Chapter 21 Miss you while I'm gone
And that's when I realized I hadn't checked my mysterious man out. He normally shows up after dark when I'm even sleeping, but today he showed up at eight in pale blue jeans and brown leather shoes that looked like they were worth a fortune, same as the gold and silver watch on his wrist.
His white t-shirt completely shows off his bulging muscles. If I hadn't seen Natte with tattoos with my own eyes, I would have thought the mysterious man standing at my door was Natte.
I shifted on my feet because he was still not facing me. I took in his size again at the door where he was standing and realized just how big he was. I think he might be even bigger than Natte, but in close comparison they appear the same, which is saying a lot. I also didn't get a good look at his face with the light shining from the house at first.
“Is everything okay?” I ask.
He lifts his arm to take off his black hat and then runs a hand through his dark hair. I watched his muscles flex at the action under his white t-shirt, and I made myself look away. Pine knew where and how to touch me and I'd immediately go limp under his touch. God, was I checking him out? His thick thighs will forever be branded in my mind, as they were in my palm, letting me know I didn’t miss a thing.
"Can I get in?" He asks the second he turns to face me.
I stutter and just decide to nod at him.
He takes a step closer, and I finally get to see his face. My stomach tightens as his blue eyes meet mine. At that moment, I see Natte in him. His face is square with a jaw made of stone, and his expression is stoic. He’s handsome in an intimidating way, but I don’t find that I’m at all afraid of him.
“You done with your surprise?” I nod my head in agreement even though it’s not a question.
“Okay.” Weird thing to say, but I guess I can do that.
He smells like sunshine, and his blue eyes could almost be black as they stare down at me. His smile really reflects that of Natti.
He lets go of the door handle and steps in. I reach in to lock the door and he holds out his hand.
“Locked.”
“You want the door locked?” I’m learning quickly that Mr. Pine was a man of as few words as possible.
At the dining table. Pine hasn't let go of his inquiries about me working with Natte, I answer him.
“Yes,” I say, mildly. “But what Natte is or isn’t, is of no relevance to me.”
“Even though you two used to be best friends growing up?” He asks again.
“Which was seven years ago.”
But it doesn’t feel like Natte and me have been apart at all; we’ve fallen back in line with each other with such ease. I omit that, though.
“And if I said I didn’t want you to go …”
“Well, I kind of hoped you wouldn’t want me to go, but…”
“You’d still go anyway.”
“Yes. It’s an amazing opportunity for me, Pine.” I try to touch his hands in reassurance.
“Hmm.” He nods. “So how long would you be gone?”
“The concert is for one week: three days in Texas, three days in London.”
“So you’ll be gone for one week to start with.” He sounds unhappy.
I nod. “But I will do my best to get home if I can.”
“And you’ve already said you’ll definitely do it?”
“Yes. The resort really needs this considering I've heard it's about to merge. And this is a good opportunity I’m talking about here; working for Rossy Forever will be huge for my career. It could open up all kinds of doors for me.”
“But why ask you? You’ve never managed a hotel room before.”
Wow, thanks for the support. You really know me well, mystery man, just like you know every inch of my body.
“No, but I have been working at the resort for a long time, and there is a first time for everything, Pine. You know, maybe Natte actually thinks my freelance work is good, and he’s a good friend so he thought he’d help me out by giving this opportunity to me. You know, supporting me in my career, which was what I was kind of hoping you would do.” I drop my fork onto my plate with a clatter.
“Sorry,” he backtracks. “I am supportive and I’m pleased for you, it’s just a little out of the blue, and I’m sad that I’m going to have to be without you every night for such a long time.”
Sighing, I get up and walk around to him and sit in his lap. He puts his fork down on his plate and wraps his arms around me.
“The time will fly by, baby,” I say, kissing his cheek. “And then I’ll be back home and everything will be back to normal.” I can’t help the smile that spreads across my face.
Pine touches my face, brushing my hair back. “I am really pleased for you, darling. I’m just going to miss you so much.”
“I’ll miss you too.”
He leans in and presses his lips to mine. He tastes of red wine. I wrap my arms around his neck, kissing him back. I part my lips and his tongue moves in my mouth. I turn in his lap so I’m straddling him, kissing him still. He groans in my mouth.
Normally when Pine makes that sound it really turns me on, but for some reason I don’t feel as turned on. I feel low, in a dilemma, like I'm betraying him. I push myself closer to him, trying to ignite a fire in my belly. I feel Pine get hard beneath me. He puts his hands on my ass and pulls me hard onto him.
But still, nothing is happening for me.
I’m probably just tired and overwhelmed with everything that’s happened over the last few days. I’ll get turned on any second now, I’m sure of it. But I don’t feel any different when he’s leading me into my bedroom, and undressing me, and making love to me. And I can’t for the life of me figure out why not.
It’s half past ten in the night when my phone starts singing, telling me I have a text. I must change my ringtone.
Pine has already left. He left pretty much right after we made love, but I’ve been lying here for ages unable to sleep, watching the TV in my room with the sound low. I whip my phone up off my nightstand, silencing it. Then I see the text is from Natte. My heart jumps in my chest.