Page 41 of Dark Obsession
But was Nate really a thug?
He worked as a bouncer in one of the worst clubs for prostitution and drugs in all of New York. He finger fucked me in an office. He was a complete thug, and yet, I was crazy about him.
Whatever he was, I missed him like crazy. It'd been almost a week since I'd seen him. In the middle of all of my brother's shit, I'd forgotten about how good it felt just to look up and see him walk in the door. Maybe today.
"It's gonna be like that, hm?" The guy's smile widened.
I smiled back. "What can I get started for you?"
"How about your number?" He wagged his eyebrows.
Thomas' voice surprised me as he walked toward the front of the counter. "Not happening, playboy. She's mine." He glanced at the guy and squared his shoulders.
"Oh, damn. I'm sorry, Thomas. Forgive me, man." The kid lifted his hands, and I couldn't help but wonder how the hell the young guy knew Thomas. He was a friend of my brother’s, which put him at twenty-six at the youngest. The guy working hard for my number couldn't have been nineteen.
"No problem, pledge. Get out of here." Thomas patted the guy on the back and turned to me. "Hey. You got a second?"
"Yeah. Sure." I looked over my shoulder as Sam glanced up from counting inventory.
"Go on. I'll watch the front for a few minutes for you."
I stifled a groan and walked around the counter toward the hallway where we kept our storage unit. Memories of Nate sneaking up behind me and grabbing the coffee I was after all off the top shelf rolled over me. His thick body pressed to the back of mine, his hands on my hips, my stomach.
"You all right?" Thomas tilted his head to the side and studied me.
"Yeah. Just trying to get back into the swing of things." I let my eyes move toward the door as a soft prayer rose up in my head. I just needed to see Nate for a few minutes. Just feel his arms around me. It was stupid. Silly. Ignorant, but I didn't care. The secondary brush with death mixed with the odd fight with Darek's widow left me wanting comfort - Nate's comfort. Something about him made me forget everything else around me. I craved the power he had over me.
Thomas reached out and ran his hands over my shoulders. "I understand that completely. I still can't believe Darek is gone."
I glanced down and nodded. "Me either. Hey, how did you know that young guy that was hitting on me?"
"We're in the same fraternity. He's pledging this semester."
"You've been out of NYU forever. What-"
"It's part of the way we do things in my old frat. All the guys are invited back for a homecoming during rush in the fall." He shrugged. "I met the kid the other night."
"Kid, hmmm? Does that mean you think I’m still a kid? The guy wasn’t much younger than me."
"Hell no. You know that men mature slower than women, right?"
"Slick." I smiled up at him and turned a little as the door opened. My eyes met Nate's and the world felt right. "Thanks for coming by. I'm actually okay."
"You sure?" He ran his hands down my arms and squeezed my hands before I tugged myself free.
Nate moved around him and wrapped an arm around my shoulders, leaning down and kissing the top of my head before glancing up at Thomas. "What's up, man?"
"Nothing. Just checking on Jenna. She's been through a lot lately." Thomas' eyes never left mine.
Maybe I was choosing the wrong man, but it didn't feel like much of a choice. My blood boiled when Nate was near and the air grew thin. That was the kind of love/lust mix I was after. Hell, it was what every woman with a beating heart would want.
"That so?" Nate turned toward me and pulled me into his arms. "Tell me what's been going on."
I glanced up at Thomas. "I'll see you soon, okay? Thanks for checking on me."
My brother's oldest friend glanced between me and Nate and narrowed his eyes a little. "I don't like it."
"And no one asked your opinion, asshole." Nate reached out and grabbed Thomas by the front of the throat faster than any of us could have reacted.
