Page 68 of Want You

Fuck, Nathan thought, throwing his head back and groaning.

“Why the hell did I say I’d put him up? His place would have been fine.”

“I think it was something to do with your overbearing mother,” Octavia called from the bathroom, her voice echoing off the cavernous space. “And because you’re a very good brother.” She popped her head around the door. “And being nice to family is a fucking turn on.”

He took that as an invitation for one more round as the shower turned on.

CHAPTER 34

OCTAVIA

Octavia convinced Nathan to stay at her place when they got home from the cottage, which was surprisingly easy to do once she reminded him that there was no one else at her place.

Despite that being a selling feature, they had ordered dinner and then fallen asleep on the couch watching a movie before waking up well after midnight and stumbling to bed.

“You’re coming back to mine after work, right?” Nathan asked when he stopped in front of Octavia’s office.

She looked up at the building, her fingers tapping anxiously on her thigh. “I don’t know. I may not be in the right state of mind to come over and meet someone new. And not just someone new but a member of your family. It’s a big deal. Plus, you’re gone tomorrow for ten days. Maybe we can just do the whole introduce everyone when you get back.”

She expected him to argue with her, but he looked out the windshield and nodded slowly. “Yeah, I can see that it’s maybe not the best time.”

“Can you come back tonight then?”

“I should probably spend a bit of time with Scottie, make sure he’s settled in and everything.” He looked over at her, a clear pout on his face. “But I’d rather be with you.”

“You’ll survive without sex for one day,” she teased, squeezing his chin.

Nathan’s hand grasped her wrist before she could pull away and raised it to his lips, kissing her pulse point.

“It’s not the sex, it’s just you,” he said, his tone and his expression far more serious than Octavia expected. “You get that right? If I just wanted sex I wouldn’t give a shit about whether you liked a cottage. I wouldn’t be ready to blow up my career. I wouldn’t have worked so hard to convince you to give me a chance. I wouldn’t have fallen in love with you the way I have.” He swallowed and leaned back in his seat, his fingers threading between hers. “I just want you.”

The silence descended on them heavily until a honk made them both jump.

“I’ll pick you up after work and take you home. Have a proper sendoff.” He grinned over at her before tugging her hand gently, so she leaned across for a “proper send off” kiss. “Have a good day at work beautiful,” he murmured. “Call me when you’re done.”

Octavia left the car slowly, looking over her shoulder periodically until Nathan was forced to pull away from the curb.

The minute she walked through the revolving door something felt different and she had an intense urge to continue in a circle right back outside. She stood in the foyer to the left of the elevator banks and tried to squash the uneasy feeling overwhelming her senses. She’d never been anxious about coming into work. Not even on her first day had she felt like this. In court she was calm, cool, and collected at all times. This feeling of unease was not normal.

“Vee?” She jumped when Amanda walked up beside her. “Whoa there.” Amanda laughed. “I’ve never seen someone so jumpy after getting back from vacation. You look like you need another one. Everything okay with the hockey player?”

Octavia pushed her shoulders back and forced herself to smile. “Everything is great. Just weird to be back after being you know…alone in the middle of nowhere for a week,” she lied. “Shall we?”

Amanda started talking about some office drama involving a mug and a dozen forks as they walked to the elevators, and Octavia tried her best to listen but found her mind wandering to the meeting scheduled for 10:00 a.m. with her boss. She had considered just emailing her resignation but had decided to tell him in person and then follow it up with the formal email. Every part of her wanted to tell Amanda what she was about to do, but she couldn’t bring herself to say the words. Not like Amanda let her get more than a word in the entire ride up anyway.

“Want to get lunch and catch up?” Amanda asked when they pushed through the doors to the main entrance of the firm.

“Oh…maybe." Octavia hesitated, looking at her phone to triple check the time. “I’ve got a meeting and I’m not sure how long it’s going to last. I’ll let you know though, okay?”

“Sounds good,” Amanda said, smiling in a way that told Octavia her friend knew this wasn’t going to be a normal meeting.

A buzzing from her purse had Octavia pulling her phone out as she settled at her desk.

Nathan

You’ve got this! I love you!

She smiled as she read Nathan’s message over and over again before tapping out a reply.