Fortuity (Transcend 3)

“Hockey. Cherries. Elephants. Got it.” Instead of withdrawing his finger from my tattoo, he feathers it down my side.

My heart instructs my lungs to stop breathing. I think they know on their own. It’s impossible to breathe with him touching me.

“No tattoos for you?” I manage to squeak four words without using oxygen. I release my shirt, but his hand stays on my side, holding my breath hostage.

“Nah. I’ve thought about it, but I think I’ve waited too long. You have to get started at a younger age, when choosing what to get permanently inked into your skin is as easy as a favorite fruit or animal.” He ghosts his fingers back up my shirt to my three elephants—and arrestingly close to my bare breast.

It’s a subtle show of intimacy—a patient seduction. Maybe he hasn’t had sex in more than a decade, but Nathaniel Hunt knows how to turn a woman on, and it’s effortless.

“Unmarred skin.” I swallow hard. “That’s intimidating. Or boring.” I relinquish a grin that wavers between smirky and nervous.

Hand close to my boob!

His confident smile takes over his face. “I have a birthmark.”

“Where?”

He leans into me, teasing his lips along my ear as he whispers, “You’ll have to look for it.”

I fist his shirt, pushing him away just enough to put us face-to-face. “You’re a tease. I think you’re hiding your insecurities under this false confidence.” Giving him another shove, I hop off the counter and head back to the broken wine bottle mess.

“What are my insecurities?” He follows me.

Retrieving the dustpan full of glass and the broom, I pad back into the kitchen, giving him a tightlipped smile as I pass him. “Hmm … let’s see. I think you’re feigning confidence.” I empty the glass and return the broom and dustpan to the garage.

“Feigning? What makes you think that?” he asks as soon as I close the garage door.

I lean back against it and cross my arms over my chest, mirroring his stance against the island. “Because you don’t have a slice of pizza tattooed on your bicep or a hockey puck on your calf. Because you said it yourself: things matter more now than they did twenty years ago. So you steal kisses. You look at me like I’m the girl in science class that caught your attention, but when you touch me, I feel your insecurities. Erectile dysfunction is nothing to be ashamed of. You’re not the young, virile man you once were. I’m not the limber seductress I used to be.” I shrug.

“Wow …” He rears his head back and presses a hand to his chest like clutching his grandmother’s pearls. “I feel a little violated. When did this go from a kiss to ED? You’re skipping a lot of bases. You’re assuming I’m planning on having sex with you. We’ve known each other a month. I …” He leaves his jaw hanging open while shaking his head slowly. “I don’t know what to say.” He pops his lips several times, eyes wide and rolled to the side. “I think I’d better go. I’ve tempted you too much. You need to cool off a bit.”

It’s official.

I’m in trouble.

“First, you know damn well I’m cool like a cucumber or your sex drive that’s been frozen in time. Second, I do have to work in the morning because I’m a real adult with a real job. Third, I have to finish my Outlander episode. So … yeah, you’d better get home and slip into your old man flannel PJs, grab your Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition and bottle of lube.” I flash a toothy grin, feeling pride swelling in my awakened ego.

Nate’s grin shows commendable restraint. Then he rubs his lips together, wetting them. The full smile breaks out seconds later, one increment at a time, like a flower blooming or the sun waking up on a clear morning. “I sleep in the nude.”

“Me too.”

I don’t. Nope. I wear boy-shorts, ratty tees, and fluffy socks. In the winter, I sleep in a full sweat suit, hood up.

Nate’s gaze takes a leisurely stroll along my body before he pushes off the counter. “It’s been fun. Night, Elvis.”

Keeping a safe distance, I follow him to the door. “Night, neighbor.”

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Nathaniel

Morgan calls me using Mr. Hans’s cellphone the following afternoon. I try to play it cool, but again, she breaks my heart with how grown-up she is way too early.

“We spent the whole day on rides. I went on the Tower of Terror, and this ride that makes you feel like you’re flying. I got my picture taken with all the princesses and Goofy too. Dad! It’s amazing here. You were so wrong. How could you not know that I’d love it here? Gabe rides with Mr. Hans on most of the rides, and I sit with Hunter. Dad, she’s so cool. She has a boyfriend. A boyfriend! So I’ve been asking her lots of questions so you don’t have to pretend you don’t know the answers when I ask you.”