Cora snorted. “You mean Terry the Turd. You can’t go by him. He had us all fooled. There was no way you could have known he was married! He didn’t even have a ring line on his finger.”
She wasn’t letting herself off that easy. She should have questioned him when he had so many emergencies out of town, instead of ignoring the warning signs. Instead, she’d trusted him unconditionally and thought he was somebody important with a lot of fires to put out. “But I should have known something was up when he got phone calls at all hours and he would cancel plans last minute. Who doesn’t question that?”
“Someone who is a very trusting person. Nate isn’t like the guys you’ve dated in the past. And Ry, you aren’t your mom.”
And that was what it all came back to. She would never be like her mom, needing a man, any man, many men to take care of her. But Rylee had too many arguments to stop. “Look at Grace and her disastrous marriage.”
Cora’s lip pulled into a sneer. “But we all hated Neil. We all tried to talk her out of marrying him just because she was pregnant. Frankly, I think she just wanted to get away from your mother.”
Rylee had wondered that herself. “By then, Mom was rarely home. I think she wanted someone to love her. And she thought that was Neil.”
“You were barely making it back then, Ry. And that apartment you lived in still gives me the creeps.” Cora shuddered for effect.
It had been horrible, but it was all she could afford. Since her mother had spent more time with her boyfriends than at her apartment, she’d stopped paying rent, leaving Rylee in a crunch to find them someplace to live that she could afford. So she and Grace had moved out and into an apartment that should have been condemned. But it was cheap. “That’s not even the point. We’re talking about Nate. Can you really see this going anywhere? We aren’t exactly a matched pair. You and I both know that Nate doesn’t really fit here. You’ve seen his home. It’s uptown. I mean, way uptown. We’re talking fashion magazine spread uptown. Plus, he doesn’t even have any tattoos. I find that odd.”
Cora smirked. “I guess you’d know.”
Slumping back in the leather seat, Rylee rolled her eyes. “Ugh. What am I going to do, Cora?”
“You’re going to sit back and enjoy the ride. You don’t know where it will end or even if it will end. It sounded like you were having a pretty good time, so I don’t see the problem.”
Rylee looked helplessly at her friend, her eyes filling with tears. She blinked to keep them at bay. That’s what she was afraid of. It’s going to end.
Cora stared at her face and sighed deeply. “Oh, no. You have feelings for him.”
She was quick to reply. “Not that I’m willing to admit.”
“Maybe you should,” Cora softly said.
Crossing her arms and shaking her head in denial, she said, “No. Absolutely not.” She couldn’t let those thoughts in.
“You don’t think he feels the same way?”
“I don’t know, just…sometimes when he looks at me, I have a feeling that he wants to, but something stops him from going forward.” And that frightened her because she’d cut back on her shifts at Thirsty’s, something she thought she’d never do, in order to spend nights at his place. It scared her that when she was not with Nate, she missed him, and Rylee didn’t want to need him. Or any man.
“What does Grace think about all of this?” Cora asked.
Rylee cocked a brow in her friend’s direction. “She thinks it’s my business and she doesn’t butt in like some people.” But then she grinned. “She likes Nate, and he even has the girls falling for him. He brought them toys the last time he picked me up.” She sighed; it was adorable, really. “Grace is actually doing better. She went to see a doctor and she’s getting out more. She’s even gotten a job working the breakfast shift at the Circle 6.”
“What’s she going to do with the kids?”
“My neighbor’s daughter is going to come over until Grace can work something else out.”
A knock on her door had them both turning their heads. Marty, one of the artists, stuck his head cautiously in the door and gave her a sheepish smile. “Rylee, your next client is here.”
“Thanks, Marty,” she replied.
When the door closed, Cora asked, “So what are you going to do about Nate?”
Rylee shrugged. “I guess exactly what you said. Enjoy the ride for however long it lasts.” Because there was no way she wanted to miss a moment with him. She just had to lock her heart down. She couldn’t fall for him.
The rest of the afternoon flew by. She had a consult for one of her friends who needed a bad decision covered. Some days it seemed like her entire workday was filled with turning mistakes into cherished art.
After work, she dropped by her apartment, but Grace had left a note saying she’d taken the girls to the park for a picnic and for Rylee to have fun, with extra winky faces drawn at the bottom. Were all the women of this family falling for Nate?
As soon as she walked into Nate’s grand home, the smell of something spicy and delicious had her stomach growling. When he rounded the corner, she paused at the burning look on his face, dropped her bag, and moved toward him. She’d never taken control before, and she wanted him with the same hunger she found in his eyes.
“We should eat. You didn’t have much for lunch.” His eyes never wavered from hers.
She walked right toward him and ran her fingers through his hair and pulled him down for a kiss. Her hands trailed down his back and tugged his shirt up and off. “You’re right, I’m starving.” She let her hand wander down to the bulge in his pants and he moaned when she traced the outline with her fingers before squeezing.
“Rylee.” She silenced him with a kiss, located the zipper, and lowered it while looking up at him through her lashes. “You’ve always been the one to call the shots. I think it’s my time.”
He wheezed her name and groaned. “I’m not going to argue with that. But whatever you do to me is coming right back at you before the night is over.”
“Oh, I hope so.” She sank to her knees and freed him from his boxers, and he sucked in a muffled sound when she had him in hand. His cock was beautiful. Long, thick, and hard, with a deep purple vein running along its length. It probably wasn’t a very masculine thing to say, but the truth was, he was gorgeous. She gripped him at the base and traced the vein with her tongue, ending at the head where she opened and took as much of him as she could. Nate mumbled and swayed, then gripped her hair, stopping her fun.
“Rylee…too good,” he said, along with sounds she couldn’t understand, but the desperation of his ragged breath told her she was pleasing him by sucking him down hard and then plying the underside of his cock with her tongue before repeating. She grinned when his whole body trembled, and she felt such a keen sense of strength by bringing this strong man pleasure.
Nate gave a hoarse cry before pulling out of her mouth, picking her up and tossing her on the couch. “I don’t want to finish that way, Ry. I want to watch those stunning brown eyes deepen as we come together.”
“That’s a good plan, too.” She shivered, grinning up at him, and he chuckled as he brought them together.
Later as she lay in bed, her stomach sated with the best lasagna she’d ever had, her lust for the man asleep beside her was still running strong through her veins. Each time they made love, she thought it couldn’t get any better, but then Nate proved her wrong. In his sleep, his hand moved lower on her stomach and pulled her closer, and a strange longing brought tears to her eyes.
She didn’t understand what was happening. She’d never been the hugging kind. With Terry, once the deed had been done, an invisible line had been drawn down the center of the mattress and they retreated to their separate sides of the bed.
Nate wanted her in his space. No one had ever made her feel special. But Nate…he had gone out of his way to get takeout lasagna from the best Italian restaurant in the city, just because he knew it was her favorite. And
a single rose had appeared on her desk several times with a note full of promises of things to come that evening. You read about things like that in romance books, but they never happened in real life.
Nate did so many little things just to let her know he was thinking of her. A girl could get used to being treated like a princess. A part of her wanted to believe she could have more. And for once, she could almost understand her mother’s obsession with moving from man to man, trying to find the one. Had her father been the one? Had Grace’s? Her mom said she didn’t know who their fathers were, but Rylee had always wondered if that was true.
The next morning, Rylee was kissed awake. “Good morning.” Nate kissed her once more. “I’ve got to go in early. I have a three-piece I’m starting today.”
Rylee let her eyes appreciate the well-turned image Nate made in his black jeans and dark gray button-down shirt with Wicked Ink embroidered on the front. The shirt pulled across his broad shoulders but dipped to his trim waist.
“Rylee, don’t look at me like that or we’ll be late,” Nate warned. “Hurry up and get ready. I have breakfast waiting.”
She wondered how hard she’d have to push to get him to give her what her body craved. But he was right. They did need to get to work. “Give me fifteen minutes and I’ll be ready.”
She jumped in his shower, giving herself only a few minutes to enjoy Nate’s incredible shower. It was so big, they each had a separate shower head and body sprays. She’d never felt more pampered.
Just as she was leaving the bedroom, her phone rang. Pulling it out of her bag, she sighed, knowing the call would be the end of her morning glow.
“Hi, Mama.”
“Ry Ry, baby! How are you?”
Oh, brother. “I’m fine.” She waited, knowing her mother could care less about how she actually was. “Did you get home okay?”
“Oh, I didn’t go home. I met the most charming man, and I’m in Buenos Aires with Stephano.”
Rylee plopped down on the bed and pushed the button to put her phone on speaker. What her mother really meant was she met someone new, and they were having a wild time on Rylee’s two thousand dollars. She should have bought a non-transferrable ticket. Hadn’t she already learned that lesson? “What did you do with the two thousand dollars I sent you?”
“Oh, that little bit didn’t go far, sweetie. But don’t worry, Stephano is really good at the tables.”
Rylee felt heat rising in her chest, but she tried to remain calm. Her mother could push her buttons fast and hard.
“Listen, I was trying to get in touch with Gracey, but I must have the number wrong—it says it’s been disconnected. And her cellphone isn’t working, either.”
“Mama, I told you that Grace lost the house when Neil was arrested.”
“Oh, yeah. I forgot that. Is she staying with you?”
“Yes, she is, and she’s in the process of getting a divorce. She lost everything, so if you’re hoping to get money from her, you’re out of luck.”
“Well, you’ll take care of her.”
“I always have.” Rylee couldn’t keep the bite of scorn from her reply.
“What about you, dear? Are you any closer to finding a man? Maybe someone rich so you can stop working at that dreadful shop.”
There was no way she was telling her mother about Nate. “Mom…”
“It’s those frumpy clothes you wear, and I bet you still have the same limp, mousy hair that’s never seen the inside of a beauty shop. Highlights, dear. They would brighten your pale complexion so much. And those extra pounds you’re carrying aren’t helping you, either. You know it wouldn’t hurt to join a gym and try the new grapefruit cleanse. It would do wonders for you.”
Rylee had always been a disappointment to her mother. But she’d learned not to care. “Mom, I’ve got to go. I’m going to be late for work.”
“Well, you just think about it. And darling, I could really use some cash.”
Rylee closed her eyes, feeling pressure building behind them. Helpless frustration—that what she felt when she talked to her mother. “Mom, have you ever considered getting a job?”
A peal of laughter came from the phone. “Sweetie, I’ve never worked a day in my life. What would I do?”
It was useless to argue with her, she just wanted off the phone. “How much?”
“A few grand at least, five if you have it.”
After the two she’d sent her earlier, another five would totally wipe out her savings. “I don’t have it, Mother. I can send you some of that, and then maybe pick up some more shifts at Thirsty’s.”
“See, you always were the problem solver of the family.”
But she never should have had to be. “Sure. Goodbye, Mama.”
She ended the call quickly and tossed her phone back in her bag when Nate said, “I’m sorry, Rylee. I didn’t mean to eavesdrop; I just came to see if you were ready.”
Rylee shrugged, what did it matter if Nate heard? She knew they would come to an end anyway, why not now? “I’m ready. Just let me grab the rest of my things and I’ll get out of your way.”
Nate stepped closer and tipped her chin up with his finger. “What? Out of my way?”
The stupid tears in her eyes chose that moment to run down her cheeks. She hated silly girls that cried. “Sure, I mean, after hearing all that, I’ll make it easy for you, Nate. I’ll just leave, and we’ll go back to a working relationship only.”
He brushed her tears away with his thumbs and his eyes bore into hers. “You think a dependent mother is going to turn me off? Is that really all the importance you give to what we are?”
She didn’t want to give it importance, because then she’d care. Rylee pushed out of his grasp and turned back to pick up her handbag. “This is uncharted territory for me, Nate. Whatever we are, I’ve never had this before, so forgive me if I don’t know the rules. But I do know that I’m nobody and you don’t deserve someone like me mucking up your life with my problems. Come on, Nate. We both knew this would never go anywhere.”
“No, Rylee. You are so wrong. About everything.” He took her in his arms and kissed her until her head was spinning. “Don’t you feel that, Ry? Can you really tell me that you don’t feel anything more than lust when we touch?”
She could feel forever in his arms, but she’d never admit that. “But it doesn’t matter. We would never work.”
“Why are you so afraid? Why can’t you admit that you want more? With me.”
Their gazes locked onto each other’s, Nate’s imploring her to take a chance, and hers wanting to believe it was possible. “Because I’ve never had anyone that wanted…me.”
His hands cupped her face and he kissed her forehead, her cheeks, and her eyelids. “I want you, Ry. I want you so bad that there’s no way I can give you up. Take a chance and trust me with your heart. Let’s make our own happiness and not let anyone get in our way. Especially a mother who doesn’t cherish the incredible daughter she has. She was wrong, you know. You’re perfect, Rylee. You shouldn’t change a single thing.” And then he kissed her lips.
Rylee returned his kiss with the same gentle reassurance, but all she could think was that Nate was too good to be true. Something as good as Nate just didn’t happen to women like her.
Chapter 9
Nate
* * *
Nate let his feet slip off his desk and slam to the floor as he sat straight up in his chair. The hair on the back of his neck began to bristle. He’d just connected his brother’s call when Milo skipped past hello and went straight for…
“I’m sorry.” His brother shouted into the phone.
Nate had a tingling feeling that he wasn’t going to like the reason Milo was sorry. “What did you do?”
“It’s not so much me, as Kiersten. I told her about Rylee, and she’s cleared our calendar for the weekend. We should be there this afternoon. She wants to meet Rylee and no amount of talking would convince her to just wait until the wedding.”
Nate let his head drop back against his chair. What was he going to do? Rylee couldn’t meet his family, because she had no idea who or what he really was.
“Nate, say something. Listen, don’t worry, we’ll stay in a hotel. You don’t have to put us up at your house.” Milo tried to make his impromptu visit better, but where they were going to stay was the least of Nate’s problems.
Scrubbing a hand down his face he heaved a great sigh. This is what his good deed had come to. “No. That’s ridiculous, you can stay with me. There’s more than enough room.”
“You’re sure? We won’t be cramping your style or anything?”
Nate chuckled even as he tried to spin a solution to keep his family away from Rylee. “I think that terminology went out in the eighties. And no, you won’t be an imposition. I just wish…”
“I know, brother. I’m sorry, but I promise, we’ll just be in and out.” Milo really did sound apologetic. “I thought I’d convinced her to wait till the wedding, but then this morning, she announced we were leaving after breakfast.”
Nate groaned. Rylee wasn’t ready to know all of him. It was too early in their relationship. If she found out now, it would kill any chance he had of a future with her. Wait, did Milo say they were leaving after breakfast? “That means you’ll be here…”
“Around five this afternoon. But the good news is we have to be back home Monday. So just for the weekend. A quick trip in and out. You’ll hardly know we’re there.”
This wasn’t good. His relationship with Rylee was at a tender place. She wasn’t ready for everything he offered.
“So dinner tonight at Delmonico’s?” his brother asked.
Even though their visit could cause disaster in his life, he was looking forward to seeing them. And then Nate realized that was true. He’d left his country to get away from them, and now he didn’t mind seeing them. His brows furrowed in confusion. “Sure. That’s fine, around seven?”
Over Ruled: On the Wild Side Series Page 6
