Page 25 of Nitro

“Just okay?” She seems like she’s holding back or something. She’s not as open as she was before I left. Something’s off, but I don’t know what. Maybe she’s just tired.

She presses her lips together and turns her face away. I’m not letting her off so easily, so I gently palm her cheek and bring her back to me. She sucks in a breath as her eyes meet mine. Her lips part and her pink tongue darts out to moisten them. The fire between us flares, and all I want to do is strip her naked and bury myself deep in her velvet heat. She’s the only woman that’s ever affected me like this. I don’t care what I have to do. I’m going to make her mine.

“Did anything happen while I was sleeping?” she asks, completely killing the mood.

“Almost caught your husband.”

“He got away?”

“Yeah. He was at The Wet Beaver on I-90. I almost had him, but he threw me off the truck.”

“What?” She tries to sit up but groans and falls back onto the pillow.

“I’m fine. Just a few cuts and bruises. Now we’re matching.” My attempt at humor doesn’t go over well.

“I don’t want you getting hurt because of me.”

“This wasn’t because of you. He did this. Not you. None of this is your fault. I’m going to keep telling you that until you believe it.”

“I feel so stupid. I should have left him years ago.”

“You’re getting out now. That’s all that matters.”

“I’m so scared. I keep thinking about the divorce. I hadn’t even filed the papers yet and he did this to me. What’s he going to do when I do file them?”

“Nothing.” I will my cock to behave as I pull her into my arms. Her body’s rigid at first, but then she slowly melts against me. “He won’t ever be alone with you again. He’s never putting his hands on you again.”

When she buries her face in my chest and softly cries, all the rage I’ve kept down bubbles back to the surface like sulfurous lava. I tighten my grip on her and tug her hard against my chest. She stiffens for a second before relaxing into my embrace. I press my nose into her hair. Instead of her usual coconut scent, she smells like day-old sweat. I feel like a dumb shit for not offering her my shower.

“Kitten, would you like to clean up a bit? You might feel better after.”

“I stink, don’t I?” She pushes out of my arms then raises one of hers to sniff. “Oh, God. Yeah. If you have a bathroom, could I use it?”

“It’s right on the other side of that door.” I point toward the door then realize I need to clear a path to it. “Hang on.” After kicking a pile out of the way, I open the door to my bathroom. “This is all mine, so you don’t have to worry about the guys barging in on you.”

“Will you barge in on me?” She wrings her hands while an adorable blush blossoms on her cheeks.

“Do you want me to?” I hold my breath, waiting for her response.

She drops her gaze and bites her bottom lip. She shakes her head no, which is honestly for the best. If she’s ever naked and we’re in the same room, she’s mine. But right now, I have to go slow. I don’t want to scare her.

After getting her set up for a bath with fresh towels and some girly soap Julia left behind, I sit on the bed. I can’t stay still, so I begin the arduous process of picking up my laundry and either hanging it in the closet or folding it and placing it in my dresser. I’d like to lie and say this is enough of a distraction to keep me from thinking about her hot, wet, naked body, but that would be pure bullshit.

In my mind’s eye, water sluices down from her pert nipples and traces her sexy hips before dribbling over her curvaceous ass. My dick’s fucking steel again and it’s my own damn fault. I eye the door, but there’s no telling how long she’s going to be, so I can’t exactly whip out my cock and take care of business. I’ll have to do it later. I don’t know where the hell else I’ll get any privacy in this house, but if I don’t come soon, being around her is going to fucking kill me.

When she finally emerges from the steamy bathroom, I’ve got most of my clothes picked up. It’s not perfect, but this is as good as it’s going to get for now.

“You cleaned your room.”

“Yep.” Speech is a bit of a problem at the moment because my tongue’s practically lolling out of my mouth. She’s only wearing a thin, red satin nightie. I’m pretty sure I’m going to come in my jeans. “Where’d that come from?”

“Nina and Julia brought me some clothes. I don’t normally wear stuff like this. I hope it’s okay, at least until I get my clothes from home.” She slides into bed and pulls the blanket over her body, hiding her sinfully sexy form.

“It’s fine.” My cock throbs, and all I want to do is crawl into bed beside her. I’ve got to get the fuck out of here before I do something impulsive like slide into bed with her. “Before you fall asleep again, I need more info about your husband. Matrix wants to know if he’s got any friends or coworkers or anyone else he could stay with. I need a list.”

“I can make one.”

I pull out my phone and type while she rattles off possible contacts. I get as much info as I can before texting the list to Matrix. “We’ve got eyes and ears all over. We’ll find him again.”

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