Page 13 of Nathan

She hands me my shopping bag. “Card or cash?”

Clearly she’s chosen to ignore me. I smirk. “What time do you get off?”

Dex wrinkles her nose and gives me one of those adorable head tilts. “Why?”

I lean in close. Her pupils dilate, and she breathes me in. Now, that is sexy. “Because I want to get off. With you.”

Her cheeks bloom with color again. She glances around, then shushes me. “Stop it. I’m at work. The last thing I need is you getting me fired from yet another job.”

I lick my lips, drawing her gaze to my mouth. “Tell me what time you finish, and I’ll go.”

“Fine,” she says with an annoyed huff. “Eight.” She waits as I tap my card. Once the payment is approved, she lowers her voice again. “Will you go now?”

I check my watch. I can amuse myself for a half hour. “I’ll be waiting for you outside.”

Her spine straightens, adding a couple of much-needed inches to her diminutive stature, and her eyes spark with annoyance, but behind those sharp, slate-gray irises lies attraction. Pleasure rushes through my veins. I might annoy the hell out of her, but she fucking wants me as much as I want her. Hollywood has taught me a lot about reading body language, and Dex’s is sending all the right signals.

“And I’ll be going home. I’m tired and irritable. I want to take a shower, then go to bed.”

I run my tongue along the underside of my top teeth, my eyes locking onto hers. “Sounds good to me, Titch.”

I walk away, leaving Dex slack-jawed. It’s a great look on her, and I know exactly how to fill that delicious mouth of hers.

Chapter 7

Dex

I barely have time to process what just happened before a line forms at my checkout. Whatever the fates have planned for me, it’s clear they want me to suffer during the process. Of all the supermarkets in LA, he walks into mine, and now, like a lion toying with its prey before ripping out the poor, unfortunate animal’s throat, Nate O’Reilly has decided it’s playtime.

In a daze, I serve my customers, making small talk and sharing the odd smile, but it’s as though my brain is on autopilot. All I can think about is whether Nate really will be waiting outside, and what I’ll do if he is.

He’s been a part of my dreams—and my deepest, darkest fantasies—for months, but now he’s finally noticed me, I'm not sure whether to leap for joy or run and hide. At twenty-two, and six years younger than Nate, I’m wholly unequipped to deal with a man like him. A worldly-wise, experienced man who rubs shoulders with the rich and famous, who probably consumes champagne and strawberries for breakfast, whereas I only recently stopped buying Lucky Charms to upgrade to bran flakes.

“Shift’s over, darlin’. Time to go home.”

I glance up at Eric, one of the night crew, and the nicest man anyone could hope to know. I grin. “Don’t know how you stay awake through the night.”

He shrugs a shoulder. “Works for me. Means I can be there to take my little ones to school and pick them up at the end of the day.”

“True.” I sign out of the checkout so Eric will be able to log in, and give the waiting customer an apologetic smile. “You have a good night, Eric.”

“I will. Stay safe.”

I pat his arm and head to the staff area to pick up my jacket and purse. As the exit doors open, my heartrate skyrockets, and I step outside to look around, but there’s no sign of Nate. I lower my head and hunch my shoulders. I should have known he was toying with me for his own amusement. After reaching into my purse for my keys, I walk over to my car, unlock it, and open the door, but before I get in, a hand reaches around me and pushes the door closed.

“You’re coming with me,” Nate whispers in my ear, his breath warm, and his throaty voice sinfully wicked yet full of promise. The promise of what, I’m not quite sure.

I freeze on the spot. So he hadn’t left after all. “But my car…”

“Will be safe here overnight. I’ll bring you back in the morning.”

My belly does a double backflip. The morning. Does that mean Nate O’Reilly intends to stay the night with me? Every drop of saliva decides now is a good time to exit stage left. My mouth is so dry, I can’t even swallow, and my sharp tongue deserts me at the moment I need it the most.

“Turn around, Dex.”

On stiff legs, I obey him. He’s so tall, I have to crane my neck to meet his gaze. Nate is no longer wearing the baseball cap or the shades. His lips are pulled to the side in a crooked grin as he braces his arms on the roof of my car, with his sleeves rolled up to the elbows, revealing strong, muscular forearms.

All the air rushes out of my lungs, making it almost impossible to breathe. He stands there quietly assessing me. I blink once, twice, a third time, my heart pounding while I wait for him to make a move.

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