What had Jewel seen in him last night that had made her kiss him after acting completely unaffected by him before that? And why the hell had he kissed her back?
Promise me you’ll take care of my family. Protect them. Especially Jewel. She needs you, Nate.
He was pretty sure that Rick hadn’t meant for him to kiss his younger sister or talk to her the way he had. Nate tipped his head back and closed his eyes, remembering the look in Rick’s eyes right before he’d taken his last breath. He’d trusted Nate with the thing he cherished most—his family. Now Nate needed to prove his worthiness of that trust and fulfill his promise.
JEWEL BOLTED UPRIGHT in bed. She’d forgotten to check her phone last night, and if her mother needed her, she’d be worried sick. She couldn’t remember where she’d put her phone. She looked frantically around the room and exhaled loudly when she saw it on the bedside table, plugged into what must have been Nate’s charger. She wondered when he’d put it there and smiled at his thoughtfulness.
She scrolled through the missed calls—Chelsea had called twice. She noticed a missed call from Nate that came in before he’d found her. That made her smile, but her smile faded as she thought about him pulling away from her last night.
There were no messages from her family, which was a relief. She listened to the messages from Chelsea. Apparently Tempest, who had gone to school with Chelsea, had called her to see if Jewel still drove the Jeep. Chelsea’s second message made her smile again. I hear Nate found you. Call me and give me the details!
She returned Chelsea’s call.
“You left me hanging all night,” Chelsea complained.
“I didn’t know it was part of my job description to fill my boss in on everything I did,” Jewel teased her closest friend.
“Well, you can add it to the list. Why are you whispering?”
“Because I’m still at Nate’s.” She turned onto her side, away from the door, to help block the sound from traveling.
“You spent the night? Jewel, did you…?”
“No. God, Chelsea.”
“Well, I would have.” She laughed. “And you totally should have. You could do a lot worse than Nate Braden as your first.”
Jewel closed her eyes. Like she didn’t know that? He left a trail of drooling girls in his wake everywhere he went. The thought of him with anyone else turned her stomach.
“First of all, isn’t there some girl code about saying you want the girl your best friend has lusted after forever?” It shocked her to realize how she’d been able to suppress her feelings for Nate for so long. Then again, her life left little room for anything more than getting through the day.
“Sorry. Wait. What? You never told me that. Every time I asked you about Nate after that kiss on New Year’s Eve, you shrugged it off.”
Jewel cringed. “Yeah, well, what good would it have done to want what I couldn’t have? I’ve had enough loss in my life, thank you very much.”
“Oh, Jewel. I had no idea. I’m sorry. You’re right. I shouldn’t have said I’d do him.”
“Anyway…I threw caution to the wind last night and kissed him and he kissed me back, but then he stopped.”
“Why did he stop?”
“I don’t know,” she snapped. “He said he couldn’t and wouldn’t, but he kissed me like he really liked kissing me.”
“I feel like we can’t really trust your data analysis. See? You should have slept around. Then you’d know exactly how to read him.”
“My data analysis? Your love of biology is showing.”
“I hated biology. I’m talking about guy data. Kissing data. You know, reading his eyes, his body language.”
“I get it.”
Chelsea sighed. “But your exposure is limited, so…”
“He said things to me, so I know he wants—or wanted—me.” I want you in my bed, lying beneath me while I touch you, taste you. She got hot and nervous just thinking about what he’d said, but she wasn’t ready to share those details. They felt private. And really, really good.
“He just got back in town, Chels. I figure he probably needs some time, which is good, because you don’t just jump in bed with a guy like Nate if you’re a…” She lowered her voice to a whisper. “Virgin.”
“I totally would.”
“Ugh! I’m hanging up now. I’ll see you at work Monday.”
“Oops! Sorry! Okay, no more Nate talk. I’m heading out to Pleasant Hill in two weeks, so are you at least considering my offer?” Chelsea had been asking Jewel for months to take over as the manager of the store so she could open another branch in Pleasant Hill, which was an hour away. Managing her own store would be a dream come true, but Jewel knew she couldn’t realistically commit.
Jewel sighed. “I told you I can’t take it no matter how much I want to. My mom needs my help, and if I’m the manager, I can’t really disappear for an hour at a time to run the kids all over. I’m enough of a burden on you already. I appreciate the offer, but you really should hire someone else.”
“Nope. I’ll just keep working on you. See ya. Have fun with one of the hottest guys on the planet.”
Don’t I wish.
Jewel ended the call and set her feet tentatively on the floor, holding on to the bedpost and steeling herself for the pain she was sure would come. When searing pain didn’t shoot through her ankle, she took a few careful steps. It was tender, but not painful like it had been when Nate found her yesterday. With some ibuprofen she would probably be fine. She tugged at Nate’s T-shirt, which he’d lent her to sleep in, and found the clothes she’d worn yesterday freshly washed and folded on top of the dresser.
You washed my clothes?
She picked them up and pressed them to her nose. They smelled like Nate’s shirt had last night, but not nearly as enticing as Nate’s bare skin. She carried her clothing into the bathroom to shower, wondering when he’d come in to get them. She must have been zonked even though she thought she hadn’t slept well. Had he watched her sleeping? She wasn’t sure if she found the idea creepy or enticing, but the fluttering in her stomach told her which way she was leaning.
She’d felt surrounded by him last night. Wearing his shirt, sleeping in his guest bedroom, where she knew he’d picked out everything from the dark furniture to the beautiful pictures on the walls. She fretted about kissing him, but no matter how she spun it, she’d enjoyed it too much to regret it. Kissing Nate had opened a door she’d long ago slammed, locked, and pretended never existed. And now that it was open, her feelings for Nate sprinted out with confidence that she wasn’t used to.
Being in Nate’s arms, feeling his heart hammering to the same frantic beat as hers and the way their mouths fit together so perfectly felt too right to be wrong.
Even if he had acted like he regretted it, his body language and the way he’d kissed her told her otherwise.
After showering, she went in search of Nate and found the cabin silent and empty. She took a moment to look around. She’d been so nervous last night that she hadn’t really seen much of anything other than Nate. The cabin had a cathedral ceiling, with a great room boasting a wall of windows facing the river. She pressed her hands to the glass and looked out over the peaceful scene. Her life was usually such a race that she took a few minutes to savor the view and the quiet. She imagined how pretty the river would be in the winter, surrounded by bare trees and white snow. She sighed, pushing away thoughts of kissing Nate down by the water.
She walked through the living room and touched the hunter-green couch, remembering Nate practically tackling her when she’d reached for his journal. He’d felt so good above her, holding her hostage.
God, Jewel.
She’d been a very willing hostage.
She looked around the cabin. It had a rustic and masculine feel, with dark oak floors and log walls. A leather recliner sat off to the corner beside deep bookshelves that spanned most of the far wall. The kitchen was separated by an arched entryway, open to the rest of the cabi
n. Nate’s bedroom and the bedroom Jewel had slept in were beside each other across from the kitchen. Dear Lord, they’d been separated by only a few inches of drywall? That gave her visions of wielding a chain saw.
She went out on the deck and inhaled the crisp spring air, spotting Nate’s journal on the table. Jewel stared at it for a moment, fighting her curiosity. How long had he kept a journal? Did he write about Rick? Had he written about her? The war? His family?
She turned at the sound of tires on gravel. Nate was parking his truck next to her Jeep. How did my Jeep get here? Wearing a pair of cargo shorts, boots, and a tank top that clung to his muscles, he stepped from the truck, and her heart stilled. So this was what it was like to want a man.
She knew she was grinning like a fool, but she couldn’t stop.
Nate grabbed armfuls of grocery bags and lifted his chin in her direction as he approached. “How’s your ankle?”
Ankle. Oh yeah, my ankle.
“It’s okay. I must have just twisted it. Want me to help you with that?”
“Nah. I’ve got it.” He stopped beside her on the porch, holding her gaze just long enough to make her body heat up again.
Kiss me. Kiss me. Kiss me.
“Did you sleep okay?”
Okay. No kisses. Oh no. Is he going to act like we never kissed? Should I? She should have asked Chelsea how to handle this.
“Yeah, thanks. How’d you get my Jeep?” She opened the door to the cabin and followed him in.
“I ran down this morning and drove it back.” He set the bags down on the counter.
“You ran down? It’s so far.”
“Eh. Six or seven miles. No biggie. Sit down. Let me take a look at your ankle.”
“I’m fine.” She reached into a bag to help unpack the groceries. Six or seven miles? Nate picked her up by the waist and set her on a chair.
“Nate! You can’t just pick me up and move me.” Even if I love every second of it.
“I think I just did.” He smiled as he knelt in front of her and gently felt her ankle. “Does any of this hurt?”
He was looking at her so intently, she knew he was gauging her reaction. Could he feel the way her pulse quickened when he touched her? Did he know that every time he picked her up, she secretly hoped he would hold her closer and kiss her again? Could he see the want in her eyes?
She lifted her chin and tried to sound cool and confident. “I’m fine. It only hurts a little when I walk.”
He pressed his lips together and furrowed his brow. “Have you taken any ibuprofen?”
“Not yet. I just—”
He was already opening the bottle and filling a glass with water. “Take these, and let’s keep it elevated for a bit today, just to be sure. I talked to Cole on the way back from the store. He’s going to come by later to check you out.”
“I don’t need Cole to check me out. I’m fine. I just twisted it.” His eldest brother was a doctor. Surely Cole had better things to do than making a house call to check out her twisted ankle. How many of the Bradens had called last night to check on her? Nate was lucky to have so many people who cared and rallied around him.
She was lucky, too, that Nate had cared enough to go searching for her in the dark. And now, to care for her the way he was. She wasn’t used to being doted on, and as much as she was enjoying his attention, she was also fighting the idea of being a burden.
Nate handed her a plastic bag. “I wasn’t sure what stuff you’d need.” He picked up her foot and rested it on another chair. “Think you can stay put?”
“I’m not an invalid.” She rolled her eyes, but inside she was soaking in the comfort of being looked after by Nate.
He squeezed her shoulder as she peeked into the plastic bag and found deodorant, a brush, a comb, a toothbrush, and toothpaste. Maybe he didn’t regret kissing her after all.
“Nate, you didn’t have to buy me this stuff.” No one had bought her personal things like this since she was a teenager. This felt as intimate as his washing her clothes. She tried not to get her hopes up that it might mean something more than what she feared—that he was just trying to be a good guy and fill her big brother’s shoes.
He continued emptying the groceries. “It’s not a big deal. I just figured you’d be more comfortable if you had it. I was trying to be nice.”
My view is skewed. He’s just being nice.
“It was nice. Thank you. But I have all this at home.”
“I know, but you have to cook for your family, and I offered to help. The less time on your feet the better, so I figured we could cook here. I wasn’t sure what you needed to make, so I got a little of everything.”
“Nate, I can’t take this and your groceries.” She pushed to her feet as Nate turned around, and their bodies collided. Her ankle smarted, and she gripped his arm to take pressure off of her injury just as his arm circled her waist and lifted her off the ground, bringing them eye to eye.
Mouth to mouth.
God, she wanted his mouth.
“That wasn’t exactly staying off your feet,” he said with a sly smile.
But this is so much better.
He held her against him long enough for the air between them to thicken with desire. He blinked several times, as if he was trying to separate himself from the thoughts behind the lust in his eyes and the heat rolling off his body, and maybe even from whatever had stopped him from kissing her last night.
He set her on the chair again and crouched beside her, still holding her gaze.
“I forgot how feisty you are.” In that second everything about him softened, from his eyes to the tension in his shoulders.
“I’m not feisty.” She didn’t weigh her decision to be honest. It was all she knew how to be with him. “I just…I don’t get you, Nate.”
He took her hand and stroked the back of it with his thumb. His smile reached his eyes, and she felt hope swelling in her chest.
“You are adorably feisty, and right now I don’t get me either.”
“What does that mean? Is that why you stopped kissing me last night?”
His thumb stilled on her hand seconds before he released it and scrubbed his hand down his face. He rose to his feet and turned away.
“Please don’t ignore my question.” She had no idea where her confidence was coming from, but after worrying all night about why he’d stopped them from going further, and finally sharing another perfect kiss with Nate, and experiencing the most exquisite emotions—even if confusing—she wanted to know.
“You have enough on your plate. The last thing you need is a guy like me.” He went back to putting away the groceries.
“I don’t know what you mean by that, Nate. You’ve always been in my life, and we were kissing. We weren’t jumping into bed.”
The muscles in his back bunched beneath his shirt. He turned slowly, his rugged features set like stone, but his eyes were liquid lust. Jewel sat up a little straighter, unsure of where they were headed.
“If we had continued kissing, I would have taken you into my bed.” He paused, and every confident, seductive word sank in. “I’m not sure how much clearer I can make that.”
“I…I would have stopped us.” Maybe.
“Would you have?” He arched a brow.
She couldn’t breathe with him looking at her like he wanted to tear her clothes off and consume her.
“I…I honestly don’t know.” She swallowed hard as confusion filled his eyes. “My life isn’t normal, Nate. I’ve never had time to date, or to hook up with guys, or to do most of the typical things girls my age do or have done. I’m not a jump-in-the-sack kind of girl.” I’m not sure I even know how to be, but I wanted to last night.
She lowered her eyes, and when she lifted them to his again, his gaze softened. “I’ve only kissed four guys in my life. You were number four, and I don’t regret a second of it.” She held her breath as he processed her confession. “Do you regret kissing me?”
“Regret?” He ru
bbed the back of his neck. “No. I don’t regret kissing you. I’ve wanted to kiss you for a long time. Too long. But that doesn’t matter. What matters is that you’re Rick’s sister, and I promised to take care of you, not take advantage of you.”
“Take advantage of me?” She laughed. “I kissed you, remember?”
“I’ll never forget.” He turned away again.
“Do you want me to leave?” she asked quietly, hoping he’d say no.
He turned to face her again, his brows pulled tightly together, eyes soft. “I don’t want you to leave, Jewel. I just need to stop wanting to kiss you.”
She smiled, and the right side of his mouth quirked up. “At least you’re honest.”
His chin dropped to his chest with a low laugh. “Fat lot of good that does me.” He turned his attention to the food on the counter. “Let’s start cooking, because if we keep talking about kissing…” He shook his head and waved at the counter.
“So, girl-I-totally-don’t-want-to-kiss.” His eyes said otherwise. “Where do we start?”
I think we already did. The real question is where do we go from here?
Chapter Five
BY MIDAFTERNOON NATE’S kitchen looked like a war zone. They had made enough meals for four nights, and there were still two trays of chicken in the oven. Nate felt rejuvenated, cooking with the woman he adored. They worked well as a team, despite her complaining about him not letting her walk around the kitchen. He knew she wasn’t used to needing help, but he loved taking care of her, and he didn’t want her ankle to get any worse. Knowing he was helping her family made it that much more enjoyable.
“Wait! We forgot the oregano,” Jewel said as she pushed from her seat.
Nate pointed to the chair, and she rolled her eyes.
“Nate, you haven’t let me help all day.”
“Yes, I have. I just haven’t let you walk around, but you chopped veggies and put together the marinade. You seasoned the pork chops, and—”
Healed by Love (Love in Bloom: The Bradens) Page 6