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Nathan nods. "Yeah. I mean…kind of. But you can't. You have to stay here and rest. And someone probably does need to stay with you, at least this first twenty-four hours.”
Fucking concussion protocol.
"I'm going to be fine,” I groan. My head is pounding but a sick father is a lot more serious than a headache.
"Listen, you need to take care of yourself. Michael would say the same thing. If you got on an airplane right now, he would kick my ass," Nathan says.
Dani crosses her arms across her stomach and says, “Michael will tell us if something is more serious with Clayton. Then we can decide what to do."
Nathan finally nods. "You're right. Michael will let us know if he needs us."
I think about that. What would he need us for? I would hope like hell he’d want us there if something really bad happened. God forbid. But as long as Clayton is mostly stable, Michael knows a hell of a lot more about it than we do. What could we say or do to make him feel better?
I run a hand through my hair. Fuck. This is complicated.
Michael is with us because he wants to be, not because he needs to be.
The rest of us, on the other hand, definitely need him.
I hope he knows that. I hope that makes him feel good. And not like we’re all a bunch of problems he has to constantly deal with.
CHAPTER 13
Dani
Nathan slipsinto bed behind me, naked.
I'm lying on my side, also naked, facing Crew. He’s sleeping on the far side of the mattress. I wanted him in here with us so we could keep an eye on him, but I know Nathan will want to snuggle—he always wants to be touching me when we’re in bed—so I left a lot of space so as not to disturb Crew.
He’s been asleep for about twenty minutes. His breathing is nice and even. I love seeing him whole and healthy. When he went to bed, he said his headache was much improved. But I hate the idea that he had pain, that his groin is bothering him, and that not being able to play is bothering him.
Nathan's big hand splays across my stomach, and he pulls me back into his body. I shiver with pleasure as he wraps around me. I love the way he seems to engulf me. He makes me feel safe. All my guys do, but Nathan’s protectiveness is above and beyond. There's a power about him, even when he's just sitting at the kitchen breakfast bar having a cup of coffee. Strength and confidence exudes from him, and whenever he's around, I feel like everything is going to be okay.
He'll take care of it. Whatever it is.
Michael treats me more like an equal than someone he needs to take care of. He’s a caregiver, making me coffee, unpacking my boxes, making sure I’ve eaten, and so on. But he doesn’t boss me around in the protective, possessive way Nathan does. Michael asks me for my opinions, he pushes me to make decisions. With Nathan, I can just turn things over and know he’ll take care of me.
Crew is easy, of course. He makes me laugh, I make him laugh, he lights up when I walk into a room. I know he also would protect me no matter what happened, but Crew would do it physically, with his fists if needed.
Nathan has this cool, composed confidence. He gets shit done. People don’t second-guess him.
Sure, a lot of the time it's because he has money and influence. But he wields it carefully. He makes shrewd business decisions, he expects other people to step up and meet his expectations, and he uses his money for good.
The only thing he's ever even slightly irrational about is me.
I can unravel this powerful, seemingly cold, always composed man.
And I love that.
He would do anything for me and it makes me feel adored and safe.
I press my ass against his already hard length. I'm not sure I have ever been naked and not felt Nathan hard.
His face is in my hair and he says roughly, "Keep doing that and you're going to end up getting fucked right next to your sleeping boyfriend."
It's all kinds of wrong, probably, but lust washes through me.
"Am I really supposed to believe that you weren’t going to fuck me tonight?" I whisper.
