Page 31
"I do," she whispered. "Thats what scares me so much. If I thought he didnt really love me I could laugh it off and know that his infatuation would wear off and it wouldnt bother me because Id know from the beginning that it wasnt real. But I cant stand the thought of him growing to hate me. "
A chill overtook her, and she shook uncontrollably. She rubbed her hands up her arms in an attempt to infuse some warmth. She hated the cold that had settled into her bones ever since shed run from the apartment.
"Julie, Im going to be honest, Damon said. "I understood Serenas concerns about our relationship. Because she shared them with me. "
Julie flushed and closed her eyes. In other words, Serena wasnt the stone-cold coward Julie was.
"I understood them, but I was frustrated all the same, you see, because all I wanted was a chance. "
Silence fell as his meaning settled over her.
"All you can do is give him a chance. Just like I asked Serena to give me. If he loves you, if you love him, you owe it to both of you to give him—and yourself—a chance. What do you have to lose?"
"Everything," she whispered.
"But think of what you could gain," Serena said gently. "Think about it, Julie. You were ready to kick my ass. Remember? You kidnapped me and ratted me out to Damon. Dont make me tell you what a dumbass youre being now. "
Julie laughed even as a tear trickled down her cheek. "I love you, you know. "
"Yeah, I know. I seem to have that irresistible quality that no one can resist. "
"Conceited bitch," Julie said without heat.
Damon chuckled. "Im going to leave you ladies now. I just wanted to make sure you were all right. If you need—"
The front door crashed open causing Julie to jump. They all looked up to see Nathan barrel around the corner, a murderous gleam in his eye.
Sam appeared from nowhere, stepping between Nathan and the other occupants of the room. To Julies astonishment, Nathan curled his hands around the big mans shirt, snarled and shoved him out of the way. Sam appeared equally astonished and gaped as Nathan passed him on his way to Julie.
Ignoring both Serena and Damon, he bent over, trapping Julie by placing his hands on either side of her hips on the couch.
"Ive tried doing this your way," he growled. "Ive tried being patient, understanding, gentle even. I didnt want to come across as some knuckles-dragging-the-ground Neanderthal because I was afraid youd run hard in the other direction. Ha! Well, Im done with that. This time were doing it my way. "
She squeaked in utter shock when he simply hauled her up and tossed her over his shoulder.
"Damon, Serena," he said in a calmer voice. "I appreciate you being here for Julie when she needed you, but from now on, if I can help it, Ill be one she runs to and not from when she does her little panic act. Now if youll excuse us, she and I have a hell of a lot to discuss, and Id rather not do it in front of an audience. "
"You be careful with her," Serena said fiercely as she rose from the couch.
Julie was getting a kink in her neck from peering around Nathans back, and why the hell wasnt she putting up a fight? She was honest to God too stunned to do more than just lie there like a complacent twit.
"Im going to do what I should have done a hell of a long time ago," Nathan said evenly. "And thats show Julie that she damn well belongs with me, and that all these silly games are over. "
Chapter 32
Julie sat in stunned silence as Nathan drove his truck through the gates of Damons home.
"How did you get here?" she squeaked out.
"Well, you damn sure didnt make it easy," he grated out.
She sighed and huddled on her seat.
"Damn it, Julie, dont you look like that. I could cheerfully strangle your ass right now, but you can give up that kicked puppy look. "
"Im sorry, Nathan," she said quietly.
Nathan sighed then reached over and took her hand. "What I want is for you to sit quiet and let me get over the urge to strangle you. Were going to go back to your place where were going to have a sane, reasonable discussion about the direction of our relationship. And make no mistake, Julie. We are having a relationship. "
"Damon says I should give you a chance. "
"No, you should give us a chance. And you damn sure shouldnt need someone else to tell you that. "
She acknowledged the truth of his words but fell silent for the remainder of the drive. She had to gear up to say just the right thing or face losing the one thing she most wanted.
Several long minutes later, Nathan pulled back into her apartment complex and they both got out and walked to her door. His anger seemed to have faded, and in its place a wary unease shadowed his face.
They walked into the living room, and Julie stood there awkwardly, not knowing what to do or say next. Nathan saved her from making the decision by pulling her over to the couch. He sat down and then tugged her down so that she straddled his lap, facing him.
His hands rested on her hips, possessively. He eyed her intently, letting her know with no words that this time she wasnt escaping.
The chase was over. For her. For him. Theyd danced around each other for far too long. Done some silly stuff, made goofy decisions. And shed tried to sabotage anything good between them before it ever got started because she didnt want it to hurt so damn bad when he left.
She framed his face in her hands. Her fingers trembled against his cheeks, and try as she might, she couldnt prevent the shaking from invading the rest of her body.
"I love you," she choked out.
Thank God," he murmured, closing his eyes.
He nuzzled into one of her hands, kissing the palm.
"I thought I was going to have to handcuff you to that damn bed until you admitted you felt something for me beyond simple lust. "
She nodded, the knot in her throat too large to say anything more.
"Why did you run, honey?" he asked softly. "What scared you so bad?"
"I dont want you to leave me. "
A tear slipped down her cheek, and he raised his hand to gently wipe it away with his thumb.
"Why the hell would you think a harebrained thing like that? Ive got to catch you before I can even think about leaving you. And honey, leaving you is the furthest thing from my mind. I know we cant predict the future, bur right now? Youre mine. All of it. I dont have a future without you. Youre going to be in if it kills me, and Im beginning to think it just might!"
"Im an artist at self-sabotage," she croaked out. "My relationships . . . well, lets just say I dont have the best track record with relationships. At first, it wasnt my fault. I mean, I went into them hoping for the best. The first couple of guys were drawn to my personality. They liked that I was brassy and outgoing and that I was uninhibited in bed. Soon, though, I grated on their nerves and they moved on, deciding that I wasnt what they wanted after all. I intimidated them. "
Nathan scowled but let her continue.
"Then there was the guy who thought I could stand to lose a few pounds. Okay, a lot of pounds. "
"What the hell? Ill kick his fucking ass. You dont need to lose a damn thing. My God, woman, youre perfect. "
He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her into his chest. He ran his hands over her ass, up to her waist and then back down again as if he couldnt get enough of touching her.
"Im ashamed to say that I took it to heart. I lost thirty pounds but quickly figured out it wasnt me. I didnt like myself and I wasnt happy. Then I got angry because I allowed the moron to dictate my life. In essence, to control my self-esteem. So I gained the weight back, bought a flashy convertible, started wearing sexy clothes again and said fuck you to any guy who didnt like it. "
" Atta girl," he said approvingly.
"After that I was wary, I guess. I tended to come on too strong just to let the guy know what he was getting up front, and if he was still interested, I kept the relationships short and sweet. I f
igured if I was the one doing the ending, it wouldnt hurt so much. Id never know if they lost interest or not because I was calling the shots. "
His eyes softened, and he traced the line of her cheekbone with his finger.
"And then you walked into my salon. " She sighed and shifted on his lap. "You walked in with Faith, and I dont know. It felt like a ton of bricks was dropped on me. "
"Tell me about it," Nathan said. "You rocked my world, woman. "
She smiled. "I wanted you, did everything I could think of to get your attention, and you were so oblivious. "
He grimaced. "I was anything but. I just had no idea how to act around you. Every time I got close, my tongue knotted up and I felt like some horny teenager again. "
"I was so furious with you," she continued. "I finally decided to hell with you. Id make you notice me come hell or high water, and then Id turn you loose. I set up my threesome fantasy with Damon, and, well, you know the rest. "
"Yeah, I do," he said softly. "I fell in love with a tenacious, bullheaded, tenderhearted dynamo of a woman. I spent months being in such awe over you that I damn near screwed up any chance I had with you. "
She swallowed and her shaking grew worse.
"Honey, listen to me. I love every single thing about you. I love your brass and your sass. I love that you dont need me, but you want me. I think the men in your past were brainless pigs, but you know what? Im glad they were because they saved you for me. And I swear to God, if you ever get any harebrained notion to lose weight again, Ill kick that ass of yours all over Houston. You are . . . delectable. And youre mine. And I love you just the way you are. "
"Oh God," she whispered. "You dont play fair, Nathan. "
"I sure hope to hell not. Now tell me you love me again. Tell me youre not going to run from me ever again. "
"I love you. I wont run anymore. "
He cupped her head and pulled her down to meet his kiss. Hot, breathless, with so much love her heart nearly burst.
"What Im going to do right now is take you into the bedroom, and Im going to make love to you until you cant see straight. And then? Im going to love you some more. "
"Tell me again," she whispered.
He stroked his hands through her hair and stared at her with such love and warmth in those green eyes. He didnt need to say it. She could see it brimming there. But she wanted to savor those words again. Shed never get tired of hearing them.
"I love you, Julie Stanford. "
She settled into his arms with a contented sigh. "And I love you, Nathan Tucker. If you talk sweet enough, Ill let you finally catch me. "
Chapter 33
Micah stood in the back of Damons garden and watched as the newlywed couple laughingly stuffed cake in each others faces. He never could figure out the appeal himself, but they looked ridiculously happy, so he couldnt begrudge them.
Then he smiled as he remembered Hannah on their wedding day, all sweet and shining with happiness. Shed very carefully put the piece of cake on his tongue then daintily wiped the crumbs away with a napkin. She was exacting like that though.
He shoved his hands into his pockets, content to remain where he was and observe the festivities. Faith and Gray danced off to the side, which was amusing since there wasnt a band, and no music was playing, and, well, Gray was a pretty terrible dancer. Faith didnt seem to mind though. She was wrapped all around him, her sweet smile warming the entire garden.
And then there was Nathan and Julie. He grinned. Nathan . . . the dude was done. Stick a fork in him. He was never out of touching distance of Julie. He had a hand on her shoulder, or her elbow, sometimes resting on the back of her hair, idly stroking downward. At times he pulled her into his side, his arm around her waist, while other times he linked his fingers through hers.
It was pretty damn funny to see the big, bald guy positively brought to his knees by the tiny package that was Julie. All she had to do was smile up at him, and Nathans entire face lit up with a goofy, shit-eating grin.
A funny sort of wistful note crept through his mind. He missed having a woman look at him like that. He loved women, but only one woman had loved him.
"Hey man, you made it back. "
Micah turned to see Connor walk up behind him.
"Hey, yeah, wouldnt miss the big day for Damon and Serena. "
"Good vacation?" Connor asked casually.
Micah stilled. "Yeah. Good. "
"Missed a lot of excitement. "
"Yeah, I heard. I have a feeling Nathans boring days are over, though. "
Connor snickered. "You arent lying about that. That woman has him tied up in knots. "
"Shes a great girl," Micah said with a warm smile.
"Yeah," Connor said easily. "She is. "
"Pop here?"
Connor shook his head. "Nah. He doesnt really know Damon. I dont either, for that matter. I guess Im here as a secondary guest. "
Just then Nathan looked up and saw Micah. He lifted his head in acknowledgment, and for a moment, Micah wondered if he was going to avoid the first confrontation between the three of them since that last night.