Page 70 of Nauti Intentions (Nauti 4)

Love. Son of a bitch. That word was being thrown around like a bone to a favorite hound.

“As much as I can love anyone,” he finally stated wearily. “I’m committed. That’s going to have to be enough for you. ”

He was going to have to find a way to make it enough for Janey.

Janey wasn’t in the mood to be pacified. She was aware of Hoyt showing Natches and Alex to the table they had been given, close to the hall that led to the restrooms and then the office. Just as she was aware of the waitress that rushed to serve them.

The little blonde was a favorite of customers at the restaurant. She was chatty, just a little flirty, and always polite. Tonight, she was more than a little flirty. She was all smiles and batting eyelashes. It was enough to have Janey gritting her teeth in irritation. Not that either Natches or Alex seemed to be encouraging it. Alex watched Janey. Natches glared at Alex. And weren’t they all just having a damned good time.

Shaking her head, Janey turned the hostess station over to Hoyt and made her way back to the kitchen to check things there. Desmond was a godsend. Though he was originally from New York, she’d managed to snag him when she caught a sniff of a rumor that he was looking to take over his own kitchen, to rule his own roost, so to speak. She’d made him an offer, done a lot of begging, and promised him total control if he would pay attention to more country cuisine than international and find a way to blend them when possible.

The dishes he came up with astounded her. Fresh greens fried in garlic and olive oil rather than the traditional country favorite of boiling them down first. Fried fresh, tossed, and served with crisp fried chicken, rolls, and mashed potatoes with a bit of cheddar cheese and sour cream added.

Traditional and unique. It was becoming one of the favorite dishes prepared there.

As usual, the kitchen was running like a well-oiled engine. The staff was too scared of the short, volatile little Italian-American to let it run any other way.

“Desmond, you’re my angel,” Janey declared, grinning as he turned and swatted at her, though his black eyes glinted with mischief as his wife, Angelina, rolled her eyes.

“Janey, his ego is bad enough. ” Angelina laughed.

“And his food is perfect. ” Janey blew him a kiss. “Besides, we both know you love his ego. ” She wagged her brows suggestively, then ducked out of the doorway as Angelina laughingly threw a dish towel at her.

Moving through the dining room, she stopped at several tables, chatted, and made certain everything was running smoothly there before making her way back to the hostess station to relieve Hoyt.

“Everything okay?” she asked as he eased back from the small, waist-high counter and the electronic table display that sat on it.

“Everything’s running smooth,” he assured her. “Natches and Major Jansen are enjoying their meal. I replaced their server with one of the young men. ” He frowned. “I’ve warned Tabitha about her flirtatiousness, if you don’t mind. ”

Janey stared back at Hoyt’s sincere, concerned expression and had to bite back a protest. Hoyt thought the Mackay cousins and Alex Jansen were some kind of superheroes.

“Fine,” she finally said. She’d talk to Tabitha before she left. The girl was one of her better waitresses, and it was her friendliness and outgoing personality that had many customers asking for her by name.

Hoyt nodded and returned to the checkout counter while Janey turned and tried not to stare at Alex. He was obviously enjoying his steak. No doubt on the house and compliments of Natches. She shook her head. At least she didn’t have to worry about feeding him later. But it didn’t solve her more immediate problem of how exactly to deal with her new lover.

It was a problem that continued to plague her, especially while Alex and Natches lingered, talking to Hoyt in the lobby as Tabitha covered the register.

They lingered too long to suit her. They made her nervous. Thankfully, there were no comments that could cause Natches to lose his temper. Or Alex. She knew what Natches was capable of. He would break bones. Alex, she wasn’t as certain of. There were times she wondered if he wasn’t the more dangerous of the two.

She knew he was.

Once they were gone, she breathed a sigh of relief. And hours later, her calf muscles aching from strain, she turned the final lock on the doors and headed back to the office. And hopefully a glass of wine.

She could feel Alex waiting for her before she ever reached the office door. She could feel her body, as tired as it was, preparing for him. Standing outside the door, she pressed her forehead against the wall, closed her eyes, and tried to force back needs that she’d never had to fight before. Feelings she hadn’t known before.

Right now all she wanted to do was curl in his arms, have him hold her. Then she wanted him to fuck her until she was screaming, begging for more. And she wanted to feel him coming inside her again. Feel that heated wash of possession, even knowing the danger of it.

Tomorrow, she was going to have to call the doctor, and get in quickly. If she wasn’t pregnant now, then she soon would be. She had a feeling Alex’s little soldiers were just as effective at their job as he was at his.

She pressed her hands against the wall, palms flat, and reined in the tears that wanted to escape. She was finally free. She could finally feel a measure of security, and what had she done? She’d gone and let herself love a man who didn’t believe in love. Who didn’t believe in giving himself, only his body.

And Janey didn’t think that luscious body was going to be enough to ease the ache building inside her.

Because she wanted, hungered for, so much more from him.

And yet he was offering so much more than she had ever expected. A husband, children of her own, a chance to build the life she had dreamed of—if only she could ignore the fact that he simply “cared for”

her.

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