Nash Brothers Box Set - Carrie Aarons Page 0,154

the man I love.

“We had a deal, your father and I, and that doesn’t change because he dropped dead.” My father points his finger past my ear, straight into Bowen’s face.

Behind me, I hear Bowen snarl, and I can feel the fury rolling off him in scorching waves.

Finally, my father is admitting it. He wouldn’t do it in front of Mom when I went postal on them in their kitchen. No, he waited until he could sneak in and spook me. It spoke volumes about his character.

“That is horrible, how could you talk like that! After everything you’ve put us through.” I choke on the last few words.

“You should have just left us be. We’re happy … we love each other. Why has that always been so hard for you to accept?” Bowen’s hand laces through mine, and I instantly feel stronger.

“Keep your hands off her. The last time you couldn’t manage to, she almost died.” There is murder in my father’s eyes.

“Stop it! The deal is broken, it’s over. Do your worst, but don’t lie to him or me. We both know the truth. We’ve worked past the hurt, something you clearly can’t do and don’t want to. That accident was just that … an accident. Everything that happened after—my pain, heartbreak, years of unrequited love and so much damage done—that was on you. If anything died here, it was our relationship. Yours and mine.”

I’m shaking so hard that Bowen has to physically hold me to him to keep me from collapsing to the floor.

“You took your seatbelt off to … like some kind of harlot. You almost got yourself killed trying to hook up with your cocky, idiotic athlete boyfriend. How would that have looked to the press? The constituents. That the daughter of a senator couldn’t keep it in her pants long enough to not be ejected from the passenger seat.”

The devil stands before me, red-faced and spiraling, spewing out hate and venom.

“Get out of my house.” My voice is deadly calm, and I stand hand in hand with Bowen.

My protector doesn’t curl his body around me though, no … he lets me stand strong and independent.

“Lily, he’s trash. A barber, nowhere near what you deserve or the kind of man—”

“You have no idea what kind of man he is. And I don’t need to prove to you how worthy he is of me. If anything, I’m not worthy of him. He has spent years ripping out his own heart over and over and over again because of something you did. Because he wanted the best for me even if that meant it couldn’t be him. I said get out of my house. So go. Now.”

My father backs away slowly, his eyes boring holes into the both of us.

“Wait,” Bowen demands. “Leave her key.”

He throws it, basically spits it back at us. “Keep it. I don’t need to associate with trash. Even if she is my own daughter.”

That was meant as an insult, but surprisingly, I feel nothing. His words hold no weight anymore, and thus, they can’t hurt me.

As soon as we hear the front door click closed, Bowen moves swiftly to lock it.

And then he’s right back at my side, wrapping me in his arms. “Are you okay?”

My eyes look up into his. “Yes … yes, I think I am. A little shaken, but … he admitted to it. That’s what I wanted. Now we can … we can move on from this.”

“Let’s go back to my place. Our place. Move in with me, tonight.”

He doesn’t have to ask me twice. “How fast can we pack?”

40

Lily

I wake to Bowen’s hands trailing down my body.

“What’re you doing?” I yawn on the tail end of a smile.

“It’s Thanksgiving. I’m trying to show you what I’m most thankful for,” he says as his fingers push past the elastic band of my underwear.

“Mmm.” I get temporarily distracted as they brush the bundle of nerves above my opening. “We have to get up. I promised your Mom I would help her get the turkey in.”

Bowen nibbles my earlobe between his teeth. “Sh, I’m working here.”

He presses the blunt tip of his finger into my core, circling in a delicious motion that has me squirming. A moan escapes my lips, and I reach behind me, my hands caressing his muscled thighs. They drag up to his waist and contort to reach inside his boxers, where I find him hard and leaking for me.

I never can resist him.

“Hmm, yeah, babe.” He gasps