No Strings Attached

Chapter Four

Confusion, anger; the sweeping ashes of a sexual attraction – a love she thought she’d brushed under the carpet years ago - they all rolled through her in a sickening wave.

While every emotion felt as though it must be so obvious to him that it might as well be scored into her exposed flesh, his slate grey gaze might as well have been an old semi-mechanical shutter on a shop doorway. She didn’t have a clue what he was thinking.

She’d known, of course, somewhere in her subconscious, that she still clung to this physical weakness for Nate, that he could still elicit this response from a simple brush of his fingertips, but she’d never expected the situation to arise, never expected that he would. Four and a half years of complete and utter animosity had convinced her that she’d never need to think about it.

“Don’t expect me to apologise for touching you,” he groaned out, shifting to sit more comfortably on the cold concrete, his erection pressing against its denim confines as he pulled out a cigarette from his pocket.

Lighting it slowly, she heard his deep inhale, watched the muscles in his chest expand as he did so.

“Why should I?” she drawled, “I’m a whore, remember? Getting fucked on a patio is child’s play for me ...”

She heard him curse behind her as she walked away, calling her name almost apologetically, but she wouldn’t turn around for fear he’d see the tears in her dark eyes, the quiver in her sensual bottom lip.

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Nate watched her retreating form go back into the cottage, pulling the smoke into his lungs slowly.

Well, he’d fucked that up!

But, Christ, he couldn’t get the image of her tanned, toned flesh out of his mind. The moonlight had danced over the soft, corded muscles in her abdomen – her breasts fuller than he remembered – the nipples darker than the flushed pink they’d been. He’d seen the flush across her skin – seen the arousal and need as plain in her eyes as it had ever been – but there was too much in the way. She was fighting it tooth and nail, running away again.

He groaned softly, his mind tormenting him with the memories, as his erection stubbornly refused to subside – as though it knew something he didn’t.

He just couldn’t handle this pushing him away bullshit – he’d told her he’d lied – fuck, she’d even said she’d forgiven him! That should be enough, right?

“Hey man,” Nate looked up from where his head had been resting on his clenched fist, to see Jayden strolling up the grass to squat down next to him. “Shannon just flew into the house like a bat out of hell, what happened?”

Flicking the length of ash from the tip of his cigarette, he shrugged – he was sulking like a fucking schoolgirl, “How did you do it?” Nate asked, teeth clenched, because he didn’t really know that he wanted to hear the answer to that question – but he was so fucking desperate right now, he’d try anything, “You made it look so easy, like it just all fell into place one day. She won’t even fucking talk to me!”