Warm This Winter
Title: Warm This Winter
Author: Diane
Pairing: Nathan/Haley
Category: AU
Table/Prompt: #16/01 - Kiss
Rating: Mature Rated
Disclaimer: I don’t own a thing!
Spoilers/Warnings: None as it’s AU. Story contains scenes and language of a slight sexual nature.
Summary: Her skin grew warm and she knew she was blushing. Usually, she’d be looking away by now but, for some unknown reason, she wasn’t doing that with him. His beautiful blue eyes held her captivated and she licked her suddenly too dry lips. That action seemed to fuel whatever he was feeling because his eyes darkened and stared intently at her mouth.
Author’s Note: This has been written especially for The Romantics 900th Celebration Thread at the OTH Fanforum board.
It’s also been written as part of my fanfic table for 5x10prompts.
“Do I really have to go to this thing?” Haley James asked, pouting at her best friend’s reflection as she looked into her full length mirror and added the final touches to her make-up. It had been a long week and all she really felt like doing tonight was curling up on the sofa with a carton of her favourite ice cream and catching up on the shows she’d Tivo’ed.
“Yes. C’mon, Hales, you promised you’d come with me.”
“Yeah, yeah, you don’t need to go all whiny on me again, Luke,” she told him, fastening the clasp on her necklace. “What I don’t get is why you couldn’t have asked Carly or Maxine or Andrea or—”
“Okay, I get it!” Lucas stated, interrupting her listing of his most recent… acquaintances. “I’d rather spend the evening with you, my bestest friend in the whole wide world and—”
“What do you want?” she was quick to ask, twirling around to face him. The only reason for him buttering her up with compliments was that he was after something and the red flush that suddenly infused his cheeks told her she was on the right track.
“N-nothing.”
“Uh huh, out with it.” Haley placed her hands on her silk-covered hips, her foot tapping impatiently as she waited for him to tell her what he’d done.
Releasing a heavy sigh, Lucas Roe shoved his hands into the pockets of his dress pants and forced himself to look her straight in the eyes. “I, uh, lost a bet with one of the guys from work and you’re, uh…”
“I’m what?” she asked impatiently when he didn’t continue his sentence. “Lucas Eugene Roe, if you don’t tell me what you—”
“You’re his prize!” he quickly blurted out, his eyes now looking at anything but her.
Haley’s mouth dropped open as she stared incredulously at her former best friend. “I’m his what?”
“Look, it’s not as bad as it sounds,” he said, forcing himself to smile.
“Oh really? I’ve just found out my best friend put me up as a prize in some stupid bet with someone and it’s not as bad as it sounds.”
“I didn’t put you up in the bet… he did. Apparently, he saw you when you came to visit me one lunchtime and…”
“Not sounding any better, Luke. You could’ve told him no when my name got thrown in there.”
“I know I should but I was kind of drunk by that stage and I probably would’ve agreed to anything.”
Haley let out a sarcastic laugh. “This gets better and better. Okay, Sherlock, next question: when did this all happen? Last night? A few nights ago?”
If possible, Lucas looked even more sheepish than before. “Um, try a few weeks ago.”
“A few weeks? And you’re only just telling me now? What the hell were you thinking?”
“I knew you wouldn’t go if I told you the truth so I made you think you’d be my date for the ball and I was just going to introduce the two of you and then… I don’t know, disappear or something.”
“I could throttle you, you know that,” she said, releasing a heavy sigh. “I would never do something like that to you.”
“Is that so?” He laughed sarcastically. “What about that girl Nina from your gym? You set me up on a blind date with her and she got so drunk she puked on my shoes at the end of the night.”
Haley couldn’t help laughing at the memory of that. “I was sorry about that at the time but now? Not so much.”
“Very funny!”
When her laughter finally died down, she said, “Okay, fine. I owe you this one thing but then that’s it, we’re even for everything. And if you ever get me involved in some stupid bet again…”
“I won’t, I promise. I’ve learned my lesson.”
“Yeah, I’ll believe that when it happens,” she mumbled to herself. “I guess we’d better get going and get this over with.”
“Thanks, Hales, I owe you one.”
“No, no more owing, remember?”
“Right.”
Giving herself one last look in the mirror and making sure she still looked her best, she grabbed her purse and coat before heading towards Lucas who was standing in the doorway of her bedroom. No doubt he’d been ready to flee at the first sign of any violence, she thought to herself with a secret smile playing on her lips. “So, what’s the champ’s name?” she asked, giving him a pointed look.
“Nathan,” he told her as he followed her through the apartment to the front door. “Nathan Scott.”
* * * * *
Pickerington & Hicks’ annual Winter Ball was being held in the ballroom of a fancy hotel not too far from their offices and Haley couldn’t help admiring its opulence as she and Lucas made their entrance after having checked in their coats.
“Wow, this place is amazing,” she said, leaning into her best friend so he could hear her over the jazzy rendition of ‘Jingle Bells’ the band was currently playing.
“Yeah, it’s pretty swish,” he replied distractedly. His eyes were scanning the room and he soon found the person he was looking for standing over at the bar. Giving Nathan a small head nod in acknowledgement, he led Haley over to where he was, taking deep breaths as he did so and hoping that she wouldn’t cause a scene, not that he expected her to—she had far too much class for that—but she could be unpredictable at times, especially when she was pissed at him.
When he’d arrived at the bar, Lucas didn’t know quite how to approach the introductions given the circumstances. ‘Hey, Nate, here’s your prize’ would no doubt go down like a lead balloon and earn him a kick in the balls, and however he introduced her to him would—
Lucas’ internal dialogue was broken as Haley took control of the situation and made her own introduction.
“Hi, you must be Nathan,” Haley said, a smile fixed to her face as she offered her hand to the man—the mouth-wateringly gorgeous man, she couldn’t help noticing—standing in front of her.
Nathan nodded his head as he took her hand in his and shook it gently. “It’s, uh, nice to meet you, Haley.” He tore his gaze away from the mesmerising chocolate brown eyes he was looking into and looked at his friend and colleague with a slightly confused expression on his face. He sure as hell hadn’t been expecting her to introduce herself to him. “Hey, man.”
“Hey!” Wanting to get away as quickly as possible before Haley had a chance to embarrass him, he said, “So, I’m gonna take off and collect Tanya. See you later!”
Watching the lanky blonde practically running away from her, Haley didn’t even bother waiting until he was out of earshot before she burst out laughing.
“Uh, are you okay?”
“Never better,” she replied, her expression turning serious. “So, Nathan, it would appear that I’m your prize for the night. That’s right, isn’t it?”
“No wonder he took off,” Nathan grumbled to himself. “Fucker!”
“I’m sorry, what was that?” Her teeth sunk into her bottom lip in an attempt to stop herself laughing again. From the look on Nathan’s face, it seemed he wanted nothing more than to escape like her cowardly best friend had just done.
“Nothing. I’m guessing he told you the truth about tonight, then?”
“You guess right. I just don’t get why I’d end up involved in some stupid bet or dare or whatever you two have going on.”
“I’m the one responsible for that,” Nathan admitted, running a hand through his hair and mussing it up slightly. “I’d seen you a few times when you visited Luke at the office and I figured you two were together but then I found out you were just friends and I was… relieved.”
“Relieved? Why?”
“Why do you think?”
Haley shrugged but seeing the intense way he was watching her, how he was slowly looking her up and down, her eyes widened as the penny suddenly dropped and she realised just what he was saying. “Oh!”
“Yeah, oh,” he echoed, smirking at her. “I couldn’t exactly tell Luke that I had the hots for you so when the opportunity presented itself… I grabbed it with both hands. He was so drunk I don’t think he even realised what he was agreeing to until the next day at work. Just so you know, he did try and get out of it but I wouldn’t let him. A bet’s a bet and I wasn’t going to lose my chance of a date with you.”
Her skin grew warm and she knew she was blushing. Usually, she’d be looking away by now but, for some unknown reason, she wasn’t doing that with him. His beautiful blue eyes held her captivated and she licked her suddenly too dry lips. That action seemed to fuel whatever he was feeling because his eyes darkened and stared intently at her mouth.
“Can I get you a drink?” Nathan finally asked, breaking the silence.
She nodded. “I’ll have a glass of white wine, please.”
When Nathan turned away to grab the attention of one of the bartenders, Haley took the opportunity to check him out. Surreptitiously, of course. The only description that seemed to come to mind was tall, dark and handsome. He was slightly taller than Lucas and she felt tiny standing beside him despite wearing four inch heels. A sudden, unbidden thought of him picking her up and pinning her against the nearest hard surface popped into her head and she felt herself grow warm all over.
“Are you okay, Haley? You’re looking a little flushed.”
“I-I’m fine, thanks. It’s just… warm in here, that’s all.”
“If you’re sure.”
“I am.” She smiled as she took her drink from him and she sipped it slowly, although right now she was tempted to knock it back in one.
“Listen, I’ll understand if you really don’t want to be here. I could drive you home or call you a cab if you’d rather not be alone with me. I mean, I know it’s awkward and you don’t know me so…”
The fact he seemed to care what she thought made a difference and she decided to give him a fair chance. “Nathan, it’s fine. Honestly. Luke is like one of my brothers and if he didn’t trust you, he wouldn’t have left me alone with you, bet or no bet. So, how about we make the most of your employer’s generosity and have some fun?” She raised one perfectly arched eyebrow as she waited for his reply.
Nathan smiled back at her, his body relaxing at her suggestion. “Okay, that sounds good, but if you get bored…”
“Don’t worry, I’ll let you know. Or I might just disappear to the ladies room, never to return,” she quipped.
They both laughed and as the laughter died away, Nathan couldn’t take his eyes off of her. Her auburn hair was swept up in some elegant twisty thing, showing off the graceful column of her neck; her eyes were sparkling with amusement while her full, glossy lips were practically begging to be kissed.
Most of the other women attending the party were dressed in black or other muted colours which all seemed to blend into each other but Haley stood out like a beacon in the shimmery emerald green, flapper style dress she wore. It dipped low in front but not too low and the thin beaded straps meant there was a generous amount of her lightly tanned skin available for his eyes to feast upon. Its layered, filmy skirt displayed her legs perfectly and the matching strappy high heels that encased her dainty feet completed the look.
Nathan watched her eyeing up the dance floor and after taking a sip of his own drink, he asked, “Would you like to dance?”
His question took her by surprise but she found herself nodding. “Sure, I’d love to. I promise not to step on your toes,” she teased.
“I wish I could make that same promise,” he kidded as he took her drink back from her and placed both of their glasses onto the bar.
Without thinking about what she was doing, Haley slipped her hand into his and let him lead her towards the dance floor. The way he gently squeezed her fingers gave her tingles and she found herself reciprocating the gesture.
The moment they stepped out onto the floor, the up-tempo song currently playing changed to a slow, sultry tune and she could feel another blush warming her skin. It was as though she could feel Nathan’s own nerves kicking in and so, without saying a word, she stepped in close to his body and wrapped her arms around his neck. Almost immediately, he placed his own hands on her hips, caressing the silky fabric of her dress as if he was touching her bare skin. Her body trembled in his arms and to hide her flushed cheeks, she buried her face against his shoulder.
“Are you cold?” Nathan asked, feeling her shiver in his arms, although he had a feeling her reaction didn’t have anything to do with temperature.
“Not even close,” she murmured, her fingers idly playing with the hair at the nape of his neck.
He splayed his hand across her back, which was bare thanks to the low cut, criss-cross design of her dress, as he held her close; their bodies swaying in time to the beat of the music and he wracked his brain for something to say. His mouth was right by her ear when he finally asked, “Do you want to get some food?”
Haley shook her head before taking a small step back so she could look up at him. “No, I’m not hungry. Well, not for food anyway.” Her face suddenly turned bright red as she realised just what she’d said and, this time, she buried her face into his chest. “God, I can’t believe I just said that!”
Nathan stood there stunned for a moment before he started to laugh and then said, “I’m so glad I made that bet with Luke. If I was attracted to you before, it’s nothing compared to how I’m feeling right now.”
“Nathan…” she murmured, her tongue snaking out to lick her bottom lip, making it appear even glossier than it had previously.
His eyes darkened as he watched that little action and lowering his head, he softly touched his mouth to hers, drawing back almost immediately to gauge her reaction.
“You shouldn’t have done that,” Haley whispered, her French manicured nails raking across the back of his neck.
“I wanted to,” he told her, his voice taking on a slightly huskier tone when he confessed, “I’ve wanted to kiss you from the moment I first saw you.”
She opened her mouth to respond but nothing came out and, then, when the music suddenly changed to a fast-paced number, any hope of having a private conversation was thrown out of the window. Not that the middle of the dance floor was the best place for that anyway.
When Nathan leaned in towards her, Haley shivered in anticipation; wondering whether he would kiss her again. Her eyes fluttered closed but instead of feeling his lips on hers, she instead felt his warm breath puffing against her ear.
“Do you want to go outside and, uh, get some fresh air?”
His simple question had excitement coursing through her veins and she nodded her agreement.
Folding his hand around hers, Nathan guided her towards the doors he knew would lead out onto the terrace which overlooked the hotel’s manicured grounds. Opening the door, he let Haley pass ahead of him and he immediately saw her shiver as the cold December wind hit her bare skin. As soon as he’d closed the glass door behind them, he shrugged out of his black suit jacket and wrapped it around her shoulders. “Sorry,” he mumbled sheepishly.
Haley giggled at the expression he wore. “Well, you did say something about getting some fresh air.”
He laughed along with her. “Yeah.”
“So, uh…”
“So…” he echoed.
“Did… did you mean what you said in there?”
She didn’t need to elaborate for Nathan to know what she was referring to and he gave a simple nod. “Yes.”
Surprising herself with how bold she suddenly felt at hearing his one word answer, Haley took a step forward and placed her hands on his shoulders. Despite the cold air blowing around them, she could feel the warmth of his hard, muscular body beneath the fabric of his dress shirt and she bit her lip to stave off the moan she could feel bubbling up. “Kiss me,” she whispered, the moan escaping the second his mouth found hers.
Nathan wrapped his arms around her, pulling her flush against him as their lips teased and tantalised each other. When one of her hands moved to cradle his cheek in her palm, he leaned into her touch, loving the soft caress of her thumb along his cheekbone. Breaking the kiss several moments later, he brushed his lips over hers once, twice before drawing back from her. He could feel the smile stretching across his face and he couldn’t remember the last time he’d felt this happy.
Haley knew she was blushing and, once again, she couldn’t seem to tear her eyes away from him. He had such a beautiful smile and, for some strange reason, she had an inkling that not many people got to see him do that.
“I love it when you blush,” he told her, his smile transforming into a sexy smirk.
His words made her skin flush even darker. “How do you know it’s not just the biting wind causing my cheeks to turn red?”
“I just do,” he replied, dipping down to kiss her again.
She giggled against his mouth as she kissed him back. “God, you must be freezing,” she said a few moments later after she’d placed her hand on his back and felt how cold his shirt was.
Nathan’s smirk deepened. “You know, I’m actually not feeling the cold… I wonder why that might be,” he teased.
“Hmm, I wonder,” she said amusedly, shaking her head. “C’mon, let’s get back inside and—”
“I’ve got a better idea,” he interrupted. “There’s a gazebo hidden away at the back of the gardens so how ‘bout we hang out there for a while?”
Haley frowned at that as an unwanted thought suddenly popped into her head. “How do you know about the gazebo?”
His own forehead creased upon hearing her question but realising what she was probably thinking, he quickly said, “It’s not like that. I’ve never hung out there with anyone… well, except for Luke.”
“How romantic,” she quipped, laughing.
“Very,” he said, giving her a wink before explaining. “No, a couple of years back when the firm had their party here, my boss’s wife… his much younger wife took a, uh, liking to me and everywhere I turned there she was, pressing up against me. It didn’t help that she was knocking back the cocktails like crazy and I knew I had to get out of there before my boss or anyone else saw us together. I came outside and decided to explore a bit and came across the gazebo. After a while I got hungry so I texted Luke and he brought me some food and we hung out together in the freezing cold. Seriously, why do they hold these things in December?” he joked.
“Beats me,” she deadpanned. “So, is your boss’s wife here tonight?”
“Nope… They separated a few months ago when he found out she was screwing his accountant.”
“Aww, honey, she gave up on you and found a replacement.”
“Thank God,” he said, his voice serious. “We don’t have to go to the gazebo, Haley. We can just go back inside and find Luke, if you want.”
“No, I’d like to go,” she told him, a soft smile gracing her features.
Nathan released a quiet sigh of relief at her words, happy that she’d believed him and wrapping his arm around her, they made their way towards where the gazebo was situated. Stepping inside it, he took a seat on the wooden bench and was surprised when instead of sitting beside him, Haley sat across his lap, one arm draped across his shoulders.
“Is this okay?” she asked shyly. “I just figured it’d help keep you warm since you aren’t wearing your jacket.”
Oh, he was definitely feeling warm, he thought to himself. If anything, he was starting to break out into a sweat at the close proximity of their bodies. “It’s more than okay,” he managed to choke out.
Haley could feel a certain part of his body stirring beneath her and her teeth sunk into her bottom lip in an attempt to stop from laughing. It would seem she was definitely having an effect on him and she suddenly felt warm all over at that little piece of knowledge. Her last relationship had ended almost two years ago and she hadn’t had the time or inclination to start dating again, despite her friends trying to get her back out there. Now, as she sat on Nathan’s lap, one of his large hands rubbing up and down her stocking-clad legs to keep her warm, she couldn’t be happier about that. There was something about this man that made her tingle all over and she knew without a shadow of a doubt that she wanted to get to know him.
“Tell me a secret,” she said, lightly kissing his cheek.
“I like you,” he replied.
“That’s not really a secret,” she told him, wiggling on his lap and the hardness that was pressing against her, the sound of her gentle laughter filling the air.
Nathan couldn’t remember the last time he’d blushed but her words and little shimmy just then had his face infusing with colour. “Haley…”
“What?” she asked innocently. “C’mon, tell me a secret… something nobody else knows.”
He considered his words carefully before finally saying, “I, uh, I’ve never been in love before but… I think I could easily fall in love with you, Haley James.”
Her mouth dropped open as his words registered and instead of hiding her face against his shoulder like she really wanted to do, she pressed her lips against his and kissed him hard. What he’d just told her felt almost like an aphrodisiac… causing her heart to race wildly in her chest as well as making her temperature soar.
When they pulled apart long moments later, Haley nuzzled her nose against his. “This is madness… I mean, we don’t know each other but…”
“But what?” he prompted.
“It feels right and I… I feel the same way as you.” Her voice quavered when she spoke again, “I-I’ve been hurt in the past, Nathan, and—”
“I promise I won’t hurt you,” he was quick to interject, twirling a loose tendril of her hair around his finger before cupping her cheek in his palm. “Go out with me tomorrow night.”
“Like on a date?”
“Yeah, a date. We can take things as slow as you want…”
“And what if I don’t want to take things slow?” she asked, her fingers massaging his neck.
“You won’t hear any objections from me,” he told her, making her laugh again.
“Hmm, you do surprise me.” Her laughter died away when his mouth captured hers and he slipped his tongue between her parted lips, letting it playfully tangle with her own. She held onto him tightly as the kiss became hotter, more visceral and when they parted, they were both breathing harshly.
“I-I can’t believe I’m going to say this but… I think we should go back inside,” Nathan said, resting his forehead against hers.
“Yeah… we probably should. I don’t want either of us to get sick from being out here all night and having to cancel our date,” she said, smiling.
That seemed to spur Nathan into action and after giving her another kiss, he gently eased her off of his lap before standing up and taking her hands in his. “C’mon, let’s get inside.”
She quickened her pace as she tried to keep up with him, laughing as she did so. “Hey, buddy, slow down. I can’t run in these shoes.”
Slowing down, he mumbled his apology. “Sorry.”
Interlacing their fingers, she smiled up at him and shook her head. “How do you think Luke will take the news?”
“He’s your best friend. What do you think?”
“I think he’ll be cool about it.”
“What if he isn’t?” Nathan couldn’t help asking.
“Then that’s his problem.” She stopped walking and looked up into his cerulean eyes. “He’s been my best friend for as long as I can remember and I respect his opinion but he’s not the boss of me. I’m guessing there’s a reason why you’re feeling worried?”
Shoving his free hand into his pants pocket, he nodded. “Yeah… I, uh, don’t have the best dating history.”
“Bit of a love ‘em and leave ‘em type, huh?”
“Uh… not exactly,” he admitted.
Remembering his earlier words about never having been in love before she knew what he’d really meant. “Screw ‘em and leave ‘em?”
“It’s not like that with you, Haley… I swear.”
“I believe you,” she told him. “I don’t know why that is when we don’t really know each other but I do.”
“Thank you,” he said, giving her fingers a little squeeze.
“You’re welcome.” The intense way he was suddenly looking at her sent an electrical current from the tips of her toes to the top of her head and she swallowed thickly. Coughing to clear her throat, she pulled on his arm. “C’mon, get your ass moving.”
Laughing, he started walking again, letting Haley lead him back towards the ballroom. He had a feeling this wouldn’t be the first time she’d be ordering him around and he was sure he’d be only too willing to do whatever she asked.
Fin