I swallowed hard as I realized that the party was for me. The queen crowns were meant to represent me, and the calla lilies were a failed attempt at decorating with my favorite flower, which was actually white tiger lilies, but he at least got close to the right kind of flower, so I put it out of my mind.
“Come here, beautiful,” Nathan beckoned.
There were hundreds of eyes staring at me, but I would have given anything to see Avery’s amongst them. Wherever she was stashed away, Nathan had likely done it on purpose to keep her from interfering with his grand display. Despite not really wanting to, I took a few cautious steps toward the platform hovering in the middle of the pool, and when everyone started to clap and goad me on, I stepped with more confidence until I was in the middle of the platform with Nathan. He handed the bouquet to me and pulled me into a kiss. Once he pulled away, he brandished a rectangular leather case from his pocket and tipped the cover back. Inside was a diamond charm bracelet with small, cute lizard charms on it.
My favorite animal was a chameleon, but again, he was close. Still, I couldn’t help but think that he could have just checked with Avery, although she probably wouldn’t have helped if he had. He pulled the bracelet from the case and laced it around my wrist, then kissed the back of my hand, and the crowd cooed.
It was a good play. I had to give him that. Theming the end of the summer party after me and making a huge, public display of our love as a way to try to corner me into taking him back—it was smart. Nathan Loche was many things, but stupid, he was not.
He pulled the microphone away and leaned in close enough so that no one could hear us. “What do you say, baby?” he asked. “Forgiven? I promise, from here on out, you’re the only girl for me.”
For a few minutes, I didn’t say anything and calculated the benefits. Had I ever truly been in love with Nathan? No. For a little bit, right after we started dating, I actually developed something of a crush on him, but when I realized he was kind of an ass, I became uninvested. Our relationship had always been political, at most, but I still demanded respect. If I was going to be his girlfriend, I was going to be the only one.
He was a serial cheater, and the lizards and calla lilies were a clear indicator that he didn’t actually pay all that much attention to me, but at the end of the day, he was a better choice than some. Our group of friends was more cohesive when he and I were together, and he was gorgeous, after all. On top of that, the last time I tried pouring everything into someone, he disappeared. I didn’t want to be hurt like that again, so it wasn’t likely I’d go for that kind of relationship again anyway. I didn’t have much to lose by being with Nathan, but there was a lot to gain. People wouldn’t tell their children our story like the greatest love story of all time, but maybe a few people would remember it.
With the hand that had the new bracelet circling the wrist, I stroked Nathan’s cheek before leaning in for another kiss. “Forgiven.”
Nathan gave me a huge hug before pulling the mic back to his mouth. “Now that the queen is here, the real party can begin!” Everyone applauded, and Nathan took my hand. “We’re off to celebrate. You all enjoy the party!”
The music started back up with booming bass, and Nathan pulled me off the platform, which almost immediately started to sink back beneath the waters the moment we were off of it. Nathan leaned in, setting his mouth at my ear and pecking the lobe gently. “I meant what I said about celebrating, you know? It’s been a long summer.”
I grinned at him, which he took for a green light, and he led me toward the smaller house in the southeast part of the estate, which was Nathan’s personal home. The music faded away as we distanced ourselves from the party, and when he opened the front door to the house, a collection of voices found my ears. Amongst them were Avery and Alistair, along with the other members of the court. Another well-calculated move from Nathan. Stash The Royal Court at his house so that they couldn’t even hear the announcements outside. Couldn’t blame his brain, for sure.
Instead of taking me into the sunken living room where our friends were waiting, Nathan led me upstairs to his bedroom, and we were barely inside the door before he had my clothes off. There wasn’t much in the way of foreplay before he’d backed me down onto his bed and parted my legs. I forced the most believable sounds I could fake out of me while he pushed inside.
With my eyes closed, I did my best to twist and turn my hips in a way that would bring me any sort of pleasure. Nathan rarely cared about my pleasure when it came to sex, and our grand reuniting was no different. When I became convinced I wouldn’t be enjoying any orgasms, I turned my attention to the things that I knew moved him along. I bit the lobe of his ear between my teeth and raked my hands into his hair. He grunted in response, and after a period of time that would embarrass other men, he let out a moan
