AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“And you liked it.”
That blunt assertion nudged her a step away, reinforcing her backbone and determination not to get involved again. “The sex was good,” she returned without inflexion.
“Good enough to appease your curiosity?” Slade shifted his gaze from her to the bench.
Tempted by the offer, Nicole thought of the painful memories waiting to pounce when she went to bed and closed her eyes. But that would only provide another temporary reprieve. She needed more time and space, now that he’d appeased her lust.
“I have to get home to Sam.”
“How long ago?” he asked as she pivoted.
Puzzled, she faced him again at the same time he reached for her, his hands landing on her waist to draw her flush with his warm body. She steeled herself against the quivering tickle in her abdomen and latched onto those ripped arms.Chemistry, that’s all this is.She would work on believing that tomorrow.
“How long ago what?”
“Did you start thinking you’re better off keeping to yourself after killing the person who attacked you.”
God, she hated his astuteness. Steeling herself to resist this unwanted attraction, she pulled away from the loose embrace and griped, “Are you a shrink?”
“Hell no.”
Slade huffed, fisting his hands on his hips, and she felt better. “Some weird guru?”
“No.” Shaking his head, he stated, “Just someone who’s been there. Killing someone even in self-defense isn’t easy to live with.”
“No, it isn’t.” Those gunmetal eyes were difficult to look away from, especially when they darkened with an emotion only he could label, tempting her to ask about his experience. Instead, since he gave a little, she did also. It wasn’t like the incident was a big secret. “Six months, almost seven, but before you ask anything else, I really want to get home to Sam. He’s not used to being left alone so long, and he’s still adjusting to the new place.” She could tell he was frustrated and champing at the bit for more, yet, for some reason, his nosiness didn’t bother her as it should. Maybe she was getting used to his constant interference.
“Okay. Wait for me to finish dressing. I mean it.”
And maybe not.
Before she could snap at the order, he rephrased the comment. “Would you wait for me, please?”
“Good catch,” she couldn’t resist replying with a quick grin. “Sure. Thanks for asking.”
Shaking his head, as if bemused either by her or himself, Slade pivoted and strode down the hall. Nicole eyed the other half of the tattooed eagle’s wings draped over his shoulder, the gray, black, and white feathers fanned open to cover his entire shoulder blade. She stood there mystified, unsure whether she found the man bothersome because of her desire to remain detached for a while or because of her heated response to everything physical about him, like that emblem.
She couldn’t talk him out of following her home, although she didn’t try too hard. There was some comfort to his presence, similar to what she experienced when with Tony, yet the continuous frissons of fervid intensity that took over her common sense whenever she got close to Slade kept her on edge. Insisting she wasn’t ready for anything hadn’t stopped her from caving to lust. Hoping that was all her moment of weakness was, she reached the front door first and opened it to let Sam outside. Of course, the traitor dashed straight for Slade as he got out of the truck. Nicole flipped on another light, brightening the whole living space while keeping her hand on the door.
“All safe and sound,” she told him the same time her phone jangled. Nicole fumbled in her purse to check the text, worrying since her parents were the only people who would try to contact her this late. Instead of seeing their name in the lighted display, it readAnonymouswith the first part of the text,You can run, but you can’t, showing underneath. It didn’t take a brain surgeon to figure out the rest of the message, or who sent it. Swearing at Natalie’s persistence, she hit delete and dropped it back inside her purse before she realized Slade could read that also.
“Problem, Nicole?” he asked, moving closer. Needing him gone before she gave in to the weakness he’d tapped into earlier, she stepped back and shook her head, keeping hold of the door handle. “No. A spam text instead of who I thought it might be. Thanks for seeing me home.”
“I get it. You want me gone.” With one finger, he traced the scar on her neck, down her shoulder, the light touch searing her skin. “Take care, neighbor.”
She didn’t reply and watched him leave, the silence close to deafening once his truck turned onto the highway.
Despite the late night, Nicole awoke early to Sam’s whine and cold nose nudging her arm. “Yeah, I know, you want out.” She petted him and he pranced away with another whine, his tail whipping back and forth. Recognizing the signs, she rolled out of the warm bed and pulled on jeans and the sweatshirt lying at the foot, one of only a few gifts from Tony that she’d kept because he’d imprinted Sam’s photo on the front. “Come on, then. God forbid you let me sleep in.”
Maybe this was good practice for when she had kids, she mused, opening the back door for Sam. Her heart ached at that thought, believing Tony would have been a good dad before the brain tumor. A sad reminder of how fast life can throw you a curve ball that changed everything.
Speak of altering curve balls,she mused, wincing as she sat down with a cup of coffee. The discomfort conjured up the other person she was trying hard not to think about. She’d never imagined ending over a year of abstinence would result in this soreness. Sex had always been a take-it-or-leave-it indulgence for her, happy to hit the sheets when in a relationship, but otherwise she had no problem living celibate.
Not until last night.
Damn, there went her promise not to dwell on Slade all day after spending a sleepless night dreaming about his every touch and the orgasms that had soared higher than anything she’d achieved before. With Tony, climaxes had flowed through her body, the sensation similar to standing in a slow-rolling warm tide. Slade’s focused, driven thrusts sent her careening into a maelstrom of sensation overload that still lingered this morning.
Nicole couldn’t quit thinking about him before his erotic hold on her wrists and deep, powerful thrusts drove her to such extreme, euphoric heights, which baffled her considering how much he annoyed her. Now, how was she supposed to forget all about him the same as she’d done every other man except Tony who had come and gone in her life?
