A harsh swallow is forced down my throat as he leans his head to the side. My tongue darts out, wetting my lips, ready for him to consume me and set my insides on fire once again, but he only pulls away, tapping the side of the truck. “Seatbelt,” he nods before shutting the door and stalking around to the driver’s side.
“Goodness gracious,” I release a ragged breath, my hand resting on my chest.
The energy between us is more charged than it’s ever been. And I don’t know how to handle it.
Once again silent, Nash puts the truck in reverse before pulling out of the lot and swinging us onto the road. The AC is blasting the way I’d left it, but I roll my window down, leaning out, allowing the warm night air to wash over my face.
“Are you cold?” he asks.
“No.” I allow my eyes to drift shut and just exist in the moment. The fresh air and the sounds of a bustling small-town-county around me, full of cheer, and pops of fireworks in the distance. Cole County is home. It always has been, but when I close my eyes like this, I can pretend I’m somewhere else. The same set of stars shines bright in the sky, but the land is different; the seasons and people have changed. In my mind, I can be anywhere else but here. “I’m a windows-down all year-round kind of girl,” I respond softly, as a lazy smile pulls at my lips.
The soft whir of the driver’s window descending pulls my focus back to Nash’s side of the truck. He, too, has his window down now, his arm resting on the edge more relaxed than I’ve ever seen him. The veins along his forearm pop while his thick hair blows in the breeze as we fly down the open road.
I hadn’t realized we were moving toward the outskirts of town. The areas where there’s still open land, and the ranches and farms are all you’ll find.
Angling my body toward him, I bend my leg up enough that my heel can rest on the seat and my chin on my knee as I grin his way. “Where are we going?”
“You’ll see.”
“Fine. Then tell me about your life.” Regardless of whether Nash breaks my heart again, I want to know him—his likes,dislikes, what brings him joy, and his greatest fear. I want to see the world through his eyes.
He chuckles softly, placing a hand on my thigh, rubbing absently along the bare skin before responding. “We’re almost there.”
I barely hear his words as his touch sears my skin. I’d forgotten I was wearing a dress when I cocked my leg up on the seat. From his angle, he’d be able to see my bright pink underwear.
My mind and body battle. One telling me to have some modesty and drop my leg, the other telling me to spread them wider. If he wants to look, let him. It’s what we want too.
It’s then that I notice his eyes keep darting to the apex of my thighs. Moisture already pools there. It had been from the moment he took my hand in his. He’ll see the wet spot if there’s enough light, but I don’t care. I need his eyes on me. I need him not to stop things tonight.
Gravel crunches as he pulls onto what must be a private drive. There’s nothing but trees and land. Not a thing until we’re about half a mile down the road and the dense trees part to reveal a small cabin.
“Where are we?” I ask, contorting my body to stare out of the front windshield as he parks my truck.
He doesn’t answer, climbing out to open my door. I take his hand, hopping out too. My eyes rake over the quaint space. It likely only has a single bedroom, judging from the exterior. The wood has worn over time, but the structure seems solid.
Once again linking his fingers through mine, Nash leads us to the front door, unlocking it and then allowing me to step inside.
The interior is modern yet cozy, draped in hues of hunter green, brown, and taupe. It’s clean as if regularly inhabited, and the scent of pine fills the space—the same pine as Nash’s cologne.
Nash moves behind me, his hands cupping my biceps as he dips his mouth close to my ear. “Welcome to my home.”
Chapter 20
Nash
There was a plan: give Betty space.
It was simple. She’d been furious and hurt, understandably so. I pride myself on being a man who doesn’t screw with women’s feelings. Anyone I’ve slept with since Katherine has known exactly what they were getting. No matter how many times we fucked, that was all it was ever going to be. I wasn’t looking for a new wife. I wasn’t looking for anything. There was too much on my plate with work, and I had no stability in my schedule. How could I foster a genuine relationship when I could be gone for a day or three weeks?
It’s why I had put aside the notion that kids were an option for me a long time ago, too. It never happened with Katherine. With our divorce went that dream. I was okay with that. I was content with my life until Beatrice Lola Hughes barged back into my life like a fucking bulldozer and professed her undying love for me in a drunken stupor.
Had she said the words sober, I would have laughed them off as the fun-loving woman pulling a fast one on me. She was always the life of the party in her younger years. Beckett kept me up to date on all things Hughes-related, and these are small towns. Everyone knows everyone. There are no secrets in places like this.
If she hadn’t been so drunk she could barely stand, I would have been able to brush it off as nothing. I wouldn’t have looked at her as a woman for the first time. I wouldn’t have ogled her body and wondered what her naked flesh felt like under my palms. My mind wouldn’t have even entertained the thought that we love her laugh and the way she scrunches her nose when someone irritates her, but she still forces her best Betty smile.
None of this would have happened had that night gone differently. Nash wouldn’t be so eager to know the woman and her quirks and what makes her smile, so those stunning brown eyes sparkle. He wouldn’t need to be around her every second of every day or allow anyone else to see his possessive side when someone else didn’t hesitate to be with the amazing woman she is.
I was going to give her space. I was going to let her choose when she wanted to have an honest conversation with me. When we stood there in her bedroom and she asked me why, the only answer I had was jealousy. It wasn’t good enough, and I wasn’t going to potentially miss out on a chance to make this right with her with some lame-ass words.
