Page 68 of Nauti Boy (Nauti 1)

“You go ahead and do whatever you have to do,” she told him, her voice cool as she flipped the blankets back on his bed and crawled in. “I’m too tired to deal with it tonight. ”

“Go to sleep, baby. ” He came close enough to bend, to let his lips caress the still kiss-swollen curves of hers as she stared up at him. “I’ll take care of you, Kelly. ”

“Yes, you will,” she sighed heavily, her gray eyes shadowed. “And tomorrow, I’ll take care of you. ”

He didn’t think she meant sexually.

“Kelly—”

“Not tonight, Rowdy. ” She shook her head firmly. “Tomorrow. I’m just too tired to talk tonight. ”

He could see the adrenaline crashing through her, wiping her out. She was still in shock, fighting the reality of the attack. She would dream later, he knew. And the nightmares could be ugly. He promised himself he’d be back by then, that he would hold her through them, ease her.

“Tomorrow. ” He smoothed her hair back from her face as she settled into the bed. “I’m going downstairs for a while, baby. I’ll leave the door open and I won’t be long—”

“I’ll be okay, Rowdy,” she assured him, a thread of mockery filling her voice. “Go. Just let me sleep. ”

Rowdy paced the house. Nervous tension was a bitch, and suffering from it wasn’t something he normally did. But damn if he wasn’t just about to cut his own throat just to ease the thoughts tormenting him.

What the hell had he done?

When he first came downstairs on the Nauti Buoy, the sight of Kelly standing next to Dawg had sent his cock to full erection and the blood racing through his veins. Just as it had earlier when his cousin had moved behind her, his lips moving over her buttocks, spreading them, caressing her.

It had been hot as hell, feeling her pleasure as her hot little mouth surrounded the sensitive crest of his cock. Holding back had been iffy. His balls had drawn up in tortuous need, desperate to explode as the pleasure of it had seared his nerve endings.

He had ignored that unfamiliar tension that began to hover at the back of his mind. Fought with it. Then later, as his lips suckled at her tight nipple his eyes had watched as Natches pleasured the other, and he heard the words Dawg whispered to her. How snug she was, how hot, and the lust that filled his cousin’s voice had slapped at Rowdy.

Jealousy. Possessiveness. He wasn’t used to those emotions, but now they raged inside him until his fists were clenched and violence simmered just beneath the surface. He prayed for the chance to get his hands on the little son of a bitch stalking Kelly. To take out the fury and aggression rising inside him on someone who deserved it. Neither Dawg nor Natches deserved it, but it was building, growing inside him until Rowdy wasn’t certain he could contain it.

Stalking back to the living room, he moved to the small bar Ray kept at the side of the room and poured a measure of whiskey into one of the tumblers sitting ready. The liquid burned going down, but did nothing to calm the beast raging inside him.

“Liquor doesn’t help, boy. ”

He turned, his hand tightening on the butt of the pistol he carried before recognizing his father.

Ray stood just inside the doorway, dressed in a pair of dark cotton pajama bottoms and a faded T-shirt. His expression was sober, lined with worry, and his eyes gleamed with knowledge.

“We’ll catch him. ” Rowdy shrugged. “He’s losing focus—”

“I wasn’t talking about her stalker. ” He moved farther into the room. “I was talking about what happened on that boat before he attacked. ”

Rowdy brought the glass to his lips and threw back the rest of the whisky before grimacing tightly. Damn, he didn’t need this conversation with his father.

“Let it go, Dad. ”

“Doesn’t set well, does it, Son?” Ray moved closer to the bar, lifting one of the clean tumblers and pouring his own drink. “It starts eating at your gut first thing, tearing at you, making you wonder where your mind was. ”

Rowdy narrowed his eyes on his father, hearing the knowledge in his voice, the assurance that only came from experience.

“They didn’t take her,” he muttered, wondering why the hell he was bothering to explain this to his father of all people.

“Might not have, but something happened. Something strong enough to make you panic, to keep you awake. To tear your guts up with guilt. ”

Son of a bitch.

“She was shot at, Dad, that’s enough to shake any man’s insides. ”

Ray sipped at his drink, staring at him over the rim of the glass. Rowdy couldn’t hide from the knowledge, no matter how much he suddenly wanted to.

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