Page 81 of Intolerable Bishop

Nash made as if he was going to hit me in the face. I got my arm up to block the blow but couldn’t stop the flinch or that my eyes closed for a second. That was all he needed, and I screamed as he picked me up and, once more, unceremoniously slammed me down on the mat. Laughing, Nash held my hands over my head. His face was dangerously close to mine, but I was spitting mad and snarled at him. I’d learned that being angry was far safer around him than any other emotion.

“I really love having you on your back, Princess.” He licked his lips and stared at mine.

“Kiss me, and I’ll bite your lip off.” My chest heaved with the exertion and my out-of-control heart. I didn’t know what I hated more, the constant teasing and picking at me or the fact that as hard as I tried, I couldn’t seem to stop thinking about Nash. I was at war with my will, and it felt like my fingers were slipping on the cliff’s edge every day we were together. He seemed to know it, too. Nash greedily took every inch I lost.

“No, you won’t,” Nash said, his voice far too sexy. “You’d moan and beg me to continue, Princess.”

“Do it and find out. I dare you,” I said, pulling on my hands even though I knew it was useless. He hovered over me as his lips closed in on mine. Nash stopped no more than a breath away.

“You almost had me convinced there. But…you wouldn’t hurt me.”

“Oh? Why is that?”

“Because you’re a decent person, and even though you might be pissed, it would eat you alive if you actually hurt me.” I ground my teeth together, hating that he was right. “That’s also why you’re still struggling to land a solid hit. You don’t really want to.”

“Trust me, it feels like I want to.”

He smiled wide. “Princess, I don’t know why you won’t just give in to what you really want. I keep telling you that you want me, and you keep denying it, but your eyes are saying something else.” The weight of his leg between mine was far too tempting to rub against. I needed him to get off me before I did something idiotic like kiss him.

I sucked in a deep breath. “Get off me, Nash. I can’t handle your BS this early in the morning. I haven’t even had my coffee yet.”

“Then just give in and stop fighting it.” He dropped his lips to my ear. “I promise you won’t regret it.”

His voice was gravelly, and I held my breath, trying not to be affected by the sultriness that he oozed. Not only did I not need another guy in my…whatever you called my relationships, but Nash…no, just no. That was asking for trouble, and if he broke my heart, which I was positive he would, then Myles would lose his mind. If I were a bitch, I would use that as a weapon, but Nash was right. I was a good person. Fuck, he annoyed me.

I laughed. “Now that is a blatant lie,” I said but shivered as Nash groaned in my ear. I needed to get away from him. I wasn’t lying. My brain was far too tired for his games. My body had a totally different agenda than the logical part of my mind as it heated from his words and not the hour-long workout. He insisted that he’d be the one to work with me after his morning swim, and then either he or Myles would work with me again in the evening. This was my schedule until school started, and then Liam was supposed to add boxing lessons. I couldn’t even imagine adding more.

It was grueling, and it felt like I wasn’t making any progress. I still couldn’t knock either of them down and rarely landed any punches or kicks. The only thing that was getting better was my knife throwing and my aim with the gun. I finally hit a can off the top of the target yesterday. I was only ten feet away, but it was a start.

“Princess, the only thing you’ll regret is not saying yes sooner,” Nash said.

“Am I interrupting,” Blake asked. I felt Nash’s annoyed huff even if Blake couldn’t hear it.

“Just teaching Princess here some manners.”

“Spare me,” I mumbled as Nash pushed himself up. I ignored his offer to help and stood on my own. Marching over to the water I’d dropped when he tackled me, I cracked the lid and took a gulp.

“If you need a break…Theo just arrived with the Shelby on the flatbed.” I whipped my head around and smiled. Finally, something that would allow me to keep my hands busy rather than pacing the cabin trying to figure out how to get answers to all the questions about my family. All my searches only went so far, and then I hit dead ends.

Grabbing my towel, I turned toward Blake, but Nash stepped in my path, effectively stopping me from going any further.

“What?”

“We weren’t finished with training this morning.”

“Trust me, unless you want me to claw your eyes out, we’re done.” His lip twitched.

“More empty promises,” he drawled, and I almost threw the bottle and towel aside to tackle his ass. I hadn’t met anyone who could push my buttons like Nash. He had it down to a fine science. No matter how many times I told myself that he loved to get under my skin and ruffle my feathers…I found myself rising to the bait. He looked up at the sky and then sighed. “I guess we can call it a day. I have a board meeting to get to anyway.” I stepped around him, but he called my name, and I cringed. Looking back at Nash, he smiled. “Don’t look so disappointed, Princess. Myles is too busy to train you tonight, so I’ll be back later. We can finish our talk then.”

“Excellent,” I said, giving him a tight smile as creative new swear words danced in my head.

“I can never tell if you two are going to kill each other or rip your clothes off and fuck in the garden like rabbits,” Blake said. I pursed my lips and glared at him, the words sour in my ears. “Okay, I’m sorry I said anything.”

“Please don’t ever mention me and Nash having sex again. I’d rather swim in a school of piranhas while I was bleeding.”

Blake laughed as we rounded the corner of the cabin, and all the dark, confusing thoughts flew away as I laid eyes on the Shelby that Theo was backing off the flatbed truck. Before school ended, I’d gotten a massive chunk done to restore the car. Even though she now ran, she wasn’t yet road-ready. Myles had moved home to keep Lip safe. It was better for Lip to be away from the cabin and the potential danger here. I’d hardly seen him since the airport, but that only made this the perfect time to finish the restoration.

I stepped up to the car as Theo shut it off and got out. He rubbed the roof, and I smiled as I pictured Myles behind the wheel. This was my birthday gift to him. He still hadn’t replaced his sports car because he didn’t want to ask his father for money, and I knew he missed it. I’d rooked Theo into helping me finish the Shelby before then. We didn’t have long, but with both of us, I was confident we’d have it done by August tenth.