Page 78 of The Story of Us
Ahem.
“No comment. I should get going,” Eloise said.
“Not before you get changed and sit your ass down over there. I’m going to do your make-up. Nate James is going to be putty in your hands tonight.”
* * *
Nate checkedthe time on his phone. “You almost ready?” he called down the hallway.
“One second!”
He looped a charcoal tie around his neck as Echo glared at him. “I wasn’t in charge of the guest list. I’d bring you along if I could.”
He turned his head when he heard footsteps and …holy shit.
If anyone had asked Nate for his name right at this moment, he genuinely couldn’t have told them.
Standing in front of him was a supermodel. Wait, no. A vixen with wicked red lips and legs that were at least four kilometres long, silver heels dangling from her red fingertips.
Nate was going to need to light the fire and get some smoke signals going or acquire some carrier pigeons or learn Morse code because …fucking hell.He shook his head and tried to clear the fog.
“Do I look ridiculous?”
Nate grabbed Eloise’s wrist with one hand and held the other up like a stop sign because words were still too difficult.
For someone who called himself a writer, Nate couldn’t form a single sentence. He’d always loved Eloise’s casual, no-fuss approach to fashion because it highlighted her natural beauty, but this? This made her backless dress from the meet-the-family dinner at her folks’ place look like a nun’s habit. He dragged his eyes away from the heels that made him think very naughty things. He shook himself out of his lust-infused stupor when he saw Eloise’s face.
Which was covered in uncertainty.
And that just wouldn’t do.
“I don’t think I can be a writer anymore,” he said.
“Why not?”
“Because I’m supposed to be good with words and all I can think right now is how am I going to do the talky-talking tonight when you’re standing there looking like that? Christ, I’m supposed to give a welcome toast.” He scratched his beard.
“The talky-talking?” Eloise’s red lips quirked upwards. “That’s not a word, Nate.”
“I’m finding words hard right now. Other things too.” He breathed out slowly, tried to stop his cock from tenting the front of his pants.
“Really?” Eloise lowered her extra dark lashes, and he adjusted his trousers. When she smiled widely, Nate wasthis closeto biting one of his knuckles and howling so loudly Echo would think there was a wolf outside even though Australia didn’t have wolves.
“You look amazing.” It was a paltry offering, a totally inadequate representation of his real thoughts, but it was the best he could do with such limited blood flow to his brain.
“Thanks.” She shifted her weight from one foot to the other, and he had to get her out of here because there were far too many flat surfaces. Couches, countertops and beds. Hell, even the walls were dangerous right now.
“We should go.” He tipped his head towards the front door.
Eloise swallowed. “Could you, ah, help me with something?”
Anything. Whatever you need. Forever and ever.
“Sure.”
“Do you think you could …” She held her shoes up in front of her chest which, spoiler alert, also looked way better than amazing underneath the clingy white fabric of her top. The swells of her tits peeked out and holy shit, soon he was going to have to put his whole damn hand in his mouth.
And she wanted him to touch her?
