by MJ Fields
“Get back behind the bar. We got this.” She smiles and then pecks me on the cheek.
For two hours, the two of them are on a decoration frenzy. The bar is officially filled with Halloween spirit.
Nathaniel informs me in a whisper that this time of year is Nikki’s favorite, and with wonder in his eyes, adds, “even more than Christmas,” as she fusses over the spiderwebs made of cotton they’d hung on the back wall beside the jukebox.
“Nate,” she calls over her shoulder, “let’s do the orange and white pumpkins on the bar’s front steps.”
At around seven, Faith walks in and looks around. “Did Sally come back?”
I arch a brow as I place her teacup on the bar as Nathaniel and Nikki come out from the kitchen carrying baskets of fried bar food.
“Made you dinner, Aunt Faith,” Nathaniel says as he slides into his usual spot beside her.
“You’re just eating dinner?” she gasps obnoxiously.
She knows I am strict about our schedule, and she’s been trying to get me to relax with it for years.
Nate chuckles as she looks back at me. “What would the queen think?”
“I’ll take the blame,” Nikki says as she sits next to Nate. “Will it be the tower or stockades in a public square?”
“Both,” I look at her and then at Faith, “for each of you if you continue mocking the King of Blizzards bar.”
Nikki looks across Nate and shrugs. “Looks like it’ll give us time to get to know each other better.”
“Cheers to that.” Faith raises her empty cup and looks in it, then up at me with a smirk. “Hey, bartender, you forgot something.”
Once Faith and Nathaniel head upstairs and see that Dana has it all under control, I nod for Nikki to follow me to my office.
Once inside, I take her face in my hands, but I don’t kiss her. I simply look into her smiling and unguarded eyes.
“Talk to me.”
“Kiss me first.” She grabs my shirt and pulls me closer to her.
I shake my head, no. “Talk to me.”
She sighs and rolls her stunning green eyes, but a smile graces her sexy as fuck full lips. “I adore him.” She steps back and walks around. “And I should be scared as hell because it’s like two people, one who changed my mind about rich pricks.” She looks back. “No offense.”
I walk over and sit in my chair. “None taken, I was raised by them. I get it. Had no intention of giving up my life for a handout from my family or to be some show pony for society.”
She laughs and shakes her head.
Her smile is contagious and heartwarming. “What?”
“Show pony? I’d take you more for a wild stallion.”
I push back from the desk and pat my leg. “How about you come and sit on my lap, and we’ll discuss.”
She shakes her head, yet still, the smile is in full and blinding force. “You’ve both made me realize it was never this place or Townes for that matter. I’ve spent so much of my life trying to find out where I belonged and—”
“It’s here.” I pat my lap again.
“If you hurt me—”
“Nikki, there is not one part of me that wants to hurt you.”
“It would be worse than how he did.”
“I’m not him.” I inhale deeply, trying not to flip out.
“And my God, I don’t think I could take it if Nathaniel were ever angry at me, or—”
“Nathaniel doesn’t do angry.”
She smiles. “He suggested I move into the studio.”
“Yeah, and what did you say?”
“I said I’d think about it.”
“When?”
She shrugs. “Soon?”
“Tonight.”
She laughs as she walks over. “How about no.”
“Not acceptable. Give me something, Nikki.”
She sits on my lap, and I know damn well she’s feeling my hard-on beneath that perfect arse of hers. And it’s confirmed by the wiggling of her arse against it and the sexy gleam in her exquisite eyes.
“Let me get through Halloween and then the first week of working for Beckett.”
“So, ten days.”
I lean down to take her mouth, and she leans back, “I’m going to cook dinner for you guys tomorrow after we go shopping.”
“And after the caramel apple decorating contest at the Sweet Spot,” my hand runs up her denim-clad thigh toward her sweet spot, “you can join us for trick or treating, and then come back here with me for Blizzards adult party.”
“Check, check, and check.”
“Are you happy here, Red?”
She lays her head on my shoulder. “Deliriously.”
“Is that because my hand is on your pussy?”
She giggles softly and says, “Yes, but that’s not the only reason.”
I rub her a bit harder, eliciting a moan. “Tell me, Nikki Winterfield, what is it?”
She lifts her head off my shoulder and looks me in the eyes. “I finally feel like I belong.”
I slide my hand up and pop the button on her jeans, and she wiggles off my lap. “The door—”
I stand. “I locked it behind me.”
“The one to the loft.”
“Aww, right you are.”
I hurry to lock it, and when I turn back around, she’s pushing her jeans down her body, exposing her creamy white skin at a slow and sexy pace.
“You’re so fucking gorgeous, Red,” I say as she steps out of them, standing, exposing a dark green lacey G-string that I’m about to make a meal out of.
Two steps, and I have my shirt off, her arse in my hands, and I’m carrying her to my desk and putting her on top of it.
Her eyes widen, and she bites her lower lip when I sink to my knees, pushing her legs apart with my shoulders. She then bites her lip as I rub my stubble across her panties, and she arches her back to me.
I push her panties aside, tearing them accidentally, and then my mouth covers her. No lead-up, no tease, I dive in.
“Yes…Raff… Oh… Oh, God!”
My tongue laps at her sweet, little pussy, and I groan, unable and unwilling to hide the satisfaction I get out of tasting her. She moans, her hands fisting my hair as she pushes up against me.
I wrap my arms around her legs and spread her wider, and rub my face against her now soaked slit. I want her all over my face. I want to smell her all damn night.
She tenses as I feel her building. I shove my finger inside her, giving the come hither as I suck on her clit. It doesn’t take much more before she falls apart, pulling my hair, riding my hand, and crying out my name.
While she comes down from her high, I watch her pant. I sure as hell could watch her sprawled across my desk and be happy as hell in just this, and I’ve yet to come.
Yet.
I kiss up her body, dragging her shirt up with my teeth and uncovering her breast, making quick work of unhooking the front closure of a matching green lace bra, immediately taking her little pebble in my mouth and circle it with my tongue.
Unable to take it anymore—this self-torture of having her ready and waiting for me—I tear myself away from her perfect tit. I stand and grab her behind the knees, then pull her closer before freeing my cock from the denim constraints, sheath myself, and lining myself up. I stroke my head up and down her drenched slit and groan. As I look up, she is pushing up on her elbows to watch.
“Fucking hot.”
“Sexy,” she says, nudging forward, asking without words for my cock.
“Sexy beautiful,” I say as I slam into her.
Her hands fly up and cover her mouth, muffling her scream.
“Balls deep and still not deep enough,” I mumble while leaning down, pushing her hands away with my face and pressing my lips to hers. “Sorry, love, I can’t hold back, not with you.”
She swallows hard and nods once. “Don’t you dare stop.”
My lips still against hers. “Best pussy ever.”
I feel her
smile against my lips, and I feel it everywhere.
Shopping with Nikki and Nathaniel was… interesting.
Turns out, Nikki loves to dress up. She bought several costumes while Nathaniel and I waited patiently since ours were already done, and thankfully fit perfectly.
I had nearly forgotten about Halloween. That’s how crazy I’ve been over her.
But now that I know I’ve got her—we’ve got her—I feel a hell of a lot more relaxed.
Well, I did until Nathaniel insisted that she show us what she bought while the breadsticks she’d made to go with the pasta were in the oven. She insisted Nathaniel try on something she apparently bought him without either one of our knowledge.
I’m reading news on my phone when Nikki walks into the living room.
I look up. “Oh, wow.”
I’m not sure whether to laugh or force them to change. Nathaniel is dressed as Voldemort, complete with the black robe and mask on his face. A costume I would definitely not have approved of. Nikki is dressed as Hermione, except her skirt is indecently short, and a striped tie sits loosely around her neck. She looks insanely sexy.
“No.”
“No?”
“Change, Nikki. No way. There are costumes that shouldn’t be worn outside the home and public costumes.”
“Home costumes?” My son looks at me, confused. “I don’t even have costumes for home anymore, Dad. Not since I was five and liked to pretend I was Superman.”
Nikki smirks, and it unnerves me more than she can imagine. Sure, I’m crazy about her. But I’m still the man of this house. It was sweet that she bought him a costume, but her prancing around in this outfit makes her look like sin.
My sin.
I cross my arms over my chest. “Take it off.”
She huffs, looking to Nathaniel for backup.
“Why should she change, Dad?” He scrunches up his face. “She looks great! And I like her costume.”
“He likes it, Daddy.” She raises her arched brows, daring me to keep up my arsehole act. Then I look at my son, who looks hurt.
“Our costumes go together, Dad. We,” he points between himself and Nikki, “go together.”
I swallow hard, looking between them. I can’t ruin their moment. If they’re bonding over this, I’ll have to go with it. And the truth is, seeing them like this? It’s amazing. Under my breath, I mumble, “Yeah, alrighty then.”
He rolls his eyes, and I wonder how he went from ten to fifteen in a matter of minutes.
“Don’t worry, Raff. After you take a picture of us, I’ll take the costume right off.” Her eyes sparkle. I want to laugh out loud, strip her naked, and then spank her good.
As luck would have it, she dropped meat sauce on her top during dinner and had no choice but to change immediately. Thankfully, so did Nathaniel.
I’ve dealt with Harry Potter, but Voldemort? Gives me the damn creeps. I suppose it could be worse, he could have been a death eater.
“You think she’s upset?” Nathaniel asks.
“Upset?” I ask for clarification.
“Maybe we should get different costumes. I don’t think we should let her feel bad.”
“Don’t you dare.” Nikki laughs, having overheard him. “I can’t wait to see what my two favorite guys are going to be.”
“Well, what are you going to dress up as?”
“I’ll be working at the Sweet Spot wearing these cool new aprons that Nellie made, and we’re going to paint our faces a bit.”
“But you’ll go trick or treating with us, right?” Nathaniel asks.
“Of course, and I will definitely be taking a ton of pictures of you two.”
After cleaning up, Nikki walks over and grabs one of her many bags from our trip to the mall.
“I got you something else.” She hands Nathaniel the bag, and he pulls out a pile of books. “I read this series after I finished Harry Potter.”
“Percy Jackson.” He smiles up at her. “Aunt Faith tried to get me to read this.”
“Well, maybe some nights when Raff has to be downstairs, we can read together and discuss. Maybe even Faith can come over, too.”
“That would be pretty cool.” He nods and smiles.
Damn this woman, God damn.
It’s been two days without seeing Nikki for more than an hour because she has been finalizing the details for the Holiday Springs office for Beckett. At least she and Nellie have been—from what I understand—engaging in ‘impressive discussions’ about the future of the Sweet Spot after hours. I’d rather be anywhere but in a car with my gorgeous girlfriend and my son, on the way to her family’s home for a pre-Halloween dinner.
There won’t be any more days like the past few. I finally caved and hired the French chef, who had not a clue I knew French when he said my kitchen was a fucking joke and that if he didn’t need this job to secure his Visa, he’d tell me to stick it in my ass, and another girl, Tabitha, who had said she’d only be here until the season slowed down.
I was only halfway into the conversation with my son, bartering over how much candy he’ll be allowed to keep after Halloween when I put my hand on Nikki’s bare thigh. I love how my hand spans her leg just right and how I can feel the wake of goosebumps left behind as I rub soft lines up and down her skin with my fingertips.
Nate and I finally agree that he can keep twenty pieces, but also agree that if he gets a package with two Reese’s in it, it only counts as one piece. Pulling into her aunt’s driveway, I see there are already a few cars here. I open the door for Nikki as Nathaniel jumps out, excited. For Nathaniel, the more family, the better.
“Hello!” her aunt calls out from the front door of the classic brick colonial—the great all-American home.
Nikki walks up the steps to the house, giving her aunt a long hug before introducing us. “Aunt Gloria, this is Raff and his son, Nathaniel.”
“I’ve heard so much about you two. I’m so glad you’re here to join us for dinner.”
I love that she’s heard about me.
I hold out my hand, and she shakes it, a huge smile on her beautiful face. She looks like she must be in her mid-sixties, with medium length straight black hair, absolutely no makeup, and a broad, welcoming smile. “Come in, come in.”
“Oh, I forgot something in the car. Just give me a moment.” I run back down to where I parked and grab the wine from the back seat. It’s a delicious Cabernet from Napa Valley. Walking back up to the door, I put my arm around Nikki’s shoulder, bringing her close to me.
Her uncle shouts, “Stop hogging them, Gloria!”
We’re ushered into the cozy home, and I hand Gloria the bottle of wine. She takes it graciously, thanking me. I inhale. The smell of dinner cooking is wonderful. Nikki has told me that her aunt was always an excellent cook and that she couldn’t wait to put all those recipes to use at my place. The smell alone makes my mouth water. I can’t imagine it not being a great meal.
Her uncle Elden walks straight toward me with a firm handshake. “Welcome, Raff. I’ve heard a lot about you. Lord knows it took you long enough to meet us, eh?”
I choose not to tell him that it took Nikki long enough to accept what was happening with her and me, or we’d have been here sooner to break bread with them.
“You’re right. It’s taken too long.” I smile, feeling glad that I’m an adult and not a teenager meeting Nikki’s family for the first time. If I were a kid? I’d be scared to death right now. Crew cut. Hard, weathered face. Very football captain turned military. Everything about his body language says: I’ve got a gun in my room, and I will shoot you dead if you upset me.
“Come on in and have a seat.” He waves to us over his shoulder.
We sit down together on the floral living room couch, with Nikki and me on one side and Gloria and Elden on the other. Gloria jumps up, bringing forward family albums from beneath the television for me to sift through. Elden glares at me, but I pretend I don’t notice. It’s not about me, but about his love for N
ikki. Frankly, I’m glad she has an uncle who protects her this way. With her parents passing, she could have found herself in trouble. Instead, these two came into the picture and gave her love and support. For that, I’ll be eternally grateful.
“We love our Nikki so much,” Gloria beams. “And we’re so glad she’s returned to Holiday Springs! Oh, and how she’s been helping the Sweet Spot and, of course, her new job. Cornell for college! She always was an overachiever…” Her aunt goes on and on about all of Nikki’s accomplishments through high school and beyond. Nikki’s skin has gone pink. It’s adorable.
That’s when Nellie saunters into the living room. “Yes, Nikki, the best girl of all time who exceeds all of our expectations.” She says it like a joke, but none of us miss the jealousy in her voice. “Hi, Raff. I’m sure my parents have been regaling you with all of Nikki’s wondrous talents.”
Quietly, Gloria clears her throat. “Raff, you know our daughter, Nellie.” She moves her eyes away from mine.
“Sure I do.” I stand up, shaking Nellie’s hand cordially.
Nathaniel stands up from his spot beside me. “Hi, Nellie.”
“Hey, Nate.” She beams.
Nellie smiles, not unkind, but I still worry about how she and Nikki are getting along.
The rest of the evening goes by easily enough. Just as I thought, Gloria is an amazing cook. She filled our plates with steaming white rice, roast chicken with potatoes, and a large green salad. Nathaniel was the star of the evening, talking all about school and football. And luckily, Nellie behaved herself well enough. By dessert, even Elden softened a bit.
Rule Number Twenty-Three
Playing Dress up… not just for kids
Raff
As soon as we walk into the Sweet Spot, Nikki sees us and squeals in delight. Of course, Nathaniel is dressed as Harry Potter, and he asked that I dress as Rubeus Hagrid.
She hurries over to us both. “You two look amazing!”
“Thanks,” Nathaniel beams. “Your makeup is the GOAT.”
“Goat?”
Nikki laughs at my confusion. “Greatest of all time.”
