Never Say Love (Never Say Never #1)

by Carly Phillips

She wanted that, too. Someday.

  Chase got to his feet, not seeming to notice that Meredith had placed his water glass in his hand instead of the wine, which made Ellie giggle. “Everybody listen up!”

  “Aren’t we supposed to be toasting you?” Lucas leaned back in his chair and grinned.

  Ellie glanced around the table, catching Meredith’s sister Harper as she cast him an annoyed glance. But then Chase found his butter knife and knocked on his glass again, forcing Ellie’s attention back to her brother.

  “Meredith and I are so happy that everyone could make it tonight.” Chase beamed around the table, reaching down at the same time to run a hand tenderly down Meredith’s cheek. “All the people we care about are here. But I especially want to give a shout-out to my three best friends.”

  Beside her, Ellie felt Nate shift in his seat. Turning to look at him, she found his face set in unreadable lines.

  “Luke, Gavin, Nate. You guys know why I thought you might not come.” Chase took a sip of his drink, drunk and happy enough to still not notice that it was water instead of wine. “But I’m so happy that you came to support me anyway. No matter what we told ourselves when we were kids—Meredith is the real deal. So here’s to the friends who are like my brothers.”

  “What is he talking about?” Mystified, Ellie pinned Nate with a puzzled glance as Chase sat back down.

  Nate paused, mouth pinched tight, and she waited for an explanation. Finally he shook his head, and when he stilled, his features had smoothed out again. “He… was worried that we … wouldn’t approve of Meredith.”

  “Why not?” Ellie shot back, instantly defensive of her soon to be sister-in-law. “She’s fantastic. And perfect for Chase.”

  “It’s a long story.” Nate groaned, and when he again looked at Ellie, the look was assessing. The naked heat in his stare would have made her knees buckle if she hadn’t already been seated.

  She leaned forward, just a bit, leaning in for… well, for what, she wasn’t entirely certain but by the look in his gaze … he was going to kiss her. Her heart pounded wildly in her chest.

  “Ellie.” His warm breath fluttered over her mouth.

  Was he going to kiss her?

  No. He couldn’t. She couldn’t. Chase would kill them both.

  She didn’t care.

  She had to care. They were sitting right across the table from her brother.

  Embarrassed heat suffused her skin, her own breath came out heavy as she straightened, certain her feelings must be obvious to everyone around them.

  “Wait.” It almost killed her to do it, but she pulled back from Nate.

  He blinked at that single word, then slowly, as if waking from a trance, he shook his head, that guardedness returning to his gaze. “I’m sorry. That was… inappropriate.”

  He reached for his beer, which Ellie noted was empty and rose to his feet. “I’m going to get another drink,” he said in a cool voice. “Would you like one?”

  She immediately thought of their conversation outside, and realized what he’d read in her withdrawal. She waited for him to look back at her; when he didn’t, she grabbed his hand. “Nate.”

  He met her gaze with his colder one.

  “Remember what I said outside? I don’t care who sees you touching me.” She waited for what felt like forever for her meaning to sink in. “Just… maybe not at my brother’s rehearsal dinner? While he’s sitting right there?”

  Nate cocked his head to one side, and in that moment, as his stare raked over her, she felt as though he could see through her, read every nuance of her intense feelings.

  Finally he nodded, the corners of his lips turning up in the barest hint of a smile. “I’ll be right back.”

  Her pulse thundered as she watched him walk away from the table.

  Wow. Just… wow. She’d come here tonight hoping for a one-night stand. Hot guys were everywhere tonight. And, she thought as she looked down and discreetly adjusted her dress, her boobs looked damn good. It would probably be smarter not to put her heart on the line, to find someone else.

  But this thing between her and Nate, whatever it was, ensured nobody else would do. It was Nate. Or no one.

  Fidgety in Nate’s absence, she decided to head to the washroom for a quick makeup check, only to be stopped when someone sank into the seat that Nate had just vacated.

  “Hi,” her new companion said, sending her a flirtatious smile.

  “Um, hello.”

  She regarded him in return, slightly puzzled.

  He looked vaguely familiar, but she couldn’t quite place him. He bore more than a passing resemblance to John Mayer. Boy next door, with an edge. He was dressed in a gray suit that hinted at a nice body, and when he shifted in his seat, the whiff of cologne that reached her nose was pleasing.

  “You must be Ellie. I’m Harry.” The man offered a hand, casting her a shy but sexy smile and she found that she couldn’t help but smile in return.

  “I’m sorry, but do I know you?”

  “Your cousin Holly said she mentioned me?”

  “Oh! Yes.” In that earlier conversation, where Ellie’s attention had been focused on Nate.

  And when a look over her shoulder told her that Nate was deep in conversation with Sara Stone, who Ellie distinctly remembered was one of his high school exes, she experienced a heavy pang of annoyance.

  She knew Nate would come back. But damn it, she wanted him now.

  Shifting in her seat so that she didn’t have to look at Sara flirting with Nate, she focused her attention on Harry. He really was quite attractive. He seemed well-groomed, and the smile on his face said he was eager to please. Compared to the heat Nate’s smile generated or the tingles his touch on her back set off, though, she felt less than nothing. But, surrounded by her family, she had no choice but to be polite.

  “Um, you’re the doctor, right?” she asked him.

  “I hear that I could say the same to you.” Harry smiled, clearly more at ease now that the conversation had been initiated. “Optometry, is it?”

  And not a single mention of the fact that her family didn’t see her as a real doctor. Well, that was nice.

  She didn’t want nice. She wanted tall, dark and dangerous.

  “Ellie.” A fresh martini appeared in front of her, accompanied by that rough voice that made her tingle. “Here’s your drink.”

  “Nate.” She looked up, and as soon as her eyes met his, she felt it—that slap of heat. “Care to introduce us?” he asked, glaring at Harry.

  Ellie blinked. “Yes. Nate, this is Harry. Harry, Nate.”

  Harry stood and smiled, offering his hand, but the smile slipped off his face at the ferocity of Nate’s expression.

  “Nathan Archer,” Nate said in a low growl.

  “I’ve followed your career, it’s been very impressive,” Harry said, attempting to make polite conversation.

  “Thank you.”

  “My cousin introduced us.” She stood, unable to stop herself from moving closer to Nate. “Harry is a doctor.”

  Looking Nate right in the eye, she cocked her head, arched an eyebrow. Dared him without words to make the next move, to declare himself as more than her wingman for the night.

  He grinned and heat shot straight through her. He wrapped an arm around Ellie’s waist, the feel of his fingers digging protectively into her skin causing electricity to flow through her body. Every inch of her responded to his possessive hold and the look of ownership on his face.

  Alpha men had never really been her thing—at least, the men she dated certainly didn’t fall into that category. But having Nate go all macho caveman over her? She needed a tall glass of ice water. Maybe a fan. She’d never admit it out loud, but if he wanted to grab her hair and drag her back to his cave, she wouldn’t put up much of a fuss.

  Harry looked from Ellie to Nate, then back to Ellie again, before taking a step back. “Well. It was nice to meet you, Ellie. I think I’ll be getting back to my table.”


  “Nice to meet you,” she murmured.

  “Right.” Harry cast her an uncomfortable smile before walking away. The second he was out of earshot, Ellie leaned into Nate.

  “And what was that, hmm, wingman? I think you might have just cock-blocked me.” She’d never been much good at flirting, but this thing with Nate was like a force of its own, carrying her along in its wake.

  “Damn straight I did.” Nate closed the space between them. Cast a surreptitious glance around their table, eased back just a bit. “If anyone is going to have his hands on you, Ellie, it’s going to be me.”

  Ellie fought shivers that took hold of her body and yes, her emotions, leading her to acknowledge that yes, she was going to pay for this moment at the end of the weekend. When Nate walked away.

  Right now? She didn’t care.

  He slid his hand from her waist to her lower back, pulling her in closer and she shivered, her body trembling in delight.

  “This isn’t a good idea, me holding you like this,” Nate muttered.

  “No, it’s not,” she said softly. The buzz of voices surrounded them, but she couldn’t see anyone or hear anything else, her world entirely focused on Nate.

  “If you knew what I wanted from you, you’d be disgusted.”

  Her pulse stuttered at the raw admission. He wanted her. All she had to do was meet him halfway.

  But that comment … “Are you talking about the kinky stuff?”

  Surprise painted his face before dark interest dawned. “Explain.”

  She squirmed under his gaze. “Well, the tabloids. There have been articles about you … about things that you like. In the… bedroom.” And she’d be lying through her teeth if she said that those articles hadn’t fueled her curiosity, hadn’t powered more than one hot, sweaty, sexy dream.

  He cleared his throat. “And if you knew what those things entailed, you’d run. You’d be smart to.” He dipped his head, his breath warm against her ear, his voice harsh. “I like my sex hard and hot, Ellie.”

  Ellie wasn’t sure what a hot flash felt like, but she was pretty sure that his words had just given her one. She grew dizzy listening to his words, knowing that at the end of this conversation she’d have Nate.

  “Perfect for my one-night stand,” she said, biting her bottom lip, her breath catching in her throat.

  “Blondie,” he said on a low growl, with a smile so wolfish and seductive she could almost believe he wanted to take a giant bite out of her, and her heart slammed hard against her ribcage.

  But behind that grin was a seriousness that told her he wouldn’t touch her unless he was absolutely sure about what she wanted. “Think about what you’re saying.”

  “I’ve thought about it for years. I’ve thought about you.” She swallowed after forcing the words out. “This is what I want.”

  His expression darkened, and he laced his fingers through hers, tugging her up. “Come dance with me. Take time to be sure.”

  She didn’t have to think about this, she already knew. She wanted… oh, she knew what she wanted. The dampness between her thighs, and the way her heart pounded hard in her chest, made her need perfectly clear.

  But this was Nate. Dangerous, delicious Nate who would take what she gave … and be gone in the morning. That’s why she had to take his advice, and think.

  It was easy to say she was okay with a one-night stand. Another to go through with it when the man in question was the answer to all her dreams. But if she wanted Nate, she had to accept his terms.

  And if knowing he’d be gone in the morning made her feel hollow inside… well, she was a big girl. She’d deal with her emotions when the time came.

  Chapter Four

  Finally, finally Nate had the woman of his dreams at his side. And rather than throwing herself at him, she was still focused on a one-night stand. He just barely held back a crazy laugh.

  As he guided her onto the dance floor, he thought that fate really was a cruel bitch.

  “Nate?” Ellie watched him with those careful blue eyes as he drew her into his arms. The tip of her tongue darted out to trace over her lips, and he barely stifled a groan.

  She couldn’t possibly understand the depth of what he wanted from her. If she did, she’d be running far, far away. But at this point, the primal instinct to mark her as his own won out. Though they were the only ones on the dance floor, he gave into the need, tugging her against him with one hard movement.

  She gasped but didn’t push him away. It pleased him immensely that her gaze didn’t so much as flicker from his own.

  Her sweet curves molded to his body and he thickened, hardening against the stiff denim of his pants. His hips moved reflexively, seeking her heat, and her soft moan had his blood pumping harder in his veins.

  He wanted to sink into her, immerse himself in everything that was Ellie, and he wasn’t just talking about sex. But she’d made it clear that that wasn’t going to happen.

  He knew exactly how she saw him. The player, the kinky guy who’d oblige her curiosity for a night.

  Knowing that hurt more than he’d imagined it could. And he knew that for the first time in his life, this would be more than sex. Would leave him in a world of hurt. If he was smart, he’d stop this right now.

  But if she wanted to take a walk on the wild side, he’d be damned it she did it with anyone but him.

  She shifted restlessly against him, and his body responded. He hoped like hell they looked like old friends sharing a dance and catching up, because he’d drawn her closer than was appropriate and didn’t much feel like letting go. And when he shifted on his feet, her soft thighs cradled his erection, driving him mad.

  “Jesus, Nate.” Ellie’s nails dug into his shoulders, and he hissed at the delicious bite of pain. Threading his hand into her hair, he gave it one quick little warning tug before releasing and returning his hand to her back.

  The small gasp, the low moan—ah, fuck. Those intelligent eyes of hers were blurred with need from that little taste of dominance, something he’d never expected from her.

  Any thoughts of walking away flew right out the window. This woman, her insecurities, her hidden sexuality was his, and he meant to claim her. “Yeah, you feel it, too.”

  “I’d have to be dead not to feel it.” Ellie buried her face in his neck, just for a second, but the moist heat of her breath on his skin made him growl.

  This connection between them was intense. Never before had he been so desperate to get a woman alone, to get inside of her, and he knew that need stemmed from the feelings he had for her that had nothing to do with sex and everything to do with the warmth around his heart. Pressing his fingers to her back, he gave another subtle little roll of his hips, and almost swore out loud at the sweet, sweet sensation.

  Drawing on every little shred of self-control that he possessed, Nate pulled back, placing just the thinnest ribbon of space between them. It was physically painful.

  “What’s wrong?” Ellie’s voice was low, breathy, and he could just imagine her panting out his name as she came.

  “I need you to be clear about what you’re getting into.” Nate watched her expression carefully. One hint that she wasn’t on board, and he’d walk away. It would kill him, but he’d do it.

  Ellie huffed out a laugh, her lips curving into a wry smile. “Not sure how to break this to you, Nate, but I’ve done this before.”

  Oh, had she now? He knew she meant that she’d had sex before, but just the reminder that another man had put his hands on her brought forth a blinding fury. Forgetting his well-worded warning, he pulled her flush against him again and growled.

  “I don’t think that you have, Blondie.” He smiled down at her as well, but this time the tone held a mocking, hungry edge. “Unless you’re telling me that you’ve been with a man who took everything that you gave him and demanded more? A man who wanted to claim you, to mark you, to make you forget you’ve ever met any other man?”

  “I—what?” Ellie’s fingers s
crabbled for purchase against the muscles of his back, and he just held her tighter.

  “You heard me.” Christ, but when she looked at him like that, her eyes already blurry with pleasure when he’d barely even touched her…

  Ellie was silent for a moment, but he felt her shiver, as though a fever had overtaken her.

  “Are you talking like… Fifty Shades of Grey kind of demanding? That’s what you’d want from me if we… sleep together?”

  Was the woman serious? She didn’t even look put off by the notion, just intrigued.

  Nate was done for.

  “Well, I left my whip at home.” He savored her soft gasp and decided not to enlighten her that he was joking—mostly. “But the basic idea, yes. I want to own you. And make no mistake, we will not be sleeping together. I will be fucking you. Hard.”

  “Well, when you put it that way.” Ellie sucked in a deep breath. Nate studied her face, looking for any sign that she was at all unsure.

  There was none. Instead, her every look, her every shiver seemed to mirror the clawing need that he felt, too. Their eyes locked, the connection between them pulling tighter. Ellie’s fingers slid from his back, playing over his shoulders and working their way into the nonexistent space between their bodies. She grabbed the front of his shirt, lifted her chin.

  He wanted to kiss her. Needed to taste her lips, to explore that hot, wet cavern of her mouth. To own it.

  Just in time, he remembered where they were.

  “Ellie.” It almost killed him, but he pushed them the slightest bit apart. “Too many eyes here.”

  He wanted to press his erection against her sweet heat again so badly that he almost didn’t care. Only the thought of her embarrassment, Chase’s anger, and the set-down that Ellie would get from her family for hooking up with that good-for-nothing Archer boy, held him in check.

  Ellie blinked and swallowed heavily. For a moment it looked like she didn’t care either. Then she nodded ever so slightly, inching back, putting space between them.

  Nate hated the distance. If he had his way, he’d have her naked and on the floor beneath him, never mind who the fuck was watching.