t sleep at night thinking she might have been slowly dying behind it.”
“Whatever was happening between your father and your mother wouldn’t take away from the fact that she adored you and Liam. The smiles she gave you, the happiness she shared with you—that was all real, Avery.”
“How would you know?” she croaks.
“Because I give Macy the smiles that are real, the love that’s real. I give her everything I don’t give Lena.”
She stares at me for the longest time, her eyes searching my face. “Can you tell me she was truly happy? That is was possible for it to have been real?”
“Of course it was possible for it to have been real,” I say, standing up and taking a seat beside her. “Avery, just because one element in her life wasn’t happy doesn’t mean the rest was taken down with it. She was unhappy with your dad, and she clearly found something worth fighting for in this other man. I’m the perfect example of that. You give me hope, you let me breathe again; coming to you, seeing your smile, it’s the only way I can keep fighting.”
“Is it strange for me to say I want to meet him?” she says, her voice low and shaky.
I shake my head. “Of course not. He has answers she can’t give you.”
She’s silent a moment, and then she lifts her eyes to mine and searches my face again, like she’s looking for an answer there.
“I’m sorry for what I said the other night, Nate. I didn’t mean it. This . . . us . . . what I feel here—it’s terrifying. This isn’t the girl I ever wanted to be, but I can’t stay away from you. Logic is lost on me. You’re all I see, all I want.”
I reach out and stroke her bottom lip. “It’s forgotten.”
She stares at my mouth and suddenly heat sparks in my chest again. I shouldn’t be doing this—I shouldn’t want to do this but when I’m here with her, I can’t seem to make myself think of anything else. All my guilt is washed away; the only thing I can see is a pair of devastating eyes that hold so much pain, so much love and so much compassion I never want to stare at anything else.
“I’m goin’ to kiss you now,” I murmur, “because I can’t stop thinking about your mouth.”
Her cheeks turn pink and she nods, her eyes not moving from mine. I lean forward, lifting my hand and gently cupping her cheek, running my thumb over the soft skin there. She shudders and shifts closer to me, dropping her hands to my thighs and holding them. I lean down and gently graze her lips, my skin prickling with need. She feels so good. So fucking good.
She deepens the kiss, sliding her hand up my thigh and slipping it underneath my shirt. I groan and slip my tongue between her pink lips, tangling it with hers. A whimper escapes her and travels through me, and her hands find my abs. She runs her fingers up and down, stroking my skin in the most delicate way. She’s fucking perfect, so graceful and elegant. A true lady.
My lady.
CHAPTER 22
AVERY
“Oh God,” I whimper, running my nails down his arms.
Nate grips my backside, riding my pussy against his jean-clad cock. My clit tingles with need as he rocks me against him, his hands on my ass, his lips on my neck. He’s taunting me, teasing me, making me want him.
“You’re going to come like this,” he breathes into my ear. “Then you’re going to come with my tongue in your pussy, then you’re going to come around my cock.”
Oh.
God.
He rocks his hips again, using his hands to pull my ass harder against him. The friction is divine, sending me up and over the edge quickly. I cry out his name, my fingernails running down his arms as I shudder.
I don’t have the chance to recover because he’s moving down my body, taking my pants with him. He discards them quickly and then takes my foot, lifting it and placing it on his shoulder.
My cheeks are heated. I’m so exposed to him, but there’s nothing that could make me turn away. Especially when his tongue slides out and slowly travels up my slit, stirring my aching pussy back to life. I cry out his name again and drop my head back against the wall, tilting my hips and pressing my sex into his mouth harder. He chuckles against my flesh and one of his hands slaps my ass, causing a sting of pain to radiate through my legs. It’s worth it, though. My blood begins to warm and my body tingles all over.
His tongue hits my clit, stiff and unrelenting. My cries become garbled and my legs feel as though they’ve turned to jelly. He releases my hip and slips his hand beneath us, bringing it up to my wet sex. He slips two fingers in, stretching me, filling me, making my groans turn into cries. So good, oh God, so good. His tongue works harder, his fingers pound into me and in seconds I’m coming—again.
“Nate,” I scream. “Oh, fuck.”
He pulls his fingers from my sex before I’ve finished trembling and then he’s standing, jerking his jeans down just enough to free his cock. He lifts my leg and puts it around his waist. Before I’ve got the chance to steady myself, he’s plunging inside me, deep and fast, causing my entire body to jerk with need. I open my mouth and it seems to take ten seconds before my strangled groan escapes. Nate is silent—all I can hear is his ragged breathing as he uses my ass to drive his thrusts. His arms bulge, his shoulders pull under his shirt and his mouth is on my neck again, sucking, nibbling, occasionally biting.
My pussy tightens around him, and I know it won’t be long before I come for him again. He’s driving into me with force, causing our skin to slap together. His fingers are tight on my ass, biting into my flesh as he fucks me. And boy, is he fucking me. This is pure, raw, primal fucking. The kind that has your pussy clenching just thinking about it. At that thought I’m coming again, utterly exhausted but completely content. My orgasm seems to rip all the stress from my body, relaxing me.
Nate is close behind me, his thrusts becoming frantic as he gets close to his release. When he finds it, he quickly pulls out, taking his cock in his hand and jerking it furiously. I stare down at it, my body tingling with awareness. His cock is big and thick, and right now it’s glistening with our arousal. He stops jerking and lets out a ragged groan as he begins to come, releasing onto my belly. I tremble as the warm liquid touches my skin.
God, that was hot.
“Sorry.” He chuckles hoarsely when he’s stopped trembling. “So much for your shower.”
“It was worth it,” I whisper.
He nuzzles my cheek, breathing me in. “You’re so fuckin’ pretty, Dancer. You know that?”
I laugh softly. “I do now.”
“Shower with me?”
You don’t have to ask me twice.
~*~*~*~
A warm mouth tickles my cheek and I’m slowly roused from my deep, warm sleep. I blink a few times to clear my vision and see a soft, glowing light. It seems to be dark out still, and Nate is sitting beside me, mostly decked out in his motocross gear. “I’ve got to go, honey,” he murmurs. “I just wanted to say goodbye.”
I stare at him and I know my eyes grow soft. I spent the night in his arms, my head against his warm chest, my body tangled with his. He woke me at midnight and slowly slid inside of me, then he made love to me until I came twice and was utterly exhausted. Afterwards he held me, his chest pressed against my back, and we fell asleep.
“Okay,” I whisper, my voice groggy from sleep.
“Goin’ to call you soon, okay? When you’re done here, just leave the key.”
I nod, reaching up and running my fingers over the stubble on his cheeks.
“See you, baby,” he says, pressing his lips against mine quickly but softly.
“Bye, Nate.”
He winks at me, and then stands, leaving the room so silently I barely hear him. I roll over, warm and content, and I go back to sleep.
~*~*~*~
“Where have you been?”
I’ve just arrived home to find Jacob on my doorstep. He’s got his arms crossed and his face is tight with anger. I know he’s been trying to call me for the past week but I’m not interested in speaking to him. There’s nothing to say. I’m not interested.
“Last time I checked,” I say, stepping past him and unlocking the front door, “it was none of your business.”
He flinches and puts his hand on the door, stopping me from opening it. Then his other hand curls around my arm, jerking me until I’m facing him.
“It is my business.”
I snort and stare down at his hand on my arm. “Firstly, it’s none of your business because we’re not together, and secondly, get your hand off me.”
He doesn’t move his hand.
“Are you seeing someone else?”
I glare up at him. “None. Of. Your. Business.”
His fingers tighten. “Don’t you dare think it’s this easy to get rid of me, Avery. I’m part of your life through your father, like it or not.”
“I don’t see my father, so it’s really not my problem who you’re associated with. If you’re so close to him, then I see no reason for you to be here. I’m sure he’d love to listen to you and your bullshit.”
He pulls me harshly, causing my teeth to grind together in anger.
“We need to talk about the business. Your father signed it over to you and Liam when your mother was alive. It’s clear neither of you want it, so the only way to break the agreement is for you two to sign it over to me.”
“No.”
His jaw tics. “Don’t start something you can’t finish, Avery. You’ve no interest in your father’s company, and neither does your brother. He wants me to have it when he goes.”
“I don’t care what he wants, I’m not signing it over to you. No way in hell.”
“I can’t afford to pay out your half,” he barks. “Don’t make this harder than it is. I’ll take you to court and . . .”
“Do it!” I snap, jerking my arm in an attempt to get it out of his grip. He only tightens his hold.
“Listen to me, Avery,” he hisses leaning in close. “You’ll do whatever the . . .”
“Let her go.”
I hear Max’s angry voice and I turn my face to see him standing at my front gate, glaring at Jacob.
“This is a private conversation,” Jacob growls. “Go away.”
Max storms in and quick as lightning takes Jacob by the shirt and hurls him close. “Listen to me, Jacob. I can put you away for trespassing and harassment just because I’m having a bad day and want someone to charge. All Avery has to do is give me the word. My suggestion is that you let her go and walk away, or I just might put you in the cells for the night.”
Jacob drops his hand from my arm and glares at Max for a long moment. Max’s hard expression does not slip, and he doesn’t take his eyes from Jacob’s face. Jacob quickly looks away and turns to me, his eyes narrowed. “We’ll be talking about this.”
“Later,” I snap.
He turns with another scalding glare, and storms off down the path. When he’s gone, Max turns to me. “I’ve been looking for you all night.”
“Sorry,” I say, turning and walking inside. “I needed space.”
“You okay?” he asks, following me in.
“I honestly don’t know, Max. I have so many questions.” I turn to him and he’s watching me caref
ully, studying my face as if checking to make sure I’m not about to break down. “Can I meet him?”
He looks confused. “You want to meet the man who was sleeping with your mother?”
“Did he kill her?” I ask.
He shakes his head. “I honestly don’t think so. His story checks out and there was no DNA of his anywhere in her car.”
“Then it won’t matter if I speak to him.”
“Can I ask why?” he dares to say, tilting his head to the side.
“I have the right, don’t I? To get some answers?”
He sighs loudly. “I guess you do. I’ll have to speak to him—it’s his decision if he wishes to speak to you.”
I nod. “Well, the sooner you can ask the better.”
He smiles weakly and walks over to my coffee machine, flicking it on.
“What now?” I ask, following him in. “With the case, I mean.”
“I’ve got leads. The minute I have anything solid you’ll know.”
“Are they promising leads?”
His face seems to harden just slightly. “Yes.”
There’s something he isn’t telling me, but I’m not ready to push for it. I spent last night emotional because of the last piece of news he shared. I need this given to me slowly. I peer down at my watch and curse loudly. “I’ve got to go, Maxy. I’m meant to be assisting Lyn with teaching in ten minutes.”
He nods. “I’ll let myself out.”
I turn and rush into my room, throwing off my clothes and pulling on a pair of loose pants and a tight tank top. I grab my sneakers and my ballet shoes, and I rush back down the hall, shoving it all into a bag as I go.
“Later!” I cry.
I don’t hear his answer—I don’t have time. I’m late.
CHAPTER 23
AVERY
“What’s going on lately?” Lyn says, watching her group of ten year olds that are warming up.
“Nothing,” I say, leaning down and touching my toes, stretching my legs out.
