“What was that?” Hailey leaned in, a wry smile tugging at her lips. “You sort of mumbled that last bit.”
Chloe took a deep breath. “Nate asked me to go home with him.”
“Get out!” Hailey exclaimed with wide eyes. “You’re gonna kick it with the Billion Dollar Man? At his request? For five days? Chloe, this is freaking perfect!”
“No.” Chloe held up her hand. “That ship has sailed, Hailey.”
“Are you kidding me?” Hailey rolled her eyes. She stepped fully into Chloe’s office and shut the door. “Okay, I can see how you didn’t want to hit him up when you thought it was a one-night stand because you didn’t want him to think you’d slept with him to get a fat donation in return. But this is different. He’s into you, Chloe. Do you think he invites any random chick to his house?”
Chloe hadn’t really considered it. Obviously something had changed between them last night. Her heart had ached for Nate. Seeing him in such distress and not knowing how to help him was the worst feeling in the world. He was such a strong man. So gruff and serious. Every smile he let slip was a treasure, every deep rumble of laughter a treat to Chloe’s ears. His vulnerability had laid her low. Stabbed through her chest. She’d done the only thing she could when she’d reached out to caress the tension from his muscles. And she’d expected the subsequent massage to end up in another round of mind-blowing sex. Instead, he’d cradled her in his arms as though she was a breakable, precious thing that he couldn’t bear to be parted from and fallen asleep beside her.
Chloe rubbed at her chest. God, just thinking about Nate made her ache.
“I don’t know what this is or isn’t between us. But until I do, I can’t ruin it by making him think that I’m in it for the money.”
Hailey pursed her lips. “You must be crazy about this guy, Chloe.”
“Why do you say that?”
“Because I know how much you love this foundation and you’re willing to sacrifice it for something that might crash and burn before it even gets off the ground.”
Chloe stared at Hailey. A denial sat at the tip of her tongue but it refused to take form. Was she willing to sacrifice the foundation—something she’d poured her heart, soul, hell her life into—for five days with Nate that might end up being nothing more than a fling?
When she’d told Nate to keep the money and his shares in Christensen Petroleum, it hadn’t been the result of some selfish machination. In fact, the foundation and her own problems hadn’t even entered her mind. She truly believed that Byron had meant for his sons to have a share in his wealth as a way to make amends. They’d all done well for themselves. Been the self-made men that their father had wanted them to be. And his legacy was their reward for venturing out and not relying on his name and wealth to get them ahead in the world.
“Hailey,” Chloe said as a thought took form. “Do you have Travis Christensen’s contact information?”
“I might,” she responded slowly. “At the very least, I’ll have his manager’s information. What are you thinking?”
“I don’t know yet,” Chloe said. “I’m hoping it’ll come to me.”
Maybe she couldn’t force herself to plead the foundation’s case with Nate, but maybe she could manage to bend another Christensen’s ear.
“I’ll get it for you,” Hailey said. “But in the meantime, your lunch dates are here.”
“Dates?” Had Derrick brought a friend?
“Yep.” Hailey flashed a conspiratorial smile as she headed out the door. “I’ll tell them to come on back.”
“Chloe! ’Sup?” Derrick strode through the door with a wide grin.
“Hey kiddo. Hailey said you brought a friend along.”
“Hope it’s okay if I tag along.” Warmth suffused Chloe’s skin at the sound of Nate’s voice. He strode in behind Derrick and put his hand on the boy’s shoulder. “I stopped by to see if I could take you to lunch and found out you already had a date.”
“You didn’t tell me you knew somebody so cool, Chloe,” Derrick said with a wide grin.
Nate gave her a lopsided smile that nearly buckled her knees. “I don’t know about cool,” he said. “Little man and I got to know each other while we were waiting in the lobby. Talked soccer,” he added with a wink. “I have a feeling he’s cooler than me.”
“No way.” Derrick practically bounced with enthusiasm. “Did you know Nate saw Leo Messi play? In person! How freaking awesome is that?”
Chloe’s gaze locked with Nate’s. “Definitely awesome.”
Nate shrugged and gave her a sheepish half-grin that melted her heart. “A friendly. When I was overseas.”
Derrick looked ready to burst out of his skin with excitement. “Can he come to lunch with us, Chloe?”
His hazel eyes flashed with heat. “I’m buying. It’s the least I can do considering what you did for me last night.”
Derrick looked from Chloe to Nate, a too-knowing grin spreading over his young face.
“Okay then.” Time for a change of subject. She was sure her face had flushed to a deep rose. “I think we’d better take Nate up on his offer. Pizza?”
“Yeah!” Derrick exclaimed. “Want pizza, Nate?”
His gaze met Chloe’s again. Intense and full of unspoken need. Need that echoed her own to a T. “Pizza sounds great.”
“Great.” Chloe’s words came slowly. “Let’s get going, boys. I’m starved.”
She grabbed her purse and rounded the desk. Derrick took off at a tear down the hallway. Nate waited for Chloe in her office doorway and held out his hand. Chloe laced her fingers with his and he brought her knuckles to his mouth and kissed them.
“Hope this is okay,” he murmured in a husky tone that sent a zing of electricity through Chloe’s body. “I couldn’t wait until tomorrow to see you.”
It was better than okay. Chloe’s stomach twisted into a pretzel as she walked with him down the hall. “I’m glad,” she replied. “I couldn’t wait to see you, either.”
He flashed a wide smile. “Perfect.”
Perfect. Chloe couldn’t agree more. In fact, she was beginning to think that this was too perfect. Too good to be true. She just hoped that by contacting Travis for help with the foundation, that she wasn’t about to bring all of this perfection to an end.
EIGHT
“What’s his name?”
Nate watched as Chloe nuzzled the little white-faced calf through the slats of the chute. Damned thing was already pushing a hundred and fifty pounds and would take all of his muscle to restrain. But Chloe treated it like it was a helpless newborn, tiny enough to carry around in her arms.
“He doesn’t have a name,” Nate replied. “He’s a steer.”
“He has to have a name.” If Chloe had it her way, every last cow on the ranch would be wearing a name tag and a bow by the end of the week.
“His name’s cheeseburger,” Nate replied.
Chloe swatted at his shoulder before moving her hands to hover over the calf’s ears. “Nate! He’ll hear you!”
For the past few days, Nate had felt as though he were living another man’s life. And that scared the shit out of him. With Chloe around, his mind was more than occupied. The familiar panic attacks made fewer and fewer appearances. His muscles had begun to loosen by small degrees and the tension that had strung his body taut for over a year was completely gone. He could almost picture a regular life in her presence. One where he smiled. Relaxed. Hell, laughed every once in a while.
He loved this sweet, caring side to her personality. She giggled as the calf nudged her face, his long tongue lapping out at her cheek. Seeing her like this made his heart feel as though it floated around in his chest. As though he could float away right along with it.
There was a flip side to her lightheartedness, though. A passionate intensity and a hunger that rivaled Nate’s own. She wasn’t ashamed to want him. To want satisfaction. He couldn’t get enough of her fierce kisses, loud moans, and hoarse cries. The thought of her h
ands on him was enough to make him hard. Shit, he’d take her right here in the corral if she’d let him. Anywhere. Anytime. Nate couldn’t imagine ever not wanting Chloe.
“Hand me that syringe, darlin’.”
Chloe looked up and smiled. “Darlin’, huh?”
Nate’s breath stalled as though he’d been gut punched. The endearment had rolled of his tongue with ease. He hadn’t even given it a second thought. He took the syringe from Chloe’s outstretched hand and loaded it with the correct dosage of the vaccination. “Would you prefer I call you cheeseburger, too?”
Chloe soothed the calf with long strokes of her hand while Nate administered the vaccination. “I don’t mind being called darlin’,” she said without meeting his eyes. “But I think you’d better reconsider cheeseburger.”
Nate sent the calf back out to the corral and urged the next one up into the chute. Chloe reached through the wood fence and stroked its red muzzle. The nervous animal calmed under her touch. Nate knew just how he felt.
“Have you thought any more about what we talked about the other day?”
Nate paused as he loaded the syringe and studied Chloe. “What do you mean?”
“About keeping the money,” she replied.
“No.” Nate tamped down his rising temper. Why did she insist on bringing the subject up again and again? What did it matter if he kept the money or not?
“Oh.” Chloe scratched behind the calf’s ear as Nate administered the vaccination. “Because I was thinking—”
“There’s nothing to think about.” The icy words left Nate’s mouth before he could think better of it. “Stop trying to convince me to keep the money, Chloe. I’m getting rid of it. Why does it matter to you, anyway?”
She stopped petting the calf and straightened on the fence. Hurt cut through her expression as she hopped down to the ground below. Nate cursed under his breath. He hadn’t meant to snap at her. But damn it, why did it matter to her? This was exactly one of the reasons Nate wanted that money gone. He didn’t want to have to wonder if the people who wound up in his life were there for him or for the goddamned money in his bank account.
“It doesn’t matter to me,” she spat. Nate sensed the storm brewing but he did nothing to calm her. “In fact, piss it all away if that’s what you want. I’m sure it would make your father proud.”
“You know dick about my father, Chloe!” His own temper was a tempest. It wouldn’t be long before it raged out of control. “So do me a favor and don’t tell me what would or wouldn’t make him proud.”
He’d been through this before and the thought that Chloe might be another gold digger out to get her hands on his family’s money caused an acidic burn to scald its way up his throat. He wanted her to want him for him, damn it. And the fact that she kept pressing the matter of money tore open wounds that Nate had spent years trying to heal. He couldn’t stop his temper from rising. The subject of his father’s money only served to remind him of why he left home in the first place. It was only money for shit’s sake. And he knew from experience that money didn’t magically make everything better. In Nate’s case, money had been the source of all of his problems. He held on to his anger, irrational as it was. Because if he didn’t the hurt would lay him low.
“Fine.” Emotion glittered in her eyes as she said under her breath, “Stubborn ass.”
“Stubborn ass?” Nate tossed the syringe down in the cardboard box with the vaccination vials and rounded the chute. Chloe took a tentative step back. “My father ruined our relationship. Not me. Everyone thinks I was running away when I joined the Navy, but that asshole pushed me away. He thought I was a coward for leaving because I couldn’t face him after what he’d done to me. I left because I wanted nothing to do with him or our family name and I wanted to do something that would make me feel like I had some honor for a change. I saved lives, Chloe. I don’t even remember how many. It’s the ones I lost that I’ll never forget. They’re the ones that haunt me. Good men died unfairly. While he died, rich and comfortable and rutting over a woman he had no business being with.”
“Nate.” Tears pooled in Chloe’s eyes and her chin quivered. Chloe didn’t know his history with his father and how he’d betrayed him. How could she? Nate refused to let it soften him, though. He was pissed and wanted to stay that way. He didn’t owe her an apology for anything. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean—”
“I don’t want to talk about it, Chloe. I just…” Nate snatched his hat off his head. He raked his fingers through his hair and let out a gust of breath. He’d let his temper get the best of him. Chloe hadn’t deserved to be at the receiving end of it. “Forget it.”
“I think that’s a good idea.” Without saying another word, Chloe turned and headed back toward the house.
Nate kicked at the ground, his fists clenched tight. Son of a bitch. He watched her march across the pasture, dust kicking up with every step, her arms swinging purposefully beside her. He hadn’t meant to be so harsh with her. The expression on her face had grown more distressed with every forceful word. As though he’d had an out-of-body experience, his mouth continued to run while he watched from beside himself, helpless to stop the flow of his anger.
You dickhead. Way to fuck yourself over.
The echo of his front door slamming behind Chloe made its way across the pasture to the corral. The calves started at the sound and even Nate’s heart skipped a beat. He walked slowly toward the house, giving himself some time to calm the fuck down before he talked to Chloe again. After a week of lawyers, advisors, his brothers, and Miranda all in his ear, the last thing he’d wanted was one more opinion on what he should do with his inheritance. The stress was starting to wear on him.
And instead of just telling Chloe that, he’d thrown a king-sized tantrum. Awesome.
* * *
By the time Chloe hit the staircase, her temper had begun to ebb. She hadn’t meant to push Nate’s buttons—the situation had to have been stressing him out—but she wasn’t going to give up trying to convince him to see her point of view.
Chloe wasn’t stupid. She knew how her nagging must have come across. As though she were more interested in Nate’s money than Nate himself. Nothing could be further from the truth, though. If that had been the case, she would have asked him for the money to save her foundation before she’d even gotten her underwear back on that first night. It wouldn’t matter to her if he had ten or ten billion dollars. She’d still want him. Still crave his touch. She’d still think about him every waking moment of every single day. Her gaze wandered over the dingy paint, rickety staircase, and creaking floorboards of Nate’s house. It was run-down, sure. But it was a house she’d spend every day of the week in if he wanted her there.
His inheritance could offer him so much more, though.
She wanted that money, for Nate. He deserved every bit of ease it could offer him. He’d lived through enough. It was time for him to quit beating himself up and let life be good to him for a change. He could fix up his house, buy more cows if that’s what made him happy. Travel. Nate was worried that his father’s money would change him. Chloe simply wanted him to see it as the opportunity it could be.
“Chloe. Don’t go.” Nate’s quiet voice rippled over her, a calm breeze in comparison to his earlier storm. “Please.”
One little fight and he thought she was taking off? She paused midstep, her hand on the worn oak banister. “I’m not leaving. I thought we could use a time-out, that’s all.”
The stairs creaked under his weight as Nate made his way to where she’d stopped. Heat buffeted her back from his body and her eyes drifted shut as a shiver raced over her flesh. “I don’t want a time-out.” His voice slid over her in a dark caress. Even without touching her she felt him, and her body came alive as though it was trained to respond only to him. “I’m sorry I yelled at you.”
“I’m sorry I butted into your life again.” He reached out and wrapped his arm around her. His hand ventured under her T-shirt, sp
layed out over her belly. Chloe drew in a shuddering breath. “It’s only because I care about you.”
“You care about me?” He leaned over her and kissed her neck where it met her shoulder.
“I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t.”
His hand ventured up past her torso and under her bra. He cupped her breast, kneading the flesh as he continued to kiss her neck. “I didn’t like watching you walk away from me.” Chloe’s breath hitched as a rush of heat spread between her thighs. “Don’t do it again.”
Her head fell back on his shoulder and she gripped the banister for support. Nate’s free hand loosened the button on her jeans and eased down the zipper before slipping into her underwear. His fingers slid over her clit and Chloe melted against him. Any words she’d thought to say evaporated under the heat of his touch.
Chloe recognized the moment for what it was: a distraction. When Nate couldn’t deal with something, he used sex to run interference. The second he touched her, whispered low in her ear, or coaxed impassioned cries from her lips with his skillful fingers, she lost herself. Did that mean that Nate was her dysfunction? Or her addiction?
Probably both.
This time, Nate didn’t seduce her with his words. The only sounds in the quiet house were that of their heavy breaths. Chloe stripped off her shirt and shucked her bra, wobbling on her feet as Nate circled her clit with the tip of his finger. She tried to spread her legs wider, but her pants restricted any movement. He increased the pressure, sliding through her lips as he continued to work the swollen knot of nerves at her core. Chloe’s hips bucked and her thighs trembled under the onslaught. The restriction of her jeans tortured her. Without being able to open herself up to him, all Nate could manage were shallow flicks of his finger that teased but offered nothing in the way of release. He held her tight against him, one hand cupping her bare breast while the other cupped her pussy inside of her jeans.
If she didn’t get her damned pants off, Chloe was going to go out of her mind. Just when she was about to beg him to do just that, Nate spun her around in his arms. His hazel eyes sparked with heat and the intensity of his gaze burned through her. A muscle at his jaw ticked and his nostrils flared before his mouth descended on hers in a scorching kiss.
It Must Be Christmas Page 28
