As we exit the diner, Nate lets go of my waist and quickly grabs onto my wrist, pulling me toward his truck. He makes sure we’re out of sight from the restaurant windows before he cages me in, his chest firmly against mine, my back against his Hummer.

Eyes closed, he rests his forehead against the window just over my left shoulder, his arms set stiff at his sides.

I think about shoving him off, calling him out for his macho-man act back there, but when I feel his chest heaving against mine, I don’t.

His breathing is erratic.

Angry.

Excited?

Brows pulled in, I lift my right hand and place it over his heart. Sure enough, it’s beating wildly. Uncontrollably.

I can feel the heat of his body under my palm.

Unsure why, but not necessarily caring, my hands find his shoulders. Gently, I drag them up and down his forearms.

Tension rolls off him instantly, as if my touch is soothing in some way.

On their own accord, my hands glide up and over his firm deltoids, down his solid chest, then back up until my fingertips graze the edge of his dark brown hair.

When his strong hands find my hips, gripping them like a lifeline, a small moan escapes me and my forehead drops to his chest.

My hands slide further up, loving the sharp feeling of his fresh crew cut as it flits across my fingertips.

With a slight bend, he fits his left foot between mine, his thick thigh now pushing into my center. Turning his head, he skims his nose painfully slow over my cheekbone, his hot breath cascading over my jawline, both leaving a burning trail in their wake. His lips brush up my chin, stopping once his top lip is settled between my upper and lower one, but still a breath’s space away.

“Want to tell me what happened in there, Handsome?”

At this point, we’re both breathing heavily. The pressure of his heaving chest against my now sensitive one is an intoxicating feeling.

His eyes open lazily, but he doesn’t answer. Not that I thought he would.

He takes one look at my dilated pupils and flushed cheeks, then smashes his lips into mine, instantly growling into my mouth as he does.

My hands wrap tight around his head, pulling him in as he presses his thigh harder against my core, rocking his hips into me.

Overwhelmed by the sensation, I pull back on a gasp, my head falling back against the truck.

Like a true quarterback, he takes advantage of the opening. His head drops into my neck where he sucks, then blows cool air, only to make the spot hot all over again with his perfect mouth. Perfect tongue. Perfect lips.

Goosebumps roll down my spine.

Shamelessly grinding into him, I feel his dick, hard and thick against my hip.

His hands snake behind me, giving my ass a nice, firm squeeze.

When another small moan leaves my lips, he pulls away with a growl, putting a good three feet between us.

We stand there staring at each other, our chests rising and falling at rapid speeds. His hands on his hips, mine on my throat, our eyes locked.

He tips his chin toward the truck, so I turn and climb inside.

“Buckle up, brat,” he tells me through a smile, before shutting the door and jogging around.

Once we’re stopped in front of my house, I turn to find Nate grinning at me.

“What?”

With a chuckle, he shakes his head and looks out his front windshield. “I don’t know what I expected to happen today when I showed up at Wicker, but that definitely wasn’t it.”

“Since your playbook is open, let’s hear the version that went through your head before hand.”

He grins deeper. “Figured I’d go in there, make him ball up a bit. Thought maybe I’d corner you by the bathroom or something; kiss you so you’d be thinking of me during your date.”

I giggle. Giggle.

Now I want to punch myself.

Clearing my throat, I speak, “Wow. While that’s original and all,” I grin at him, “I kind of like the real version better.”

He chuckles.

My mouth drops open in thought. “Did you see Jarrod’s face?” I ask, smiling. “That alone was worth the bitchin’ I’m sure I’ll hear from him later.”

Nate’s body goes rigid, and he turns to look out his side window. “You thinking about going out with him again?”

“Well, that depends,” I tell him, earning an irritated look. “You plan on showing up and dragging my off again?”

“Yes.” His answer is instant. Firm.

My eyebrows jump.

“So, maybe you should just give up the whole dating thing altogether.” He grins at his suggestion.

“So, I should be more like you then?”

His brows pull in slightly.

“I should just skip the pleasantries and go straight for the pleasuring?” I give a ‘meh’ look and nod my head. “I guess I could get on board with that. I mean, it’s not like I’m a virgin, so it’s really not that big of a deal, right?”

He’s out of the car and pulling me out my door before I have a chance to enjoy the raged look on his face. Tossing me over his massive shoulder, he rushes to my front door, while I laugh my ass off and enjoy the view of his tight butt flexing with each step he takes. He reaches back, grabs my keys out of my hand, opens the door, and quickly marches inside.

Still laughing, I smack his butt. “Set me down, shithead!”

He doesn’t reply but turns right, heading down the hallway. “Anyone besides Mia have a key?” he asks.

An airy, almost nauseating, but not, feeling filters through my stomach and my brows pull in.

“Kalani?” He stops in his tracks.

“Uh, no. No one.”

“Where?”

I already know what he’s referring to. “First door on the right.”

Once in my room, he sets me down on my bed and hovers over me. His eyes are dark, determined, and zeroed in on me.

Not taking his gaze off mine, he trails one finger from my collarbone, down my arm and across my now exposed stomach.

My lips part as I wait for his next move.

His long, thick, black lashes are half-mast as he leans over me, dark eyes burning within them. His hair is just long enough on top for me run my fingers through.

Apparently, my hands agree, because before I can stop, they’re gliding through his hair. I watch, mesmerized, as the dark strands flow through my fair fingers. It’s enticing.

When a soft sound leaves Nate, my gaze flicks back to his.

His eyes are closed, his brows creased, making small lines appear on his forehead.

Slowly retreating from his silky hair, two of my fingers trace the lines above his eyebrows. His eyes open as my fingertips skim down his temple, his cheek, across his jaw.

My lips twitch. “You really are incredibly handsome,” I whisper.

My brows shoot high, my gaze on him as soon as the words leave my mouth. I’ve said them before, but not like this.

His face is a perfect mask, giving nothing away. “Kalani?”

I swallow. “Yeah?”

“Tell me what you just said in the truck was no more than you being you and trying to get under my skin?”

“What?” A sly smile forms on my lips. “I’m not a virgin.”

“You know damn well that’s not what I was referring to.” His eyes are narrowed on me now, but he can’t hide the playful gleam floating in them.

I grin and maneuver my legs to the outside, so he’s now on his knees between them. “Did it work?”

“Oh, it worked.” His grin is simply sinful.

“Yeah?” I squirm against my pillow.

“Yeah.” He licks his lips. “Looking at you gets under my skin.” He drops down an inch. “Thinking about you fucks with my head.” Another inch. “Hearing that raspy, sexy ass voice of yours gets me riled up,” he rumbles quietly, his body now brushing mine. “And touching you? Touching you sets me on fire,” he whispers.

“Yeah,” I breathe, bringing my legs up to wrap around him. “Fire.”

“Seeing another guy touch you…” He shakes his head, brows pulling in further. “I can’t handle that.” He brushes a teasing kiss across my lips, making me whimper like a desperate ho when he retreats. “So, how about we make sure that doesn’t happen anymore?”

“Yeah, okay.” I’m a hussy at this point.

He shakes his head and drops his mouth to my ear. “You’re not hearing me, Kalani.” His voice vibrates down my spine.

“Mmm…” I moan, closing my eyes. “Don’t let you see me with another guy. Got it.”

He lowers his body against mine.

I gasp when his thickness presses into me, right where I want it. “Handsome,” I whisper.

His lips push down on my throat. “Tell me, Kalani.” His hot breath brings goosebumps to my skin’s surface. “Tell me. No other guys. Just me.”

“You’re bossy,” I breathe and wrap my legs tighter around him.

“That’s because you like me bossy.” He gives me more of his weight, and his husky voice caresses my ear. “Tell me.”

“Yeah, okay. Just you,” I tell him, my chin lifting.

He pulls back instantly, his eyes flitting back and forth between mine. “You said it yourself, you don’t lie.”

“Nate?”

“Yeah?”

I wrap my arms around his neck, pulling him toward me. “Move,” I demand as I lift my head, sealing our mouths together.

He doesn’t disappoint.

With a deep growl, he takes control of my mouth, owning it like nothing I’ve never experienced before.

Every stroke of his tongue, mine mirrors. Every roll of his hips, mine follow. Every move he makes, my body anticipates.

It’s the strangest, most thrilling sensation I’ve ever felt.

His hands find my hips, where he uses them as a steeling force, creating more pressure.

My hands glide up his sides, pushing his shirt up. He breaks our kiss long enough for me to pull it over his head.

I moan into his mouth as my hands make their way down his masterful pecs and abs. Once I get to his V, that glorious V, I trace each side with my pointer fingers. Not stopping when I reach the band of his jeans, I dip my fingers in, sliding to the center, where I unbutton them, then run my knuckles over the hardness in his boxer briefs.

He rips away from my mouth, panting wildly into my neck. One of his hands slides under my shirt, cupping me over my bra. I grasp him over his briefs, and when I squeeze, he thrusts his hips forward, pressing my hand harder around him.

Fast like a Nascar, he lifts to his knees, pulling me with him. Yanking my shirt off, he slams his mouth into mine again. Next, he unclasps my bra, slides the straps down my arms, then lowers me back onto the pillow, my boobs bouncing as I hit the bed.

“God damn.” He drops and flicks my nipple with his tongue, earning a whimper from me. “So fucking perfect.” He squeezes my left breast while sucking my right nipple into his tepid mouth.

“Ohmygawd.” I squirm under him, my hands finding their way back to his dick. I pull his briefs to his thighs and grip him hard.

He’s thick and silky and wanting.

As Nate switches to my other boob, I begin to pump him.

I start slowly, working my hand up and over his tip, then back down.

When he bites down on my nipple, my back arches, offering him more, and his hips begin to thrust, driving himself faster as he works with me to bring himself relief.

When a sound that can only be described as a moan-growl leaves his mouth, I bring my free hand up. Yanking on his hair, I direct his hungry mouth back to mine.

“Fuck, Kalani,” he moans into my mouth, his fingers pinching and twisting my nipples.

“I can’t fuck you,” I pant, between kisses.

He laughs into my mouth.

“You can’t fuck me either.”

“Stop talking.”

I nod as he assaults my neck with his tongue.

His hand slides from my left breast and down my stomach, where he flicks open the button to my jeans.

Gently, he bites down on my shoulder as his middle finger glides down the center of my thin panties, then back up, stopping right where my body’s calling for him.

He adds a second finger, then slowly circles my clit. Like a firework, my body lights up. Starting at my core and fanning out through my stomach and thighs, not stopping until my toes curl, heat takes over, and I know I’m close.

Not wanting to finish alone - and not caring to know why it matters - I pump him harder, faster, feeling the thick veins bulge under my fingers.

He lifts his head and watches me as he makes his next move.

He maneuvers his fingers to where my clit is pinched right between the two, and when he begins squeezing and rolling it between his fingers, my hips lift off the mattress.

“Wha…shit,” I croak, turning my head into the pillow.

Gipping my chin, he turns my head back to look at him. Dropping his forehead to mine he pinches my clit harder, pumping his hips faster while I grip him like a vice.

I watch his eyes darken, feel his forehead tighten against mine. Right as my core clenches, fire takes over my body, releasing the ultimate orgasm, and I squeeze him impossibly tighter.

Tilting my chin, I grab ahold of his bottom lip and bite down, right as his body shudders on top of mine, coating my stomach with his warm, wet, finale.

His face when he comes is the sexiest thing I have ever seen. Hard and taut and ravenous.

Apply pressure to my clit, he holds still, letting me ride the pleasure train to a complete stop.

“You look good like this.” His voice is deep and gravely.

“Like what?” I pant.

His sexy smirk finds his lips. “Flushed and under me.”

I roll my eyes and hit him in the chest, causing him to laugh and roll off.

Hopping up, I make my way to the bathroom to wipe off my stomach. Grabbing the shirt that’s hanging over the towel rack, I throw it on.

When I turn back, I expect to find a fully-clothed Nate ready to make his getaway, but instead I find him lying in the same place I left him, arms crossed behind his head, eyes closed, dick out.

“What are you doing?”

He smiles, but doesn’t open his eyes. “Relaxing?”

“Get your ass out of my bed and go home.” I pick up the water bottle on my nightstand and take a drink. “I got stuff to do before tomorrow.”

His grin slips some as he slowly rises from the bed. After buttoning his pants, he pulls his shirt over his head and walks toward me, an unreadable expression on his face.

I grin up at him as he wraps his arms around my lower back. “Is this how it goes?” I ask. “A nice ‘thanks for the fun, sugar’. Maybe a kiss on the head, then you bow out?” I laugh. “’Cause if it is, it’s totally not necessary.”

Something passes in his eyes, but it’s gone quickly. Dropping his arms, he scratches the back of his neck and steps back. “Walk me?”

I laugh. “I can do that.”

Once we reach the door, he looks to me, those eyes searching. For what, I’m not sure, but I don’t think he finds it because his shoulders drop an inch.

“See you tomorrow,” I tell him. I start to open the door but he halts my movements.

“Wait. Can I ask you something?”

No. “Sure.”

“Did Jarrod do or say something to you today to make you uncomfortable or upset, or anything?”

My head jerks back. “No. Why?”

“No?” he challenges, raising an eyebrow.

“I said no, Nate. And if he did, I would have handled it myself.” I yank the door open. “I told you before, I handle my own shit.”

“Alright.” He frowns.

“Why did you ask me that?” I ask, biting on the inside of my cheek.

Reaching out, he tucks my hair behind my ear, smiling weakly when I swat his hand away. “No reason.”

“Liar.”

His eyes tip up, but his chin drops to his chest, and his chuckle is forced. “See you tomorrow.”

Shutting the door behind him, I lean against it and wonder what he meant.