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The one time Brittany had gone into the padlocked room at her apartment, she’d mentioned something about a safe word. How the hell did she expect him to remember? Jaws twitching with irritation, Nate inhaled deeply and glanced around the dance floor and made eye contact with Amelia. Instead of the pissed-off glare he expected, she winked with confidence, almost as if she found amusement in his predicament.
“Did you forget the safe word, Nate?”
Nate ducked his head out of her grasp before she placed her dominatrix fingers on his chin to force his attention. “Brittany, I told you I don’t do—”
“Complicated.” Brittany motioned with her hands in front of his face with air quotes. “Yes, yes, I understand you have a family to take care of and an image you want to uphold for your nieces, which is why I am the logical choice. No one has suspected our relationship so far with all the parent-teacher meetings.”
Making a turn on the floor, Nate shook his head. “You’ve made yourself pretty damn clear to every single woman in town.”
“And not so single,” Brittany mocked.
“Things are more complicated,” he said honestly.
“You’ve said something along those lines before.”
“And every time I meant it.” He kept his lips straight to show seriousness. Brittany made the small things uncomfortable. There hadn’t been a school function where she didn’t cling to his arm, silently laying claim to him amongst all the other single mothers.
“You also said you did not believe in bringing dates to weddings.” Brittany nodded her chin in Amelia’s direction. “Or did something change?”
“You mean someone?” Nate asked. His harsh stare down at Brittany softened. She didn’t deserve to be set on the curb but he’d never made her any promises. In fact, Nate made himself perfectly clear: he was not looking for anything serious from her.
A murmur of conversation spread through the dance floor as the song began to wind down. Nate’s heart rate sped up. He turned at the right moment—to witness Amelia departing Parker’s arms. She made her way toward him. Automatically Nate’s arms dropped from Brittany’s waist.
“Hi, guys.”
At the sound of Amelia’s cheery voice, the corners of Brittany’s eyes narrowed. Her crow’s-feet deepened and anger flashed in her eyes when she turned to him. “You say you don’t do complicated, but sure seems as though you’ll settle for easy.”
Before either of them got a word out of their mouths, Brittany stormed off toward the table where her grandfather, Pastor Rivers, sat nursing a bottle of water. In true dramatic flair, Amelia clutched her heart. “Did I say something wrong?” she gasped playfully.
Nate shook his hand and captured hers. “You’re so wrong.”
“Wrong for what?”
The next song started, an Alabama Shakes bluesy tune filtering through the air. “For stealing the show.”
“I’m not doing anything but enjoying this reception.”
“The bride is supposed to be the center of attention,” said Nate, “and here you’ve got all eyes on you right now.”
Amelia batted her lashes, and though he knew she was playing up her flippant side, he’d learned she did this a lot when she became uncomfortable. “Whatever. More like everyone is staring at you.” Her hands pressed against the lapels of his jacket.
“How much longer do you want to stay here?”
“We can leave now.”
They stayed long enough to watch the bride and groom cut the cake and smear a piece across one another’s faces. Grateful that Enzo and Jeanette had offered to take the girls tonight, Nate bid his nieces good-night. Philly whined a bit but the wheels in Kimber’s mind had begun turning. Pastor Rivers tipped his head in their direction, trying to get either his or Amelia’s attention, but with what Nate had in mind to do with Amelia, the last person he wanted to talk to was a man of the cloth.
Lexi was an obstacle in Nate and Amelia’s attempted departure. She wanted to be sure she had Amelia’s notes written down on what to film and what angle to take the footage at for Sam and Emily. Outside, another issue slowed them down. All the cars driving aimlessly around trying to find a spot made getting to his SUV seem more like a game of Frogger. Keenan, Stephen’s part-time driver, offered to take them wherever, but again, Nate wasn’t sure he was going to make it all the way back to Amelia’s without ripping off her clothes. He surely did not need an employee of Stephen’s to watch.
* * *
Once again Nate drove down County Road Seventeen like a madman, one hand on the wheel while the other pulled her body close to him for a kiss. Amelia thought she might actually burst into flames if she did not touch every inch of Nate’s body. For a moment he lost control of the wheel when she yanked open the buttons of his shirt and exposed the tribal tattoo. His tires skidded off the road with each devilish kiss Amelia trailed across his neck, down his chest and against his hard abs. The steering wheel needed to be adjusted to accommodate what she planned on doing to Nate. Her fingers fought feverishly at the button of his slacks until she released him and took him in her mouth.
“Amelia,” Nate breathed nervously.
Loving the way his body tensed up, Amelia smiled and slid her mouth down the length of his shaft. His breath became shallow and she took him in deeper. Three of her fingers barely managed to wrap around the base and moved up and down with a slight release of the pressure of her mouth. She loved hearing him call her name over and over.
With the use of his right hand, Nate slid his fingers down the hem of her dress and began to lift the material up. She was so glad she was wearing a pair of thigh-highs. His thumb traced the lace on her thigh and his stomach moved with his chuckle.
