Page 53 of About That Rule

Why was she even asking about Simya?

The angry look on her face fell. She dropped her head in her hands.

“Do you plan on explaining what you meant about you and Charlotte knowing how I am and why Simya is even a discussion point?”

The silence stretched across the room, and Nate put two and two together. Sammy, his wife, was agreeing with their mutual friend about his past and lack of commitment. Now, she had the nerve to think he was trying to pick up their mutual friend’s friend.

What the fuck was this?

Not only were they married, but everything had changed in the past six weeks. They were fooling each other if they planned to keep up the charade of “just friends.”

Nate admitted to himself that Samantha’s doubt in his ability to be with her cut at him. And the idea she could believe he would cheat on her…that was like a knife stabbing through his heart. The pain mixed with the anger was overwhelming.

“Samantha?” he said sternly.

She peered through her fingers to look at him. “Any chance we can pretend the past twenty minutes didn’t happen?”

“Nope.”

Samantha took a deep breath. “I’d like to start by saying sorry. When I was talking to Charlotte, she was asking about us, and I kept up the stupid story of how we’re just friends. Then she mentioned how you asked for her friend’s number and it upset me. I made the joke about how we know how you are with women, but I said it more to cover my ass and show her how not bothered I was. Then it got me questioning everything.”

“Like what?” Nate crossed his arms as if they were armor over his heart. “What did you question?”

“I questioned us,” she told him in a low voice.

He dropped his arms and patted the seat next to him. She bit her lip before moving from the chair.

“I need more detail.”

It was paramount to hear she was on the same page as him. That she wanted to end the façade of friendship and actually give their marriage a chance. That she felt for him the way he felt for her. It was scary as hell, but they could make this work.

He was sure once all the bullshit was discussed, the easiness of being together would be back. The rules and secrets were doing more harm than good. They were more of a stopping block than anything else.

“There’s been a shift since we crossed the line of friendship and…” She paused. It was like a cliffhanger, and Nate was on the edge of his seat. “And I want more. I want to be with you not as a friend, but as your partner. As your wife. But I’m scared you don’t want that. Are you just waiting for our court date in two weeks to go back to your old lifestyle?”

He cupped her face in his hands and dropped his forehead against hers. “No way in hell do I want to go back to my single life. I want you, Samantha.”

To drive his point home, he gave her a delicate kiss on her lips, moving across her jaw to the soft skin behind her ear. She maneuvered her body and sat in his lap. His hands dropped to her waist, pushing her against his already hard cock.

“I will always want you,” he said while he kissed her neck. “Only you, Sammy.”

GOOSEBUMPS TRAVELED DOWNher body.

Nate’s mouth should have been the next great wonder of the world. He tenderly kissed across her collarbone, back up her neck, landing again on her lips. When he stood, she traveled up with him. His hands explored her body just like his mouth, not letting any piece of her go untouched.

They never lost contact as he guided them from his living room to his bedroom. The sweetness in their connection was too much to ignore. Samantha didn’t want to stop kissing him, almost afraid the magic they were creating would evaporate.

The backs of her knees hit the bed, and she fell ungracefully onto the mattress. It made them both giggle.

“So much for be being smooth,” Nate teased as he lifted his shirt off, tossing it behind him without a care where it landed.

Samantha didn’t need any prompting. Her shirt and pants came off, quickly followed by her underwear.

He gave her a lopsided grin. “You are perfection.”

She sat up on the bed, scooting to the edge so she could help him tug off his boxer-briefs. “The compliment goes both ways, Nate.”

Once they were both naked, he laid to her right side, kissing her sweetly while his left hand drifted all over her body. The sensation was electric and tingled everywhere. His hands on her, just like everything about him, were addictive. When his fingers grazed over her wetness, she pushed off the bed, urging him for more.

His finger slipped inside her, and his thumb brushed side to side over her sensitive nub. She wasn’t sure if it was minutes or hours they were connected this way, but the build-up intensified every time he pushed harder on her clit only to be gentle again.

“Nate, please,” she finally begged. “I want more.”

In between kisses, he told her, “You’ll get more, Sammy. You’ll get whatever you want. I promise to give you everything.”

It was then he rolled on top of her and pushed his cock deep inside her. His right arm was propped next to her head, holding his weight so his left hand could continue to put pressure on her clit, getting her closer and closer to climax.

When she finally came, she screamed loudly, only to have her mouth captured by his as he leaned his weight on both of his arms, pounding into her until he tightened up and orgasmed too. Afterward, he fell on top of her, both panting, out of breath.

One thing was for certain: that was the best sex of her life.

She wasn’t that naïve. It wasn’t just sex.

It was the first time she’d ever made love.