Page 26 of A Touch of Heaven

I playfully smirk at him in response.

“Thanks.” I whisper quietly as his fingers slowly trail down my arm, and it’s like my skin has been electrified as goosebumps travel over it. “We…uh, decided we needed a girl’s night.” I look at Harper, and she grins back at me like a bobcat ready to cause chaos.

“Oh, hell fucking no,” I look over, and Asher is staring at us, his whole body trembling as he stares daggers at Harper. “I swear to God, Harper, you better change right now…and you, Brooke… You’re fucking lucky Chase isn’t here.”

I bite back this time instead of staying silent. “Or what? Chase is nothing to me. He made that clear this evening, so he gets no fucking say in anything I do or wear.”

I know it’s not Asher’s fault, but the way he thinks he can talk to me like this on Chase’s behalf is so wrong that it ignites a fire in me I’ve never had before.

Asher steps toward me, and his bulky frame towers over me. “Brooke…I swear to fucking Satan himself, if you and Harper do not go upstairs and get changed, I’m going to drag you both up there myself.”

I won’t slap him.

I won’t slap him.

I silently chant in my head and as I go to respond, I hear my hero speaking up.

“Back off, Asher, they’re not kids, and frankly, they look hot,” Nate growls before turning back to me. “In fact, better than hot.”

Nate smirks at me and pulls me close as his fingers run down my exposed spine, making me shiver with a feeling I’ve never had with Nate before. It’s like that kiss changed things between us, allowed me to see something that may be there that I’ve not noticed before, or maybe it’s just opened me up to thinking about Nate differently.

“There are no words to describe how stunning you look, Brooke. I won’t be a dick and tell you that you’re not going alone despite the idiots in this world, but do you have your phone if you need me?” I shiver at his touch again, my breathing slow as I reply.

“Yes,” my voice shaking a bit.

“Then have fun and call me if you want me to meet you girls later.” He leans down, kissing my cheek. I can still feel his lips there as he pulls back, and I know something between us has definitely changed.

“Okay, I will.”

He nods, stepping backward, but his eyes never leave mine.

“God, you guys are idiots. We’re going to meet some people that we know from high school. They’re all here, so we will be safe. Chill the fuck out.” Harper bites back, rolling her eyes as she wraps her hand around my wrist and pulls me toward the door.

“Yeah, like you were safe that night.” I swear the temperature in the room drops below freezing as Asher drops his statement.

“Thought you said nothing happened that night?” she cynically replies. He doesn’t say a word as a heated look exchanges between them.

“Don’t wait up.” She blows a kiss to Asher, and I can’t tell if he wants to kill her or kiss her right now.

Before I’m out the door to enjoy my night, Nate gives me a final smile, a little cooler than earlier because of the exchange in this. Hopefully, a few drinks will help me figure out exactly what is happening here. But for now, I need to get out of this house and away from all the god damn testosterone.

NATE

I watch her walk out the door and smile after her. My eyes firmly planted on her ass, which I wanna have in my lap right now. The way her body moves in that dress makes my brain think of delicious, sinful things that involve me dragging her into my room and making her scream my name over and over until she doesn’t remember her own.

I saw how she reacted to me tonight, and I know that kiss on the beach made her realize there’s something between us. Who knows, maybe it will work out in my favor. Feeling her shiver under my touch, the way her face flushed when I called her beautiful, she’s not had that reaction to me before, and I can’t say I hate it.

I turn to Asher, who is scowling at me now. I can’t seem to find a reason to care, only annoyed at the fact he broke me from my thoughts of making Tink my girl.

“What?” I snap at him. None of them are in my good books right now, and frankly, I’m sick of all this tension. We should be enjoying ourselves out here; instead, we’re all down each other’s throats.

“You’re seriously letting them walk out of this house dressed like that. I know you’re a little sheltered, Nate, but you know what guys think of girls looking like that. You know what would happen if we bumped into girls looking that way…you know they would respond to us exactly how we would want them to.”

Asher smirks at me as my mind wanders. Maybe I made a mistake. I trust Tink completely, but I have to admit I don’t trust other people around her.

“Yeah, but not all guys are like us,” Jax pipes up, grinning.

“Yeah, some guys are worse…they don’t wait for a yes,” Asher retorts, his eyes darkening at the thought. I watch his body tense and see his hands fold into fists at the idea of anyone hurting the girls that way. For a split second, I appreciate that. No one messes with him, Jax, and Chase for a good reason, but there’s something a little too extreme in his reaction.

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