Chapter 22

Paige was brought once again to Nathaniel's mansion. It was as massive as she remembered. Nathaniel had led her to his gym. She hadn't realized that he had a fully equipped private gym in his home, but then again, of course he did.

Nathaniel had gone to his room to change and left Paige to her own devices, so she grabbed her lifting gloves out of her gym bag and went to the squat rack and adjusted the weights. She put in her headphones, selected a playlist and started her set. She was wearing pink leggings and a matching strappy sports bra under a black tank top. The diagonal straps across her back were all that you could see of the sports bra from beneath her tank top. She was wearing flat soled black and white sneakers.

As she started on her second set, Nathaniel came back into the room. Paige didn't notice him watching her and continued until she was finished. She went to go adjust the weights on the rack back to what they were when she saw Nathaniel.

"You have great form," he said with a grin.

"Oh, you were admiring my form?" Paige said suspiciously. "You should've been spotting me!"

"My apologies, you're completely right. I can spot your next set if you'd like?"

"No need. I'll use the Smith machine. I'm really impressed with the setup you have here. You made it so you would never have to leave!" Paige said in slight awe.

"Of course. I wouldn't want half a gym, and working out helps me relieve stress," Nathaniel said with a smile.

Paige moved over to his Smith machine and ensured that the weights were where she needed them. She then proceeded to start doing Bulgarian Split Squats. Out if the corner of her eye, she saw Nathaniel's eyes widen.

"You're staring again, Nathan. You should focus on doing your own workout, unless you need me to spot you," Paige teased.

Nathaniel went and grabbed some weights to do some curls. He watched Paige in the mirror. She was so sexy that his manhood painfully hardened and he fought to control himself. All he wanted was to ravage her, but he desperately wanted to treat her right, as he promised. So, he continued to work out and lifted heavier weights to focus on that rather than Paige's allure.

Paige moved to the leg press machine and adjusted the weights. She looked at Nathaniel's arms as he lifted and could feel herself getting aroused. She couldn't deny that he was extremely sexy. She focused on burning off her arousal in her workout. She soon finished their workout and was spotting Nathaniel on the bench press. The sound of a woman's voice could be heard along with some commotion from outside the room.

"Madam Donovan, Master Donovan specifically told me that he did not want to be disturbed—-" Arthur started to state but was interrupted.

"Arthur, I am his mother. I don't have to hear this right now. I am worried about him. I haven't heard from him in 2 days," a melodious voice of an older woman said as the doors were flung open.

Nathaniel had put back the barbell on the rack when he heard the commotion and sat up. Paige was frozen. This was not how she wanted to meet Nathaniel's mother. She didn't even know if she wanted to meet his family at all, because she was still unsure about their relationship. But, the woman was before her now.

She had soft brown hair and green eyes like Nathaniel. She was wearing a black, billowy chiffon blouse with a leopard print scarf elegantly draped around her neck. She had white trousers on and leopard print pumps. Her hair and makeup were expertly done and diamond jewelry adorned her ears, wrists and ring finger. She was impeccable. Paige was extremely intimidated.

"Nate, is this lovely lady why you have decided to cease all communication with the outside world?" she asked gently. Nathaniel sighed, putting his hand in his temple and massaging it.

"Mother, this is Paige Everett. We have been getting to know each other. Paige, this is my mother, Prudence," he said, starting off sounding slightly embarrassed but then softening his voice when he spoke to Paige. He got up and stood beside her, holding her hand and giving it a squeeze.

"Mrs. Donovan, it is a pleasure to meet you. I'm sorry about my appearance," Paige said, lowering her eyes in embarrassment. She was sweaty and her hair was a mess. She hadn't bothered putting on any makeup since she would be showering after her workout anyway.

"Please, you can call me 'Pru'," said Mrs. Donovan in delight. She hurried over to Paige. "I must say, Paige, you are very lovely. You look familiar. Have we met?"

"I don't believe so, ma'am," Paige said. She was extremely nervous.

"Nate, get this poor girl something to change into and both of you wash up. I'll be waiting in the garden with lunch for both of you," she said. She turned on her heels towards a bewildered Arthur and started ordering him around.

"Arthur, have someone go get Paige some fresh clothes and deliver them to her room. I'm going to have a word with the cook. We're going to eat some of that fresh produce from our garden—" she said before they could no longer hear her, Arthur trailing behind.

"Paige, I'm so sorry. Are you okay?" Nathaniel said with worry, facing her. Paige looked into his eyes and she felt her mind calming.

"I'm okay. It's just, this isn't the first impression I wanted to make," Paige whined.

"I promise you, my mother doesn't care. She is thrilled that I'm dating someone. She wants me to settle down," he reassured her.

"If you say so. Where can I shower? I would love to look halfway decent for lunch?" Paige asked. Nathaniel smiled at her and pulled her hand lightly so she would follow him. They exited the room and went down the hall.

"I'll show you to a room that you can use. You can consider it yours, if you'd like," he said, lightly squeezing her hand.

"Umm, I don't think that moving in would be best. We haven't gone on a real date, yet," Paige said. She didn't want to hurt his feelings, but this was moving very quickly and she was feeling overwhelmed. They stopped at a door.

"Paige, I just meant that you'll have privacy and only a maid will enter with clothes, so you don't need to worry about intrusions," he reassured her. "This is your room. I am just down the hall. I'll have someone in the hall if you finish before me, otherwise, I'll wait for you."

"Ok, thank you," she said, standing on her tiptoes and giving him a light peck on the lips. She hadn't kissed him last night and she missed his lips. They were so soft against hers but she quickly pulled away. She was about to enter the room when he touched her hand with his again. She looked at him. He was pouting.

"Can I have one more kiss, please, baby?" he said.

"Only one," she said firmly. He bent down to her lips and pressed his against hers. He nibbled her lower lip but ate lightly pushed him away. He separated from her.

"Thank you, baby. I'll be able to get through lunch, now," Nathaniel said smiling. He walked down the hall and Paige entered the room.