Fight With Me (13 page)

“I’m Nate McKenna.”  Nate steps forward and extends his right hand.  Caleb doesn’t take it, he just keeps staring at Nate.

I frantically look around the room for help, but everyone is just watching the show, wondering what’s going to happen next.

“Why are your hands on my sister?”  Caleb doesn’t move, his face is also expressionless.

Fuck, I was afraid of this.
  Of all my brothers, Caleb has always been the most protective.  He’s a Navy SEAL, he can kill someone and make it look like natural causes, and I think if you look “testosterone” up in the dictionary, there would be a photo of his handsome face rather than a definition.  He’s the same height as Nate, and roughly the same build.

He’s scary.

And he loves me.

Not a good combination.

“Caleb,” I try again, but Nate puts his hand up to make me stop and I frown at him.

“I am Julianne’s date today,” Nate states simply.

That’s a good way to put it.  I like it.

Caleb doesn’t seem to.

“I think we should take this outside.” Caleb turns toward the door, and Nate follows.

“With pleasure.” 

“STOP!” I scream and both men stop and turn to me.  “This is not about you, Caleb.  Stop being a testosterony asshole.”  He frowns and starts to yell back at me, but I walk over to him and kiss his cheek and whisper in his ear, “Stop.  I love him.  He’s a good man.  If he fucks up you can kill him.”

Caleb pulls back and looks into my eyes, then his face softens and he tugs on my ear.  “Okay.”  He looks back at Nate, then to our brothers, who seem to give him some kind of weird subliminal message that I’ve never been in tune with, and then extends his hand to Nate.  “Caleb.”

Nate takes it and grips it firmly.  “Pleasure.”

Caleb laughs.  “Right.  Sorry I’m late, guys.  I’ve been packing.”

“Where are you going?” Natalie asks, tears in her eyes again.

Jesus, she never turns off the water these days. Is this what pregnancy does? Makes you a slow moving, emotional wreck? Ugh.

“I can’t tell you that.”  Caleb smiles at Natalie and hugs her close, rubbing his hand over her belly.  He always did have a crush on her.  “I’m afraid I won’t be here when the bambino gets here.”

“Oh.”  Natalie looks at me and back at him.  I know how she worries for all of us.  After losing her parents so unexpectedly a few years ago, she always worries.  “Please, be careful.”

“I’ll be fine.  Don’t worry about me.  I’ll be excited to come home and meet… what are you naming her, anyway?”

Natalie and Luke look at each other and grin.  “We’re not telling,” Luke responds.

“Fuck that, I won’t be able to be reached for a good three months, so tell me.”  Nate and I take our seats, he kisses my cheek, and I rub his thigh under the table.

“Watch your mouth!” Mom yells and Caleb rolls his eyes at her.

He’s so gonna get it.

“It’s a surprise.” Caleb frowns at Nat and we all laugh.  “No one is allowed to get on the phone and call TMZ, got it?”

“Whatever. Spill it,” Will calls out.

Natalie looks at Luke and he grins and nods his agreement to tell us.

“Her name is Olivia Grace.  Grace is for my mom.”  She rubs her belly and smiles and I feel tears start to roll.

“Hey, you okay?” Nate asks and wipes my tears off my cheeks.

“Yeah, Natalie’s hormone issues are contagious.”  I laugh and dab beneath my eyes with a napkin, careful not to smudge my makeup.  “It’s a beautiful name, sweetie.”

***

“So, Nate,” my father begins from the table next to ours, and Nate swivels in his chair to face him. “What is it that you do?”

I cringe inwardly. Of course this question was going to come up. Natalie and I share a look before I look back to Nate who smiles at my father.

“I work with Julianne.”

“What do you do there?” my dad asks.

“I’m a senior partner, sir.”

Dad nods and narrows his eyes at me. “So you’re her boss?”

“Yes,” Nate states, his eyes not leaving my dad’s.

The whole room has quieted now, and everyone is listening to the exchange happening between my dad and Nate. Dad’s not being a jerk, but we all know this is the official inquisition.

Nate laces my fingers with his and squeezes gently, reassuring me.

“And what, exactly, is going on between you and my daughter, son?” Dad leans back in his chair and crosses his arms over his chest, his handsome face neutral, but his eyes narrowed.

Without missing a beat, Nate states in a strong, sure voice, “A mutually respectful and loving relationship, sir.”

Wow.

“Damn,” Matt mutters, and I look around the room to see the girls grinning and the boys looking at Nate with respect on their handsome faces and I feel a wide smile blossom on my lips. My dad continues to eye Nate, sizing him up, and finally nods once and grabs his beer.

“Okay then.”

He winks at me and I wink back and we all return to our lunch, chatter breaking out again amongst my brothers.

“So, Jules, I get to surprise you now.” Natalie wrestles her way out of her chair smiling at me and I look around the room, confused.

“Huh?”

“Well, it was your birthday this week, and we didn’t get to throw you a party, so we’re celebrating now.” Natalie smiles smugly and walks into the house, Luke and Will following her, and I look around again, to find everyone grinning at me.

“You’re all in on this?” I ask.

“Honey, you didn’t think we forgot your birthday?” My mom grins at me and I frown.

“You all sent me flowers and texts and called me.”

“Those aren’t presents, kid, that’s just what you do on someone’s birthday.” Will states as he walks in the room, loaded down with gift bags.

Holy shit.

“This is Nat and Luke’s party.” I state firmly and shake my head.

“Jules, shut up,” Natalie murmurs and leans down to kiss my cheek on her way back to her seat.

I look up at Nate who is grinning delightedly at me. “Did you know about this?”

He shrugs. “Of course.”

Well, hell.

Will sets the gifts on the table and takes his seat. “Open them, kid.”

“Stop calling me that,” I mutter, my usual response to his nickname for me.

“No,” he responds with a grin.

I frown at the gift bags and look around at my family again to find everyone watching me. Finally Nate chuckles and hands me a bag. “Open them, baby.”

I work my way through the gifts, delighting in the new silver bracelet from Luke and Nat, a gorgeous scarf from Isaac and Stacey, and a wide array of generous gifts from my whole family. By the time I’m done, I have tears in my eyes and a wide smile on my face.

“Thanks, guys. This is fantastic, and unexpected.” I loop my pretty new red scarf around my neck and slide the bangle bracelet on my wrist.

“We have one more thing,” Natalie says and smiles at me.

“What?” I ask.

“A full day at the spa, you and Natalie, after the baby comes,” Luke says with a smile.

“Nice! Thanks, I won’t turn that down.” I grin at Natalie and she smiles back.

Suddenly, Nate places another small, gold gift bag on the table in front of me. I look up into his gorgeous gray eyes and frown.

“You already gave me my birthday present.”

“Julianne, everyone is giving you gifts today. Do you think I’d come empty-handed?”

“But…”

“Stop,” he murmurs and cups my cheek in his hand, making me look into his eyes. “I’ve already told you how I enjoy giving you gifts. Just open it.”

I hold his gaze for a moment and then look inside the beautiful gold bag. Nestled inside is a red Cartier box.

“Nate…”

“Just open the box, please.”

Inside is a beautiful, sparkling white and pink diamond tennis bracelet.

“Oh, my,” I murmur.

“Holy shit, that’s beautiful!” Samantha exclaims.

“How lovely,” my mom breathes.

Nate takes it out of the box and fastens it around my wrist, then kisses my hand. I cup his face in my hands and kiss him, tenderly, and his hands glide down my back to my waist.

“Watch your hands, McKenna,” Caleb warns, making us all laugh.

“Thank you,” I whisper.

***

Well, no one died.  No one even got maimed.

All of the guests have finally left, and it only took three cars to load up all of baby Olivia’s loot to get it back to Natalie and Luke’s place.

I close and lock the front door and go search for Nate.  The house is a mess, which I expected, and is another reason that I’m so glad I found Alecia.  She’s arranged to have a crew come in tomorrow to clean up and remove the tent and tables and chairs.

God bless her.

I find Nate in the kitchen, tossing paper plates in the garbage and stowing left-overs in the fridge.

“We’ll be eating left overs for a week,” I comment as I walk into the room and help him finish sealing the containers and place them in the fridge.

“Did you have fun?” he asks with a grin.

“After you were introduced to everyone, yes.”  Nate wraps his arms around me from behind and kisses my hair.

“You didn’t have to worry about me.  I was fine.”

“I know, it’s just a nerve-wracking thing.  My brothers are good guys, but they’re really over-protective, and I didn’t want them to be douche bags.”  He smiles against my hair and leans down to kiss my neck.

“They were fine, baby.”

“Well, I’m sorry about Caleb.”  Oh, God, I love it when he kisses my neck like that.

“Caleb was protecting you.  I’d do the same.  No harm done.  Besides, he and I had a long talk before he left, and we’re good.”

“You did?” I turn in his arms and search his handsome face.  “I didn’t notice that.”

“You were doing girl stuff.” He sneers and brushes his lips on my forehead.  “Thank you for including me today.”

“I didn’t have much of a choice, did I?”

“Of course you did.”  He frowns and suddenly looks worried.  “If you didn’t want me here today, you should have said.”

“No,” I run my hands down his chest and back up to his shoulders, loving the way his muscles feel under my hands.  “I was just nervous.  I’m glad you met my family.”

“I want to learn everything about you, Julianne.”  He runs his fingers down my face, and gazes deeply into my eyes.  “I plan to be around for a long time.”

“Oh.”  What else can I say to that?  He’s so much more than I ever realized.  He’s the controlled business man, the playful bad-boy, and he’s just so… sweet.

I wrap my fingers in his long, soft hair and pull him down to me, softly kissing him.  His hands roam my back before settling on my ass and pulling me tightly against him.  I moan and push closer, my breasts pressed against his chest.

“I think you’ve earned an award for good behavior,” I whisper against his mouth.

“Really?” he grins delightedly and leans back to look down at me.  “I think I like the sound of that.”

“Oh, you’re definitely going to like it.”  I pull out of his arms and take his hand while leading him to the stairs.  When we reach my bedroom, I turn on the sidelight and turn to him and slowly begin to strip.  I take the wide black belt off first and toss it aside, followed by my slacks.  Nate’s eyes are on fire, his arms crossed on his chest, and he’s pulling at his bottom lip with his thumb and forefinger as he watches me undress. I unbutton my shirt, but leave it on, open in the front, showing off my nude-colored bra and matching thong.

I walk to him and he drops his arms to his sides, not touching me, and that’s okay.

This is for him.

I pull his shirt out of his slacks and unbutton it, then push it off his strong, broad shoulders, letting it fall to the floor.  I trace the tattoo on his right arm and shoulder with my fingertips and lean over and kiss the dark ink on his chest, smiling as he inhales swiftly through his teeth.

I’m just getting started.

My hands glide down his sides and make quick work of unfastening his belt and pants, slipping them down his hips and legs to the floor.  He went commando today.

Holy shit.

I step back and let my eyes feast on his beautiful body.  His hair is loose, his steel-gray eyes on mine.  His breathing has quickened, and his hands are in fists at his sides, and I can see that it’s taking every ounce of self-control to not attack me.

Backing up to the bed, I make a “come here” motion with my finger and point to the bed.  “Lay down, please.”

A soft smile touches his lips as he wanders to me.  He stops in front of me and cups my cheek in his palm, bringing my eyes up to his before rubbing my lower lip with his thumb.  I kiss the soft pad and he groans.

“How do you want me to lie down?” he asks, his voice raspy with lust.

“On your back.”

He pulls back the covers and lies in the middle of the bed, braced on his elbows, watching me.  I let my shirt fall to the floor, and slip out of my bra and thong, and climb on the bed with him, my knees between his legs.  I kiss his belly, his sternum, and then his lips, pulling back when he tries to deepen the kiss, then leaning in again and teasing him with just the tip of my tongue.

“You’re making me crazy, baby,” he murmurs and I grin.

“You haven’t seen anything yet, honey.”  I nip his chin, run my tongue down his neck, and glide my mouth and hands down his torso, settling back on my heels between his legs.  His cock is full and hard, and I circle the tip with my finger, over the silver balls.

“I like this,” I murmur and he chuckles.

“Do you?”

“Hmmm.”

“I’m glad.” I run my finger down his length and over his scrotum, then back up to the tip.  “Jesus, baby, that feels good.”

I lean down and follow the path my finger took with the tip of my tongue and the bed shifts as he falls onto his back, growling.

“Fuck, seeing that little pink mouth of yours on my cock is so sexy.”

It’s about to get a lot sexier.

I swirl my tongue around the tip and sink down over him, and suddenly his strong hands are in my hair, guiding me up and down, directing me where he wants me to go, and it’s so fucking
hot.