Sabrina peered out the window .
A motorcycle was parked outside .
She didn’t know anyone who rode a motorcycle. Except… Nick rode a motorcycle .
Sabrina felt something burst open inside her chest. It was hope .
But it couldn't be. He was supposed to be taking the stage in Madrid tonight. In less than two hours, in fact .
She knew the exact time because she'd been following his schedule since she left. Even now. Wondering who he was with. Wondering if he missed her .
She had been really looking forward to Spain too .
Ding -dong .
She raced down the stairs, not bothering to check the mirror. She'd been going through the stuff in the house, deciding what to keep and what to get rid of when she went- where? She wasn't sure but it wouldn't be LA. Her life there held nothing for her anymore .
Maybe she'd stay in Colorado .
Or go join the sharks in New York City. She'd had plenty of offers after business school. Maybe some of them were still standing .
At the moment, she couldn't think about any of that though. All she could think about was opening the door. She told herself not to get her hopes up. That it was impossible .
But it didn’t stop her heart from racing madly as she tore down the stairs .
She skidded to a halt in the front hall and reached for the doorknob .
She opened the door and froze .
Nick Falcon stood there, holding a bouquet of wild flowers. He smiled at her cheekily .
" Hello , love ."
Chapter 53
Nick
N ick's heart swelled at the sight of her. She had a little smudge of dirt on her cheek. His precious, uptight, perfectly imperfect girl had dirt on her face .
Maybe they'd both changed after all .
He knew he had .
The look on her face was changing from disbelief to- something else- he couldn't quite put his finger on it. But she hadn't slammed the door in his face. That was a start, if nothing else .
" Hi Nick ."
He exhaled with relief. He'd been unconsciously holding his breath. She had used his name. That was a good sign .
He said a silent prayer of thanks to the good lord above. And also his mum, who had encouraged him to drop everything and come after her .
Not that he was ever going to do anything else .
"Can I come in please ?”
She nodded and stood aside. She was wearing jeans and a ratty old sweater over a rock t-shirt. He recognized it as the one he'd bought for her in Camden market .
So she had kept one of his gift’s after all .
A very good sign indeed .
He held out the flowers after she'd closed the door .
"I was sorry to hear about your father ."
She took the flowers and lifted her gorgoues eyes to his .
"Thanks Nick. You didn't have to come just because of that ."
"I didn't ."
She was staring back at him with a look that mirrored his own. Cautiously optimistic .
“Please, come inside .”
He trailed her through the well-kept home. It was full of dated furniture and hadn't been changed in twenty years. But it was sparklingly clean and inviting all the same .
Cozy .
He liked it he realized. Better than that cold empty house he had overlooking the Pacific .
"I wrote a new song ."
"That's good, Nick. You should be writing ."
She was putting his flowers into a vase. He noticed how careful she was with them. She acted as if they were roses from the finest florist in London, instead of flowers he'd picked along the roadside while he gathered his nerve .
"It's called ‘Cold Mistress.' Do you want me to play it for you ?"
She glanced at him .
"Not right now. But thanks ."
"I've been thinking I should stop touring. Get back into the studio. It's been years since I released anything ."
She gestured to the kitchen table and he sat .
"I think that's a great idea, Nick. Do you want coffee ?"
He shook his head .
"Tea ?"
"I'm fine. Are you going to offer me anything else ?"
She gave a startled laugh from where she was leaning against the counter. He knew she was keeping minimum safe distance between them. Not that he blamed her .
"What do you mean ?"
"Isn't the old expression 'coffee, tea or me '?"
She gasped and looked away. Maybe he'd read her wrong. But he had no choice. There was no turning back now. He had to forge ahead, or risk losing her forever .
Lord knows he deserved the pain after what he’d done to her. His guts had felt chewed out when he realized the implications. He had gone too far with her, again and again .
"I didn't sleep with those girls you know. The triplets. Or anyone else. I was just trying to make you jealous ."
She lifted her eyes to his and smiled wryly .
"It worked ."
He was on his feet in an instant .
"I'm sorry I got you fired. I was so upset- so hurt- but it was despicable .”
“It doesn’t matter .”
“Jerry is going to offer you your job back. I told him he had to or I would leave the label ."
She shook her head .
“Thank you Nick, but no. I don't want to go back ."
He reached out for her, running his hands up and down her arms .
"What do you want, Brina ?"
She took a shaky breath and looked at him .
"I don't know ."
"I have a job for you if you'll have it ."
She gave him a fragile smile. Tentative and sweet .
" You do ?"
He nodded solemnly .
"I need a new manager for starters. Marley is marrying one of my housemaids and moving to Argentina to make babies .”
“Argentina ?”
“Yes, love. He’d been planning it for a while and decided to kick me when I was down. He asked her over the bloody phone .”
"That's a long flight ."
He laughed, keeping his hands moving. Soothing her. Trying to project his love from his palms directly into her body .
"That's right, it is ."
"I've never managed anyone, Nick. I'd probably mess it up. And I don’t need the charity .”
"Wait now, you haven't heard my full offer ."
She sighed. But she hadn’t smacked him. This was going better than he expected .
"Okay ."
"I've been thinking about starting my own label as well. I need someone to run it. And me. Really, that’s what I’m after. I could find another manager. But I need some sorting out on the home front. I’m a bit rough around the edges, don’t you think ?”
She gave him a glance .
"What are you asking , Nick ?"
"I'm bloody well asking you to marry me, aren't I ?"
She stared at him as he pulled out a Cartier box. He'd had the damn thing since Paris. He’d bought the ring the moment he saw it .
"Nick …"
"Hush and let me do this thing properly ."
She waited while he lowered himself to his knee. He pulled the ring out of the box. It was a dark blue sapphire that matched her eyes perfectly. It was surrounded by diamonds. He glanced up at her, hoping she'd like it .
"Miss Sabrina Newton, will you be my manager ?"
She laughed and covered her face .
"No, sorry, that's not right. Let's try this again. Miss Sabrina Newton, will you run my record company for me? We can base it right here if you want. I don't care where we live. Anywhere you want. Mars. I don
't care ."
She was crying a little bit while he blundered through the longest proposal in the history of the world .
"Oh, bloody hell. No more joking. Will you marry me, love? Please? I'll do anything ."
For a moment, he thought she was going to say no. He held his breath, refusing to exhale until he had his answer. And then she nodded and he scooped her up into his arms and spun her in a circle .
He only set her down when he started to get dizzy. His sweet girl looked a little green around the gills herself. Right, no more spinning then. He slid the ring onto her finger and kissed her .
"I thought you were going to say no ."
"I thought you were trapped under a pile of groupies ."
He threw his head back and laughed .
"No love, those days were over the moment I met you ."
"Really ?"
"Yes really. I've had no interest in other women since you handed me that first bloody schedule ."
She smiled .
"You know, running a record label requires a lot of public appearances …"
"Oh, no you don't. No more appearances until the wedding. That's public enough. Can we do it in London, love? Or maybe just outside the city, in a cute little town. It would mean so much to me mum. Don't worry, we can take the boat over ."
She nodded shyly. His beautiful girl. She was finally going to be officially his girl .
Once and for all .
And he wasn't ever going to let her go .
* * *
A trail of clothing led up the stairs. Nick was still trying to get his trousers off when he saw her childhood bedroom. It was a soft pink, with floral bedding. It looked like a typical little girl’s room, sweet and fluffy. That’s until you saw the concert t-shirts tacked to the wall, along with posters from some of the tightest bands in rock .
He grinned, seeing two of his posters up with the rest .
Sabrina gave him a look as he maneuvered her onto the bed .
“Don’t even think about it .”
“Come on love, let me have my moment .”
She sighed heavily, gasping as their naked bodies collided. He tweaked her nipple, with a whispered ‘please ?’
“Fine .”
He nibbled his way down her delicious body, settling his shoulders between her thighs .
“So you were a fan , then ?”
He leaned forward to nibble on her gorgeous pussy while she attempted to answer .
“I told you I… oh , Nick !”
He slid his tongue inside her, fucking her with his mouth. He pulled out all the stops, even spelling out ‘I love you’ after he did the entire alphabet. His girl was trembling on the tiny twin bed, everything else forgotten .
He was smiling as he climbed back up her body, kissing every inch of her. But he couldn’t wait to get inside her. He was already using every bit of control just to hold back this long .
The time for holding back was over. It was time to unleash the beast. The jealous, lonely beast who had thought he’d lost her forever. The one person who got him. The only one who could make him a man again .
He gripped the headboard, the thick wood feeling sturdy under his hands. He slid into her sweetness, groaning in ecstasy as her body undulated around him .
Easy does it… go slow… and then he was in. All the bloody way in and it felt incredible. He stared down at his woman, feeling that all was right in the world .
“Nick… oh God… please …”
With a low grunt, he slowly pulled out and thrust back into her. Again. Again. He went from zero to sixty. He could not slow down. Could not tenderly make love to her. Could not stop, even if the walls came down around him .
In the end, it was the headboard that cracked, not the walls .
He was driving into her, pouring all the love and desire and fear in his heart into her with a roar .
Just as they both started to peak, a loud crack filled the room. They’d cracked the bloody headboard .
But he still didn’t stop for a second. Not until his cock had stopped pulsating. Not until her convulsions had slowed .
She was breathless, still shuddering in his arms when she spoke .
“What was that ?”
He grinned, rolling them to their sides .
“We finally did what I’ve been wanting to do since the moment I set eyes on you .
“You didn’t even like me !”
“Oh love, you are sorely mistaken .”
She giggled, snuggling closer. Not that he gave her a choice. His arm was locked around her like a vise .
“So, what did you finally do ?”
“We broke the bed , love .”
He smothered her startled laugh with his lips .
Next time, they broke the footboard .
Epilogue
Nick
I t took three bloody months .
Three bloody months to arrange the wedding, and start work on the new house. And to get Sabrina back in his bed .
Nick sighed. At least she visited his bed a few times. And he visited hers quite a lot. But she didn’t move in with him. She stayed in her house in Colorado, settling her parents affairs. Nick visited, working on the new house between trips to Colorado. He sold off a few of his other homes as well .
He bought another row house in London, though this time it was in Mayfair. He put both their names on the deed .
But it was nothing compared to the place he was building for her .
It wasn’t a house, it was a bloody grand estate. The main house had loads of bedrooms for future spawn, plus a guest wing for his mum, Brina’s aunt and Marley if he came to visit. Family only in the house .
A bit farther off were another two self-contained guest houses, a pool house with an outdoor living room. There was a another building with several offices, a green room and three soundproofed studios .
All overlooking the Mediterranean Sea .
They were moving to Capri. The playground of some of the wealthiest people in the world .
Yeah, the scenery didn’t suck .
Now if Nick’s mum or Brina’s aunt wanted to visit, it was closer than California. Plus, Sabrina and Nick both bloody loved it here. They’d gone together to scout out the properties, and ended up meeting a builder instead. They were getting exactly what they wanted with no expense spared .
Capri was a divine place to vacation and an even better place to set up a small music studio, and headquarters for their new label. There were good schools as well .
But for now, they were focused on their first baby .
Reckless Records
As Brina said, it was going to be epic .
But first things first. Today, he was getting married. They’d rented the enormous country estate for two weeks, just so nobody had to run off after the ceremony. Kendall and Bruce were already here, and Marley too, the blighter .
Nick wanted to talk to Sabrina but his mum and all her friends were keeping him away. He groaned, resisting the lure of champagne. He wanted his wits about him today .
He never wanted to forget a thing about this perfect wonderful, extremely frustrating day. He needed his woman in his arms. And now that they were wed, he’d never ever let her go .
“Nick. It’s time .”
He nodded at Bruce. Kendall was laughing, unable to believe that Nick had beat him to the altar. But it was all in good fun .
Anyway, Nick knew that Kendall was next .
Now, they just had to sort out Bruce. He was a bit crabby these days. Staying that sober could do that to a man .
Nick grinned. He barely drank himself these days. And he certainly didn’t drink champagne for breakfast. He tilted his head to the side, considering .
Perhaps on their honeymoon in Bora Bora .
But only if his wife joined him in his debauchery .
“Are you nervous ?”
Kendall was watchin
g him do a last minute check of his hair .
“Me? Of course not, mate. I’m only marrying the most beautiful woman in the world. Inside and out .”
He followed them to the small chapel. Sure there were industry people coming to the party, but the ceremony was just for family. These two blokes fell into that category, whether they liked it or not .
“I’m bloody lucky to have three best men .”
Marley, Bruce and Kendall all smiled at him as they took their places. Marley had even forgiven him for the mess he’d made of the last tour. Even for the triplets. Even for Sabrina .
Marley was always right, the bastard .
They stood still, waiting. Nick felt a bead of sweat on his brow, even though the day was chilly. He thought idly that it might rain .
And then the doors swung open and he stopped thinking altogether .
She was here .
And she was glorious .
Sabrina stood in the doorway, all by herself. Nick’s eyes felt like they were bugging out of his head when he saw her in her gown .
It was simple, but extravagant. It fit her flawlessly, designed just for her by a couture house in London. Cream colored silk, with a sweetheart neckline and full skirt that seemed to swirl about her, even when she was holding still .
Her golden hair was half up, held aloft with diamond clips. In her hands was a bouquet, designed to look like a bunch of wildflowers. A really gorgeous bunch, but wild all the same .
His heart cracked open when he realized what that meant .
She’d take him, warts and all .
She walked forward, looking like a bloody angel. He exhaled, and realized he’d been holding his breath. This was really happening. His dreams were coming true .
The ceremony proceeded in a haze. He said the appropriate things at the appropriate times. And she radiated pure joy. He said a silent prayer that he would not screw things up again .
He promised her that he wouldn’t. Well, not in so many words. Then the priest asked him if he took her as his wife, to have and to hold, until death do them part .
“ I DO !”
The small crowd erupted in laughter as Nick’s cheeks started to burn .
Dance With The Devil (The Devil's Riders Book 4) Page 27
