Page 18 of Bones

The fact that he wants me to call him Nate when no one else does makes me soften, but I don’t want to look into why too deeply.

His big hands immediately come to my hips, his fingers biting into me like he doesn’t want me to go. “What did you say to Pyro?” His gaze drops to my lips, and his teeth rake over his full bottom one.

“Doesn’t matter. He’s gone, that’s all you need to know. You were jealous,” I whisper, and his eyes narrow slightly.

“Do you like that? Making me jealous?” he asks in a low rumble. He runs his lips up the column of my neck. “I wanted to hit my own club brother for even sitting close to you.”

“You haven’t even made a move on me,” I blurt out, and he laughs without humor.

“I don’t want to fuck things up with you. I already kidnapped you,” he admits, pulling back and smiling at me sheepishly. “It was definitely the most impulsive thing I’ve done.”

“Insane is the word you are looking for. Or…” I tilt my head. “…criminal.”

“Yet here you are. You could have left with Pyro.”

“I know,” I admit, swallowing hard. “And I should have. I know that. It would have been the smart thing to do.”

“But?” he presses, his fingers now running up my spine.

“But… you’ve got my attention, Nate. You took me for a reason. Maybe you wanted a distraction. I think you wanted someone who understands you and can figure out how your mind works. But now I think it’s gotten out of control. You like me.”

He makes a deep sound in his throat. “You think I don’t know that? I’ve wanted to fuck you since I first laid eyes on you in your sexy librarian-looking outfits and those heels. Always so fucking put together. I’ve wanted nothing more than to mess you up, to make you dirty.”

Okay, that was hot.

“I don’t know why I’m still here. If I had any ounce of sense, I’d have left and never spoken to you again,” I whisper, and a shadow passes through his eyes.

“I’m glad you didn’t.”

“You brought me here to talk, Nate. I think we should do more of that, don’t you?”

He sits back and scrubs his hand down his face. “Yeah, I suppose we can do that. It’s hard being vulnerable with someone, you know? Especially as a biker.”

“I’m not going to judge you,” I assure him, tucking my hair back behind my ear. “This isn’t exactly a normal situation, but my job literally is to listen and help you work through things.”

“But this isn’t a job,” he mutters.

And I nod, agreeing. “No, it’s not, but it doesn’t change the fact that I’m here. And I’m not going to repeat anything you tell me. Why don’t you start at the beginning?”

“Okay,” he murmurs, clearing his throat. “My parents died when we were kids. We were put into foster care. They tried to separate us a few times, but we’d always find each other. We’d run away. We didn’t trust anyone. All we had was each other. It’s always been like that for as long as I can remember. We only had each other. When we turned eighteen, we joined the MC.”

My heart breaks for him and his brother. I’m glad they had each other, but they didn’t have the childhood they deserved. So much from our childhood finds us as adults.

“And even then, the two of you were inseparable?” I guess, and he grins.

“Yeah. We did every task together. Our rooms were next to each other with a connecting bathroom. Prez thought it was weird as fuck, but everyone accepted it. That’s the thing about our brotherhood, they might give you shit, but no one judges you, you know? We finally found a home. We worked our way up the ranks and eventually became enforcers for the club. We rarely did anything without each other. We both wanted to look the same and do the same things. It might sound weird, but to us it was natural. Then Skull meets Isla, and suddenly, I’m not a part of that.”

“And now you’re struggling to figure out who you are without him?” I ask, reaching out and taking his hand.

“I just feel lost. Numb. I don’t know, I’m not myself. Skull is the big brother who’s always kept me tethered. He was always the angel on my shoulder. And without him, the devil is taking over. Now I feel like I’m just fucking floating…”

He spends the next hour telling me all about his brother and their relationship.

“It sounds like your brother hasn’t cut you out of his life, though, Nate. He fell in love. And it seems like he’s trying to include you in that in any way he can.”

A strange expression crosses his face. “Yeah, I guess you’re right. And I am happy for him. He deserves to be loved the way that Isla loves him.”

“And you deserve that too. And you can both have that and still keep your relationship. It’s not going anywhere. It’s just evolving, but the bond never changes.”