Claim & Protect Page 12

  Natalie stepped out of the bedroom. “Okay, bring him on back.”

  Trevor hitched Levi higher against his chest and ambled toward her.

  Levi’s steady breaths puffed against Trevor’s neck, the memorable scent of a little boy who’d put in a full day slingshotting Trevor back to his own youth. He could give Levi more days like this if he wanted to. Give Natalie and her little family all the things Wyatt was too stupid and stubborn to provide.

  But then what? Natalie and Levi had been through enough with Wyatt’s abuse. The last thing she needed was another round with a man with a history like his own. Hell, some of his historic outbursts made Wyatt look like a fucking saint.

  He laid Levi down on the twin bed. The black and white Star Wars comforter was neatly pulled back, and the small bedside lamp casted a soft glow on Levi’s tousled blond head.

  With well-practiced moves, Natalie tugged off his boots and clothes and wiggled his sleep-weighted body into pajamas.

  Trevor leaned a shoulder into the doorjamb and soaked it in. How efficient she was, but still sweet and careful so she didn’t wake her kiddo. Man, she was a great mom. Just like Bonnie had been with him.

  And she was going to send him off tomorrow.

  He pushed upright and stalked to the living room, the burning violence surging beneath his skin too hot to stay in one place. The muscles along his shoulders and forearms bunched tight, needing release as much as he needed to breathe.

  “Hey.” Natalie padded up from behind him and touched his arm. “You okay?”

  Hell no, he wasn’t okay. He wanted to physically punish Wyatt Jordan in a way he’d never forget. Wanted to fuck his entire world up the way he’d upended Natalie and Levi’s. But mostly, with her standing so close and looking up at him with those big dark brown eyes, he wanted to bury his hands in her hair, yank her against him, and kiss her until nothing else existed.

  “I’m good.” He forced a smile and took a step back, adding much-needed distance between them before he could act on impulse. She already had a nasty day ahead of her. The last thing he needed to do was heap more for her mind to juggle on top of it all. “Anytime you two want a repeat of today, you let me know.”

  “Don’t let Levi hear you say that. He’ll have you out there every week.”

  Not exactly the worst proposition. Better if he could supplement it with time alone with Natalie. “You forget, time spent on a horse or outside’s my way of winding down. Wouldn’t be a hardship having more days like today.”

  She ducked her head and buried her hands in her back pockets, the pretty blue shirt she’d left unbuttoned peeling back with the movement and putting her perfect tits on prime display.

  Fuck, but he needed to get his head straight. What kind of asshat considered coming on to a woman when he knew she was scared shitless about how her kid was going to spend the next week? “You scheduled at The Den tomorrow?”

  “No.” She shrugged and tried to smile, but it came off a little crooked and empty. “It usually takes me a day or two after Levi leaves to be decent company, let alone be a friendly waitress. I’m not in until Tuesday night after work.”

  “Then I’ll see you Tuesday.” Not giving himself time to do anything stupid, he strode to the door and pulled it open, but hesitated at the threshold. “Listen, you change your mind and decide you want to get out of the house, or just want someone to rail at, you give me a call.”

  She padded closer, crossing her arms to fight off the chilled air driving through the open entry. “I appreciate the offer, but I’ll be okay.”

  Which meant she’d be stubborn, hole up in her house, and worry about her kid all alone until she found some balance. “Nothing wrong with letting someone help you, Nat. Life goes a whole lot easier when you don’t carry the load all by yourself.”

  She met his gaze, such stark honesty and openness in her expression it knocked him even farther off center. “I’m not afraid of sharing my load, Trevor. I’m afraid of crossing a line I’d have a hard time coming back from.”

  The nagging need he’d had all day to lay hands on her flared blowtorch bright. He swallowed down a hungry growl and fisted his hands at his sides to keep them off her. “Who said there had to be a line?”

  “We both did. Friends. Remember?”

  “That what you want? Friends?”

  “It’s what’s smart. You don’t need an employee causing you problems at work, and I’ve got to be careful what impression I set for my son. Especially with someone he adores.”

  To hell with that. To hell with being smart and with him worrying about his past and his penchant for violence. As far as he was concerned, the neighborly, no-touching bullshit was over. “I’ll give you that tonight. Maybe even tomorrow.” He leaned in close enough she gasped and took a hesitant step backward. “But you should brace, darlin’. One way or another, we’re resetting those lines to a place where I don’t have to walk away from you without taking your sweet mouth in a long hard kiss.”

  Barely fighting back the urge to taste the surprise on her lips, he spun and headed for the stairs. Warning her which direction his thoughts were headed probably hadn’t been his smartest move. With her recent past, she might pack and high-tail it for Timbuktu, but even if she did, he’d find her. He might not be long-term material for a quality woman like Natalie Jordan, but he was by God going to make her right now a whole lot better. He was also going to curl her fucking toes in bed and give them both some much-needed relief while he did it.

  Chapter Eleven

  Something wasn’t right. Wyatt was never nice when she dropped Levi off at his father’s place, and he sure didn’t dote on his son, but today he’d been a modern version of Father Knows Best.

  She uncrossed her feet off the simple wood coffee table her parents had bought ages ago and anchored her heels on the couch, wrapping her arms around her shins and resting her chin on her knees. Maybe stirring a reaction was what Wyatt was after. Given the way he’d behaved in their marriage, any ploy to get a rise out of her made sense. What better way to poke at her confidence than to send her away wondering if he might somehow manage to lure her son away from her?

  Nestled in the corner of the couch with her feet tucked under her legs, her mother muted the rerun crime program and set the remote aside. “You could always call Wyatt and ask him to let you check in with Levi.”

  God, she wished it was that simple. True, hearing Levi’s voice would go a long way toward easing the clawing anxiety in her stomach, but it also played right into Wyatt’s games. Worse, it put Levi smack-dab in the middle of them. “He’s better off staying close to his nanny. Me calling only makes it so he’s forced to spend more time with his dad.”

  The opening video for the ten o’clock news filled the otherwise dark living room with a blast of color. Natalie blinked against the brightness and tried to focus on the program instead of dress-rehearsing every worst-case scenario her mind dished up. Two hours she’d sat in this same spot, eyes glued to the television without taking in one bit of the programming. It was the same routine as every other handoff night. Clean the apartment top to bottom until there was nothing left to scrub, force down food, pretend to watch whatever program her mom picked, then head to bed and stare at her ceiling until she fell asleep. Not that anyone could call what she did until sunrise sleep. More like a light doze with lots of tossing and turning. Working wasn’t much better. Even with the endless phone calls and usual irritated customers, her worry for Levi nipped at the back of her conscience.

  A heavy knock rapped against the front door, jolting Natalie upright. “Levi.” She shot to the door and yanked it open, eyes trained where Levi’s little blond head would be, but got an eyeful of jean-clad hips instead. Her gaze shot upward, a shocking amount of relief settling her nerves once her mind registered her unexpected guest. “Trevor?”

 
“Hey.” The easy smile he’d paired with the greeting slipped as he scanned her head to toe. “I get you out of bed?”

  Only once he’d said it did the cool November air slipping through the open door push past her surprise. The soft cotton pajama set she’d donned after dinner with its clingy lines and simple spaghetti straps wasn’t exactly revealing, but it didn’t make for comfortable front-door conversation either. She stepped back and waved him in. “No, we were just watching TV.”

  Trevor ambled in and surveyed the room. “Who’s we?”

  Natalie stepped out from behind Trevor and found only a dent in the cushions where her mother had been. “Well, Mom was here a second ago. She must not have wanted you to see her without her makeup on.” At least that was the excuse she was sticking with. More likely her mother had sensed another prime opportunity to set her daughter up with what she’d deemed an ideal catch. God knew, her mother had pointed out enough of Trevor’s virtues the last two weeks.

  For a second, she considered ducking into the bedroom for a robe, but her jammies covered as much as her tank and jeans combination at The Den and were a whole lot more comfortable so she blew it off. “Can I get you something to drink? Coffee maybe?”

  “Nope.” Trevor settled on the couch, taking her mother’s previous spot and snatching the remote like he’d visited a hundred times. Like usual, his blond hair was pulled back in a ponytail, but a tiny chunk of it had slipped free, dancing around one side of his strong jawline. His button-down was pale blue to match his eyes, and his shirtsleeves were rolled up, showcasing strong, tanned forearms. He stretched one arm along the back of the couch and nodded at the space on the couch beside him. “Have a seat. I’ll hang until you’re ready to go to bed.”

  He would?

  More than a little stymied by his casual attitude, Natalie padded around the coffee table. For a second, she thought about switching on the lamp, but remembered her lack of makeup and settled for the television’s forgiving glow. She eased onto the couch’s opposite corner, leaving a whole cushion between them.

  Trevor sucked in a long, steady breath, set the remote on the end table, and swiveled his head toward her. “You get two choices. You can either scoot over here, or I can crowd next to you and make it so you’ve got less wiggle room. Which one do you want?”

  Natalie swallowed, his statement from last night about resetting lines fighting its way out of the dungeon she’d buried it in the second she’d closed the door behind him. Men like Trevor didn’t go for women like her. They went for the model-types with Barbie doll hair and Crossfit bodies. Even if he was interested in her, she wasn’t so sure she was ready to give her own judgment a run for its money, not with Wyatt still offering a daily reminder of how ill-equipped she was to pick men.

  When she found her courage and spoke, it came out raspy. “Why are you here?”

  His lips curved in a subtle but cocky smile. “Told you I’m persistent.”

  “Trevor, I can’t...” Shit, what the hell was she supposed to say? Surely he didn’t think she’d be capable of conversation tonight, let alone anything intimate. “About what you said yesterday...I can’t go there. I can’t even think about it with where my head’s at right now.”

  His smile slipped and the same intensity she’d glimpsed the first night he’d visited pulsed around him. “Not here to push you on that score. We’ll cross that bridge soon enough.” He leaned over and gently coiled his strong hand around her wrist. “I’m here because I knew you weren’t looking forward to tonight. You’re strong, and I know you’ve got your mom to lean on, but now you’ve got me, too. So are you scootin’ your ass over here, or am I going to have to pick you up and move you myself, ’cause I’ve decided I like this corner.”

  A sledgehammer to her solar plexus couldn’t have knocked her off balance any better. “I’ve got you, too?”

  “I’m here. I’d say that’s a pretty clear message.” He cocked one eyebrow. “Though one of us is still sitting in the wrong place.”

  Her heart punched and kicked in an awkward rhythm, the stubbornness he’d accused her of time and again digging in even as another far more vulnerable side of herself encouraged her to scramble close like he’d asked. “I’m not sure I’m ready to make decisions where you’re concerned.”

  “Right.” He leaned her direction so quick she barely had time to gasp before he gripped her around her rib cage, lifted her up and across the cushions and into his lap. With her back to the armrest, he tucked her torso up close to his chest, snagged the remote and changed the channel. “Good call. I think this arrangement works out better anyway.”

  She levered herself away enough to see his face, uncontrollable flutters and dangerous adrenaline pumping through her system. “Have I told you, you’re bossy?”

  He shifted his attention from the television to her, let his gaze rest on her lips for all of two seconds, then met her stare. “I can take a lot, Natalie. Can give you space if you need it. Can go as slow as you need me to go when it comes to what’s burning between us. But one thing I don’t have it in me to give is to watch you scared and fidgety as a rabbit in a cougar’s sights without touching you. On that one, you’ll have to suck it up, lean in and let me hold you.”

  Whoa.

  For the first time since she pulled up into Wyatt’s driveway this afternoon, the muscles in her stomach unclenched and her body lightened. She pressed her palm against his sternum, the steady beat of his heart beneath her palm anchoring her in a way she’d never experienced before. “I think that’s the nicest thing anyone’s ever said to me.”

  “That mean you’ll sit there, try to take your mind off things and relax a little?”

  Relax? On his lap? With her kid in God only knew what kind of situation thirty miles away? “I doubt I’ll qualify as relaxed until next Sunday, but I’ll accept the comfort.”

  He squeezed the arm wrapped around her shoulders and rubbed his hand up and down her arm. “Appreciate it.”

  She nestled closer, resting her cheek against his chest and breathing in his woodsy scent. Beneath her ear, his heart kathumped a steady, soothing rhythm. “Trevor?”

  “Mmm hmmm?”

  “You’re still bossy.”

  His chest shook on a quiet chuckle. “Darlin’, you haven’t seen bossy yet.” He lifted his arm off the back of the couch, slid his hand up her thigh to her hip, and squeezed. “Not yet, but you will.”

  Her belly contracted, the mere hint of Trevor taking control in a more intimate setting lighting an entirely different tension. One that warmed her from the inside out and made her feel more alive than she’d felt in years.

  As if sensing the direction of her thoughts, he slouched deeper into the couch and kissed the top of her head. “Easy, Natalie. I’ve got no expectations.”

  He might not have, but curled up against him, it was awfully hard not to start building her own. To envision what something more than friendship with him might be like.

  She smoothed her hand across one pectoral, savoring the crisp feel of his button-down and the hot skin and firm muscle underneath. Bit by bit, her pulse slowed and her muscles unwound. This was intimacy. Maybe not the steamy erotic stuff that so many people associated with the word, but real closeness. Emotional depth without a single word spoken. Two people connected in a simple yet comforting fashion.

  One news story bled into another, the words and video clips no more than meaningless chatter while her mind shuffled every worst-case scenario it could come up with.

  “You want to talk about it?” His simple question vibrated through her, warm and filled with a sincerity that surprised her.

  He’d think she was nuts if she told him. Even her mother’s first reaction to her suspicions this afternoon was closer to relief than fear, and Maureen had seen some of Wyatt’s outlandish behaviors firsthand. Then again, he was a man and might
be able to offer a different perspective. Maybe a viewpoint she hadn’t considered that might let her actually sleep tonight.

  She gently cleared her throat, but stayed cuddled next to him. “I think Wyatt’s up to something.”

  Trevor tensed beneath her. “You think Levi’s in danger?”

  She shook her head and smoothed her hand against his chest. “No, nothing like that. More like he’s scheming. Planning some surprise that’s guaranteed to send our world spinning.” She shrugged. “Maybe another lawsuit. With Wyatt, you never know.”

  He lifted the hand at her hip, cupped the back of her neck and worked his fingers in slow, comforting circles. “He do something to tip you off?”

  And here it was. The moment when he’d likely write her up as paranoid and tell her to relax. “You know how he was the other night? Arrogant and judgmental?”

  “I’d label him more of a general jackass, but yeah, I get your point.” He hesitated a beat. “He do something worse? Threaten you?”

  “More like he was a perfect gentleman. Was polite to me and acted like having Levi back at his house was the best thing to ever happen to him. He even had his housekeeper make all of Levi’s favorite foods for dinner.” She waited, braced for his response.

  His fingers slid higher until his palm cradled the back of her head. He hugged her tight against him, and he inhaled deep. “Whatever he throws at you, you’ll be ready.”

  Her mind tripped and immediately rewound his response. She pushed against his chest and met his gaze. “You don’t think I’m being melodramatic?”

  He frowned back at her. “You married to the guy for eight years?”

  “Well, yes.”

  “You got a pretty good bead on the way he operates?”

  “Um, usually.”