Page 61 of A Lot Like Forever
He stayed on his side, quiet as he waited for some noise to alert him to where she was. It had taken every shred of his willpower not to phone her or get in his car and race off to see if she was okay, but his brothers had talked sense into him, just like he’d talked sense into Ryder earlier in the evening. Not to mention the fact that after a beer and a few whiskeys Nate had had too much to drive anyway. And besides, the overprotective, overbearing boyfriend type wasn’t really him, even if he was scared out of his wits that something might have happened to her.
And then he heard her. She’d been quiet as a mouse walking through the house, no doubt padding across the carpet on bare feet. But still he stayed silent, the only noise coming from him the shallow inhale and exhale of his breath.
He listened to her undress, the swoosh of fabric as it hit the ground. Nate shut his eyes, imagined seeing her body bathed in the moonlight that was filtering into the room through the open drapes. She’d be almost bare now, standing in her panties and bra, her long hair tumbling down her back or over her chest, skimming past her bra. He wanted to turn, to acknowledge her and watch her, to pull her down onto the bed and ask her where the hell she’d been when he wanted her right here by his side, but he didn’t. He stayed silent. He didn’t move. Because she was being as whisper quiet as a leopard on a hunt, which meant she didn’t want to wake him, or didn’t want him to know she was home.
Faith discarded some jewelry, placing it with a soft clink on the bedside table before pulling the covers back, the fall of her body on the bed making it move ever so slightly. Then her body was closer to his, the coolness of her skin like ice against his. She wriggled until he could feel every inch of her nakedness, her breasts pushed to his back, legs tangled against his. Faith either wanted to warm up her cold body or she . . .
Hell. Her hand slid down his thigh, nails scraping every so slightly against him, moving down to the front and . . .he groaned.
“I thought you were asleep,” she whispered in his ear, biting at his lobe.
“I was,” he ground out, teeth locked together when she started to rub him harder.
“You weren’t,” she murmured.
“You’re right,” he muttered back. “I wasn’t. I was listening to you.”
“So you weren’t expecting this?” Faith whispered, stroking him. The primitive need to turn around, flip her, and pin her beneath him was almost too much for him to resist.
“Damn you, Faith. I’ve been worried about you.”
She laughed. Nate growled in response. “I’m here now. Do you want me to go?”
“Go?” He turned around and tangled the sheets some more, kicking his legs to free them of the damn covers. “Don’t you fucking dare.”
Faith stretched as he pushed her hand away, not about to let her get him so damn excited that he had to hurry things. There was something different about her tonight, more confident, determined maybe, but he wasn’t going to ask questions when she was clearly in the mood.
“Any admirers tonight?” he asked, hating that he was jealous, an emotion he’d never experienced before. It was clawing at him, had been all night, the fact that he wasn’t there by her side with her looking so beautiful. He didn’t mind the thought of other men admiring her, but the idea that she could tell a guy to go jump and he might not take the hint made Nate insane.
“A few,” she said, running her fingers through his hair and tugging him closer. “But none that even came close to you.”
“You’ve ruined me for any other woman, Faith. I can’t get you out of my head even when I’m not with you.”
She went silent then, reaching for his face, cupping his cheeks, and leaning in to kiss him. After the way they’d started out he’d expected fast and rough, but she took her time, kissing him so carefully, so softly. Nate took her into his arms, held her close as he kissed her back. Their lips were brushing, so tender, her tongue touching his, exploring, tasting him like it was the first time they’d been together. The spark between them had never dulled, the electricity like a current that just continued to burn.
“I’ve been wanting to do this all night,” she told him, one hand still to his face, her legs tangling around him as he slid his body over hers so he could look down at her.
“I’ve been wanting you beside me all night,” he whispered back, lips back on hers before she could say anything else.
Their kisses were endless, unhurried. Nate had no idea whether minutes had passed or an hour, but for once his impatience didn’t get the better of him when it came to Faith. He reached behind her, took his weight off her completely so she could arch her back and let him unclip her bra. It was lacy, like all her underwear seemed to be, and he slowly took it off her, savoring her body like a Christmas present he got to slowly unwrap and discover.
Nate reluctantly stopped kissing her, moved away from her lips and down her body, trailing kisses across her breasts instead. He cupped one, loved that it fitted perfectly in his hand.
“Nate,” she murmured, fingers loosening their hold as he ran his mouth over her belly. Her skin was so soft, her flat stomach taut as he rained kisses over it.
“Slow,” he muttered, “tonight we’re gonna take it slow.”
There had been something about the way she’d first kissed him tonight, the way she’d moved, that felt different, but he wanted to savor every minute of being with her. He wanted to pleasure her and make love to her, to enjoy every moment like it was their last together.
Nate smiled and kissed her again, , slowly, wanting her to enjoy every sensation.
“Mmmmm,” she murmured.
Faith’s nails dug into his back as she pushed her body up to meet his. She was making it hard for him to take it slow, but he did, determined to enjoy every single minute without rushing any part of making love to her.
“I thought we were taking this slow, beautiful?” he whispered in her ear, kissing her neck as he kept sliding back and forth into her.
“Faster, Nate,” she begged, “please.”
