AllFreeNovel
Share Us
It’s unfair how much he misses her presence. He didn’t realize how bored he’d be on this trip without her.
And after last night, he’s had a deeper glimpse—a literal taste—of Ash Keller, and he likes it.
Too much.
The trail to the waterfall is steep and rocky but not nearly as treacherous as Oahu. His brother and sister bicker in low tones behind him, trying to hike while searching for cell service.
He glances over his shoulder.
Augustus and Ash follow the pack. She’s in her boots. Untied, of course. The strap of her yellow bikini pokes out of her tank top. Shimmering sunlight catches the tattoos on her legs, flashes of color in the dense, balmy jungle. Even from a distance, the splash and crash of the waterfall can be heard somewhere up ahead.
Jesus. That bikini, that thigh tattoo haunt him. In the best possible way.
“I don’t like that girl,” his mother says, marching beside him.
Nathaniel’s gut pulls tight. “She’s here,” he says with a shrug. “She’s doing more than most of us for Grandpops.”
“I just…” His mother regards him, eyes sad. She places a hand on his forearm. “After what she did to you.”
Of course his mother wouldn’t see how bad he and Camellia were for each other. Not after being married to his father and putting up with his bullshit for so long. Even now, his father’s not here. His mother would never say she’s upset with his father for bailing for the third time on this trip, but Nathaniel sees it in her eyes, her posture.
Behind them, there’s a bright burst of laughter from Ash. The husky sound of her voice sends a jolt of electricity to his cock.
Christ. Suddenly, he’s hit with a desperate need for her to look at him. For her to pay him any attention at all.
Truth is, it’s getting harder to pretend that he has it out for Ash Keller.
Unable to stand it any longer, Nathaniel falls behind his mother to join Ash and Augustus.
“I hear you’re in need of some better company,” he says, linking arms with his grandfather.
Augustus chuckles.
Ash rolls her eyes. “Your grandson is truly a terror,” she snipes, holding on tight to Augustus’s other arm.
Nathaniel arches a brow. “Says the girl who scares little children.”
Briefly, her gaze flicks to his.
There it is. That glimmer of a smile. Or annoyance. Either way, he’ll take it.
“I was just telling Ash,” Augustus says, “all about that money clip I got from Carlo.”
Nathaniel chuckles. His grandfather is notorious for his talltales. “You expect me to believe that? All these years, and I’ve never once seen it around your house.”
“Ah, but it’s a legend.”
Ash shakes her head. “I feel like I’m getting hazed by this family.”
He skims his eyes over her, noting the Band-Aid over her sensor. His stomach pulls tight. “What happened to your sensor?”
Ash tsks. “So nosy.” Then she says to him, “The water always makes it come loose. But I patched it with my very best MacGyver skills.”
Nathaniel considers it. “We could fix that.” His mind’s already on it. Pathetic.
Ash looks curiously at Nathaniel over the top of Augustus’s head. Instead of the tense awkwardness he’s braced himself for, an intimacy hangs in the space between them. Calm. Warm. Tentative. Like Ash’s body last night. That slow curl into him, hands on his shoulders, that red mouth landing on his lips like a bomb.
He doesn’t know what it means. All he knows is he has to talk to her.
