Page 6 of Mine This Time

Chapter Six

Mari

I stared into the darkening swirl of color in Nash’s eyes and tried to catch a breath. It felt as if all the air had been sucked out of the space around us. I was hot all over with my skin tingling and my pulse skittering off into a mad dash.

I wanted, no needed , to feel his mouth on mine. I’d never wanted to kiss anyone so desperately in my life. On the heels of barely a breath, I whispered, “Kiss me.”

Although I had absolutely no doubt that Nash was a dominating and alpha man, in this moment, he demonstrated he had no trouble taking orders.

“Yes, ma’am,” he murmured in that sexy drawl of his.

He stepped a fraction closer, and I felt the intense power and strength of him come against me. It was like walking into an electrified wall. Sensation jolted me and raced through me in hot ripples.

Everything felt slow and fast at once. Nash’s hand slid around to cup my neck, and the feel of his palm dragging gently across my skin nearly made me moan aloud. He dipped toward me, and I arched into him, straining to meet him because I needed his touch.

With my heartbeat echoing through my body, his lips brushed across mine, sending tingles spinning through me. His lips were warm and soft. He didn’t rush, and I didn’t know if that was better or worse.

Considering that I was about to literally melt at his feet, it was a good thing he slid his arm around my waist and held me against him. When I felt the heat of his arousal, thick and hard against my belly, there was a gush of slick heat at my core, and I moaned against his lips.

He murmured something into our kiss. I couldn’t decipher the words, but I felt them—endearing and dirty at once.

When I arched closer, his tongue slipped into my mouth, sliding sensually against mine as I threw myself into the kiss.

I felt wild inside and savored the way he set the pace.

His fingers slid through my hair, as he devoured my mouth in a slow, sensual tease before drawing back and diving in again.

I lost all sense of where we were until I felt the vibration of his phone against the edge of my hip. It didn’t stop. Nash gentled our kiss and lifted his head, catching my bottom lip lightly in his teeth before releasing it.

For an intensely charged moment, we simply stared at each other.

Blood rushed through my ears, and my breath came in short pants.

I could feel the rapid thud of his heartbeat while mine was banging against my ribs.

I took a tiny bit of comfort in knowing that perhaps I affected him as powerfully as he affected me.

His phone began buzzing again. “I think you’d better get that,” I said reluctantly.

His mouth twisted to the side, and he let out a soft sigh. “I should.”

He stepped back, and I instantly missed his warmth and strength.

After Nash left to attend a business meeting, I took a few minutes to explore my temporary lodgings.

The staff condo, as Nash described it, was on the top floor of the same building where his offices were located.

Apparently, he owned the entire building.

The condo offered a view of downtown New Orleans with the Mississippi River in the distance.

There was an open style living room and kitchen area with a tall ceiling and windows letting in lots of light.

Dark hardwood flooring was a contrast to the cream-colored walls and the neutral colored furniture.

A small oval kitchen island served as a dining area as well as a natural divider between the living room and kitchen.

There was a round table beside the windows.

Beyond that main open area was a small entryway, and two bedrooms along with a bathroom.

I certainly didn’t need both bedrooms. The wiry thread of tension I’d felt ever since I’d woken and discovered Brett gone several days ago had finally started to ease in my shoulders.

At least I had somewhere to be for a few days while I came up with some kind of plan.

The moment I thought of Brett and my overall situation, restlessness nudged me. I walked into the larger of the two bedrooms where Nash had carried my suitcase and began to unpack. Maybe I would only be here for a few days, but I wanted to be comfortable.

In the back of my mind, I considered calling my brother Max.

He was due back from his trip with Harlow today.

It didn’t surprise me that he and Nash knew each other.

Max knew a lot of people all over the country, most of them wealthy.

Although my brother was quite wealthy, he was a good man and down to earth.

We’d grown up solidly in the middle class in Pennsylvania.

Our mother was now a retired teacher, and our father still ran his small mechanic garage right beside our parents’ house.

Max was brilliant, and money seemed to just happen for him. Fortunately, he had his feet firmly on the ground. If they hadn’t been before, they were even more so ever since he’d fallen in love with Harlow May, a hotshot firefighter from Alaska.

I adored Harlow and Max’s story. They met entirely by chance when Max attended a wedding of one of his good friends from MIT who’d moved his business to Alaska. At the wedding, Harlow had been one of the bridesmaids for her close friend. Max was smitten with Harlow from the moment he met her.

Now, Max went back and forth between his company’s headquarters in San Francisco and Alaska.

It didn’t really matter where he lived since he could conduct most of his business online.

Max was the one who seemed blessed financially—it was like money just walked up and climbed in his pocket.

On the other hand, I wasn’t so lucky that way.

I landed in journalism—which didn’t pay particularly well.

In fact, most months I would go so far as to say it didn’t pay much at all. Barely enough to squeak by.

Brett had quite literally left me in the worst straits possible when he ran up all my credit cards. Even if I managed to straighten that mess out, I knew it would affect my credit.

“Fuck my life,” I muttered to myself as I scrolled through an email on my phone.

It was an email from Brett with the tickets for this trip.

I couldn’t believe he’d gotten refundable tickets and canceled mine for the refund.

Of course, since he screwed me over with my lease, I wouldn’t have had anywhere to stay when I got back to San Francisco anyway.

My lease had just ended at my other place, and I’d put my things in storage until I could move into the new place the week after we returned.

I’d been staying at a friend’s apartment for a few weeks while she was out of town for work.

Even though it made me nervous because Max could be overprotective and I knew he hadn’t liked Brett, I figured I might as well go ahead and let him know what happened. I quickly typed out a text.

Just so you know, Brett and I are over. I’m in New Orleans for a bit. I hope you and Harlow had a great trip. xoxo

After I hit send, I decided to take a shower. I needed to wash the sticky heat away from me.