Chapter 6
six
NATHALIE
By the time Nathalie got to Ivy’s, Lachlan was already there. Since she didn’t have any kids to drag with her that night, she’d had the easier time getting there. She set Alaric up next to Leon in the bedroom on the full-sized bed, tucked him back in and planted herself on the couch with a sigh. This was all making her brain hurt. And her heart.
“I’ll let you read it.” She handed over the paperwork to Ivy first, knowing that this had far more to do with her than with Lachlan, though it would involve all three of them. Nathalie curled her feet under her and pulled one of the throw blankets over her lap. This might be a late night, it might not, but she was sexually frustrated now and annoyed, which was never a good combination. Her behavior with Greer earlier proved that.
Ivy clucked her tongue and handed the papers over to Lachlan. They all remained silent while Lachlan read them. Nathalie brushed her fingers through her hair, wincing when they caught on the tangles from the hairspray that she’d put in before her date night.
Lachlan put the papers down loudly. “What crack does she think she’s on?”
“The one where she thinks she can ruffle our feathers.” Nathalie pursed her lips and looked at both of them. “I’m assuming from your reaction that you didn’t also get a notification?” She looked directly at Lachlan.
“No, I didn’t.” Lachlan frowned, the lines deep in her forehead. “But I’m expecting one now.”
“She knew to wait until I got back from my date tonight.” Nathalie wasn’t going to mention that she’d enticed the gentleman to come home with her and then had that promptly ruined by this news. Ivy didn’t need any more guilt added onto her already heavy heart. “So she’s aware of what we’re doing?”
“Why would she go after the practice though?” Ivy scrunched her face up. “I sold that to you two before I filed for divorce.”
“In anticipation of,” Nathalie answered, leaning back into the couch a bit more. “So she can use that as a way to get some money out of it. Because if you were still an owner, you’d have more collateral than you do.”
“Really?” Ivy winced. “I wouldn’t have done it if I thought that.”
“Wouldn’t you though? You said you wanted to protect the practice from her.” Nathalie ran a soothing hand over Ivy’s knee.
“And we can see how well that plan worked.” Ivy looked so deflated. “I just want this to end.”
“I get it.” Nathalie fiddled with the fringe on the blanket. This was a huge part of why she hadn’t ever gotten married. She could do life, raising kids, all of that on her own. She didn’t need anyone to support her through it, and that was why she’d stayed as far away from committed long-term relationships as possible. There was no need for them. Sex, however, was amazing. Especially when the guy actually made it to her room.
Ivy stood up and paced the living room. “She’s out to ruin everything, isn’t she? I’m not sure how much more I can handle.”
“You can handle whatever she has to throw at you because you have us with you.” Lachlan stood up and wrapped her arms around Ivy’s shoulders, effectively stopping her frantic pacing with a hug. Nathalie loved watching the two of them like this. They were so good for each other. “We’re right here with you.”
“But now she’s attacking you,” Ivy countered.
“She is. Because in her stupidity, she thinks that we’re weak. And we’re going to let her know she has another thing coming.” Nathalie wasn’t going to back down, especially now that Penny was expanding her attack. This was becoming far more personal than it was before.
“What are you going to do?” Ivy asked, plopping her butt back down onto the couch.
“I’ll counter-sue if I have to. But I’m going to fight this load of horseshit. She has no right to the company, and I won’t let her take it from me.” Nathalie pointed at the papers. “I think it’s time that we contact our lawyer about it, Lachlan. Get them working on this and it might be time for us to retain personal lawyers for when Penny ups the ante. I’m sure she will.”
“You think?” Lachlan asked, folding the papers together again.
“I’m pretty sure. She’s getting more and more backed into a corner the longer that Ivy doesn’t give in, and I think this is her lashing out. She’s losing control, and for Penny, that’s the worst thing that could ever happen.” The more Nathalie thought about it, the more she was pretty sure she was right. “I won’t let her win this. And I won’t let her continue to push you around either.” She said that last bit to Ivy. “It’s time to fight back.”
“I don’t know about that. I’ve been drowning just keeping up with the divorce.”
Nathalie felt for her, she really did. But she just wished that Ivy would get mad already. She was so tired of seeing one of her best friends hurt on repeat. They all needed this, and they needed to come back together and support each other to get over whatever the next hurdle was.
“Don’t forget you’re not alone in this. Like Lachlan said, we’re right here with you.”
“I know you are, but you’re not at the same time.” Ivy stared down at the ground. “I hate how hard it is on the boys.” She glanced toward the bedrooms where they were sleeping. “Especially on Leon. After the last problem with Greer, he had a lot of questions, and he’s worried that Penny just won’t bring him back some days.”
Nathalie’s lips parted in surprise. “Has she said something to him to that effect?”
Ivy shook her head. “Not that he’s shared anyway. But she might have, and I just don’t know about it.”
“You need to mention that to your lawyer if you haven’t already. You need to make some plans for if it does happen.”
Ivy brushed her fingers through her hair. “I know I need to. I’m just so overwhelmed with everything.”
“Again, that’s why you have us,” Lachlan jumped in. She gave Ivy a pitying smile. “We’re right here with you through everything.”
“Thanks.”
Nathalie sighed. “I’ll come get Alaric in the morning, but I really don’t want to wake him up again. I might have accidentally done that when the process server showed up at my front door.”
“I think the real question is if you scared Greer with how angry you got.” Lachlan stared at her directly.
Nathalie was about to deny it, but she wasn’t entirely sure. There had been so much behind Greer’s gaze, but fear wasn’t what she’d seen. She had to think about it all, from the moment Greer had shown up next to her at the door, to their short walk back to the kitchen, to the way she’d moved closer when Nathalie had been ranting and raving about Penny.
Finally, Nathalie shook her head. “No, I don’t think I did.”
“Well, that’s good.” Lachlan relaxed.
“I think she was turned on by it.” Nathalie bit her tongue. She hadn’t just said that out loud to them, had she? Damn it. That could only lead to what she’d said in response to Greer, which would lead to them having way more questions for her than she wanted.
“Turned on?” Lachlan’s eyebrows disappeared under her bangs. “Really?”
“Yeah.” Nathalie’s cheeks warmed. Not only had Greer been turned on, but Nathalie had—simply by the fact that Greer had been openly looking at her like that. It’d been a long time since someone had so unabashedly gawked at her, especially someone she hadn’t expected it from. “Anyway, I’m going to go to bed. I had a long night out.”
Nathalie stood up and folded the throw blanket before tossing it over the arm of the couch. “I’ll be back for Alaric around seven.”
“Yeah,” Ivy said, acknowledging Nathalie.
Nathalie didn’t wait much longer before she walked out into the cold air. It nipped at her cheeks as she wrapped her sweater tighter around her shoulders. It wasn’t a long walk back to her house, and with how overheated she’d become thinking about Greer, she was glad for the brisk air to cool her down.
What had she been thinking when she’d said that?
That she was horny, that was for sure. That she already knew she’d be canceling on her date and having to deal with even more drama that she didn’t want to touch. And that Greer was decidedly looking at her like she was a melting ice cream cone ready to be licked up.
Nathalie sighed as she stepped in through her front door and locked it behind her. Instead of heading straight up the stairs, she stopped by the kitchen to see if Greer was still awake and studying. It was getting close to midnight, but she understood how those late-night study sessions could go, especially when working full time.
“How’d it go?” Greer asked.
“About as well as expected.” Nathalie stood in the entry to the kitchen, not entirely sure if she wanted to walk in there and get a full view of the gorgeous Greer leaning over her books. Her hair was thrown into the messy bun that it always was, when she wasn’t dressed for taking care of kids. She was in loungewear, clothes so comfortable that she no doubt would hate to get out of them in the morning. Nathalie loved those kinds of clothes, the ones that were so worn in she’d give them up only when they fell apart.
She had a few stashed away, but she so rarely had a moment to actually wear them.
“Nathalie?” Greer asked.
How long had she been staring? Nathalie hummed, her lips curling upward into a smile as Greer pulled the hair tie out and put it back up.
“Don’t stay up too late. You need a good night’s sleep.” Nathalie crossed her arms.
“I was just heading up.” Greer shut her books and collected her things.
Nathalie couldn’t stop herself. She was already getting wetter by the second as Greer moved. She just needed to find some relief that night, even if it was with her own hand. “Good. Oh, and Alaric is staying the night at Ivy’s.”
“Oh.” Greer paused in her movements. “So it’s just the two of us?”
Nathalie nodded, and bit back the groan. She was already imagining how she was going to touch herself, how she was going to slide her fingers through her wet pussy and make herself come.
“Okay,” Greer said, going back to cleaning up.
Nathalie clenched her fists at her sides and then relaxed. “Goodnight, Greer.”
“Night!” Greer called over to her, that ever radiant personality of hers lighting up the room.
Nathalie took one last, long look before she turned on her toes and headed straight up to her bedroom. She flicked the lock into place and immediately stripped out of her clothes. She didn’t have time to make this last or make it sexy. She wanted fingers against her, and she wanted to come immediately. She could ply herself with pleasure for hours if she wanted to, but right now, she just needed some relief.
Groaning, she fell onto her mattress and immediately flipped onto her back. She stared at the door, listening for when Greer would come upstairs and head to bed. She was dripping wet when she touched herself. Spreading her knees, Nathalie bit her lip and closed her eyes. She couldn’t see Greer, but she could hear her, and she could imagine what she was thinking or feeling. Not just now, but back in that kitchen hours ago, when Nathalie had leaned in closer and…
Nathalie gasped and then she groaned. Her voice reverberated around the walls of her bedroom.
“Fuck,” she said, pushing two fingers inside herself as she used her other hand to flick her clit back and forth rapidly. This wasn’t going to take very long. She was so worked up, and she’d been so ready for the end of her date that night, only to have it ripped out from under her.
“Oh God,” Nathalie mumbled and then bit her lip. She didn’t care about being quiet. Greer would hear her eventually when she did bring someone else home, and if she stayed living in the house, she’d get used to it. Nathalie wouldn’t be obtrusive about it, and it certainly wouldn’t be every night, but she loved to hear herself when she got going.
“Uhh,” Nathalie grunted. She flicked her fingers faster. She rutted her hips against her hand, and she pumped her fingers in and out of her body. She could very nearly imagine that it was someone else’s hand, that perhaps there was a mouth against her, a warm, wet, and soft mouth. Definitely not the mouth of the man she’d been on the date with that night. His beard would scratch, but her imagination took her in an entirely different direction.
To a woman.
And she hadn’t slept with a woman in many years. Not since she’d had Alaric. Oh fuck…that was why she was so horny. Swallowing a gasp as she hit her stride, Nathalie arched her back. She was pregnant. She hadn’t thought she was, and the test results hadn’t come back yet, but this had been the first sign when she’d had Alaric.
She’d struggled to keep herself in line half the time. Groaning loudly, Nathalie hit the pinnacle that would take her over the edge. She followed it, keeping her fingers flicking rapidly. She was going to get a lot more of this if she was indeed pregnant. Because she wouldn’t be able to help herself. She’d need that relief, and…
“Ohhh….” Nathalie hit it.
She clenched her eyes shut and slowed her flicking enough to keep the pleasure coursing through her but to ease the intensity of it. Her breathing came in rapid gasps, her hips still sliding along with her fingers, and her shoulders pressed into the mattress. Her nipples were so hard they hurt—or was that just the extra sensitivity to them? Hell if she knew, she’d figure it out later.
This just felt so damn good.
“Fuuuuuuck,” she said again, louder than she’d meant to, but again, she didn’t care. This was her house, and she’d be damned if she’d hide in her house. Easing her fingers from herself, she licked them clean. Sweeter than normal.
She’d need to check on the test results in the morning when she got to the office. But for now, she was ready for round two.