Page 69 of Ace of Spades
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Taylor paused at the hospital-room door. Nate was braced against the wall, his eyes closed. Her mouth went dry. He was so beautiful that looking at him was sometimes painful because he would never belong to her.
His eyes opened, his gaze landing on her. Awareness simmered through her blood as he focused on her. She could almost feel his fingers on her, his rough voice commanding her to come. Desire pulsed low in her stomach. She glanced over to see the cop watching her with appreciation in his eyes.
“Let’s go,” Nate said, pushing away from the wall while giving the cop a hard stare. He put his hand on her lower back as they walked toward the elevator.
She forced herself not to lean into the warmth of his palm. She was still unsettled by their conversation in the car and needed time to think. Although she hadn’t intended to start a conversation about exclusivity,it had been his comment that was playing havoc with her mind.I don’t bring women to my homehadn’t been a past-tense statement.
At the elevator, he pushed the button, but his eyes stayed on her. “Taylor—”
The door opened, and she stepped inside. To give herself something to do, she took out her phone to check her text messages. There was one from each of the girls, even a snowman emoji from Annie. Taylor smiled, thinking of how much Annie loved pointing at emojis, then giggling when Rosie would make them appear in a text message.
God, she missed her girls. But they were having a blast at the beach, so she was happy for them. Also, they all apparently had crushes on the two K2 guys, since in their nightly phone conversations, it wasSaint thisandDoc that. According to Rosie, Annie was now adamant that Doc put her to bed every night.
“The way you’re smiling, I’m guessing those are messages from the girls?” Nate said.
“Yeah. They said to tell you hi.” She glanced at him. The way his eyes grew soft at hearing that did funny things to her heart. It still sometimes surprised her at how good he was with the girls. It had taken a few visits for the older ones to feel safe around him, but he’d understood that and had let them come to him when they were ready. For Annie, though, it had been love at first sight.
“Tell them I miss them,” he said as they reached his car.
“I will when I talk to them tomorrow. They’ll love hearing that.” He opened the passenger door, but before she could get into the car, he put his hand on the roof, blocking her. Her gaze landed on his arm, on the flex of his muscles under tanned skin. What was it about his forearm that made her want to lick it?
“Listen.” He glanced across the roof of the car, then focused back on her. “I’m sorry. What I said, it didn’t come out right.”
She wondered if he’d ever said “I’m sorry” to a woman before. She doubted it and appreciated that he was saying it now. But ... andthere was a but, a very big one. It was the bare arm she wanted to put her mouth on. She didn’t want another woman to touch it. Ever. Nate Gentry didn’t do relationships. He’d been up front about that, and she didn’t see him changing his mind. She’d thought she could do the friends-with-benefits thing with him, but she’d been wrong. There were a lot of things she could accommodate where he was concerned, but sharing him was not one of them.
“We never should have let this thing between us get out of hand.”
He frowned. “Exactly what are you saying?”
“That I want to go back to just being friends.”Tell me that doesn’t work for you. Tell me you want me in your life as more than a friend. Tell me you can’t bear the thought of me with another man. Tell me I’m the only woman in your life.
His expression blanked. “Sure. Whatever you want.” He removed his arm. “Get in. Court’s waiting for us. Said he found something.”
Willing her tears away, she slid onto the seat, watching him as he walked around the hood of the car. As much as she’d loved every intimate moment with him, it had been a mistake. She would have been better off not knowing what she was missing. But she’d known putting the brakes on was the right thing to do as soon as he’d said “sure” without hesitating. If he’d given the slightest argument, she probably would have given in, so she was glad he hadn’t. Even though it was for the best, it hurt like hell.
“What did Delaney Gains have to say?” he asked as he backed out of the parking space.
They were going to be all business, then. If that was the way he wanted it, so be it. “If we’re headed to Court’s, I’ll tell you both at the same time.”
He didn’t respond, and the ride back to his condo was made in silence. That hurt, too, because not only had she lost Nate as a lover, she didn’t see how they could go back in time to when he was simply her best friend. She was highly trained, knew how to rein in her emotions.
When she got home tonight, she’d have a good cry, and then she’d put Nate Gentry into coworker status, where he should have stayed in the first place.
Back at the condo building where the brothers lived, she followed Nate into Court’s home. When they walked in, Alex turned off the TV, tossing aside the remote.
“Court’s waiting for us in his computer room. Hi, Taylor.” He grinned, giving her a wink.
She smiled, something she often did when Alex was around. “Hey. How’s Alex today?” Of the three brothers, she thought of Alex as being the least tortured by their childhood. From what Nate had told her, he and Court had protected their baby brother as best they could. Alex was fun to be around. She wished he could rub some of his bubbly off on his oldest brother.
“He’s just peachy.” His grin grew wider. “I stole that word from Madison.”
Nate grunted, then headed down the hallway without giving her an invitation to follow.
“Who poked the bear?” Alex said, frowning at the retreating back of his brother.
“I did.”
