by Susan Hayes
“I’m just glad to see you smiling. You’re beautiful no matter what, but when you smile, Lia...the whole world lights up.”
She searched his face, looking for some hint that he was insincere, that he hadn’t meant every word. There was nothing in his eyes but desire…and something more. He couldn’t be falling for her. That wasn’t possible. It was too soon. Nick wasn’t the kind of man who wanted anything long term. At least, she hadn’t thought so. But the more she got to know him, the more Lia realized there was more to him than she had even imagined.
“Stop that.” Nick’s voice snapped her out of her thoughts and brought her back to the present.
“Stop what?”
“You’re doing that scrunchie-faced thinking thing again. I’m hereby declaring this entire place a no-thinking zone for the rest of the night.”
“For someone who recently stated I should play professional poker for a living, you don’t appear to have any trouble reading me.”
“That’s because I’ve been paying attention. Also I’m talented, insightful, amazing, and incredibly modest. It’s a burden I’ve learned to live with.” He was laughing before the last words left his mouth, and Lia found herself leaning down to kiss him.
“You have the sexiest laugh,” she whispered before sealing his lips with hers. Everything about Nick Wilde made her hot. His laugh, his strength, the way he touched her, and the way he pushed right past all her defenses and took what he wanted with a smile that melted her heart a little more each time she saw it. He cradled the back of her head with one hand, holding her close as they savored each second of contact. It was the most intimate moment she’d ever shared with another person. The taste of his lips, the scent of his skin, the heat of his body beneath hers all blended together. Tongues dipped and tangled, mouths mated, skin sliding against skin.
She moaned into his mouth and he took their kiss deeper, devouring her and holding her so close there was nothing between them but heat. She opened her eyes and found herself staring into his, falling into their blue depths. Time slowed, and then came a moment of perfect connection, when even their hearts beat as one. It was overwhelming and wonderful, and when it had passed Lia knew things would never be the same again.
“You’re magic,” Nick murmured, looking up at her with adoration burning in his eyes.
“Can’t be, the wand is still downstairs.”
“I don’t think we need the wand anymore. Do you?” Lia’s heart skipped a beat and then she shook her head.
“No, I don’t think we do.”
Nick raised his head and kissed her, his hands smoothing down her body until they were on her hips. He arched his back, lifting her off the bed and she felt the hard shaft of his cock brush against the curve of her ass. “I need you.”
“Then take me.” Lia broke their kiss to sit upright, shifting her position so that his cock was between them, sliding through the slick folds of her pussy.
“Condom,” Nick grated out the single word, his hands closing on her hips as he fought to stay in control.
Lia paused, and then broke the last rule she had. “I’m on the pill and I’m clean. If you can promise me the same, then we don’t need one.”
Nick’s eyes widened and his fingers bit into her flesh as he gripped her tighter. “I’ve never gone without one. Not once. You’re sure?”
“I trust you,” she said, and she watched the impact of her words tear through Nick like a wildfire. His eyes blazed, his smile turned feral and his dick twitched and turned to steel where it was pressed against her clit.
She raised herself up, reaching between them to guide him into position. Nick lifted his head to watch as their bodies came together, and as her body took him in, he loosed a wild groan of raw need.
“So good. Fuck, you feel incredible, Lia. Please tell me we can do it like this every time, because now I’ve had you like this, I don’t know if I can go back.”
Lia could only nod. There were no more barriers between them. She’d torn them all away, broken every rule she had. She gave herself to him without restriction, and he took her gift with a smile.
“Mine now,” he growled as he drove himself up into her body, filling her so completely she could feel his cock throb against her inner walls. His primal words inflamed her, and she dropped her hands to his forearms bracing herself against them as she began to move. Every roll of her hips drew another low groan of need from Nick, who was watching her with hooded eyes.
“This again? I’m not yours, Nick,” she argued. There was a snarl and then the world went topsy-turvy. Lia blinked once, then again, and found herself staring up at Nick.
“Mine.” He repeated as he took her by the wrists and pinned her arms to the bed. His weight kept her pinned in place, and there was a wild look in his eyes that made her breath catch in her throat.
“No.”
“Liar. You feel it too. You can’t deny there’s something between us anymore, Lia, I won’t let you. It was there the night we danced, and it’s never gone away. There are nearly three million people in this city, and yet I found you again. That’s fate.”
“No, it was my interfering best friend and your future sister-in-law.”
“Fate. I’ve never met anyone like you before, and I don’t think I’ll ever find someone else that makes me this nuts. I want to find out just how good we can be together. So stop fucking fighting me and tell me you’re mine.”
Her temper flared to life, hotter than the fire of lust that coursed through her veins. “I’m not yours. Not yet. If you want that from me, then we have a long way to go yet,” she challenged him and then lifted her head, kissing him hard as she sank her teeth into his lower lip.
“I’m not going anywhere.” He said, pain and pleasure roughening his voice. He pushed his body upward, over of hers, freeing them both to move again. Before she could do more than draw a single breath, he was moving, setting a punishing pace as he drove his cock into her again and again. He kept her hands pinned, but her legs were free. She planted her feet on the bed and met him thrust for thrust, too enflamed to do anything but give in to the demands of her body. She craved his touch, the way he stretched and filled her. Every stroke and counter pushed her closer to the edge, both of them panting, half wild with need.
This time it was Nick who lost the battle for control first, bottoming out inside her, groaning her name in low, shuddering tones. He came hard, pounding her into the mattress as he emptied himself inside her, and those last few thrusts sent her hurtling past the brink and into her own release.
“Remind me to start taking vitamins again,” Nick eventually muttered into the soft skin of her neck.
“Why?”
“Because I think it’s pretty obvious you and I are going to fight from time to time, and if that was any indication, I’m going to need to prepare in advance, or the make-up sex might just kill me.”
****
Nick was torn between the desire to keep Lia in his arms as long as he could, and the burning need he had to put his mark on her. He wanted to see his designs on her golden skin. Even if no one saw it but the two of them, he wanted to know it was there. Every time she looked down, it would be there, reminding her of this night, and of him. When she stirred and started to sit up, he knew it was time.
“Are you ready to get on with the next item on tonight’s agenda, Cin?”
“I’ve lost track of the plan. What’s next again?”
“My favorite bit. This is where I get to draw on you.”
She gave him a slow, sleepy smile. “You were that kid in kindergarten who was always keen to get the finger paints out, weren’t you?”
“Oh yeah, that was me all right. I brought up everything we’d need earlier, so now you just need to answer a few questions while I get set up. You stay here and relax, I’m going to sit at my desk so I can draw up the design while we talk.”
She nodded, sitting up and gathering the quilt around her shoulders before nestling into a corner of th
e bed. The studio was well heated, and his former career had left him with little thought for his own nudity, so Nick simply stood and crossed over to his desk without bothering to dress. It wasn’t until he was seated, sketch book open and pencil in hand, that he noticed Lia was staring.
“Were your family nudists or something? I’ve never seen anyone so comfortable in their own skin,” she said.
Her question caught him off guard, and for a split second he considered confessing the truth, but then he thought better of it. Lia wasn’t ready to hear about his time as a dancer yet, she’d just use it as a reason to run. “Florida is too hot to wear much, so I just got used to showing more skin.”
“One day I want to go somewhere like that. Warm ocean breezes, blue water and nothing on but a swimsuit and sunscreen.”
“Sounds good. Especially the part about you in a swimsuit. Got any vacation time saved up? We could have our toes in the sand by the end of the month.”
Lia’s eyes widened and her lips parted several times, but no words came out. He took a shot in the dark. “How long has it been since you took time off?”
“Uh. A while.”
“I know that look. I know that answer too. It’s the same one my “all work, no play” big brother Dave gives my mom when she asks him that question. Let me make it simple for you. Have you taken vacation time in the last two years?”
“No.”
He pushed her a little further. “How about the last five years?”
She looked pleased with herself when she answered this time. “Yes. Mom had some minor surgery a few years ago and I took time off to help take care of her.”
“That’s not a vacation, Cin.” Nick knew it was crazy to even consider it, but he was already thinking about whisking Lia away for a three day weekend somewhere warm. The shop could manage without him for a few days, and flights to somewhere like Vegas were cheap and easy to book. The hard part would be convincing her to take time for herself.
“You can’t get a lot of time off either. This place doesn’t run itself.”
“Lately, things have been on an even keel. I can actually get out of town now and then. I went back to Florida this summer to visit Tor and sit on the beach for a few days. When I got back, the place was still standing, so I think I can risk taking off again when I’m ready.”
Lia shook her head. “I can’t leave my parents. What if something happened while I was gone?”
“Then you’d do what the rest would do, grab the first flight home. You know you are allowed to have your own life, right?”
She scowled and shook her head hard. “Not when I’m all they’ve got. It’s easier for you, you have four brothers to share the load. You’ve got all the time in the world to build your own life and still watch over your family.”
Nick had been sketching as they talked, but now he set the pencil down. “They don’t need me to watch over them. Hell, they don’t trust me enough for that. I’m the black sheep, Lia, the one that never fit in. They love me, because that’s what you’re supposed to do with family, but if my mom got sick or my dad needed help, I’d be the last one they called. Right now, the rest of them will be at Leo’s eating burgers and shooting pool, just like they do every week. I’m not there, and they don’t expect me to be. That’s just the way it is.”
“Why?” she asked.
“Because I’m the one who didn’t fall in line. I went my own way, even when my dad was dead set against it. Fuck, when I was young and dumb I did things for no other reason than because my father told me not to.”
“Like going to art school in Florida?” she asked, her voice softer now.
“Yeah. Exactly like that. And worse still, I didn’t stay and finish my degree, I quit to apprentice to Tor, and then came back here and opened my own shop. I’ll actually be getting my degree in a few months, and none of them even know I’ve gone back to school to finish. We just don’t communicate that well. I do things my way, on my own terms. It’s not something the rest of them will ever understand. Well, Tag does now, but that’s because he had to quit the force and find something else to do with his life.”
“He got shot on the job, didn’t he?”
“Yes he did. Scared the hell out of us all while we sat in that hospital room and waited for news. I think our mom aged five years in the five hours it took for them to patch him back up again.”
“My mom was the same way. I came home the night we lost Alex, and everything had changed, even my parents. It was the first time I saw my father cry, and my mom…she looked so frail, like all the life had been sucked out of her. They were both so lost in grief I barely recognized them. I was out past curfew and expecting to get my ass chewed out for it, but instead, mom grabbed me and hugged me so hard I had bruises the next day.” Lia curled deeper into the quilt and Nick went to her, gathering her into his arms and holding her as she leaned into him with a near silent sigh.
He couldn’t think of a single thing to say, so he opted to say nothing at all. Instead, he just held onto her, his head bowed over hers as he offered her what comfort he could. Sooner than he would have liked, she was sitting up, flashing him a sheepish smile as she lifted her gaze to his. “Sorry. I don’t usually talk about this. I don’t know why I’m telling you now.”
“Because you know I can understand, at least a little. I nearly lost my brother to a bullet too. It’s something else we have in common.”
She wrinkled her nose. “We don’t really have that much in common, Nick.”
“That’s where you’re wrong. We do. You’re just not ready to admit to it yet.” He pressed a quick kiss to the top of her head and stood again.
“Where are you going?”
“To finish drawing your tattoo.”
“But we didn’t talk about what I wanted.”
He gave her a wink and sat back down at his desk. “Wrong again. You told me everything I needed to know.”
Nick sketched quickly, and within ten minutes he was ready to show her what he’d created. “Come here and tell me what you think.”
“You’re done already?” Lia hopped up and joined him at the desk, and when he moved his hand away so she could see, he was pleased to see a brief glimmer of tears in her beautiful eyes.
“Those are forget-me-not flowers, aren’t they?” she asked, one finger brushing along the curling lines that flowed around the trio of blooms he’d drawn.
“They are.”
She paused to tap a finger to the design he’d woven into the pattern, so subtle it would have been easy to miss. “I love it. Even this bit here. Did you think I wouldn’t notice?”
He grinned. “I was hoping you’d be distracted by the flowers. Do you want me to take them out?”
She glanced down at the sketch again, and he held his breath until she answered him. “No, leave the raven wings in. They’re pretty.”
“I’m glad you like it.”
Lia surprised him by dropping the quilt and curling into his lap, her arms around his neck and her head on his shoulder. “I love it. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
She snuggled in a little closer. “Just don’t get any dumb ideas that just because you drew a pair of raven wings on me, I somehow belong to you now.”
“I wouldn’t dream of it.”
“Somehow, I don’t believe you,” she said with a soft trill of laughter.
“And yet you’re going to let me do it anyway,” he said, barely managing to keep from gloating.
“Yes, I am. Now get on with it before I change my mind. And if you make me say that ridiculous magic word again…”
“You don’t have to. I told you, already. We’re past the need for wishes and wands. Anything you want from me, Lia, all you have to do is ask.”
Chapter Nine
It had taken a while, but Lia was finally getting used to seeing Nick’s artwork on her skin. He’d taken her through the entire process, explaining each step as he’d transferred the design to a stencil and the
n laid it on her skin, getting the placement just right before moistening her skin with distilled water and letting the ink mark her so he had a guide to follow. The henna had been cold and goopy, like having someone doodle on her with pudding, but once it had dried, she couldn’t deny that she liked the way it looked.
Nick had told her that it would darken over the first few days, and then it would slowly fade away again. He had been right, of course. The man always seemed to be right, even about things he shouldn’t have had any clue about. Like how well they fit together, and how much she enjoyed his company once she finally stopped fighting the attraction between them. Each day that passed, her tattoo faded a little more, but her feelings for Nick were only getting stronger. Not that either of them had talked about their feelings. Nick was possessive and protective, but he seemed happy enough to keep what they had comfortably in the present for the most part. He was still trying to get her to consider taking a few days off and going away with him, but that was as far as it went.
Lia hadn’t agreed yet, though she had been giving it some thought. Going away with Nick would be an official milestone. It was something couples did together. It would mean that Nick was her boyfriend. Was she ready to have Nick as a permanent part of her life? Was he really the one she should be with? She blew out a breath and stared into her mug, looking for answers in the last inch of her latte.
“What the hell am I doing?” she asked the world at large. Her tabby cat lifted his head at the sound of her voice, yawned and then blinked at her sleepily from his vantage point on the window sill. No help from that quarter either. Not that Mister Darcy’s opinion could be trusted. Her normally shy cat had taken an instant liking to Nick, climbing into his lap and purring like they were the best of buddies.
The fuzzy little traitor.
She drained her mug and set it on the coffee table in front of her, never losing the rhythm of her back and forth motion. She loved sitting in the old rocking chair. It helped her think, and the constant motion soothed her on nights like this. Usually she’d be demolishing a pint of ice cream instead of drinking espresso, but Nick was working late at the shop tonight and she needed the boost to get her past the events of the day so she would be energized by the time he arrived.
