Christmas With Nathan Read Free

arisen.
    To my surprise, Nathan shook his head at my reply, his strong jaw moving slowly back and forth and accentuating the lightly stubbled angles as he rejected my answer. A hint of a smirk touched his lips as he continued to watch me carefully before he tapped the necklace twice with the pad of his forefinger.
    ‘No, it does not just mean that you are mine, Stella. This necklace represents us . Both of us, and the commitment and love we share. The chain signifies you, twining through my heart, and the lock characterises me, binding us together. It is the most important gift I have ever given or shall ever give in my entire life.’ Once he had finished laying that stunner on me, Nathan cleared his throat as if he was embarrassed by how deep he had just been. I have to say, I was stunned into silence by the raw sentiment too, and immediately felt tears welling at the back of my eyes. Blimey, that bit about the chain signifying me twining through his heart was poetic enough to go inside a greetings card, and I hastily tried to commit it to memory.
    ‘You are mine, Stella, but I am just as much yours, and as such, there is no way I would ever, ever , want, or need, to go elsewhere for sex.’
    Once he was finished, I stood there gazing up at him, unable to do anything other than give him a decidedly shaky nod as my eyes swiftly filled with tears. Thankfully, he didn’t chastise me for the nod this time. Instead, his domineering façade melted away at my pathetically drippy look as he graced me with a soft, sweet smile.
    Stepping closer, he cupped my face gently and lowered his lips to mine, capturing my mouth in a kiss so tender but somehow passionate that I immediately melted into his arms, tears flowing down my cheeks as I gave up my mouth to the exploring pressure of his tongue.
    Breaking our lips apart he leant back, a frown briefly fluttering across his brows as he saw the quantity of my tears, before he began to wipe them away and leant down to place a sweet kiss on each of my eyelids.
    ‘Now, no more tears or stupid talk about me cheating on you, Stella, because it will never happen. Understand, my sweet girl?’
    If I took a second to think about it, I knew deep in my heart that Nathan wouldn’t cheat on me. He’d already proved his dedication to me by giving me the necklace, and moving out of his beloved apartment into this temporary rented place – because I’d been unable to overlook the women who’d shared his life before me.
    Rolling my lips together as a distraction to try and stop more tears falling, I gave a nod and smiled at him shakily as I suddenly filled up with embarrassment at my outburst. ‘Sorry. I don’t know what came over me. Must be the baby hormones in my system.’
    Letting out a small chuckle Nathan guided me down on to the sofa, one arm looping around my shoulders so I was tucked firmly into his side where I immediately relaxed against him with a happy sigh.
    Throughout my pregnancy, labour, and the following months, Nathan had often borne the brunt of my rampaging hormones, so he knew exactly what I was talking about. Poor guy, he’d been so patient with me while I had cried endlessly during my morning sickness, moaned about having sore nipples during breastfeeding, and generally used the excuse of “I can’t, I’m pregnant” to get out of anything I didn’t particularly want to do. I may, on occasions, have slightly used the baby to my advantage, but Nathan had taken it all in his stride and happily humoured me.
    ‘I know we haven’t had sex for a while …’ His words faded slightly as I saw Nathan wince, probably doing a quick calculation in his head about exactly how long it had been. He needn’t have bothered – I could tell him down to the precise weeks, days, and practically seconds, ‘… but we’ve been intimate every day in some form or other, even if it’s just showering together. I thought that would be enough reassurance that I still want you and only you,