Chapter One #2
Cash hadn’t been exactly celibate during his twelve years of pining for Nick Scott, but the men he’d taken to bed were hookups who didn’t have feelings for him.
Burke was different and deserved better.
The chemistry just wasn’t there to build a relationship on, even though Cash found the man attractive.
With a heavy sigh, Cash ended his critical assessment and headed into his walk-in closet to pick something to wear.
He didn’t want to dress up too much and give the wrong impression, but he wasn’t about to insult Burke or himself by showing up in joggers and a hoodie.
He settled for a pressed black dress shirt, dark denim jeans, and his black Stetson.
Cash carried the outfit into his room and laid it on his bed next to his sleeping border collie.
Patsy raised her head and wagged her tail.
“It’s not a date,” Cash told her. She released a series of sharp barks. “I’ll be home long before eleven, girl.”
Patsy released a soft growl, laid her head on the bed, and covered her nose with a paw.
Even she knew his pining over Nick was pathetic.
Cash left her to remove a pair of boxer briefs from his dresser drawer and pull them on.
He’d just snapped the waistband into place when his phone pinged with an alert from the security camera at the gate.
It had a motion sensor that triggered a notification.
People with the gate code would enter on their own, and he would receive a second alert whenever that happened.
Visitors would hit the intercom button, and Cash could communicate and open the gates from the app.
When he didn’t receive an opened-gate notification or intercom call, Cash thought maybe wildlife had triggered the motion sensor.
Or perhaps someone turned around in the driveway.
Cash pulled on his jeans but didn’t zip or button them since he’d need to tuck in his shirt.
His phone alerted him that someone had entered a valid gate code.
Everyone had left an hour ago to attend poker night at Harry and Dylan’s house since Ivan and Rory were still traveling back from Kansas.
The delay between notifications made him curious, so he retrieved his phone from the nightstand and accessed the security camera through the app.
He rewound the feed a little, and his heartbeat kicked into a gallop as he watched Nick’s sleek, black BMW pull up to the gate.
The last he’d heard, Nick was still at Quantico, filling in for an instructor out on paternity leave.
They’d only chatted and texted a few times since Nick had dropped Rory off at the end of March.
Nick had warned him that communication would be limited while he attended meetings, took specialized training, and assumed instructing.
He’d expected Nick to let him know when he returned out West, and maybe that’s what he was doing.
Instead of rolling down the window and entering a code, Nick had opened his door and clambered out.
That’s when Cash noticed Nick’s left arm was in a sling.
Snatching his shirt from the bed, Cash shoved his arms into the sleeves as he exited his bedroom.
Patsy must’ve sensed his distress because she jumped down off the bed and followed him.
Nick showing up unannounced and injured wasn’t good.
Cash didn’t bother buttoning his shirt as he hurried through the house.
The driveway to the ranch was long and winding, so Nick’s car still hadn’t driven into view by the time Cash and Patsy exited the front door and stepped onto the porch.
It wasn’t long before the sleek sedan eased from the dense trees and made the last turn toward his home, toward him.
Patsy released a series of excited barks, but Cash bade her to stay put.
He tried not to read too much into Nick’s presence, especially with an injury, but his heart wouldn’t listen.
The stubborn organ always had a mind of its own whenever Nick was near.
From the first moment their eyes had locked at a charity event twelve years prior, Nick had owned a piece of Cash’s soul.
Their chemistry had been undeniable, but neither man had room for a relationship.
Cash had targeted flailing companies that were ripe for raiding.
Nick had been about to start his FBI training at Quantico for twenty weeks.
Neither of them wanted to ignore the energy crackling between them, so they gave themselves one weekend to fuck it out of their systems. Three days of endless pleasure, passion, and laughter.
The experiment had failed miserably because the attraction was even stronger when their paths crossed a year later at the same annual charity event.
They hadn’t gone back to Cash’s penthouse apartment in Denver that time.
Maybe they feared they couldn’t replicate the intensity of their first encounter, or perhaps they feared a second round would melt the skin off their bones.
If the latter were true, then what? Both of them had been madly in love with their careers, and a repeat of the passionate weekend seemed like an unwise risk.
Over time, their run-ins became more frequent and intentional.
Quick cups of coffee turned into long lunches, intimate dinners, and platonic weekend getaways.
Nick became the most important person in Cash’s life.
Which was why he tapped out a quick text to let Burke know something had come up and he needed to reschedule their dinner.
Nick had sought him out, and that was the only thing that mattered.