The Strength of the Pack (Suncoast Society #30)(38)

She could see it clearly now, everything.

She could see herself, and how far she’d traveled in her emotional journey…

And how far she still had to go. A distant point still shrouded in the fog of the future, but she instinctively knew Nate would be there, patiently waiting for her.

He woke up and kissed the side of her neck. “Morning, sweetheart.”

“Good morning, Sir.”

“Are you still okay?”

“Yes, Sir.” She was better than okay.

She was fantastic.

How appropriate it was New Year’s Day.

She stared into his eyes. “I don’t want to talk about it all today. And I’m not telling you this because I want to try to talk you into intercourse,” she added. “But…” She took a deep breath. “Leo is a good man. He did the best he could under the circumstances. I wouldn’t have made it this far in my life if it wasn’t for him. Seriously.”

Nate nodded but didn’t interrupt.

“When I refer to ‘him’ doing things…it’s not Leo I’m talking about. Or Jesse,” she quickly added, just in case.

“I suspected,” Nate said. “Leo and Jesse both have good energy. Protective.”

“They are. In the good ways.” She pushed herself a little more. “Something…did happen. In my past.”

He nodded again.

“It was bad,” she whispered. “So when we talk about it…when I can finally think about it…we’ll need…time. Alone time.”

“I understand.”

She knew from his tone that he did.

Sucking in a breath, she forced a smile. “Sorry. I don’t want to ruin our day together thinking about it.”

“I do need to ask one thing, though.”

She nodded.

“Is Laurel safe?”

“As long as we keep her away from him, yes.”

“Leo knows this?”

“Jesse does, too.”

“Don’t ever let me accidentally put her in a position of not being—”

“No, she said. “I wouldn’t. I would tell you before then.”





Nate didn’t press for more. Honestly? He couldn’t believe she’d revealed that much. No, he knew she wasn’t doing it trying to bump the timeline up.

She was doing it out of trust.

Normally, he would steer clear of someone if he thought they were a massive emotional DIY project. Except he had seen and felt her energy and the way it called and played with his own.

He enjoyed the way he felt with her.

Tilly had no idea what Eva had been through. He suspected even Leo and Jesse might not know everything. Then again, maybe they did. It would explain the unusual living arrangement.

Especially if Laurel’s safety was an issue.

Eva didn’t have a brother. Not one she was raised with or had ever met. He knew that.

If her secret wasn’t about her adopted father, it would shock him. Maybe her grandfather, but he didn’t know much about him. She loved her grandmother and was close to her. He’d actually gone up to St. Pete once with her and Laurel to visit her. Charming woman.

But Laurel’s parents hadn’t been there. In fact, when Laurel had asked Eva on the way if she was going to call her parents and tell them they were going to visit, Eva flatly said no and ended the discussion.

More circumstantial evidence that he suspected most juries would accept as proof.

Meanwhile, he would be patient.

Very patient.

He wasn’t going anywhere, and he knew Eva wasn’t, either. He’d rather sit there quietly and let her come to him, building her solid trust in him, than recklessly destroy the tenuous new bond they now had, one he felt strengthening by the day.





As January faded into February and Leo’s recovery progressed, he regained his independence. It loosened up schedules even more to allow Nate and Eva more overnights together. Leo and Jesse tried to ensure that Nate and Eva got at least one overnight per week, usually a Friday or Saturday night.

And Nate and Eva would take Laurel out one night a week, giving the two men time alone at the house to do whatever they wanted to do.

The five of them did things as a family, sometimes even with Cherise and Wade, when Wade’s work schedule allowed.

Week after week, Nate slowly built layer upon layer of trust over the foundation he’d laid. Eva hadn’t brought up “him” again, and she’d started taking more risks. During their encounters, she’d gone from tentatively exploring his cock with her lips to wholeheartedly engulfing him. Always with one of the flavored condoms covering him, and never with him reaching down and holding onto her or her positioned in such a way that she didn’t have freedom to move or stop if she wanted.

He also started introducing her to anal play, Eva more surprised than him to find out it made her come even harder when he had a butt plug filling her while he did forced orgasm play on her in conjunction with the painful acupressure.

Her body enjoyed the conditioning so much that all he had to do was show her a butt plug and her * would get wet.

Which, of course, satisfied his inner sadist to no end.

For Valentine’s Day, Jesse and Leo went out to dinner while Nate and Eva took Laurel out for dinner at a fondue restaurant, something she loved even more than sushi, especially since it was a rare treat. The men then spent the night in a hotel while Nate and Eva took Laurel home, put her to bed, and then snuggled in front of the TV. Nate spent the night, but both of them slept in PJs and didn’t fool around, just in case.