Page 40 of Secrets in Love
I knew the very second his sun-kissed hand touched mine I was saying goodbye to a part of my life I was hesitant to let go of. There was no going back. Whatever happened between us, wherever we ended up, I knew I would never be the same.
Nate
When I was fourteen, I crossed to the dark side: engaging in my first experience as a bad boy and dragging Finn along with me for the ride. Looking for some adventure, I convinced him to steal some money from his mum’s purse while I stole some beer from Dad’s fridge in the shed. We used our ill-gotten gains to buy all matter of crap from Harvey’s Milk Bar—chips, candy, soda, and of course, chocolate milk. With arms full of contraband, we made our way to the beach to idle the day away surfing, drinking, and eating. That was the plan, anyway.
Ten minutes and three bags of Cheetos into our epic session, Evie and Polly busted us. The girls had a genuine day off school so their teachers could prepare for their upcoming exams—a minor detail our pea-sized brains had forgotten.
Finn freaked out as Evie stormed down the sand, screaming his name like a banshee, threatening violence, and stopping only when the waves lapped at her perfectly painted toes. There she waited, hands on hips and glaring, for an explanation.
Like Finn, I, too, was freaking out for an entirely different reason. You see, Evie was wearing a skimpy bikini. I’d never seen her in one before, and Lord help me, she was smoking! All I remember is dropping my board, floating to her side, and praying to God she planned to dole out some physical punishment. If my feet touched the ground at all, I don’t remember ‘cause all I saw was the fire in her eyes, her golden, tousled hair wet with fury sweat, and that tight little body rippling with rage as she ripped us both a new one. To this day, I have no clue what she said. All I know is that she was insanely pissed and hot, and I loved every minute of her meltdown.
Deja vu struck when I saw her waiting for me. She wasn’t hard to spot, jumping up and down to see over the taller bodies blocking her view, then grunt-pushing her way to the front with her usual force and determination.
The minute she saw me, her tired eyes glistened with excitement, her face—flushed with fatigue and frustration—lifted to a gorgeous smile, and those tiny little curls, still refusing to be controlled, framed her face so perfectly I could have cried. She was stunning…even more so than I remembered. And once again, I was that dumb, love-sick kid, dropping whatever I carried and floating toward her.
Thankfully, her exuberance matched mine. My number-one girl ran toward me, jumped into my arms, and buried her face into my neck. Through her muffled sobs, I heard her softly whisper, “I can’t believe you’re here.”
“I can’t believe I let you leave.”
Fighting my body’s urge to take her right there and then on the airport floor, I focused on the words, not the round ass that was inches from my fingers as they clenched around her tiny waist and settled on the small of her back. The plump, pert breasts pressing into my chest were another item I was not focusing on, along with her short, sharp, shaking breaths. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, relishing the feeling of her against me for the first time…and it hit me—banana shampoo. “Jesus,” I gasped, “I thought that bloody flight would never end. I’ve missed you so much, Lil One.”
“Nate.”
Further tightening my claim on her, I made the move I’d waited for and dreamed of for half my life. Sliding my hands up her curves and weaving my fingers through those curls, I gripped the back of her neck, my thumbs deftly brushing her pouty, trembling cherry lips before cradling her jaw and bending down to taste her.“Aoife.”
Reaction-wise, it wasn’t what I had hoped.
“Noooohhhh, shit.” The girl straight-up panicked, squealing like one of her piglets and turning her head just as my lips were about to brush against hers. They landed on her cheek instead, catching the edge of her salty lips. “I’m sorry. I wasn’t expecting…I mean, I wasn’t—”
“It’s okay, Gidge.” I smiled, pressing my lips to her forehead, and laughing. “And for now, that’s enough. For now.”
Cruising down roads—the names of which I’d heard umpteen times on TV and in movies—next to my dream girl was a surreal and, so far, primarily silent experience. Part of this was due to the bruising I saw on Evie’s wrist. That asshole dancer had hurt my girl. Not saying anything was killing me. Not demanding she drive me straight to him to kill him was killing me. But she had been through enough. So, I swallowed the anger down.His time will come.
The little conversation we had shared was regarding the well-being of the Austen family and Evie’s curse-filled explanation of her evening with Christian.
According to her GPS system, we were nearing home, and to say I was relieved would be the understatement of the century. Not only because I was exhausted from my flight but because of the short skirt riding ever higher on Evie’s thighs, and the memory of her body in my hands was stinging my palms. I couldn’t wait to get her out of the damn car and feel it again.
“Eyes up, buddy,” she snapped, slapping my thigh. “Did you fly all this way to sit next to me, ogle my flesh, and say nothing?” Her eyes fixed ahead on the empty lanes of the Grand Central Parkway, but the hint of a smile graced her lips.
“Nope. I flew all this way to kiss you, romance you, and take you home.”
“Snort. You’re pretty sure of yourself, aren’t you?”
Witnessing a real-life verbal snort sealed part of the hole her departure had left in my heart. There was a long way to go before the little guy was fully healed, but that was a strong start. “Not as sure as I was. That head turn of yours was brutal on my ego.”
She stifled a giggle by playing with her lips between her teeth, then licked them as she looked me over. My cock jumped like a trained poodle.
“I’d forgotten what an idiot you are. I’m not going home with you, Nate. I may not even kiss you.”
“Wanna make a bet?”
“A bet?”
“That’s what I said. I bet you fifty bucks that you’ll be tongue-lashing me by the end of tomorrow and have me tied up in your bed by the end of the week.”
“Nate!” Tires squealed when she slammed on the brakes after almost running us off the road.
“Sorry, you’re right…I’ll have you tied up.”
