“He may or may not work for a federal agency and he may or may not be doing me a huge favor.” Super huge.
Nash’s eyes narrowed slightly. “Former boyfriend?”
She felt her cheeks heat up as she shook her head. She’d be lying if she said she didn’t love the fact that Nash really, really seemed to be bothered by her working with ex-boyfriends. Why the heck did he care? At this point she was pretty sure she knew, but was too afraid to deal with it and what that might mean. “No. But I’m pretty sure he would love to take me out on a date. Or ten.”
Nash didn’t say anything at that, just shifted in his seat again and looked out the front window over the expanse of the parking lot.
The noise from the traffic below filtered through to them, even with the windows all shut, but it was still a beautiful night with the city bright and alive around them. Though, being stuck in an enclosed space with Nash was the beautiful thing. And torturous.
“I don’t know if I ever properly thanked you, so I’m thanking you now for helping me on this job. I really appreciate it.” Ivy didn’t even want to think about what would have happened if she’d been in that warehouse by herself. That whole situation had been terrifying and she could admit that she’d taken a risk she normally wouldn’t have because she wanted to pay off the mortgage and save the pet shelter.
“You never have to thank me for something like this, but you’re welcome.”
She laid her head back, turning the volume down slightly when the brothers started yelling at the television again. Nash was silent too, seemingly content to just sit.
“Sounds like they might be calling it a night,” he murmured ten minutes later.
She nodded as she listened to more of the inane conversation. Sports this and sports that, a ref was stupid and needed his eyes examined, blah blah. She’d heard Noah in the background a couple times on the phone with someone and he’d sounded frustrated, but they hadn’t been able to filter out his audio to isolate it. Now it sounded as if they’d all be going to bed. “I really don’t want to hear Luka and his woman go at it again.”
“They were certainly enthusiastic.” Nash laughed lightly, making his entire expression soften. His eyes crinkled at the corners and he seemed so relaxed in that moment. “Though I’d bet money she was faking.”
“Me too.”
Ivy had to resist the urge to reach out and touch him—anywhere, everywhere. God, she wished she had the right to. Especially after that kiss they’d shared that morning. It felt like an absolute eternity ago, but now the feel of his lips, the taste of him, was seared into her brain. That kiss was going to replay in her fantasies for sure. Over and over until she went crazy from wanting more. She’d probably masturbate to the memory later, which felt…weird. Didn’t change the fact that she would, however. Nash was in her blood at this point and she wasn’t sure what to do about it. Locking down her feelings toward him was growing more and more impossible.
“You want to head back to my place?”
She jolted at his question. “What?”
“My place isn’t far from here. And you’ve got that bag. Instead of taking you all the way back to your rental, why don’t we just head to my place and crash? I’ve got two bedrooms, and if you hear something on the audio tonight, I can go with you if you need to follow them.”
Her eyes were gritty and it sounded like the others weren’t going anywhere tonight. Realistically she knew that, knew that they had just been spooked by her and Nash, but she liked to stay close to her targets as a rule. Still…sleeping on a soft bed sounded better than dozing in his SUV. “You’re sure you don’t mind.”
He let out a soft snort and was already starting the engine. “Of course I don’t mind.”
As he pulled out of the parking spot, her phone rang and she nearly jumped. Excitement surged through her when she saw Genesis’s name. “Hey.”
“Hey yourself. How’s it going?”
It’d be better if they could get that damn painting and she could collect her fee. “Pretty good, I guess.”
“Well you might be interested to know that your crew has moved up their sale. It’s in four days.”
Ivy closed her eyes for a moment. She’d been afraid of that. “Do you know why?”
“Apparently they got spooked. Someone broke into where they were staying or something. I’m not really sure of the details, but they’re worried. You know anything about that?”
“I might.”
She heard the laughter in Genesis’s voice as she said, “Why am I not surprised? Anyway, I wanted to keep you informed. I’ll update you with any details that come my way.”
“Thanks,” she murmured as they ended the call.
“Everything okay?” Nash’s deep voice was soothing, even with the tension coiled inside her.
“They moved up the sale date.” Which meant her time frame was moved up. The clock was ticking down.
Chapter 14
“Your place is nice.” Ivy glanced around Nash’s kitchen, impressed with how tidy everything was. She was fairly neat by nature, or maybe just because she traveled so much and usually traveled light. She liked to keep things organized in case she had to make a quick exit from somewhere.
His kitchen was all clean lines with pale gray cabinets, white and gray countertops, modern lighting, new stainless steel appliances and that wood-looking tile that softened everything up a bit so it wasn’t too modern looking. A bowl of apples sat by the kitchen window, and thankfully, a coffee maker was next to it. She’d be using that in a few hours.
“Why do you sound so surprised?” He turned away from his Belgian waffle maker to face her. Seriously, the man was making her waffles, which smelled amazing.
The only thing that would make this better was if he was cooking for her shirtless. Well, pantsless would be nice too, and oh my God, she had to stop with these thoughts! It was like something in her had been unleashed—something being her libido.
“I’m not surprised exactly. It’s just… My brothers are all disgusting. I’m sure they’re not now, but growing up, they were total pigs.”
Nash’s mouth curved up in that ridiculously sexy way of his that had her stomach tightening with awareness. The leash on her libido slipped even more.
“Sadly, I don’t think Ezra has changed much,” he said. “He’s not a slob anymore but he’s a mess in general.” Shaking his head slightly, he returned to the waffle maker and batter.
Ivy moved across the kitchen and jumped up on the countertop next to him so she was only a foot from him. The scent of Nash and waffles teased her. He’d poured her a glass of red wine when they’d first arrived and it tasted like heaven. “Speaking of, have you talked to him or any of my brothers?” she asked before taking a sip of her drink. Wine and waffles sounded weird but she didn’t care. This was definitely taking the edge off.
“He might have sent me a few texts threatening my balls.”
She snorted out a laugh and almost spilled her drink. “Your balls?”
“Among other things. He got surprisingly graphic.”