“I’m in love with you, Kaelynn, and I really don’t know what to do with that.”
My eyes widened in shock, and I must have opened and closed my mouth at least four times. When I was finally able to speak, it was a simple, “What did you say?”
Nash blew out a breath and focused on his hands for a moment before returning his attention back to me.
“I knew from the beginning you were hiding something. There were a million different times I could have asked you. There were a few times I think you were about to tell me and we were interrupted. That night you made me dinner. You were going to tell me then, weren’t you?”
Feeling my jaw shake, I knew words would not come, so I agreed with a head nod.
“For months after Lily and I broke up, I vowed I was done with ever getting serious with a woman again. I wouldn’t risk my heart being broken like that. Then I ran into you.”
My heart started to beat a little bit faster with each word he said. Nothing else in the world mattered to me in that moment than what Nash Barrett was about to say.
“And just like that, I was ready to move on. I had realized I had never really been in love with Lily. At least not the type of love that meant forever. At the time, I guess I thought it did, but the moment you looked up at me with those eyes of yours, I couldn’t remember anything about Lily. Or any other women before. You made me want to take the step, and I wanted to take it with you. And that scared me.”
Nash reached over and wiped a tear off my cheek.
“You scared the hell out of me, Kaelynn. I felt heartbroken after Lily, but the thought of falling for you and letting you in and something happening . . . I knew it would destroy me. I have never believed in love at first sight, or falling in love with someone almost instantly until you literally walked into my life.”
My hand covered my soft sobbing.
“The whole background check was stupid, and that was why I was angry at Blake at the wedding. I had called it off because it didn’t matter to me anymore. I was ready to take the risk with you and trust that what we had together was strong enough to make it through anything. I was pissed off that you ran. I told myself I was going to fly up here and explain why I started down that stupid path with Blake and his brother and then I would walk away. Because that morning when I walked into the hotel room and you were gone, I felt a piece of my heart leave with you and . . .”
His voice trailed off and he closed his eyes for a few moments before opening them and looking at me.
“I don’t think I could live in this world without you. I know we haven’t known each other very long, and most people would say it’s lust, not love. That night we spent together, I’ve never felt that way with any other woman, and to see you gone, knowing you would just leave without talking to me. It scared the fuck out of me, and I put up that wall again before it was too late. Before I admitted to myself that I was head over heels in love with you.”
“Nash,” I said, letting my tears fall freely. “I’m so sorry I ran. I’m so sorry I kept the truth from you.”
He shook his head. “You don’t have to be sorry. You got scared too, Kaelynn. It took me sitting in this room last night, hearing you crying as you ran off, for it to finally freaking set into my thick skull. You did what you did because I think you’re in love with me too.”
“Yes. So very much in love.”
Nash smiled, and it was all I could do to keep from crawling over and straddling him. I wanted his lips on mine. I needed his lips on mine.
I needed him.
“So, now what?” I asked.
Nash leaned forward and used his thumbs to wipe my face clean of tears again.
“We take advantage of being stuck together in a giant playground of a house.”
I couldn’t help but giggle.
“We admit that we were both wrong, and that in the future, we talk to each other. About anything that scares us, or makes us angry, or whatever the case may be. We trust one another.”
“Yes,” I whispered as Nash took me by the arms and pulled me onto him. Having me do what only moments ago I had wanted to do. I settled my throbbing core over him and felt him harden. A delicious want grew in my body, but I knew we needed to make sure we had everything taken care of first.
“I’m sorry, Kaelynn. I’m sorry I didn’t just ask you from the beginning.”
“I’m sorry I didn’t trust you with the truth.”
Nash looked around the room, then smirked. “It is pretty damn intimidating.”
“It’s my parents’ place, not mine.”
He drew his brows in and thought for a moment, then asked, “That day I ran into you at the Austonian, were you looking for a place to live, or was it a place for your folks?”
“Me, but I knew I didn’t want anything that crazy expensive or over the top like that. It’s not me. I like my place near Zilker Park. Mom and Dad bought a penthouse there, though,” I said with a frown.
“I figured. I saw you there with them.”
“I knew it! I knew you were there. I had the strangest feeling you had been there.”
He laughed and then cupped my face. “No more secrets for either of us.”
“No more secrets.”
“I love you, Kaelynn Shae Whitaker.”
My insides melted as I leaned closer to his mouth. “I love you, Nash . . . What is your middle name, by the way?”
He laughed, and I loved the way it made my heart feel like it skipped a beat.
“I guess I still have one secret.”
My brow lifted.
“Nash isn’t my real name.”
Dropping my mouth open, I gasped. “What!”
“It’s James Nathaniel Barrett. Nash is my nickname. My sister, for some reason, couldn’t say James and insisted on calling me Nash. So it sort of stuck.”
I pressed into him, causing him to moan. “Well, if we’re being honest here, I think Nash is sexier than James. Sounds so bad boyish.”
He winked. “Me too. I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t have gotten laid with a name like James.”
Smacking him on the chest, I said, “I love you, James Nathaniel Barrett. Now please kiss me already.”
“I’ll do you one better. I’ll kiss you, then make love to you.”
Lacing my arms around his neck, I let him pull my mouth to his. The kiss was slow and sweet at first. Then it heated. Our tongues moving as if they needed to find the perfect rhythm. To find our way back to each other.
“Kaelynn,” Nash panted, his hands going up under my sweater. “Fuck, I don’t have a condom.”
My hands worked at getting his jeans unbuttoned. I needed to feel him inside of me.
Pressing my mouth to his, I slipped my hand in until I found him, hard and ready.
“Oh God. Nash.”
He cupped my ass, pulling me against him. I couldn’t help but think of the first time I came, fully dressed, writhing against him like I needed my next breath.
“I want you so much, baby.”
His words felt like a warm blanket over my shivering, cold body.
“Then take me. Right here. Now. Please.”
Our mouth smashed together in a hungry kiss. I squeezed my hand around his cock, moaning into his mouth.
“No. Condom,” he panted.
I tugged at his shirt, trying to get it off while he did the same with mine. Our mouths parted only long enough to get the shirts over our heads.
Going back to his pants, Nash grabbed my wrist. “Stop. We need to talk about this.”
Lifting my eyes to meet his, I gasped for air. “Okay. I’m on the pill. I’ve only been with two men before you and have always used a condom.”
“I’ve been with . . .”
I pressed my fingers against his mouth. “Don’t tell me a number, Nash. I don’t care. Have you always used a condom? Even with Lily?”
“Always. She never wanted to get on birth control.”
“Do you want this?” I asked.
&n
bsp; His eyes nearly rolled to the back of his head as he laughed. “You’re asking me if I want to make love to you without something between us?”
“Yes.”
Lifting his hand to the side of my face, I leaned into his touch. He stared at me with such love and passion in his eyes it made my eyes fill with tears.
“I want that more than anything, if it’s what you want. Otherwise, there are other things we can do until we can get some. Remember, I’m really creative.”
Shaking my head and trying not to giggle at his words, I crawled off him and started to take my jeans and panties off. Reaching up behind me, I unclasped my bra and let it fall to the ground. My eyes drifted down to see Nash had a hold of his dick and stroked himself as he looked at me with want-filled eyes. It was one of the hottest things I’d ever seen.
My teeth dug into my lip and I took a few steps back. Nash stood and kicked his shoes off, then removed his jeans. I loved that he had been going commando.
“You’re so beautiful, Kaelynn. I’m so in love with you.”
Reaching for a blanket on the back of a chair, I laid it out in front of the fire and slowly let my body down until I was lying on it. Nash moved over me, his eyes blazing as hot as the fire felt.
“Kaelynn,” he whispered, pressing his lips to mine. “You’re mine. Forever.”
I COULDN’T BELIEVE it. My head wouldn’t allow me to believe that I was about to make love to Kaelynn. In front of the fire, with the snow falling outside a beautiful large window, and nothing would be separating us. No barriers and no secrets.
My hand roamed down the side of her body, causing her to shake in response to my touch. She spread her legs open for me as I gently pressed my thumb against her swollen bundle of nerves. Moving my mouth above hers, I whispered, “Kaelynn.” Then kissed her. “You’re mine. Forever.”
She hissed out a yes as my finger slipped inside of her. I groaned while she lifted her hips in response.
“You’re so wet.”
“I want you, desperately,” she spoke against my mouth. The feel of her hot breath moving over my skin made my insides grow with need.
“Baby, I want you so much. I need you.”
“Yes. Please. Nash, please don’t make me wait.”
Slowly, I kissed down her neck to her breasts. Kissing one nipple, I worked my fingers inside of her while she dug her nails into my back. The little moans and pleas coming from her lips nearly had me coming on the spot. Moving to the other nipple, I sucked and bit lightly as I felt Kaelynn’s body begin to tremble.
“Nash, I’m so close. I’m so . . .”
Pressing my thumb against her clit, Kaelynn came undone in an instant. Her hips pumped against my hand and she cried out her release. My mouth covered hers as she clung to me, arms wrapped around my body, the sound of my name coming from between our kisses.
“Now. Please, Nash. Now.”
Using my knee to spread her open more to me, I pushed into her. The feel of being inside her, nothing to separate us, was almost more than I could stand.
“Kaelynn . . .” I panted.
Her arms and legs wrapped around my body as we found the perfect pace. It was slow, yet full of passion. I pushed in deep, causing her to gasp, then pull me closer to her, as if she needed me even deeper.
“I love you, Nash. Please don’t stop. Don’t ever stop.”
Our eyes met and I wanted to ask her if she meant don’t stop making love to her or don’t stop loving her. Right in this moment, with the firelight setting our skin ablaze, we were both in a place that we were always meant to be, and I’d never stop loving her.
“Never,” I whispered before kissing her again. Burying my face into her neck, I made love to her until neither of us could hold back any longer. I came so hard I swore I saw stars.
“Don’t leave. Please,” she whispered as I laid above her, still inside of her. I pulled out of her and rolled to her side. Drawing her against me, I kissed her back and listened as her breathing got slower and deeper. Kaelynn had fallen asleep in my arms after we had shared the most intensely beautiful moment of my entire life.
Closing my eyes, I drifted to sleep next to her.
“Nash. Nash, wake up.”
Moaning, I pulled Kaelynn back against my body. “Go back to sleep.”
I heard the faint sound of a giggle. “Nash. We have to get up. Someone is here.”
Jerking up into a sitting position, I looked around. “What do you mean someone is here?”
“I mean, someone just came through the gate. I think it’s my parents.”
Kaelynn and I sat naked on the blanket in front of the fireplace.
“Shit!” I shouted as I jumped up and started looking for my clothes while Kaelynn did the same.
“How do you know someone was at the gate?”
“There is a bell that charms when someone accesses the gate with the code. It’s an alert system my father had put in, and we all have it on our phones. I turned the app on when I got home.”
Kaelynn tried to get back into her jeans as she did a little jumping motion.
“Your bra,” I said as I tossed it over to her. Kaelynn was dressed and heading out of the library while I rushed to put my boots back on. I grabbed the blanket off the floor and stared at it. It needed to be washed.
Shit. Where in the hell is the laundry room again in this house?
“Kaelynn?” I shouted as I made my way to the front foyer. “Kaelynn?”
“It’s not my folks; it looks like it’s Jack.”
My heart jumped a beat as I watched someone coming down the drive on a snowmobile.
“Holy shit, how much has it snowed since earlier? And can I just say that I’m glad your dad put that little security system in?”
She laughed and reached up to kiss me. “Me too. I’m pretty sure Jack wouldn’t take too lightly to you having sex with me on his favorite blanket.”
I held the blanket up. “This blanket? That needs to be washed, now.”
Kaelynn took the blanket and headed toward the kitchen side of the house. Instead of turning left to go to the kitchen, we went right.
“Here’s the laundry room.”
She tossed the blanket into the washer, followed by detergent, and then turned it on.
“There. No evidence of our naughty behavior. We did, however, christen the library.”
With a wiggle of my brows, I pulled her body to mine. “I’m thinking we need to break in every room in this house. I see hours and hours of fun ahead of us. Fifty-thousand square feet of hours, if memory serves me correctly.”
Kaelynn lifted up on her toes and kissed me softly, giggling as she lowered herself back to the floor. “Me too.”
“I see the two of you made up.”
Jack’s voice had us both stepping away from each other.
“Please, don’t act like you’re perfect angels. I’m sure neither of you are virgins.” Jack stared at me and lifted a brow. “You especially. With that pretty-boy face, I’m sure you’ve been around the block once or twice.”
The pretty blonde standing next to Jack slapped him in the stomach.
“Shut up, Jack.” She walked up to Kaelynn and hugged her, then turned her attention on me. “It’s nice to meet you, Nash. I’m Jill.”
I shook her hand and replied, “It’s nice meeting you, Jill. Where exactly did you and Jack meet? Up on the hill? And was the pail of water frozen when you got to it?”
Jack let out a roar of fake laughter then shot me a dirty look. “Ha, like we’ve never heard that before, dickhead.”
“Jack!” Kaelynn and Jill said at the same time.
Laughing, I reached for Jack’s hand. “I’m just screwing with y’all. So, a snowmobile, huh?”
Kaelynn groaned. “No, Nash, no.”
Jack nodded and said, “Tell me you have snow pants.”
“Nope.”
“No worries, follow me and I’ll get you set up. You ever been on a snowmobile?” Jack asked as I foll
owed him up the stairs.
“Never. This morning was the first time I’ve ever really seen snow.”
Jack stopped and turned to look at me. “You’re fucking with me, right?”
“No. I’ve lived in Texas my entire life.”
A wide grin moved over his face. “Dude, we are going to have so much fun.”
And boy, did we have fun. By the time we got back from playing on the snowmobile, my face felt like was about to fall off.
Jack pulled up and parked in front of the house and we climbed off.
“Next time I’ll have Jill ride one over and we can really have some fun.”
Stomping the snow off of my boots before walking into the house, I couldn’t help but chuckle. “This is like a damn playground up here.”
Jack took off his jacket, scarf, and hat and tossed them over one of the sofas. I looked around for a coat rack when Jack grabbed my stuff and threw it by his.
“We’re not uptight in this family.”
He glanced around. “Wonder where the girls are.”
Laughter could be heard from down the hall. “It sounds like they’re in the library.”
Jack started down the hall. “I’m not surprised. You’ll find out that Kaelynn has two places in this house that are her favorite. The library and the theater room.
We used to find her in the theater reading in one of the recliners. She liked it because it was dark and quiet.”
They weren’t in the library, so we headed on to the family room. Attached to that room was the billiards room. Walking in, I looked at the large flat-screen TV that had a video from Jim and Terri’s wedding pulled up.
“Play it again!” Jill cried out, wiping tears from her face.
“You didn’t,” I said, glaring at Kaelynn.
She lost it laughing and said, “I did! Charlie sent me this!”
Hitting play on her phone, the video on the TV started up.
“Tell me you didn’t!” Jack said, jumping over the sofa and landing next to Jill.
There wasn’t anything I could do but watch and laugh. It really was funny as hell watching Jim think he was taking the garter belt off Terri when it was really me.
After watching the damn video three more times, Jack couldn’t take it anymore. He was on the ground laughing hysterically.
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