by Nana Malone
She let herself into her old room, a smile tugging at her lips. Her mother had kept it mostly the same. With only Zephyr and the girls still at home, her parents probably had empty nest syndrome. Though, her mother had been threatening to turn the back rooms into a yoga studio or something.
Nate started talking before he even made it into her room. “Delilah, I'm sorry. I know you think I'm intruding, but I didn’t like how we left things.”
She deliberately closed the door behind her. She didn’t want any of her siblings or worse, her parents, overhearing snippets of this conversation. “What the hell, Nate? You couldn’t give me a head’s up?”
He crossed his arms. “If I had called to tell you I was coming, would you have let me? Hell, would you have even answered my call?”
True, but still...Was he insane? “I would have told you not to come. I would have brought Mom and Dad to the city and done it quietly. I would have given them some warning. Introduced you to the family slowly. Now you've got Mom all excited, like this is some big homecoming. You know how she is.”
He dropped his arms. “I have come home.”
“Bullshit. I can’t take it if you break her heart again. Did you see the look on Dylan's face? He'll actually kill you. If you value your life and my sanity, just leave now. Before she gets even more attached to you. Before Eden and Max start falling in love with you. Before Zephyr thinks he has another big brother. Before Holden gives you boxed sets of his books. Before this family envelopes you again. More people will get hurt when you bail on us.”
“Would you fucking stop saying that?” He ran his hands through his hair.
“Why should I? It's the truth. You have to face up to it sometime or another. You abandoned us all and broke each and every one of our hearts when you did.”
Nate shook his head and sank onto her bed. “You think I would have left, given half a chance?” His chuckle was harsh and mirthless.
“Why didn't you ever tell us about your brother?”
“Yeah well, I wasn’t exactly proud of him. He was worse than I was. A junkie like my mother. He was the reason I took the beating that night. He'd hung me out to dry with a drug dealer, Hector, saying I was the one who lost Hector's supply. Only problem is, it was Trent. It was Trent’s beating I took that night. Once you found me again, I thanked my lucky stars and set about doing everything I could to stay here with you guys. I didn’t want to leave.”
Her head swam. “I don’t understand.”
“I followed all the rules. I even managed to keep my hands to myself like John asked, despite the fact that I used to dream about kissing you. I worked my ass off and studied because it made your mom happy, and well, it turns out, I liked books. And I liked to study. But mostly, I didn't want to give your folks any reason to toss me out. This was my family too. I never planned to leave.”
He sighed, and his shoulders slumped as he hung his head. “Do you remember the afternoon we went to your mom’s clinic to stock supplies? It was about a week before your birthday.”
She nodded. Of course, she remembered. It was the day she’d made up her mind to tell him how she felt. Stocking supplies was one of the small jobs she’d done for her mother for pocket change. Once Nate had gotten his license, he’d become the chauffer for her and her brothers when her parents were busy. Nate had volunteered to drive her that afternoon. “Yeah, I remember.”
“My brother saw us. He’d been casing the clinic for drugs when he saw me with you. He followed us back to the house.”
Her stomach rolled. “I didn't know he’d come here.”
“He told me if I didn't steal your mom's ’script pads for him and help him break into the clinic for meds he’d hurt you.”
Disbelief froze her in place. “What?”
“He said he'd come back and hurt you if I didn’t do what he wanted. I was supposed to meet him at the clinic during your party.” He shook his head. “I knew then that I'd made a mistake thinking I was one of you. That I belonged. I didn't belong. I was just the pretender. I wasn’t really a member of this family. My real family had a guy like Trent in it, and I knew he'd make good on his threat.”
“Nate, why didn't you stay and say something?”
He shrugged his broad shoulders. “He made it clear that I was never going to be free of him.” He pinched the bridge of his nose. “He knew stuff. About how we grew up. He told me not to bother coming clean with you guys. That if I did, you'd never believe me anyway. That he’d tell you all about the kind of kid I was. The bad stuff I’d done.” His voice shook, and he cleared his throat. “I knew you couldn't love anyone like that. That you wouldn’t ever be able to look past that. He made it really clear that no matter where I went, I wasn’t going to shake him, because we only had each other.”
“Nate, I...I don’t know what to say.”
“If I had stayed and not given him what he wanted, you'd have eventually gotten hurt. So I did the only thing I thought I could—I ran. To my thinking, if I was gone, he would leave you alone. He couldn’t hurt me through you. Or maybe he was going to tell you anyway, and if that was the case, I didn't want to be around for that.” He shrugged. “So like a coward, I ran. But I called the cops anonymously, told them about Trent. He got picked up trying to break into the clinic. Thanks to his priors, he went to jail for a while.”
Shame washed through Delilah. She’d insinuated that she couldn’t bring Nate home. As if she was ashamed of him. She placed her hands on his knees and met his gaze. “Nate, I’m so sorry. I've been holding on to my anger for so long. And the person I was really mad at was myself. I kept thinking if I’d tried harder to talk to you, you wouldn’t have left. It broke me when you did. I was terrified of what it would mean if I brought you back here. My own selfish shit. You’ve always been part of this family.”
“You have a right not to trust me. When I could have trusted you, I didn’t. But I’m not going to do that again. I’m not going to vanish.”
She rapidly blinked away the tears. She was not going to lose it and cry in front of him. “I thought you left because I said—” Oh, God. There was no way she was repeating what she’d said to him. “—what I said.”
His smile was faint. “I still remember that retro jumpsuit you had on. The one with the pinstripes...I don’t think your parents had any idea how sexy that outfit was. Otherwise, they never would have let you wear it.”
Oh, Lord. She’d worn it for him. Hoping the jumpsuit would make her then nonexistent breasts look better. She glanced down at her chest and almost laughed at the irony now. “Probably not.”
His gaze met hers. “I wanted to kiss you that night. So bad. At that point I was so crazy for you that it was worth it to break John’s rules, no matter how much I respected him.”
Delilah drew in a shuddering breath.
He reached out and caressed her cheek. Drawing her to him, he slid his mouth over hers. In less than a second, the kiss turned from longing to blistering heat. Nate dragged her body to his, groaning the instant she wound her hands into his hair. Heat sizzled under her skin when he picked her up so that she straddled his hips.
“Delilah! Nate! Are you two coming?”
The sound of her mother's voice broke through the foggy haze of lust, and she pulled back. “We should go before we get carried away like this morning.”
He kissed her again, briefly. “I seem to recall you liking it. But your mom's right. It's time to go. To be continued.” Before they left, his phone chimed, and he frowned when he pulled it out. “Can you give me a minute? I’ll be right there.”
Delilah met his gaze and opened her mouth to ask if everything was all right, but he gave her the same shuttered look he had that morning. It clearly said Don’t Go There in big flashing neon letters. She wouldn’t push him now, but eventually they’d have to talk about why he kept shutting her out.
Chapter 19
Dinner had gone better than expected. Delilah stretched and yawned just as they pulled up to Nate's c
ondo. He was right behind her on his bike. The garage opened, and she followed him inside the bay.
All night, her mother had been brimming with happiness. Her father, though subdued, had also looked thrilled. She'd always known that he'd looked for Nate too, but seeing his happiness just confirmed he'd never given up on the idea of him coming home.
Though, not everyone had been thrilled when they'd returned to the main house. Dylan had given them narrow-eyed glances, as if he'd known exactly what they would have been up to if they hadn’t been interrupted. He had been seething.
Before Delilah could even settle in with her corn on the cob, he'd pulled her aside and gone into cop mode. Like he was putting her through a full interrogation. “How did you find him?” By accident. “What's he been doing all these years?” Why don’t you ask him yourself. “What does he want from Mom and Dad?”
She understood where he was coming from, she really did. Of course he was worried about their retirement and the house. The looks they were giving Nate suggested that they'd hand over the sun and moon, if they could. When she'd told Dylan that Nate had more money than their parents probably did, he'd been skeptical. She’d told him he was wrong. But she knew Dylan. He wasn’t giving up until he dug something up. She just prayed he did it discreetly. She might be sleeping with Nate, but he was also her client, so she was obligated to protect him. And she cared about him.
Nate scowled at her as he dragged off his helmet. “Woman, you drive like the devil is chasing you.”
Delilah cocked her head. “Who's to say that he isn’t chasing me? Besides, is there any other way to drive?”
“You could have killed yourself. You think I like watching you overtake the crazies on the freeway?”
He really was worried. “Yeah, I get it. You don’t like my driving. Are you going to take me inside and teach me how to be a good girl?”
His lips quirked into a lopsided smile. With the stubble on his jaw and wicked gleam in his eye, he really did resemble the devil. “Who's to say I couldn’t teach you that lesson right here?”
Nate flipped the lights in his garage bay. His parking area was the farthest in the parking garage. Almost completely isolated, with a camera positioned to only see when anyone pulled out. With the lights off in the bay, no one could see them. They were completely alone.
“Nate,” she whispered, “What are you doing?”
She couldn't see him, but she sensed him as he drew nearer. “I'm reminding you why I want you alive and kicking.”
“You realize that anyone can come down here and find us.”
“Then in that case, I'm going to need you to be very quiet.” His warm breath tickled her cheek.
“I, uh...” He made it impossible to think, he smelled so good. Woodsy. She knew he'd feel good too, but she wasn’t going to do this in public. She couldn't. Could she?
“Relax, Delilah. I'm not going to hurt you.”
She sighed. “I know. I just don’t want to get caught.”
His chuckle was low and sexy. “My little rule follower. Hasn’t anyone ever told you to break a rule or two?” The shivers chasing down her spine were exacerbated by the fact that she couldn’t see him. He turned her head slightly. “Would you break a rule for me, Lila?”
When he kissed her, he wasn't gentle. His hands fisted in her hair, and he wrapped his fingers around the tight coils, holding her in place as he devoured her mouth. His tongue didn't ask permission, but instead, took control. Licked into her mouth and demanded a response.
Helpless against his onslaught, her knees wobbled. He immediately braced her back against her car. Delilah had no choice but to give herself over to him completely. No pretense, just go with it. She already knew she loved everything he could do to her body.
In the dark of the garage, a light chill cooled her skin. He withdrew a hand from her hair, and it skimmed down her face to the strap of her tank top. He pulled back from her, and his gaze pinned on her breasts. “All through dinner, I've been dying to peel this down and suck on you. I can’t get the image of your beautiful breasts out of my mind. That was torture watching this strap slide down on its own and you pull it back up. You've been driving me insane. Do you know that? I've been thinking about tasting you. Licking you until you scream with an orgasm.” He nuzzled her neck. “Watching you come is so hot.”
She loved when he talked dirty to her. Especially when she could hear the edge of need in his voice. How he was losing control. She could hear how much he wanted her.
He yanked her strap down roughly, and she gasped. His lips trailed kisses along her jaw line while his thumb stroked over her already distended nipple. “Oh, God, yes.”
“Hush. We wouldn't want anyone to overhear us, would we?” He plucked again then rolled her nipple between his thumb and forefinger.
Desperately, Delilah rotated her hips, trying to get in contact with his co—oh yeah, there it was. Through the fabric of her thin skirt and his jeans, she could feel the kick of his erection against her. Proving that he drove himself just as crazy as he did her.
###
Nate was losing control. He knew it. And if he wasn't careful, Delilah would know it. But he couldn’t stop himself. From the moment he’d seen her again, he’d been driven. And now he was caught in the spiral with no way out. Problem was, he didn’t really want a way out. He trailed open-mouthed kisses down to her plump breast. He already knew exactly what would make her come. And what would prolong the torture.
But given that they were out in public where anyone could see them, he didn't have time to drive her crazy. He didn’t particularly mind getting caught with a public indecency charge, but he knew she would.
He latched onto her breast, and her hands tightened around him. Her body stiffened, and he wondered what would happen if he applied just enough suction power. Once again, he could watch the beauty that was her in the unabashed throes of orgasm.
He suckled, and Delilah immediately clawed at his back. He growled against her flesh, relishing the tiny points of pain as her nails dug into him. She needed this as much as he did.
Drawing her deep into his mouth, he roughly dragged down her other strap to her waist, freeing her other breast. He gently teased her other nipple, and Delilah rocked her hips against him again. Blood roared in his head as the heat of her core scorched his dick. Always so hot. His. Always his. The thundering boom of his pulse drowned out any rational tough. He needed her. They didn’t have time to get upstairs. And there were cameras everywhere. That was a problem with a secure building. You were always being watched.
When Delilah started moaning then worked her hands into his hair, tugging him closer, he sucked again. She tasted so sweet, with just the right hint of spice. Enough to taunt and tantalize. She tugged him deeper into a web he probably wouldn't be able to get away from. Drawing back, he separated them by inches.
She moaned and tried to keep him working on her breast. “Shh. Turn around for me, Lila.”
“Jesus, Nate, why did you stop?”
Shit. She really would kill him one day. “Turn around. I promise you'll like it.”
She complied, turning her body in his embrace because he didn’t give her much room. She swiveled her hips as that spectacular ass of hers came in direct contact with his cock, and he hissed, his brain short-circuiting. She did it again, and before he knew what was happening, his hands gripped her hips, and they were dry humping against her car.
She worked her hips like a woman who knew the effects her curves had on men. They meant to seduce, entice, tease, and torment. Delilah canted her hips down and up once more, and he cursed as the surge of electricity hit his spine. He was going to come—like right the hell now, and he hadn’t even gotten out of his jeans yet.
His fingers pressed into her hips roughly, and they both panted as they held still. Nate tried to block out the voice urging him to let her keep working him. Let her get you off. Let her work that ass on you. Just come. Just do it. Do it. Do it. He gritted his teeth,
mentally beating down the ferocious threatening orgasm. With a mental skill and acuity he didn't know he had, he beat the monster into submission. When he could finally breathe again, he dragged in several breaths. “Woman, you are dangerous.”
Her breath was shaky. “And you’re not?”
Despite his hands on her hips staying them, she shimmied her ass again, and the monster roared to life. “Fuck, Lila,” he gritted out. Unable to wait a second longer, he yanked up the hem of her skirt, exposing the cinnamon expanse of her ass and the petal pink thong that covered absolutely nothing. Staring at all that flesh bared to him, he fumbled with his belt buckle and zipper. Nate shoved his jeans and boxers down enough to free his straining cock.
Delilah hissed as his dick jerked against her ass. “Nate, Please. I need—”
He knew what she needed. Because he needed the same thing. Shoving aside her useless thong, he bent his knees slightly and aligned himself with her slick heat. “Stick your ass out for me, sweetheart.”
She did as he asked with no argument.
“Brace your hands on the car.” Her movements forced her back to arch and her ass to cant up even further. When his cock nudged her flesh, his eyes crossed. Heaven. It felt like heaven. Wet. So hot. Nate gritted his teeth, trying for some control, wanting to be gentle. But then she rocked her hips back, forcing herself onto the head of his erection. Shit. Without thought or preamble, he thrust forward, sinking in to the hilt. “Lila.” Her name was all his brain could muster. She was so tight. So snug around him. When she clenched, he slid his hands over her arms, eventually melding them with hers. Then he moved.
Slowly, he withdrew, and she whimpered. He pulled back almost until he was out, then surged forward again. Their hands intertwined, he made love to her standing up, against her car. Giving her everything he had. She met him thrust for thrust, driving him mad.
The surge of electricity over his spine told him what was coming. Keeping his hands intertwined with hers, he moved one hand to her left breast, kneading the soft flesh and teasing the nipple. She groaned, and then let her head fall back against his shoulder. With his other hand, he slid hers down past her breast. Past her toned, flat belly, and over her sex. He slipped their hands down past her clit to the place where they were joined, slickening their fingers with her juices.
