Page 30 of Come Ride With Me
She cleared her throat. “When I got the call to come down here, I didn’t know what to expect, but it certainly wasn’t Henley.”
He shook his head, guilt and anger battling for prominence inside of him. “I’m sorry,” he said, his throat raw with the words. “I’m sorry he did this to you and to Bell.”
Because just like he’d told Henley, even though the man wasn’t here, what Henley had done was a slap in the face to all Bell had done for both of them.
“You can’t apologize for him,” she said evenly. “You’re not responsible for this and Henley has to own up to his own shit.”
Those words were spoken with an irritated edge that reminded him of the night of the burglary when she’d gone toe-to-toe with Earl. If Nash hadn’t been so blindsided by the admission she’d made that night he would’ve been totally turned on by that boss ass performance she’d put on.
“You’re right,” he said and pushed his hands into the front pockets of his jeans. Otherwise, he was going to reach out and pull her to him. The urge to touch her, to have her body on his again was potent as hell. For all that he’d taken his vacation time to put some space between them so they could both think clearly about all that had happened, he still wanted her like an addict wanted their next fix. “But I think I owe you an apology too.”
One of her perfectly arched brows lifted. “For?”
She crossed her arms over her chest now and stared at him expectantly.
If she knew that this sexy ass composed and focused vibe she was putting out had been exactly what had drawn him to her so quickly before, she might not be so fast to do it again. He was positive he hadn’t been what Mica expected when she’d come to town to save her father’s business. Hell, she damn sure wasn’t what he’d expected when he’d wondered about who was going to inherit the dealership.
“I shouldn’t have walked away like I did the night of the burglary,” he said. In addition to all the other shit that had been shuffling around in his mind as he sat in his apartment these past few days, he’d known this one from the start. “I shouldn’t have been so angry with you for not telling me who you were when we first met. Especially since I was holding back a pretty big piece of information about myself as well.”
To be fair, he hadn’t really thought there was a need to tell her about his past until the night they’d slept together. It wasn’t any of her business before then, especially since he had no idea she was actually his boss at the time.
“I’ve thought a lot about that and I concluded that neither of us meant to be dishonest. We had no idea that things between us were going to um…go in the direction that they did, so we weren’t really prepared for the total honesty thing,” she said.
“True,” he replied. “Are we going for the total honesty thing now?”
She opened her mouth to say something and then clapped it shut quickly.
Acting solely on instinct and because the few feet of distance between them had become too much for him to stand a second longer, he stepped closer to her. “I mean, now that I know you’re the owner of Bellamy Motors and you know I have a criminal record and a stupid ass brother, are things between us still going in that direction?”
“Do youwantthings between us to continue going in that direction?” she asked. Her uncertainty was clear in the way she blinked slowly as she asked the question.
But Nash was totally sure. He’d been pissed when he stormed out of the police station and was about to make the same mistake he’d made the night of the burglary.
“I should’ve been clearer with you,” he said with a slow shake of his head. “I don’t really have any experience doing this because no woman has every meant enough to me to put forth the effort. But you, Ms. Michel Lynette Monroe, you were a very pleasant surprise. One I didn’t think I’d ever wanted.”
“But now you do?” she asked, her tongue snaking out to brush over those sinfully full lips. “Now, you want something with me…your um, boss?”
He chuckled then because that had also been a surprise. His mother always used to say, “If you wanna make God laugh, make plans.” Nash hadn’t known what that meant until right this moment.
“Well,” he said closing the last bit of space between them. “That was something else I planned to be honest with you about.”
“Oh?” The hint of surprise and was that disappointment, in her eyes shot straight through his chest and landed with a heated punch to his heart.
“I’m leaving Bellamy Motors,” he said. “Got a job offer from the Blackbond Group as an executive director in their design department.”
Now her eyes were alight with happiness, her arms fell from her chest and she lifted them like she was going to come in for hug, but then dropped them suddenly. “Oh, wow! That’s, ah, that’s great, Nash. I know that’s always what you wanted to do.”
He nodded. “Yeah, it is. But there’s something else I want…no, Ineedto do.”
“What—”
The rest of that question died on her lips the moment he reached out to grasp the front of her neck. His other hand went around her waist and he pulled her to him and his mouth slammed over hers.
Just like each time their lips had touched there were sparks and heat licking against every inch of him. He couldn’t get enough of her, not of her taste, her scent, her body against his, her logical mind and those fuckin’ pretty ass eyes. She was everything he’d been afraid to wish for, everything he didn’t know he needed, until now.
Her arms had immediately gone around his waist, hugging him to her as she tilted her head and returned the feverish kiss lick for tantalizing lick. It didn’t matter that they were standing in the middle of the sidewalk on a chilly day. Nor did it matter that his brother was a thief and she had rightfully inherited the dealership he’d once thought would be his. Nothing mattered at this moment, except them.
“Well,” she breathed the word when they finally pulled apart.
