Chapter 140

KATE

I returned to the dining room, stepping heavily. Nathan followed me. Stephan was already sitting at the table.

"Are you going to be upset about this, Collins?" He asked from behind me.

"I don't want to talk to you. Not to you, either."

I shot Stephan a look as I sat down.

"It's not my fault. Wait... you call your girlfriend by her last name? Isn't that weird?" Stephan questioned.

"You should close your mouth, little brother. You've done enough for today," Nathan said, sitting next to me, irritated.

"Quiet down; you're starting to give me a headache," I said.

And they really were.

"What are the plans for New Year's?" Nathan changed the subject.

"I think our father wants to bring the family together," Stephan replied.

"Ireland?"

"Yeah."

"I thought he wanted to stay in America as long as possible."

"Relax, Nat. It's just a year-end trip. One that we'll all be forced to go on."

"All of us?" I interrupted, staring at Nat. Did 'all' include Nathan? "I mean, you too?"

"That means us."

"Us?"

He nodded. Going to Ireland was nowhere near my plans for the next few days.

"Don't even try to deny it. You won't want to go against your new mother-in-law," Stephan teased. "Even Nat knows it's not a good idea."

"It's not confirmed yet." Nathan's eyes met mine, trying to reassure me. I nodded.

It seemed that dating a Ryan meant attending all the family events.

I was snapped out of my thoughts when Mr. and Mrs. Ryan entered the room, followed by Ellie, who came with a young, dark-haired boy.

Nathan's expression changed to a frown as soon as he saw the boy.

I lightly kicked his ankle under the table. He shot me a furious glance.

"Behave, Ryan." I narrowed my eyes at him.

"It's none of your business, Collins."

Then I stood up to greet Mr. Ryan. Okay, that sounded a little strange. He had a big smile on his face.

"I knew my son wasn't foolish. Welcome," he whispered as he hugged me. "Are you okay, dear?"

I nodded. "Yes, thank you."

"Hello, Kate!" Ellie hugged me next. "I'm so happy for you both. I want to hear all about it later," she whispered. "Oh, this is Peter. Peter, Katherine is my brother's girlfriend, Nathan."

I shook the hand of the apparently shy boy with big blue eyes. Nathan stood up in a terrible mood.

"We'll talk later, Ellie," he said.

"Nathan." His mother cleared her throat, already seated at the table.

He held the boy's hand for too long, shooting him a menacing look.

I lightly squeezed his arm to make him sit down and leave the boy alone. I felt like laughing.

He gave me an irritated look. I cleared my throat, and we sat down.

Ellie and Peter sat next to Stephan across from us.

Dinner was served, and the Ryans were chatting like a regular family. Except for Nathan, who was glaring at the poor boy.

"This is going to make me jealous," I murmured, teasing him, wanting to laugh.

"You're enjoying this. I know," he whispered, looking at me from the side.

"Watching you realize you don't control the world? Definitely." I smiled, but he remained serious.

Then I placed my hand on the inside of his thigh, near his groin, making him clear his throat.

"Relax," I whispered.

"Trust me, you don't want to play this game," he replied in a whisper. I finally managed to pull a mischievous smile from his lips. I smiled back, satisfied.

Suddenly, Nathan averted his gaze, looking at everyone at the table. I did the same and noticed they were all staring at us.

"What?" he asked.

Mrs. Ryan was smiling.

"Nothing," she said.

They laughed.

"Anyway... your father and I were thinking of spending New Year's in Glandore. What do you think?"

"Well, as long as Kate agrees," Nathan said.

What? Really? He was dumping the whole decision on me? That sucks.

"Katherine?" Mrs. Ryan turned her attention to me.

"Well, I don't know. It would be great, but I have to talk to my dad about it."

"You can invite him. It would be great to have him with us," she suggested.

We were about to bring our families together. It was so weird to think about it.

"I can't answer now, but I'll try to talk to him."

"Great, I'll be waiting for an answer, dear."

"Relax. Think of it as a vacation," Nathan whispered.

How could he read me so easily?

"We want to invite a few more family members," Mrs. Ryan continued.

"Alright, Mom, just let me know when you decide on the travel dates," Nathan said, placing his hand on my thigh, just above the knee.

Enough to make me tense up. His hand started to slowly move up, and I reached for it, trying to remove it, but I couldn't.

My whole body was tingling in reaction. Had he already orchestrated this plan when he stole my panties? I think so. What a son of a bitch.

I really wanted his touch, but damn it, his whole family was there. I was hit with a slight wave of nausea.

"Are you alright, Kate? You look pale," Ellie asked.

"It's just a slight nausea. Excuse me."

I said, getting up from the chair, forcing Nathan to remove his hand from me.

"Nat, I never imagined you would make a mini Ryan so quickly," Stephan said, laughing.

God! What kind of brother-in-law did I get?

"Stephan!" Mrs. Ryan reprimanded him.

That was so embarrassing and made me even more nauseous.

"Excuse me," I said before leaving them.


*



"Kate? Open up." Nathan knocked on the door.

"What do you want?"

"Are you okay?"

I opened the bathroom door.

"It's just a slight nausea."

He entered, locking the door behind him.

"Is everything alright with your birth control?"

"Seriously?"

"I just want to make sure."

I turned to wash my hands in the sink.

"Don't worry about it. Everything's fine."

"Maybe you need to see a doctor."

"I've already told you, it's just a slight nausea. It must have been something I ate."

"Alright." He wrapped his arms around my waist.

I stared at our reflections in the mirror. It was so strange. The two of us. Together. Here with his family.

"You can't do that," I said.

"Do what?"

"Touch me with your whole family at the table."

"I touched you?"

"Smartass."

"I want to touch you now," he whispered, kissing my neck.

"Don't do that." I closed my eyes.

He placed my hand on the fabric of his pants, making me feel his immense desire. I wanted him so much.

"This is what happens when you tease me."

"We're not doing this here. Your family will hear us."

"Can't you be quiet?"

"I don't know if I can."

"I can do it for us."

"You'd love that, wouldn't you?"

He turned me around and effortlessly lifted me. His mouth found mine, taking everything he could before leaning back and gripping my thighs, spreading them apart, and sliding his tongue along my wet folds. God!

He was as hungry as I was; I could see it in his eyes.

"Oh God..." I placed my arm over my lips.

"Shhh."

He parted my lips with his fingers, and his hot tongue sucked on my clit. I wanted to scream, needed to scream. My legs started trembling, and a sense of desperation took over me. Desperate for more.

The way his tongue slid hard, teasing my clit, made me forget any other thought than that I wanted his naked body and his cock inside me. His thrusts were getting stronger and stronger, torturing me, sucking while he kept my legs apart, pressing his fingers into my skin.

I almost felt a tear rolling down my cheek. I needed to express that feeling, but I couldn't moan or even scream; I would explode, literally. I couldn't bear it and almost let out a loud moan, but Nathan stopped me by covering my mouth with his hand.

"Damn it, Kate." He tried to sound angry and reprimanding, but he was smiling.

"I'm going to kill you for stopping," I said, removing his hand from my face.

Before he could bring his hand back to my throbbing clit, my phone rang inside my purse.

"No need to answer," he said.

"It's late. It must be important."

I stretched and reached for my purse on the sink. "It's Lisa."

"I'm starting to hate your best friend for real."

I placed my index finger over my lips, signaling him to be silent, before answering.

"Lisa?"

"You're Kate?" It was a girl's voice.

"Yes, who's speaking?"

"I'm Charlie. I just met your friend Lisa, and you're saved as an emergency contact."

"What happened?"

"I don't think she's in a condition to drive, let alone take a taxi home alone."

"That's just like her. Can you text me the address?"

"Sure."

"Okay. I'll try to get there as quickly as possible. Thanks, Charlie." I hung up. "Damn it, Lisa!" I cursed.

"What happened?" he asked as he stepped down from the sink.

"Nothing yet. But I need to leave. Lisa's drunk and apparently alone."

"Are you kidding?"

"No."

"Is your friend that irresponsible?"

"I have to go. Damn it, what am I going to tell your family?"

"My family? And what about me?" He pointed to his pants.

"Sorry. It's urgent. I'll call a taxi."

"I'm going with you."

"It's better if you stay with your family."

"Don't argue, Collins."

"Okay."