Chapter Eight #3
Aidan vowed. “And I’ll check and make sure Da is still breathing.”
When the door closed behind him, Carys leaned over. “Thank
you for not being too rough on him. The wedding is…well, is coming up way too
fast, and it’s settling in that Tristan isn’t going to be there.”
In some ways she understood. Daisy forced a smile on her
face. “It’s okay. I don’t need revenge or anything.”
“So I shouldn’t have texted the twins and asked them what’s
going on?” Nate opened his own soda casually, like he hadn’t dropped a bomb
that was going to explode in her brother’s face.
“You did what?” Carys asked, her jaw dropping slightly.
“Oh, I just figured if anyone would be able to tell me if I
was right about what was going on, it’s the twins.” Nate was a gorgeous
bastard, and she kind of wanted to jump him right there. “I mean they are in
the information business. Kala said she would handle it. I don’t know what she
means by that.”
Carys stood. “I have to go warn Aidan. Are they back? How
long do we have?”
She rushed out the door, and Daisy was left alone with the
most gorgeous man she’d ever met. The one who would probably break her heart.
“Hey, I didn’t actually text the twins. I’m not trying to
get your brother killed,” Nate explained. “Just uncomfortable.”
She grabbed a sandwich and forced herself to relax. “Well,
if my brother thinks the twins are coming after him, he might move. Far away.
Though they might think about recruiting him because I swear the twins know
everything. Big brother did a great job hiding it.”
But it was all out in the open now, and she would have to
deal with the ramifications.
* * * *
Nate made sure the security system was on and then sent
Avery a text letting her know they were safely locked in for the night.
He’d promised his mum’s best friend he would protect her
daughter with everything he had.
What he didn’t tell her was he intended to protect her soul,
too.
Something was up with Daisy. Oh, she was smiling and polite,
and she’d been incredibly patient. But he saw right through her. Something had
happened the night before, something that had shifted his universe into place,
and he had zero intention of allowing those stars to unalign.
Daisy was the sun in the sky for him, and it didn’t matter
that everyone would tell him he hadn’t known her long enough. He knew this deep
in his bones. He’d spent the night with her and known he wanted all the nights
with her.
He stepped out of the security office and jogged up the
steps leading to the lounge and beyond, the dungeon floor.
Daisy sat in the lounge, her head down, staring at her
phone.
This was what he’d dealt with all afternoon. After the
confrontation with her father, she’d shut down. Oh, she would smile when she
needed to, and she’d been polite when her father had walked in and told her to
be careful, but when he’d hugged her, she’d barely hugged him back.
She’d done everything she’d been asked to do, including make
a list of things for Devi to pick up for her and drop off at Sanctum. Devi had
gone with her mom, and they’d even stopped at the grocery and stocked the
kitchen for them.
“We’re locked in for the night,” he said, studying her. She
was simply stunning. All the awkwardness of her girlhood was gone, and nothing
but a glorious sun of a woman was left in her place. Which was precisely why he
hated the fact that her glow had dimmed.
He had to find a way to wipe the afternoon out of her head
for a little while.
She looked up. “Oh, good. I’ll go see what Mom sent for
dinner.”
“I think we should talk first.”
She sighed. “What is there to talk about, Nate? I’ve done
everything that’s been asked of me. I’m putting my life on hold so no one has
to worry. If you’ve changed your mind, I can handle that. My family was a lot
today.”
She didn’t understand him at all, but maybe he hadn’t made
himself clear. “I don’t want to talk, Daisy. I want to chase you through this
club. 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 where
we’re together in the club?”
“The club is simply where we are right now. If I’d thought
for a second you would have been up for it, I would have hauled you into a
closet at the office and fucked you there, but you were going through some
things,” he admitted. “And I don’t have an actual office. It’s a cubicle, and
I’m too big to hide behind those walls. Besides, I want to hear you when you
come.”
“Nate,” she began. “Maybe you should think about this.
There’s a reason my brother warned his friends off me, and no matter what he
said, I have to think it was at least partially about protecting them.”
“From how gorgeous you are? From how you could rock their
whole 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 he
was also open to negotiations. “How about we make a deal, love? You get into
trouble and you call me. When I get shot for you, you owe me some submission
time.”
Her expression softened, and she moved into his space. “I
forgot. Nate, I should look at your arm.”
He shook his head. “I don’t need a nurse. It’s fine. I don’t
even feel it. It was more like a graze. Now what happened to my truck is
another story entirely. I’m going to need quite a bit of time for that. We were
lucky 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. I
certainly didn’t intend to wreck your truck. You know I didn’t plan any of
this. I didn’t exactly go into the week thinking Hey, I’d like to witness a
bunch of crimes and lose another job and get shot at.”
At least the hollow look was out of her eyes. How often had
she felt weary and no one else saw through her pretty mask? All he’d heard was
about how crazy Daisy’s life could be. Did anyone think about the toll it might
take on her? How it affected her view of herself? “And yet it happened, and in
the 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 arms
crossed over those gorgeous breasts. “See, I’m trouble. I also don’t behave the
way people think I should. And you know what, it wasn’t much of a firefight. I
could have helped if you’d given me a gun.”
The thought damn near gave him a heart attack, so why did
the idea of an armed Daisy also get him a little hot? Not that he wasn’t hot
enough for her already. “If you don’t like how I protect you, we can discuss
it.”
She stopped, her expression going blank again. “I know what
you’re doing, but it can’t work. Nate, I know this whole sex thing is hot, but
it wears off.”
He didn’t like the space between them, but he had to be
careful. 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, and
he 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 the
back of the lounge, where there would be nowhere for her to go. He could feel
his body heating up. This sensation was completely new for him. He’d certainly
wanted sex before, but it had never been this crazed need for one woman. “Is it
all about sex for you? Was that the only connection?”
“How would I even know? The truth is it was the best sex
I’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 a
point 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 friends
once. It’s not like we don’t know each other and this is all coming out of
nowhere.”
She’d left her phone behind, and all her attention was now
where he wanted it. On him. “I was Aidan’s sister.”
“Then how do I remember what soda you like? How would I know
that 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 prank
where they hid in your closet and pretended to be monsters.” He wasn’t going to
let her be afraid of what they felt for each other. Another step and he had her
where he wanted her. “Here’s what you don’t know. Before I came here, I think I
was in some kind of depression. Not clinical, but I was definitely at a low
place in my life because I was numb. I got out of the military because it
wasn’t filling my soul the way I thought it would. I thought since my father
served, following in his footsteps would be the right thing to do, but I really
went in because I didn’t have any other plans. Funny thing is, I think I am
going to follow in his footsteps. My father didn’t have some grand career. His
job was loving my mum. That was his place in the world, and last night I found
mine.”
She was backed up against the bar. “Nate, you can’t know
that.”
“I can, and I think you know it, too.” He wanted to kiss her
and blow past all her walls, but she was in a delicate state. Still, he could
feel the heat building between them. “One of the reasons I came here was
because most of my favorite memories revolve around you and Aidan. I was going
to meet with you, and a part of me hoped you would still be that girl following
me around, looking up to me.”
“You knew I had a crush on you?” The question came out
breathy, as though she was trying to force herself to concentrate.
It was so easy to be honest with this woman. He wasn’t the
kind of man who prevaricated, but he also didn’t open up easily. But with her,
being honest was like breathing. “Of course. I hoped you still did because I
thought that awkward girl would be perfect for me. I thought she would be a
balm to my soul. I even entertained the idea of seeing if there was a spark
between us. I needed something in my life to work. Something easy.”
Her eyes narrowed. “I’m not easy, Nate.”
He reached up and stroked back her hair, giving in to the
undeniable need to touch her. “No, you’re not. I was looking for an ember to
keep me warm and I got the bloody volcano, and I won’t go back for anything. If
you’re scared I’m going to get fed up with the chaos that seems to follow you,
I won’t. If you’re scared I’ll back out, let’s settle it. We can get married.”
“What?” She tried to move away from him, but there was
nowhere to go.
It felt good to throw her off. He got the feeling he would
be chasing after her for the rest of his life, so he would take these moments
when he surprised her. “I can cause some chaos, too, baby. Think about it. It
solves the problem with your da. We can tell him we were joking and I took your
virginity on our wedding night, and you can be pregnant by the end of the year.
I’ve heard pumping out a few adorable kiddos softens up the mad dads pretty
quick.”
She ducked under his arm, moving away again. She started to
pace, putting one of the luxurious sofas between them. “Nate, that’s a crazy
idea.”
He could pick that sucker up and toss it away if he wanted
to. “Yeah, it is. Let’s do it.”
She stopped, staring at him like he’d gone insane. “We
can’t.”
He shrugged. “Why not? We’re young and stupid, and I’m so
fucking crazy about you. If it’s a mistake, it’ll be the best one I ever make.”
He moved closer to her.
“You can’t be serious.” She held her ground, but it was easy
to see she was… Not exactly nervous. Aware. She was aware of him.
Beware, little sub.
“I am bloody serious.”
She bit her bottom lip. “Nathan, are you stalking me?”
It was good to put it plainly, though he rather thought he’d
already done it. “I told you what I want, Dais.”
“You want to chase me through the club.” Every word was the
tiniest bit shaky, like she knew what came next. “You don’t want me to make it
easy on you. You don’t want simple.”
At last she understood him. “I want trouble. I want
whacked-out, crazy fucking trouble. Can you give it to me? You have a safe
word. You should be ready to use it because I’m feeling feral today, love. I’m
never feral. I’m perfectly polite. Been that way all my life. I learned how to
shove the beast that lives in me way down or I scare folks. But you bring it
out. So I’m going to ask you again. Are you going to give me the trouble I’m
craving?”
“Just in the club?”
He shook his head. “Nah, love. You made your choice. You get
me in and out of this club. I don’t want boundaries or walls. If we’re in the
office and you need my cock, I’ll get really fucking creative. This isn’t a
ploy to get a couple of hours of sex from you. I want it forever. You and the
sex and all the trouble I can stand.”
Daisy’s lips curled up in the sweetest smile, and then she
took off running.
Nate’s beast growled in the best way as he stalked his prey.