Page 20 of Mine This Time

Chapter Eighteen

Mari

I needed this. I needed you.

In the shadowed light, I stared into Nash’s eyes, my words reverberating in my mind. We were joined as intimately as two people could be with my core stretched to its max and my heartbeat racing. I could barely catch my breath and felt as if I’d been tossed into the air and was free-falling.

I was awash in sensation, and I didn’t know how to get my bearings, the feelings were so intense. The only thing I could hold onto, the only touchstone in this swirling storm of sensation, piercing pleasure and need, was Nash.

I could feel the calloused surface of his palms, where they pressed against my hips. His hold both secure and steadfast. “You’ve got me. All of me,” he rasped.

My nipples, so tight they ached, grazed over the muscled planes of his chest. The dusting of his hair was yet another sensation spinning into the rest of them. The feel of him filling me was incredible; the stretch decadent and intense.

In tune with each other, we held still for a beat as I adjusted to the feel of him inside me. Nash leaned forward and pressed a hot, open kiss against my neck. Then, we began rocking into each other, a slow, sensual fuck in the darkness. It should’ve just been sex, but it felt like so much more.

My orgasm was racing upon me quickly from the friction of my swollen clit as it rubbed against the base of Nash's cock.

Each deep nudge of his shaft inside of me pushed me closer and closer.

The slow pull and glide was intoxicating, the friction sending pleasure spiraling in sharp streaks through me.

“Mari.”

The sound of my name in Nash’s gravelly drawl brought my eyes open. I watched him as he arched back once and filled me yet again. My orgasm shattered me. I felt as if I were flying to pieces as he held me tight. My entire body shuddered from intense waves of pleasure.

Nash cried my name again in a rough growl. His body went taut as a bow and he trembled against me. His arms wrapped around my back as I fell against his chest and frantically gasped for air.

Pleasure pinged through me and slowed to little eddies. I gradually became aware of the feel of his hands sliding through the ends of my hair.

In the aftermath, Nash carried me into bed. As I lay languid in his arms, I wondered about how easy this felt. Part of me wanted to tell myself this was nothing more than a rebound, something to soothe my stinging pride. I tumbled into sleep, wrapped in his warm, strong embrace.

Yet, it felt so easy , so right. My tendency to worry things to pieces was subdued, if only because I simply couldn’t even bring myself to go there.

The last thought flickering through my mind before I fell into a deep, comforting sleep was that I couldn’t recall ever feeling this good with someone.

As restless and as unsettled as I’d been for weeks now, I slept better that night than I had in months.

The following morning, I had a relaxing breakfast and coffee interlude with Nash. In spite of the stressors I was facing—my financial situation, and the news that Brett appeared to have stupidly made arrangements with a loan shark that put me in direct danger—I actually felt good.

Once again, the connection I felt with Nash was just so natural and felt so right . I didn’t quite know what to make of it, so I decided not to worry about it. I certainly had a long list of other worries.

Nash had gone down to his office and returned with a laptop. He was presently working while sipping his coffee. I was busy compiling a list of inns I intended to visit. Using Hannah ’s list of recommendations as a starting point, I expanded from there.

My phone chimed on the table where Nash was sitting across from me. Spinning my phone around to glance at the screen, an unfamiliar number blinked at me as it continued to ring.

“Who is it?” Nash asked, his gaze alert.

“I don’t recognize the number. Could just be a robocall. Like everyone in the world, I get plenty of those,” I said dryly.

Nash sipped his coffee and commented, “Let’s see if they leave a message.”

Another moment passed after the ringing stopped, and then my phone chimed with a voicemail. I put it on speaker as soon as I realized it was Brett.

Mari, it’s Brett. I need you to call me a soon as you get this. Use this number.

My eyes met Nash’s across the table. “Well, should I call him back?”

“Absolutely. If you don’t mind, I’d like to call him back.”

“Feel free. I’ve about had enough of talking to him.”

“Mind if I call from your phone?”

“Of course not.”

Nash immediately reached for my phone and tapped to return the call. He put it on speaker, so I could hear the whole thing.

After two rings, Brett answered, “Thanks for calling back so quickly. Look, Mari?—”

Nash cut in immediately. “This isn’t Mari, it’s Nash Reynolds. What do you need?”

“Why the hell are you listening to Mari’s messages and calling me back?” Brett asked quickly. I could hear the frustration in his tone and had to bite the insides of my cheeks to keep from snapping at him. As if he had any claim on me, or any right to have an opinion about Nash hearing my messages.

“The better question would be why the hell did you put her at risk?” Nash countered swiftly.

“What the fuck are you talking about? Look, Mari and I are in a relationship. I don’t know why you’re involved in the situation, but it’s none of your damn business.”

Catching Nash’s eye, I arched a brow in question, and he circled his hand in the air with a proceed motion.

I interjected. “Seriously, Brett? It’s none of your business why Nash is involved. He’s helping me because you fucking left me in one hell of a situation. You ran up all my credit cards and opened new ones. In my name. You also fucked me over on the lease on my apartment.”

“Mari, you don’t understand. I need you to remove that credit freeze, so I can have access to those credit cards. They’re jointly in our name.”

He was blatantly lying, and I knew it. “Stop lying, Brett. They’re solely in my name because we've been doing a little digging, pulling my credit report and I saw them. And no, I’m not lifting the credit freeze.

As for acting like we have something here—that there’s still a relationship between us—that’s total bullshit.

We dated for less than a year. In the last few months, for all intents and purposes we were hardly dating, and you damn well know it.

I don’t know exactly why you’re trying to claim differently but it’s perfectly clear to me that you were just using me.

Now, I’m worried about some loan shark coming after me since you put me smack in the middle of your mess. ”

Thanks to Nash and what passed between us last night, I’d somehow managed to put my fear around that situation far in the recesses of my thoughts. Saying it aloud brought it back forcefully. Fear shafted through me, and cold dread coated the insides of my stomach.

Without a word, Nash reached over and curled his hand over mine. My hands had gone icy cold, but the warmth of his touch helped me catch my breath and put the brakes on the fear revving inside of me.