her ass now, to be honest. She doesn’t deserve you.”
My lips twist up into a smile when I see that she’s serious. “You’re not going to stun her, are you?”
She lifts a brow as if she’s thinking about it.
I laugh and nod toward the driveway. Everyone is out back drinking, so they probably have no idea we’ve arrived yet, unless they happened to see the headlights. “Let’s go introduce you to everyone. I’ll come back later and grab our bags.”
Before she can say anything, I reach down and grab her hand, lacing my fingers with hers. She stiffens at first, just like at the gas station, but then falls into step beside me as I head through the gravel.
“We could’ve waited until there were actual people in sight before holding hands, you know,” she mumbles from beside me.
I have a feeling her feisty side will be coming out a lot here soon, and I need it to. She really has no idea what being my girlfriend entails.
“You’re gonna have to relax and go with the flow if we want this to look real. If you were my girlfriend, you’d be much closer than you are right now. In fact, you’d be tangled up with my body, unable to keep your hands and mouth off me. Trust me.” Smiling, I pull her closer to me. “This will have to do for now, though.”
“For now?”
“That’s what I said.” I stop walking and look down when I almost twist my ankle on a big rock. This is the worst excuse for a driveway I’ve ever seen. “Come here.”
Without giving her time to react, I scoop her up and throw her over my shoulder, causing a surprised gasp to leave her lips.
“Madden! What are you doing? Put me the hell down.” She places her hands on my back and pushes up so she can most likely see where we’re walking. “Put me down. Now.”
Ignoring her demand, I keep on walking, trying to avoid the uneven gravel. “I’m not gonna let you twist your ankle on these rocks. I’ve gotta protect my girl.” I smile, because I know she wants to strangle me right now.
But hey… if she’s going to pretend to be my girlfriend, then she’s getting the same treatment a real girlfriend of mine would get.
“You’re just loving this, aren’t you?” she asks once I set her down with a carefree smile when we reach the side of the cabin. “I think I could’ve handled walking on rocks, Madden.”
I shrug and grip her waist, pulling her against my side. I’ve got to make sure everyone here knows we’re together. Especially Alana. “You can never be too careful, babe.” I give her hip a small squeeze and lean in to whisper in her ear. “Relax, Nat.”
She takes a few deep breaths, before nodding her head and wrapping her arm around my waist, under my leather jacket. “It’s kind of hard to relax when you’re making me nervous,” she bites out.
I squeeze her hip again and she stiffens up. “This is making you nervous?”
She nods and moves my hand higher up her waist and away from the top of her ass. “When you’re squeezing one of the areas I love to be grabbed at… yeah… it’s making me nervous. Your brother’s hand is the only one that’s been there over the last twenty-three months.”
I stop in place, causing her to stop beside me. I’m not sure why, but that little detail slightly excites me. “It turns you on to be grabbed there by a man?”
She huffs and pulls me to start walking again. “Just forget I said anything. We’re not going to discuss what turns me on. Not happening.”
Her hand slightly grips my waist tighter as if she’s preparing for our introduction once we’re standing just feet away from the bonfire.
Nerves kick in even stronger, and as I look around, I can’t help but to notice that Alana isn’t one of the bodies around the fire.
“Oh, hell yeah!” Jake throws his arms up once he notices Natalie and me approaching. “You really did make it today like you said. I’m impressed, Parker.” He quickly gives me a one-armed hug, causing me to release Natalie’s waist.
“I told you I’d be here on Thursday. I meant it. Nothing could keep me away.”
Once he pulls away, I turn his attention toward Natalie, and he slowly eyes her over in approval. I don’t blame him. She looks great in those ripped up jeans and snug little leather jacket. “This