Chapter 17
Savvy
I’m a little disoriented at first, but the soft groan in my neck and warm body snuggling in behind are good reminders I’m in Nathan’s bed.
It’s barely dawn and I’m suddenly wide awake.
We didn’t last long last night. After making sure Nate was settled in the living room with a drink and the remote, I took a ridiculously long shower in his bathroom. When I came out with my hair up in a towel, wearing one of Nate’s T-shirts I dug out of a drawer, he had dozed off on the couch.
I ended up making us a couple of quick and easy peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, and opted to make a pot of tea instead of grabbing for alcohol.
We ate and drank, sitting on the couch, with a news station on in the background.
His free hand was stroking circles on my bare leg as we took a little time to catch up on our lives.
Nothing heavy, no talk about my work, or even my father, but we did broach the subject of his daughter, and the business he built for himself.
That then led me to bring up my house, which I bought for a steal a year and a half ago with the idea of doing the necessary renovations in my spare time. I thought it would be fun to tackle by myself and turn the house into my vision.
The reality is, I haven’t even started pulling the screws and nails the previous owners left in the walls. Every day, the laundry list of work that needs to be done becomes more overwhelming, which is why, when Nate offered to take a look and help me come up with a plan, I was all over the idea.
Fatigue soon took over and when I couldn’t stop yawning, Nate suggested I stay the night.
Maybe against better judgment I stayed, but I knew the moment I was by myself, the full weight of my responsibilities would come down on me like a ton of bricks, making sleep impossible like it has been most of the weekend.
If you don’t count the goodnight kiss and the large hand cupping my breast all night, it was all very innocent. I also slept like a log, which hasn’t happened in a while.
So, despite the early morning hour, I am wide awake and very aware of Nate’s morning erection pressing against my ass cheeks.
“Good morning to you too,” I whisper.
I can feel his responding groan against the back of my neck as he snuggles in even deeper. When I press my ass against his groin, his hold on me tightens.
“You know I’m gonna need to fuck you now,” he mumbles in my hair, rocking his hips against me suggestively.
“Didn’t you say Doc told you to take it easy for a week?” I question him playfully.
“That was about work. This wouldn’t be work, it would be pure pleasure, baby.”
“But it may be too strenuous for you. It’s been a long time; we can wait another week or so.”
His displeased growl almost makes me laugh out loud.
“Or…” I tease him, drawing out the word as I turn around in his arms. “You could just let me do all the work.”
His heavy-lidded eyes sparkle with a combination of humor and heat. Lifting his head, he covers my mouth with his, waking up every last one of my senses. Then he rolls on his back and scoots up so his back is against the headboard.
“Fucking great idea.”
His move puts me at eye level with his belly button, which is why—since I’m already halfway there—I move down first.
He hisses when I shimmy his boxers down his hips, the elastic band brushing the sensitive head of his engorged cock. I watch his expression through my lashes as I slowly lick the bead of precum from the tip before sliding him between my lips.
I work him with my mouth and hand until I see the tendons in his neck stand out prominently with the strain of trying to stave off an orgasm. I’m as ready as he is as I quickly slip off my panties and swing a leg over his hips, leaning forward to kiss his eager mouth.
One of his hands grabs hold of my hip while the other slips between my legs, testing my slick center.
“My God, how beautiful you are,” he mutters, looking up at me with an almost surprised expression on his face. “I’d almost forgotten.”
“Hold yourself steady,” I suggest, waiting for him to wrap his hand around the base of his cock.
I shift until I feel his crown brush my core and with a deep groan, sink down to the root. I need a moment to allow my tissues to accommodate him, but I revel in the way he stretches me. This man fills me like he was made to fit my body.
“You have to move, baby,” he urges me.
It takes me a moment to find my rhythm, but soon I settle into a steady bounce and grind motion that stimulates all the right spots. When I drop my head back and give in to my body, Nate sits up, and with a hand in the center of my back he keeps me close as he latches on to one of my breasts.
He doesn’t need to touch me anywhere else, with his cock buried inside me and the heat of his mouth around my nipple, I can feel this man in every cell of my body.
When I come, it’s with a force that overwhelms all my senses and robs me of air. I’m nothing more than a rag doll draped over him, as I feel his powerful release pump inside me.
It takes at least a full five minutes before I can even manage a breathless, “Wow.”
He does little more than grunt, his heart still racing under my cheek.
When we finally untangle, I grab another quick shower, get dressed—thank goodness for a uniform that makes it a little less obvious I didn’t spend the night at home—and follow the smell of coffee downstairs and into the kitchen.
“Good morning,” he rumbles, pulling me close for a hard kiss on my lips.
“Yes, it is,” I agree, returning his smile.
I gratefully accept the mug of coffee he hands me and almost burn my mouth in my eagerness for a hit of good caffeine.
“Want some eggs for breakfast?” he offers.
“Thanks, but I’ll grab a yogurt at the station. I have a lot of work to do.”
I need to put together my case against Sanchuk this morning so I can get him officially arrested and charged, or else he’ll walk tonight when his seventy-two-hour hold is up.
“Understood.”
“Not to be a wet rag, but one of the things we need to do, at some point today, is go over the statement you gave me on Friday and see if there’s anything you want to add before you sign it. If I can’t make it myself, I’ll send one of my deputies.”
“Or I can come to the station if that’s easier for you. Doc Wilson didn’t say anything about not driving.”
“That’s up to you.”
I toss back the last of my coffee and walk around the island to rinse my cup at the sink. Nate steps up behind me, caging me in as he braces an arm on either side on the counter, resting his chin on my shoulder.
“At the risk of putting a damper on what was a truly mind-blowing morning,” he mumbles by my ear. “We didn’t use a condom. Not only don’t I have any in the house, but I was so wrapped up in what was going on, I didn’t even stop to think of it. I’m sorry, that never happens. Not smart.”
I’d come to that realization myself when I was in the shower reliving every single moment of our early morning’s activities. Luckily, I’m religious about taking my contraceptive.
I turn around so we’re face-to-face and loop my arms around his neck.
“I’m on the pill. Also, I haven’t had time for intimacy since Matt died.”
He leans his forehead against mine.
“It hasn’t been quite that long for me, but it has been a while, and I always use a condom. Still, I’ll make sure to get tested sometime this week to be safe.”
“I can do the same,” I offer. “But now I really have to get going.”
I lift up on my toes to kiss him before grabbing my belt off the kitchen island where I left it, and fitting it on my hips.
Nate follows me to the front of the house and as I open the door, I turn to look back at him.
“I’ll call you later, okay?”
I lean in for another quick brush of lips before stepping outside…just as my father’s Bronco comes to a stop at the curb. His keen eyes fixed on me.
Well, shit.
Nate
My back goes up when I see her father march up to the front step.
“Dad, what are you doing here?” Savvy asks.
She puts herself between me and her approaching father like some fierce pint-sized sentry. It’s cute, but I have no intention of hiding behind her. I gently take her by the shoulders and move her to my side.
“Morning, Savvy, Nathan,” he greets us stiffly, but his eyes remain on me.
The man’s expression is inscrutable and I’m having a hard time reading him, so I simply nod and wait for him to explain why he’s here.
“Why are you here?” his daughter asks again.
“Didn’t know you’d be here, honey. I was hoping to have a word with Nate.”
“Now you want a word?” she returns.
I squeeze her shoulder in warning. I know it’s her dad, but she doesn’t have to fight my battles for me.
Besides, I don’t get the impression the man is here to try and chase me off again, and I’d like a chance to hear what he has to say.
He’s an integral part of Savvy’s life, even of this town, and if I really want us to move forward—as I expressed to his daughter—I should put my money where my mouth is.
I didn’t expect it to be easy to produce a polite smile for the man I’ve spent so many years despising, but it actually feels surprisingly good.
“Why don’t you come inside, sir. I’ve got fresh coffee in the kitchen,” I tell him, stepping out of the way and keeping Savvy to my side. “I’ll be right with you.”
“Hey,” she objects when I prevent her from following her father into my house.
“I’ve got this, and you’ve got work waiting,” I remind her, lowering my head to look her in the eye. “I can handle your father. I’ll be in touch later, okay?”
She seems to struggle for a moment, but then concedes.
“Fine, but don’t let him—”
I cut her off with a short, hard kiss.
“Go. It’ll be fine.”
Colter is standing by the fireplace when I walk in, looking at the few photos we put up on the mantel. Most of them are of Tatum.
“Your daughter?” he asks.
“Tatum. She’s fourteen,” I inform him. “She’s the reason I came back to Silence. Her mom overdosed earlier this year and Tate found her. I needed to get her away from those memories.”
The look he sends me is one of unexpected compassion.
“I’m sorry for your loss.”
“It wasn’t really my loss,” I clarify. “Her mom and I were never together for any length of time, and we didn’t see eye to eye on much of anything, but we did produce an amazing daughter and she feels the loss.”
“I see.”
“You take your coffee black?” I guess, pushing through the awkward moment.
“Please.”
I move to the kitchen and busy myself pouring him a cup and topping up mine.
When I turn around, I see he’s taken a seat at the island, staring at his hands in front of him.
I slide his cup toward him across the counter and lean my hip against the kitchen sink, taking a sip of coffee, waiting for him to speak.
“She was heartbroken…Savvy,” he clarifies. “For a long time. Her mother was furious with me when she found out I’d had a hand in driving you away. She never believed you had anything to do with those thefts.”
I’m stunned. I remember Savvy’s mom as a sweet lady who, unlike her husband, had made me feel welcome in their house.
Imagining her furious over anything is a stretch for my imagination, let alone being angry on my behalf.
It feels oddly validating, even after all these years, to hear I had someone other than Savvy in my corner.
“I was sorry to hear she passed away,” I mumble, not sure what else to say.
“Thank you. She was sick for a while before she died and that was tough on my girl as well. Then she met Matt, and things were good for her for a while. She was excited about her future and then he died as well, and she was grieving again.”
When he lifts his eyes to me, they’re swimming with emotion.
“I’m not telling you all this as an excuse, but as an explanation.
I did you wrong, and I’m ashamed to admit I’ve known it for a while.
There is no defense for that. But the only reason I never set the record straight was because I knew how much it would hurt Savannah, and she’s lived through enough pain to last her a lifetime. ”
His emotions get the better of him and I turn my back to give him a chance to collect himself.
I’m a little overwhelmed myself, feelings of anger, hurt, and empathy all warring for dominance. That last one is the kicker, because I do understand.
Behind me the older man clears his throat, and I turn around as he gets to his feet.
“I’m sorry. I’m sorry for a lot of things when it comes to you.
I’m sorry I allowed assumptions and preconceptions skew my view of you.
But I want you to know I see you now, I see everything you’ve accomplished in spite of people like me, and I gotta tell you, it humbles the hell out of me.
You inviting me inside your house, when by all rights you could’ve kicked me off your property, it shows you’re the bigger man. ”
I don’t have an opportunity to react, since he is already walking out my front door, leaving me…speechless.
I never thought anything Brant Colter said could matter, but it does…a lot.