Page 80 of Never Enough

Nemo nodded. “Totally clueless about the threats around him because he was so deep into his books. It was up tometo protecthim. I couldn’t focus on anything because I was constantly worried he’d get the shit kicked out of him, and heprobably would have on a daily basis just for being so fucking brilliant.” He shook his head and looked out across the water again. “Did you know he has a master’s in psychology? Did university all online, undergraduate to graduate school. He could be anything he wanted to be. Instead, he’s spent his entire life getting me out of one mess after another.”

“And the trouble with the law?” she prompted.

He groaned and looked back at her. “By the time our ‘father’ bounced out of our lives, I was already on a path hell-bent for destruction. Things just got worse. Our mother was working several jobs just to keep a roof over our heads, the lights turned on, and food in our bellies. Midas got work as soon as he could to try and help out, and it wasn’t always legal. He was so good at computer shit, he had a reputation for never getting caught, and by the time he was sixteen, grown adults were paying him to do who knows what over the internet.

“The only thing I was good at was sports, and I excelled. Midas thinks I could have been an Olympic sprinter. I think he’s crazy, but who knows? I had no direction. Father missing, mother working, Midas hacking. I was left hanging, feeling like I had no skills to contribute, so I ran wild. No dare was too big.”

“Nemo the thief was born,” she said with a grin.

“Yeah. Something was stolen, vandalized, whatever—it was that Sawyer Newton boy. Funny thing is, over half the shit I was accused of, I never did. But I let the reputation build because with each new sin attributed to me, it allowed Midas to shine. I never even told him the stories weren’t true. I just let him believe they were because it was better for him to think I was a fuckup than I was adrift. He just kept fixing shit for me, and he still does. I’m a horrific disappointment to him. He never says it, but I see it in his eyes when he solves yet another problem for me.”

“He loves you, Nemo. He wouldn’t do it otherwise. Andclearly, you love him, or you wouldn’t let him believe the lies. Sometimes, we have to mislead others in order to protect them. Midas may have been getting you out of jams all these years, believing he’s protecting you, but the truth is, you are the one protecting him. Sacrificing your own self-worth so that he’s able to do what he does.”

Two sets of blue eyes watched each other. His heart felt near to bursting because, after thirty-one years, someone finally got him. Someone understood who he was behind the brash personality, the infantile pranks, the parade of women, and the constant fuckups. Gemknewhim, and she’d probably seen right through him since the day they met.

At that moment, Nemo knew that he wanted to make love to this woman and show her what her own worth was, but he refused to make the first move. This time, it had to come from her. She had to want it, and whatever she wanted, she would get. He wanted to be everything to her, not just a boyfriend.

Boyfriends catered to a girlfriend’s wants.

He preferred to give her what she needed, though. To be her partner because if he could fulfill all the levels of her triangle—basic to self-actualizing—then she wouldn’t have any wants. If he could satisfy her needs, he was demonstrating not just the ability to provide but the ability to nurture and grow.

He almost laughed at himself. For years, he had been chasing ass—and could you really call it a chase when most of the time, all it took was a wink and a smile?—to fulfill his need for Gem in his life. Most nights, he hadn’t even had to buy the girl a drink. She was ready to go. And the encounter would be over in even less time. Just a “Hello there, pretty girl,” an “Oh my, you look like you have a big cock, let’s go,” and a “That was fun.” Not that anyone wanted to be pinned to a restroom wall of a seedy bar for much longer than that, anyway, but sometimes you didn’t even get the third part of that conversation.

But this? With Gem? It was different.

He felt her warm breath on his neck, and her fingertips pressed into the muscles of his shoulder blades. She sighed, but it was so quiet he barely heard her over the waves coming in on the shore. Her face tilted up to his.

“Nemo? I want you.”

Instantly, his lips crashed onto hers. She wanted him! He couldn’t resist that if he tried. He didn’t want to hear logic and reasoning as to why they shouldn’t. All he wanted to hear was her panting breath in his ear as he worshiped her. Ruined her. Loved her.

31

SEPTEMBER 12, 2022

Nemo

A loud rumble of thunder and a crack of lightning shook the pier, the storm much closer than it had been when they arrived. He had one of Gem’s hands in his, and he was making serious speed toward the street end of the pier. He knew she was struggling to keep up, but she wouldn’t be struggling for long. When they reached the end of the pier and hit the sidewalk, he made a sharp U-turn, dragging her down to the beach toward a row of bathing huts along the divide between the grass and the sand. He picked the third one because it had a sign above it, “Welcome to the Hansen’s! Make yourself at home.” This one was likely to be more like a mini house inside rather than a storage shed. Within seconds, he had extracted his picks, made short work of the lock, and pulled her inside the shack just as the heavens opened up and poured down rain.

He’d been right. The family that owned this bathing hutwas one that used the space like a tiny house for beach days. There were a couple of cots, some stacked lounge chairs, a table and four chairs for dining, and a bureau where they must have kept supplies. While there was no running water or electricity, he noticed they had a huge canister for collecting water, several bowls that were probably used to hold water, a large cooler, and a grill tucked in the corner.

No sooner had the door closed behind them, then Nemo had her back against it, the door relocked, and she was in his arms. His lips plundered Gem’s, pressing hard until she opened for him. Once he broke through that barrier, their tongues attempted to dominate the other into submission, but neither seemed able to gain the upper hand.

Their heads turned and tilted to get better angles. Hands speared through hair, pulling strands to bring the other closer, palms cradling skulls, and fingertips massaging away the sting of pulling each other’s hair. Teeth took nips at soft flesh and darting muscle in an attempt to subdue, and all the while, the rain beat against the flimsy tin roof of the hut, and occasional flashes of lightning briefly lit the darkness of the space.

Nemo pulled his mouth from Gem’s. However, his lips remained close to her skin, pressing soft kisses to her face, the underside of her jaw, and her hairline. She whimpered, clutching him desperately, as she tried to drag his mouth back to hers.

“Shh, sugar cat,” he soothed.

His hands went to frame her face, brushing the curls back in his never-ending quest to tame them. They were just like her. Glorious. Alive. Irrepressible. His eyes held hers, her pupils dilated to where the barest ring of blue surrounded the darkness. He began to take subtle deep breaths, then gradually let them out. After about a half dozen cycles, he felt herbreathing align with his, and then a few more breaths later, he was able to ease them down completely.

Nemo’s eyes never left hers as his hands curved under and around her thighs, lifting her slight weight so that their hips matched up. She’d worn a short skirt tonight, which had already risen indecently when she wrapped her legs around his waist. Pinning her tightly to the door with his body, he used his hands to pull the skirt up around her waist completely, then allowed his palms to trail down the smooth expanse of her skin from her lower back to where her legs met his body. He lowered his head to rest in the crook of her neck, the tip of his tongue tracing the cord from shoulder to ear. Meanwhile, his hands were busy unbuttoning and unzipping his pants.

Gem gasped when his naked dick brushed against her core, the piercing at its tip teasing her through her panties.

“Shirt pocket, sugar cat.”

Her smile became impish. She dragged one hand down from behind his neck, around the collar of his shirt, then down the front of his T-shirt until it came even with the pocket on his pectoral muscle. If possible, it seemed as if she traced over to the pocket with her index finger even slower than she had been. She placed her palm flat along the pocket. She had to be able to feel the pounding of his heart beneath the material, even with the contents of his pocket between her hand and his chest.

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