Page 29 of A Lot Like Forever
“I’ll be back in a moment,” Faith said as she stood, carefully smoothing her hands over her skirt to make sure it was in place. She collected her purse and made her way through the crowd, heading in what she hoped was the right direction for the restroom. She needed a minute to gather her thoughts, to figure out what the hell she was doing.
Once she was in there she checked her reflection in a mirror, reapplied her lip gloss instead of splashing the cold water on her face that she was craving. After spending so long on her makeup she wasn’t about to ruin it. What she did do was let the cool water run over her wrists, cooling her body and calming her at the same time. Nate hadn’t even done anything, yet she was all twisted in knots over just the thought of what he could do to her.
Once she’d finished in the restroom she stepped out, was about to brave the crowd and head back to their table when a hand closed over hers, taking her by surprise.
“Faith.”
Her pulse ignited, first from the shock of a man grabbing her unexpectedly, then all over again when she realized it was Nate. Her heart was pounding, her initial reaction to shove his hand off and run. But he wasn’t Cooper. It was Nate. Nate wasn’t going to hurt her.
“I was just making my way back,” she said, trying to slow her breathing.
“Your brother’s up dancing. I was just coming to get you.”
She stood dead still, stared up at him, heart pounding so loudly she was certain it was about to beat right out of her chest.
“Nate . . .”
He stepped closer, released her wrist, his eyes fixed on hers.
Screw it. Maybe it was the alcohol, the fact that they’d been dancing around whatever the hell it was going on between them since the moment she’d arrived at his place, or the fact that she’d harbored a secret fantasy for him since she was a teenager; whatever it was, she wasn’t going to just ignore it any longer.Couldn’t.It was Nate-- she could trust him; sheneededto trust him.
Faith pushed him back against the wall, her hands to his chest, his only protest a grunt as he let himself be moved. She stood on tiptoe and pressed a kiss to his lips, tentatively at first and then with more force, her hands on his shoulders before snaking up higher, fingers looping through his too-long hair, tugging him closer. She was no man’s victim, wasn’t going to let her ex ruin what she could have with another man.
Nate groaned; she heard the noise at the same time as his body tightened, his shoulders bunching like he was about to pull back, before giving in, his mouth suddenly crushing hers. His arms wrapped around her, holding her close, pulling her body forward and hard smacked into his. She relaxed, pushed any stupid thoughts away that told her to stop.
Because Faith couldn’t get enough of him; the taste of him, the feel of him, the . . . she moaned as his tongue found hers, his lips moving fast one moment, then slow the next, his hands skimming her back, settling just above her butt.
“We shouldn’t be doing this, Faith,” he murmured, his sinful dark eyes trained on hers.
“Don’t stop,” she whispered back, still on tiptoe, her mouth hovering over his.
“This is every kind of bad.” He plucked at her lips with his again. “So bad.”
“I want you to teach me, Nate. I need you to”--she kissed him back, her knees turning to liquid and making it almost impossible to stay upright--“show me what to do.” It was what she’d always wanted, Nate in her bed. And this was her chance to get what she’d been craving, to prove to herself that she was nobody’s victim. And to make sure no other man could ever insult her like Cooper had.
“Sugar, you know exactly what you’re doing.” His kisses were like fire across her skin, the most delicious, sensuous, burning-hot fire.
“I’m not talking about kissing, Nate,” she murmured, moaning as his tongue dipped into her mouth again, his lips so slow and careful one minute and rough the next.
“You . . .” He paused, his mouth hovering over hers, recognition shining in his eyes. “You want me to teach youin the bedroom?”
She nodded, refusing to be embarrassed, not wanting to back down now she’d finally said the words. “Yes.”
Nate’s groan wasn’t an answer, but she couldn’t mistake his desire, his arousal impossible not to notice pressed against her, his mouth no longer slow even for a moment, just rough and sexy as hell and making her want to strip her clothes off right then and there.
“Faith . . . ,” he muttered, but his hands were tangled in her long hair, like his mouth couldn’t stay away from hers even for a second.
“What the fuck!”
Nate’s hands were still on her, but his mouth was gone, leaving her wondering what the hell had happened and who was--Shit.Her brother was barely a foot away from them, the disbelief on his face fast turning to all-out fury.
“You fucking asshole!” Sam roared, moving so fast that Faith jumped back, hard against the opposite wall in the narrow space leading to the restrooms where they’d been standing.
She heard herself scream as Sam launched at Nate, his fist connecting with the side of his face, Nate’s hands rising to stop him but Sam moving too fast. It was like she was at a train station, right on the tracks, a roaring noise so loud in her ears that she couldn’t hear anything, could just watch on helplessly as her brother swung at Nate again. It brought everything back, the terror she’d felt the night Cooper had hit her, and she wanted it to end now, wasn’t going to sit by and watch them fight.
“Sam, no!” she yelled, forcing herself to act, moving closer but not wanting to get in their way. The way they were acting right now, especially Sam, his rage was so absolute that she doubted he’d even see her if she tried to intervene.
But it looked like Nate wasn’t going to take any more punches. Faith wrapped her arms around herself, felt Kelly put a hand on her shoulder, yelling at Sam, too, but the fight was over. Her brother wasn’t small, but Nate was bigger. Suddenly he had his hand around Sam’s wrist, not letting him swing again, dodging his other fist as it came swinging, ending up grazing past Nate’s neck.
