Chapter 6
Cat
“Hi, Matt.” Talk about bad timing.
“Hey, baby girl, you sound like you’re busy. Did I catch you at a bad time?”
“Actually, I’m in the middle of something, can I call you back? Or did you have something important to tell me?”
I look over at Nick, who has a major scowl on his face.
“I wanted to take you out to eat, but it sounds like you’re busy.”
“That’s nice of you, but I’m not home. I’m spending the weekend at a friend’s.”
“Too bad, I wanted to see you. I haven’t seen you since we were at the club.”
I’m trying to get Matt off the phone as fast as I can. The more I talk, the angrier Nick looks.
“I know. I’ll call you when I get home.”
“All right, later.”
Shit. I turn off the phone and place it back on the side table. I wait for Nick to say something about Matt calling, and I don’t have to wait long.
“What did he want?” he snaps.
“He called to say hello.”
“That’s it, hello?”
“He wanted to go out to eat later, like friends do.”
He shoots me an incredulous look and swings his legs over the side of the bed and walks to the door.
“Just friends from way back. Only friends?”
I sit up on my knees and cross my arms. “You don’t believe me?”
“Friends who only hooked up once, and nothing’s happened since you came back, right?”
“What is that supposed to mean?” He can’t know what happened with Matt and me. I didn’t tell anyone but Ava, and I know she’s not telling.
He clenches his jaw shut and walks out, slamming the door behind him.
I know he doesn’t like the fact Matt was my first, but he’s angrier now than when he found out.
I’m not going to go after him to talk to him when he’s like this.
He needs to calm down or he’s going to end up saying some things, and I’m going to say some things back. None of that will end well.
An hour later, he walks through the bedroom door, still looking pissed off. I sit up on the bed and put my phone down on the table beside the bed. I make sure I turn it off this time. He stands by the side of the bed with his hands in his pants pocket.
“What was that about, Nick? It was more than you being upset because Matt called me. His timing wasn’t great, but it didn’t warrant you being that angry, insinuating I’m lying about me and Matt only being friends.” I sit back against the headboard and wait for him to talk to me.
“I’m not insinuating, I’m saying it. Friends don’t fuck friends, Cat.”
Oh fuck. He knows. How did he find out?
“You don’t have anything to say?”
“We didn’t have sex,” I say, looking away.
“You didn’t have sex. I’m going to try to remain calm so you can explain how what he was doing to you wasn’t sex.”
“Nick—” He holds up his finger to stop me from continuing.
“What do you call it when we do it? If I had my face in my ex’s crotch, you would call it sex?”
“His mouth wasn’t down there,” I tell him defensively.
“Head, mouth, hand, dick, does it matter? Once I stamped it and put my mark on it, nothing should’ve been between your legs except for me.”
I can’t believe he’s saying this. This is the same man who has slept with how many women? He didn’t care if they were with anyone else. “I’m not your personal property.”
“You’re right. Tell me, since you’re not my personal property, does this mean you intend to do this again with him or anyone else? You should let me know so I’m aware of what I’m dealing with.”
“Don’t be a complete and total DICK! You know I’m not having sex with anyone else.” My hand is itching to throw this pillow at him and smack him in his face. “Who told you?”
“You did. I thought when you remembered, you’d tell me. Instead, you’re lying to me.”
“I didn’t lie to you. I didn’t see the need to tell you; we weren’t together. I knew it wasn’t going to happen again. It didn’t feel right—all I kept thinking was, he isn’t Nick. I had a lot to drink, and I was still reeling from everything I found out about you and Kate.”
“You decided to get back at me by doing that with him. In the back of a sleazy club.”
“I wanted to forget everything. I wanted to feel something else other than hurt. I wanted to stop crying and let go.”
“Do you want to be with him?”
I take his hand and try to pull him down on the bed.
He doesn’t move a muscle; it’s like trying to move a slab of granite.
“Nick, please...” He sits next to me, still very angry.
“I’m here with you. That was before this.
What we have is extremely fragile and new, I don’t know what to call it.
We’re not just friends anymore, we’re way past that.
I can’t even say we’re boyfriend and girlfriend.
I only know I want to be here, with you.
” I look in his eyes when I say every word to let him know, I’m where I want to be, with him.
I see some of the tension leave his body and he looks down at my hand holding his.
“We don’t need to define what we are when we’re together, Cat.
You’re right; we weren’t together when it happened.
It still doesn’t mean I don’t want to kill him.
I’m pissed the fuck off I have to think about you and him together.
Again. It’s even worse than you just having sex with him, because you two have history together, he was your first.”
His nostrils are slightly flaring with every breath he takes.
He looks like he’s going to walk out again.
I have more right than him to be upset. At least I didn’t get knocked up by Matt.
“How do you think I feel about you and Kate? You didn’t just have sex—you might have created another human being with her. That’s a bond for life.”
Yeah, that gets his attention. He runs his hands over his face. He moves up on the bed, his hips touching my folded legs. “No one’s going to know what happened between me and Matt, but everyone is going to know about you and Kate.” His hand is on my knee, and he turns his body more toward me.
“That was the worst decision I ever made. If I could do it all over again, it would never happened.”
“And the same goes for me with Matt the other night.” With a sigh, I touch his arm. “I don’t want to talk about them anymore. Let’s call a truce from now till I leave tomorrow.”
“What does this truce entail?”
“We won’t talk about anyone in my family or he whose name shall not be mentioned.”
“That would be best for both of us.”
I can see he’s still upset—he’s upset with me as much as he is with Matt. The muscle in his right jaw is still ticking. Rubbing my bare knee, he gets up. He wants me to forgive him for Kate, but he’s hardly looked at me since he came back in the room.
“I’m going to the gym.”
“You’re leaving?”
“The gym’s downstairs. You haven’t seen it yet. I’ll show it to you another time.”
“Okay.”
“I’m going to work out. Hit the punching bag.”
I feel sorry for the punching bag. Too much drama this early in the day. I blow out a breath, close my eyes, run my fingers through my hair, and lie back against the pillows. Slowly, I drift off into dreamland.
I’m wearing white lace underwear and a matching bra, walking in a field of bright red roses surrounded by what looks like clouds.
The smell of the flowers is intoxicating.
I lie back and spread my arms, petals of roses floating up in the air, swirling all around me and over my skin.
They’re moving over my legs like a hand caressing my body, and it feels good.
I feel a kiss pressed to my neck, but I’m not scared. I know it’s Nick. “Hello, beautiful.” Is this a dream?
I look into his eyes, which are glowing at me.
His hand moves between my legs, and he rips off my underwear.
He watches me as he slides his fingers in me, dipping his head low to take my breast in his mouth.
My head rolls back against the pillow of roses, with my eyes shut.
This is the best dream I’ve ever had. “Mmm…” I feel myself being pulled out of my dream.
I don’t want to go! I want to stay. I open my eyes to a pair of amazing, jewel-colored eyes.
As beautiful as they are hard, they are equally mesmerizing.
He’s on top of me on the bed, with a wicked, lazy smile.
“I thought you were going to work out.”
“I changed my mind. I was watching you sleep. I have a better way to work off my aggression.”
I’m kind of apprehensive ; he was really upset before, and I’m not sure how much he’s calmed down. I’m sure this will help him work off some of his aggression, but I don’t know if I want to be the one he’s working it off on.
“Aah…” I’m hesitant, and he senses my apprehension.
“I’m good, Cat. Trust me.”
Pressing his lips against mine, he softly kisses me, reassuring me he’s in control. I nod my head and he whispers to me, a slight smile on his lips,
“Relax.”
Opening my robe, he kisses me on my lips again.
His hands and eyes roam over my body from my neck down to my navel.
The muscles in my throat work as I swallow, watching him open my legs with his knee.
He flicks his tongue over the tip of each of my nipples, making them pucker and peak into hard buds.
My breathing gets shallower as I feel his warm hot breath on my sensitized nipples.
Blowing on one, he takes it in his mouth, sucking and rolling it between his teeth and tongue.
I can’t stop moving under him. I want to rub my legs together to relieve the tension building inside of me, but he won’t let me, keeping my legs separated with his.