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For as long as Nash could remember, he’d thought of Megan as strong and steady. She was the tough girl that took no shit from anyone. The sassy girl with the smart mouth. Now he knew some of that was for show, and that toughness concealed a beautifully gentle and loving heart. One that was torn in two directions, that was so desperate for love. True love. Real love. The love she told him her grandparents had. Love where anger and hatred did not exist.
Now that he saw what her heart wanted, he wanted to give her that and so much more. His pride and loyalty to his family suddenly meant nothing while seeing those things were exactly the reason that she hurt.
Maybe she sensed his tension because she suddenly opened her eyes, catching him watching her. “Hi,” she said softly.
He frowned, knowing it likely looked weak. “That was not very nice of you.”
“Yes, it was,” she said with a soft laugh. “You needed to sleep, and you wouldn’t have ever pressed that button.”
“I don’t take drugs,” he said.
She placed her hand beneath her cheek on his arm. “Sometimes you need to let someone—or something—help you.”
After the accident, he hated the way the drugs made him foggy. And he loathed having to get help.
Nash stared into Megan’s eyes that were puffy from her obvious crying when he’d been sleeping. Fuck, he did that to her. “I’m sorry.” The words left his mouth in a rush.
Her eyes widened. Then she blinked twice. “I think that might be the first time I’ve ever heard you apologize.”
“Because I don’t apologize for much that I do.” He sat up in bed, making her rise with him. A rush of pain made him dizzy for a moment, but then he focused on the need to touch her. Using his good hand, he cupped her face. “I know what I said about your father hurt you, and for that I am sorry.”
Her shoulders lifted with her heavy exhale. “It’s hard, you know. I get why you hate my dad so much. He was horrible to your family. He still is really horrible to you whenever you two talk. Really awful. That cutthroat business side of my father is not something I’ve ever been proud of, and I’ve told him that. But to me . . .”
Nash’s throat began to tighten. She hid nothing from him now. For the first time, he saw what the feud was doing to her emotionally. “He’s your daddy,” Nash finished for her.
She nodded, her chin quivering. “That’s what makes this all so hard. I don’t know how to fix this between you.”
Nash regarded her, finally understanding that this longtime fight between the families was continuing to take an extreme toll one her. The one person who shouldn’t be involved at all. He caressed the softness of her cheek. “It’s not your job to fix anything, Megan.”
“Then whose job is it?” Her eyes pleaded at him for an answer. “I’m the one responsible for this little one.” She placed her hands on her belly. “I need to somehow find a way to make the two most important dads in my life get along before he or she gets here.”
Megan paused, the kind of loaded heavy pause telling him he wasn’t going to like what she said next, and he didn’t.
“Yelling, screaming, name calling,” she added, “it’s not the life I want our child around. I don’t want our sweet baby to face the same struggles that I did.”
Nash felt a lot of things, many emotions even he didn’t understand. Though the only thing that mattered now was Megan. Not their land. Not his pride. Nothing. Only her. And his child. Because now he saw he was a part of the reason her heart was breaking. “I’ll make this right with your father,” he told her.
She side-eyed him. “Seriously? Just like that?”
Seeing everything with new eyes, he confirmed, “Yeah, just like that.” He watched her expression fill with disbelief, so he set her straight. “You’ve never shared any of this with me before. Yes, I got that you didn’t understand the feud between our families. But I didn’t know how much this hurt you. You’ve never shown that to me. I didn’t know”—he hesitated, and he cupped her face, amazed how she leaned into him—“I never saw what you’ve been trying to show me since you told me about the baby. I won’t hurt you, Megan. That is the last thing I want.”
“But you hate my dad.”
Nash leaned forward and brushed his lips across hers. “I care about you more.”
She dropped her mouth against his then, moving in a perfect sensual rhythm, making him hard. He tasted the tears on her cheeks when she pulled away the blankets between them, then she lifted his hospital gown. He groaned when she straddled him, now aware she wasn’t wearing her jeans, only her panties. His eyes shut as her warm sex pressed against his erection, and she rocked her hips back and forth.
“Megan.” He nibbled on her neck in all the places he knew made her squirm. When he reached her chin, he lifted his hand to tilt her head and pain nearly blinded him. He dropped his head back on the pillow and inhaled sharply. “Bad idea.”
She rocked her hips again, soothing away the pain with pleasure, and removed her tank top and bra. Then she leveled him with a playful grin. “Move that hand again and I’ll tie it down.”
Nash stared at her intently. The hard peaks of her nipples. The deep way she breathed. There was a time to take control, and there was a time to give it away. He remembered when his physical therapist did little things to give Nash control in his life after the accident. He also recalled how incredible that felt. Maybe Megan would like that.
Regardless of the pain he knew he’d endure, he lifted his arm and hissed.
“Oh, is that so?” she practically purred.
“Yeah, Freckles, that’s so.” He dropped his head back to the pillow, breathing through the pain. “Whatcha going to do about it?”
