Okay, true, with how much he got paid he probably didn’t have to do anything else once he was done with Shields, but he would have hunted down these assholes for free.
Ignoring the pebbles that bit his bare feet, he sprinted after Laurel and banged on Devra’s door.
“No need to break it down.” The woman—with waist-length inky hair, eyes rimmed with artful dark liner, and burgundy lips that complimented her Middle Eastern complexion—answered with a shake of her head that set the gold jewelry she preferred swinging and tinkling around her.
“Sorry.” Nolan tried to get himself under control. It was nearly impossible with the memory of Jace’s cock imprinted on his abs and his lips still puffy from the other man’s aggressive, and very welcome, kiss. Not to mention the equally extreme though opposite reaction he was having to the possibility of hurting Laurel. He might not have been as controlled as Aarav, but it wasn’t often he found himself in a tornado of emotions.
He took a deep breath and pretended he was on a mission, in that moment right before preparation descended into the madness of deadly action.
“You okay?” Devra asked, stepping back to let him in. There weren’t many options on where to go in the tight quarters so he ended up standing beside Laurel, though they didn’t make eye contact.
Nolan wasn’t sure which of them Devra was addressing. She looked at them both, a perfectly painted on brow arched as she scanned each of them, flushed cheeks and all.
“Yeah, of course.” Laurel’s smile didn’t reach her eyes, which still refused to meet his gaze. Of course, that meant she was studying his naked torso and the red marks Jace’s fingers had left on his shoulders and pecs.
Oops.
“Okay, well…” Devra patted Nolan’s bare abs. “I need to run some food over to the mechanics at the shop. It’s past their usual break time. Why don’t you two hash out whatever is obviously going on between you in private? But fair warning…it took me longer than I’d planned to finish because I was making extras. Heard they have some guests and they’re probably going to be headed this way after they load up on lunch.”
“Who?” Nolan narrowed his eyes.
“Sola, Kennedy, and Devon stopped by the garage to talk to Wren. You know they’re not going to be able to resist checking in on you guys. Hell, they probably came over mostly for that and are hanging out at Hot Rides first so they don’t seem as nosey as they actually are.”
Laurel didn’t seem too put out by that. Her sister-in-law and the two agents from Shields were quickly becoming her squad. “Great, because I could use a sounding board right about now. A female perspective, if you know what I mean.”
“I do. I do.” Devra nodded, making her nose ring sparkle. “I’m always willing to listen, too.”
“Thanks, I was kind of counting on that.” Laurel sighed. “I’m not used to having people to blab to but, damn it, I kind of like it and I intend to take advantage while I have all of you around.”
Devra held her arms out, open, and let Laurel choose if she wanted a hug. Laurel accepted, walking into the other woman’s embrace. “My ears are always open and my hugs are free. I guarantee the rest of the ladies at Hot Rides right now would say the same.”
Nolan groaned. “They’re going to make my life miserable.”
“You seem to be doing a good enough job of that on your own, mister.” Devra squeezed his hand to soften the censure in her words. “But if you’re worried, why don’t you try to fix whatever you’ve done before they descend on this place?”
Nolan cut his gaze to Laurel’s. “I plan to.”
Devra nodded, hefted her tray of food from the kitchen counter, and headed for the door. Nolan opened it for her. “Do you need help with that?”
“I think you have more important things to worry about.” She winked. “I’m fine. Thanks, though.”
Nolan shut the door gently after her, then took a deep breath or three before turning around and resting his shoulders on it. “I’m sorry, Laurel. I was really out of line. That was totally unprofessional of me. I have no idea what I was thinking.”
“You were thinking that Jace is fucking hot and you’d like to kiss him. Or more.” Laurel sighed. “Besides, it looked like he was the one going after you, not the other way around. I don’t blame you one damn bit for giving in. If he ever kissed me like that, I’d forget how to think straight too.”
“He wasn’t doing anything I haven’t imagined a thousand times since I met you two.” Nolan grimaced, letting Jace off the hook. The truth was, he’d baited the guy, teasing him about the hook up app when the air had already been so charged between them.
“Was it as good as you thought?” Laurel wondered.
“I’m not sure what you want me to say. Yes, so you know what you’ve been missing out on. Or no, so you think I’m not as into him as it seemed and you can pretend it wouldn’t rock your world if you two ever actually tried it yourselves.” Nolan shrugged.
“Say no. Definitely no.” Laurel’s response rushed out as if in desperation.
“That would be a lie.”
“Now you’re afraid to break the rules?” She threw up her hands and made a growl of frustration that did nothing to tamp down the desire simmering inside him. “Help a girl out, would you?”
“I’d like to. Except that would be repeating the same mistake.” Nolan itched to reach for her, but it would only dig them in deeper. Though, as she’d pointed out…sometimes doing the wrong thing felt awfully damn right.
“Wait…what?” Laurel looked up at him then, her brows knitted together. “I want Jace to be happy, and if that means having you, well, you heard Devra. I can always find something to keep me occupied and out of your way for a while. Don’t worry about me.”
“Come on. I’m not Jace. I don’t silently tolerate shit very well and denial is not my forte. You have to know I’m as attracted to you as I am to him and it’s frustrating the hell out of me to watch you two dance around each other when you’d be so damn good together.” There. He’d admitted it. “Jace is afraid to hurt you by taking something he thinks you’re not ready or willing to give, and you’re convinced he’s not into you because he has the control of a goddamned saint. Clearly more than I have, anyway. I cracked after less than a month of being bombarded by the sexual tension that’s flying between you two constantly. Never mind all the years you two have been stuck in this cycle of perpetual foreplay and denial. Living in that tiny house with the two of you is like being caught in a whirlwind of desire, and I’m not the kind of man who sits on his hands when there’s a solution—or a sexy partner, or two—within reach. I get that sex probably means something a lot different to me than it does to you two. Between consenting adults, it’s fun and natural and hard for me to think of reasons why I shouldn’t indulge whenever and with whomever I feel like getting off with. It’s the relationship part you and Jace nailed that I’ve never really had a chance, or the desire, to try before. I’m jealous as fuck.”
“Oh.” Laurel blinked a few times.