Protect Me (22 page)

But is it in my future? For the longest time, I’ve thought…no. Now, I just don’t know.
 

We dance to several more songs including fast ones before Nate starts pulling me towards the entrance of the tent. We wave our goodbyes to his family and friends, kiss the new bride and groom, and head out, hand in hand.
 

The mid-August night sky is bright and clear. Brilliant stars are everywhere giving it a romantic glow. Nate leads me to the Mustang where he removes a couple of duffle bags from the trunk.
 

“I just grabbed what I thought you’d need for the morning,” he says with a look of concern.
 

“As long as I have clothes to wear tomorrow morning, I think I can manage until I get home to shower,” I tell him.
 

“Well, we’re actually going to have to be up and back here at eight. Mom is cooking breakfast for all of
us and then Jake and Erin are going to open their gifts. We can use the shower at the house, though,” Nate tells me.
 

“That’s fine,” I say before placing a gentle kiss on his lips. “We’ll worry about that part in the morning. How are we getting back there,” I ask as Nate starts to lead me towards the shed.
 

“ATV,” he replies and points to the big machine sitting next to the even bigger mower.
 

“Really? I’ve never been on one,” I confess as Nate throws the bags on the rack at the back, and hops on. He slides all the way forward and gives me just enough space to slide between the bags and his body.
 

“It’ll be a slow ride. If you want, sometime I’ll take you back on the little trails we have and we’ll tear it up.”
 

“I’d love that,” I reply before I can think too much more about it. Chances are, I’m not going to be around for any future rides.
 

Nate fires up the machine and I grab a hold of his tuxedo shirt tucked in around his waist. I feel his muscles ripple against my hand as I hold on tight and press my boobs firmly against his back. I feel him tense against me before he says, “You better wait until we get to the campsite before you start that. Otherwise, we’re going to hit a tree.”
 

“Well, we wouldn’t want that,” I purr in his ear over the noise of the four-wheeler. “I better hold on,
huh?” I ask as I reach down and grab a hold of his growing erection. I hear Nate suck in a deep, hissing breath. “Okay, I’m ready now,” I tell him sweetly.
 

“Devil woman,” he mutters before throwing the machine in gear and pulling it out of the shed.
 

It doesn’t take us but a couple of minutes to get to the creek bank. I can see the small tent Nate has set up on a patch of thick grass between the shack and the creek, but what draws my attention is the air mattress on the ground next to it.
 

Nate makes quick work of throwing the duffle bags inside the tent and pulling out the bedding that was placed inside to keep the bugs out of it and begins to cover the air mattress. I watch from the side as he sets up the bed before strolling over to me. No, stroll isn’t the right word. Stalk is more like it. He looks predatory as he approaches me with hunger in his intense eyes. Like I am the lone doe in a wide open field with the preying mountain lion.
 

Nate grabs a hold of my hands with his much larger, stronger ones and pulls me flush against his firm body. I go willingly. His lips are on mine in a flash. There’s a slight urgency in the kiss, but also a sweetness like he’s cherishing me. His hands release mine and move to my hair. I love the way his hands fan around my scalp, holding me firmly in place to ensure I don’t go anywhere. Hell, doesn’t he realize that there’s no other place I want to be?
 

Nate begins to slowly step backwards so that we’re kissing on the move; moving towards the makeshift bed under the bright night sky. When I hear his dress shoe hit the edge of the air mattress, he stops. His lips stop and he looks deeply into my eyes. It’s in this moment that I know. I know that I have fallen head over heels in love with Nate Stevens. But the scary part is that it doesn’t shock me as much as I thought it would. Worried? Hell, yeah. The day I leave Rivers Edge is going to be the most painful day of my life. Leaving Nate behind is going to hurt more than any heartache I’ve ever felt…times ten.
 

Nate runs his hands down my neck, massaging and savoring the touch of my skin. I exhale deeply and close my eyes. His touch is pure magic.
 

Slowly, Nate’s hands move to my back and they start to tug on the zipper at the back of my dress. It’s a black strapless piece with a white stripe around the hemline. My strappy black wedge sandals give me an extra few inches, which aligns me even closer to Nate’s perfect lips.
 

Nate lowers the zipper and I feel the material loosen from my body until it reaches my lower back. Earlier in the week, I went to the mall with Avery after work, and we grabbed some new lingerie from a store she frequents. I chose a black satin strapless bra with a lace overlay and matching thong panties. The efforts of my purchases are written all over Nate’s face as he drops
my dress to my ankles.
 

“You are the most beautiful woman I have ever laid eyes on,” he murmurs against my lips as his hands explore my bare skin and snake around to touch my naked ass.
 

“You’re not so bad yourself,” I whisper as I start to unbutton all of the tiny white buttons on the front of his dress shirt. Black pearl button covers start to fall to the ground.
 

“I don’t give a shit about them. I’ll pay whatever rental fee they charge for new ones,” he says as we watch the buttons fall.
 

I give his shirt a big tug out of his pants - pants that are suddenly very tight in the crotch area - and release the shirt. When all of the buttons are open, Nate stands before me in his open white dress shirt. With his big hands, he grabs me around the ass, lifting me up, and setting me down softly on the air mattress.
 

The blankets are cool from the almost damp humid August air. Crickets are chirping and frogs are croaking all around us. We are about to make love under the stars. This moment is hands down, the most romantic thing that has ever happened to me.
 

 I lay back against the pillow as Nate squats over me. His hands fan out as he caresses the suddenly hot skin of my abdomen. He dips down and runs his tongue along my collarbone, down to my breasts. The wetness is like gasoline to my already smoldering body, and I am
completely up in flames.
 

Nate reaches behind me and releases the clasp of my bra, freeing my girls into the sticky night air. His mouth is hot as he quickly suckles my erect nipple. He moves to the other, showing it the same attention as the first one, and my moans echo off the trees and the water.
 

“God, I need you so bad,” he says as he reaches down and gives the skimpy black material of my thong a tug.
 

“I need you, too,” I whisper. More than he will ever know.
 

The growl that erupts from his gut is primal and fierce. My panties are gone a second later, leaving me bare to the world, which is fine considering they were soaked through already.
 

“God, I fucking want to worship your body,” he says with fire dancing in the depths of his eyes. “You’re so damn wet,” he adds as he uses his large finger to rub around my moisture.
 

I moan as he works his finger around my most sensitive area. He slowly slides one, then two fingers deep inside of me. The combination of his fingers and his mouth as he kisses, suckles, and nibbles my pert nipples brings on that familiar tightening in my stomach. I feel my internal muscles gripping his fingers. Breathing becomes harder and harder as he gently guides me toward release.
 

With his fingers kneading and tweaking my over-
sensitive nipples, Nate drops his mouth to the little bundle of nerves at my center. Just the slightest flick of his tongue before taking my clit into his mouth and I shatter into a million pieces. I can’t even hear the noises echoing off of our surroundings over the blood swooshing in my ears, as I come fiercely. Nate doesn’t slow his fingers or his mouth as he prolongs the orgasm into one of the longest ones humanly possible.
 

I tremble as he slips his fingers from my body and removes his pants quickly. His body is perfection. He’s hard and strong and has sandy blond hair that sprinkles over his amazing chest and down towards his impressive groin. The tight vee of his hipbones is like a neon sign pointing downward. It’s like a beacon as if to say,
Down here to the promised land!
 

Naked, Nate pulls a condom out of his wallet as I still struggle to catch my breath. The view he presents, though, standing in front of me, has my lady parts firing on all cylinders again almost instantly. I want this man desperately.
 

Nate positions his large frame over me. I spread my thighs to accommodate him, preparing myself to welcome his body. Nate rubs the head of his erection through my folds before positioning at my entrance. His mouth places a gentle, sweet kiss on my lips, stealing my breath. The moment is perfect as he slowly pushes himself inside me. I try to suck air in my lungs, but between the pressure of his body and the intensity of this
moment, they just won’t work. My lungs are failing me.
 

Nate slides his tongue inside my mouth, mimicking the slow, sweet love he’s making to me with his body. Nate breathes for me. We share air and breath. We are one.
 

“God, I want to do this with you every day, all day. I want this with you. It’s so much more with you,” he whispers against my lips, his eyes closed as if he’s savoring the touch.
 

I fight the tears that are filling my eyes as my reply gets caught in my throat. I want to tell him that I love him. I want to give him the little sliver of my heart that he doesn’t already own. But I can’t. He deserves so much better than me.
 

“I need you, Lia. You. Only you,” Nate whispers before dipping his tongue into the dimple of my collarbone. His left hand comes down and gently wraps around my throat as he strokes and makes love to my neck with his hand.
 

Nate picks up his pace slightly. The combination of his tongue, lips, and hands, along with his long, hard cock, have me pushing towards another release. My body is tightly wound and there is only one way out now. Only one man who can give me the release I need.
 

I grab a hold of Nate’s back, feeling his amazing muscles clench and tense underneath my touch. Without even realizing it, I dig my nails in as my body starts the familiar climb. The feel of my nails biting his back must
push Nate past his breaking point. His entire body tenses as he begins to grind his body against mine. My orgasm rips from me so deeply that I’m not sure I’ll ever be whole again.
 

Nate is right there with me. His mouth is firmly attached to mine as we absorb each other’s moans with our mouths. With each delicious thrust, my orgasm is prolonged that much more. I feel his warmth inside of me, contained by the condom, as he continues to push. Each thrust slower than the last.
 

Eventually, energy is completely expelled from both of our bodies as we fall limp and sated into the air mattress. I revel in the feel of his big, heavy body on top of me, however eventually it becomes harder and harder to breathe. Nate must sense this and rolls over to his back, pulling me gently with him. With his arms wound tight around me, keeping me warm and safe, I plaster myself against his comfortable chest.
 

Neither of us says a word. This time it was different. We both know it, but neither one really knows what to say about it. This wasn’t sex. This was Making Love. This is everything I’ve never had before and everything I’ve ever wanted.
Nate
is everything I’ve never had and everything I’ve always wanted.
 

“My mom ditched me when I was very young,” I tell Nate out of nowhere. Probably not the best pillow talk after mind-altering sex, but it feels right to tell him the rest of my story.
 

Nate rubs my back in a comforting gesture so I go on. “She got pregnant in high school, not too long after my grandma passed. She rebelled against life, I guess, and ended up with me. I don’t even know my father. Hell, I’m certain she doesn’t either. I’ve seen her a handful of times, but never when I needed her. I don’t even know where she lives anymore,” I confess.
 

I feel Nate’s strength as he pulls me even closer to him. He doesn’t say anything; just remains quiet as if waiting me out. And that’s when my story really spills free. I’ve never told anyone about my mom and what it was like growing up without her. Or the fact that my grandpa looked at me as a nuisance, a bother. It was easier to say the words than I thought it would be. I guess much like the day I told Nate about Garrett.
 

When I’m done, I don’t feel dirty or worthless. I don’t feel shameful or sorrowful. I feel freer than I ever have. As if telling him I was unwanted somehow lifted the weight I didn’t realize was sitting on my chest.
 

“Thank you for sharing that with me,” he whispers as he continues to stroke my bare skin. “You are without a doubt the bravest and strongest person I know, Lia. Never forget that, okay? Know that you have survived a great ordeal, but don’t let it define you. Learn from it and move forward, but don’t forget it. It’s a part of you, but doesn’t depict you. You are greater than your past,” he says in the night.
 

I don’t reply. I can’t. Words just won’t come
anymore. I just lay there and hold him, letting his words soak in. I
am
greater than my past, and for once, I see a future within my grasp. It’s right there, dangling like a beautiful diamond pendant.