Page 36 of Nauti Boy (Nauti 1)

She turned to him then, her soft gray eyes dark in the dim light of the room as he stared into the shadowed expanse of her face.

“The first time…”

He closed his eyes. “However you want it. ”

Bonding came in so many ways. He would have had Dawg and Natches there, but he wouldn’t push her. He couldn’t push her. Not now.

“You want them there. ”

His eyes flew open at the soft statement.

“I want them there,” he affirmed, knowing her safety demanded nothing less. He ignored the possessiveness raging inside him. “Kelly, I want everything for you, and I know that’s hard to understand. The first time, it’s special for a woman. It begins a bonding with her lover, one that never really dies. It’s why I’ve never taken a virgin, never fooled with a woman who didn’t know the score, until you. ”

He felt the shiver that raced over her, the little tremor of fear, or response, he wasn’t certain.

“You want me to have that, with them?” The uncertainty in her voice, the edge of hurt broke his heart.

“Kelly, listen to me. ” He framed the side of her face with his hand, his thumb smoothing over her cheek. “I’m not going to do a damned thing that’s going to hurt you or make you uncomfortable. Baby, it won’t be good for me, or for Dawg and Natches, if it isn’t something you want with everything inside you. This is your choice. The perception of it isn’t. ”

“But you want it,” she said fiercely.

“Don’t make excuses. ” He could feel it in her then, the need to have the choice taken from her, to be seduced. “I’m not making them and I won’t let you. Think about it, Kelly. Decide what you want, what you need. I’m not a kid, and you’ve known me too long to be able to fool yourself about me. You’ve known, you wanted to sugarcoat it, pretend it wasn?

??t real, but you knew. Now decide what you want, because I won’t make that decision for you. Not now, not ever. I love you, baby, but I can’t love you enough for both of us. ”

He felt her then, her fingers moving against his chest, leaving a path of fire in their wake as they smoothed over his chest.

“Can you do anything without your cousins?” she asked. “Or do you need their help all the time, Rowdy? Maybe you’re the one making excuses. ”

Damn. Her fingers were at his abdomen now, her nails raking over his flesh, tracing the skin above the waistband of his sweatpants.

Impetuous. Defiant. An adventure. That was Kelly.

His hand trapped hers, holding it still against him, his eyes narrowing on her in the darkness.

“Anywhere but here,” he growled. “Now go to sleep, minx. I’ll be damned if I’ll have our parents hearing us in here screwing our brains out. I’m right fond of keeping my private parts intact if it’s all the same to you. ”

She chuckled, flipped around, then horror of all horrors, because his control was edging toward nonexistence, that curvy little ass tucked into his hips, cushioning the raging fullness of his cock. Son of a bitch.

“Good night, Rowdy. ” Her husky little purr nearly had him coming in his pants. “Maybe tomorrow we’ll see what you can actually do without your cousins around to approve of it. ”

A grin tilted his lips. Oh, he’d show her all right, in ways she could never imagine.

ELEVEN

Kelly stared at the bed as she came from the shower the next morning. It was perfectly made, the flowered comforter smoothed out, the pillows neatly stacked at the headboard. And lying at the bottom of the mattress was clothing she hadn’t worn since the attack.

The low-rise jeans were patched and faded, and she new exactly how low they were. The waistband barely reached her hipbones, with the snap in the front dipping lower nearly an inch.

The white vest-style summer shirt rose above her navel, and would reveal the belly ring that lay glittering on top of the shirt. The brilliant green emerald twinkled and gleamed beneath a shaft of sunlight coming in from the window. She had chosen that particular gem because of its resemblance to Rowdy’s eyes.

Kelly drew in a deep breath before turning her head to stare at Rowdy where he sat in the recliner. Leaning forward, his arms resting on his knees, he watched her silently, emotion swirling in his gaze. Compassion, understanding, determination.

She stepped closer to the bed, turning back to stare at the clothes. She had been too scared to wear them before, terrified that how she dressed had somehow caused the attack.

She was still scared, but as she stood there, she realized that the terror that had often filled her before Rowdy’s return wasn’t there now. Just as he had protected her from those bullies years before, she knew he would protect her now.

She cleared her throat before speaking.

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