Hindrance (12 page)

“But he’s a bad man, right?”

Taylor looked at me, seeming to form an answer and then stood. “I am in no position, nor will I ever be, to dish out this type of advice.”

I laughed at the stunned look on her face. “It’s okay, Taylor, really. I’m good with the occasional tough love and how to paralyze a man with a bullet kind of advice.”

She smiled at me with a wink. “I’m going to go have a chat with Cedric.”

“Take it easy on him, Taylor. I need him whole.”

“You got it.” She looked at me one last time. “I’m proud of you.”

“For what? I was scared shitless and shot the wrong man.” We both laughed a little.

“You know why.”

I nodded and she shut the door behind her. I looked up to see Aiden’s picture splashed on the TV again and turned it off.

I looked at my bed, tempted to let it consume me, to drown out the noise and give in to the pain pulsing through my veins and continuously pumping through my heart. Instead, I grabbed a bathing suit and took it out on the waves of the Atlantic.

A week later, I was sitting at my desk at home writing out a disbursement schedule for charitable funds for the upcoming year. It was Sunday night and I was at home working—my new normal—and was okay with that, but the gnawing in my chest wouldn’t go away. As much as I tried to concentrate, I heard the voice.

“Nina.”

It was Devin’s voice that whispered to me through the silence. I set down my pen and leaned back in my chair. This was guilt. Sure, I would feel a little guilty about what had transpired. Okay, a lot of guilt. The man had proven his love over and over. But he was right, it was his mess to clean.

“I’m a bad man.”

“No you aren’t,” I argued with him as I sat alone in my chair. “You’re a liar, and selfish, and calculating, and so damn stupid. What you did was stupid!” My chest heaved as I heard my name again, a whisper on his lips.

“Nina.”

“And controlling and manipulative.” Twin tears slid down my cheeks as I continued to berate him. “And adolescent. Your temper is ridiculous.” An image of his dazzling smile surfaced. “And brilliant and beautiful and so damn sexy.” I was sobbing now. “And I still hate you.”

“I love you.”

“Devin,” I croaked in my chair, turning it around, away from the door, and burying my face in my hands.

“He’s gone.” I jumped at Cedric’s voice. “Last I heard, he was leaving on his boat.”

“Cedric, we are going to have to set some privacy parameters,” I sniffed out, trying to mask my obvious breakdown.

“Sorry, Nina, I was just walking in and heard you.” I wiped my face, turning my chair to face him. It was so evident Cedric cared for me.

“I know, Cedric, and I’m thankful I have you watching out for me.”

“I’ll be checking the system out if you need me. We’ve made some adjustments.” I nodded, pulling my seat back to the desk and picking up my pen. Cedric lingered in the doorway and I looked up at him in question.

“Yes?”

“Nothing,” he said, moving toward the living room.

“Say it,” I snapped, resuming my scheduling. “We both know you have some sort of bromance going on with him.” I looked up and gave him a wink.

“I respect the guy,” Cedric defended.

“Okay.”

“You could do worse.” Cedric walked off, making his way out of the room.

“I have,” I whispered before getting back to work.

DEVIN

I lay on my boat, looking up at the night sky. Tomorrow I set sail for the Keys. I’d been making preparations for a week and had everything a man could possibly need. All I had to do was pull up anchor.

That had proven to be the most difficult.

Leave it to me to hold out hope Nina would come around. It was asinine to think as much. In the last few months, I’d been as strung out as a lovesick puppy that just had his first good piece of pussy. And even now as I lay there, I wished for her to be next to me, talking my ear off about anything trivial.

There is so much healing in the right woman’s kiss, and for me that woman was Nina. She had done that for me. All the sordid and sick parts of me were healed when her lips met mine. My affection for her and the way she regarded me had once again shown me the difference between right and wrong in a world of fucked up. And my weakness for her had finally fueled me to do the right thing and let my cousin drown in his demons while I exposed them.

Acceptance was a painful bitch.

When I’d first met Nina, I’d accepted the fact that I had to love her from afar. As time went on, I had to accept the fact that I could have her, just not the way either of us wanted. The next bitter pill would be the acceptance that I had to once again deal with the first.

The silver lining was she was safe.

Aiden had left Charleston and I’d made sure of it. He’d abandoned his club and his home. Apparently, hiding was something he was extremely good at. He was being investigated by both Charleston County and Savannah. A woman had come forward claiming to be a victim. If he ever returned, there was a chance he would be brought up on charges. Slim was better than none. My parents weren’t speaking to me, and I found that easier to live with than hiding the truth.

My mother was to blame for Aiden’s coddling. She never did fully grasp the idea of Aiden’s demons. He had perfected the art of deception by being completely believable. Even I had been deceived for a short time. The only way of ending it was to bring it public. I’d always known that and the fact that Aiden had chosen to damage the Governor’s daughter made it news. It was my only chance, and though I was years too late, I took it. I’d done my part in helping, but it didn’t help me sleep at night.

It would be a long road to sleeping peacefully.

I was fine with the way things went down, except for what Nina had to witness. I’d meant it when I said I regretted falling for her. It led to her losing a piece of herself in the shed that night. Or maybe her meeting Aiden was just fate’s cruel way of reminding me what I had to do.

Either way, protecting her was motivation enough.

And now it was time for me to leave.

The boat swayed gently, reminding me I wasn’t quite finished with my prep. I was leaving in the morning before the three day storm rolled in, which would only delay me further. I made my way to the bow, unpacking the rest of my supplies as I heard a loud thunk. I looked to my right and on the deck was a large tote I didn’t recognize.

“I packed two bikinis and my gun, but I’ll let your behavior determine in which order I use them.”

NINA

Devin froze as I continued on. “You really aren’t good enough for me. You’re arrogant, selfish, and you have a horrible bedside manner. Where you even planning on saying goodbye?”

Devin turned to me, casually pulling the insides of his short pockets out, showing me the lint. “You really aren’t the best for me either, Nina. I’m bankrupt, homeless, and disowned. Oh, and you shot me.” I drank him in as he slowly walked toward me in his fitted t-shirt, his wavy hair a mess. He’d never looked better.

I waited patiently for him as I stood on the dock. When he finally stood, looking down at me, I bit my lip.

“I never did apologize for that. Sorry ... for shooting you.”

Devin tilted his head with a frown. “That didn’t really seem sincere.”

“Well, maybe one day I’ll mean it.”

“Ouch,” he said with a chuckle.

“So do you have room for me, cowboy, or were you planning on riding into the sunset alone?”

He held out his hand and I took it as he helped me onto the boat.

“I have room for this body, but we can leave your mouth in Charleston,” he taunted as I looked into his eyes. They were burning with relief and love.

“I’m sorry, Devin, that you lost your life to this,” I said sincerely. “And because of him.”

He cupped my face, rubbing his thumbs over my cheeks. “I think my life before all of this made me a little worse off, don’t you think?” I nodded. I saw the emotion in his eyes change to doubt. “Can you really do this with me?”

“God, Devin, if I could keep myself away
and
from loving you, it would be my greatest accomplishment. I’ll always be thankful I shot you at least once.”

His body shook with laughter as his hands stroked my face.

“I love you, Nina.”

“I know.”

He raised a brow. “You could have left the gun at home, you know.”

“I’m just being cautious. Sharks die by bullet.”

He would never get my metaphor.

He leaned in and took my lips. “So I guess you are a regular Annie Oakley now.”

“Who?”

“Jesus, have you ever opened one history book?” He looked down at me with a frown.

“Are we fighting already?” I asked with a smile. He took my lips again, kissing me softly before deepening the kiss, his velvet tongue moving slowly and seductively over mine. When he pulled away, I saw the fire in his eyes.

“Nina—”

“I have a present for you, but I can’t really give it to you until tomorrow.”

I saw the wheels turning and stopped him.

“It’s not that kind of present.”

“I’m intrigued,” he whispered, flicking his tongue out to taste my bottom lip. My already wet sex clenched as his hands molded to my shivering sides.

“You’ll just have to be patient,” I mused as he stopped his assault, pulling his hands away.

“Okay.”

After securing the deck, he guided me downstairs. It housed a large bed, a two person kitchen, and a single stall bathroom. Some of our best memories where made here and it was a damn good place to start over.

I studied the tiny bathroom, shaking my head at the tight space. I was a space snob now and had no problem admitting it. “Seriously, we are going to need a bigger boat.”

His arms snaked around me and he leaned in, breathing in deep. “We’ll fit fine, you’ll see.”

I turned in the tiny space, kissing my way up the arm of his soft t-shirt, and started tracing the pink scar I’d left. Devin sighed as he watched me whisper kisses over the damaged skin.

“Devin,” I murmured.

“Yes,” he said, placing a kiss on my temple.

“What the fuck are you waiting for?” He pulled back, confusion on his face. then let the fire back into his eyes. Seconds later, we were both naked and furiously kissing. His tongue tasted my mouth, my neck, my nipples as he barked orders. He turned me around, his hand coming down hard on my flesh, and his fingers fucking me ruthlessly. I felt my body spark back to life when his thick cock brushed my entrance. He stopped suddenly as I stood gone on his touch, waiting for him.

“Devin?” I waited and got nothing. “Devin?” I turned to face him to see his eyes swimming with anger and pain. He was thinking of Aiden. I didn’t need to have him clarify. I could see it in his broken features. It was the same look he gave me when he saw us at the club. “I’m sorry.” I stood, bared before him, seeing the deep hurt I’d caused him. “It meant nothing.
He
meant nothing.”

“No, Nina,” he scolded as his eyes closed tightly. “Don’t.”

“Open them, Devin.”

He opened them slowly and I saw the rawness in them. “I should have believed you. I should have listened and I should have waited when you asked me to.” Devin punched at the wall behind my head and kept his angry face an inch from mine.