He had to find a way to wipe the afternoon out of her headfor a little while.
She looked up.“Oh, good.I’ll go see what Mom sent fordinner.”
“I think we should talk first.”
She sighed.“What is there to talk about, Nate?I’ve doneeverything that’s been asked of me.I’m putting my life on hold so no one hasto worry.If you’ve changed your mind, I can handle that.My family was a lottoday.”
She didn’t understand him at all, but maybe he hadn’t madehimself clear.“I don’t want to talk, Daisy.I want to chase you through thisclub.I want to rip your clothes off and fuck you on every possible surface.”
Her eyes flared.“So we’re going to do that thing wherewe’re together in the club?”
“The club is simply where we are right now.If I’d thoughtfor a second you would have been up for it, I would have hauled you into acloset at the office and fucked you there, but you were going through somethings,” he admitted.“And I don’t have an actual office.It’s a cubicle, andI’m too big to hide behind those walls.Besides, I want to hear you when youcome.”
“Nate,” she began.“Maybe you should think about this.There’s a reason my brother warned his friends off me, and no matter what hesaid, I have to think it was at least partially about protecting them.”
“From how gorgeous you are?From how you could rock theirwhole fucking worlds?”
She stood, her hands going to her hips.Her fighting stance.“From how much trouble I can be.”
He needed her to understand he could handle a fight.But hewas also open to negotiations.“How about we make a deal, love?You get intotrouble and you call me.When I get shot for you, you owe me some submissiontime.”
Her expression softened, and she moved into his space.“Iforgot.Nate, I should look at your arm.”
He shook his head.“I don’t need a nurse.It’s fine.I don’teven feel it.It was more like a graze.Now what happened to my truck isanother story entirely.I’m going to need quite a bit of time for that.We werelucky to have Alex drive us here.Tomorrow they’re going to give me a rental,and it won’t be big enough.”
She stepped back, putting space between them.“I’m sorry.Icertainly didn’t intend to wreck your truck.You know I didn’t plan any ofthis.I didn’t exactly go into the week thinkingHey, I’d like to witness abunch of crimes and lose another job and get shot at.”
At least the hollow look was out of her eyes.How often hadshe felt weary and no one else saw through her pretty mask?All he’d heard wasabout how crazy Daisy’s life could be.Did anyone think about the toll it mighttake on her?How it affected her view of herself?“And yet it happened, and inthe middle of a firefight, you wanted to make sure your da had breakfast.”
“I told you, he’s cranky when he doesn’t eat.”Daisy’s armscrossed over those gorgeous breasts.“See, I’m trouble.I also don’t behave theway people think I should.And you know what, it wasn’t much of a firefight.Icould have helped if you’d given me a gun.”
The thought damn near gave him a heart attack, so why didthe idea of an armed Daisy also get him a little hot?Not that he wasn’t hotenough for her already.“If you don’t like how I protect you, we can discussit.”
She stopped, her expression going blank again.“I know whatyou’re doing, but it can’t work.Nate, I know this whole sex thing is hot, butit wears off.”
He didn’t like the space between them, but he had to becareful.He moved toward her.“It won’t with me.It’s more than sex.”
Sure enough she stepped back, but her eyes were on him, andhe could see the longing plain in her gaze.“You can’t know that.”
He wasn’t even sure she realized he was herding her to theback of the lounge, where there would be nowhere for her to go.He could feelhis body heating up.This sensation was completely new for him.He’d certainlywanted sex before, but it had never been this crazed need for one woman.“Is itall about sex for you?Was that the only connection?”
“How would I even know?The truth is it was the best sexI’ve ever had.If you want me to stroke your ego, I can certainly do that.”
His ego wasn’t what he wanted her to stroke, but he had apoint to make.“It was the best sex of my life, too.”
“It’s not enough to build something real on.”
She was forgetting they had a past.“Daisy, we were friendsonce.It’s not like we don’t know each other and this is all coming out ofnowhere.”
She’d left her phone behind, and all her attention was nowwhere he wanted it.On him.“I was Aidan’s sister.”
“Then how do I remember what soda you like?How would I knowthat when you were ten, your greatest ambition in life was to be a teacher?Back then you were afraid of the dark because your cousins once played a prankwhere they hid in your closet and pretended to be monsters.”He wasn’t going tolet her be afraid of what they felt for each other.Another step and he had herwhere he wanted her.“Here’s what you don’t know.Before I came here, I think Iwas in some kind of depression.Not clinical, but I was definitely at a lowplace in my life because I was numb.I got out of the military because itwasn’t filling my soul the way I thought it would.I thought since my fatherserved, following in his footsteps would be the right thing to do, but I reallywent in because I didn’t have any other plans.Funny thing is, I think Iamgoing to follow in his footsteps.My father didn’t have some grand career.Hisjob was loving my mum.That was his place in the world, and last night I foundmine.”
She was backed up against the bar.“Nate, you can’t knowthat.”
“I can, and I think you know it, too.”He wanted to kiss herand blow past all her walls, but she was in a delicate state.Still, he couldfeel the heat building between them.“One of the reasons I came here wasbecause most of my favorite memories revolve around you and Aidan.I was goingto meet with you, and a part of me hoped you would still be that girl followingme around, looking up to me.”
“You knew I had a crush on you?”The question came outbreathy, as though she was trying to force herself to concentrate.
