Chapter 34 Nathan
The celebration is well-earned but still hard on Kat.
She’s so nice that even though he tried to kidnap her, threatened her, had her stalked, and tried to ruin her life, she still feels bad that he died, as if she’s the reason for his death.
Kat doesn’t understand that he never would have stopped, but that’s fine; she didn’t actually see anything, and while I know she feels bad, I also know this was for the best.
And I’ll do whatever it takes to ensure her safety.
Oliver and I have spent the last few hours at the club. We keep our shifts here shorter now. With someone worth going home to, the fun of being at a club has died. But it’s still necessary for us to come in, run the business and all that, though sometimes I wish they weren’t.
I’ve never much cared for women from the club, not unless it was someone Alex and I shared, but even that was rare. Women tend to throw themselves at us here, and that’s not what I want in a woman. I don’t crave the attention the way my son does, or did, I suppose.
He only craves one woman's attention now; we all do.
Thinking of Kat is dangerous, especially here in the office alone. If it weren’t almost time to go, I might take a moment to handle myself. I knew better than to peek at her, but I couldn’t help myself.
Now I get to deal with my punishment, at least until tonight.
Alex walks through the door a moment later, and I’m glad I decided against doing anything more, knowing she’s downstairs waiting for us.
“I’m not sure I’ve ever seen you so ready to go. Usually, I have to all but drag you out of the office.” He sounds smug as hell, but he’s not wrong.
I’ve been known to overwork, but now it’s different.
Our business is thriving, and now our family is as well. The urge to expand our family and experience life together is all the deterrent I need to keep me from overworking.
“Well, looking at your ugly ass wasn’t exactly appealing. Now I have someone worth looking at.” I shoot back as I slide my jacket back on, buttoning it up as I go.
Alex barks a laugh, and I hear him follow behind me as we head down the stairs. I’m happy to find Oliver already waiting for us, which means we can leave without delay.
“My ass is plenty good-looking. You just can’t appreciate my looks the way the ladies do,” Alex says; never one to let things go, he enjoys the back and forth.
“I’ll appreciate your good looks for you.” A random woman, drunk by the looks of it, comes out of nowhere and attempts to throw herself at Alex, literally.
He side-steps, and she would have fallen if not for Oliver, who grabs her arm and holds her still for a moment until she seems stable.
It’s more than she deserved, but Oliver has always been the best of us, even after everything Natasha did to him.
“You should have let her eat shit. Maybe that would teach her to keep her hands to herself.” Alex wipes a hand down his shirt as if she somehow made it dirty.
That’s not possible because she didn’t even get to touch him, but he’s always been a bit dramatic.
“I’ll be shocked if she even remembers this night, let alone seeing you,” Oliver says, and I hear his eye roll even if I don’t see it.
He’s probably right, though; she did look fairly wasted.
I might feel worse about leaving her alone in the hall like that if we weren’t on our way to Kat. Besides, the security at the club is good; it’s not as if anything will happen to her.
“There’s a young woman who might be a little past her limit down the hall. Ensure she finds her friends or a cab,” I tell Mitch as we exit.
“Yes, sir.”
“Softie,” Alex mumbles under his breath, and I’m about to tell him to go to hell, but Oliver beats me to it.
“I’m sure Kat will be happy to know you helped her.” I steal a glance back over my shoulder as we move from the club door to the restaurant next door and get the joy of watching Alex’s jaw set when he realizes how right Oliver is.
For a man who wasn’t interested not that long ago, he sure knows her pretty well.
Not that I’ll call him out for it; the last thing I want is for him to pull away. Kat wants him and Vince, too, and what my Queen wants, she’ll get.
I pull the door open and…
“Mr. Lawson, your table is ready. The young Master Desmond is already seated. I’ll let Dale know that you’re here as well.”
Dinner isn’t quite as celebratory as I’m sure Alex had hoped it would be. Instead, a dark cloud hung over Kat the whole time and, by proxy, us as well.
How could we enjoy something meant for her when she was so clearly upset?
On the car ride home, I debate having that little insignificant piece of shit blacklisted despite my claim not to.
He more than deserves it, but even still, if Kat ever got word of it…
Damn it.
The moment we’re back at the house, Kat all but runs upstairs to put Addy to sleep. It’s impressive, really, watching her move in heels, no matter how small they might be, in that damn dress, up the stairs with Addy in her arms as if it’s nothing.
She’s amazing.
“I could have handled him,” Vince says the second she disappears. “I still can.”
He’s itching for me to give him the approval, and I’ll be damned if I don’t want to, but one look at him tells me he knows as well as I do that’s not really an option.
“She doesn’t have to know.” Des still whispers as if worried she might hear; it’s ironic, considering what he’s saying.
“Women always find out.”
Des rolls his eyes at Alex but doesn’t argue, which is smart because he’s right.
We disperse, everyone going their separate ways to do whatever they want with their night, and as usual, my first instinct is to go to Kat.
Unfortunately, more often than not, I don’t get to give in to my every want; I have a company to run, and despite being the boss, that doesn’t seem to give me more free time.
If anything, it occupies more of my time than I sometimes feel it should.
It’s worth it, though, to have this life, this family.
I wouldn’t trade all the work, sleepless nights, and hardships we faced to get here for anything in the world.
All of it led us here, to Kat.
I make my way upstairs and hear Addison’s laughter ring down the hall.
It’s impossible to explain the feeling this woman gives me; it’s not quite butterflies, but it’s damn close. I feel like a child, giddy for a future, excited for more, eager to please.
All things I’d have sworn I’d grown out of.
I stand outside her door but don’t go in, unwilling to ruin their easy moment. Instead, I listen as Kat reads to her in funny voices and an energy that pulls a smile to my lips as well.
Not every woman is mother material; some can be if given the opportunity, but Kat shines with Addy.
I can’t wait to see the way she shines carrying my child, or any of ours, for that matter. The way her body will change and grow, little boys and girls running around the house with her hair or eyes.
Soon.
At this rate, it’s only a matter of time, really. As far as I know, she has yet to replace her ‘missing’ birth control, but even if she does, I can always handle it.
Thankfully, she didn’t actually seem upset about it, more shocked.
I would have given it back and waited, fuck what the contract said, had she really been upset, but she doesn’t need to know that.
Hell, I’m still not even sure she knows what the contract says.
“Good night, princess. I love you.”
“I love you too, Mommy,” Addison whispers back, sounding like she’s already half asleep, and with the day she had, she probably is. It’s way past her bedtime.
I step back as I hear Kat make her way to the door in an attempt not to scare her too badly. She’s always a little jumpy, something I get the feeling is a result of years with her asshole ex, yet another thing we will eventually heal, in time.
“Oh geez, Nathan, why are you just standing out here?” She presses a hand to her chest but doesn’t jump exactly, and her lips remain turned up in a smile.
“Am I not allowed to come and check that you are alright, love?” Now her smile falls, and she catches her lower lip between her teeth.
Looking back over her shoulder toward Addison’s door, she reaches out, grabbing my hand and pulling me down the hall, seemingly without any real destination in mind.
Once she deems we’re far enough from her door, she turns and faces me once again, without letting her grip on my hand go.
She’s so soft, her hands so small.
I rub my thumb over the back of her hand, loving the way her skin feels against mine.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to make a scene. I know Alex wanted a nice night, and I ruined that…”
I’m so enthralled with her that it takes me longer than it should to grasp what she’s saying.
“No.”
She attempts to pull away, and I don’t blame her. The tone of my voice isn’t very nice right now, but that can’t be helped.
Kat needs to learn that nobody is allowed to disrespect her, not even herself.
She is my queen, and she deserves not only that title but so much more. Something I’m going to ensure she learns, even if it takes the rest of our lives.
What can I say? I'm stubborn.
“I-I, um, what do you mean, no?” I hear the slight hesitation in her voice, but she asked, which is more than I can say she would have done a few weeks ago.
Reaching out, I pull her hand back into mine, and while she doesn’t stop me, she does look down at our intertwined fingers with enough uncertainty that it irks me.
She should never be uncertain or afraid to speak her mind with any of us.
“I mean, dinner was still perfect, and if you disagree, we can go somewhere else to make up for that. But anything that might have happened was in no way your fault, Katherine.” Her eyes snap up to meet mine.
Good, I have her full attention.
With her hand in mine, I pull her into my chest, wrapping an arm around her back to press her against me.
“You didn’t make a scene. We did. But if you want to make a scene or someone treats you like that in the future, I implore you to handle them however you want.
Nobody is allowed to talk to you like that, ever.
” I bring her hand up to my mouth and press a feather-light kiss to her knuckles, holding her hand there when I look down at her and find her eyes wide.
“Do you understand, Katherine?”
I can feel her breathing quicken, and instead of answering, she simply nods a few times in quick succession.
She’s always so responsive.
“Be happy it was me and not Vince who walked in first. He might have killed him instead of simply firing him.”
Her eyes go wide as she stares up at me, and I get the feeling she’s not sure if I’m serious or not.
I am, but I guess she doesn’t need to know that.
“Well, aren’t we cozy?” Alex stands at the top of the stairs, leaning against the wall, watching us. He doesn’t even try to hide the hunger in his gaze, and I can’t say I blame him.
This damn dress.
Kat clearly hadn’t heard him approach, as she whips around to face him, ruining our moment.
“I called dibs, brother,” Alex reminds me, cocking a brow and smirking at me as if he just won some great victory over me.
He did, but I won’t be the one to tell him that; there’s always tomorrow.
Alex doesn’t wait for my reply and ignores Kat’s look of confusion as he stalks toward us and scoops her up in his arms. I half expected him to take off the second he had her, but instead, he surprised me by remaining in front of me for a moment.
“Say goodnight, Cherry.”
She looks from me to Alex and back again, and I watch, unable to look away as her tongue flicks out to wet her lips.
“Good night, sir.” I see the mischief that shines in her eyes, and I swear it makes me harder than the damn title.
The cocky smile on Alex’s face tells me he’s well aware of her effect on me, and the way he quickly turns to leave with her lets me know he sees just how close I was to taking her for myself.
Tomorrow.
We have the rest of our lives, after all.