Not something. Someone.
Scott. No, Nathan, I corrected myself. I still wasn’t used to his name change.
“Is there a problem here?” Nathan said, stepping beside me.
“Mind your own business, freak.” Finn wasn’t a small guy, but Nathan dwarfed him. “Baby, tell this jerk to go away.”
Nathan looked at me, his eyes narrowing when he noticed the bruise forming under my right eye.
Nathan slowly turned back around to face Finn, squared his shoulders, and glared. It was like he was daring him, inviting him to try something. “You have two seconds to walk away.”Nathan stepped between us, blocking my view of Finn. “Before you can’t.”
The chill running through my body was a mixture of fear and lust.
I was afraid of what Nathan might do to Finn, worried Gran would see it, but my traitorous body thought a growling Nathan defending me was sexy as fuck.
Finn hesitated, but only for the second it took for Nathan to step closer. Then he turned and marched back to his car, mumbling the entire time.
Nathan spun on me. “Did he do that to you?” He pointed at my face.
Still shocked he was here, and dealing with my traitorous, horny body, I just stood there blinking at him as my mind raced.
Not happy with my non-answer, he grabbed my chin and barked. “Who did this to you?”
I probably should’ve been afraid of him and his giant hand tilting my face up, forcing me to look him in the eye, but I wasn’t. When I found my voice, I said, “No one. It’s nothing. It was an accident.” It wasn’t a lie, but the expression on his face made it feel like one.How dare he act like he cares!
“If he—”
“The stupid cat tripped me, okay? Not that it’s any of your business.” I went from grateful and turned on to angry in under two minutes.
He stared at me, his eyes roaming across my face and down my arms.
“What is his name?”
“Does it matter?” I spat back with as much sass as I could muster.
He growled through gritted teeth. “Ashley, if you’re in danger, I need to know.”
Why? What right did he have showing up on my doorstep and butting into my life after ghosting me?
“I’m not. You can go now. Casper.” I waited half a heartbeat before turning and stomping back to the house.
He was staring; I could tell from the prickly feeling covering my skin. Fighting the urge to turn around, I ignored him.
After closing and locking the door, I went to the living room and plopped onto Gran’s floral couch. Thank God Prince kept Gran busy, and she hadn’t looked outside to see the evidence of the train wreck that was my life. She knew about Finn, of course. But I’d never told her about Nathan.
His real name still feels weird on my tongue.
Ten pounds of black fur jumped into my lap. Green eyes stared at me as tears filled mine. Without thinking, I ran my hand down Prince’s silky smooth neck and back.
He reached up, placed one paw on each shoulder, and tucked his head under my chin.Maybe he’s not so bad,I thought as I hugged him back. His purr calmed me as much as the repetitive motion of petting him.
Chapter 10
Nathan
When I pulled up to Ashley’s grandmother’s house, all I wanted to do was talk. But she was standing on the front lawn arguing with some asshole.
An asshole who needed a lesson in manners. I volunteered, forming a plan to wipe the smug look off his face as I crossed the street.
