Salvation (48 page)

“Oh?”

He eased me off him and stood, stretching as he disappeared towards the closet. I sighed inwardly at the magnificent sight, more so when he returned and I got a good full frontal view. I shifted across the bed to make room when Nate climbed back in and looked at what was clasped in his hand.

“It will give you access to everywhere—the garage, elevators, the doors.”

“R-really?” I stuttered, my voice quivering with a million emotions. Apprehension, excitement, elation…
love?

Nate pressed it into my palm. “You shouldn’t feel like a visitor. Treat this place like it’s your home.” His eyes were full of certainty and truth. “Because it is, Kara.”

I spun the card that looked more like my security pass for work than a key between my fingers. “Is this because of what happened last Thursday?”

Nate shifted and tugged me on top of him again so my chest was pressed against his navel. I propped my elbows either side of his hips so I could raise up and look at him. “I was planning on giving it to you anyway,” he said. “The way I see it, Thursday’s incident justifies my actions.”

“Are you sure?” I blinked up, searching for any signs of trepidation. There were none. Only the look of a man who was fully committed and ready to take the next step.

He clasped his hands over mine, covering them so the card was pressed securely between them. “One hundred percent.”

He swept a strand of hair away from my eyes. That simple touch of adoration had me closing my eyes and taking a deep breath to swallow the surge of love I had for Nate in that moment of unguarded commitment.

“I can’t tell you now,” he whispered, his voice choked with emotion, “but one day, you’ll know precisely what you mean to me. How special you are, and how you’ve enriched my life, simply by being you.”

I crawled up him and flung my arms around his shoulders, hugging him so fiercely it hurt. Even though everything was happening at break-neck speed between us, it all seemed to align and fall into place. Nate’s gesture seemed like the most natural thing in the world. “I don’t know what to say,” I whispered into his ear.

“Say you’ll leave your clothes in the closet, and bring some more belongings over so you don’t have to keep returning to your place every few days.” His hands worked in long, massaging strokes up and down my back.

“I don’t need more, you’ve already got me well supplied with lingerie and toiletries.” I pushed up on my hands, hovering over him, and traced his lobe with the tip of my tongue. He shuddered beneath me. I worked down his jaw to his chin with a smile.

“I thought women never had enough clothes?” Nate parted his legs so I slipped between them, then he hooked his ankles over my legs, trapping me against him.

“True,” I conceded lightly, working my way down the other side to his other ear, “but I’m not like most women.”

The shy smile and sparkle of adoration in his eyes ripped through me when I met his gaze. He moved closer, his hands coming from my spine up to clasp the back of my head, and murmured, “Never has a truer word been spoken.”

FEELING PRESENTABLE AND cool in a midnight navy sheath dress and nude heeled slingbacks, I made my way downstairs to the kitchen.

“Buenos días, Kara.”

I stopped outside the laundry room. A short, black haired woman, mid-forties smiled at me. “Er, morning,” I replied uncertainly, recalling my basic Spanish. Who was this woman?

“These ready when you go.” She unloaded what looked very much like my workout gear from the washing machine and loaded the dryer. “Señor Blake say you want later?”

I smiled and nodded, offering my thanks, then continued on to the kitchen. Nate was sitting at the breakfast table reading a newspaper, but turned intuitively towards me.

“Morning, baby.” He smiled softly. The look got me every time and made me want to throw myself at him. One hand came to my hip when I neared, his mouth lifting willingly to meet mine.

“Did you know there’s a strange woman rifling through your laundry?” I sat beside him, gratefully taking the mug of steaming coffee handed to me.

“Maria, my housekeeper,” he said, grinning. “I’ll introduce you properly before we leave.”

“This looks delicious,” I said between careful sips, tipping my head to the colourful fruit salad and juice waiting for me.

“Thank Maria,” Nate said, emptying the last of his own hit of caffeine.

“I just did for doing my laundry. She didn’t have to do that.”

“It’s her job.”

“To look after you,” I said, feeding him a strawberry, which he accepted with a shy smile, “not me.”

Nate folded the paper and set it beside his empty plate. “When you’re here, she’ll take care of you, too.”

I shrugged, conceding it was no big deal. It wasn’t like Maria was handling my underwear or anything… “Oh, God.”

Nate jerked his head back. “What’s wrong?”

“I’m embarrassed thinking of a complete stranger handling my delicates.”

His eyes twinkled mischievously. He gave my knee a gentle squeeze then rose from his chair, fighting a smile. “Surely washing some is better than none? We don’t want everyone knowing about your penchant for going
sans
underwear, do we?”

“Once,” I corrected, chewing my lip to stop my own smile from spreading. “And that was only because
someone
decided to rip them off.”

Nate carried his mug over to the built-in coffee machine in the kitchen for a refill. “Feel free to do it again,” he taunted with his back to me. His choice of business attire was giving my favourite navy a run for its money. A crisp white shirt, blue-grey trousers with black accessories to coordinate with his tie said sharp and elegant, sophisticated and on-trend.

And they hugged his arse exquisitely.

Smirking, I keenly dug into breakfast, buttering some toast to satisfy the perpetual carb craving I experienced during my period. “I thought I’d be missing yoga tonight. There’s no way I’d have got home and back to the Valley before six.”

“That’s what I thought. I may have to work a bit later tonight, so we’ll meet here when you’re done. I’ll have Maria make something that can be kept warm until we’re home.”

I brought the condensation-covered tumbler of grapefruit juice closer to my mouth, my eyes narrowing warily, watching Nate over the rim as he returned. “I was planning on going home tonight.”

“Okay.” He shrugged. “I’ll come to you.”

“I meant alone.”

“And you think I’m letting you out of my sight?” he snickered, swapping mugs and taking mine for a refill. “After what you went through last week?”

“I over-reacted.”

“I won’t consciously put you at risk,” he snapped, “so don’t ask me to.” The unsaid threat behind his words was only appeased by the knowledge he was only behaving so crazily because he cared and wanted to protect me. From what, I wasn’t sure.

“You can’t keep me by your side twenty-four-seven. As much as I’d enjoy being there,” I added, hoping to lighten the suddenly tense atmosphere.

Nate glanced over his shoulder, the glare in his eyes sending a chill down my spine. “It isn’t up for discussion.”

I set my tumbler back down and resumed eating. The stressful weekend had left me drained and I wasn’t in the mood for another argument. “I thought it might be good to spend the night apart. After Saturday,” I shrugged, hoping that explained how much his mood swings had affected me. With my own hormones running riot, there was the increased possibility of us arguing again if we spent too much time together.

“I thought we’d cleared that up?” Nate settled beside me again, blowing the top of his coffee then taking a measured sip, his brow slightly creased as he processed my words.

I’d learnt a bit, but the circumstances surrounding his ex in New York were still muddy and vague. “It’s not like we can do anything.”

“You mean make love?” Nate asked. I nodded. “And you
still
think that’s all I’m interested in?” The offence in his voice cut me like a knife. He set his mug down and shoved his plate away so he could rest his arm on the glass table.

“Nate, I don’t.” I was cross with myself. Nate had gone out of his way to prove he wanted a relationship, and now I sounded like I hadn’t noticed or appreciated his efforts.

Taking his hand in mine, I tried blocking out the offence raging in his eyes. “I love being with you. And I know you want more. I’m hormonal and testy, likely to throw out random insults without thinking. I didn’t think it fair you suffer with me.”

“But I
want
—”

I pressed a finger to his lips so I could finish. “The weekend was as difficult as it was wonderful, for us both. Clearly something is troubling you.” I squeezed his hand further, my heart constricting with love from the way his eyes were warming again. “A night apart might be good for you, give you some space to clear your head.”

Nate stood and cupped my face, his thumbs pushing under my chin so I looked up at him. “I’ve had a whole goddamn week of space, Kara. Give me more, I won’t know what to do with it. You calm me. You give me clarity. When you’re not around, I struggle to make sense of anything.”

That pleased me. Nate was becoming my anchor, someone to steer me and help me focus on what was important in life. But I couldn’t become reliant on him to be there for me all the time. Once more, I found myself in the position of having to choose between my friends and the man who had become extremely important to me. “With no family here, my friendships are all I have. I don’t—”

“You have me,” Nate said, pressing a kiss to my forehead. I hated the fact that the question of whether I actually
did
popped into my head.

“I don’t want to be one of those girls who drop their friends at the first signs of romance. I can’t risk losing them.” My decision was beginning to feel like a bad one as his lips moved down my neck, bared as a result of my hair being tied back in a low ponytail. My legs fell open to let him step closer.

“Real friends won’t bail on you for wanting to spend time with your boyfriend,” he murmured roughly into the hollow of my neck. “Especially after spending a week away from him.”

“I know.” I sucked in a breath when Nate sucked gently. “And I know they won’t,” I continued shakily, my knees tightening around his legs. “Because it’s you, they actually encourage it, in the hopes of obtaining some juicy gossip.”

Nate’s delicate, seductive touch ceased, his eyes growing dark and assessing as they drew over my face. He took a step back, leaving me empty. “I don’t tell them anything,” I reassured him, reaching for my coffee because the air had grown decidedly chilly again. “Not sure they’d cope with the hotness.”

The corner of his mouth lifted into my favourite sexy half smile. After a long silence, he relented. “I enjoy spending time with you. There’s nothing I’d rather do. Spending all day without you, knowing you’re so close but I’m unable to see you doesn’t bear thinking about.” He took the mug and set it down so he could hold my hands. “I want our day’s to begin and end together. But—” he silenced the protest I was about to make with a brief kiss, “I understand your friendships are important. So, enjoy your time with them, so long as you’re thinking about me while you do.”

I cocked my head, trying to figure him out. There was no way he’d just backed down and agreed to me spending the night at my place. I wasn’t about to argue, though. I clasped the knot of his tie and urged his mouth down to mine. “I always am.”

WE finished breakfast then made our way to the lobby, stopping to collect my workout gear from the laundry room. Nate said something to Maria in Spanish, and presuming it was an introduction, I extended my hand.

“Hello.”

Maria stopped ironing and, wiping her hands on a towel, made her way towards us. Her eyes were like black onyx and shone with kindness, her olive skin barely aged. She patted my hand approvingly and conversed with Nate in fluent Spanish. He had such a distinctive, sexy voice, but hearing him talk in a foreign language sent it to a whole other level.

“
She said you
’
re beautiful,
”
he told me, smiling proudly as he picked up a sports bag packed with my yoga clothes.
“
Ready?
”

“
Yep.
”
I turned to Maria.
“
Gracias, Maria.
”

Maria offered her goodbyes, shooing us out so she could finish her household duties.

“
Since when do you speak Spanish?
”
I asked him, collecting my tote from the foot of the stairs as we passed.

“
Since I grew up with a Mexican housekeeper. She taught me a few words.
”

A few words?
He shrugged it off and followed me into the lift.
“
A man with many talents.
”

“
Sweetheart,
”
he purred arrogantly, backing me into the corner with a smug smile,
“
you know I am.
”

AFTER settling into the back of the Mercedes, Ross drove us both to work.

“Manny’s coming in on the red-eye Thursday from New York,” Nate said, his thumb brushing my knuckles. “I’m seeing him Friday, then meeting up with a few of the guys for drinks in the evening.”