Nash could not remember a time when he had felt more inept. He glanced right and then left before crossing the street. Finally, he jogged up the walkway toward the front steps. Not even the porch light was on. The only light was coming from the brilliant bluish moon hanging in the sky.
Feeling almost like a prowler, Nash carefully skirted the house. He avoided the bushes and tried to stay quiet as he headed around toward the kitchen door. He could not imagine Ava forgetting to lock it, but there were other options as well.
Once Nash reached the house’s side door and the entrance to the kitchen, he began looking around for one of those hide-a-key rocks. He was absolutely certain Ava was one of those super-prepared types who would keep a spare key around here somewhere. He just had to be smart enough to find her hiding place.
AVA STARTLED AWAKE and nearly fell off the bench and onto the kitchen floor. She hadn’t realized that she had fallen asleep. Now, she was wide awake and her heart was pounding. There was someone poking around outside her kitchen door!
She slipped off the bench and stayed close to the floor. Her hands were sweaty, and her pulse was going so fast that she felt like she might pass out. Duck-walking toward the back door, she wondered if it would be better to open the door and scream or just call the police.
Wait. Where the hell is Nash?
Sudden fear for Nash’s safety made her break out into a cold sweat. What if someone had gotten the jump on him out there in that truck? He was all alone. There would be no help if someone attacked him. They hadn’t seen any blatant attacks for several weeks, but that didn’t mean someone couldn’t shoot Nash the same way they had shot Quentin. Was that what had woken her up? Had there been a gunshot?
Ava changed trajectory. She headed for the front door and the safety of Nash’s truck. She had to see if he was okay. Somehow, it had become the only thing she could think of.
She slipped across the wood floor, still awkwardly walking in a half-crouched position. She made it through the front room, across the foyer, and finally wound up at the door. She had put her hand on the handle and was just about to turn the thing when it occurred to her that she might be doing something very, very foolish.
Ava turned and sat on her butt with her back to the door. What if they had Nash? What if it was all a trap and they were just waiting for her to step outside and make herself vulnerable? She needed a weapon. Right?
There was an ancient umbrella stand sitting right by the front door. It had belonged to her grandfather. The stand itself would have made a fantastic weapon since it was made of iron, but she could barely budge it when trying to clean around it. She groped in the umbrella stand and came up with one of her grandmother’s umbrellas. The things were just here for show anyway. Most of them were antique, which meant they were made of real metal and generally were tipped with huge metal spikes.
Feeling a little more confident, she opened the front door and eased herself out onto the porch. She squatted down and pulled the door closed. The well-oiled hinges gave the barest hint of a squeak. Then there was a click, and the thing was closed. With the first part of the ordeal behind her, Ava took a look around and tried to decide how to proceed.
It was odd, really. There was no hint of an assault team or anything that might have suggested they were under attack. After the noises outside her kitchen door, she would have expected to catch a glimpse of a black-clad figure darting through the bushes, or at least something. That’s what happened in the movies. Right?
The truck looked deserted. The doors were shut, but the familiar greenish glow of the electronics could still be seen near the roofline of the truck. Nash had once explained that the truck had a pretty extensive ventilation system to allow there to be up to four people working inside at once. At the moment, it appeared that there was one solitary man working inside and completely oblivious to anything going on outside. How odd.
Making a split-second decision, Ava moved around toward the side of the house and the kitchen. She didn’t want to bother Nash and risk another lecture. If she was about to surprise a neighborhood cat, she wanted to do it in private.
NASH HAD TO settle for breaking and entering. It was good that Ava’s house had a security system that he had access to. Once he tripped the lock, he would have less than sixty seconds to enter the code before the alarm started going off.
He inserted two picks into the lock. Jiggling the longer one, he waited until he felt the tumblers drop into place. Then he twisted the mechanism and heard the door latch give. It was as simple as one, two, three. Nash put his hand on the knob to open the door but never had the chance.
“Don’t. Move.” A menacing female voice came from behind him, followed by the sensation of being poked with something hard and metal. “Turn around slowly, and put up your hands. The police are on their way.”
Nash spun around and reached for the weapon. His hand closed around something that felt strangely like fabric. What was this? An umbrella? Then he realized that he was face to face with Ava. He started to relax. Unfortunately, that was when she snatched her impromptu weapon out of his hand and bashed him over the head with it.
“Hey!” Nash protested, but she didn’t stop. Ava was beating him about the head and shoulders with what amounted to a surprisingly sturdy fabric-covered metal bat. “Ava! It’s me. It’s Nash!”
“What?” She smacked him one more well-aimed hit on the shoulder, and he could have sworn she knew exactly who it was she was hitting this time. “What are you doing out here? You scared me half to death!”
Nash opened his mouth to answer, but apparently, it had been a minute since he unlocked the back door. The alarm started blaring and lights flashed as the whole security system started screaming “intruder alert.” He groaned and bolted inside through the half-open kitchen door. It took only seconds to find the keypad and punch in the code, but by that time, the police really were on their way.
Chapter Eleven
Ava sat at her kitchen table with a mug of tea and yawned. Nash had been explaining himself for the last fifteen minutes to the two Boston PD officers that had been dispatched to check out her alarm. Ava had a feeling that the policemen just liked hearing Nash admit that he had locked himself out of his own vehicle without a phone and had decided breaking and entering was the best way to deal with the situation. Truly, it was laughable. Ava had enjoyed a good chuckle over Nash’s explanation as well.
It was two o’clock in the morning. Ava felt adrift in a sea of uncertainty. There were things going on with this stupid Stedman Hyde-Pierson situation, but she was having doubts as to whether or not there would ever be any closure. What did closure even look like?
“Hey.”
She looked up to find Nash gazing down at her with a very tired expression on his face. Ava sighed and gestured to another other chair. “You might as well have a seat. There’s no need calling one of the others to bring you a set of keys until morning.”
“It is quite possible that I will never hear the end of this,” he muttered. Shoving both of his hands back over his head and into his short hair, he offered a rueful smile. “I appreciate your graciousness.”
“You broke into my house because you were too embarrassed to knock on the door,” she said drily.
“No,” he argued immediately. “I didn’t want to disturb or scare you.”
“Yeah? Well, fail,” she shot back. Then Ava pointed at him. “You are too arrogant by half. Except it isn’t really arrogance. You hold yourself to this impossible standard of performance and behavior. Why?”
He shrugged. “I guess that’s always what I’ve done. My folks expected a lot of me. I expected a lot of myself as an officer. I had always wanted to be a marine.”
“And now that you’re not, you still think there’s some code or standard you have to live up to?” Ava took another swig of tea. It burned her throat, but she didn’t care. “That’s stupid, by the way. Nobody out here cares if you decide to sleep with a woman because the two of you are
consenting adults and that’s what you want.”
“It’s not like that,” he began.
Ava held up her hand. “I’m not talking about me. I’m talking about all of the other women you’re going to sleep with because you’re not with me.”
“You don’t really mean that.” He looked miffed. Sitting back in his chair, he looked as though he had swallowed something sour. “You would be pissed as hell if I ran down to some pub on the corner and found a woman to go home with for the night.”
Ava did not allow herself to really think about that. She didn’t believe that Nash would really do such a thing. She couldn’t believe it. So, for now, she could be nonchalant about the hypothetical situation he was describing. She offered a very deliberate shrug that hopefully conveyed that she did not care one whit what he did with his private time. “It seems to me that you only want one-night stands. So, if that’s how you have to get laid, then I guess that’s how you have to do it.”
He shoved the chair back and stood up. The chair legs grated against the polished wood floor. “Woman, why do you have to be so stubborn?”
“Me?” She stared at him incredulously and tried to decipher where this was coming from. “I’m not the one who keeps saying no then yes! I told you from the very beginning—the first time we were together—I told you what I wanted. You slept with me, and then in the morning, you changed your mind!”
“I didn’t change my mind.” Nash spun around and put his hand on his head. He stomped over to the windows and gazed at the moonlit world outside. “I just realized what a disservice I was doing you. I was supposed to be guarding you and your family. I was supposed to be focused on the situation with Stedman, but the lot of you were exposed and in danger because I could not stop thinking about how much I wanted you! It’s preposterous. It’s dangerous. And I knew that if I could not keep my distance and my objectivity, then I was worse than useless to you!”
As much as Ava hated to admit it, she could see his point. Sort of. She sighed and stood up. “Jason, you put too much on yourself. Always. You are not responsible for the whole world. You are allowed to have what you want.”
He swung around to face her. “I want you,” he said hoarsely. “I want you so badly that I cannot think straight because it’s the only thing my brain wants to focus on. I wonder what you’re doing and what you’re thinking. I plan out the next time I can fabricate some bullshit reason to come up here and see you. It’s pathetic and dangerous.”
“I think the danger is in the denial,” she told him softly. “The danger is in telling yourself that what you feel is wrong.” She was going solely on instinct here.
With that in mind, she stood up. She closed the distance between them and took his hand. Lifting it to her lips, she kissed his knuckles. She gazed up at him and tried to read what she could on his face. It was unfathomable. There was no hint of expression to either encourage or discourage. She focused on her gut feeling and let that guide her. Tugging gently on his hand, Ava turned and led Nash toward the stairs. She had every intention of spending the night with this man in her bed.
NASH KNEW HE should stop her. He should have stopped her down in the kitchen. Yet when she led him into the quiet of her bedroom, he could not have forced himself to protest. He wanted to be there. It was the only place he wanted to be.
It was dark. Moonlight spilled through the curtains, and he could see that the bed covers had been thrown back in haste. The thought of Ava sleeping here gave him chills. What would it be like to wake up beside her every morning and fall asleep with her head pillowed on his arm at night?
She dropped his hand and turned around to face him. Before he could process what was happening, she reached up underneath her long, silky pajama top and hooked her fingers into the waistband of her pants. She pushed them down her legs and kicked them off. Then she pulled the top over her head and tossed it aside.
Never had there been a more beautiful sight. He was mesmerized by the way the moonlight played off her pale skin. Her breasts were still high and firm. Her nipples were taut, and her belly was flat and supple. He loved the way her hips softly flared just before the start of her long legs. He loved every inch of her. Even the subtle stretch marks around her hips and belly. This woman was a mother, and it only intensified his want for her.
“Your turn,” she whispered.
Nash needed no other prompting. He hastily tore his T-shirt over his head and threw it onto a chair. Then he unfastened his pants and hopped a little on one foot as he struggled to get the pants and his boots off. It was probably ungainly and ridiculous, but he didn’t care. He was too eager to worry about pretending to be Casanova.
Ava laughed. The musical sound made him smile. Then she moved toward her bed and beckoned with her hand for him to follow. He watched her climb up and get settled in the middle of the mattress. Her legs were slightly parted, and she braced her weight on her elbows.
Nash followed her onto the bed. He felt the silky skin of her legs slide against his arms and then his belly as he slowly covered her body with his. He reveled in the sensation of having her next to him. She smelled divine. There was a faint floral perfume mixed with the distinctive scent of her cream. She was wet. He could smell it.
Lowering his mouth to hers, Nash took her lips in a bruising kiss just as he used one hand to delve between her pussy lips and seek out the source of all that wetness. His hand was instantly soaked. While his tongue rubbed alongside hers, he used his fingers to tease her clit. She stiffened against him. He spread her soft folds and began rubbing in small circles. All the while, he continued to make love to her with his mouth. He coaxed and kissed her while he begged her with his hand to come for him.
Finally, Nash felt Ava’s whole body tighten up. She arched her back until he thought her spine might snap. She gasped, and her inner muscles flexed. Moments later, she seemed to convulse as her pussy began the undulating waves of climax. Tiny moans passed her lips. Nash drank them in with his kisses as he continued to tease and coax her body to readiness. He wanted her so badly. His cock was throbbing between his legs, and he felt as though he might explode.
Bracing his weight on his hands, he slowly moved his body into position between her legs. She shifted to welcome him closer. Her thighs parted, and he felt the heat and dampness of her core against the tip of his cock. He pressed closer. The end of his erection caught against the opening of her pussy. Nash groaned as he began to slide inside her body. She felt so damn good. He could hardly stand the slow rate of penetration. He wanted it now. He wanted to thrust inside her and never stop pounding her pussy.
But that wouldn’t get him what he wanted. Gripping the sheets in his hands, Nash forced himself to go slowly. He pressed forward and enjoyed the sweet yielding of her flesh to his. He spread her with each inch he gained until he was fully seated within her body.
Ava writhed and moaned beneath him. Her legs moved restlessly, and her nails dug into his shoulders. Nash fought for control. He began moving in and out of her pussy in slow, measured thrusts. Each time he felt himself reach the end of her channel, the tip of his cock would kiss the sweet spot so deep inside her body. The friction was incredible. Fissions of excitement flew through his body. Every nerve was alive with sensation. His butt cheeks began to tingle, and his balls drew up tight. He was going to come, and there was nothing to hold him back.
With a grunt and a groan, Nash convulsed and came hard. He gasped as his cock throbbed and poured his seed into Ava’s body. She cried out and lifted her legs to wrap them around his waist. Her thighs clamped around his body as she came with him. Her climax was powerful. Each wave made the muscles inside her pussy clench hard around his shaft. The sensation was exquisite. It was perfect. It was all that Nash could have ever wanted.
“Oh my God,” Ava whispered. She sounded winded. “That was amazing.”
Nash held his weight on his forearms so that he could touch her face with his fingers. He gently traced her features. He wanted to memoriz
e them. With Ava, there was always a feeling of desperation. Surely this could not last. Men like him did not wind up with women like her. Not even animal attraction was enough to make that happen.
Chapter Twelve
The next morning was not as awkward as Ava would have anticipated. In fact, it was kind of wonderful. She blinked her eyes and rolled over to find herself pressed up against a warm, hard male body. Nash was breathing lightly. His back moved with each breath in and out. She curled up against him and sighed with pleasure. She had never realized how nice it was to wake up not alone.
Being married to Stedman had burned out most of what might be considered a desire to cohabitate or share space with someone. Stedman was a selfish lover, a rude and demanding husband, and a very abusive partner. Ava had learned within the first year how to avoid his rages. Within two or three years, she had learned how to get around his orders when they were unreasonable. And around year seven, she had realized that she spent far too much time during her day coming up with ways to either placate or just plain ignore her husband. That was when she had decided it was time to explore divorce.
Nash stirred. He rolled from his side to his back and yawned. Ava moved her head onto his shoulder and flung a leg over his. It felt bizarrely natural to lay like this with him. She wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing.
“I really need to get up and call Quentin to come and unlock the truck.” Nash’s voice sounded rough, as though he had been yelling all night long. For some reason, that was very satisfying to Ava.
“If you wait long enough, Quentin will come looking for you,” Ava pointed out.
Nash snorted. “That’s not exactly the kind of example of leadership I want to set for my men.”
“And I think you need to chill out and stop worrying about being human.” Ava wished he would just relax. “Is there something I can do to help you get your mind off of work?” She let her hand drift down his naked belly toward his groin. She loved the way the sparse, crisp hair on his abdomen felt against her palm. There was nothing unmanly about Jason Nash.
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