Page 21 of Broken Hearts (Hibiscus Hearts #1)

I look back over my shoulder and into the house. The papers from the investment company are now shoved in a drawer, but it’s been on my mind ever since all this started with Nate.

This place is his livelihood, and Alana’s too, and selling it now just feels so wrong. Even though I didn’t have the best relationship with my dad, I do feel like keeping The Pipe Dream up and running would be a way to honor his legacy.

A legacy he built here that is not only benefiting Alana and Nate but really the whole community.

It’s been on my mind since I found myself attracted to Nate, wondering if this has anything to do with the possibility of me selling The Pipe Dream. What if this is all an act, a ploy to get me to fall for him and keep my dad’s shop?

It sounds ridiculous even in my head, and I don’t dare say it out loud.

I wasn’t lying when I said I had a good time today, and honestly, if Alana hadn’t interrupted us, things would have gone further.

“What’s going on in that pretty little head of yours?”

Nate asks, his words calm. Again, gone is the guy I met that first day, but I’m in my own head, worried about the future.

I don’t want to ask it, but I can’t stop myself. The words flow from my lips without the concern of what he’s going to say. As much as the truth will hurt, it will let me know where we stand.

“Are you just doing this because you don’t want me to sell The Pipe Dream?”

I blurt the question out, and without missing a beat, Nate replies.

“What? No.”

His words have a bite to them, almost as if he’s shaming me for asking. “Why would you even think that?”

He shakes his head, his disheveled brown hair falling onto his forehead, and he runs his hand through it, pushing it back.

“I don’t know,”

I reply, but I do know. He hated me when we first met, and now here I am, possibly ruining his life by selling the only thing that is still his connection to my dad.

“Don’t bullshit me, Sage,”

Nate says, hitting me with a hard stare. His eyes bore into mine, and my heart flutters at the way he looks at me, deep pools of blackness.

Swallowing hard, I build up the courage to admit to him what I’m thinking, what I’ve been thinking since that first time he kissed me.

“You hated me when I first got here, and now…well, now…”

I motion between us, my cheeks growing hot with the idea of things going further between us.

“I didn’t hate you,”

Nate scoffs, rolling his eyes playfully. “I think I was just…I don’t know, hurt that Mitch kept it from me. I took my hurt out on you.”

He lets out a long sigh. “Mitch, your dad, was always private, and if anything, he was probably embarrassed.”

“Embarrassed about what? By what?”

I quickly ask, my heart suddenly aching with what the answer might be.

And it’s like he can read my mind, shaking his head again. “Not embarrassed by you, Sage,”

Nate says sweetly. “Never, and you know that. You saw those photo albums.”

I feel the tears begin to well up in my eyes, the thought of how I failed my father consuming me. He was embarrassed because I cut him out with no good reason. I was selfish and immature and petty, and I hate that’s how everything with him ended.

“Sage,”

Nate croons. The way he says my name cuts right through me, and I can’t fight the tears any longer. Reaching over, he takes my hand, tugging me toward him. “C’mere,”

he whispers, and I swear I’ve never loved the way someone has called to me the way he does. His simple demand makes me feel so needed and comforted.

I climb into his lap, resting my head on his shoulder, the tears spilling slowly down my cheeks, and he presses a kiss to my forehead.

Letting out a low chuckle, Nate sighs. “I told Mitch I would be single forever because I’d never find someone who understands me the way he did.”

He pauses, his fingers twisting a lock of my hair mindlessly. “I know this is hard to believe, but I struggle to let people in.”

“What? You? Never,”

I joke, lifting my head from his shoulder to look at him, a shy smile on his face now.

“Cheeky,”

he replies, pinching my side and making me giggle as he continues, “Mitch always said I’d find someone, that I’d eventually find someone who gets me. I didn’t believe him, but he was right.”

Nate stops, his Adam’s apple bobbing as he swallows hard. “You’re it, Sage. You get me like he did. You make me want to be a better person. You make me want to be a better person for you.”

I rest a hand on his cheek, the flush making him look so damn endearing. His admission is the most honest he’s been, and I believe every word of it.

I don’t respond, just slide my hands into his hair, his fingers pressing into my back as he holds me tightly. I can feel the hard beat of my heart beating in time with his, and I lose myself in his gaze, his deep brown eyes saying everything I need without words.

My lips collide with his in a kiss that is needy and hungry. It takes the air from my lungs, begging for more, and his hand slides under my tank.

His fingers brush along my skin, leaving a trail of warmth everywhere they touch as they move higher. Brushing the swell of my breast, my body trembles, and he growls against my mouth.

“You’re not wearing a bra,”

he hisses, his breath coming out in hard puffs. “Fuck. Me.”

“Is that an invitation?”

I murmur, letting my tongue trace along his bottom lip, loving the groan he lets out in response.

I shift on his lap, my center right over his now hard cock, and I feel like I’m losing my mind. Moving slowly against him, his fingers caress my nipple and I moan, leaning into his touch.

“Tell me what you want, Sage,”

Nate rasps, his words, his tone causing my undies to become wetter than I ever thought possible.

I moan again, his name falling from my lips in a desperate plea, but it’s not enough. He wants more. He wants to hear me say it, to say what I want, and I’ve never felt so free and so open with someone.

“I want you to make me come. My body aches for you,”

I moan. The desperation in my tone passes between us, and Nate pulls back, giving me a sly grin.

“Do you want me to eat your sweet pussy, Sage?”

He licks his lips, leaning forward, his mouth next to my ear, his breath coming hard and fast, sending a shiver over my entire body. “Do you want to come in my mouth?”

“Oh my fucking god,”

I mutter on a breathy exhale. This guy is a fucking dream come true. I’ve never had a guy say things like this to me, setting my body on fire for him.

“Tell me,”

he now demands, his hand moving to the back of my neck, tightening, holding me to him with a force that has my center throbbing.

“I want…”

I stop abruptly when I hear Alana calling my name again, my eyes going wide. Nate lets out a groan, and not the good kind.

“What the fuck?”

he calls out, his mouth moving down to bite my nipple through the thin fabric of my tank.

She knocks now, calling my name again, this time asking, “What are you doing in there? Are you okay? I heard you from downstairs.”

“Ignore her,”

Nate whispers, his mouth now sucking at my neck, biting a little and making me yelp. He smiles, proud of himself, as his hand continues to play with my nipple.

“I can’t,”

I groan, letting my head fall back, basking in the sensation of his rough fingers on my sensitive skin. “I’m answering the door, but we are not done here.”

“You bet your ass we’re not,”

Nate barks, and when I stand up, he adjusts himself, which only makes me smile, loving the effect I have on him.

I scamper over to the door as Alana knocks again. She really is relentless, but I mean that in the nicest possible way. She has been a really great friend since I arrived, welcoming me despite not knowing anything about me.

“Hey!”

I call, whipping open the door. “Sorry, we were…”

I trail off when Nate lets out a low chuckle. I’m sure his mind is recalling what we were just doing, what I wish we were still doing.”

“Nate? What are you doing here?”

Alana asks as she steps inside, scrunching up her nose. “I thought you were busy. You said you needed me to open the shop.”

“Yeah, I was busy, and you int—”

I cut him off, whipping around to look at him, my eyes wide.

“He taught me how to surf today and we were having dinner together. I made dinner as a thank you.”

Everything comes out in a rush, and honestly, a little bit jumbled and it’s surely obvious that we’re trying to cover something up.

“Oh my god!”

Alana squeals. “For real? How did you do?”

She pulls out a stool at the kitchen island, plopping down, her dark brown hair piled high on her head, and it bobs as she wiggles into the seat.

“It was good. I stood up the first time but after that, things got a little messy,”

I tell her, smiling at how excited she is.

“Now we have to go out together,”

she croons, her smile so big I can see every tooth in her mouth. “I can’t wait. You’re going to love surfing. Once you start, it’s hard to stop.”

“Really?”

Nate chimes in, coming over to stand beside Alana. “Funny you should say that because I’m pretty sure you quit?—”

“Mind your damn business, Nate,”

Alana barks at him, narrowing her eyes. “I’m working on it. It’s been tough. You should know that better than anyone.”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah,”

he mutters, going over to the fridge. He pulls out a beer, not bothering to offer one to Alana, but I get it. He wants her to leave, and as rude as it is, I would like her to go too.

I shift around, crossing my legs as I try to dull the ache between my thighs. Shit, if I’m aching like this, I can’t even imagine what Nate is dealing with.

“Did you get my text?”

Alana now says, directing her question at me. I didn’t bother to look at it, too wrapped up in the idea of having dinner with Nate.

“I did, but I didn’t read it yet. I’m sorry. What’s up?”

“My roommates and I are going to be making some leis for Mitch’s memorial service. You want to help us?”

Alana asks, her words sweet and comforting. “It’s this thing we do.”

“I’d love to,”

I reply, and Nate lets out a hard exhale of disappointment, and I quickly add, “But I have plans tonight.”

Alana doesn’t say anything, her gaze moving from me to Nate and back to me again. “Plans with Nate?”

she now asks, wrinkling up her nose.

“Just dinner and drinks to thank him for the surf lesson,”

I say, again sounding like we’re hiding something.

“How about tomorrow then?”

she quickly says, smiling.

“Perfect.”

“I gotta go finish up payroll at the shop, but I’ll see you tomorrow,”

Alana says, tossing a thumb toward the door. “You want to meet at my house around six?”

I nod, but Alana seems to know something is going on, as she looks again at me and then back to Nate.

“Bye, Alana,”

Nate says, his words a little demanding and he begins to walk toward the door, moving his hands as if he’s trying to fan her out the door.

She follows him, and when he opens the door, she steps outside, but not before asking, “What the hell is going on with you two?”

Pushing up on her toes, she looks over Nate’s shoulder, calling out to me, “Sage, what’s going on?”

“Bye, Alana,”

Nate says, slamming the door in her face.

“Oh my god, Nate! That was so rude.”

My mouth falls open, letting out a laugh as I shake my head.

“Don’t worry, she’ll get over it. Just be prepared for questions tomorrow.”

He stops, watching me as I lean on the counter. He wets his lips, and I swallow hard.

“Where were we?”

I ask, my words low and seductive.

“I don’t remember,”

Nate replies, stalking over to where I’m standing. He backs me up against the counter, his body flush against mine.

He captures my mouth with his, his hands tangling in my hair, and with that, we’re back to where we were. My body calling out for him, my undies drenched and his hard-on pressing into my hip.

His fingers dance along the waistband of my cut-off shorts, dipping down and caressing my bare skin. His gaze never leaves mine as his fingers deftly undo the button on my shorts, sliding the zipper down slowly.

“I think you mentioned…”

I start to say, my breath catching, and I let out a gasp as he pushes my cut-offs to the floor, leaving me in just my underwear.

He drops to his knees in front of me, looking up my body with a gorgeous smirk on his face. “Beaver panties,”

he laughs, leaning forward, he swipes his tongue along my clit through the thin fabric of my underwear.

“I didn’t know we’d be doing this,”

I reply, my face heating up.

Why the hell did I put the stupid beaver underwear on? Who the hell wears underwear with beavers on them? Me.

“I fucking love them,”

Nate growls, his fingers hooking into the sides of my panties, and with his eyes still on me, tortuously slowly, he slides my undies down my legs, letting them pool at my feet.

Gripping my waist, his fingers dig in as he lets out a groan of appreciation when he sees me. My entire body tenses, the dull ache between my thighs turning to a dying need.

I tangle my hands in his hair, wanting to pull him to me, wanting his mouth on me, desperate and aching. My heart is pounding in my chest, feeling like it’s missing every other beat, and my knees nearly give out when he swipes his tongue through my wetness.

“Oh my god,”

I call out, and when Nate looks up at me, his gaze deep and dark, seduction looming between us, I tell him what I want.

“You’re so fucking wet for me,”

Nate rasps out, and he leans in again, another painfully slow lick.

“Nate,”

I moan, holding him to me, my breathing ragged, my heart beating wildly out of control. “Make me come.”

“I want to be the only one who ever makes you come, Sage.”