Page 23 of Before I Tell You

Slowly, I place my shaking hands on his chest and feel his heartbeat matching my own.

And that’s when his lips finally crash down on mine.

Nathans lips move soft and slow as he tastes me, but then quickly turn hard and hungry. His hands travel down my body to my thighs where he grips me and picks me up into his arms. My back is pressed against the brick wall, and my legs wrap tightly around his solid torso as we mold together perfectly. He pulls his mouth away from mine, allowing me a moment to breathe, and he continues his assault of kisses from my jawline all the way down to my collar bone.

“Nathan,” escapes from my lips in a trembling breath. He responds by grinding his hips roughly against my own, allowing me to feel his hard length trapped inside his jeans. Letting me know how badly he wants me, which ignites a desire between my legs, accompanied by a dampness that was not created by the rain.

I move my hands over every part of his defined arms before sliding them under his shirt, feeling every inch of his ripped chest. His powerful body is holding me up with no issue, and without a doubt in my mind, I know this is where I am meant to be.

In his arms.

I somehow manage to pull his shirt off and run my hands up and down his toned back. His hand fiercely pushes aside my bra, and his lips journey down my chest. My fingers rake through his hair as his tongue glides over my skin, over my stiff nipples, and I can’t take it anymore.

“Kiss me,” I gasp.

And that’s all it takes for his lips to rush back to mine with an urgency I have never experienced before.

As I am about to pull him harder against me, an alarm sound from a car on the other side of the building brings us back to reality. Nathan removes his lips from mine and sets me down, leaving me breathing hard and craving more. My eyes open to find him looking cautiously down at me.

He rests his forehead against mine and whispers softly, “I never thought I’d have a second chance with you.”

Eight

NATHAN

WHEN NATALIE AND I get back into my car, both of us are soaked to the bone. I notice she is shivering and immediately reach into the back of my car to find another sweatshirt hiding under the seat.

“Here. Wear this.” I hold it out for her.

“No, I’m fine. You should wear it,” she says as her teeth begin to chatter uncontrollably.

“Natalie, besides the fact that your whole body is shaking, if I have to drive with you sitting next to me in that extremely see-through shirt, I am going to get very distracted, which would not be good for either of us.” A playful smile comes to my lips, and she takes the sweatshirt without hesitation.

Her cheeks turn a light shade of pink as she quietly looks over at me.

“What’s wrong?” I ask.

“Can you … can you close your eyes, please?”

“May I ask why?”

“Well … I want to take my shirt off and put this dry sweatshirt on,” she responds, looking down at her hands self-consciously.

“Oh. Yeah, no problem.” I close my eyes and face away from her. Of course, every part of me wishes I could keep my eyes open for this, but the most significant part of me, the gentleman part, forces me to keep them closed.

“Ok, you can open your eyes,” Natalie’s sweet voice says a few seconds later.

I open them. She looks so good in my sweatshirt with her wet hair trailing over her shoulders. I reach over and lightly push her hair back behind her ear.

“This sweatshirt definitely looks better on you than it does on me,” I tell her.

She smiles shyly then faces the window, probably trying to hide the deep flush on her cheeks.

I turn the car on and adjust the heat to as high as it will go, holding my hands in front of the vents for a moment to make them stop shaking.

“Here, let me help,” Natalie offers as she takes my hands in hers and rubs them between her own. Her hands are like satin, rubbing back and forth against my rough skin. And whatever she is doing, it’s sending even more shivers down my body.

“How about you drive with one hand?” She playfully sticks one of my hands in the front pocket of my sweatshirt she is wearing.

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