Page 256 of Things We Hide from the Light
He gave her a small, grateful smile. “Well, figured it was time to hit the road. Don’t think I’m quite ready to face an open bar,” he said.
“It was good to see you, Dad.”
“Good to see you too, Nash. Nice meeting you, Lina.” He started to leave, then paused. “I’m real proud of you, Son. Real proud. I know that probably doesn’t mean much. But I also know your mom would be over the moon.”
I couldn’t find the words so I settled for a nod.
We watched them go.
“You okay?” Lina asked, scratching her nails against my back.
“Yeah. I am. Come on.” I led her into the house and up the stairs. There was a cheer that went up in the backyard, and I guessed that Knox and Naomi had just made their post-wedding-sex entrance.
“Where are we going?” Lina asked.
“Gotta show you something,” I said, opening a door and pushing her inside.
“Oh my God. Is this your room?” she asked, taking in the small bed under the checkered comforter, the shelves of trophies, and other boyhood knickknacks.
“It was. I told Naomi she could redecorate, but I guess she hasn’t gotten around to it.”
I closed the door and locked it.
“Sex at your brother’s wedding?” she said coyly. “My, my, hotshot. I’m impressed.”
I unbuckled my belt and she wet her lips. That peek of pink tongue and wet lips was all it took for me to go hard.
“Been thinking a lot lately.”
“When have you had time to think? We spent most of the last twenty-four hours dodging bullets,” she teased.
“Every waking moment since I found you in my stairwell.” I nudged her until she sat down on my old bed.
“That’s a lot of thinking.”
“You’re a complicated woman. It takes a lot of thought and planning when it comes to figuring out how to convince you to make a life with me.” I slid my pants down my thighs.
Her eyes were on my groin and I felt the pulse and throb her attention ignited in my dick.
I hooked my thumbs in the band of my boxer briefs.
“If you think your cock—magnificent as it is—is going to count as some kind of grand gesture that proves you’re in this for the long haul, you’d better go back to the drawing board.”
She was already parting her knees on the edge of the mattress. I longed to push all that silk up around her waist and take her. To show her how much I needed her. To remind her how much she wanted me.
But first I had something else to do.
I turned around.
“I might be willing to accept your ass as a grand—”
Her words cut off as I shoved my underwear down.
“Nash!” she gasped.
I tried to peer over my shoulder at her to get a sense of what she was feeling. “Damn it, this was stupid. I should have gotten it someplace else. Somewhere I could see you.”
What had I been thinking? A woman like Lina deserved a midnight proposal on safari with fireworks and fucking lions. Not—
