Path To Restoration (Fighter's Den, #3)

Chapter 6 - Nate

I pause before my hand makes contact with the door handle and curse under my breath, withdrawing myself. A large part of me realizes that I'm really testing my boundaries and being careless but the smaller part of me—the one that's winning this internal war—is convincing me to go with it anyways.

Day by day I'm pushing it with Delilah and seeing how far I can push, how far she'll let me push her. Each day I do or say something that I know I shouldn't be but doing it anyways because I'm playing with temptation. What was it that I had said to Aria all those years ago? It was like watching a car wreck take place in slow motion. Except this time I'm most definitely in the driver's seat and I'm having way too much fun with speeding. There's underlying fear, sure, but the thrill of it wins out every time. There's something about Delilah that makes me want to be reckless. I feel greedy when it comes to her. I've spent nearly all of my life doing things for others but for the first time I want to do something for me. I want to be selfish, damn it. I just hope I don't hurt either of us in the process, no matter how inevitable it is. My stubbornness is definitely taking lead here. So I open the door to the library and saunter inside, acting more confident than I feel.

As soon as I spy her at the main desk hunched over and reading a book, her mouth moving slightly as she reads the words, something twists deep in my gut. Fuck, she's so beautiful. Her long blonde hair curtains part of her face and spills all over the desk and it looks so goddamn soft I want to wrap it around my fingers. She's wearing a plain white cotton shirt that's full-sleeved and is on the shorter side. Anytime she leans forward, the shirt rides up slightly to expose her smooth and pale midsection. Her jeans fit her snugly, showing off her long legs and shapely ass. She's slim and tall and so fucking gorgeous I think I might be drooling. I lift a hand to my mouth to check. Nope, all good.

"Hey." I say when I'm close enough that she'll hear me but it comes out more like a rasp so I clear my throat. Real fucking smooth, Nate.

She looks up from her book and her concentrated melts away, giving way to a soft smile. I almost groan. Fuck me. That smile is going to ruin my damn life. "Hey. You came."

"Of course." I jerk my chin towards the book. "What are you reading?"

"Making Faces by Amy Harmon." She picks it up and holds it to her chest. "It's such a beautiful story, Nate. It's like a modern day Beauty and the Beast with lots of twists. It's about a man from a small hometown who—"

She stops abruptly and presses her lips together before smiling sheepishly. "Sorry. I'm going to stop now before I talk your ear off."

"Why would you stop? I was just getting into it." I grin and try to make her feel as comfortable as possible. Delilah wasn't a huge talker to begin with and kept to herself as much as possible. If talking about books was the one way she'd open up to me and let me in to some part of her I'd definitely take it. I want to hear anything she was willing to tell me.

"Really?" She looks skeptical. "You want to hear about a romance novel?"

"You're forgetting I grew up with all sisters. I once had to shave Lexie's legs for a whole month when she broke her dominant arm and couldn't do it herself. Talking to you about a romance novel won't even make me blink."

A giggle bubbles out of her and she slips a hand over her mouth, her eyes twinkling. "This is a lot of free ammunition you're giving me. How do you know I won't use it against you?"

A slew of inappropriate images take over my mind at her innocent words and I can't help myself from teasing her. "Angel, you can use whatever you want against me, on me, or with me. Or all of the above."

Her hand drops and so does her mouth. Immediately a sweet blush takes over her face and I feel my lips curl up in response. So freaking beautiful.

"You're in a mood." She mumbles and I laugh. I like that she's dishing words back to me instead of running away from the conversation like she might have done months ago. I like that we're at that level now.