by Nina Levine
“Me too, Mum,” I agreed.
I turned to Anna. “Now, enough about me. It’s you we should be worried about.” I was still concerned for her after her boyfriend dumped her.
“I’m good, sis,” she said, but I could hear the sadness in her voice.
Men. Sometimes you could kiss them forever and other times you could just take your glittery, red stilettos and jam them as far up their asses as they’d reach.
Chapter 20
Ready To Love Again ~ Lady Antebellum
Nash
I pulled my t-shirt on over my head, not taking my eyes off Velvet as she wiggled into her jeans. Not only did she make taking her clothes off an art form, she made putting them on an erotic act also. She finished wiggling into them and did them up before she realised I was watching her.
“Baby, I’ve never wanted to watch a woman put her clothes on but you’ve shown me the error of my ways,” I declared.
She slipped her top on and then walked over to where I was. Wrapping her arms around my waist, she asked, “So no more taking clothes off?”
I smirked, and ran my hands over her ass. “Let’s not get carried away. I’ve still got my priorities, sweet thing, and seeing this ass naked is at the top of them.”
Her smile hit all the right spots. “Okay, just checking. I’d like to keep my man happy.”
The minute those words were out of her mouth, there was a shift between us. I fucking liked hearing those words but I sensed she wished they’d never been uttered. It had been a long time since I’d been anyone’s man, and with each passing day I was easing more into this relationship, whatever the hell it was. A week ago, it was just sex, now it felt like a lot more.
I pulled her closer before she had a chance to retreat from me. “You make me very happy,” I whispered in her ear.
Her body was rigid but at my words, I felt her soften. “Same,” she said, and that one word sent warmth through me. Although we’d taken a long time to get here, I felt like we were in the exact right place. Together.
Loosening my hold on her, I stepped back and my eyes drifted down her body. “Babe,” I said as I looked back up at her, “don’t get me wrong, I appreciate it, but why the hell do women wear the tightest jeans that barely fit them. How the fuck do you breathe in those things?”
She smacked me on the arm. “Why the fuck do women do anything, Nash? To make sure the men in their lives are happy and to make sure their attention stays on them rather than on another woman.”
I chuckled having achieved my goal. “Trust me when I say that my attention is firmly on you, sweet thing.”
Her eyes narrowed. “You totally said all that to change the topic of the conversation, didn’t you?”
Caught out. I grinned. “It may have also been to get you a little shitty. You’re fuckin’ hot when you’re shitty.”
She hit my chest this time and pointed at the doorway. “Go. We’ve got shopping to do.”
I did as I was told and she followed me outside. When we reached her car, I put my hand out for her keys. The look she gave me could have brought a weaker man to his knees. “What?” I asked.
“Did you just put your hand out for the keys so you could drive my car?”
“Yeah.” I wasn’t really sure what the problem was here.
“I don’t think so, Nash.” She gave me an annoyed look.
“Well we can’t take my bike,” I said what I thought should have been clear. We were on our way to Ikea to pick up a bookshelf for her and it sure as shit couldn’t be transported on a bike.
That just pissed her off even more. “Oh my God, Nash. That’s not what I meant.”
“What the hell did you mean then?” This conversation had gone south real fucking quick and I was clueless as to why.
“Just because you’re the man doesn’t mean you get to automatically drive my car. If it was your car, I would assume you’d drive it. I’d never assume that I would. Don’t come into my life and think that I’m the woman so I must be relegated to woman jobs.” She meant business and I read between the lines. Some asshole had fucked with her and I suspected it was her ex-husband.
I didn’t argue, just raised my hands in apology. “I’m sorry, sweetheart. It’s all yours.” I moved to the passenger door and waited for her to let me in.
She stood staring at me and I waited for her to make the next move. “Shit, Nash Walker, where the hell have you been all my life?” she finally said before walking around to the driver’s side.
“Baby, I could say the same thing,” I said, softly, more to myself than her, but she caught it and flashed me a smile before getting in the car. Velvet smiling was a sight I could see myself living for; a sight I would trip over myself to make sure I saw often.
***
Velvet
I watched as Nash pulled all the flat packed pieces out of the box and started assembling the cabinet I’d bought. We’d gone to buy a bookshelf and ended up with one of those plus this cabinet that looked tricky to put together. I grabbed the assembly instructions and passed them to him.
He frowned as he took it off me. “Why are you giving me that?”
I gave him a ‘you’re joking’ look. “So you can work out how to put it together.”
He shoved the instructions back at me. “I can work out how to put it together without those, sweetheart.”
Was he kidding me? I opened them and started reading to make sure what he was doing was actually right. It was a good thing I did because I noticed he was doing something wrong.
I tried to give him the instructions again. “You’ve got the wrong part there,” I insisted.
He stood up and scowled at me. “Velvet, I’m still working out how it goes together. Maybe you should go and do something else while I do this.”
“If you’d just read the instructions, you’d work it out faster,” I suggested. It annoyed me when men wouldn’t read instructions.
The instructions remained in my hands as he glared at me. “I’d work it out a lot fuckin’ faster if you’d just let me do it. Without the fuckin’ instructions.”
I took a deep breath. “Fine, I’m going to leave you to do it on your own.” Without waiting for his response, I stalked out of the room. He could really be an ass sometimes.
While he put the furniture together, I took the opportunity to get some study done. I had fallen behind lately due to all the time I’d been spending with Nash. There was only a couple of weeks left on my course so I really needed to buckle down and get it done. I’d have to cut down on my time with him for a little while. And even though I was annoyed at him at the moment, my heart dropped a little at that thought.
I wasn’t sure how much time had passed when I heard Nash’s voice. Looking up from my books, I found him standing at the door to my study, watching me.
“Sorry, what did you say?” I asked.
He took a step toward me and jerked his head in the direction of my living room. “They’re both put together. Do you want to come and make sure I’ve got them in the right place?”
“Yeah.”
I followed him out and found that he had them exactly where I wanted them. “Perfect,” I said. “Thank you.”
I was still mad at him and there was a divide between us; one I couldn’t get past until he’d apologised. The problem was, I wanted him to say sorry without me having to tell him I needed that. And I knew that wasn’t going to happen. And that pissed me off even more.
“Okay, babe, spit it out,” he said as he crossed his arms over his chest.
“Nash, the fact I have to spit it out really pisses me off.”
“I’m not a mind reader. You’re going to have to tell me what it is.”
“You don’t need to be a mind reader for this. You just need to realise that you were an ass to me.”
He raked his fingers through his hair. “Fuck, is this about me not taking the instructions off you?”
“Not so much, although that did annoy me. This is because
of the way you spoke to me.”
He didn’t say anything, he just stood there looking confused about the whole thing. Good Lord, men needed it spelt out to them so I did that for him. “Nash, my ex treated me like shit. He didn’t hit me or anything like that, but he bullied and belittled me. I won’t even contemplate a relationship with a man who does that. Now, I’m not saying you did that at all, but from the start, I’m being upfront and telling you what I won’t put up with. And I won’t put up with being spoken to the way you spoke to me.”
I watched as he processed that. It didn’t take him long and then he moved towards me, lifted his hand to my face and gently rubbed his thumb across my cheek. His eyes were soft; kind. Totally not how I’d expected this to go at all. My tummy did somersaults while I waited for him to speak.
“It’s been a long time since I’ve been in a relationship and I’m kinda rusty, babe. I’m sorry I spoke to you that way. And I’m real fuckin’ sorry your ex was such a dickhead.”
He’d managed to piss me off twice already today but each time, he hadn’t hesitated to fix it. That stunned the hell out of me. Especially after being married to a man who hardly ever apologised for anything.
“Thank you.”
The divide between us was gone and his arms circled my waist. His lips met mine in a soft kiss that was so unlike most of his kisses. When he ended it, he murmured, “Fuck, baby, you bring out good shit in me.”
This was the Nash I wanted, and the more time I spent with him, the more I wanted him.
Chapter 21
I’d Come For You ~ Nickelback
Nash
The cold wind whipped around me and the chill from it settled in my bones. June wasn’t usually this cold in Brisbane, but this year we were having record low temperatures. I pulled my jacket tighter around me and made the short walk from my bike into Blade’s warehouse. He had information for me regarding Velvet’s ex and I hoped it would be enough to get the asshole to back off and put her mind at ease. After what she’d told me about her ex this morning, that he’d bullied her, I’d do anything to get him out of her life once and for all. I’d worked out her tough image was a mask she wore for the world. Underneath it, she was vulnerable; not nearly as hard as she projected. And I kinda fucking liked that. It meant she needed me, and I hadn’t been needed in a long time. And that felt really fucking good.
“Blade,” I greeted him as I entered his office.
He didn’t stand, just indicated for me to take a seat. I hadn’t worked him out yet but Madison loved him and that was enough for me to go on. He cut straight to the chase. “James has his fingers in a lot of shit. A lot of dirty shit. If that got out, it would be the end of his political career and most likely would harm his father’s career too.”
“His father is the Minister for Defence, right?”
Blade nodded. “Yes. And James is running for a Federal seat at the next election. He won’t want any of this coming to light so this is your best bet to keep him off Velvet’s back.” He passed me a folder.
“Holy fuck.” I whistled as I flicked through the documents in the folder. Blade was right, James would shit himself if this stuff came out. Corrupt deals and prostitutes tended to do that to a politician. Especially married ones who professed to be Christian.
“Holy fuck is right. When you talk with the motherfucker, mention my name. That’ll help your cause.”
“Thanks, man.” I was still reading through the shit in the folder and had no idea how or why Velvet would have mixed herself up with someone like James Worthington.
Blade changed the subject. “Black Deeds giving you any grief these days?”
“Not that I’m aware of. Their new president seems to be keeping them in line.”
“Good.” He paused before continuing. “I think Marcus has some shit planned; you need to keep your eye on that.”
My head jerked up at that. “What do you know?”
“Still confirming information but my contacts tell me he’s looking to get back into drug distribution. In a big way.”
“Yeah, it’s what we suspect too.”
“And Scott’s on board with that?”
“Fuck no.” My voice reverberated around the room.
“Well thank fuck for that. Marcus is an idiot for considering it. Storm does well without the drugs. The attention it will bring you from the cops isn’t worth it.”
“You’re investigating Marcus?” I asked. Blade seemed to be on the ball with everything and everyone so I guessed he was.
“I’ve always kept an eye on my father.” His voice turned cold while talking about Marcus. He paused, thoughtful for a moment before pinning me with a hard gaze. “I have increased my surveillance on Marcus. Recently a name came up that I’ve never heard of. You ever heard him talk about someone called Blue?”
“No. What was the context?” My interest was piqued and I waited impatiently for him to tell me more.
“All we know is that Marcus is looking for someone by that name. And we believe that the Adelaide President is helping him do that.”
My mind was going in a million different directions trying to work out what this could be about. But I came up blank. “I’ll pass that information on to Scott,” I said, hoping he would know who Blue was. We needed to figure this shit out soon because Marcus was moving fast with his plans.
“Tell Scott to contact me if he wants in on this and I’ll keep him up to date.”
I frowned at what he’d said. “You two don’t talk?”
Blade fixed that hard gaze on me again. “We’re not close, no. My brother is stubborn where I’m concerned. Seems to be a trait he shares with our father.” His tone pricked my skin with it’s barbs.
He didn’t wait for me to say anything before he stood and made it clear I was to leave. I held up the folder he’d given me. “Thanks for this,” I said, and then turned and left his office.
Blade and his odd relationship with Scott was soon forgotten as I contemplated sorting Velvet’s ex-husband out. My fists were itching to have their way with him, but I knew I had to tread carefully. His connections meant I had to approach this from a different angle than I usually approached assholes. Fuck though, I could go a round with him and be a very happy man.
***
Nash
A couple of hours later, after dealing with Storm business, I walked into James’s office ready to do battle with him. His secretary was reluctant to let me in but when he’d opened the door to find me waiting, he hadn’t wasted any time letting me in.
“To what do I owe the pleasure?” he drawled as he sat behind his desk. The arrogance was dripping from him and I squeezed my fists to settle them.
I threw the folder Blade had given me on his table and nodded at it. “Take a look, asshole.”
His brows raised. Patronising. Again, I reminded myself to ask Velvet what attracted her to him.
He opened the folder and I watched the flicker of surprise cross his face. After he’d flicked through some of it, he looked up at me. A cold stare emanated from his eyes, and he attempted to call my bluff. Throwing the folder back across the desk at me, he said, “You’ve wasted your time coming here, Mr Walker, if you think any of this worries me.”
He’d looked into me. Interesting. “I think that if any of that doesn’t worry you, you’re a bigger dickhead than I gave you credit for.”
He contemplated my words. “Where did Velvet drag you from? Actually, don’t bother answering that. You’re exactly the type of man that is about right for her.”
I fought the desire to introduce him to my fists. “Where the fuck did she drag you from? It’s beyond me what she saw in you.”
“I can assure you that I had a lot more to offer her than you do. I can see exactly what she sees in you; she sees her father.”
What the fuck? I didn’t want to get into that with him so I left it alone. “She’s a lot fuckin’ better off without a man who screws around on his wife with prostitutes.”
A harsh laugh escaped his lips. “And you’ve never cheated on a woman? I find that hard to believe; you bikers are neanderthals.”
I didn’t answer him because I would have to admit an indiscretion. Guilt sliced through me at that thought and then the pain hit; the pain I’d managed to bury lately.
Fuck.
He kept at me. “Thought so. Velvet’s found what she deserves.” He stopped talking but then looked at me thoughtfully. “You do know that she’s damaged goods, don’t you?”
I’d heard enough from this motherfucker. “I don’t want to hear any-fuckin’-thing else you have to say about Velvet.” I picked up the folder and threw it back at him. Pointing at it, I said, “That shit will become public knowledge if you don’t back the fuck off her. She’s not going to talk about you to the media but she’s also not going to sign your dirty deal.” I turned to leave, but then faced him again, and added, “Blade has more shit on you than what’s in that folder so don’t fuck around with this. Let Velvet know you’re dropping it otherwise I’ll be back.”
There was more than a flicker of surprise when I mentioned Blade’s name; there was fear, and that made me a happy fucker.
Chapter 22
Thunder ~ Jessie J
Velvet
I eased into the chair and let my body relax. It had been a busy week of work and study, and I was exhausted. Sex with Nash had also taken it out of me; he was insatiable. I’d actually told him I needed a night off from him last night and as much as I’d missed him, the sleep I managed to get had been worth it.
My Saturday had been a lazy one so far. I’d slept for most of the day, having only gotten out of bed at two in the afternoon. Nash came over and woke me up, and although I could see the desire in his eyes, he hadn't pushed for sex. Instead, he made me coffee and waited patiently while I showered and dressed. Madison had invited us for dinner; she said she had a surprise for us which made me nervous. I wasn’t a fan of surprises. It also kind of felt weird to be going to dinner with Nash. This was the first time we were going to something together, and although we’d spoken about us working towards something, our relationship wasn’t clearly defined. The idea of turning up to an event together where our friends would be was a little intimidating. I wasn’t ready for all the questions they’d be sure to have.