24. Chapter 24
Chapter 24
Adalie
A s summer begins, work gets busier. Wedding season is in full swing. Thankfully, as the head of HR, I don’t need to be there until midnight during the weddings, but I like to be there during the day in case anything goes wrong. Nate and I see each other as often as we can, which means, if Dani isn’t with him, we’re together. Sometimes I stay at his house, sometimes he stays with me. He couldn’t come with me to Derek’s for the May game night because he had Dani, but he’s hung out with me and my friends a few times and even invited them over for another barbecue.
The week before Dani’s birthday, she’s with her mom, so construction on the art space begins. Nate and Taylor work on it when they’re not at the brewery and each day I come over after I’m finished at Blue Vista to help. I put together the table-top easel and a rolling cart that fits under the new desk. After dinner on Sunday, I stock the area with everything I bought Dani or found in my own supplies that I knew I wouldn’t use.
“Did you go a little overboard?” Nate asks, looking around at all the stuff.
“No. Well. Maybe a tiny bit. It’s fine. I don’t have any kids in my life I get to spoil. So Dani can have the full effect for now.” I put three canvases into the canvas rack I insisted Nate install. “I know I usually only come over on Thursdays when Dani is here. But would you mind if I’m here tomorrow for the big reveal?”
I turn to him with my hands clasped in front of me, my eyes large as I give him my best puppy dog expression.
He laughs and pulls me close. “I was going to tell you to be here by four. You kind of have to be, princess. I don’t know what any of this stuff is. Except the desk and the chair.”
I slide my hands up his chest to link around his neck. “I guess I’ll have to be here. If only so you don’t tell her the palette is actually the canvas.”
He shakes his head. “I don’t know what either of those things are.”
My head tips back as I laugh and he pulls me a little closer, lifting me into his arms bridal-style. “Come on, princess. You wanted to go into the hot tub.”
I’m still laughing as he carries me downstairs.
“I love it when you’re like this,” I tell him.
He grins, nipping at my ear. “Like what?”
“You’re playful and funny. This is going to sound weird, but it’s kind of like how you are with Dani.”
He pauses on the last step, giving me a confused look.
“With everyone else, you have this wall up. You don’t like to talk, you don’t laugh or smile much, or if you do, it’s subdued. But with Dani, you’re lighter. More free.” I shrug. “I don’t know. It makes me feel kind of special. Like you’re giving me something only the person you love the most gets to see.”
“You are special, Adalie.” He carries me the rest of the way into his bedroom where I have my things.
My heart is thumping wildly in my chest. He says such sweet things sometimes, and every time he does, I’m dragged deeper and deeper. I want to tell him I’m falling in love with him, but I keep the words in because I’m not sure he’s ready to hear it. And I’m definitely not ready to not hear the words back. Instead, as he sets me carefully on my feet, I say, “You’re special, too, Nate.”
He gives me a soft smile, kissing me lightly.
“Get your bathing suit on before I change my mind and just take you to bed.”
My body flushes with heat as I consider what I want to do more, hot tub or bed. If we go to bed now, we won’t go in the hot tub, a fact I’ve learned over the past few weeks. But if we go to the hot tub first, we’ll still end up in bed together later. I grab my swimsuit and rush into the bathroom before he can change my mind.
Another thing I’ve learned lately: we have to get dressed in different places because if I see him naked, I get distracted, and we never go anywhere.
I meet Nate outside where he’s got the lid off the hot tub. I have a towel wrapped around me and my hair up in a messy ponytail. Nate takes the towel from me, hanging it on the hook by the steps beside the towel he’s already hung for himself. While he does that, I take a moment to admire the ink on his arms, chest, and back. I could look at this man naked for hours and not be bored. The tattoos that cover his skin are amazing. And if I ever get tired of looking at the tattoos, I can simply be mesmerized by the muscles in his chest and abs and shoulders. He is absolutely scrumptious.
He offers me his hand so I can hold it while I step into the hot tub. Gorgeous and a gentleman. It’s not surprising that I’m head over heels. Those traits combined with the earth-shattering orgasms he gives me, and I honestly never stood a chance.
I settle into a seat and say, “Jets.”
“Your wish is my command, your highness.”
He flicks the switch, turning on the jets and I sigh as I sink into the water, my eyes closing, letting it massage me, humming in pleasure as it hits my lower back.
Nate sits next to me. “I’m not sure if I want to ask you to stop making those noises or to keep making them.”
I giggle. “Why?”
I peek an eye open, looking at him. He’s staring at me with hunger, and I know exactly why.
“Because, I’m already getting hard from seeing you like this. Hearing you makes me think some pretty dirty thoughts.”
My smile grows as I sit up and shift so I’m sitting on his lap, his erection straining against his shorts. “How dirty?” I ask.
One thing I’ve learned about myself since starting to sleep with Nate is how much I love dirty talk.
His hands slide up my back, pressing me closer against his chest.
“You want me to tell you what I want to do to you, princess?” he asks softly.
I nod.
“I want to strip this bikini off you. It’s very pretty, you know. I love the colours. But you look better without it. Once I have you naked, I’d set you on the edge of this hot tub and bury my face in that sweet pussy. I’d lick your cunt until the whole neighbourhood hears you scream. Do you think you’d like that, princess?”
My breathing is shallow as I squirm on his lap, his cock rubbing against my pussy. I’m whimpering with need, and I’m not even embarrassed about it. When his hands find their way under my bikini bottoms to cup my ass, I moan.
“You needy little thing,” Nate says, kissing my neck. “You want me to make you come?”
“But Taylor—” I turn my head toward Taylor’s door.
“Isn’t home.”
“When?” I can barely form a coherent thought, let alone a sentence. But Nate understands.
“I don’t know. Could be five minutes, could be five hours. Get up on the edge, Adalie. Let me make you come.”
I’m torn between needing his mouth on my aching pussy and anxiety at being caught literally with my pants down. Or my bathing suit. Nate stands, lifting me, my arms and legs wrapped around him. As he sets me on the edge of the hot tub, he slides my bikini bottoms off.
His body is blocking me from the gate, so if Taylor comes home, he won’t be able to see anything except Nate’s back. Still.
“I’m nervous,” I say.
“Too nervous to let me do this?” Nate asks, his hand slipping over my thigh to find my wet core. “Your pussy doesn’t say so. But if you’d rather we take this inside all you have to do is tell me.”
I moan as his fingers part my folds, skimming from my entrance to my clit.
“Feel how wet you are for me, Adalie. Your pussy is so needy.”
I clutch his shoulders, torn between pulling him closer and pushing him away. I cast a look around but none of Nate’s neighbours are outside. It’s late, and the weather has been bad most of the week. Their windows all seem to be closed, so sound shouldn’t carry too much, right?
“You always have your safe word, princess,” he says. “Use it and everything stops. Your comfort is my top priority.”
I meet his eyes. His concern is what does it. My body heats with desire and I need his mouth on me now.
“Do it,” I say, my voice barely more than a whisper. “Make me come.”
He grins and gives me a swift kiss before lowering to his knees in the water. It is the hottest thing I’ve seen in my whole life.
His hand is still on my pussy, so his fingers dip inside my hot cunt and he licks my clit. I lean back, bracing myself with one hand as I angle my hips closer to his face, opening my legs to give him the access he needs. My other hand rests on the back of his head, gripping a fistful of hair, keeping him in place as his tongue flicks over my clit.
“Oh god,” I say. My breathing is laboured. I forget the neighbours, forget that Taylor could come home anytime, and lose myself in the sensation of his fingers stroking deep inside me, his tongue lapping at my pussy. He’s gotten so good at this over the past few weeks that he has me close to the edge in a matter of minutes. Then he slows, licking circles around my clit instead of directly on it, keeping me away from completion but staying on that edge.
I groan and shift my hips, pulling his head closer to me without meaning to.
He chuckles against my pussy. His tongue never stops, alternating from long licks to flicking around my swollen nub. He holds me in a haze of lust, my body tense with the need for release, as I moan and shift against his mouth. I need more.
“Please, Nate,” I breathe. “Finish it. Let me come.”
As though that’s what he’d been waiting for, he focuses all his attention on my clit again, sucking on it and swirling his tongue until I finally shatter, coming with a muffled scream as I bite my lips together to keep from drawing the attention of the neighbours.
He holds me against his face, keeping up the pressure on my clit, his fingers in my cunt, until all the aftershocks have subsided. He stands, kissing me messily, my cum on his lips and beard. I hook my legs around his as we make out. I can’t bring myself to stop, even though I want to finish this, but not in the hot tub. I need his body pressed to mine, need him to never stop touching me.
Then the gate opens and Taylor strides in.
I gasp, clutching at Nate to keep him between me and his brother.
Taylor laughs. “Don’t let me stop you,” he says, spinning his keys in his hand and catching them with a clack. “Though, Nate. You might want to bring your girlfriend inside before Mrs. Norris takes Bangles for a walk.”
Without another word, he goes into his suite and closes the door behind him.
I put my head on Nate’s shoulder and break into a fit of giggles. My whole body is flushed pink with the embarrassment of being caught, but I don’t care. When I look up at Nate, he’s smiling as well. He cups the side of my face, kissing me gently.
“Shall we finish this inside, princess?”
The next day, I drive my car home and take an Uber back in the afternoon, because if Dani sees my car, it’ll ruin the surprise. Plus, this way, I can have a beer with them tonight. Nate’s made a lot of beer lately that I’ve really liked and he’d mentioned his new witbier is ready and he wants me to try it.
Taylor lets me in when Nate drops him off before going to pick her up from the babysitter. We’re having a small party tonight since it’s her birthday today, though her real party is on Sunday. I’d asked Lis to bake some cupcakes, and she’d made six salted caramel cupcakes with gold sprinkles. They almost look too good to eat.
Taylor and I set out the snacks while we wait for Nate and Dani to get back.
“So you haven’t told Dani yet, huh?” Taylor says, filling a bowl with chips. “It’s been what? A month?”
I shake my head. “Six weeks. Nate wants to wait a bit longer, though.”
“Kids are smart,” he says. “She’s going to figure it out eventually, if she hasn’t already.”
I shrug helplessly. “It’s not my place. She’s Nate’s daughter. Not mine.”
“Listen, Ad.” Taylor stops what he’s doing, meeting my eyes. “I love my brother. I will go to bat for him every time. And I really think you’re good for him. I hope he’s good for you, too, of course. All that said, my brother is a fucking idiot when it comes to emotions. Don’t be afraid to push him a little. He needs it.”
“Do you think—” I cut myself off, because maybe I shouldn’t be asking Taylor this.
“Go ahead, Ad,” he says.
“Do you think… he could be…” But I can’t say it. Because I don’t want Taylor to say no.
“Do I think Nate is falling in love with you?” he guesses anyway.
My cheeks heat, because I’ve basically confessed that I’m falling in love with Nate. To his brother and not to him.
Taylor sighs and takes a tray of taquitos from the oven. “I’ve known my brother my whole life. He’s one of my best friends. If I were to hazard a guess, I’d say he is falling in love with you and he has no idea. He’s not going to realize it until it hits him in the side of the head.”
I laugh and my phone buzzes with a text from Nate saying they’re on their way back.
“That him?” Taylor asks.
I nod.
We finish up with the snacks and appetizers.
“What do you think I should do?” I ask.
“That’s for you to decide. I can only tell you what I’ve noticed.” We take a seat in the family room so we’re not visible from the front door. “He talks more with you than anyone I’ve ever seen. When Dad died, he shut down a little. He was twenty, I was seventeen. Then, when I turned eighteen, Mom decided she wanted to travel. So she left. Nate shut down a little more. He was always kind of introverted. Now, I see him opening up. You do that for him.” He shrugs. “I guess, keep doing what you’re doing.”
He doesn’t get to say anymore because the front door opens. We stand.
“What’s this?” Dani asks.
Taylor and I jump out from around the corner and shout, “Surprise!”
She grins. “Adalie? What are you doing here?”
“Your dad asked me to come over for the big birthday present reveal.”
“You want to see what it is?” Nate asks.
Dani is bouncing on her toes with excitement. “Yes!”
“It’s upstairs,” he tells her.
She races ahead, pounding up the stairs. We have to move quickly to follow, and she still reaches the top before we’re more than halfway up.
“Oh my gosh!” she squeals.
I’m smiling so hard, my cheeks hurt. When we reach her, she’s vibrating as she moves from one end of the art space to the other. “This is amazing! Is this all for me?”
“Yep,” Nate says. “The furniture is all from me and Uncle Taylor. We built the desk last week. And the supplies are all from Adalie. She said she wanted to give you a present as well.”
Dani comes over, squeezing me in a tight hug before giving one to her uncle and father. Then she gasps. “Can we paint right now, Adalie?”
“Well, we have snacks downstairs. I helped Taylor set it all up. And I asked Lis to bake something sweet.”
“Ah! This is the best birthday ever!” She returns to the desk where the easel is set up, looking it over from all angles. “I saw this one online.”
I move closer so I can show her how to open and close it, how to adjust it for different sized canvases, and the drawer for extra supplies.
“Is this from you or Dad?” she asks.
“Your dad.” I lower my voice. “But I helped pick it out.”
She giggles. “He doesn’t know anything about this stuff. I’m glad he asked you.”
“Me, too.”
She gives me another hug and I wonder to myself how Nate doesn’t do stuff like this for her every day. I always want her to be this excited. I always want her to be this happy.