Under His Protection

by Amy J. Fetzer

  “Come on, let’s get you some supper,” MaryGrace said, hustling Lisa down the hall. “Mr. Nash, you put her bag upstairs in the yellow room. And be quick; I’ve got dumplings I can’t leave for a second.”

  “Yes, ma’am,” he said, smiling as the two women went off toward the kitchen. He heard MaryGrace tell Lisa she needed to put some ice on her wound, and she’d fix her some horehound tea for her throat.

  It hit Nash all over again that Lisa could have died tonight, and an icy chill spilled down his spine. He’d be lost without her. Dying inside again. He lifted Lisa’s single bag and headed toward the staircase.

  “Nash,” Logan called.

  Poised on the stairs, he turned, meeting his brother’s gaze and waiting. If Logan had something to say, he took his time saying it.

  Logan rocked back on his heels. “She’s wonderful and you’re a fool.”

  “Yes, I know. Thank you for pointing that out yet again.” A man could always count on family to tell it like it was. At least in this family that was true.

  “Do you think she’ll give you a second chance?”

  “I don’t see where it’s any business of yours, Logan.”

  “She’ll be safe here,” Logan said, as if saying it made it so.

  “That’s why she’s here.”

  “I think you need to ask yourself why she’s really here again, little brother,” Logan murmured before walking into the study and closing the door.

  Nash stared up at the ceiling for a second, knowing he was going to get it from all sides tonight, then ascended the stairs. Not like he didn’t deserve it, he thought.

  “I DON’T NEED help, Miss Lisa. I’ve been doing this for near on forty years now.”

  “I know, MaryGrace, but just let me do something.” Lisa picked up a dish towel and dried a piece of crystal.

  MaryGrace eyed her. “Three Couviyon brothers are a bit much in one dose?”

  Lisa moaned. “Yes, ma’am. One is plenty.”

  “Mr. Nash hasn’t been the same without you, darlin’,” the housekeeper said softly.

  “He managed well enough.”

  MaryGrace shook her head, pushing Lisa into a chair and handing her another cup of lemon-and-horehound tea. Respectfully sipping, Lisa swore she was going to float away.

  “The night you married that man, he came here, drunk and angry and wanting to rent a helicopter to go to New York and get you.” MaryGrace shook her head at the memory.

  Lisa met her gaze, her heart thundering. “But he didn’t.”

  “Can’t say as I know why, either.”

  “I do.” It would have been committing himself to her. He would have had to actually love her. Lost chances and yesterdays, she thought, and wondered when the past would stop haunting them.

  “You two talking about me?”

  Lisa twisted on the stool as Nash stepped into the room.

  “Of course,” MaryGrace said, drying a pan. “And if you wanted to hear the good stuff, you should have lingered outside the door.”

  Nash grinned.

  “Are you three done hashing over my situation?” Lisa asked, inclining her head toward the dining room, where Temple and Logan were.

  “It’s more than a situation, Lisa. Someone tried to kill you tonight.”

  “Yes, they did. But because you arrived, they didn’t. Did I thank you for that?”

  He didn’t smile, his gaze lowering to the marks on her throat. “Thank me when I find them.”

  Lisa’s spine stiffened. Couldn’t he just accept her thanks? “Good night, all,” she said, glancing at Logan and Temple coming in behind him. “Thank you, MaryGrace. I appreciate you staying up so late and feeding me.”

  Nash was about to tell Lisa that dinner was usually late at Indigo Run, but she was already headed out of the kitchen.

  Nash blinked. “Now what did I do?”

  MaryGrace sent Nash a tired look. “You haven’t grown a brain in the last four years. Don’t know why I ’spect you had.”

  “She wanted to thank her hero and you trashed that,” Temple said into the quiet, leaning back against the counter, his thumbs hooked in his jean pockets.

  Nash looked at Logan. “You have criticism to offer, too?”

  “I’m sure I could add to it, but I’m guessing she’s got it in her head to leave. I suggest you get upstairs before she manages it. It’ll be open season on her if she does.”

  Before his brother finished, Nash was storming through the house to the stairs and mounting them two at a time. He didn’t bother to knock and pushed open the guest-room door.

  Wrapped in a blue silk robe, Lisa was sitting on the edge of the bed, and she looked up as he entered.

  “You’re not going anywhere,” he said, crossing to her and lifting her by the arms from the bed.

  “Really?” She wasn’t planning on leaving.

  “You’re staying right here till I find the person who hurt you.”

  Was that his only reason for bringing her here? “Am I?”

  “Yes, dammit.”

  “And how long will that take? I’ve got a business to run.”

  “Close it.”

  “No. That will be like knuckling under.”

  Frustrated fury exploded in his features. “It will be like keeping you alive! I’ll help you if you lose money.”

  “I don’t want your help.”

  “Why are you being like this?”

  She pushed out of his arms. “Why are you so hell-bent on putting me under glass when you stormed out of my house three days ago and haven’t said a word to me since!” She put space between them and knew it wasn’t enough.

  Nash plowed his fingers through his hair and let out a long-suffering breath. “Good grief, Lisa. I’m not doing this very well, am I?”

  “Doing what?”

  “Apologizing.”

  She didn’t utter a sound for a long moment. “For what?”

  “For not protecting you when I said I would. For not being there when you needed me. For not fighting for you when it was all I wanted to do then.”

  Lisa blinked. “Well, that’s a mouthful.”

  He met her gaze. “I didn’t want my job to leave you like David’s death left Laura.”

  “Oh, Nash, you can’t live on maybes, and your job never mattered to me. I didn’t fall in love with a cop. I fell in love with you.”

  The hope leaping through his heart about killed him right then.

  “I’m fine and Laura’s fine,” Lisa said.

  “I know. I saw her and little Steven.”

  “She looks good, doesn’t she? And her fiancé is a terrific guy.”

  Nash’s gaze locked with hers. “You didn’t break a single tie to Indigo when you married Winfield, did you.”

  “Except the one with you.”

  “That’s not your fault, it’s mine. No, don’t try to soften it,” he said when she opened her mouth to argue. “I thought you’d always be there and it never occurred to me that you wouldn’t be.” He sat on the dainty yellow sofa beneath the window, his elbows on his knees, his gaze on his clasped hands.

  He looked hopelessly out of place in the delicate room, Lisa thought, her blood running like quicksilver through her veins. Whatever he had to say, though, she needed to hear it.

  “I was destroyed when you left. I blamed you for wanting too much from me, I blamed you for leaving with the next guy who came along…” He met her gaze, his expression full of self-recrimination. “I know, I know, it was a while before Winfield showed up, but not to me. I’d lost everyone who’d meant anything to me, and you were the one person I needed.” He rubbed his mouth. “And then you were out of my reach.”

  “You didn’t bother to reach for me and I waited as long as I could. Then, after losing the baby—” her voice quavered “—I gave up. I couldn’t take it anymore. I loved you and you didn’t want me.”

  His eyes flashed with denial. “That’s not true.”

  “You wanted me sometimes,
Nash, but only when you chose to let me in the private circle you kept so tight around yourself. I understand. I swear I do. But you should have turned to me. I was the only one who gave a damn!”

  When he just stared, she headed for her suitcase. She’d thought she wanted to hear all this. But she’d changed her mind. Rehashing the past was just resurrecting the pain. “I can’t do this anymore.”

  He darted across the room, latching on to her arm and turning her to face him. “Don’t leave me again.”

  Her heart crumbled and she searched his blue eyes, feeling herself fall deep into him.

  Nash closed his arms around her, afraid for the first time in his life. “Don’t go. Not because your life’s in danger, but because mine is.” He stroked her hair back off her face. “I know I didn’t give you much choice back then, but…” He was quiet for a second, his gaze roaming over her face. “Stay, Lisa. I’m in love with you. And without you, my life is empty.”

  Tears filled her eyes and her lip quivered.

  “I was in love with you four years ago, too, but I thought loving you would only bring you pain, like it did Laura. I wasn’t being noble—I was being selfish. To both of us, because my feelings are still here.” He cupped her jaw, gazing deeply into her eyes. “It might have been hidden under other feelings, but the minute I saw you again, I knew nothing inside me had changed. I love you.”

  She pushed his hair off his brow, trailing her fingers down the side of his face. “I’ve waited so long to hear that.” A tear plumped and rolled down her cheek.

  “Has it been too long?” His expression, his very tone, was stripped of pride, his heart laid bare for her to gather close. Or release him now.

  Lisa swallowed, fighting tears. “No, not too long.” She felt his muscles give only a fraction, tension still locking her in his arms.

  “Is there a chance you still love me?”

  She smiled, tears falling. “Oh, yeah, there’s a good chance.”

  Chapter Eleven

  “Yeah?” His smile widened.

  “I love you, Nash.”

  For a second he closed his eyes and thanked God that he got what he didn’t really deserve. He met her gaze, dropping a soft kiss on her lips.

  “I’ve never stopped,” she said. “I just tucked it away, pushed it aside. I married Peter, hoping he would get you out of my heart.”

  “The more I learned about him, the more I wondered why you married him.” Nash ran his hand over her hair and down her spine, sending shivers of warmth over her skin.

  “Now you know.” She draped her arms across his shoulders. “He wasn’t you.”

  Nash hated to think of all these years gone. The time spent apart when they could have been together. And he had only himself to blame. “I wish I’d been smarter. I’ve wasted so much time.”

  “Let’s not waste any more time, okay? In fact, you can start making up for some of it by kissing me right now.”

  “Oh, yeah?”

  She pushed her fingers into his hair, cupping the back of his head and drawing him down. “You know—” she brushed his mouth with hers, teasing him “—if being this slow on the uptake is going to be a problem in the future, Couviyon,” she said against his lips, “we need to fix that.”

  His hands made a wild ride over her body.

  “I’ll see what I can do.” His mouth covered hers and Lisa’s world suddenly bloomed with heat, his warm kiss filled with a fresh beginning, repairing the gouges in her heart. It wasn’t like before, no old memories clouded, except his warmth and power. Nash might be a modern-day lawman, but his kisses were old-fashioned slow, deep and sultry. Torturing to her senses, making her toes curl in her shoes, her heart thump so hard she was sure it would choke her.

  He deepened his kiss, his breathing hurried like hers, and when she moaned with pleasure, Nash felt his knees start to give way and he clutched her tighter. He wanted to claim her. Now. He wanted it all, to marry her, make babies with her—everything he’d walked away from. And the patience that made him a good cop failed him right now.

  “Nash,” she murmured. “I’ve missed you.”

  “I’ve missed you, too, baby.” He slid his hand up from her waist, covering her breast, and she pushed into him, tugging his shirt free, shoving her hands beneath the fabric and stroking his warm, hard muscles.

  They touched, palms searching for skin, for pleasure, their kiss unending, a dark surrender and a plea for more.

  “Nash, touch me. Please.” Lisa undid the buttons of his shirt. “It’s been so long.” She pushed her hands inside, stroking his skin and setting him on fire. Beneath her nightgown, he found her, bare and warm, and he enfolded her breasts, gently circling her nipples into tight peaks.

  She tried smothering her moans.

  “I want to hear you,” he said, moving his hand lower, nudging her thighs apart.

  “This house is filled with people.”

  “The walls are thick, trust me.”

  She gazed into his eyes, seeing determination and desire. It made her hotter.

  “Open for me, baby.”

  She did and he easily slid a finger inside her. “Oh, Nash.” Her pulse shot up another ten notches.

  He stroked her softness, watching her face, committing it to memory. After a moment or two, instinct took over, her hips rocking, and she pulled at the satin straps and exposed her breast. Nash didn’t need any more invitation and laid her back on the cushions, taking her nipple deep into his mouth.

  Lisa felt her world focus on his mouth toying with her nipple. Nash had incredible patience and stamina. And four years hadn’t made a wit of difference. The man could play for hours.

  And he did.

  He tasted her flesh, his stroking fingers bringing her passion higher and higher. At every shift and thrust, Lisa felt the seams inside her rip with sensation. She clung harder, rocked faster and fought through the haze to reach his belt buckle. “Inside me. Please, I want you inside me.”

  He shook his head and kept stroking her, knowing what she liked, knowing she was on the edge. He wanted to see the tumble. “Take this, baby. Let me watch it.”

  Her gaze locked with his as pleasure raced over her skin, hummed inside her, trying to get out. Nash absorbed it, could almost taste it as her body clenched him, and when she bowed, he experienced the luscious, untamed waves as they poured through her.

  As the haze softened, he waited for her breathing to slow, then kissed her softly.

  “That was a bit more vocal than I remember,” he murmured, worrying her lips.

  “I screamed, didn’t I?”

  He grinned. “Oh, yeah.”

  She buried her face in his shoulder, praying she hadn’t woken the household. That was not the impression she wanted Logan, Temple or MaryGrace to have of her. “I think you should go to your room.” It was her only hope, if he left, because she wanted him naked on the floor right now.

  “Not a chance.”

  “I’m not doing anything with you unless you gag me.”

  “I can fix that.”

  He scooped her up in his arms and stood, then left the room.

  “Nash, put me down,” she whispered against his neck, praying no one discovered them.

  “No. I want to make love to you.”

  Her insides jumped at that. “I’d hoped so.”

  “And I want privacy.”

  “In this house?”

  He kept walking down the long hall, passing door after door and then bent to open the last one. “This was my room.”

  He stepped inside and set her on her feet.

  Lisa stared. “Oh, dear, you grew up in this room?”

  He shut the door. “Yeah. Frightening huh?”

  Lisa’s gaze traveled over the green walls trimmed in white, the massive, and she did mean massive, four-poster rice bed that reached to the ceiling. A paddle fan made a lazy turn, stirring the heavy green brocade drapes. “It’s lovely but—”

  “Not the room you imagine a teenager
in, huh?”

  “No.” It was perfect for a man, not a teenager. It was another part of his past she hadn’t understood.

  “Well, I rarely got to be one. I’m a Couviyon and upholding family traditions was more important than doing what I wanted.”

  “I hear years of resentment.”

  “Just a little, yeah. I didn’t get to skip school or hang out with my friends. I volunteered at homeless shelters, played ball for prep schools like my brothers, and attended cotillion balls because my parents’ friends wanted dates for their daughters.”

  “So that’s where you learned to dance so well.”

  He nodded, turning on only one small lamp but opening the drapes to let moonlight stream into the room. She noticed trophies in barrister bookcases and a few framed pictures and awards, but all were made part of the decor. The room was gigantic.

  He toed off his shoes, yanked at his socks.

  Lisa smiled and slid her robe off her shoulders, giving Nash a full view of the short blue satin nightgown. The sight of her standing there, wanting him, loving him after all the heartache, hit him like a train. In one night he’d nearly lost her and then he’d regained her love. He was a lucky man, and he wasn’t about to forget that. Not ever. He walked toward her.

  “Why did we come here?”

  “It’s far enough away from the other rooms that no one will here us.”

  “No one?”

  He shook his head.

  “Does that bed creak?”

  He grinned. “A little.”

  “Then I won’t be the only one making noise.” Lisa pushed the straps of her nightgown off her shoulders and wiggled, letting the satin nightie fall and pool at her feet without a sound.

  Nash swallowed visibly. Then he stripped, moving toward her, pausing once to kick aside his trousers. Lisa leaned back against the bedpost, smiling and enjoying his approach. Seeing how prepared he was for her, made her power sing through her veins.

  Then he was against her, pressing his body to hers, his hands skating over her body. His kiss was deep and wrapped in emotions. Lisa let them coat her, feeling his heart pound against hers, and thought, I would have waited a lifetime to love this man again.