Page 25 of A Lot Like Forever
Chapter 6
Nate felt like he was waiting for his date to the prom. Faith had called out that she’d only be a few minutes, but he was counting down already and it hadn’t even been sixty seconds yet. He checked his watch again for something to do, then decided to go pour himself a drink, needing a whiskey.
“Hey.”
He just about spilled the liquor straight onto the counter instead of into his glass. Nate finished the task, telling himself not to react no matter how damn good she looked, turning slowly as he put the cap back on the bottle of Wild Turkey.
Damn. “You look,” he said, unable to stop his eyes from roving all the way up, then down her body, “amazing.”
She smiled and shrugged, like she hadn’t made a special effort, but Nate knew otherwise. Faith always looked great, but tonight she was more than a distraction to him; she was dynamite. Only he was the one in danger of exploding.
“You don’t look so bad yourself,” she said, checking something in her purse, then zipping it back up.
Nate took a small sip of whiskey before deciding it would be best to not drink before getting behind the wheel. He glanced down at his jeans and shirt. “I’m just happy not to be wearing a suit, but you?” He shook his head. “Sam’s gonna flip.”
She looked confused. “Why Sam?”
“Because every goddamn guy in a twenty-foot radius of you is going to stare, which means he’ll know exactly what thoughts will be running through my head.”
Faith tucked her purse under one arm and reached for him, smoothing her fingers across the collar of his shirt like she was pressing it for him. “And what thoughts would they be?”
He chuckled and expertly moved out of her reach, not about to struggle with his self-control now before the night had even started. She was flirting and she knew it. Once they were out of his home, away from his territory, maybe he’d find it easier to stop wanting her so damn bad.
“Sweetheart, if you could read my thoughts you’d be running. Fast.” He shook his head, refusing to let his feet walk back toward her, resisting the urge to run his fingers through the silky locks of her hair. “In the opposite direction.”
Her hair was usually straight and smooth, but tonight she had soft curls, curls that he was aching to tug out. She was wearing a pretty dress that showed off long tanned legs that . . . Nate cleared his throat.Maybe he should have finished his drink after all and just ordered a cab.
“Nate, I keep telling you that you don’t scare me, so lighten up,” she said, chin tilted in defiance as she stared at him. She hadn’t been lying when she’d said she was all grown-up—there was something in her eyes that told him she was a whole lot more worldly than either he or Sam had ever wanted to realize.
“And I keep telling you that you damn well should be,” he replied, fetching his key from the hallstand and marching to the door. He hauled it open and waited for her to pass through, sighing when he got another eyeful of her pert butt and endlessly long, golden-brown legs. Her skin was flawless and it made him want to trace across every inch of it. “There’s an old saying about not taunting a wolf unless you--”
Her laughter interrupted him, infuriated him, and pleased him at the same time. “Enough of the wolf talk. I think of you more like a big Labrador, Nate,” she said as she opened her own door and looked over her shoulder at him. “You can be scary when you need to be, but really you’re just a big softy.”
Nate was stationary, staring at her, wondering what the hell had just happened to him. He’d made a reputation for himself mirrored on that of his granddad, demanded respect from everyone he worked with. No one spoke to him like he was someone’s goddamn Labrador!
“You’re gonna get yourself in trouble with that mouth one day, Faith.”
She just laughed and slipped her pretty legs into the car. “Yeah, right.”
What the hell had gotten into her? “Yeah, well you haven’t spent much time around me, have you?”
Nate stormed around to the driver’s side, equal parts furious with her and so fucking turned on he didn’t know what he wanted to do to her. The one thing he was certain about was wishing they weren’t about to meet her brother for drinks. An intimate dinner date, just the two of them, followed by cocktails in a private booth . . . now that’s the kind of evening he wanted with Faith.And it was exactly what he’d never let himself do with her.Because if they were drinking and alone? His self-control would be gone . . . as if he’d never had any in the first place.
“So do you normally go out looking like this?” he demanded once he’d pushed the keyless go button and started backing around.
“Like what?” she asked, arching an eyebrow and clearly amused at the line of questioning. “Looking all dolled up? Wearing a dress?”
He sighed, impatient. “Like no man should be let near you because he couldn’t be trusted.”
Faith laughed and placed a hand on his thigh, her touch gentle. He shifted, wishing she’d keep her hands off him and then regretting his thoughts the moment she removed it.
“You’re just sensitive about me, that’s all,” she said. “It’s a summer dress, Nate. I’m not even showing a lot of skin.”
“Oh really? I’m sensitive about you, am I?”
“Like a bear with a thorn in his paw,” she murmured.
“Yeah, well, if I’ve got a thorn, Sam’s gonna act like he’s a bear with a bullet lodged in his ass.”
