Wild Christmas (Wild Heart Mountain: Wild Rider’s MC #17)

9. Freya

9

FREYA

A s I follow Nate to the kitchen for lunch, I press my fingertips to my lips. They tingle from where he kissed me, and my entire body feels more alive than it ever has. He pulled away from the kiss, but I wanted him to keep going.

I want to find out where that kiss would lead. I thought he was going to retreat like he so often does and I walk quietly behind him, certain he’s going to change his mind about lunch.

When we get to the kitchen the food’s already pulled out of the fridge, and he lays four slices of bread on the counter and starts buttering them.

He started to open up about his wife, and I have so many questions. It’s a revelation that they were separating and I feel for him, the man away protecting his country while his wife carried on behind his back. It must have felt like a huge betrayal.

There’s a PC on the table, which I’ve come to see as a recurring theme. Even though Nate has an office and workshop, he says the light is better out here. I think he likes to be in the family area when the girls are around so he can be near them.

His backpack is on the table with computer parts spewing out of it. My gaze catches on a silver foil packet with the name of a DNA testing company written across it.

I pick up the package. “I’ve heard about these; you can trace your ancestry and find out loads of stuff that’s in your genes.”

Nate glances at the packet and frowns. “Snips gave it to me. I’m not sure if I’m going to do it.”

I turn the packet over in my hands. “I think it would be interesting to see where you came from. It might be surprising.”

Nate takes the packet off me and shoves it deep in his backpack. “Maybe.” He walks back around to the where he’s making the sandwiches. “You want mayo or mustard?”

His tone has a finality about it, and I take it the subject is closed. “Mayo please.”

Nate squeezes mayo onto my sandwich, puts a slice on top, and puts it on a plate. He slides it across to me, and I take a seat on one of the stools.

The sandwich is good, and we eat in silence for a few moments.

“Have you always been into computers?”

He swallows his bite of sandwich and nods. “I was the kid who spent recess in the computer room. Teachers used to come to me to get their laptops fixed. I made a bit of money on the side doing it.”

“It’s impressive. I don’t know a thing about tech.”

He shrugs. “Not really, not once you learn how. Just most people don’t bother to learn.”

He’s being modest. I’m pretty sure most people wouldn’t know how to do what he does. I finish my sandwich and take the plate to the sink. I don’t want to go back to my room yet. I want to hear more about Nate.

He’s gone quiet since he opened up to me earlier, and I worry I’ve made him sad by bringing up old wounds. “It’s not your fault, you know.”

“What isn’t?”

“That your wife cheated. I didn’t know her, obviously, but that seems like a shitty thing to do to someone when they were off defending your country.”

He shakes his head. “It was a long time ago. I should never have married her. She was too young, too much of a free spirit. She’s not the type of woman who could be left alone.”

“She must have known what she was getting into, marrying into the military.”

He drops his plate into the dishwasher and leans against the counter next to me.

“I was a bad husband, Freya. I shouldn’t have left her alone with the kids. But she told me she was fine.”

I think about my own mom and the struggles she had with me.

“How did you find out she cheated? ”

“She told me.” Something passes across his face, and I regret bringing it up.

Nate takes a deep breath and runs a hand through his hair. When he speaks, it’s so quiet I have to lean in to hear him. “I’m not sure that Maisie’s mine.”

He looks the saddest I’ve ever seen him, and I clutch the side of the bench as a wave of emotion hits me. “No…”

He looks up at me with tortured eyes. “The night before the accident, we had an argument. I had found out about the cheating a few weeks before and thought we could have an amiable split. But she got angry at me and said Maisie wasn’t mine. I stormed out of the house and went to stay with Judge for the night. It was the next day she had the accident. Went off the road coming down the mountain. She was killed instantly. The girls were in the car without a scratch on them.

“The trunk was packed with her bags. Becky was leaving, to go to her lover or to her mom’s I’ll never know.”

I take his hand, feeling the sadness rolling off him. He loves Maisie. To live this entire time wondering if she’s his or not must be torture.

“Oh Nate, I’m so sorry.”

He squeezes my hand. “I chose not to believe her. Becky could sometimes say things in the heat of the moment, and those girls needed someone. I try not to think about it, tell myself it doesn’t matter…” He shakes his head. “Then Snips gives me this DNA test and I think we ll, maybe I should find out for sure. Then I’ll know one way or the other.”

He’s torn, I can see it in his face, and I regret bringing it all up.

“Sorry, I brought it up. I didn’t mean to pry.” I’m just curious about what makes this man tick, about who he is. I want to know every aspect of him.

“Don’t be sorry, Freya. I like that you’re curious about me.” He turns to me, and I realize how close he is. “It gives me hope that maybe you feel like I do.”

My breath hitches at his words, and my heart races. “How do you feel?”

His thumb brushes my lip, and he pulls it down. “Like I want to kiss you again.”

My skin pimples at his touch, and dampness floods my panties. Everything in me is aching to kiss him, but my aunt’s words echo around my head. “Never get involved with the dad. Ever.”

But my body wins out. Nate kisses me, and this time I’m ready for him. I meet his lips hungrily, opening up for him.

His hands tangle in my hair and our bodies bump together, sending heat to every place that connects with him.

My hand slides around his neck, and a moan escapes my lips. It feels so right. It can’t be wrong, can it?

Then Nate’s hands are on me, running over my waist and circling me in his arms, drawing me to him. I banish any doubts from my mind and let the kiss take me .

“Freya,” he whispers, “I’ve wanted you since I saw your pictures online.”

His words whispered against my neck send fresh heart sizzling down my veins. His hand slides under my thigh and I lift my leg, hooking it around his waist.

He caresses the tops of my thighs and moves around between my legs. Even through my leggings, the sensation of his hand caressing my pussy makes me gasp.

Nate tilts his head back, and his eyes are deep pools of desire. He keeps them on mine as he slides a hand under the waistband of my leggings. His fingers find my slick folds, and I tremble under his touch.

“You’re wet for me, Freya.”

The way he says my name sends a new shock of bliss through me. I tilt my head back, and he kisses my neck. His hand moves with precision and sensitivity, stroking my most sensitive areas.

I shouldn’t be doing this, but it feels so right and I’m not sure I could stop now. The sensation builds to a peak, and I grip his shoulders as a wave of pure bliss crashes over me.

The sudden sensation makes me cry out and I bear down on him, pressing his palm to me. Before my climax stops he moves against me again, teasing out another orgasm.

This time as I come his finger slides into me. Nate grunts. “You’re so fucking tight, Freya.”

I grip his shoulder as I shudder through my release. “I haven’t done this before, Nate. ”

He pulls back to look at me, shock written all over his face. “You’re a virgin?”

I nod before I realize my mistake. Nate pauses, and my pussy pulses on his palm as the last orgasm winds down.

“Is that a problem?” Nate shakes his head, but his hand slides out of my leggings and he carefully places my leg down by my side so my foot hits the floor.

“I’m sorry, Freya. I got carried away. I forgot how young you are. I shouldn’t have started something.”

“I’m twenty-four, Nate. I’m a big girl who can make her own big decisions.”

I glare at him as anger flares inside me. I was about to give myself to this man, and it seems all he was after was a quick fumble.

“That’s not what I meant…”

But I don’t stick around to hear what he meant. Tears sting my eyes, and I’m not going to let him see me cry. Aunt Maxine was right. I never should have let the dad kiss me.