The Way Home (Chasing #3) (15 page)

Holy Hell!

“Come here,” she ordered, her voice brimming with excitement, and when I walked past Hank, trying not to step on Miley’s makeup, he whined pitifully at me. I couldn’t help but snicker.
Fuck, it was funny
.

“Isn’t it pretty?” she asked while gazing up at me for approval. The thought to be upset with her never even crossed my mind. Hell, there were still holes in the walls I had yet to fix.

“Beautiful,” I said, and she handed me a green crayon, which of course, I took.

“You color the tree while I do the sun,” she said flashing me a bright smile.

An hour later, we had moved in to the kitchen where I was fixing spaghetti for dinner when my cell phone rang. Sierra was at the table playing our homemade version of Memory. Hank was still running around in makeup but minus the cape, which, it turned out, had been one of my best plaid shirts.

“Hey,” I said when I answered the phone. I’d noticed from the caller id that it was Miley.

“Hey, yourself.” There was a lightness to her tone that had me smiling. “How are you and my tiny terror making out?” she asked, and I couldn’t help but chuckle at her words.
Tiny terror, indeed.

“We’re great,” I answered, and looked over my shoulder at Sierra who was sitting in the same spot at the table flipping cards. Her brow was wrinkled in concentration.

Hank crowded near my feet slobbering from the scent of garlic, meat, and pasta sauce that sat simmering on the stove. It did smell pretty damn good in here. I nudged him aside. The water in the pot on the back burner was boiling. It was time to add the noodles. “Is everything all right at work?” I asked, anxious to hear how her evening was going and to find out if she’d seen any sign of Ryder Blade.

“Everything’s good. The reason I’m calling is to let you know that Cecil is going to drop me after work.”

That fucking Cecil!!

“We can come and pick you up,” I told her, angrily snapping the pasta in half and dumping it into the boiling water.

“Nate, the place closes in less than hour and a half. Be reasonable. There’s no need for you to have to take Sierra back out when Cecil has offered. This makes sense. Don’t argue.”

Arguing was exactly what I wanted to do right now. I guess it was evident from the tone of my voice, but I held my tongue. It was hard. Cecil knew he had me over a barrel and he intended to give it to me good.
That fucker lived to goad me.
“Fine,” I finally conceded, but just because I agreed didn’t mean I had to like it.

“Don’t worry about bathing Sierra. I’ll do that in the morning,” she said, but it was hard to hear her over the background noise at the bar. “Thank you, Nate. I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

The line went dead before I could reply. I wanted to sling my damn phone against the wall, but instead laid it down on the counter. Little eyes were watching after all.

“Was that my mommy?” Sierra asked, stifling a yawn.

“Yeah, small fry. That was your mom. She said she’d be home soon.”

“I like your house better than ours, Nate,” Sierra informed me, and there it was — that tight feeling once more forming in my chest.

“Well, it’s your home for now,” I said, and turned away to check the pasta on the stove. “It’s time for you to pick up those cards. Dinner’s almost done,” I called from over my shoulder.

“Aren’t you going to try and trick me like Mrs. Hensley does at school?”

I couldn’t help but grin while draining the water off the pasta.
This kid amazed me
. I placed the pot back onto the stove and turned to face her. “You know, you’re pretty smart.” She raised her head and smiled back at me.

“I know. Mommy tells me that all of the time. Gotcha,” she giggled, and I couldn’t help but laugh.

Score one for the munchkin.

After getting Sierra ready for bed and reading her a story, it was time for damage control. First order of business was Hank, who currently sat in the tub downstairs staring back at me. The makeup had to go; Hank was too manly of a dog. It hurt my pride to look at him. I’d just managed to get him soaped down when I heard a knock at the front door. I still needed to rinse him.

Shit, I’d forgotten to give Miley a spare key!

“Stay,” I ordered, and knew it was a complete waste of breath. Hank cocked his head looking back at me with his tongue hanging out of the side of his mouth. It seemed almost as if he were smiling.
Yeah right, fucker!
As soon as I took a step out of this room, he would jump from the tub. He didn’t have me fooled for a minute.

“Damn it all to hell,” I muttered, hearing the knock again. This time, it was louder. I edged backward reaching for the door while keeping an eye on Hank. “Stay.” I had my hand held out in front of me. I planned on trapping him in the bathroom. At least it would contain the damage to just one room instead of the entire house. I’d no more than shut the door when I heard a loud splash followed by a distinctively heavy thud.

Served him right
.

My shirt was wringing wet. Hank loved the water, but his excitement usually led to me having a bath right along with him. I tugged my wet shirt away from my chest then gave up and yanked it over my head as I walked through the house. “Just a minute,” I called at hearing yet another loud knock.

On the other side of the screen door stood an impatient looking Miley. “I was bathing Hank,” I explained, and unlocked the screen door. Her eyes briefly met mine before quickly glancing away. In the distance, I noticed Cecil’s taillights disappear down the driveway.

Adios, motherfucker!

“Is Sierra asleep?” Miley asked. I locked the door and then turned to face her. Her porcelain skin was flushed. Her eyes discretely flickered up from my chest to meet mine.

This was starting to get interesting. Maybe, I should pull off my shirt around her more often
.

“Hank tried to drown me,” I was babbling.
Hell, she made me feel like I was sixteen years old.
My heart rate quickened when I noticed her nipples were now pebbled against the thin fabric of her tank top.

“Did Sierra behave?” she asked, her voice low and sultry. My manhood stiffened. Silently, I cursed myself and willed it back down. Hell, she’d just walked through the door, and all I could think about was bending her over the arm of the couch and fucking her brains out.

I cleared my throat. “She’s asleep. Are you hungry?”

She smiled and slipped off her shoes. “I’m starved.” Everything this woman did reminded me of sex. I needed to focus.

“We made spaghetti. Sierra said it was one of your favorites,” I told her while gripping the shirt in my hands. I needed something to hold onto before I made the mistake of reaching for her.

She laughed out loud, shaking her head. There was nothing like the sound of her laughter. “It’s one of Sierra’s favorites.”

“Come on and I’ll fix you a plate.”

That kid… she was full of surprises. She’d suckered me into preparing her favorite meal along with coloring on my own damn wall. As I walked down the hallway, I was aware of how close Miley followed behind me. The need to possess her was slowly but surely driving me bat shit crazy. I’d offered her my protection. It didn’t matter how much I wanted her, I wouldn’t act on this mutual attraction until the mess with Ryder Blade was finally over and behind us. Only then would I even consider it.

The heat of her stare singed my skin. The mere thought of Miley’s hands touching my body had me sweating. A sudden image of her spread open before me had the wadded up t-shirt in my hands now positioned directly in front of my groin. It was the only thing hiding my raging hard on.

“I can do it, Nate,” she said, drawing my attention. “Just have a seat and keep me company, please… that is, if you’re not too tired. I know Sierra can be a live wire at times.”

“She’s great,” I quickly assured her, and was relived to take a seat in order to hide the effect she had on me.

It was impossible not to watch her as she moved gracefully around my kitchen. My eyes followed her every move. She was in my space, and I couldn’t look away. The sway of her ass in those faded jeans almost had me swallowing my tongue.
She looked good in my kitchen… damn good, indeed
. I wasn’t looking to settle down. If there were no ties, then there were no complications — and Miley was a complication. When she sat down in the chair across from me, her lips were curved into a smile.

“This looks good,” she murmured, and hesitantly raised her eyes to find mine looking right back at her.

“How was work?” I asked, trying to put her at ease since the underlying tension between us pulsed like an electrical current. We were both dancing closer and closer to a flame that threatened to burn us alive. She wanted me just as much as I wanted her, but it was such a bad idea. I leaned forward and placed my forearms on the table studying her. I was drawn to this woman despite the best of my intentions.

She paused holding a forkful of spaghetti close to her mouth. “It was work. I’m sure the boss doesn’t want to hear that, but it was the same old, same old,” she said, flashing me a grin.

“No sign of him?” I asked instead, referring to Ryder.

“None,” she reassured, then immediately forked in the mouthful of spaghetti. All I could focus on was those lips. “Hmm,” she murmured. That throaty sound was almost my undoing.

The sight of her pink tongue at the corner of her mouth only added to my discomfort as I imagined it wrapped around my dick. She flushed as if somehow reading my dirty thoughts. Unable to stand it any longer, I averted my own gaze to stare at the wall.

Damn, it was hot in here.

Anxiously, I drummed my fingers against the tabletop and silently counted to ten hoping my manhood would settle back down. Now was not the time. Hell, it was bad enough just waking up in the morning and knowing she was in the next room, but here lately, whenever I was around her for more than five minutes, I was in a constant state of arousal. A lone howl echoed from within the house and had me jerking in my seat. Miley burst out laughing and cupped a hand over her mouth.

My chest shook. “I’ll be right back,” I told her, chuckling.

Hell,
I’d forgotten all about Hank.

That ass had not only climbed out of the bathtub, but he’d tried to claw and chew his way free. I’d have to fix the door. It was just something else to add to my mile-long to-do list. After I managed to get Hank situated back in to the tub, I rinsed him. By the time we were finished, my jeans were soaking wet and clammy against my skin. Hank licked my face as I knelt down beside him on the floor and began drying his fur. The cheeky bastard almost stuck his tongue down my throat. He had no manners. I pushed him away in order to open the door, and he took off at a dead run as soon as he saw his opening.

By the sound of Miley’s laughter, I knew he’d already found his next victim. Shedding my jeans and boxers, I turned on the shower having decided to rinse off since I stunk just like wet dog. In no time, I climbed out, quickly dried off, and grabbed a clean towel, wrapping it around my waist. I’d thought about jerking off, but I just couldn’t do it. Instead I headed back downstairs. It was a surprise to find Miley still in the kitchen. She should have already gone to bed by now, but I found her standing in front of the sink drying dishes. At my approach, her head lifted. Sitting on the counter were two clear containers filled with leftovers.

“You didn’t have to do that,” I said, and she smiled.

“But I did. Thank you, Nate, for watching Sierra and for the dinner. It was nice.” She turned to place a plate into the opened cabinet directly above her head. As she stretched up on tip toes, I was rewarded with the sight of a tiny sliver of pale skin and then the sleek curve of her back. While it did occur to me to offer her help, I decided not to. I was enjoying the show entirely too much.

“It was only nice?” I asked, silently cursing myself since no good could come of this. The question hung heavy in the air between us. She cleared her throat then turned to face me. Her eyes slowly drifted to my chest and then dropped lower. Heat flushed her cheeks. I couldn’t help but notice the trembling of her hands as she picked up the containers of left-overs from the counter. She met my stare once more, but this time with pink cheeks.

The thought of anyone labeling this woman as a slut was unimaginable. She blushed like a virgin. “It was the best spaghetti I ever had,” she said with a quirk of her lips.
There was nothing virginal about that.

The double meaning behind those words had my blood running hot. Helpless, I watched the sway of her hips as she walked over to the refrigerator and opened the door, placing the containers inside. I started past her, but instead, I found myself standing within mere inches of her. The smell of honeysuckle radiating from her skin had my muscles tightening in response.

“The best,” I echoed, my voice low and hoarse. This was a dangerous game we were playing.

She turned and sucked in a shallow breath at finding me so close. Her pupils dilated until only a thin rim of sky blue encircled the black. I’d bet my last dollar that she was soaking wet. “The best,” she murmured, unconsciously leaning toward me. I fisted the towel in my hand wanting nothing more than to drop it and grab a hold of her with both hands. I was torturing myself, and this had to stop now, before it was too late.

Taking a step back, I couldn’t help but notice her slightly dazed expression. Her creamy skin practically glowed. Plush, full lips were slightly parted and begging for my kiss.
I was a fucking idiot
. What I wanted was right here in front of me, but still… something was holding me back. It was those damn, stupid, fucking rules of mine, and the doubt that if I allowed myself to have her once, it would never be enough. I had a feeling she could easily become an addiction.

No one but Natalie had ever made me feel this way; had ever had that kind of crippling power over me, and I would never allow it to happen again no matter how tempting the woman standing before me was. This whole no strings attached plan of mine was downright ridiculous. It was best to keep my distance. Keep her and her child safe — then cut them loose before I got in over my head.