"Dunno," Faith said. "In some ways he's an open book. In others he's so tight-lipped. For instance, he takes off the same time every single year. No one knows where he goes or what he does. He gets moody leading up to it and then he disappears. When he returns he's back to his old self."

"Oh you're right, that does sound juicy," Serena said. "We're women, which means we're nosy. Now I'm dying to know where he goes."

Julie laughed. "Ask him."

"No thanks. Like I said, I've felt the sting of his lash. I don't think I'd ever want to piss him off. I know he's usually so easygoing, but I don't think I'd want to see him truly angry."

"Oooh, the stars are spinning now," Faith said.

Serena snorted. "That's your head, dumbass."

"Preeettty," Faith said with a giggle.

"You lightweight," Julie said in disgust.

"Who's going to volunteer to get up first?" Serena asked.

"Not me," Faith said.

"Or me," Julie added.

"So we just lie here. Works for me," Serena said.

"What on earth are you girls doing on the floor?"

Julie's eye cracked open at the amused husky tone she'd spent the better part of the last three nights fantasizing about.

"Nathan?"

Chapter 27

Nathan looked down at the three women sprawled on the floor and tried like hell to suppress his grin.

He squatted down next to Julie. "I'm surprised you recognize me."

"There can't be that many gorgeous bald-headed guys running around Cattleman's, can there?"

He lost the battle with his twitching mouth and chuckled. "Had a little too much to drink?"

"Hi, Nathan," Faith said, holding her fingers up and waggling them.

"Hey, sweetness, is Serena conscious over there?"

Serena let out a sound that he couldn't quite decipher. It didn't exactly sound human.

He turned his attention back to Julie. "So how were you girls planning to get home anyway?"

"Cab."

"Ah. Well, I have a better idea."

He pulled out his cell phone, still chuckling. He got up and moved a few feet away as he punched in Gray's number.

"You're out late," Gray said as he answered the phone.

"So is your wife."

"Yeah, girls' night out. How did you know?"

"Well, I'm staring at her, Julie and Serena lying flat on the floor of Cattleman's," Nathan said with a chuckle.

"What? What the hell?"

"Relax, man, she's fine. They're drunk as skunks and having a good time as far as I can tell. They said they were catching a cab back to Damon's, but I didn't feel comfortable letting them pour themselves into a cab as drunk as they are. Thought you might want to come get Faith."

"Damn right. Thanks, man. Last thing I want is some joker to see three easy marks. What the hell was Damon thinking? I thought he was at least sending his mountain of a driver slash security guard."

"I'll let you call him to collect Serena."

"What about Julie?"

"I'll take care of Julie," Nathan said softly. He'd been waiting for his chance to pin down the little escape artist.

"Do you mind hanging out until I get there?" Gray asked.

"Of course not. I'm not going anywhere. I'll hang out, keep an eye on them until you and Damon show."

"I'll be right over."

Nathan hung up and walked back over to where the girls hadn't moved.

"You ratted us out, didn't you?" Serena said accusingly.

He winced as he squatted back down to their level. "Sorry, sweetheart, but I did just that. Guy's code and all that. When your girl's in trouble, you expect your buddy to call. Just looking out for three very special women. I don't want y'all climbing into some strange cab or have some stranger take advantage of you."

"Aw, that's sweet," Faith slurred.

"Yeah, kinda hard to be mad when he says shit like that," Julie mumbled.

He tweaked Julie softly on the nose. "You three sure are cute when you throw a drunk. But next time do it at home. If you don't want the guys around, banish them for the evening."

"Yes, big brother," Serena snorted.

"You, I'll let get away with that crack," he said. "You, however, better not ever even think of me in that capacity," he said to Julie as he touched her cheek.

She grinned. "I think we've already established that there is nothing fraternal about our relationship."

Nathan hid his triumph. At least they were getting somewhere. She might be drunk, but at least she'd acknowledged something was going on between them.

"So, uhm, who's coming to get us?" Faith piped up.

"That would be me, the husband," Gray said from behind Nathan.

Nathan stood up to see Gray standing with his hands shoved into his pockets, a wide grin across his face.

"You didn’t use to be that big, did you?" Faith squeaked as she looked up at her husband.

He squatted down as Nathan had done and smiled at her. "Better?"

Faith scrunched up her nose. "Are you here to take me home?

I can't be the first to go home. Would be embarrassing. Like I'm an old married lady or something."

Gray chuckled. "But you're my old married lady, and I'd like to have my old married lady in bed with me. It's sorta lonely without you."

Nathan watched in amusement as Faith melted into a gooey puddle on the floor.

"Oh, that's nice," Serena sighed.

"Want help up?" Gray asked as he ran a hand over Faith's shoulder.

"I'm worried," she muttered.

"About what, baby?"

"If I become upright, I might puke."

Nathan chuckled and Gray's shoulders shook.

"Tell you what. I'll lift and get you back onto the bar stool." He glanced up at the bartender who waved a large plastic basin from behind the bar. "If you need to puke, there's a nice big puke bowl on the bar."

"Ugh," Faith moaned. "Like I want to puke in front of everyone?"

"Oh shut up, Faith," Julie muttered. "Like you haven't held my hair up enough times."

"Up you go," Gray said as he pulled Faith to a sitting position.

He let her sit there for a moment as he brushed her hair from her face. "Okay so far?"

She nodded and he helped her to her feet. She weaved precariously on her way to the stool, but Gray kept a firm grip on her arm.

She sank onto the stool with a sigh. Then she stared at the bartender. "Hey, I know you. You're Drew." Then she glanced around the empty bar with a bewildered expression on her face. "Hey, where is everyone?"

"Baby, it's three in the morning. They're all home, which is where you should be."

"Three?" Serena squeaked. "Sam is going to kill me."

"Sam and not Damon?" Julie asked.

"Sam is a little protective. He's already mad because I wouldn't let him drive us around."

Ah, so that solved the mystery of why they had taken a cab. Nathan shook his head. What the hell had they been thinking?

"And you should have let him," Nathan said. "Three young women alone, three young drunk women alone, is never a good idea."

"I need to go to the bathroom," Julie announced.

"Uh-oh, you need to puke?" Nathan asked in alarm.

"No, pee."

His cheeks warmed but he reached down to help her up all the same. Damn she felt good, all limber and cuddly against him. Like a kitten after a full bowl of milk. Hell, all she had to do was stretch and purr.

She made it one step in the direction of the bathroom and listed heavily to the right.

"Oops!" Then she turned an accusing eye to Drew who was wiping down the counters. "What was in that last drink?"

Drew's mouth twitched. "Straight juice, doll. Orange juice."

Well, at least the bartender had the sense to know they'd had enough. Nathan shot him a look of gratitude before tucking Julie solidly under his arm.

"Come on, honey, I'm taking you to the bathroom."

He walked her to the ladies' room and went inside with her. Not like they'd have to worry about running into anyone since Carl had closed the bar an hour ago.

He pushed open a stall for her. "Can you make it from here?"

"Uh, yeah."

She wobbled into the stall and shut it behind her. She fumbled with the latch for a few moments, and he stepped back to wait.

There was a long silence and then, "Nathan?"

"Yeah?"

"Turn the faucet on please."

"Huh?"

"Turn the faucet on. I don't want you to hear me pee."

Holding his laughter in, he shook his head and went over to turn the water on. Then, to make her feel better, he hit the button so the blower on the hand dryer came on.

It had just quit when the stall door opened again and she stepped out. He waited while she washed her hands, and then once again he tucked her under his arm and headed back. She seemed to have regained her bearings, but he liked holding her. Any excuse to touch her, he was going to take full advantage of.

When they got back to the others, Damon had arrived and had Serena on a bar stool, stroking her silky black hair. To most men, seeing the utter domestication of a friend might instill panic, or even disgust. For Nathan, watching the two men with their women filled him with an odd longing.

He'd never been opposed to love and commitment; he just hadn't ever found a woman that made him start thinking about it. Now when he looked at the two couples, the way they communicated silently with just a touch or a look, it made him feel almost lonely.

He looked down at Julie, and his grip tightened around her waist. If he could ever get her to stay still and in one place long enough, he'd show her just what it was he wanted from her.

His brow furrowed just a bit at the last. What did he want from her? From the beginning it hadn't just been about sex, though Lord knows he'd lusted after her to the point of insanity. He was perplexed by his reaction to her. She befuddled him. Kept him solidly off balance.

Was this how other guys felt when they met their woman?

"You have to go first, Serena," Faith said with a wave of her hand.

"Ah yes, so you don't look like an old married lady," Serena said dryly.

"Come on, Serena mine," Damon said with a chuckle. "Sam is beside himself with worry."

She looked at Damon then looked doubtfully at the floor. "Has the floor moved?"

Damon reached for her, pulling her down into his arms. He kissed the top of her head before tucking his arm around her waist. "Come on, love."

"G'night," Serena called with a backward wave of her hand.

Gray turned to Faith. "Now can we go?"

Julie frowned. "Would someone call the cab for me?"

Nathan scowled. Did she really think he was going to leave her here alone? "I'm not calling you a damn cab. I'm taking you home."

"Oh."

Content that she didn't offer any argument, he turned her toward the door and waved at Carl with a mouthed "thank you."

Carl grinned and offered a two-finger salute as he threw a towel over his shoulder.

Nathan opened the passenger door of his truck and hoisted her Julie into the seat. When she just sat there, he pulled the seat belt and reached over to buckle it for her.

"How do you do that?" she asked in bewildered tone.

"Do what, honey?"

"Pick me up like that. Like I don't weigh any more than a child."

He chuckled. "A little five foot nothing like you? Piece of cake."

She turned and locked gazes with him, her eyes shining a little brighter. "You honestly don't notice those extra pounds I'm carrying, do you? I love that about you."

Nathan was reminded of the conversation he'd had with Connor in the truck before Julie's accident. The idea that she was somehow not perfect baffled him.

He leaned in until their mouths were just an inch apart. "What I notice is that you're an incredibly sexy, mouthwateringly beautiful woman. In a word, you're fucking perfect."

She blinked as he drew away, her lips slightly parted as she stared at him with a dazed expression. "Wow."

He closed the door and walked around to the driver's side. The ride was quiet, and he periodically looked over to make sure she hadn't passed out, but she seemed wide-awake, her gaze focused out the windshield.

A while later, he pulled into her apartment complex. As he went around to get her out, he experienced a wave of deja vu. Unlike the last time he'd brought her home, this time he wasn't leaving. She'd obviously been left with the idea that he wasn't that interested, and he'd be damned if they went through all that again.

Wanting to impress her again, he swept her into his arms and carried her to the door. She sighed a happy little sound and laid her head on his shoulder.

"Where are your keys, honey?"

"Pocket," she mumbled.

He allowed her to slide down his body until her feet hit the ground and then he reached into her jeans pocket to pull out the keys.

A few minutes later they were inside, keys placed on her kitchen table. Nathan carried her to her bedroom.