The Strength of the Pack (Suncoast Society #30)(32)

“I only want to get married once,” he said. “And yes, if this works out, that is my eventual goal. I’d rather spend the time making sure we do things right than rush and screw things up. Not saying you screwed things up with Leo,” he quickly added.

“I know what you meant, Sir.” She snuggled her head against his chest. This felt so right, so comfortable with him, like their bodies were meant to fit together.

Then again, she’d felt like that about Leo, too, and look what had happened there.

She loved that he’d untied his hair when he arrived earlier. There was something so much fun about running her fingers through it, which she now did. It hung down to his shoulders, not obnoxiously long, but just the right length. She never thought she’d find long hair attractive on a guy…until Nate.

“Oh, another rule,” he said.

“Yes, Sir?”

“I ever wake up and you’ve braided my hair, or put it in pigtails, you’re getting tied up and spanked with the heaviest paddle Cherise has in her toybag.”

She pouted. “What if Laurel does it?”

“I can’t spank her, but I can spank you, so I suggest you don’t egg her on or let her get away with it.” He arched an eyebrow at her.

She giggled. “Yes, Sir.”





A couple of nights later and it was finally New Year’s Eve. Nate came over to have dinner with all of them, and then he and Eva headed out to his place. She’d snuck an overnight bag out the front door while Laurel was in the bathroom and Nate had already put it in his car.

Tomorrow morning, Leo and Jesse were going to take Laurel out to breakfast and spend the day goofing off with her, giving Eva and Nate all day together before they had dinner together the next night.

When Eva had told Leo and Jesse about their talk Wednesday night, both men again signed off on the plan.

It scared her a little that she was so reliant on the two of them to verify her decisions, but maybe it was for the best. Better than stumbling around and not even admitting she was making bad decisions to start with.

As they drove over to his house, Nate laced fingers with her. “How you feeling, sweetheart?”

“Good, Sir.”

“Nervous?”

“Yes, Sir. The good kind of nervous.”

“Good.” The lights from an oncoming car swept across his face. “I’d like you at least a little nervous.”

“Why?”

“Because I am a little sadistic.” He smiled.

When they arrived, he carried her bag, as well as opened her car door for her.

She’d been to his house several times, so she wasn’t unfamiliar with it. Three bedrooms and two baths. It wasn’t huge, but it was paid for, and he kept it up. Tidy, neat, not minimalist, but very deliberate in how he arranged things. Very little clutter.

“How did you raise a young child and keep a house this neat?” she asked.

“Oh, believe me, it wasn’t always like this,” he said. “When Cherise was little, she sometimes had toys scattered from one end of the house to the other. I focused on the big battles and the little ones eventually fell into place. She didn’t like it when she had to go to school in the same clothes two days in a row when she was in eighth grade, so she finally cleaned her room and did her laundry and put it away and kept it that way. Or she didn’t like me refusing to give her an excuse note if she forgot one of her textbooks at home because she missed it for the mess, so she learned to tidy up. We worked on a habit at a time until it became automatic.”

“Sneaky.”

“Smart. I had to study and raise her. Energy conservation. Doesn’t hurt she’s a lot like me. If I pushed her, I knew she’d only fight me. Once I demonstrated by example reasons for what I did, without telling her, she could quietly jump on board with it and follow suit and think it was her idea.”

At some point after his parents’ deaths, Eva hadn’t asked when, Nate took over the master bedroom. The third bedroom was their home office, for both of them while Cherise was growing up, and a place for Nate to work, practicing and treating friends and clients for cash early on while he was still in school.

Now with Cherise moved out, he had a spare bedroom. He’d told Eva his brief experiment with a roommate was one he didn’t want to repeat.

He took her hand and led her to the master bedroom. There, he set her bag on the dresser and caught both of her hands, pulling her close.

“If you don’t say red,” he said, “I won’t stop. At any time, you say red, we’ll stop. All right?”

She nodded. “Yes, Sir.” She loved staring up into his face, his eyes, the feel of him.

Yes, she got this, too. She’d felt sexually attracted to Leo, but now, looking back, she saw it was his safety and strength.

With Nate, it was different, visceral in a way she’d never felt with Leo. Only now in contrast did she see it.

Another way it made what she’d gone through to get to this point worth it. Every damn tear.

Nate cupped a hand around the back of her neck and kissed her, deeply, slowly, taking his time and savoring her, pulling her soul off-balance and into the safe orbit of his. Not only did Nate feel safe, but sexy, engaged, connected.

“Is my good girl ready to play?” he whispered.

She smiled. “I thought you’d never ask, Sir.”