Page 90 of Defending her Heart

“I think it’s the other way around.”

“Never. My perfect daughter would never pick on another student.”

“As if.” I snort. “Miss Paisley thinks she’s the queen of room twenty-eight. She likes to boss the boys around. Most of what she tells them to do is clean up after themselves, or she tells them they’re annoying, which is sometimes true, but she’s got a bossy streak in her.”

“Sounds like someone else I know.”

“Her father?”

Nash gives me the side-eye. “Her idol.”

“Taylor Swift?”

“Miss Wentworth.”

“I’m hardly her idol.”

“You’re right.”

I suck in a dramatic gasp.

“You’re so much more than that.” This time he turns my hand around and kisses my knuckles.

I don’t know how to respond to sweet talk, whether he’s laying it on thick or is slightly serious. I’m out of my comfort zone and curl my bottom lip between my teeth while I brainstorm a response.

Nash slows the car and turns. When I look up, I’m surprised to see we’re already at his house.

“Ten minutes, forty-two seconds.” He releases my seat belt, then his, and leaps out of the car. Before I even reach for the handle, he has my door open and is hauling me into his arms.

“Nash—”

His lips land on mine and he takes my breath away. Literally. He leans into me until my back is pressed into the car, and his mouth envelopes mine. Our tongues tangle and I taste the mint he popped from the hostess stand when we rushed out of the restaurant.

“I need more,” he moans into my mouth before sucking my bottom lip between his. “Inside.”

He scoops me into his arms and I curl my hands around his neck as he carries me up the steps to his front door. I’m jostled around as he struggles with his keys and curses.

“You can put me down,” I chuckle.

“Hell, no. I’m not letting you go.”

“Afraid I’ll run away?”

Nash lifts his head and stares into my eyes, and I see the uncertainty. “Yes,” he whispers.

How does he manage to strip my insecurities in one three letter word? I curl my fingers into his hair and tug his mouth close to mine.

“I’m not leaving until I fulfill my promise. You got us here in ten minutes.”

“And forty-two seconds.”

“Are you saying I don’t owe you what I promised?”

Nash presses his lips against mine. “You don’toweme anything, Kendall.”

Hell. Everything the man says turns me on. I need him. Now.

“Open the damn door unless you want your neighbors to get a show.” I nip at his bottom lip.

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