“Holy crap! What have I done?”
The full impact of the night before hit Roberta hard, and she sucked in a breath.
Nate’s eyelids shot open, his arm snaking out to stop her from getting out of the bed. “Wait a second.”
“Yeah, nah. Not this little duck.”
Faaark! Crying girl falls into the arms of a man. She cringed—how stereotypical—making another attempt to get out of the bed and the mess she was sinking deeper into. Half asleep only moments earlier, she would never admit she’d lain drowsily half-awake, taking her fill of a sleeping Nate.
Nate loosened his hold. A pleading ‘stay in bed’ look won out, and she collapsed back down, making no effort to look away. In fact, she continued to feast, wanting nothing more than to emit a guttural groan and touch him in all the right places. Curled up beside her, his sleeping body was taking a little extra time to catch up with his wide-open eyes.
“One morning hug, okay?” Nate asked.
Roberta snorted, on standby with red flashing lights. It would be so easy to succumb to sex with this man. So what if they fought like cats and dogs? Imagine the extra buzz they could create. She could already envisage their first time. Hot and fierce.
“I don’t bite this early in the morning,” Nate said with a delicious, lazy grin.
Now she groaned. In frustration, in confusion. Why? Just do it. Get it over and done with, then get on with the rest of your life. “Yeah,” her words struggled to come out when her brain was already on the path of touching his flesh, “you start biting by about three.”
Nate chuckled, his warm breath whispering through her hair as he gathered her under his chin.
This only served to remind her of where she’d touched him last night. God help her. There was no saving her. His tousled bed hair had her licking suddenly dry lips, and disappointment was a real thing. There would be no naked Nate in daylight. When had he got dressed?
“Relax, Roberta. You’re all tense. I just want to check you’re okay after last night.”
Roberta sat up, with every intention of getting out this time. “Yep, all good this side of the bed.”
“I didn’t ask how well you slept.”
“What do you mean?”
“A stubborn old bastard refused to acknowledge you as his granddaughter last night. That will be hurting.”
“Actually, not really.”
Nate put a finger across her mouth to stop her talking. Good luck with that.
“It may not hurt today, but it might down the track. This is your biological family we’re talking about, and it will impact the rest of your life. Please, give yourself five minutes so we can talk this through.”
“I have to get ready for work.”
“So do I.” Nate twisted around to check the digital clock on his bedside table. “We have plenty of time.” He turned back. “Five minutes. Okay?”
Roberta lost all the tension and snuggled back against her pillow, looking anywhere except at Nate. Five minutes to reflect might do her good.
Nate took her gently by the shoulder until they were lying face to face, taking his fill of her. The rush, the heat of just this exchange had her wanting to run a mile. Because if she stayed and experienced what was building between them, how would she be able to leave? Imagine the havoc she could cause this man.
No good ever came from sleeping with the wrong man. While these were wise words from her mother, in Roberta’s life, they’d never been proven. She’d slept with men before purely for a good time and was yet to regret any of it. Why the hesitancy now?
This was different. Nate was so far off her spectrum for what she looked for in a man that enjoying his kisses made her want to turn herself in and throw away the key. She was a danger to him.
When he smiled, it was slow and warm, like the sun rising right now outside their window. When he smiled at her, it was those same rays of sun sparkling over the lake’s surface. Glistening diamonds in a magical world. Hmm. Just having some fun with this man would feel like a violation of some kind. He was the stayer, the long-termer, the forever man if you were lucky enough to snare him. But you’d have to have some things in common, she hazarded a guess.
She closed her eyes, forcing her mind elsewhere. Following Nate’s lead, she took a moment to reflect on the meeting with her grandparents. It had hurt. A lot. Damn them to hell! She didn’t need them in her life. While she no longer had other grandparents alive, she did have her Aunt Fiorina. Roberta was nearly due for another visit to Falerna, the tiny out-of-the-way village in southern Italy where Aunt Fiorina lived and Roberta visited every few years.
The heart-wrenching realisation that one day she would have to tell her aunt she was not a blood relative was relegated to the back of her mind. A problem for another day. As far as she was concerned, her aunt would always be special to her. Not just the sister of the man who’d raised her as his own.
Chewing on her thumbnail, she stopped when Nate reached over and tucked her hair behind her ear. Her eyes fluttered open, and a turbulent rush of heat rippled through her. This was so tempting. So easy to entice a man. So damn easy. With superhuman effort, she pushed all such thoughts away.
“He must be such a miserable old man. Look how he treated Bob and the hate he still carries. It’s like a grudge he can’t let go. I mean, I can hold onto a grudge too when I’m riled up enough—I’m his granddaughter, after all—but I wane after a few days, and then I can’t be bothered.”
Nate chuckled. “I’ll have to remember that.”
“Won’t matter. I won’t be here forever. All good things usually come to an end. I mean, who gets to live in such a beautiful and magical place like this, complete with thousand-year-old trees?”
“I do,” Nate whispered, his mouth awfully close to her temple.
“I’m annoying. You’d get tired of me quickly.”
“When have you ever annoyed me?”
Roberta laughed softly in the early dawn, and Nate joined her.
“I think you’ve already forgotten how I barged in here last night. Hijacked your bed, took all your covers, and had one of the best sleeps where I can’t remember a single minute of it.”
“Bummer, hey?” Nate drew her closer. Stealth like.
And there it was. The huge reason she needed to stay clear. As worlds apart as they were in many aspects, this man had the capacity to care. About her, about the environment and probably a host of other things. Something she wasn’t used to when choosing a partner to have sex with.
“I’m more concerned about Bob’s welfare.” The kind-hearted man who’d already suffered so much over that damn rock had taken more backlash from Billy’s family. Hard to imagine Billy was once his best mate. Probably felt like another lifetime for Bob.
“I am, too,” Nate said. “We’re supposed to be having dinner with his family. I’ll check on him then. In the meantime—”
Roberta noted the charged, electric air between them. The ease with which Nate closed the discussion on Bob with a very satisfactory resolution. The way he gently traced a path down her face, his lips warm and soft against her skin. Her eyes gently closed, and she leant into his touch. What the heck. She was going to enjoy this and do her best to ignore the unashamed hunger raging through her like a bushfire. Her legs tangled around his, and she pressed up against his full length. There was no Einstein required to explain the physics behind the chemistry building up and pressing against her stomach.
So tempting. She pressed her mouth harder against his. Touched her tongue to his and let slip a whimper. Allowed desire to seep into her bones and ooze out like honey.
God help her, she wanted everything but pushed back, tearing her mouth away from his. “I have to start work soon.”
Blue flames of desire smouldered in his eyes. “Me too. Got carried away there. I’m sorry.”
She was relieved the earth didn’t swallow her up and then toss her out. She did not deserve such a caring man. To leave or not to leave. Before or after. This time, Nate let her go easily. They were both due on the job soon, and there was a whole day to think everything over. The message was crystal clear. If she found herself in his bed again, she’d be begging for handcuffs. There would be no stopping either of them, of that she was certain because for once in her life, she didn’t want to rush into this, but she wouldn’t be able to help herself.