Torn (31 page)

“He doesn’t need to, Sky. He’s
family.”

“But it should be give and take,
and all I see is take,” I sighed. I was starting to lose respect for Billy. His
mood swings were bad enough, then there were the nasty names he’d called me
when I’d told him I’d chosen Nate, on top of my knowledge of his finances and
what he didn’t do for his cousins. I hadn’t felt at ease with him when we first
met and I’d felt bad about that, especially when I found out he wasn’t well,
but even that excuse was starting to wear thin and no longer masking the unease
I had around him.

“He’s ill, Sky, he needs our
support more than we need his,” Josh reminded me, reaching up to tuck my hair
behind my ear in a gentle gesture. I heard a low growl and suddenly Nate was at
my side, one hand on my waist as he yanked me against him with a scowl on his
face.

“You’re up, Josh,” he stated
firmly, tipping his chin in Billy’s direction, making it clear he wanted him
gone. I grimaced at Josh and mouthed “Sorry,” but he just gave me a tight smile
and walked away. “What the fuck was that?” Nate asked as he rounded on me,
loosening his hold.

“We were just talking. No need to
go all caveman on me, or jealous boyfriend with him. He’s your brother, he’d
never do anything to hurt you.” I looked up at him, completely astonished. I’d
never seen him act like that before.

“Don’t encourage him, Sky, don’t
encourage either of them,” he responded sharply. “Both of them wanted you, and
from the way they still look at you, those feelings haven’t changed just
because we’re together.”

“I’m with you, Nate, they know
that. What’s going on, why are you so mad?” I tugged at his vest as I held his
gaze, noticing the gold flecks of his green eyes were burning. He closed his
eyes and sighed, then reached up to scrub his hands over his face.

“I’m sorry, I just … is it wrong
that I hate having to share you with them? With anyone? Especially today?” He
dropped his hands and captured mine, pulling them behind my back and anchoring
them there as he pressed up against me, my back against the pinball machine.

“You’re feeling jealous? Have I
ever given you reason to think that you’re not enough for me?”

“No, I just … I can’t think
clearly when I’m around you. I see other men looking at you and it’s like a red
mist settles in front of my eyes and I want to warn them to back off. You’re
mine
,”
he added, the certainty and possession in his voice waking up my fireflies.

“Always,” I whispered, pursing my
lips for a kiss, hoping the fact I was offering myself to him willingly, in
front of them, would assuage his fears. He took it, responding with vigor, kissing
me until I nearly passed out from lack of oxygen.

“Go get a damn room already, for
fuck’s sake,” Billy yelled over, slamming his pool cue down as he stormed off to
the restroom.

“And I think on that note, it’s
time to go,” Nate sighed, reaching for my hand. “You gonna be ok, Josh?” he
called over.

“It’s fine. I’ll walk him home
and go and do some studying while I keep an eye on Ma. I’ll only call you if
there’s a crisis.”

“Thanks. Come on, baby, let’s go.”

“Thanks, Josh, see you Monday. Say
thanks to Billy for me too,” I called over my shoulder with a smile and a wave
as Nate hustled me quickly out of the arcade and over toward his car. I went to
open the passenger door, but he spun me around, pressing me up against it as he
dragged his knuckles down my cheek.

“I never got to say happy
birthday.”

“You did, by phone this morning.”

“It should have been the first
thing I said when I saw you walk in, but as usual, you spun my head looking so
beautiful.”

“You’re forgiven,” I smiled. He
licked his lower lip as he focused on mine.

“Were you serious, what you said
earlier?” he asked quietly.

“About going down on you?”

“Yes,” he growled. Good old Liam,
he was spot on. From the look on Nate’s face right now, I’d made his night. He
was staring at my lips like he was already visualizing it.

“Deadly serious, but it comes
with a condition.”

“No,” he groaned, closing his
eyes. “You want to know if you can spit, don’t you?”

“Actually no, I’m fully prepared
to swallow since I know it will please you, but I’m thinking if I go down on
you, then I’d like you to return the favor.” I laughed as his eyes shot open,
the excitement in them barely contained.

“Jesus Christ, are you trying to
kill me tonight? Sexy clothes, making me jealous, agreeing to go to third base?”

“Just trying to make sure you
never get bored of me,” I teased, knowing there was an undercurrent of truth in
there.

“Never,” he responded forcefully
as he kissed me. “Can we skip the plans I’ve made for dinner and just get down
to eating each other?” he inquired with a cheekily cocked eyebrow. I shook my
head with a giggle, pushed him away, and got into the car.

He drove us the short distance to
JT’s car park, making me give him a curious look. He’d told me we were having
dinner, and I already knew his lack of ability when it came to cooking. He said
nothing as he pulled out his phone and tapped out a quick text to someone, then
another, then took a deep breath before grabbing a jacket from the back seat.
He shrugged it on, then buttoned it as he headed around to open my door.

“You look incredible,” I
confirmed as I accepted his help to climb out and took in the new jacket that
matched his vest.

“Yeah well, some of the guys
pointed out that girls like their guys to make an effort now and then. I’ve
been saving up especially for tonight,” he replied, cricking his neck as he
tugged on the jacket sleeves. He almost seemed nervous or uncomfortable, which
was so not like Nate.

“Then I hope that was my birthday
present, because seeing you look like this is super sexy.”

He took my hand as we headed
upstairs, and I was surprised when the door opened before we reached it, even
more surprised to see his friend, Bryce Saunders, dressed in a penguin suit,
holding a silver platter with two flutes containing a bubbling golden liquid.

“Happy birthday, Sky,” he
grinned. “May I offer you a glass of sparkling apple juice?”

“You may, Bryce, thank you very
much,” I smiled, accepting one as he made a slight bow and held the tray out to
me.

“Would sir care for one?”

“When did we discuss you calling
me sir?” Nate chuckled, sweeping a glass up himself without letting go of my
hand.

“All part of the service,” he
winked, turning to place the now empty tray behind him on a small table that
had an ice bucket containing two bottles of Martinelli’s sparkling apple and
pear juice on it. “Please follow me to your table, dinner will be served
shortly.”

We followed him, me letting out a
slight gasp to see that the sun lounger had been moved, and in its place under
the twinkling canopy was a dressed table for two, complete with white linen,
silver cutlery, and a large bowl full of lit floating candles. I smiled up at
Nate, who raised a questioning eyebrow, and I nodded and squeezed his hand,
letting him know that I was more than happy. This was our place, and I was
touched he’d gone to so much trouble. He held out a chair for me, letting me
sit before he took his place, and Saunders made a flourish of flicking the
white linen napkins over each of our laps, with Nate shaking his head and
rolling his eyes in amusement at his friend’s eagerness to play his role. He
gave us a bow and walked back to the door to downstairs and disappeared.

“Jesus, talk about taking
artistic license,” Nate laughed.

“I love it, it all looks
beautiful. You did all of this just for me?” I asked, feeling so touched.

“No, you’re just the last in a
long line of women I’ve wooed up here for the last week,” he teased.

“Like you’d have the time,” I
retorted.

“Like I’d want to when I have you,”
he whispered sincerely, reaching over the table to take my hand.

“You’ll always have me, Ace.”
Something flashed in his eyes, something that made my fireflies dance. He
opened his mouth, but then closed it, biting his lower lip before taking a
breath, as if he’d just changed his mind about whatever he was going to say.

“Are you warm enough? You can
have my jacket.”

“I’m perfect, thank you.”

“Well, I already know that.” He
smiled and pulled his hand away as Saunders came back, carrying a large silver
tray with two silver domes covering the white china plates. He balanced it on
our table, as he placed first one plate, then the other, in front of us,
disposed of the tray, then returned to lift both cloches at the same time,
revealing some deep fried chicken fingers with a bowl of hot sauce each. It was
one of my favorites over at Joelle’s. I looked at Nate astonished and he
shrugged. “Josh commandeered all the fancy stuff from Rossi et Bianchi, and I
may have had a little help from Rosie and Adam, the chef, over at Joelle’s.
Thanks Saunders, see you in about twenty?”

“Au naturel,” he nodded with a
smile, making me laugh.

“That means in the nude, I think
you mean naturellement.”

“Wee wee,” he winked, then
sauntered off as Nate dropped his head into his hands and groaned at his
friends mistake.

“It’s sweet, he’s trying,” I
protested.

“How did I not know that you
spoke French?” He used his fingers to pick up some chicken to dunk, so I
followed suit.

“You spend too much time with
your tongue down my throat,” I winked.

“So tell me about school, what
you learned and what your favorite subjects were?”

We talked, ate, and laughed, with
him reaching over to sweep some hot sauce from the corner of my lips with his thumb,
then sucking on it, making me imagine him between my thighs. Saunders returned
about twenty-five minutes later to sweep away our plates, then returned
immediately with more covered food, unveiling my favorite burger and fries from
the drive-thru for us both, and topped up our drinks. When we’d finished that,
just as I thought I couldn’t eat any more, he returned with another of my
favorites from Joelle’s, a salted caramel peach sundae, but with a difference.
Instead of being in a tall glass, this one was in a large glass bowl with two
spoons, for me and Nate to share, and had some lit sparklers sticking out of
it. I clapped as he placed it on the table and poured us more of the apple and
pear juice.

“Oh my God, I’m going to burst,”
I groaned, leaning back in my chair, defeated in my attempt to out-eat Nate,
who happily finished off dessert. “That was so amazing. This is the best
birthday ever!”

“It’s not over yet. Finish your
drink and we’ll get going.”

“Going? We’re not staying here?”
This was our place. I’d imagined us getting hot and heavy on the sun lounger,
and then lying in each other’s arms completely sated.

“No, we’re here all the time, and
while I love it, I wanted to take you somewhere else, to be different since it’s
your birthday.”

We finished up our drinks, and
when we joined Saunders over by the door, he and Nate did the man hug thing,
before I gave him a tight squeeze and a kiss on the cheek.

“Suppose a petit pois is out of
the question?” he asked.

“It is with me!” I laughed. “You
just asked for a little pea, which really doesn’t turn me on.”

“What’s a threesome then?” he
asked, coloring up.

“Off the fucking menu,” warned
Nate.

“A ménage a trois,” I whispered
over my shoulder as I waved goodbye, before I was rushed down the stairs at full
speed.

Nate made me wear a blindfold, or
rather one of those eye masks that they give you on planes when you’re trying
to sleep. All the same, it probably had the desired effect of ramping up my
excitement and anticipation about where he was driving me to. It didn’t feel
like we’d been driving for long when we left the smooth surface of the highway
and bounced on what felt like either a rubble road or dirt track, which had me
really confused. This car was Nate’s pride and joy. For him to willingly subject
her to dirt and possible damage was incomprehensible. I held on tightly to the
leather seat under me as we rumbled our way uphill until I felt us level out
and Nate turning, then reversing, then pulling forward, before he applied the parking
brake and cut the engine. I reached up to remove the blindfold, but he told me
to keep it on and stay where I was until he came to get me. I was beyond curious
when he opened the door and helped me out, and screamed as he swept me off my
feet and scooped me up into his arms.

“Ace, what’s going on?”

“Just trust me,” he advised as I
felt him set me down on something hard, but warm at the same time. I frowned,
sure that I could feel the chill of glass on my back as I lay partially
reclined. I felt whatever I was on suddenly dip as Nate climbed up next to me.

“Tell me we’re not sitting on the
hood of your car,” I exclaimed.

“I can’t do that,” he replied as
he carefully lifted the eye mask, my eyes immediately ignoring our surroundings
to search for his, amazed.