“Where we going? Are you coming to San Francisco?” I asked.
“If you want me to. I was feeling confident and impulsive, so I had Lydia buy you a ticket to New Orleans. I don’t know how you feel, but I don’t want my first night with you in weeks to be under the watchful eyes of your brother.”
“Oh, God no.” I shuddered. “New Orleans sounds perfect. When do we leave?”
“Tomorrow. After a night in a hotel here.” His words were perfectly tame, but the look in his eyes had sparks skittering over the surface of my skin and hot, liquid need spinning through my veins.
The hot press of Nash’s lips on the inside of my knee felt like a drop of hot lava. Piercing pain and pleasure streaked through me as another kiss landed on the inside of my thigh.
“Nash,” I gasped when he pressed his lips on the inside of my other thigh. The sensation verged on ticklish and sent a wash of goosebumps over my skin.
“Mmmhmm?” He pressed his lips over the sensitive skin where my thigh met my hip.
“Don’t make me beg,” I rasped.
“Not tonight, although you deserve it after what you put me through,” he murmured.
I started to laugh right when he licked my core. My laugh ended in a sharp cry. My fingers tangled in his hair as he set out to drive me crazy with his lips, tongue, and fingers.
By the time he settled his weight over me, I had begged, and begged some more. I was beyond shame and just needed him inside of me.
I felt his cock head nudge my entrance, and I curled my legs around his hips. “I need you. Hurry,” I moaned.
“I’m excellent at taking orders,” he murmured as he buried himself inside my channel with one swift thrust.
My need for Nash was so raw and fierce that my climax overtook me on his second stroke. It felt as if something snapped loose inside, sending piercing streaks of pleasure through me as I flew apart. I distantly heard my name in a rough shout as he followed me over the edge only seconds later.
Nash rolled us immediately over, and I rested against his chest as I tried to catch my breath. We lay still together, although I could feel the rapid pounding of his heart, thudding in tune with mine. I felt washed ashore after a storm.
When I finally lifted my head while his fingers sifted through my hair, the look in his eyes was like the sun breaking through the clouds. My heart felt as if I were basking in the sense of relief one finds after a turbulent storm. It held the sweetness of coming home.
He chuckled softly. “So much for finesse.”
“Finesse?” I queried.
He nodded, his chin nudging my hair. “Yes, finesse. I told myself I was going to blow your mind. Instead, that happened so fast it felt like I was back in high school.”
I laughed with him, dipping my head to press a kiss at the base of his throat. “Finesse wasn’t necessary.”
Chapter 27
Nash
A few months later, Mari looked at me from across the table in my kitchen. “Seriously?”
At my nod, uncertainty flickered in her eyes, and she looked out the window. I reached over and caught her free hand in mine where it rested on the table. “Hey, I’m just trying to let you know that I heard you when you said you didn’t want to rush things.”
After she looked back in my direction, a slow smile stretched across her face. “You’re a good man, Nash Reynolds.”
“I try.”
Although we’d been spending almost every other night together, Mari was staying in the staff condo for now. I had tried to skip right past that step, but she’d insisted she needed time to settle into New Orleans. Although I wanted to push that, time was something I had. I was going to get this right.
“I have a request, though,” I added.
“What’s that?”
“I want you to consider working with me.”
Mari cocked her head to the side, looking puzzled. “What do you mean?”
“Your piece on the inns around New Orleans was excellent.”
She cut in. “It was no big deal, just a fluff piece.
I squeezed her hand. “Do you have to knock yourself? It was really good. I ran into one of the owners at a business chamber lunch the other day. She mentioned to me that you’ve definitely sent some business in their direction. Although I’ve got a solid business here, getting it up and running has been by the seat of my pants. I’ve never taken the time to have someone actually plan with me regarding our website and promotional materials. I think you’d be great for that.”
Mari stared at me for a long moment before another slow smile unfurled. “I might like that. As long as I’m in charge of myself. I do like to work independently.”
I held my hands up. “All yours. Now, I need to get into the office.”
Mari left with me, although she took her own car. She’d flown back to San Francisco and driven her car out here just last month. With Mari staying in the staff condo, we bounced between her place and my house. Part of me thought it was silly, and nothing more than an illusion to live apart. But, I knew after what she’d gone through with Brett that this was important to her. I also had enough sense to know we were still in the baby stages of our relationship. My impatience stemmed from the fact I knew, absolutely knew, I wanted to be with her completely.
Hours later, I took the elevator upstairs to her place. When she opened the door and I saw her with her hair up in a messy bun and glasses perched on her nose, I was through the door in a hot second, pressing her against it for a kiss. When I came up for air, she said, “This is stupid.”
“What’s stupid?” I countered, thinking kisses with Mari were anything but stupid.
“Pretending I need to stay here. I wanted to just come out to your place tonight. However, there are perks to having you up here for lunch,” she murmured against my lips as I rested my forehead against hers with a sigh of relief.
Epilogue
Mari
Two years later
“And tonight’s award goes to Mari Reynolds,” the presenter announced from the stage.
Nash leaned over and whispered something indecipherable in my ear as applause broke out. I dimly felt the press of his lips on my cheek and then him nudging me up from my seat. I was in shock, but I moved automatically and walked forward.
“Mari spearheaded the renovation of several historical sections of downtown New Orleans still recovering from the damage left by Hurricane Katrina,” the announcer said. “Her organization and promotion were central to this work.”
I didn’t even remember what I said after I received the award, but I did remember returning to my seat and being wrapped in Nash’s embrace.
“See,” he murmured. “I told you you’re amazing.”
The rest of the night was a blur where I was surrounded by friends, business acquaintances and family—in the form of Nash’s parents and sister, Max and Harlow, and our parents. When I’d decided to move to New Orleans and throw common sense to the wind, I hadn’t expected to land so firmly on my feet. In the time that had passed, I’d only fallen more deeply in love with Nash.