Page 41 of A Lot Like Forever
“Sweetheart, I don’t think you need any pointers. Haven’t I made that clear already?”
She sighed again. “Not what I’ve been told.”
He pulled her down closer to him, breasts crushed against his chest. He was obviously going to have to try harder to get her to believe that she had nothing to worry about. “Some guys get off on making women feel incompetent,” he murmured in her ear, running his hands up and down her back. “Me? I get off on women feeling sexy and confident. Real men like to see a woman enjoy sex as much as they do, okay? So if it’s feeling great for you, it’ll be feeling damn good for me.”
“You’re sure?”
“I’m not into lying, especially in bed. If I say something it’s the truth; you can trust me,” he said with a chuckle. “How about we get started and I can tell you just how amazing you are?”
She laughed. “Nate, be serious.”
“Oh, I’m serious.” He flipped her so she was beneath him, pinning her arms above her head. “But how about I get things started? Then you can take the lead?”
She willingly gave in to him, eyes popping open when he stroked her cheek. Nate had been fantasizing about her for so long, pleasuring himself and imagining her naked, and the reality was even better.
“You’re so damn beautiful,” he muttered, taking her nipple into his mouth and sucking just hard enough, making her moan. “And I want to do so many wicked things to you.”
She fought for her hands and ran them down the firm muscles of Nate’s back. “So start now!” she demanded, forcing his head up and planting her lips on his.
Now it was Nate groaning. “You’re trouble.”
Faith giggled and dug her nails into his butt. “I know.”
* * *
“So tell me,” Faith said, stretching out alongside Nate and smiling up at him. They were still outside—he’d sworn there was no chance of anyone being able to sneak up on them, which she seriously doubted, but she’d decided to give him the benefit of the doubt. “What kind of woman would make the infamous Nate King settle down once and for all?”
He chuckled, stroking her arm, his touch light. “A woman like you.”
His words were as soft as his hands, but they still took her by surprise. “Like me?” she managed.
“I’m happy being a bachelor,” he said, “but if I was ever crazy enough to settle down, then yeah, it would be a woman like you. Beautiful, caring, determined . . . hell, I don’t know. You’re just you; I can’t describe it. And I’ve been warned away from you for so many years that I haven’t let myself think about how incredible you are, until now.”
It was as far from the answer she’d expected as possible, had shocked her into silence. “But you don’t want to, settle down, I mean?”
He dropped a kiss to her lips, his gaze hooded, propped up on one arm looking down at her. “No.” He frowned. “I thought we’d discussed all this just before.”
“We had, only I still don’t know why you’re so determined to stay a bachelor, especially now your brothers are both happily married.”
“If I was the only son to the King fortune, hell, I’d be making sure I had heirs to take over the land and businesses one day, but that’s not something I have to worry about thanks to Ryder and Chase.”
“So you just think about it all as some kind of business arrangement?” she asked, perplexed. She didn’t want to get married or serious yet, but toneverwant to? She just didn’t want to put her dreams second to anyone else’s, but that didn’t mean she wanted to end up a lonely old spinster. She’d presumed Nate was the same—too busy for marriage now, but it was something he’d want in the future.
“Not for my brothers it’s not; I mean, I don’t think that. Hell no. But me? I don’t know. I’ve got too much to do, too much to achieve. And I just don’t . . .”
“What?” she asked, snuggling closer to him, not wanting him to just stop talking when he’d been so close to letting her in. She might not understand him, but she wanted to hear what he had to say.
“Look, I have my reasons. Can we just go back to not being so damn serious?”
Faith reached up and kissed Nate, wished she hadn’t pushed him so far. It was none of her business; they were having fun and that was that. But she’d known him way too long not to care about him.
He rose and reached for her clothes first, passing them to her before pulling his own on. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to bite your head off like that.”
“No apology necessary.” She pulled her top over her head and ran her fingers through her hair. She’d brushed it out when she’d risen from bed, but now it was all tangled again, thanks to Nate loving to rough it up when they were intimate.
“I might not want anything more than fun right now, but I do give a damn about you, Nate. Always have, always will.”
He smiled and reached for her hand, linking their fingers before standing and pulling her up, too. “I know you do. And the feeling’s mutual.” A look crossed his face, pulled his eyebrows together as he looked back up at her. “You know, I could ask the same about you. Why the hell are you so determined not to be in a relationship?”
