Page 214 of Boyfriend of the Hour
“I do have a lawyer for a brother. Some of that stuff had to wear off over the years.” I tapped my lip. “I remember him talking to Frankie about what might happen if Xavier ever came back into the picture after my niece was born. Frankie got lucky—when Xavier did find out, he wanted to be with Frankie more than he was mad at her for keeping their daughter a secret. But ifthey went sour, Mattie always told her that she should have lots of documentation of her parenting in case things went south. So that if Xavier suddenly decided he wanted custody, there wouldn’t be a case for it.”
Nathan looked thoughtful. “I have some documentation. Mostly emails between my parents and me. Things they might write off as suggestions, but were actually directions that I was giving them about Isla’s care. I was the one that found Ferndale in the first place. I’m actually the one who pays for it too.”
“See,” I said eagerly. “That’s half the battle.”
Nathan leaned back against the trunk of the oak and sighed. “I think the idea of a battle is the problem, Joni. My parents would love to fight because it keeps me involved, and they would bury something like that in court for as long as it takes.” He shook his head. “It’s better to play their game for a bit. Make them think I’m here to stay for a while. Then maybe they’ll give up on using Isla as a pawn, so when she’s eighteen, I can quietly transfer guardianship to me.”
We finished lunch, then laid back on the blanket together, hand in hand while we stared up at the oak leaves rustling in the wind. It occurred to me just how very much I loved this man.
Here was a person who was always so unabashedly himself but whose sense of justice was so deeply ingrained that he was willing to sacrifice nearly everything to do what he believed was right. The fact that he believed me a part of that quest made me feel better about myself too. It wasn’t just Nathan’s faith in me that made me love him, though. It was the way that faith turned me into a better person as well. It made me believe that, as a team, we could do anything.
If we only had the guts to try.
I turned over and found his eyes closed, long lashes casting shadows over his cheekbones. Slowly, I crept up and kissed him. He startled, but then returned the kiss almost as quickly.
When he opened his eyes, there was a bit more peace there.
I would have given anything to make it permanent.
“What’s that look?” he wondered as he brushed a bit of hair from my face.
I pushed myself up and crawled on top of him so I could straddle his waist. He watched me curiously, then with no little interest as I slowly removed my top, then my bra so that I was now topless.
“Amazement,” I told him. “Shock I could ever find myself in a place like this. With someone like you.”
No one had ever looked at me like he did. Not just with interest, but with awe. Like I really was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. Truly a masterpiece in every way possible.
Nathan’s hands moved up my thighs, over my stomach and waist, then cupped my breasts so he could brush his thumbs gently over my nipples. He watched reverently as they pebbled under his touch, then sat up in a sudden movement that made every muscle in his torso flex under his shirt, which I quickly removed for him.
We sat there, skin to skin, holding each other for a moment. Then Nathan’s head dipped so he could take one nipple into his mouth, pulling it as far in as he possibly could.
I tipped my head back, enjoying the rays of the sun and the feeling of that heated mouth on my breast. He moved to the other, and I quivered under his touch, the rest of me suddenly dying for the same kind of attention.
He released the nipple with a pop, then laid back down to look at his handiwork, where he had left two perfectly shaped hickeys just above each of my nipples.
It should have disgusted me, but it only turned me on.
“Are those out of love too?” I asked with a cheeky grin.
Nathan’s hands slipped up around my back so that he could pull me back down to him for another kiss.
“You said you wanted to be marked,” he told me before lightly biting my lip. “And I just want to make you happy.”
Then, in a sudden movement, he flipped me onto my back, eliciting a shriek from me.
“Hush,” he said as he started to remove my pants. “You’ll startle Gus, and then we could be stuck out here forever.”
It didn’t seem to affect the big horse at all, who also didn’t notice when Nathan and I were both naked on the blanket, bodies twined together under the sun and the leaves.
“Joni,” Nathan murmured as his hands drew up and down my thighs, gaze roving over all of me like he was memorizing every shape I had.
“Show me more about life on the farm, Dr. Hunt,” I said as he settled between my legs. “Mark me again.”
FORTY-FIVE
WHY I NEED TO QUIT EAVESDROPPING
#2 you keep hering stuff you dont like
