“Almost from our first conversation,” I said softly. “When you were Rob and I was the crazy woman with the dead cat, there was something special about you. You were kind. Gentle, considering the circumstances of those first texts. When I met you in person, on some level, I knew. Not consciously, of course. But Rob and Nash both had no trouble breaking down my emotional barriers, unlike anyone I’d ever known, no matter how hard I tried to stop it. I started to fall hard and fast. And then you hurt me.”
His gaze dropped, a soft sigh escaping him. “I’m so sorry, babe.”
“I know.” I reached out and lifted his chin, forcing him to meet my gaze. “What do you want, Nash?”
“You.”
“Specifically.”
“Everything. I want you to be with me, live with me if you want to, have a relationship with the pups, stand by my side through the good and the bad. All of it. Whatever you want from me, I’m willing to give.”
“Monogamy.”
“Fuck yes.” His blue eyes flashed liquid sapphire. “There hasn’t been another woman since the first text, Sariah. In the very beginning, it wasn’t intentional, I won’t lie about that—it just didn’t happen. But within a week or two of conversation, I couldn’t think of anyone else.”
“We’d have to have a conversation with the powers that be with the Mavericks. I know there isn’t a rule about dating, but I don’t think anyone from the front office has ever dated a player. I won’t give up my job.”
“I wouldn’t expect you to and I’ll make sure it’s okay on every level.”
I took a breath. This was my last question and it was a big one. The biggest one. The one that would make or break us. Especially me.
“Do you love me, Nash?”
His whole demeanor changed. He softened. His face, his body language, everything about him turned into someone I didn’t recognize for a moment. Until his eyes sought out mine and he ever so gently reached for me, drawing me closer. Looking into my eyes, with only a couple of inches between us, he whispered, “I fucking adore you. I’ve never been in love before, not as an adult, and you fill something in my soul that I never even realized was empty. I love you so fucking much, Sariah.”
Tears puddled in my eyes as his lips found mine. But instead of devouring me the way I’d hoped, he kept it simple. Light. His lips hovering, caressing, teasing.
“I have two questions,” he whispered against my mouth.
“Hmm?” My eyes fluttered open.
“Why did we do this in our undies?”
“Because even the most laid-back, unemotional guy is more vulnerable like this. I know I am. And we’ve already slept together, so it wasn’t about seeing each other naked.”
“Ah.” He reached out and brushed my hair back so it cascaded down my back while his eyes drifted lower and lower.
“And your second question?” I asked after a moment.
His gaze lifted back to mine, his face as sincere as I’d ever seen it. “Do you love me?”
I’d known it was coming but saying it out loud made me more vulnerable than I’d ever been because I knew with everything in my heart, Nash had the power to destroy me. Theo had hurt me; I would never recover if Nash betrayed me again.
“So much.” A tear slipped down my cheek and he brushed it away with his fingers.
“Can’t you say the words?”
“They scare me. You scare me. If you change your mind…”
“Never gonna happen.” He pulled me up against him, his warm hands caressing my lower back. “I swear to you, Sariah. I will never hurt you. Not as long as I’m alive.”
“Kiss me, Nash.”
“Tell me you love me, babe.”
I couldn’t breathe as I stared up at him. My heart jumped in staccato beats against my chest as I licked my lips, mustering up the courage to bare my soul to this beautiful man. He’d hurt me, but I knew now that it was a mistake, a temporary lapse in judgment during a stressful situation. A man who loved dogs, took care of his mom, and got teary-eyed at his teammate’s wife’s funeral wasn’t a man who would intentionally hurt me. Not again.
Never again.
“I…” I swallowed. “Will you say it first…again? Please?”
He smiled. “I love you, baby.”
“I love you too.”
This time he crashed his mouth to mine, kissing me like a man starved. Our bodies molded together, my breasts flattened against his hard chest, his hands squeezing my ass as his tongue pillaged mine. He sucked and licked and kissed me until my knees started to buckle. Then he scooped me up and carried me to the bed, dropping me with a soft thud.
“Panties off,” he whispered in a husky voice, shucking his boxers. He stood at the foot of the bed stark naked, his erection jutting up thick and proud, waiting for me to comply. I quickly tugged my thong off and started to toss it but he grabbed it midair.