Chapter Nine
“You know, I’m starting to think they’re getting a little suspicious of us,” Carly said, running her hands down Nate’s thighs.
“Nah, they don’t have a clue.”
She tilted her head back to look at him. They had already made love once tonight, and it had been Nate who ran them a bath. His knees peeked out of the water, and she rested her head against his chest and closed her eyes. This felt good. His hands were at her waist.
Her menstrual cycle was long over. It had come and gone quite quickly, and Nate was more than happy to get back into baby-making mode. She also didn’t mind at all.
“I think you’re wrong.”
“Let’s not talk about our friends,” Nate said.
“What should we talk about?” she asked.
“Which room in the house do you want to turn into a nursery?”
Carly paused and opened her eyes, staring straight ahead. “A nursery?”
“When we were at Reese’s house last week, it got me thinking, and I know we’re going to get pregnant, it’s only a matter of time. Which room would you like to make into a nursery?”
“You’d want to have the baby here?” Carly asked.
“Yeah, and I’d want you to be here as well.”
“What about Sarah?”
“She can stay at the apartment. Trust me, I think raising one kid at a time will be enough. I think we’ve trained Sarah well enough to cope without you there.”
Carly knew she shouldn’t laugh, but she couldn’t help it as his joke took her by surprise. “That’s a good one. I was thinking about the rent and all that.”
“It’s nothing to worry about it. I’ll take care of it.”
“It won’t involve you hurting the landlord, right?”
“No, I wouldn’t hurt the landlord.” He slowly began to run his hands up her body, and she gasped as he cupped her tits. “Do you think these beauties are going to get bigger?”
“I have no idea. I guess so.”
“Fuck me, and they’re already irresistible now. I don’t think I’m going to be able to deal with them getting any bigger.”
She laughed again.
Spinning around in the bath, she stared into his eyes. “So, do you think I can use them to get anything I want?” She pressed her chest against his. Carly was only teasing. She’d never use her body to get anything, but it was fun to play with him. Nate had a way of making everything fun.
“Always. There’s nothing I wouldn’t do for you.”
“Ah, nothing?” she asked.
“I love this teasing, Carly, but now you’ve got to tell me what you want?”
She nibbled her bottom lip, and then leaned in close so her lips were next to his ear, and then she whispered exactly what she wanted to do to him, and she heard his soft groan.
Within seconds, Nate had tugged her out of the bath, and they were in the bedroom. He sat on the edge of the bed, legs slightly spread, and wrapped his fingers around his length. He looked impressive.
She stared at him a little wide-eyed, as she was on the floor. She might have hinted that she wanted to know what it was like to suck his cock. They had been having sex for nearly two months now, and yet she’d not gotten to feel him in her mouth, or taste him. She wanted to.
Nate was constantly licking and sucking her pussy, bringing her to screaming orgasms every other day, and she wanted to do the same for him.
She put her hands on his knees, and slowly ran them up his thighs. “You know, you’re going to have to tell me what to do,” she said.
Nate closed his eyes, and she saw him whispering but couldn’t quite catch what he was saying.
“I don’t know where I’m going to get the strength, baby. The moment your lips touch me, I know I’m going to want to blow my load right down your precious throat.” He groaned again, and then he held his cock, hard and proud. “I’ll tell you what I want. First, I want you to taste me with your tongue. Don’t use teeth.”
Carly nodded.
Excitement filled her, and she moved in close. The scent of him was making her wet, and then she slid her tongue right across the slick tip. Pre-cum was already leaking and she slid her tongue across the head of his cock and looked up, watching Nate as he closed his eyes. She followed the tip around and then slid down one side, hitting his palm, and then sliding up and going the other side.
“Now, suck me into your mouth,” he said.
Carly covered the tip of his cock, and remembering he didn’t want her to use teeth, she slowly lowered her mouth on his length. Going deeper and deeper, and then pulling back, she did this repeatedly, exploring his dick, learning what he liked, what he didn’t. She moved his hand out of the way and took over, exploring him.
Sinking onto his length until the tip of his cock hit the back of her throat, she couldn’t help but gag, then immediately pull away and then go back in for more, sinking in deep, and pulling back, building up a pace.
Nate wrapped his fingers into her hair, and he started to thrust into her mouth. She loved the feel of him and how he took over. He let out a little sharp growl, and then held her still as he pumped his cock in deep.
“Fuck, I’m going to come.”
All too soon, he had pulled out of her mouth, and Carly watched in amazement as he worked his length, and his cum shot out of the tip, and he aimed it at her chest. She thrust her tits out for him, as he expelled his cum all over her, and she didn’t care. When he was finished, he went onto his knees, cupped her face, and then pulled her in close, kissing her lips.
“Fucking hell, you’re incredible,” he said.
Carly smiled at him, and it was on the tip of her tongue to tell him how she felt, but she didn’t want to ruin the moment. Carly knew he loved her, but she didn’t believe he was in love with her, whereas, she was completely and totally in love with him and had been for a long time.
“I think it’s time to take you back to the shower.”
She cried out as he suddenly lifted her over his shoulder. “I really wish you would stop doing this.”
He gave her ass a little slap, and she yelped. “Hey!”
“I can’t help it. You shouldn’t have such a slappable ass.”
She wasn’t going to argue with him. Being with Nate felt too good to spoil.
****
“I don’t know if I like the yellow,” Carly said, wrinkling her nose.
Nate stepped back and looked at the magnolia, the white, the cream, and the yellow. Carly wasn’t pregnant yet, but seeing Reese’s nursery got him thinking. He wanted Carly to associate his home as her home. His plan was to take her by surprise. The moment she was pregnant, he was going to suggest they get married, and then before she knew it, she was going to be his wife and the mother of his children. Everything would fall into place. He had a plan. It wasn’t a great one, but he knew it was going to work.
“And we can’t use blue or pink?” Nate asked.
“No, I would hate to get it wrong, and besides, when our child grows up, they can have any bedroom they want, and any color scheme, within reason. If they ask for real blood, that would just be creepy and gross, and something out of a horror movie.”
Nate wrinkled his nose. “Then it would be time to get therapists, and for me to beat the shit out of Dalton. If my son or daughter wants the room decorated in blood, then it would be his fault.” Dalton was the horror movie lover.
Carly came to stand beside him and rested her head against his shoulder. He loved and cherished these moments. He didn’t realize how little she had touched him over the years. The last couple of months had shown him that. Since they had started trying to make a baby, Carly had become more affectionate toward him, which he didn’t think was possible. She had proven to him it was.
“What do you think?” she asked. “What color do you prefer?”
“The cream,” he said. “You?”
“I think I’m liking the cream a lot more. It is a little duller than the bright white, which is making me think hospital and dental. And a little brighter than the magnolia. I like it.” Carly stepped away from him, and went to the can of paint, prying open the lid and then humming to herself. “Ugh, did you know that I … ugh, that, you know, I’ve skipped a cycle?”
“I know.”
Nate picked up his paintbrush, dipped it into the cream, and started to work the walls.
“Do you think I could be?”
He heard the excitement in her voice, and he turned toward her and smiled. Just as he was about to say something to her, his doorbell rang.
“Excuse me.” He put the brush down, made his way downstairs, and checked through the peephole to see Sarah standing on the doorstep.
He had no idea what she was doing at his home, but he had nothing to hide. Opening he door, he moved out of the way just as Sarah stormed into the house.
“We need to talk,” Sarah said.
“Hello to you too,” Nate said, closing his door and flicking the lock into place. He turned toward Sarah, and then folded his arms across his chest and watched her.
Sarah had started to pace, and he didn’t like how agitated she looked. He wasn’t about to throw accusations at Sarah. She had been tempted by drugs in the past, but she had changed since then, he knew that. Something else must have Sarah acting this way.
“I cannot do this anymore,” Sarah said.
Nate frowned. “And what exactly are you doing?”
Sarah reached into her purse and then threw a card in his direction. Nate caught it, and glanced down to see it was a bank card.
“I have no idea what your problem is,” he said, holding up the card. “This is your bank card. What’s the problem?”
“My problem is simple. All these years, you’ve been paying me to stay with Carly, to keep an eye on her, and I’ve accepted the payments, even though I haven’t needed the money. I have tried to turn a blind eye, but you know what, I can’t do it anymore.”
Nate stared at her. “What can you not do?”
“Lie to Carly about this. She needs to know the truth. She needs to know that all these years, you’re the one that has been sabotaging her dates. Either threatening them so they don’t show up, or paying them to make the date completely awful. Carly needs to know that you own the building where we live, as well as the bar, which is why she can afford everything. Why she can pay her rent, because it’s being paid to you. You own everything. You’ve helped her do everything in life, and she doesn’t even need me to pay for half the rent because you pay me to be with her, just as you do the same with Mitch. Don’t even get me started on Reese and Dalton. I know you pay them to go and see her at work as well.”
“What?” Carly’s voice drew Nate’s attention. He didn’t think she would leave the nursery, and he had no idea how much she had heard.
Nate couldn’t quite read the look on Sarah’s face. He didn’t know if she had done it on purpose or if this was a mistake.
“Carly,” Sarah said.
She walked downstairs and without a look at Sarah, she turned toward him. “You sabotaged my dates?”
Nate didn’t say a word. He looked at her, and he knew in that moment, whatever plan Sarah had concocted hadn’t worked. The pain in Carly’s eyes was clear to see.
“Carly, I can explain.”
She shook her head. “You did, didn’t you? Why?” She pulled away from him.
“Carly,” Sarah started to say as she realized her plan was backfiring.
Carly spun around. “Don’t you dare Carly me. You had to be paid to stay with me.” She shook her head. “I can’t believe this. All this time, I thought you were my family, and instead you … lied to me. All of you.”
Nate didn’t like this, and he felt the panic building. He reached out to touch her, but she pulled away from him.
“Don’t touch me. Don’t ever touch me again. I trusted you. I trusted all of you. You made me think there was something wrong with me. Every single date. Why would you do that?” Carly pulled away from him and rushed to the door.
“Carly, wait!” He didn’t know what to say and he couldn’t find the words. “Please don’t go.”
“Did you do it?” Carly asked.
“Yes.”
“I don’t know who you are.”
“Carly, please,” Sarah said.
“And you accepted payment to stay with me. There is nothing for us to talk about.” With that, Carly opened the door and rushed out.
Nate couldn’t allow that to happen. He ran toward her and it didn’t take long for him to move in front of her to slow her down. She couldn’t get into a car, because she’d never learned to drive.
“You have to stop, Carly. We need to talk about this.”
“There is nothing to talk about. You all lied to me. You, Sarah, Dalton, Mitch, and Reese. All of you.” She slapped at his hands when he tried to reach for her. “Don’t touch me. I don’t want you to touch me. You all lied.”
“We didn’t lie.”
“But you paid them all.”
“So they would accept the money. I promised I would take care of you, and I am in a position to do so.”
“You don’t get it, Nate. They should never have taken the money in the first place.”
“Carly, you might be pregnant, and I don’t want you to leave like this.”
“I can’t do this right now, Nate. I don’t want to. You’ve just … you’ve … please let me go.”
He didn’t want to let her go, but he knew now he needed to give her time. Carly moved around him and he closed his eyes. It hurt him to allow her to leave.
Seconds passed, maybe even minutes, but he didn’t allow himself to look behind him. He couldn’t, and instead he walked back to the house where Sarah stood, gripping her hands, twisting them together.
“I am so sorry, that is not what I expected—”
“What did you expect?” he asked, yelling at her.
“I thought she might … run toward you, and you know, confess her undying love for you.”
Nate shook his head. “Are you fucking stupid?” he asked.
Sarah flinched and he didn’t care if he hurt her.
“Why don’t you get out of your selfish fucking self for a change, and think about how she might be feeling? I’ve been ruining her dates since she was eighteen years old. That’s a long time. I have manipulated everyone around her, and Carly is sensitive. She is not seeing romance, she is seeing people being bought and forced to spend time with her.” He shook his head. “You have made this worse.”
“I … you know I love Carly and none of us need to be paid money to be with her.”
“Yeah?” he asked. “Tell that to Carly, who was messed up in the head and locked away in a cage, and told time and time again she wasn’t good enough.” Nate shook his head. “Get the fuck off my property before I forget I actually like you.”
With that, he slammed the door.
****
Sarah looked at Dalton, Reese, and Mitch. All three of them knew what had happened. They sat at Mitch’s place, as Sarah hadn’t been able to go back to her old home. She locked her fingers together and waited. There was nothing any of them could say that she hadn’t already said to herself.
She was never going to forget the pain in Carly’s eyes. She couldn’t believe what she had done. Sarah had thought this plan through and hadn’t seen this reaction coming.
Everyone was silent.
“What the fuck were you thinking?” Dalton asked.
She expected him to understand, seeing as he was the childish one of the group, and yet he was the one to glare at her. She tried not to flinch away from the look he was giving her. Out of everyone, she thought he might get it.
“I’m sorry,” she said.
Dalton shook his head.
“Sorry,” Mitch said.
“I thought I was doing the right thing.”
“And where on planet earth is telling someone that kind of truth the right thing? Would you like it?” Reese asked.
Sarah didn’t want to cry. “I thought it was romantic. Think about it, look at the lengths Nate has gone to.”
“Yeah, and look at Carly. She is sensitive to this kind of thing,” Reese said. “We all know that.”
Reese got to his feet and began to pace. She hated when he paced, as that told her she had angered him.
“Carly’s not answering any of our calls,” Mitch said.
“Can I stay here tonight?” Sarah asked.
She looked at Mitch, and he looked like he was going to tell her to go somewhere else, which would just be a nightmare. Tears filled her eyes, because this was turning out worse with every second that passed.
“Yeah, you can stay here, but you don’t make any more plans. You don’t do anything that could fuck this up. Nate has already called me and told me Carly might be pregnant.”
Dalton sighed and Reese shook his head. They were hating her. Not that she could blame them. She had only wanted to bring Nate and Carly together, and all she had done was pull them far apart.