“Of course, it is.” I winked at him. “I’d like that very much.”
“Great.” He patted the side of the car. “You wouldn’t mind popping the trunk for me, would you?”
All the breath left my lungs, leaving me painfully breathless. Beside me, Shaw sat just as frozen.
“Say what?” he asked.
Nathan chuckled. “That’s for all the detention you gave me.” He stepped back from the car. “You may go, and try to get that cleaned off the car.”
“Have a good night,” Shaw said, his voice strained.
“Good night, Mr. Police Officer.”
Nathan’s grin was lascivious as he took his last fill of me. The car engine started, and we peeled off the shoulder of the road. Shaw drove faster than he had before, white-knuckling the steering wheel. His jaw was clenched tight, and he didn’t even look at me when we stopped at a traffic light. I tried to find the words to apologize for putting him in this situation. But they wouldn’t come.
The only time I’d seen Shaw this silent was when he’d been upset at my mother for taking away the sewing machine from me.
We arrived at his house, and he drove straight into the garage. He jerked his door open and got out. I quickly tumbled out as well, then grabbed my knife from the floor of the car where it had fallen.
“What’s that in your hand?”
Shaw grasped my hand and took the switchblade from me. “What the hell’s wrong with you?” he demanded, not a trace of a smile to be found on his face. “Why on earth did you do that?”
He didn’t raise his voice, and he didn’t need to. It still sent shivers down my spine.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to, I swear. He—”
“He’s still an asshole, and a badge doesn’t change that!” Shaw snapped.
Huh?
Oh. He was mad at me for flirting with Nathan.
“I did what I had to for him to leave us alone,” I answered.
“Don’t do that.” He cupped the side of my face tight. “Don’t tell me you want me and then five minutes later plan a date with some other guy right in front of my face.”
I gaped at him until he released my jaw. I rubbed a hand over my skin. He’d held me so tightly I wouldn't be surprised if I had a bruise there tomorrow.
“I didn’t mean it,” I whispered. Wow, Shaw was jealous. To the best of my knowledge, he’d never shown jealousy where my mother was concerned, and she’d been a flirt too.
While others might not think it was a good thing, jealousy was a language I understood well. I’d been perpetually in that state as I watched him with my mother. As I hid in their closet and listened to her moans while Shaw grunted from fucking her. And in all those stolen moments of getting close to him, I’d thought about him being on top of me instead.
“You flirted with him, and that’s unacceptable,” he said, blowing hard. This was something new for him. Something he was struggling to get out. “If you’re mine, you’re only mine, Ari. No one else gets to have you.”
For sure, I’d thought he would be ready to dump me and carry me into the police after I’d confessed what was in his trunk. Did he even remember that? He seemed so hell-bent on getting me to understand that he wouldn’t share me.
“I’m sorry, Daddy,” I said softly. “I was just trying to protect us.”
“Don’t do it again.”
“I won’t.” But even as I said the words, I knew I was lying. If Shaw was in trouble and I needed to fuck someone to get him out, I’d do it, no questions asked. He was worth so much more than some random guy getting off on my body.
“Fuck.” Shaw expelled a deep breath and staggered back as if it was just hitting him what had happened. His face pale, he swallowed hard and glanced from the car to me. “Let’s get inside.”
I hesitated. “But, Daddy, what about—”
“What about what, Ari?”