Page 30 of Trapped (Sheppard & Sons Investigations #6)
Ashley
G ran must have sensed the shift. She spent less time trying to hook us up and more time getting to know Nathan. Hearing him cleverly maneuver away from topics he wanted to avoid reminded me of our time in Vegas.
How easily he’d played me.
No, I corrected myself. He did what he had to do. And it wasn’t his fault I was too enthralled to notice his shifty behavior.
When Gran asked, “Can I ask how you got your scar?” Nathan’s entire body tensed. Gran noticed too and quickly changed the subject.
Instinctively, I put my hand on his arm, offering comfort. I didn’t know all the details, but I knew thinking about it caused him to freak out.
Gran didn’t miss the gesture, or the tension in Nathan’s shoulders draining away as he stared at my hand on his sleeve.
“What I meant to ask is, how do you like working for John and his boys?” Gran asked.
Nathan nodded his appreciation before answering. His voice was rough, like he’d just woken up. Or was holding back powerful emotions. “It’s only been a week, but so far, I like it. I appreciate their no bullsh-their no nonsense approach.”
Gran laughed. “John was never one for bullshit, got that from his father.”
Gran didn’t mind the occasional cuss word, which made her the coolest grandmother in Weatherford, maybe even Texas. But she drew the line at fuck. Gran thought the word was unnecessary.
I disagreed. The word had many useful applications, but I refrained from using it in her presence.
“And passed on to his sons,” Nathan added.
“At least the oldest one.” Gran looked at me. “I seem to remember Jack and the youngest.” She paused, trying to remember his name.
“Jaden.” I reminded her. It made sense she didn’t remember him. Jay was several years younger, so he never hung out with us.
“Right, Jaden. They got in their fair share of trouble.”
“Jack wasn’t too bad,” I said, defending him. We’d hung out in the same circles in high school. Jack wasn’t straight and narrow like Jamie, who was a little too perfect, but he wasn’t a troublemaker. He questioned rules and tested boundaries, but there was never any ill intent.
“That tracks,” Nathan said, at the same time.
Nathan and I cleaned the kitchen after dinner while Gran played with Prince in the living room. The silence should’ve felt awkward, but it didn’t. Our hands brushing as he handed me a plate to dry set my body on fire. When our eyes locked, the same fire burned in his.
When he invaded my space, my heart raced.
My knees turned to Jello when he whispered in my ear, “What time does Gran go to bed?”
His hands on my hips promised more. My hands on his chest asked for it.
We had a lot to talk about, but all I could think about was us spending the night in my bed without my grandmother finding out.
Our desire faded as we hung out with Gran, so after she went to bed, we talked.
In Vegas, we’d bonded over losing our parents young but never finished the conversation because Nathan’s lips had begged to be kissed simply by existing, and I’d gladly done so.
“I’m lucky I had Gran and Grandpa to raise me, and the Taylors were like a second family.”
“Taylor’s?”
“Emily’s family.”
He nodded. “Have you known the Sheppards forever, too?”
“Pretty much. Chris, Jamie, and Jack played football together, so we saw a lot of them.” I laughed. “As kids, Em and I followed Chris and Jamie around like puppy dogs. They hated it, but Em had a crush on Jamie.”
“Really? And now they’re married?”
“Yup. They went through hell before falling in love with each other.” I didn’t tell him the details, figuring they weren’t mine to share.
“Let me guess, you had a crush on Jack,” he said.
I savored the hint of jealousy in his voice, half wishing he’d growl again. There was something sexy about his primal response to another man touching me.
“Nah, I crushed on Chris, but if you ever tell a soul, I’ll tell everyone you have herpes.” I couldn’t threaten anything real, knowing he’d been through far more than any human should endure.
It was music to my ears when he threw his head back and laughed. “I’ve been threatened with a lot of things in my life, but that takes the cake.”
Nathan’s heated stare pinned me in place as he raised his hands and cupped my face. “I never stopped thinking about you,” was all he said before leaning in to kiss me.
He hesitated, giving me a chance to say no, but there was no way in hell that word would cross my lips.
“Kiss me.” My whisper sounded like a plea.
He did. Soft and sweet, and so full of emotion that any lingering doubt I might’ve had melted away.
“Love when you whimper like that,” he said, his lips still dangerously close to mine. “Do I still inspire the kissing scenes in your romance novel?”
My eyes flew open as I pulled away. “What?”
I’d never told anyone I was writing a rom-com.
He grinned. “You don’t remember telling me.”
“When did I tell you?” It was a stupid question. “Vegas, obviously, but when exactly?” And what else didn’t I remember?
“I’d be offended that you don’t remember telling me, but we’d had a few drinks, and you mumbled it when we came up for air.”
“Then how come you remember?” I asked.
“Because.” He tucked a stray hair behind my ear, lighting a blazing trail of desire to my core. “I remember everything about you, Ashley.”
We talked. We kissed. When I asked him to join me in my room, Nathan said no.
As joy drained from my body, I stared at my rainbow-striped socks like it was my job.
“Look at me.” When I looked up, he said, “I want you. So much it hurts.” He adjusted himself to prove his point.
“And when I finally have you, there’ll be nothing to prevent you from screaming my name.
Repeatedly.” His hooded eyes, his low, rough voice, and the bulge in his pants, convinced me he meant it.
“But not tonight?”
“No, because tonight I’d have to split my attention between worshipping you and protecting you and your grandmother.”
Liking the idea of Nathan worshipping me, I sucked in a gulp of air. My brain started imagining all the things he’d do when we finally stripped off our clothes and let loose.
The thought alone was almost orgasm-inducing.