“I hope you’re right.” My phone pings again and I check the text message.
Hey baby, I’ll be late tonight. Unexpected teleconference.
I frown but then shrug. Okay. Still coming over when you’re done?
I’ll be there.
Okay, see you later. xo
“Nate’s working late,” I murmur and stow my phone back in my handbag. “Are we on for Friday movie night?” I ask, changing the subject.
“We are. Luke’s mom, Lucy is going to watch the baby at our place. I’m a bit nervous to leave her for the first time, but she’ll be in good hands.”
“I’m so excited. A night out is exactly what we all need. Let’s go to that newer bar by the theatre that has a live band on Fridays. We can dance, and the guys can shoot pool.” Olivia starts to squirm, and I give her her pacifier.
“That sounds good to me. I’m warning you, though, I’ll be texting Lucy all night for updates.”
“I don’t mind.” I grin at her over Olivia’s soft head. “I’m just thrilled that you’re no longer pregnant and we can have a margarita.”
“Or three,” she smirks.
“You know, Nate’s birthday is only a couple months away.” I pat the sleeping Olivia’s back as an idea forms in my head. “Since he’s working late tonight, why don’t you and I spend some time in the studio after we leave here?”
“Oh, that would be fantastic! I’m itching to get back to the studio.”
“Then it’s a plan.” We grin at each other and sigh as the technicians begin to rub our calves and feet.
***
“I forgot how fun this is with you,” Natalie murmurs and presses the shutter aimed at me. Luke met us at the house to pick up Olivia, so it’s just Nat and I, like the good ol’ days, playing around with pretty lingerie, makeup and her camera.
Sexy dance music is pumping through the speakers of the sound system, and I can’t help but move my body with it.
“You’re so good at this, Nat. I’m so proud of you.”
“Okay, no mushy shit tonight. Think sexy.” Natalie backs up and surveys the scene. I’m on her king-sized, white satin-sheet clad bed in the middle of the studio. Because it’s dark outside, she has her lights on. My long blonde hair is down and wavy around my face, in that just-fucked state that men find so sexy. “Lie on your back with your head facing me and arch your back and put your legs in the air, knees together.”
I comply, making sure my silver heart is nestled seductively between my cleavage and cross my ankles, legs straight up in the air. I’m wearing white thigh-highs with a while garter and lacy white push up bra.
“Nice, Jules, hold that. Put your hand up at the side of your face. Good.” The shutter clicks some more and I close my eyes, imagining that Nate is looking at me, that he’s the one behind the camera, and I start to move. Natalie comes around the bed, taking different angles of the same shot, then I turn over onto my stomach and flirt with her some more.
“Take the bra off now, but then keep your torso flat against the bed.”
“Yes, ma’am.” The sheets are cool and soft against my breasts and I feel my nipples pucker.
“Do you want some nudes as well?”
“Hell, yeah, it’s his birthday.” I grin wickedly and she presses the shutter.
“He’s gonna go crazy when he sees these,” Natalie grins and I giggle.
“Here’s hoping.”
I sit at the side of the bed and remove the stockings, the garter, the thong, with Natalie all the while taking photos. I know that when she edits them she’ll make them look incredibly seductive. A woman taking her clothes off for her man.
“Okay, naked girl, on your back again.”
I lay down and arch my back, looking to my side at the camera, cup my breasts in my hands and bend my knees, pointing my toes.
“God, Jules, if I swung that way and wasn’t married to the hottest man in the free world, I’d so do you right now.”
I laugh at Natalie, completely at ease with her, and we move about the bed and the room in different poses, trying on different pieces of lingerie and jewelry.
Natalie’s studio is a blast for a girly-girl like me.
When we’re finished and locking up the studio, I see lights coming on in the main house.
“Nate’s here, we’d better get inside so he doesn’t know what we’ve been up to.”
Natalie smiles. “That was fun. We should do it more often.”
“I know, I’ve missed you. Playboy called this past weekend. They want me to pose in an anniversary issue.”
“What did you say?” Natalie asks as we walk through the back door and into the kitchen area.
“I told them I’d think about it, but then I called them this morning and declined.” Nate walks in the room, clearly looking for me and smiles widely at me before pulling me in his arms and kissing me deeply. “Well, hi hot stuff.”
“Hi. Did I hear you say turned them down?”
“Yeah, this morning.”
“Good. Hi, Nat.”
“Hey.” Natalie grabs her camera, purse and jacket and kisses Nate on the cheek as she passes by.
“What have you two been up to?” Nate asks, eyeing Natalie’s camera. “And where’s the baby?”
“Luke came and got her so Natalie and I could indulge in some girl talk.” I smile sweetly at him and bat my eyelashes, but he narrows his eyes, seeing through me.
“Uh, huh,” he responds.
“Well, speaking of Livie, I’d better go. See you guys on Friday.” She waves and then is gone.
“What were you really doing?” he asks.
“I can’t tell you.”
“Why?” He kisses my cheek and then my ear and I lean into him with a sigh.
“Because you’ll find out soon enough. You aren’t allowed to ask questions like this within three months of your birthday.”
“What?” he pulls back and grins down at me. “What do you mean?”
“No questions so close to your birthday, ace. Just trust me, we were having fun and I was thinking of you.”
“Well, that’s all I can ask, baby.” He kisses my forehead and pulls out of my arms, takes off his suit jacket and rolls his sleeves, exposing that sexy tattoo.
“Are you hungry?” I ask.
“Starving. Come on, I’ll make you dinner and you can tell me about your day.” He heads for the kitchen and I grin. Nate cooking is a sight to behold.
“You already know about most of my day.” I sit at the breakfast bar and gratefully accept a glass of white wine from Nate.
“Did you and Nat have fun getting your feet done?” he asks.
“Definitely. It was a good treat, both the pedi and seeing her and the baby.”
“She’s getting big already,” Nate comments and seasons two steaks to place under the broiler. “The picture you sent me was beautiful.”
“She’s awesome,” I murmur.
“Thank you for turning Playboy down, Julianne,” Nate says softly and my gaze shoots up to his hot gray one. He’s cutting up baby red potatoes, and his face is serious.
“I told you I was going to.”
“I know.” He sighs and shakes his head as if shaking off a mood and then shoots me his sexy grin. “How do you want your steak, baby?”
“As soon as possible so I can get you naked.”
Nate laughs. “I can do that.”
Chapter Twenty Five
Nate smacks my ass, making me jump. “What did I say?”
“Stop talking about hot dudes,” he growls and I giggle. We’ve just left the movie theater after watching Luke’s newest movie, Never Surrender with Hugh Jackman. We’re walking on the sidewalk toward the bar.
“What’s the big deal? If you told me that you thought Scarlett Johanson was a hot piece of ass, I’d agree with you.” I push my arm through his and lean my head on his shoulder as we walk. Natalie and Luke are walking ahead of us, hand in hand.
“Besides, you’re the onl
y hot dude I want, ace.”
“Gee, I’m so happy to hear it,” he mutters dryly, making me laugh again.
“Has Lucy turned her phone off yet, Nat?” I call to her. She’s texted the poor woman ten times already.
“No, smart ass. But she just sent me the cutest picture of Liv and Sam sleeping on the couch.” She shows it to me and we both ooh and aah over the sweet photo.
“I need a beer,” Luke says. “Nate, can I buy you a beer?”
“Yes, please. I need it too.”
“You both know you love looking at that baby,” I smirk.
“Yes, but we’re men, Jules. We keep our feelings to ourselves.” Luke nuzzles Natalie’s neck and I make a gagging noise in my throat.
“Keep your hands to yourself, pal, and we’ll be fine. Jesus, why do I come out with you?”
“Because you think I’m cool and handsome and witty.”
“And modest,” I quip and we all laugh.
I do enjoy these people.
Oasis, the bar we’re trying out tonight, is fairly busy, darkly lit, and loud with rock music. The cover band is currently playing a Maroon5 song, and doing a pretty good job of it, which is a good sign for us as Natalie and I are big Maroon5 fans. We find an empty booth and all have a seat.
“This is fun,” I say as I look around the busy bar. The dance floor is good-sized and fairly full of dancers in various stages of intoxication. There are two pool tables in the opposite corner from the stage, both are being used at the moment. The bar itself is long and big, with three bartenders running back and forth filling orders.
A cocktail waitress in a tight white t-shirt and short black skirt with black apron approaches our table to take our orders.
“Hey there, ladies and gentlemen, what can I getcha?”
Luke orders beers for himself and Nate, and Natalie and I each a margarita. He knows how we like them.
“The music is great! Get a couple drinks in me and Natalie and I will be bustin’ some moves.” I smile shyly at Nate.
“You are beautiful tonight in this red dress,” he murmurs in my ear.
We always dress up on premiere night. It’s tradition.
I’m wearing a halter-style red chiffon dress that flows down to my knees. The back exposes my shoulder blades, but all-in-all, it’s pretty modest. My hair is up in a twist, and I went a little more dramatic with my makeup tonight. I am wearing black Louboutin stilettos.
I’m rocking this dress.
Natalie is also gorgeous tonight in a black one-shoulder dress, also chiffon, that floats to her knees. She’s wearing her pearls and red Louboutins.
Luke is movie-star handsome in his black slacks and white button-down shirt with black jacket, and Nate is just delicious in black slacks and black button down, with rolled sleeves.
I trace his tattoo with my finger and smile up at him through my eyelashes. “You look mighty fine yourself.”
Nate leans down farther with a smile and whispers, “I can’t wait to get you out of that dress and fuck you senseless.”
My thighs tighten at his words and I lean over to whisper back in his ear, “No need to get me out of it, ace, I’m not wearing any underwear.”
I lean back and grin as he clenches his eyes shut and whispers, “Fuck.”
I laugh as the waitress delivers our drinks and we settle in to discuss the movie.
“Okay, so we’ve established that Hugh is hot,” Nate narrows his eyes at me and I smile innocently and take a sip of my drink. “But what did we think of the movie?”
“Action, sex, blood, stuff blew up… it was fantastic.” Nate salutes Luke with his beer and takes a sip as we all laugh.
“I liked it too,” I nod. “I’m getting used to the blood, but I’m not sure if that’s a good thing, the sex was hot, as was Hugh.”
Nate tickles my ribs and I laugh. “It’s just too easy to tease you!”
“I thought it was pure producing genius,” Natalie adds. “Obviously the man who produced it was intelligent, sexy, and incredibly handsome.”
“Well, that goes without saying, baby.” Luke kisses her neck and I roll my eyes.
“Puke.”
“Are you saying I’m not sexy?” Luke asks me with a raised eyebrow. “If I remember correctly, your opinion was very different the first time you met me.”
“Well, now that you’ve had your hands – and other things that make me throw up in my mouth - all over my bff, you can never be sexy to me again. Besides, you were Movie Star Luke then. Now you’re just Luke, my seriously cute brother-in-law.”
“That’s the sweetest thing you’ve ever said to me.” He wipes an imaginary tear from the corner of his eye and I throw an ice cube at him.
The waitress delivers refills on all our drinks and Luke changes the subject.
“So, I hear you have a beautiful home on the beach, Nate.”
“I do.” Nate laces his fingers in mine and kisses my knuckles, then rests our hands on the table between us. “Julianne and I would love it if you three would join us there for a weekend next month.”
I smile up at him, delighted with him, and he kisses my forehead.
“I would love that! I love the beach.” Natalie nods enthusiastically. “I’ll bring my camera and take some photos of you guys too.”
“Cool.” I grin over at her. “Maybe we should set up an appointment with you in the studio.”
Natalie’s eyes go wide, and then a lazy smile spreads across her face. “Anytime, sweetie.”
“Uh,” Luke frowns over at me. “Is that a good idea?”
“What are you all talking about?” Nate asks, and I giggle to myself.
“Have you told Nate what kind of photos I take, Jules?” Nat asks and sips her drink, not giving any indication that we were just in the studio earlier this week.
I shake my head at her and wink.
“Well?” Nate asks me.
“Can I show him?” I ask Natalie.
“Sure.” She shrugs and Luke grins as I pull out my iPhone and scroll through my photos until I come to the ones that I snapped of the canvases hanging on the studio walls, specifically the ones of the naked couples in various sexual positions, and show them to Nate.
His eyes go wide, and then he thumbs through each of them, then back through them again, and hands my phone back to me.
He takes a long gulp of his beer, not looking any of us in the eye. We’re all watching him, smiling, and finally he looks at Natalie and says, “If I weren’t so in love with my girlfriend, and didn’t respect your husband like I do, I’d attack you right here on this table. Those are fucking hot.”
We all bust out laughing, Luke high-fives Nate, and Natalie blushes just a bit.
“However,” Nate continues, “I don’t think I’m comfortable with anyone, but especially you, Natalie, taking photos of me making love. We’ll keep it in the bedroom, thanks.”
“Well,” I add, “Not just the bedroom…”
“Ew,” Natalie wrinkles her nose and I smile smugly at her.
“Not as pretty from the other side, is it friend? Okay, no sex pictures. But I could use some studio time.”
“Absolutely, when?” Nat asks and winks, enjoying our deceiving banter, then looks over at Nate with a frown. I look up into cold gray eyes.
“What?”
“Why?”
I squeeze his fingers and lean in to whisper in his ear, “Your birthday is coming up, ace.”
“Next week work for you?” he asks Natalie, making us all laugh again and I’m relieved to know that he’s going to love his birthday gift.
Suddenly, the band breaks into another hot Maroon5 song and Natalie and I grin at each other.
“Shall we?” I ask her.
“Sure,” she responds.
The boys let us out of the booth and I take her hand as we stride out to the dance floor. We join the sea of bodies and begin to move. Natalie’s body is gorgeous; curvaceous and naturally graceful, and she moves with ease on her tall
stilettos. I’m thankful for many years in martial arts classes that gave me balance, and a natural rhythm, and I swing my hips and arms with the song. I close my eyes and turn in a tight circle, getting lost in the music.
When I open them again, the boys have joined us, Luke wraps himself around Natalie and moves against her, all tall blonde and sexy, and suddenly Nate is pressed to my back, his hands on my hips, his face in my neck.
“You are so fucking hot, baby,” he growls against my ear.
I grin back at him and he leads me through the rest of the song, then through two more, his body pressed close to mine, sending fire through me.
Finally, the band plays a slow Matchbox Twenty song, and Nate wraps me in his arms and sways me back and forth, his hands on my hips. He kisses my forehead and I lean against his chest, enjoying the slow music and being in my man’s strong arms.
When the song ends, Natalie and I decide we need to get off our feet for a bit, and the guys decide to try their hand at some pool. They escort us back to the table and then go claim an empty pool table.
“Damn,” I mutter as I take a sip of my drink and watch Nate lean over the table to take a shot. His ass fills out those slacks so nicely.
“Our men are hot,” Natalie comments with a grin.
“Very hot,” I nod and we giggle. “I’m so glad we did this. I’ve missed you.”
“Me too. Who knew a year ago that our lives would be so different?”
“Right? I know that it’s all good stuff, and I’m thankful, but I miss you.”
“Well, we’ll have to make the effort to see each other more.” Natalie checks her phone and I smile at her.
“Why don’t you just call her?” I ask.
“I’m sure they’re fine,” Natalie responds as her phone pings. “Oh! She texted me. Yep, they’re fine.” She smiles widely.
I glance over to the pool table and find Nate’s eyes trained on me. I grin at him and the side of his mouth turns up in a lazy smile, and I feel the hit straight to my loins.
Jesus, he does things to me.
“Well, hello, gorgeous.”
My head twirls and there is DJ, a man I was briefly involved with two years ago, standing at the end of our table. I was so caught up in Nate, I didn’t even notice him.