Chapter 14
14
Nate holds my hand, our fingers locked together, guiding me down a hall lined with photographs of the farm. Some are black and white. There are a few of his parents. There are baby pictures. Landscapes. Family portraits and polaroids.
There’s one of him and a guy who could only be Jed—Daisy looks just like a tiny little girl version of him—with their arms slung around each other’s shoulders, maybe in their early twenties. There’s one of Nate holding Daisy, as a baby, with Jed and Laney in the background.
There are dozens of photos of our families together. One with Nate and Kade sitting on motorcycles, smiling for the camera. Another one of the two of them, shirtless in jeans, leaning against a fence they’d been fixing .
There’s one of Nate with all three of my brothers, somewhere in town when they used to travel as a pack.
One of Nate’s whole family, before their dad’s heart attack.
One with all nine of us as sun-kissed kids, proudly showing off a fort we’d built.
One of me and Dakota, dressed in our usual country cowgirl outfits. We might have been fourteen or fifteen.
It’s our shared history.
“It’s us.”
“Yeah, it’s us.”
I’m sort of stricken by the beauty of the house and also by its familiarity. I could belong here so easily.
I don’t know how he did it, but it’s like he read my mind. All the little details. The big, inviting kitchen with its farmhouse table that’s the perfect place to raise a family. The view of Tennessee that we always used to talk about. The dreamy pink princess’s room. The photos of our past already in place. It can’t be true, but it’s almost like he designed all of it … for me .
Still holding my hand in his warm, rough grasp, he leads me into his bedroom. “This is it.”
Nate’s room is enormous, rustic and masculine but at the same time luxurious because it has so obviously been designed and built by people who are exceptionally good at what they do.
His bed must be one of those Californian kings. The wall of sliding glass doors opens out onto a balcony with its own hot tub and more stunning views. Off to one side of the bedroom is a massive walk-in closet and a spacious master bathroom. I get a glimpse of sandstone and a huge free-standing bath.
“It feels like you.” It also feels like me. “Thanks for showing me.”
Nate’s fingers tighten on mine and he pulls me closer. For a long moment we just stand there, hands clasped. The air is electric. Just like it was all those years ago in the barn.
But this time there’s no one outside waiting to tell us all the reasons we shouldn’t.
Slowly, he reaches to tuck a strand of my hair behind one ear, calloused fingertips ghosting over my cheek. I don’t mean to sigh softly.
“Rox…” he whispers, my name a fervent prayer on his lips. His eyes are a deep amber, full of all the dark beauty and summertime memories I’ve dreamed about my entire life. His warm palm slides around the nape of my neck, gripping lightly, raising all the tiny hairs on my body. “I don’t care about anyone outside this room or what they think. I only care about what you want.”
“I want you,” I whisper back, remembering the day I said it to him that late summer afternoon. I love you. I always wondered if he felt the same way. From the way he’s looking at me right now, I can see that he did. And he does.
I don’t say it again now but I feel like he can read it in the wild beat of my heart. I’ve always loved you and always will. And if you don’t take me to bed right now I’m going to get down on my knees and beg.
His eyes barely crinkle at the edges and he’s just so freaking sexy it’s weirdly painful. “I’m going to kiss you now unless you tell me not to, Tuck. Even then I still might.”
“It’s about time, Boone.”
His slow smile does nothing to hide the lust in his whiskey-dark eyes. “We sure have taken our sweet time. We’ve got some lost years to make up for.”
Nate Boone finally— finally —lowers his mouth to mine. The kiss starts soft. Careful. Like he’s almost overwhelmed with relief, maybe, and at the same time giving me the chance to pull away. But my lips part and his tongue slides inside, tasting me.
With a low growl, Nate tugs my hair back and claims my mouth hungrily. All the built up longing practically hums as our lips and tongues tangle.
I melt against him, my knees going weak. The taste and heat of him overwhelms my senses.
He catches me, holding me. He presses his strong thigh between mine and kisses me senseless.
It appears the cool, aloof Nate Boone suddenly has zero chill. And the idea that, after all these years, he might be as crazy for me as I am for him is making me melt with need. I can feel that my bikini is… very wet.
Nate pulls back, his thumb sliding along my jaw. “Roxie Tucker… ”
“Don’t you dare say, ‘see you around’ or I’ll throttle you.”
He smiles, but there’s regret in it. “You know I had to leave back then. But tonight, darlin’, wild horses couldn’t drag me away. I’m just going to tell it like it is, because I have no interest in wasting any more time. What I’m going to do right now is to pick up where we left off a long time ago. I’m going to peel off that little bikini and taste every inch of that soft, perfect skin. I’m going to feast on you all night long until you’re crying my name and have forgotten yours. So stop me now if you feel like I’m rushing you.”
“Like hell you’re rushing me, Boone. I waited for you. And I’m done waiting.”
He blinks dark lashes. “What do you mean you waited for me?”
“I’ve…” It’s almost embarrassing to admit. “I’ve never been with anyone else. Since that day.”
His head tilts and his brows barely furrow. It’s a second before he continues, like his brain can’t quite fathom what I’ve just told him. “Ever?”
“I still live with all three of those overlords, remember. It’s a recipe for a whole lot of nothing, as far as romance goes.”
Nate’s chuckle of disbelief is low…and wildly relieved. “You mean to tell me that the most beautiful girl in the world hasn’t been kissed by anyone besides me?”
If it wasn’t for the most beautiful girl in the world comment, his amusement might almost rile me. “It’s not my fault, it’s theirs. And yes. So hurry up already.”
He smiles, blinking at me and dazzling me with mischievous joy at what I’ve just confessed. It’s his playfulness that kills me the most. Stoic Mr. Weight of The World On His Shoulders looks… happy .
And it’s all the invitation he needs.
His hand is still weaved through my hair, holding me in place with dominant possessiveness. “All right then, darlin’. You’re really ready?”
I nod, watching his eyes. Of course I’m ready.
Still, I’m a little nervous.
This is it.
And he’s big .
His smile lingers as his mouth eases over mine, and there’s an edge to him. A hot, dirty volatility that’s new. His tongue slides over mine in a silky, intimate plunge. A wave of soft, sexy warmth floods my entire body.
Nate kisses me like he’s already inside me. It’s intimate and it’s so hungry I want to cry with need.
Each thrust of his tongue pushes a rising wave of lust into me and I suck lightly as he does this, tasting the drugging flavor of him. His groan is low and my inner muscles flutter at the sound. I’ve never been so freaking turned on in my life.
Nate lifts me easily, like I weigh nothing, sending a thrill through me. He’s so big. So fucking strong. He could do anything to me .
I want all of it.
He pulls me close and I wrap my arms and legs around him.
“Fuck, Roxie,” he breathes against my neck. Kissing. Biting. Licking. “You have no idea how much I’ve wanted this.”
“Show me,” I whisper. “I need to know I’m not dreaming.”
He lays me onto his bed, holding his weight with his brawny arms.
Fascinated by the strength of his body, I let my palms run across his flexed biceps.
I get to touch Nate Boone.
After all those years of pining without even fully realizing it, because I’d long ago accepted that he was off-limits to me and that he’d moved on, it’s suddenly like Christmas and a fairy tale all rolled into one.
Nate lowers his body, pressing the full weight of himself onto me. All I’m wearing is a thin beach cover dress—which has ridden up to my waist—and my bikini. I can feel the roughness of the denim of his worn jeans… and the colossal ridge of his giant erection pressing against me … there , demanding that my body cradle him intimately.
“ Oh ,” I gasp.
He holds himself still, kissing me more tenderly this time. “ Oh , give me more, Boone? Or oh , you’re going way too fast for an innocent little wildcat who’s never been kissed except once. Rox, do you want me to slow down? ”
“ No .”
I can feel his smile as he takes my mouth in a lewd, brain-demolishing kiss. “Good. Are you ready for me, baby girl?”
“Yes.” I’m so ready I’ll die if you don’t give me what I need.
It’s then that Nate Boone transforms from the guy everyone knows and loves as the provider and the steady, reliable workhorse, into a beast.
I watch it happen, like he’s blooming into a version of himself that’s only only only for me. Here, like this. Alone in his room. His eyes get darker and his grip becomes rougher and more possessive.
Nate’s fingers draw circles around my nipples over the thin layers of my clothing. “Did you know, Tuck, that I’ve thought of you every single day? I held myself back from chasing after you, because I knew you had your own life now and I had mine and I just assumed that you’d left me behind long ago.”
“I didn’t leave you behind. I never left you. You left me.” It pisses me off, come to think of it. “How could you do that?”
He pinches my nipples and I moan because the light pressure sends jolts of hot heat straight to my pussy, where his huge hardness is still pressed against me like a loaded, insanely beautiful promise. “You were fifteen.”
“So? I loved you. I told you I loved you.”
“You know all three of your brothers would have killed me with their bare hands. ”
“And what about the next time? You were with someone else. That girl who shot daggers out of her eyes at me all night.”
“That’s because as soon as you walked in I completely lost interest in her.”
“You did?”
“I never saw her again.”
“Why didn’t you tell me that, Nate?”
“Because the band was just taking off and you were leaving the next day to go on a two-month tour, remember? The first big one.”
“Yeah.” I remember. “We were all completely caught up in it.” It was a roller coaster of crowds and the non-stop frenetic energy that went along with sudden, crazy fame.
“You were. Understandably. The four of you were so tight and they expected so much from you. What was I supposed to do, ask you to come back to the farm with me, just as everything was going stratospheric for you? Admit it, Tuck, you didn’t have time for me even if I had told you how I felt. And I was coping with all the shit going on here anyway. Not that any of that is an excuse. You’re right. I should have told you then how I felt. I wish I had. Fuck, I wish I had.”
“Rumors were that you had…girlfriends.” My brothers always talked about Nate Boone like he had a whole harem on the go.
“I never had girlfriends. I’m not going to lie to you, Roxie, I wasn’t a choirboy back then. But none of them stuck because none of them were you. If you really want to know, I never actually even liked a single one of them. You were always the one I wanted. And you were always the one I couldn’t have.”
“I didn’t know .”
“Well, now you do, baby girl.”
Nate pulls up my dress, taking it off. He pulls at the tie of my bikini top, letting it fall away, releasing the bouncy fullness of my breasts.
“ Fuck ,” he growls. “ Look at you. How can anyone be so fucking perfect?”
He takes my breasts in his work-roughened hands and squeezes them, rubbing his thumbs over the painfully-sensitive peaks. “Tell me,” I whisper.
“Tell you what?”
“Tell me how you feel.”
“You want to know how I feel?”
“Yeah,” I barely breathe.
“Well, Tuck, I feel like nothing ever compared to you. Ever. Not even close. Not since that day in the barn. Since before that day, if we’re getting real here. Everyone else just seemed so fucking dull in comparison. No one has your hair, with its little curls at the end.”
He moves one of his hands from my nipples—and I’m so warm and wet by now I can feel that my bikini is soaked through and is starting to wet his jeans—to finger an end lock of my hair, where there’s a ringlet, as though fascinated by the softness of it .
“None of them have your cute little face. Your face , Tuck. I fucking love your face. Like a sultry little angel with a sprinkling of freckles and a sassy attitude that always felt like it was just for me. Mine. It’s haunted me, because no one else has that. No one looks like you.”
Nate runs his thumb along my cheekbone, like he’s simply appreciating me.
“Or your blue eyes, Tuck. Do you know how blue your eyes are? I’ve never seen eyes so blue.”
Nate leans over me and takes one of my nipples into his mouth.
I have never in my life felt anything remotely as good as what he’s doing to me right now. Soft, strong suction and warm fire. His tongue flicks and his teeth gently bite.
I moan.
“I won’t even get started on your body, Roxie Tucker. Because you were always off-limits and I was never supposed to look at how insanely gorgeous you are. But fucking hell, darlin’. Do you have any idea how hot and sweet and beautiful you are?”
I can’t answer him or even think because he’s sucking on my other nipple and I think I might be a puddle on the floor at this point. A warm pulse is taking hold inside me that feels like a lava melt of sensation getting ready to overflow.
“ Nate .”
“Right here, baby girl, taking what’s mine.”
He’s moving lower now, kissing a slow line down my stomach, making me squirm .
“And it’s more than that. It’s much more than how perfect you look . It goes bone deep. It’s your smile and it’s the sound of your voice. Your laugh. I love making you laugh.” His tongue dips into my belly button and I gasp a squeal. “It gets me hard, Tuck, that’s what it does. Really. Fucking. Hard.”
And lower.
“It makes me fall in love with you.”
Oh, sweet baby Jesus. He’s pulling the string tie at the side of my bikini.
It’s gone.
“And you’re kind, Rox. You’re fun and you’re good and you’re real .”
I’m squirming here, dying with need, totally naked, while Nate Boone nuzzles and kisses his way closer , murmuring against the low skin of my stomach.
“Do you know how rare that is? To find a person that’s gorgeous, sweet, fun, sassy and just basically ideal in every possible way?”
He’s pushing my legs apart.
“It isn’t possible, Rox. It doesn’t happen. Except for you. You’re like a fucking miracle of beauty. You’re the only one I’ve ever loved. You’re the one. You’ve always been the one. That’s what I would’ve told you.”
Nate licks his tongue over my clit and it’s the craziest thing. I never, ever knew anything could feel this good.
A blooming pleasure rises inside me that’s so powerful I don’t know what to do with it. It’s going to overflow. It’s going to push me over an impossible edge I don’t know how to handle except to hold onto him for dear life and just ride it.
But then he slows, licking with lazy intent. “You said it to me but I never said it back. And there’s not a day that goes by that I don’t regret that.”
What?
There isn’t?
His fingers stroke barely into me, finding a slow, wild trigger that forces the pleasure to an insane peak.
Oh my god, I’m almost there.
“I know we haven’t seen each other in a while, but that’s exactly how I’m so sure. I knew it then but I was too young and too green to fight everyone who tried to stand in my way. I can promise you I’ll never make the same mistake again.”
His mouth latches onto my clit, feeding greedily as his fingers glide.
Holy hell, it’s happening.
It overflows, tipping me into a tidal wave of nearly unendurable pleasure, wracking through me in hot, lush waves. I writhe and moan his name as my body clenches hard, over and over.
My hands are weaved through his hair and I’m breathing hard, floating on the bliss of him.
Once the ripples begin to calm, I lightly pull. “ Nate. Nate. Come here .”
He climbs up my body, laying half on top of me and half next to me. I take his face in my hands and just savor his alpha gorgeousness. I don’t know why I say alpha , but he is. He’s so fucking big and built. Handsome and delicious and so outrageously male . I love this about him.
He kisses me. I can taste myself on his lips and it’s the most connective, intimate thing. “ Holy hell, Boone.” I’m breathless and dazed. “I’ve never…”
“You’ve never what?”
“Had that happen before.”
“Had what happen before?
“That.”
His eyebrows lift. “Wait. You’ve never had an orgasm before?”
“No.”
He laughs. “You’re a band manager, darlin’, not a nun.”
“I’ll remind you again that I live with my three brothers.”
“That’s no excuse. I can assure you all three of them are getting off non-stop and around the clock.”
“Yeah. I used to feel like I was the harem manager as well as the band manager. At least before Travis and Vaughn found true love.”
“You haven’t been looking after yourself, sweetheart. You’ve put them before you.”
“Sounds like we both have the same problem.”
“We’re going to change that. Right now.”
That’s when I happen to glance down his body. His shirt is open and his jeans are unzipped and— Lord above . It doesn’t surprise me that Nate Boone is huge everywhere , but…
Holy Alpha Male, Batman.
Nate Boone is freaking… packing .