Luke clears his throat. "Um, Nate called right before I came out of my office and asked if you were here, and I thought I"d heard your voice, so I said yes, but I didn"t know what was going on, Jules."
I glare at him. "Tell him to go away."
"No, don"t." Natalie walks to me and takes my hand in hers. "Just hear him out, then if you don"t like what he says, let Luke kick his a.s.s."
The doorbell rings again, twice this time. Luke stalks to the door and opens it. He murmurs to Nate, and I can"t hear what they"re saying. After about thirty seconds, Luke steps away from the door and allows Nate to enter. His eyes search the room and find me, and he moves swiftly through the room, and suddenly he"s right in front of me, his arms on either side of me, braced against the breakfast bar, but he"s not touching me.
"Why did you run?" His voice is cold, matching his steel-gray eyes. He"s winded and he just looks... p.i.s.sed.
"Well, let"s see." I lean back against the counter and go for sarcasm. "I"d just been introduced to my boyfriend"s wife, after catching her with her hands on him in his office. And the fact that I"m using the terms boyfriend and wife in the same sentence really f.u.c.king p.i.s.ses me off."
"She"s my ex-wife, Julianne."
Oh.
"Do you really think I"d pursue a relationship with you if I was married to another woman? Do you really think so little of me? Jesus, you know me better than that."
I look frantically around the room, but Luke and Natalie have disappeared. Great.
"Apparently I don"t know much," I snap back at him. "You"ve never told me you were married. She introduced herself to me as your f.u.c.king wife, Nate."
"What could I do? Jenny was right there. If I tried to explain it would give away our intimate relationship."
"You didn"t correct her."
"You didn"t give me a f.u.c.king chance to!" He pushes angrily away from me and paces the room, rubbing his forehead. He takes his suit jacket off and throws it on the coach and continues to pace.
"We"ve been divorced for seven years. We were only married for two." He shoves his hands in his pockets and scowls at me.
"Do you have kids with her?" I whisper.
"h.e.l.l, no!" He shakes his head and looks down, then back up at me. "I was fighting back then, and she was what we call a ring bunny."
Bile rises in my throat. "I know what a ring bunny is."
"Yeah, well, I was twenty, and stupid and she wanted a fighter on her arm." He shrugs. "I rarely speak to her."
"Why was she there today?" I ask.
"She comes around when she wants money."
"You support her?" I ask incredulously and his gaze whips up to mine at my tone.
"No, not anymore."
"What does that mean?"
"I helped her out for a while." He frowns and looks down again, clearly uncomfortable.
"How long is a while?" Do I really want to know this?
"Until I met you." His eyes meet mine again, and they soften, and there"s the man I know and love.
"Why?" I whisper.
"Because if I keep giving her money, she"ll never leave, and I don"t want any skeletons from my past f.u.c.king this up." He takes a deep breath and eyes me warily.
"Well, apparently she"s still coming around," I shout.
"I told her no. You heard me. I said it in front of you for a reason."
"Did you sleep with her until you met me too?" I ask.
"On occasion."
f.u.c.k.
"Baby, I cut all ties with her when I met you. I"ve told you, you are the only woman I"m interested in."
"She has your name." I blurt it out before I know I"m thinking it. This is killing me.
"She never changed it." He shrugs again, looking lost. I take a moment and just look at him, this handsome, smart, s.e.xy man. I don"t want another woman to have his name. It means that he once belonged to her, legally, and it tears me up inside.
"Look," he rubs his forehead again and looks at me warily. "I"m sorry that you found out about her that way. It was s.h.i.tty. But it was nothing. She is nothing to me, and has been for a very long time. I helped her out because I felt responsible for her, and I slept with her because she was convenient. I don"t feel about her the way I feel about you. I never did."
I watch his face, his eyes, and my stomach starts to settle. He"s telling the truth. Thank G.o.d.
"You guys can come out of hiding," I call out and Luke and Natalie emerge from the hallway, hand in hand. I smirk at them.
"Hey, I had to make sure you didn"t need me to kick his a.s.s," Luke says with a grin.
Nate laughs, "You could try."
"You okay?" Natalie asks quietly and I nod.
"So, the shower is tomorrow afternoon at my place." I stand and walk over to Nate, kiss his cheek and run my fingers down across his jaw, rea.s.suring myself that everything is right again.
"Do you need help setting up?" Natalie asks.
"No, I"m having it done professionally. I hired a party planner."
"For a shower?" Natalie asks, her eyebrows raised to her hairline.
"I have a demanding job, Nat. And it has to be perfect, so yes, I hired it out." I grin at her and do a little happy dance. "I"m so excited!"
"I think I might have some work to do." Luke"s eyes are wide and he runs his hand through his hair.
"Oh no, you"re coming." I point my finger and glare at him.
"This is really a chick thing," Nate says.
"Whose side are you on?" I ask.
"Luke"s," he states matter-of-factly. "It"s a chick party."
"He"s the daddy." I plant my hands on my hips and glare at both of these stubborn men while Natalie laughs. "He has to go. Besides, my brothers and parents will be there, along with his family too, so it"s a co-ed party."
"Will there be pink?" Nate asks.
"The baby is a girl; of course there will be pink." I look at him like he"s being ridiculous.
"Chick party." Nate sneers.
"A chick party that you"re now going to," Luke interrupts.
Oh, no. My panicked eyes meet Natalie"s and she offers me a small smile.
"I don"t know if that"s a good idea..." I look around the room and over to Nate and he"s frowning at me.
"Why?"
"I don"t know if I"m ready to introduce you to my family," I whisper.
"Why?" he asks again.
I shrug. "It"s kind of soon."
"You just called me your boyfriend ten minutes ago."
"I just didn"t know what else to call you." I shrug and turn away and then find myself pinned to him, his hand twisted in my hair and the other at the small of my back, pressing me to him, and his mouth a oh, that mouth a is on mine, kissing me urgently. Then, just as fast as he started, he releases me and backs away.
"Oh, my," Natalie mutters.
"Be there at two," Luke tells him with a smug smile on his face.
Chapter Twelve.
I"ve been quiet all through dinner. Nate and I ordered in pizza after returning to my house from Nat and Luke"s. We threw in an action movie and settled on the couch in the loft with our cheesy, delicious pizza and a couple of beers.
But I can"t stop thinking about the scene is his office earlier today. If he didn"t tell me about an ex-wife, what else is he hiding?
While Nate watches the movie, I clear our plates and tuck the left-overs in the fridge.
"I"m going to take a shower," I murmur as I walk past him on my way to my bedroom.
"What"s wrong, Julianne?" He catches my wrist and pulls me down next to him.
I shrug and shake my head. "I"m not sure I know."
"Bulls.h.i.t. You"re still p.i.s.sed about today." He frowns as I pull my hand out of his and scoot away from him, needing to distance myself just a bit.
"I"m not exactly p.i.s.sed, as much as still a little confused and disappointed. Why didn"t you tell me you have an ex-wife?" I eye him speculatively and he pushes his fingers through that glorious black hair, swearing under his breath.
"Honestly, I didn"t think about it."
"Look, I get that she was a long time ago, I believe that you haven"t slept with her since you met me, and I"m not accusing you of anything like that, Nate. But it was not a good feeling to walk into that office and see a beautiful woman with her hands all over you, not after everything we"ve shared over the past week. So, yeah, I"m still on edge about it."
"I apologized and explained."
"Yes, you did. What else are you going to have to apologize and explain about, Nate? What other dirty little secrets are you hiding?" I get up off the couch, needing to get into the shower and away from him for a few minutes, but he snags my hand again.
"Don"t f.u.c.king run out on me again. I don"t have any secrets from you. She is not a secret, she"s just part of my past."
I look down into his silver-gray eyes and soften just a bit. His face is tight with worry.
I pull my hand out of his grasp again and he scowls, about to say something, but I brush my fingertips down his cheeks, hold his jaw in my hands and look at his face. I can feel my own war of words and emotions playing out in my head, moving across my own face. Finally, Nate takes my wrist in his hand and plants a kiss in the palm, looking up at me.
"Talk to me," he whispers.
I straddle his lap and rest my bottom on his knees. He links my fingers in his and I stare down at them, resting in his lap between us.
"Hey," he whispers again, "Julianne, talk to me."
I look into his eyes, and whisper, "I guess I finally realized today how much you could hurt me."
"Oh, baby." He pulls me against him, wraps his arms around me and I bury my face in his neck, breathing in his clean, s.e.xy scent. "Same goes here. Watching you walk out of my office today, knowing that I"d hurt you, not knowing where you were... It tore me up. I am sorry. I promise, no more secrets."
He kisses my hair and I kiss his neck, his smell intoxicating me, and I just know that I need him, right now.
I nibble up to his ear, pushing his beautiful hair out of my path. His hands glide down my back to my a.s.s, and he pulls me more tightly against him, pushing the erection still hidden in his slacks against my core.
"I need you," I whisper into his ear and fire surges through me as he growls in response. Wrapping my arms around his neck, I nibble my way down his jaw and kiss him, lightly at first, just teasing his lips with my own. My eyes are on his, blue to gray. He pushes one hand in my hair, tilting my head and directing the kiss, taking it deeper, as he spreads his other hand across my lower back, pressing me more tightly against him.
I sit back and pull my blouse over my head and Nate makes quick work of my bra. When my b.r.e.a.s.t.s are freed, he takes one swollen, puckered tip into his mouth and pulls gently, then pays the same attention to the other breast. I can"t help but lean back, pressing my center harder against him.
Finally, he stands, sets me on my feet and strips me of my pants and thong. I help him out of his work shirt and pants, and then he lifts me, his hands under my a.s.s. I wrap my legs around his waist, and continue kissing him with a desperate fervor. I can"t get enough of this man"s mouth. It"s magic.
Nate walks us over to the wall and as my back hits the cool surface, he lifts me slightly and rests the head of his c.o.c.k against my opening.
"I can"t take it slow this time, baby. I want you too much."
I clench my legs around his hips, pulling him into me, and he accepts the invitation. He pushes all the way in, hard, and the combination of his large c.o.c.k and that amazing piercing are almost my undoing.