Page 38 of Before I Tell You

Yeah, that’s when she lost the war.

Because that’s when she breathlessly begs, “Please, Nathan.”

And that’s all it takes.

My lips are on hers within a second.

Her soft lips taste so damn delectable, and her body pressed right up against mine feels so damn good. She has her hands in my hair as my hands hold tightly onto her hips, pulling her harder into me. She slides just one finger down my neck, past my chest, and further down my abdomen, sending blood pulsing to the southern region of my body.

I can feel all ofmethrobbing for her.

Wanting her.

Needing her.

Goddamn.

Her finger slides back and forth on my skin just above the button of my jeans, causing my pants to become almost painfully tight, but just as my hands slide over her waist and down her back, she pulls away from me, out of my grasp, and opens the front door.

Smoothing out her hair, she turns around with a devilish smile before saying, “You’re going to have to do better than that.”

I’m left standing stunned and harder than I have ever been in my entire life as she saunters mercilessly over to my car.

Holy fuck.

Thirteen

NATALIE

I ROLL THE WINDOW down and feel the warm breeze move through Nathan’s car as we drive along the coast. It’s a little warm for it being almost October, but I’m not one to complain. My cheek rests freely against the door as I close my eyes, welcoming the sun’s warmth on my skin while breathing in the familiar and comforting smell of the ocean.

For the first time in a while, I feel … happy.

In the driver’s seat, Nathan looks handsome and relaxed, with the breeze pushing his hair back and the sun casting him in a perfect early afternoon glow. There’s soft jazz music on the radio, which Nathan hums along to as he takes us along back roads I’ve never noticed before. He places his hand on the middle console with his palm facing up, and I immediately place mine on top of his. This makes him look over at me with a pleased smile before wrapping my hand inside his.

“What are you thinking about?” he asks.

“Oh, nothing,” I respond with a soft smile. He lightly squeezes my hand, sending goosebumps up my arm.

There is something about how he makes me feel whenever I’m with him. It’s like I’m the only one in the whole world he’s thinking about. The only one he wants to be with. And I was more than ok with it.

But it will never work between us.

My subconscious is trying to ruin this moment, but I let the worry dissipate as soon as Nathan brings my hand up to his lips and places a gentle kiss on the back of it.

I just want to be here with Nathan, without worrying about what could possibly go wrong. I could freak out about all of that another time. But not now. Not today.

Nathan takes a turn down what appears to be a deserted trail in the middle of the woods, barely big enough for his car to fit through.

“Where are we going?”

“You’ll see,” he says.

After five more minutes of driving down the dirt path, he suddenly stops and tells me we have to walk the rest of the way. After I get out of the car, he takes my hand and leads me further down the trail.

“It feels like we’re in the middle of a horror movie,” I tell him after almost tripping over a tree root.

“What do you mean?” he asks.

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