Page 70 of Nathan

“Aren’t you going to try and stop me?” Nate bites out. “Tell me it’ll all be okay, that they love me and accept me, even though it’s all bullshit.”

I pivot slowly. “What’s the point? You’ve already made up your mind.”

“Yes, I have.” He plants his hands on his hips, with his legs splayed wide in an act of defiance.

I yawn. “Then, why are we even having this conversation?”

Strolling past him, hoping he can’t hear the thunderous roar of my heart, I enter the bathroom. I’m taking a risk, but it’s a calculated one. During our mad dash back to Declan’s, I’d drummed over the right way to play the situation. Instinct tells me that if I beg Nate to stay, if I plead with him to listen to his brothers, all he’ll do is dig in his heels and do the complete opposite. Whereas if I let him think he’s gotten his own way, my attitude will confuse him, and he’ll want to understand why.

An attempt at reverse psychology. It’s worth a shot at least.

I wash my hands and splash cool water my face. When I open the door to the bedroom, Nate’s suitcase still lays open on the bed with him standing frozen beside it. Ignoring him, I go over to the dresser and take out a fresh T-shirt. After pulling my sweaty one over my head, I toss it behind me and slip into the new one. The burn from his angry stare almost takes the skin off the back of my neck, but I keep my cool, giving off an air of indifference. Maybe I’m not all that bad at this acting thing after all.

“Pack, Dex,” he orders. “Flight leaves first thing tomorrow. We can stay at an airport hotel tonight.”

Pivoting, I lean against the dresser for support. My stance is casual, a contradiction to the inner turmoil churning in my stomach. If this goes wrong, I’m not sure what my next move will be.

“My flight doesn’t leave until Tuesday, and so, until then, I plan to stay right here in New York and tick off the rest of my itinerary. With my precarious financial situation, it will be years before I can afford to return, and I refuse to let you ruin this for me. If Declan doesn’t want me to stay here after you’ve gone, I’ll book into the YMCA. You, on the other hand, can continue to run away from your problems if it makes you happy. Just don’t drag me into it.”

His eyes widen in surprise, and his mouth actually falls open. If the situation wasn’t so serious, I’d laugh at the comedy of it. As it is, I stare him down, refusing to budge a single inch.

His back becomes a ramrod, and he stares at me so coldly I almost lose my nerve.

“Get. Fucking. Packed.”

I grit my teeth. It occurs to me that the two of us are similar people. We both react badly to orders. The difference is I’ve figured that out when it comes to him. Nate, on the other hand, hasn’t figured me out yet. He soon will, though.

“Screw. You.”

His nostrils flare, and his stance widens. “Don’t push me, Dex.”

Two steps bring me flush to his body, and I poke him in the chest. “Don’t you push me.”

Shifting my weight, I make a move past him, and as my shoulder levels with his, he catches my wrist. I yank it out of his grasp and march to the door. I get it halfway open before both his hands smash against the wood and the door slams shut.

His body soon covers mine. Gripping my wrists, he shoves my hands above my head and grinds his hips into me while his tongue traces the nape of my neck.

“You’re so goddamn sexy when you’re angry.”

“Let me go, Nate.”

“Never. I’ll never fucking let you go.”

He spins me around, and his mouth crashes down on mine. As angry as I am with him, my nipples pucker, and the low-lying muscles in my stomach contract. But I refuse to let him off the hook—to let him use sex as a distraction and a tool to get his own way.

I bite down hard on his lower lip, and he releases me with a curse, dabbing his finger to his lips. He pulls his hand away, frowning at the sight of blood.

“You feisty little witch.”

“You’d better believe it, asshole.”

I wait for his next move, but as is often the case with Nate, he surprises the hell out of me by throwing back his head with laughter. “What am I going to do with you?”

The electrified atmosphere scatters, and I break out a grin. “Listen for once in your goddamn life.”

I half expect him to argue, but instead, he takes a big breath and sits on the edge of the bed. His eyes drift to his suitcase, then to me.

“You won’t come back with me?”

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