The truth in his voice seeped inside her chest and wrapped itself around her heart, giving it a warm hug. No, Nick wouldn’t be intentionally cruel. It was the fire and her mistake she didn’t want to face.
Her vision swam as she tried to focus. She blinked away her tears and suddenly the line became clear. “The fire originated in the master bedroom in an ashtray by the bed.”
She couldn’t breathe. It was like when Nick threw her over his shoulder but ten times worse. She opened her mouth to suck in air and finally was able to whisper, “I didn’t kill them?”
“No. It wasn’t your fault. Your parents must’ve been partying like you said they often did. You did everything you could to save your sister, but it was your parents who killed her. Not you, Shelby. They found traces of drugs. It looks like your uncle paid someone to ensure this report stayed buried deep enough that the media wouldn’t taint your family’s name.”
“Thank you, Nick.” Shelby crossed her arms on the tabletop in front of her and laid her head down. All her years of guilt and frustration rose up like a tidal wave through her body, begging for release. She cried so hard, she could barely catch her breath between the sobs.
Nick stuck a paper towel in her hand, scooped her up, and then sat down in the chair and placed her on his lap, wrapping her up in his big arms. He tucked her head under his chin as the waterworks flowed.
It must’ve been fifteen minutes of bawling on him before she sat up, realizing she was absolutely free of guilt for the first time in twenty-two years. It felt fantastic and she wanted to celebrate. And after that, she’d kill her aunt and uncle for never telling her the truth. How could they have been so heartless? But then, she’d never told them how she felt about losing her family, and they’d never asked.
As she blew her nose on the scratchy paper towel, something occurred to her. She tilted her head up and stared into Nick’s pretty blue eyes. “If my uncle had the report buried, how did you get it?”
He swallowed hard. “My dad. When things didn’t add up, he called in a few favors from some powerful friends.”
Her eyes grew misty all over again. She was the friend Nick had done the favor for by asking his dad for help? If she wasn’t careful she was going to fall so hard, there’d be no return from Mr. One-Night Stand land.
Nope. She needed to take what she planned to share with him at face value. Just sex, nothing more. No more Miss Goody TwoÐShoes and no more obsessive worries about what happened next. It was oddly freeing.
“I know how hard that was to ask your dad, so I’m calling in that rain check. You’re getting lucky for your good deed. Let’s go.” She hopped off his lap and tugged on his hand.
Nick grinned, but didn’t budge. “That’s not why I did it, Shelby. So you’d sleep with me.” He slipped his hand from hers, then stood and wrapped her up in his arms. “You have a lot to process. I’d better go.” He laid a soft kiss on her forehead.
God he was sweet.
“No, you don’t understand, Nick. I’ve decided to try it your way. I want to expand my horizons and try a fun one-night stand. And I want it with you.”
His smile slowly bloomed. “You want to sleep with me?”
“Yes. I’ve got big plans for that body of yours. Let’s go.”
He stood in place as a frown canceled out his earlier sexy grin. “Wait. What if—”
She cut him off with a kiss. She was totally ready to have mindless, hot, no-strings-attached sex.
Probably.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
“Chester loved speed. Slapping his skateboard down at the top of a hill he’d never tried before, he jumped on, and then went faster than he ever had. It was fun trying something new.”
Chester Gets a New Skateboard
Shelby tugged Nick into her bedroom and closed the door. Then she backed him up against it and kissed him as she slipped his suit coat off his shoulders. She quickly unknotted his tie and threw it over her shoulder.
His hands wandered over her body, heating everywhere he touched as he tried to take charge, but she grabbed his wrists and held them tight. “Nope. It’s my victory party and you’ll just have to grin and bear it. I’m going to do all the things I’ve wanted to do to you since I saw the photos of those big muscles of yours on Facebook. You were right, they drive women crazy.”
“And yet you made me get rid of them.” He laughed and then gave her a hard kiss.
“I was doing my job.” As she unbuttoned his white, starched shirt, she laid kisses on the newly exposed skin, his low moans spurring her on. He had a fantastic body. Those pictures hadn’t done him justice. Her lips couldn’t help but linger and explore all the peaks and valleys of his beautiful chest.