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It seems I’m not the only one who feels the shift in the air as the guy is now running his nose along my shoulder. I really shouldn’t let him do that. He could be a crazy person. Or worse, a Broncos fan, but it feels so good.
“Because, I can promise you this… if I fucked you,” I swear I hear him groan, “you can bet your ass you’d remember it.” I let my lips brush his cheek as I lower my feet to the ground.
Before Parker can respond, Nate butts in, his fiery eyes locked on mine. “Tell him thanks for keepin’ her company,” he pauses, eyes torching me, “but I’ll take it from here.”
Nate’s standing in my doorway, looking every shade of sexy, a little uncomfortable, and a lot pissed off.
It takes him a minute to meet my gaze, but when he does, a look of possessiveness passes through them briefly. Weird.
“So, what’d you make for breakfast?” he asks a few minutes later. “French toast and bacon.” “I like French toast and bacon.” I turn, giving him an amused smile. “Is that right?” “It is,” he responds, taking a large bite of his pizza. I laugh and take the bait. “Well, then it’s settled, Handsome. I guess I’ll have to make French toast and bacon for you some time.” “How about tomorrow?” he asks, looking me right in the eye. “You sure you won’t be sick of me by then?” He shakes his head. Slowly. Purposefully.
“Aren’t you supposed to be at Shawna’s party?” Mia asks him, still standing in the same spot. I’m waiting for him to make an excuse, dodge the question, and shuffle out at the speed of lightning, but Mr. Monroe is full of surprises. He walks over to Mia, motions for the bag in her hands - which she gives to him, eyeing him with a bewildered expression - then plops down on the couch, right next to me. “Nope,” he tells her, not bothering to turn around and look at her. “I’m right where I want to be.”
He glances back at me, a small smile now tipping his lips. “I may not play games, but if I want something,” his gaze flicks to my mouth, “I make sure I get it.” His eyes are meaningful, his smirk deadly. “I just never found anything I wanted to keep before.”
Back on the porch, when she smiled over her shoulder at me, my stomach bottomed out, putting me off balance. I had to lean against the damn post to keep from making a fool of myself.
I’m not a clumsy guy, but this girl’s got me trippin’ over myself in every which way and she doesn’t even know it. That smile she gave me; I’ve never seen it before. It was real. Lethal. I want to see it again.
She smiles and drops onto Parker’s lap. She’s there for a whole five seconds, before I pull her ass right back up and down onto mine.
“Make me breakfast Sunday and I’ll go.” “Deal,” I don’t hesitate, just stomp to the door. Anything to get him out of here. He chuckles and smacks my ass on his way out. “Night, Gorgeous.” Even though I roll my eyes, there’s a small smile on my lips. “Night, Handsome.”
I can tell by the way he’s looking at me with his eyes half-closed that he’s gonna kiss me. I smile, knowing Nate’s watching, but Jarrod assumes it’s for him and grins. He reaches out, places his hand on my forearm, then leans down. I tilt my head back the slightest bit. Just as his lips touch mine, an arm wraps around my middle and pulls me back. Hard. Jarrod’s eyes shoot wide open, then narrow, all in the same second. His eyes drop to the arm around my waist then dart to the brazen man-boy it belongs to. “What the fuck, Nate?” His
“Back off, Monroe,” Jarrod seethes. “Go back to your groupies.” He throws an arm out, motioning to the direction Nate came from. “Lolli, came here with me.” I feel Nate stand taller behind me. “Yeah, well. I never should have let that happen.”
Nate’s body goes rigid, and he turns to look out his side window. “You thinking about going out with him again?” “Well, that depends,” I tell him, earning an irritated look. “You plan on showing up and dragging me off again?” “Yes.” His answer is instant. Firm.
He licks his lips. “Looking at you gets under my skin.” He drops down an inch. “Thinking about you fucks with my head.” Another inch. “Hearing that raspy, sexy ass voice of yours gets me riled up,” he rumbles quietly, his body now brushing mine. “And touching you? Touching you sets me on fire,” he whispers.
“Seeing another guy touch you…” He shakes his head, brows pulling in further. “I can’t handle that.” He brushes a teasing kiss across my lips, making me whimper like a desperate ho when he retreats. “So, how about we make sure that doesn’t happen anymore?” “Yeah, okay.” I’m a hussy at this point. He shakes his head and drops his mouth to my ear. “You’re not hearing me, Kalani.” His voice vibrates down my spine. “Mmm…” I moan, closing my eyes. “Don’t let you see me with another guy. Got it.” He lowers his body against mine. I gasp when his thickness presses into me, right where I want it.
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“You look good like this.” His voice is deep and gravely. “Like what?” I pant. His sexy smirk finds his lips. “Flushed and under me.”
Nate’s striding down the hall, looking all kinds of tempting. How he makes a plain black tee and jeans look like a walking, talking, life-size ad for Guess, I’ll never know. My eyes collide with his. People call out to him, pat his arm, do everything but flash him to get his attention as he meanders down the line, but his dark eyes never leave mine.
His face is a cold mask for all those around him to see, but for whatever reason, I see the vulnerability hidden deep in his dark orbs. He’s not hiding it from me. He wants me to know what he wants; what he’s hoping for... secretly begging me for. I give it to him. Never breaking our eye contact, I push Jarrod’s hands off me and stand right as Nate’s feet land in front of mine, bringing us chest to chest. His eyes shine instantly and I don’t even care it’s his cocky smirk that comes out to play. “You forget what you promised me last night, Gorgeous?” he whispers for only me to hear, his eyes
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“Nothing to deny, Hollins. I know where I want to be and yeah,” I pull my shirt over my head, grabbing my wallet and keys, “that happens to be where she is.”
I whisper against her lips, my eyes locked onto hers, “Because, for some reason, the thought of saying goodbye to you does something to me. I don’t like it. It makes me feel like I’m losing something.”
He’s trying so hard to act nonchalant after everything I told him and, once again, I find myself wondering why that makes my body seem… lighter. I make my way around my bed and step into his chest. Instantly, his arms come around me, barricading me in their safety. I tilt my chin up and we seal our lips together. Mine, thanking him. His, telling me - showing me - that my words were heard and felt and appreciated.
His whispered response is as quick as mine. “I’m thinking about how beautiful you are.” His eyes roam my face and I bite the inside of my cheek. “About how soft your skin is.” He runs his fingers down the side of my neck, my body shivering under his touch. “How, as strange as it may seem, I want to see you smile this way every day, for me... at me.”
I laugh and wait as he opens the prepackaged cubes of Nestle’s chocolate chip cookie dough. Setting the package on his lap, he winks and passes me a few pieces. All I can do is stare at him.
An hour or so later, we’re pulling in my driveway. “Thanks, Nate,” I turn to him. “For tonight, all of it. I haven’t talked about any of that since it happened. Not to anyone.” I shrug. His face gives nothing away, but he jerks his chin in response, silently thanking me for trusting him.
I pull back and smile up at him. “Happy Birthday, Handsome.” “Best one yet,” he winks, stepping back slightly. “Why didn’t you say anything?” I ask, genuinely curious. He shrugs. “Because I didn’t want you to feel like you had to come out if you didn’t want to, and I wasn’t gonna if you weren’t.” He reaches up and tucks my hair behind my ear. “But... it’s your birthday.” “And I wanted to spend it with you.”
Austin was right, she’s mine. She just doesn’t know it yet. Whistling, I throw on my A’s hat, grab my keys, and head out the door. She’s about to find out.
She picks up her menu and looks it over while I take a few minutes to look her over.
“Tell me something, Handsome?” I nod, not missing how her crystal blue eyes have turned a shade darker. Never breaking eye contact, she reaches up and pulls my hat off my head. “You done?” “Not by a long shot.”
Glancing at the dark-haired beauty in my passenger seat with her eyes closed, a small smile playing on her swollen lips, I know…something happened last night or today. Shit, maybe even a month ago, when she first invited me over for a movie. I guess it doesn’t really matter when it happened. All I know is, this girl next to me... I want to keep her here.
“It comes and goes as it pleases, taking with it the remains of the day or the hours before, washing away all traces of attendance, all the memories. Nothing is as powerful as the rain.”
So now, here I sit, perched on the edge of a floral print couch, watching two people I know virtually nothing about, float across the cherry hardwood floors in the gentlest sway I’ve ever seen. Their noses are kissing, eyes shining into each other’s souls as their lips move in a beautifully private conversation. They’re oblivious to my spying eyes - as they should be in an ambrosial moment like this. His arms are wrapped tight around her, her palms resting on his chest as if she can’t fathom the thought of not touching him. My chest tightens. The sight is too tender, too raw and real. The love
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But when I turn, finding Mr. Monroe running his fingertips down his wife’s temple, watching as he gently sweeps her dark hair behind her ear, all the blood in my body runs cold and I fly off the couch. Nate sees it, the moment I’m about to bolt. He’s quick. I don’t get a step away before his hands are cupping my cheeks and he’s kissing me, soft and slow. Slow and soft. The muscles in my body start to warm, slowly releasing tension with each stroke of his tongue against mine, and suddenly I’m melting against him.
“You a stats girl?” Ian tilts his head, gauging me. “I’m a defense girl.” I shrug. “And I remember the good stuff. Store it in my brain for times like these,” I tell him, tapping my head with my pointer finger. His dad grins from ear to ear, his chest puffing out slightly. “Oh, holy hell…” Sara mutters. “She’s perfect.”
Nate leans over and kisses my temple, a proud grin on his face. I don’t miss the quick glance both his parents throw his way as he does it.
“So, I now own half of a professional football team. So, my grandfather has two Super Bowl rings and was inducted into the Hall of Fame. Who cares that my parents owned and operated the number one sports photography company in the country? While those things are awesome, they’re mine.”
When I’m set gently into the seat, a soft kiss placed to my forehead, I have the strangest, most unwelcome, foolish thought. A girl could get used to this.
Nate turns back to me, looking a little hesitant and maybe…nervous? Which is strange for the Alpha. “Talk to me, Handsome,” Grinning, I grab ahold of the sides of his letterman jacket, swaying slightly. He nods, standing tall. “The dance is on Saturday.” My brows pinch. “Uh-huh…?” “Go with me.” “Why?” A laugh bubbles out of me. “Because I want you to.” The way his steady gaze is anchoring mine has me swallowing hard and unable to look away. I nod lightly. “Okay.” He tips his chin down, his eyes flicking back and forth between mine. “Okay?” “Yeah.” “Yeah?” He grins and it’s so adorable, I have
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“I learned a long time ago, by the way,” he tells me, his gaze dropping to my mouth as he lazily runs his middle finger over my bottom lip. When my brows pull in slightly, he continues. “That you were different.” His eyes come back to mine. “Rare. Better.”
But when she didn’t answer my calls, I got a little pissed and figured she was trying to get out of the party she already agreed to come to. Not that I would have minded had she told me. I like having her to myself. Prefer it actually, even if it makes me sound like a pussy.
Then, when I tracked Mia down, who then tracked Parker down, finding out Kalani was with him, I went from pissed to fuckin’ fumin’. But leaning against the wall in the corner of Shawna’s living room, watching her and Parker get ready to take shots together, standing far too fucking close for me, I’m about to lose my shit and rip someone’s head off. Preferably Parker’s. I’ve never been jealous in my life, never cared what a girl did when I wasn’t with her, but Kalani has a way of bringing out a few different sides of myself I knew nothing about - like the side that wants to physically disfigure
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I step toward her, blood boiling. “Do you have any idea what it does to me when I see another guy even look at you?” I growl, desperate for her to hear me. “Or when Parker-” cut myself off, shaking my head at her slack-jawed expression and try again. “Put you and any other guy in any possible equation,” I raise both my brows, “and it all ends the same for me. Jealous as fuck. No matter what you’re doing. Talking, walking, fucking sitting next to each other without even looking in each other’s direction, and I fucking see red, Kalani.”
He steps closer. Once my eyes find his again, he whispers gently, “Let me wake you up, Kalani.” My eyes flutter closed as the soft words I’d spoken to my grandfather flow through me. “You can go to sleep... I’ll wake up for you.” Opening my eyes, I look up at Nate. The longer my gaze searches his features, the further his smile grows. “I want you?” I whisper, my brows pulling in slightly. “Yeah, baby.” He nods, lifting his hand to tuck my hair behind my ear, resting his palm in the spot he’s claimed. “You do.”
He groans, trailing his nose up my cheekbone, bringing his lips to my ear. “Tell me...” he whispers. My fingernails dig into his forearms. “If you’re mine…” “I am.” He squeezes my ass, pulling me even closer. “Then I’ll always fight for you.” He pulls back and looks into my eyes, revealing the truth in his as well. He nods. I nod. We’re on the same page.
With my hand on my hip, I swing the door open and cock my head to the side. “Hello, boys.” Nate laughs at something Austin says, turning back toward me when he hears my voice, his excited smile slowly dropping from his lips as his eyes lock onto mine.
“Kalani...” He breathes into my ear and I bite my lip. “You’re so fucking beautiful.’” He kisses my exposed back. “Perfect.” Another kiss. “Mine.”
The photo prints instantly and I shake it around, helping the picture come into view. And when it does, my chest aches. I look beautiful, pressed into Nate’s body, his arms protectively around me, my free hand clutching his forearm - needing to touch him. My smile is bright and real, my eyes open and shining. But it’s Nate’s expression that has my breathing grow deeper. His head is dipped ever so slightly, his lips resting on my temple, nose in my hair. His dark eyes are closed, almost squeezed shut, as he breathes me in. He looks completely serene.
But the following day, I was running along the shoreline, my legs beat and ready to give out, when the raspy draw of Evanescence blared through my Dre’s, momentarily stopping me in my tracks. It had been a while since I’d allowed myself to listen to “Bring Me To Life” but from the first chord of the song, it was as if my body got a second wind, feeling lighter with every stride taken. Nate woke me up from the empty life I’d forced myself into, filled the hollow parts I created with wonder and anticipation. He did that. He’s been showing me that life is more than movements and motions, more
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Nate’s walking toward me and, if I didn’t know better, I’d say it was just the two of us in the hall. It kinda feels that way when he steps in front of me. He doesn’t speak. Neither do I. His eyes roam my face; mine stay trained on his. When his hand comes up, pushing my hair behind my ear, we sigh in unison, like we were both waiting for this - the innocent touch of his skin against mine. His hand glides down my body, until he can catch my fingers with his, his touch never once leaving my skin. Raising my hand to his mouth, he skims his lips across my knuckles. It’s light but speaks volumes.
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