“Why would you want to go? Don't you think that you should take a few minutes? I mean, you really junked the landing. You don't look so good.”
It was not anything that he wanted to hear. “I really just need to get up.” His voice came out a bit gruffer than he would have liked it to.
Laurel picked up on the tone immediately and got up off of him, looking guilty.
“Sorry, I wasn't trying to hurt you.”
“You're not hurting me.”
Not in a way that I can admit to, anyway, he thought to himself.
“So, what were you thinking about that had you run into a tree?”
“Back to that?”
It was small talk really, just something that she had to be wondering about, but her questions indicated to him that she just didn’t understand. He couldn't tell her the why, if she didn’t see it. How could she not?
“Why won’t you tell me?”
“I can't even tell you.”
“Liar.”
“You really have to stop calling me that.”
“Well, you should stop lying if you don’t like it.”
She had this good-natured grin on her face and for some reason, that bothered him. It was all just a joke to Laurel, but he was standing there, trying to pull himself together, even though it was a lot easier said than done. It was all driving him crazy.
“Truth is, Laurel, sometimes a man lies to save someone's feelings. If I told you that I was thinking about what it would be like to slide inside of your hot honey box and that's why I ran into the tree, you probably would have gotten embarrassed. Your face would have turned as red as it is now, and I thought to save you from that feeling of awkwardness.”
She looked away quickly, face flaming. He had to know that his words were going to have that sort of effect on her. How easy it had all been.
“So, do you see now why I keep some things to myself?”
“Not really. Why pretend like it's not there? We both feel it and while I didn’t know you were that bothered, I would have to be blind to not see what is in your expression all the time.”
Could it be that she wanted him just as badly as he wanted her? Nathan really liked the idea of it.
Then, he was kissing her, pulling her down to him and pressing his lips hard on hers. It was honestly what he’d wanted to do for so long. The reality of it was even better than he would have imagined. How that was possible, he had no idea.
It was like fireworks bursting all around him and before he could really think straight, she was pushing back and making him hold her even tighter. He did not want to let her go. The way she had fallen into his arms so naturally looked like the world didn’t want him to let go of Laurel, either.
He looked at her. Her eyes were a little bloodshot, and he knew that the kiss had gotten to her just as much as it had gotten to him. Maybe even more so.
She was still close to his lips and he wanted more of the same, needed it. He moved to kiss her again, and she stopped him with a hand to his chest.
“You know we can't do this.”
He growled underneath his breath but knew that the words she spoke were true. They couldn't do it, at least not yet. That kiss, though, told him everything he needed to know. All of a sudden, he was willing to do far more than he had ever considered possible. It was time for Nathan to make it so that they could be together. That was all that he was thinking about now.
They got back to the skies. His body was bruised, but his ego was bruised even more. There was also something different now. He knew without a doubt that he had to have her. That Laurel was somehow destined to be his. Whether it was true or not. It was something that he wanted desperately and all he had to do was figure out a way to make it happen. The first step was getting rid of Nancy, and that was going to be a lot harder than he even wanted to think about. It was a complication that was not going to easily go away.
Chapter 12
After their first lesson, Laurel made herself scarce for the rest of the day. She had dinner out and she didn't dread going back to his place, but she dreaded the awkwardness that was going to ensue. She had been overwhelmed earlier when he had kissed her and she had pulled away. It had probably given him the wrong impression like she didn't want what was happening. Maybe it would have been more accurate to say that she wanted it too much. How desperately she had felt when he had kissed her. And then just as easily, she had remembered that he had a mate that had tried to kill her not that long ago.
It was complicated. Maybe a little too complicated. As much as she wanted to believe that they were meant to be together and all that jazz, there was another side of her, the more realistic side, that was a lot less romantic about it. He was taken. He couldn't be hers.
