“You’re right. She can’t be involved. I’m fucking paranoid. I don’t want to believe it. I’m afraid of feeling the pain. Like when Maggie died. But now I’ve hurt her so badly.”
“She isn’t Maggie. You heard the facts. Maggie was working us over.”
“You knew. You didn’t fall for her like I did. You never loved her, Riker. Why?”
Riker was silent a moment. “I don’t know. I wanted to because you did. But it wasn’t the same. It’s not like when we’re with Chastity. I’d die for her, Nash. Just like I would die for you.”
“I feel the same way. I fucked this up. I was so fucking upset about the news. I felt confused and didn’t think before I spoke. I was so fucking angry. All I’ve been doing the last two years was blaming myself and pushing everyone away. To find out that Maggie lied and used us burns inside. It fucking hurts.”
“Losing Chastity and blaming her for something she had nothing to do with will hurt more. I can’t lose her. I love her, and so do you. We’ll explain it to her. We can’t let Desi get to her. This guy hurt her so badly already. He could have killed her, and if he finds out that she’s using him so we can catch him—”
“She’ll die,” Nash finished.
Chapter 13
Chastity was in the bedroom. She pulled off the dress and was going to put on a pair of jeans and a T-shirt. She heard the bedroom door open and gasped as she turned, holding the dress in front of her.
“What are you doing in here?” she asked both Nash and Riker. They both looked pissed off. Well she was pissed off, too.
“What are you doing?” Nash asked her.
“Changing.”
“Going somewhere?” he asked, taking a few slow steps toward her. She backed up until her ass hit the desk behind her.
“You’re not leaving us. You’re not going to be bait,” Riker stated from behind Nash.
“Get out. It’s none of your concern. I’m not your concern.”
Nash walked closer. “That’s where you’re wrong. You are our concern. You’re our woman, our everything, and you’re not risking your life.”
“You can’t tell me what to do. You can’t control me, or make me.”
“You think we can’t. Hell, woman, you don’t know what we’re capable of,” Riker told her, as he looked her body over. Chastity gulped as she clutched the dress to her body. Why did his statement turn her on? Why was she getting aroused when they had hurt her so badly by not trusting her? Why am I such a glutton for punishment?
Nash stared down into her eyes. He was only a foot away from her.
“I jumped the gun. I overreacted out of fear and anger. I know that you’re not involved. I was hurt by Maggie and finding out what she did and how she manipulated us just pissed me the hell off. I’ve wasted so much fucking time. Time alone, pushing away anyone who has been important to me or anyone who made me feel at all,” Nash told her.
“I’m not Maggie, Nash. I can’t fight against a ghost, not against a person who no longer exists.”
“I’m not asking you to. I hurt you, and it will never happen again.”
“No, Nash. It won’t happen again, because we’re over.”
He pressed her body against the wall, shocking her. He held her face between his hands and whispered next to her lips.
“We’re not over, baby. We’ve only just begun. I fucked up. Can’t you forgive me? I’d do anything for you, Chastity. How can I prove to you that I’m sorry and that I do trust you?”
Chastity felt the tears in her eyes, and she felt Nash’s sincerity. But she had been fooled before. She had been taken and manipulated by others. What if he was lying?
As if sensing her fear and distrust, Nash lowered to his knees. He held her hips and hugged her to him. She felt his warm breath against her belly.
“Ah shit, Chastity. You got the man on his fucking knees. If the guys saw this now, he would be ruined in the macho male department,” Riker stated.
She smirked as her heart instantly lifted with some relief. If they truly didn’t love her, would they go to such extents to prove it?
She gripped Nash’s hair, forcing him to look up at her. Now the dress was gone, and there she stood in only her panties and bra.