Page 67 of Burn Point

“Just ignore them.” I leaned back on my elbows and let my bent legs fall open, hoping like all hell that I looked tempting and sexy, and not totally ridiculous. His hungry gaze stole over me, like he wanted to eat me alive.

“I’ve got a better idea. Why don’t we drive Pearl to my house, and then we can test out multiple surfaces?”

Intrigued, I bit my lip. “Multiple surfaces, huh?”

The residual frustration drained away from his face, and he was back to heated teasing. “I’ve made some upgrades since you left.”

I reached over and nabbed the keys from my bag, flipping them to him. “Well, by all means, let’s go check out these surfaces.”

Pulling into Nate’s drive felt surreal. Hell, riding in the passenger seat of Pearl was weird enough, but knowing that we were headed back to his place to finally do the deed was both heady and nerve wracking.

It’d been a long time since I’d been intimate with a man, much less been naked in front of one. Hell, Gerry and I had pretty much been on a schedule and most of our sexual relationship was spent in the dark. The day I walked in to find him tied to the bed with another woman dripping hot wax on him had opened my eyes to more than the fact that my fiancé was cheating on me. I’d left feeling like I’d never really known him, nor myself.

Nate and I were friends. And if our blazing hot naked phone calls were any sign, he liked what I had. But being on the phone and being naked in person were totally different in my brain, and I suddenly found myself wiping my palms on my skirt and trying to calm my heart rate.

What if he thought I was ugly?

What if he thought I was desperate?

What if I was bad at sex and that’s why Gerry strayed?

“I see you thinking over there, Skippy. What gives? You having second thoughts?” Nate’s voice was gentle, the darkness lending intimacy to the van. It was like the night he’d come to pick me up from the shelter. Like how we’d started this friendship, sitting in quiet darkness.

His warm hand landed on my bare thigh. I was sure it was meant to be a comforting touch, but the sensation of his thumb, scrapping across the sensitive flesh sent heat straight through me.

Parked in his driveway, there was no outside light to break the dark.

I swallowed heavily. Nate was my friend. He’d always been straight with me. Even now, he was patiently waiting on me. No pressure, just being his normal, steady presence. Still, nerves made my voice tremble when I finally found the courage to answer. “I’m not having second thoughts. But I am having thoughts.”

Without a word, he exited the car. I watched as he crossed in front of Pearl, opening my door and offering me a hand and helping me down. The door closed softly behind me as he pulled me close to his side, holding my hand, leading me out to the fence at the edge of the yard.

And something about that simple gesture, just walking in the night air, holding hands, settled my nerves.

“After you left, I’d find myself walking out here late at night.” Nate’s hushed voice melded with the background of nighttime creature noises, crickets and frogs singing their evening tune. The contrast of this gentle silence versus the bar with the loud music and crowd was deafening.

I nodded, though he couldn’t see me.

“Sometimes I thought about work, sorting out problems and to-do lists. Sometimes I thought about projects I need to do around here.” We reached the fence and he turned to lean his back against it, tucking me between his legs. “Most times, I thought about you.”

“Me?” I studied his eyes in the moonlight.

The corners of his mouth tipped up, and his palm cupped my cheek, his thumb brushing gently across my jawline. His gaze traveled over my face as if he was memorizing me.

“I spent many nights thinking about you. Worried that you were safe. Worried that you were scared. I thought about you constantly. Thinking that maybe if I had been more open, had told you that I wanted you to stay, you never would’ve left.”

“Nate…”

His thumb touched my lips to halt me.

“But I think you needed to leave. And I needed to wake up to see what I had in front of me.”

My heart pounded in my chest. He was speaking so softly I had to strain to hear, but every one of his words crossed the chasm in my heart that Gerry had created, filling that part of me that needed to be loved. That needed acceptance and support and understanding. That needed to know I was worth the work, worth the wait.

He pulled my face close to his, barely brushing his lips over the corner of my mouth.

“What do you see?” I whispered, clutching at his shirt for dear life.

“I see a woman who listens to me. Who cares for me and accepts me as I am. A woman who takes the time to appreciate life, all of it, big things and small.” He peppered my face with kisses then pulled back, looking me in the eyes. “I see my best friend.”

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