“Agreed,” Brooke says. “Just say the word and I’ll solve all your issues in one quick swipe.”

  I let out a heavy breath. “No, Nate will come through. He always does and I don’t doubt that when he does, it will be brutal.”

  “Ok,” she mumbles, clearly wanting to follow through with her plan. We get back to work and it’s not long before Brooke is groaning to herself. “Oh, geez,” she says under her breath. “What the hell does she want?”

  I look up to find Phoenix slowly moving in beside us with an innocent smile plastered across her fake face. I knew this was coming, but I really hoped today wasn’t going to be the day. I mean, why can’t these bitches leave me the hell alone? “What do you want, Phoenix?” I murmur as I focus my attention on what Brooke is doing.

  “I just wanted to see how you were,” she says, as innocent as ever. “I heard that you broke your arm.”

  I narrow my eyes on her. “What game are you playing? You’ve never given a shit about me before. Why the hell would you start now?”

  She lets out a slight huff, hating being questioned. “I want to make nice, ok? You’re Nate’s girlfriend and one of Jesse’s best friends. They’re my brothers and for some reason I can’t explain, I’ve always craved their attention. I want them to acknowledge me as their sister and have a relationship with them. Is that too much to ask?”

  “Yes, it is,” I tell her. “First off, they’re not going to appreciate you trying to worm your way into their lives by using me, and secondly, they couldn’t give a shit about you, especially after you outed me for having bulimia and seducing Jesse, knowing he was your brother. I mean, are you crazy?”

  “Hey,” she demands. “I went down with that ship too. The whole world didn’t need to know what I did to Jesse, but I told them anyway. I lost being captain because of that. I was doing them a favor by letting them know and all I got was shut out.”

  “You’re just proving my point that you’re crazy. You could have come to us quietly and explained what was going on. You knew Caden was cheating on Trish the whole time. You knew the boys had a sister they didn’t know about. You had eighteen years to come clean and you didn’t, and most of all, there was no excuse for seducing Jesse. That’s just sick. Do you have any idea how traumatized he is by even the thought of what he did with you? And because of all that, those boys will never give you the time of day. They have literally no respect for you at all. You should back off now before you make things worse for yourself.”

  “But-”

  “No, Phoenix. Back off. You’re only going to cause more damage. Maybe the boys might come around in a few years and somehow learn to forgive you only because your blood, but not now. To them, family is the strongest bond to exist in this world, yet they feel absolutely no loyalty to you. You fucked up something that could have been amazing.”

  I look up to find Nate walking our way with his eyes narrowed on Phoenix. She follows my gaze and sees that I’m right. “Fine,” she sighs as her eyes drop to the ground. She slinks away just moments before Nate reaches us.

  “What the hell was that about?” he asks, taking the trash bag out of my hand.

  “She wants to play nice,” I explain, trying not to grin at how predictable he was to come back over here. I mean, Brooke was right. Nate Ryder can’t resist a damsel in distress, only in this case, I’m certainly not a damsel. “So, I kindly let her know it’s never going to happen.”

  “Kindly?” he questions.

  I grin up at him and am about to give him some smartass response when I peer over his shoulder. “For fuck’s sake,” I groan. “Again?”

  Nate turns to see B-Man making his way over here for the fourth time in the last hour. “Hey, man,” B-Man says as he grows nearer.

  “Haven’t you annoyed the girls enough?” Nate snaps, letting B-Man see just how annoyed he is with him.

  B-Man startles for just a second, unsure if he should continue, though clearly, he makes the wrong decision as he moves forward. “I just wanted to check she was alright. You know, she’s been doing a lot of cleaning up. It couldn’t be good for her arm.”

  “You know what would have been good for her arm?” Nate questions. “If fucking morons like you were watching where they were going.”

  B-Man’s eyes widen. “I’m sorry. It was an accident.”

  “So, you’ve said a hundred times now. Why don’t you let me worry about her arm and you get back to doing whatever the fuck you were doing before?”

  “I…”

  “Fuck off, man,” Nate growls. “Get the fucking hint. Piss off.”

  B-Man swallows, looks back at me, nods, and turns away.

  “Seriously?” I grunt, turning my anger on Nate. “Was that necessary?”

  “Yes,” he scoffs. “The fucker wasn’t going to leave you alone and you’re too nice to do anything about it. You keep giving in to him and eventually, he’ll stick around… like Jackson.”

  I roll my eyes. “Leave Jackson out of this. He’s not too bad.”

  “Uh huh,” he groans before spanking my ass and hurrying away before I have a chance to do anything about it. “Now, get back to work. This field isn’t going to clean itself.”

  “I’m going to get you for that, Nathaniel Ryder.”

  He grins back at me. “I dare you.”

  Chapter 17

  I walk into the Ryder home late on Friday afternoon and pass Trish in the foyer, trying her hardest to sneak out of the house without the boys knowing. I stop in the doorway, gaping at the woman dressed to the nines and looking like an absolute fox in her floor-length maroon dress. “Uhhhhh.”

  Her eyes widen as she sees me. “Crap,” she curses, cringing and glancing back up the hallway.

  “What’s going on here?” I grin as I instantly put it all together. “Are we sneaking out to go on a date?”

  “Don’t tell the boys,” she begs. “It’s only new. They’d have him running for the hills in the blink of an eye. Jesse would bombard him with ‘What are your intentions’ questions and Nate would just glare until the poor guy wets himself. He’s not ready for that.”

  I can’t help but laugh. “Your secret is safe with me,” I tell her. “But, who’s the guy?”

  She shakes her head and holds up a finger. “Nu-uh,” she laughs. “You don’t get to find out all my secrets tonight.”

  “Fine,” I laugh. “I suppose I’m telling the boys you’re having a girls’ night with my mom?”

  “That’d be great,” she winks. “I have to run. He’ll be here in a moment.”

  “Ok,” I smile. “You look incredible by the way.”

  “Thank you, sweetheart. I’ve never been so nervous in my life. I haven’t dated since I was in high school.”

  Jesse’s voice rings out from deep within the house. “Mom? Where are you?”

  Trish’s eyes widen in fear. “Crap. I’m out of here.” With that, she slips out the door and I laugh as I walk forward into the house.

  I find Jesse in the kitchen with his head shoved deep in the fridge. “Hey,” he says as I walk in. “Have you seen my mom? I’m starving.”

  “Yeah,” I tell him. “She just left. Guess you’re fending for yourself tonight.”

  “Shit,” he groans. “Are you staying a while? Are you cool with pizza?”

  “Sounds good to me,” I say as I walk on past the kitchen before calling over my shoulder. “Is Nate in the den?”

  “Gym,” he calls back.

  Oooooh. I love it when Nate is in the gym. I haven’t watched him working out in so long. It’s a tragedy. Seeing him working up a sweat, especially when he doesn’t know that I’m watching is just… wow. There’s something so sexy about it. I mean, his muscles rippling with each movement has me drooling like a fool.

  I slip through the door that leads down to the home gym and quietly walk down the stairs. He has music blasting so unless he physically saw me coming in, he’d have no idea that I’m here.

  I turn the corner and lean up against the wall as I watch Nate curling the weight. His bicep bulges and the intense need to race forward and bite it rushes through me. I watch as he finishes with the huge weight, walks across the room, and puts it back on the rack.

  “I know you’re there,” he says with a smile in his voice.

  “I don’t care,” I tell him. “Just keep going.”

  He turns to look at me and I take in the light sheen of sweat covering his body, making everything within me clench in desperation. “Why’s that?” he murmurs, walking forward. “Do you see something you like?”

  My eyes travel up and down his body like a piece of meat. “I see something I want to bite.”

  Nate reaches me and I can’t wait any longer, but luckily for me, neither can he. His lips come crashing down on mine as he grabs me around my ass and lifts. I wrap my legs around him and do my best to hold on as he slams me against the wall and presses himself against me.

  A moan slips out of my mouth and he swallows it with another kiss. “Fuck, you’re beautiful,” he murmurs as his lips move to my neck.

  I gasp out at the feel of his lips against my skin and tilt my head, silently asking for more. Just as I had hoped, he gives me exactly what I need. But I need more. I need his skin against mine. I need his touch all over my body.

  As if sensing that intense desire with me, Nate starts pulling at my clothes. There’s a wildness to his movements and I can’t get undressed fast enough. I grab his shirt and rip it up above his head before tossing the flimsy fabric aside. My hand comes down on the strong ridges of his abs almost instantly.

  Nate pulls my jeans down my legs and tears my underwear off my body before grabbing me once again. Within seconds, he presses my back against the wall as he buries himself deep inside me.

  He pulls out and slams himself back in making me gasp and groan as he gives it to me the way my body is craving.

  This was not my intention when I came here tonight but I have to say, it’s definitely an added bonus. Sex for us has always been incredible but as we go along, it just seems to get better. I don’t know if that’s what it’s like for everyone else, but it’s definitely something I’m more than happy to get used to. I mean, it’s like he knows and understands my body as easily as if he were reading a map. He’s just that good.

  My arm curls around his back as I keep my other over his shoulder, keeping it out of the way. I mean, this is rough and having my arm get caught in the middle and ruin this incredible moment would be disastrous.

  My nails dig into his strong back as he works my body to the edge.

  In. Out. Repeat.

  “Nate,” I gasp, holding on as he takes me for the ride of my life.

  My body grows sweaty and I throw my head back, taking a deep breath. He drives me right to the edge and it’s like he’s set my body on fire.

  Nate’s hand comes down between us and before I know it, his fingers are pressing down on that little bundle of nerves and begins rubbing tight little circles. “Shit, Nate,” I moan.

  “Come on,” he growls in my ear. “Give it to me.”

  His words are my undoing and my world detonates. I see stars behind my eyes and he crushes his lips to mine as his movements slow. We come together but he doesn’t stop moving, allowing me to ride out my orgasm as my fingers and toes curl.

  “Fuck,” he murmurs against my lips.

  “You can say that again,” I gasp, trying to catch my breath.

  Nate leans his head in and rests his forehead against mine as we both come down from our high. He wraps his arms more securely around my waist and pulls me off the wall before spinning us around. He leans his back against the wall and slides down until he’s sitting with me straddling his lap.

  Nate’s eyes never leave my body once and while we’ve fooled around many times this week, we haven’t had this moment where we can just be with each other. After all, Tuesday was the clean-up after the storm and the rest of the week I’ve been trying to dodge my over protective parents wanting to avoid me breaking my other arm. Though, I get it. It couldn’t be easy for a parent to see their child getting hurt.

  Mom has forced dad out on a date tonight which means, I have the whole night to do whatever my little heart pleases.

  Nate’s fingers graze softly up and down my back and I can’t help the brilliant smile that takes over my face as he watches me. His eyes soften with love as he wears his heart on his sleeve. “You’re beautiful,” he murmurs, bringing goosebumps to my skin as his fingers run across my back.

  “Even with this?” I ask, holding my pink casted arm up.

  “Especially with that,” he tells me.

  I lean forward and kiss him. “You know, you’re not too bad yourself.”

  “Really?” he questions. “Because that look in your eyes tells me I’m the best damn thing you’ve ever seen.”

  “Cocky much?”

  He shakes his head. “You fucking love it.”

  “You’re such an id-”

  “Yo, fuckers. What’s going on?” Jesse hollers from the top of the stairs as he bounds down them. My eyes widen as I squeal out and throw my body forward into Nate’s, hoping his large body is enough to cover me. “Whoa,” Jesse laughs. “Having a party? Where was my invitation?”

  Nate’s arms wrap around me tightly as I bury my face into his shoulder. My cheeks flush with embarrassment but I don’t dare move. From here, Jesse can only see my back and partially my side. I just hope Nate’s arms are covering my side boob and ass crack.

  “Get out, man,” Nate laughs.

  “It’s not funny,” I grumble into his shoulder.

  “Yeah, it is,” Jesse laughs, though I’m relieved to hear his footfalls against the stairs telling me he’s backing out of the room. Though I still won’t move because knowing Jesse, he’s probably waiting at the top hoping to get an eyeful of ass.

  “Jess,” Nate scolds when we don’t hear the door. “Fuck off.”

  “Alright, alright,” he laughs. Not a moment later, we hear the door open and closing before the sound of his laughter following behind him towards the kitchen.

  Nate runs his fingers down my back and I find the courage to sit up again. “Are you ok?” he questions.

  “Yes,” I laugh. “It’s not a big deal. I’m sure Jesse has walked in on you in much worse positions than this.”

  “True,” he grins. “But you’ve never been walked in on and I don’t like anyone seeing you like this.”

  “Well, I’m ok,” I tell him. “It’s our fault. We should have done this upstairs where there’s a lock on your door.”

  “I couldn’t help myself when you looked at me like you wanted to devour me.”

  “I did want to devour you. I was working out the best place to bite you.”

  He leans back against the wall, just silently watching me. A proud smile slowly begins to spread across his chiseled face. “What?” I say, knowing something’s coming.

  “I’ve got something to tell you.”

  “What did you do?” I tease. “I’m not bailing you out on criminal charges.”

  “The only thing they can charge me for is being too damn sexy,” he grins, knowing his joke was terrible.

  “Oh, my God,” I laugh. “Stop. That was the worst.”

  He takes my shoulder and runs his hands over them, following them down my arms. He takes my pink cast into his hand and runs his eyes over it before lifting them back to mine. “You remember a few months ago we were talking about you going to college and you very subtly suggested I should be going too?”

  I look at him cautiously, hoping this is going where I hope it’s going. “Yeah,” I tell him. “I still stand by that. You should be getting a business degree to go with the business you want to run. It only makes sense.”

  “I know,” he sighs. “You’re right.”

  “What?” I gasp in mock horror. “I’m right? No. Never.”

  “Shut up,” he laughs. “Just so you know, I’ve thought about that conversation every day since we had it.”

  “And…?”

  “And I applied a few months ago.”

  My eyes widen in surprise. “A few months ago?” I gasp. “When the hell were you planning on telling me?”

  “I wasn’t going to say anything if I didn’t get in.”

  “So, you telling me now means that…”

  “That I got in.”

  “What?” I shriek. “You’re going to college with me? Oh, holy hell, please tell me you applied to BHU?”

  A proud as fuck grin crosses his face but he rolls his eyes as though he’s far too cool for this shit. We all know better though. This is a huge achievement and I couldn’t be happier. “Yes, he says. “I applied to BHU. The question is if I’m actually going to go.”

  “Of course, you’re going to go,” I scold, hoping he isn’t building up all my hopes and dreams just to bring them back down again. “You’d be a fool not to take advantage of that.”

  “Yeah, that’s what I keep trying to tell myself.”

  I take it for what it is. He’s not entirely sure but his head is telling him to go, it’s just his bad boy reputation telling him he’s too good for that shit. But I know in the end, he’ll make the right decision. After all, when it comes to building a successful business, I know he’s going to do everything it takes and that includes educating himself. “Holy shit balls, Nate,” I say, throwing myself at him. I crush my lips down on his but this time it’s a completely different energy. “I’m so proud of you.”

  “I know,” he chuckles. “I still plan on starting my company after I graduate senior year, so I’ll have a lot going on.”

  “That’s ok. That’s what I’m here for and if you need someone to get you coffee in the morning, that’s what Jesse is for.”

  He squeezes me into his chest. “You’re the best, babe.”

  “I know. You’ve hit the jackpot.”

  “No. Hitting the jackpot implies that I got lucky. I didn’t get lucky with you. I played my cards right until the last possible moment and then I sucked you into my trap.”

  “Really? Cutting my hair during class was playing your cards right?” I laugh as I reach for my bra. “Shit, Nate. You’re fucked in the head.”