Page 64 of Wild Abandon

Nate’s hands slide up the sides of my shirt, his fingers lingering dangerously close to my bra strap. He continues exploring my neck, jawline, and my mouth with his lips. I’m breathing so heavily that I can barely speak. And when his groin lines up perfectly with mine, my breath hitches as I quiver right down to the core. I’m throbbing with need, so much so that I clench my thighs around him.

I don’t care that we’re in a public place. I don’t care that someone could walk in at any moment. I want Nate, and I want him right now.

My hands trail down his torso and stop at the top of his belt buckle, causing him to inhale through his teeth. His hands rise to the sides of my face, and his kisses turn frantic. His mouth and hands are on a mission, now traveling over my breasts.

Nate is in a daze, and I am fighting to keep up with his rhythm. His lips are back on mine. It’s causing me to lose focus—not on the world, but on him. I break the kiss, and his mouth finds my skin again and starts moving down my neck to my collarbone.

I take the moment to catch my breath and use what oxygen I do have to speak, “Does this mean you don’t have a girlfriend anymore?”

Nate’s mouth stops mid kiss. His lips on my shoulder, his breath heated on my skin.

The passion is lost from his body.

His back is stiff, and his hips between my legs are like stone.

Nate backs away from me with such force that the hold my legs had around them is broken, and he backs up until he hits the wall behind him. His eyes are so wide, almost frightened.

He falls down the wall, his body almost hitting the floor. He’s in a squatting position. Hands on his head, he looks down and shakes his head profusely.

He’s scolding himself.

“Fuck!” he shouts as he slams the wall behind him with his fist.

I slide off the pool table. My right arm wraps around my stomach, and my left covers my chest, my fingers brushing against the skin of my neck where his lips just were. I’m trying to control my breathing, steadying my heart, but my body is so full of angst that I can’t restrain the nerves running through me.

What just happened?

My only guess is that I said the wrong thing—or quite possibly the right thing, stopping something that shouldn’t have been happening.

“You need to leave,” he says.

All I can see is the top of his hat.

“Nate, I—”

“I said, leave!” His head shoots up with the demand.

When it does, I see his eyes are red-rimmed and on the verge of tears. He is more exposed and vulnerable than any man I have ever seen.

I take a step forward, but he puts his hand up to block me.

“Please,” he pleads with gritted teeth. “Get out.”

The pressure is building behind my eyes, but I won’t let him see me cry. Instead, I grab my bag from the bar and haul my ass out of Henley’s, leaving my heart on the poolroom floor.

chapter THIRTEEN

Brent has called me twice since our date. I know I should go out with him again, but it feels weird. I made out with another guy after our date. It feels dirty and wrong.

Naomi thinks I’m an idiot. An idiot for not making out with Brent. An idiot for making out with Nate. An idiot for not going after Nate just because he has a girlfriend. An idiot for not going after Brent since Nate has a girlfriend and clearly isn’t interested in me. With every day that passes, she has a new opinion on the matter.

To be honest, so do I.

Brent is perfect.

Nate is not.

Brent wants me.