Page 43 of His Off-Limits Christmas Gift

“You sure?” Brandon asked.

“Yeah. Stay. Have fun. I’m just ready to go.” I shot my brother a smile, praying he wouldn’t pester and argue. I wouldn’t mind hanging out with him, but not with Nate here. Not with the elephant in the room as I tried to pretend I didn’t want him.

“I’ll walk you home,” Brandon said.

“No, you’re going in the opposite direction to head in to work. I’m good.” Honestly, I just needed a moment to cool off from this constant tension. Nate and I had been playing with fire all night.

“We’ll both walk you home,” Nate said.

“No!”God, no.I smiled and shook my head, hurrying to escape. Just this one look at him had me wishing I could jump at him and kiss him again. Was there an antidote to desire like this? Why was I so rabid for him? Because I knew how good his kisses were and I was eager for more?

“I’m going to go,” I said again, firmer. With a final lingering look at him, I turned and wished he could slip away and chase after me. Alone.

16

NATE

Dammit.

I should’ve known better.

She told me she was naïve. That she was clueless. Of course, she’d be overwhelmed with this slow buildup and gradual lust burning slowly between us. We’d been teasing each other all night, every chance we could get.

This was probably the first time she’d ever fielded real interest from a man. If her dorky high school boyfriend never put out, this was likely Rachel’s first introduction to refraining herself from desire.

I was on edge too.

I wanted her so damn badly, and here I’d pushed her too far, dancing on the fine line of forbidden desire. Each kiss we stole had me wanting more. And when she tried not to make eye contact, too riled up from the electricity that sparked between us when we made a connection across the pool table, I felt impatient to have her to myself.

“Are you overworking her?” Brandon asked.

“No.” I frowned at him. “She’s just…”

He nodded. “She’s always been like that. At school. With college. She’s a go-getter.”

Right now, I was trying my best not to rush after her and get her for myself. “Yeah, she is.”

“I meant what I said, though, that she could stay here.”

“Is she really committed to that job she’s supposed to start in January?” I asked.

“Not really. Well, maybe. But only in the sense that it would be a way to stay out of the house with Mom and Dad.”

I raised my brows. “She only wants the job to get out of town?”

“I think so. She’s sick of everyone thinking of her as Kyle’s girlfriend. She wants a new identity, to find herself away from the small-town life.”

I smiled. I had a hunch she was already trying on a new identity—with me, as my girl, in the city.

“You know, she’s balancing her work time well,” I said, pausing to fake a long yawn, “but I’m not. I’m beat.”

If I hurried, I’d catch up to her.

“I bet you’re not sleeping well with the stress about the big party next week, either.” He shook his head. “I hate that it gets to you like this. All the memories. Maybe you could move on from Yasmin faster if you skipped the party for once. A clean cut.”

“You know, someone really smart recently suggested the same thing.”

He huffed and rolled his eyes. “But I doubt you’ll follow that advice.”

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