by Ace Gray
“Actually it’s going well. I’m still here.”
“You stayed?” His voice wavered.
“Yeah, I did…” I let my voice trail off.
“You took him back didn’t you?” Kevin’s voice dropped, no longer friendly, no longer his. His iciness didn’t affect me the way Nick’s did, but rather set me on the defensive.
“Yes, as a matter of fact, not that it’s any of your business.” I looked over to Nick who was watching intently with one eyebrow raised.
“It’s totally my business. I was there for you when he wrecked you. Twice! It’s my business because I love you god damnit!”
He yelled into the phone and I automatically pulled it away from my ear. To my surprise, Nick took it from my hand and pressed it up to his ear.
“Don’t you dare yell at her.” His voice was nothing short of menacing like this. I couldn’t decide if that was a good or a bad thing. All I knew was the set of his jaw and color of his eyes meant do not interrupt.
“That’s none of your fucking business Kevin. She’s none of your fucking business. From what I understand you’ve done plenty with what’s mine.” The pause afterward was agony. Only muffled shouting came across the line; it was making my shoulders creep toward my ears, tension pull at my neck.
“You’re right, I don’t deserve her. I never will. But I’ll be damned if I won’t do everything within my power to keep her and keep her happy.”
With that Nick clicked off the call and handed my phone back to me. I waited for the inevitable shouting match. How he’d let it go before I still wasn’t sure.
“I mean it, you know.” He grabbed my palm and kissed it. “I know I don’t deserve you.”
I breathed a sigh of relief but any type of gratitude was overshadowed by pure unadulterated lust. I was elated we weren’t going to fight and I had my leg over his before he could even react.
“I don’t think I deserve you either.” I kissed him passionately, completely unconcerned with our morning meeting.
He let his hands wander up my legs then squeeze my hips. I gasped against his mouth when he caught a little of the bruises. A devious smile pulled at his lips before his hands fell away from me all together.
“We’re just going to have to trust everything will work out, aren’t we?”
My phone pattered next to the bed. 7:43 a.m. The urge to chuck it took over and, if my limbs hadn’t felt like lead, I would have followed through. Ari’s name flashed on the screen.
I’ll kill her.
She’d been calling at all hours for the last two days, planning, re-planning and over-planning Nick’s birthday. I reluctantly wormed my way out of Nick’s arms to answer.
“Hold on,” I hissed into the phone and snuck out of the room, quietly shutting the door behind me. I turned to speak and almost smacked into Ari.
“What are you doing?” I was still whispering as I hung up.
“I’m here to help set up.”
“Set up?” I hadn’t gotten much sleep and my brain was barely kicking into gear. “Did I miss something Ari?” My voice was clipped.
“We talked about fun birthday. Don’t you remember?”
I tried not to squinch my face as I recalled working through every conversation we’d had.
“Ya know, things like streamers, balloons, glitter…We never got to do that kind of birthday. We need to catch up.”
Ari had already lugged two bags upstairs herself. I rolled my eyes and told her fine before heading down to the kitchen to make coffee. Every fiber of my being told me to crawl back into bed with Nick, but I figured Ari would interrupt every fifteen seconds just as she had with her incessant phone calls.
My Americano and I flopped to the couch as the elevator dinged. I was stunned when Frank, three more bags and a giant donkey piñata popped out of the elevator.
“Oh for fuck’s sake, Ari,” I swore under my breath. The flurry of crepe paper that was currently cascading down my stairwell was making this morning downright painful. The longer I let her go the more decorations vomited on my walls. I traced the outline of different windowpanes to soothe myself.
“Mom called. She’ll be here soon, Kate. Not sure if you wanted to change.”
Ari leaned over the couch, her golden brown hair framing her face as she smirked a signature Bryant smirk. I rolled my eyes as I trudged off, second cup of espresso in hand, having no desire to be caught in my pajamas by Julia. Again.
I cracked opened the bedroom door, slipped in as soon as I fit, and was tiptoeing toward the closet when a soft chuckle unfurled, rich and warm in the room. I melted when I laid eyes on Nick. He was leaning against the headboard and smiling ear to ear, relaxed, and soaking up the sunlight that fell across his face. I set down my coffee and went to him.
“Happy birthday, baby,” I purred as I crawled across the bed.
He reached for me, lacing his fingers into my hair at the nape of my neck and pulled my lips to his. For just a moment, his kiss danced wildly against my lips but then he used his grip to sit me back, capturing my bottom lip with his teeth as he went. When he let my pout free, his priceless crooked smile split his face.
Fuck me.
“What’s the ruckus out there?”
“Ari,” I answered still somewhat breathless.
He rolled his eyes and shook his head at whatever he’d imagined. “I would’ve been fine with something simple, something just the two of us.” He reached down the neck of my shirt and flicked my nipple as he spoke.
“I should have thought of that.” I groaned and pressed my chest into his hand. “At least we’ll have tonight and tomorrow.”
“There’s more than the current commotion in our apartment?”
“Yes. The good stuff is later.”
He smiled and used both his grip on my neck and a tweak on my breast to reel me in. “How long do we have in here?” he asked, his lips grazing mine.
“You have as much time as you want but I’ve probably got thirty seconds before Ari needs something or your mother arrives,” I whimpered in spite of myself, falling into him as his lips wandered across my skin.
Ari gave us approximately 47 seconds before banging on the door.
“Tell her to leave it,” Nick murmured then nibbled on my earlobe.
Ari’s tiny little fist assaulted the door again. I was going to break her little bird-like fingers.
“One second,” I yelled, debating Nick’s suggestion.
“If you have your lips wrapped around my brother’s dick, I’m going to kick your ass!” she bellowed back.
I growled as I shoved away from Nick and stomped over to the door. My hands squeezed the handle almost painfully hard as I whipped it open.
“I couldn’t ask for one second if my mouth was otherwise engaged, now could I?” I shot her a withering look as I crossed my arms over my chest.
“Touché.” She beamed as she knocked me on the shoulder, laughter already shaking her shoulders. “But since you aren’t otherwise engaged come help me.” She turned with a self-satisfied smirk before I could respond.
I snarled and stomped my foot as I slammed the door shut. When Nick’s real booming laughter echoed off the windows, I stopped short.
“Oh Sweets.” His megawatt smile shone as he leaned forward to rest his elbow on his bent knees. “How does it feel to get played by a Bryant woman?” He shoved his hand back through his hair, still chuckling to himself.
For just a moment my temper welled up but then I recalled the times I’d seen them handle him like professionals. If Nicholas Bryant was getting strummed like a fiddle by those two, it wasn’t anything for me to lose my mood over.
“Doesn’t sit quite right does it?”
“Not exactly my cup of tea.” My brow pinched together.
“I’m well aware.” He laughed so genuinely that any
pique I’d felt melted completely.
I live for this version of Nick.
He was hard to pull away from but I wasn’t in the mood to have Ari work me over twice so I slunk to the closet in surrender. I chose Boyfriend jeans, and a soft mohair shirt—the shirt showed a small amount of midriff, enough that Nick’s fingers would skate across my skin but not so much that it was risqué. I added some sparkly geode jewelry and knew the chunky, architectural wedges I’d throw on later would complete the outfit.
Nick whistled a low, sexy whistle when I came out. I walked over to kiss him and his fingers traced the skin showing above my jeans, just as I predicted. He even crooked his finger down below the denim waistband. I had to pull away when he discovered I hadn’t put on underwear.
In the few minutes I’d been gone a party store had exploded in the apartment. My eyes went wide and I couldn’t help the grumble in my chest.
“Ari, are you going to clean this up? I refuse to force Romana to do so.”
She simply smiled and recruited Frank to unravel glitter streamers to hang in the office doorway. Laura and Julia were hiding out in the dining room. I joined them hoping to be spared the madness.
A totally different type of turmoil greeted me there.
Seeing Julia instinctually made my chest tighten and I had to hold back a snarl. I hadn’t realized I was angry with her until the moment fury crashed against me like a tidal wave. I hadn’t had much time to process Nick’s family history, I’d been too consumed by my feelings and our problems to think very far beyond that. The how could yous and how dare yous danced on the tip of my tongue. I dug my teeth into it instead, hoping my eyes hadn’t clouded like Nick’s would have.
“This is bananas Kate. You’re going all out.” Laura looked up from Page Six, rolling her eyes.
“It’s all Ari,” I said coolly.
“My daughter has always been prone to excess.” Julia’s voice was so sweet. I tried not to scowl in her direction.
“Does she do this every year?” Laura asked.
The words hung in the air between Julia and I. I shifted uncomfortably and caught a glimpse Julia out of the corner of my eye. She was smiling perfectly, sipping coffee as if there was no history, no long answer, no fucked up tale. I thought about strangling her.
“Nicholas hasn’t been much for celebrating his birthday in the past. We’ve accommodated him over the years.”
Julia always knew how to respond. She’d been practicing her song and dance for years. My chest flushed a heated shade of pink.
“Now all the sudden he’s okay with it?” Laura laughed when she asked.
“He’s relaxed considerably with Kate and he’s finally enjoying life. That’s also new for Nicholas.” Julia looked up and pulled out her own megawatt Bryant-style smile. “I’m very proud of him, Kate.”
She stood, circling the table swiftly to hug me. My brow creased and my lips pursed automatically at her touch; my hands hesitated before awkwardly grasping her forearm.
“Thank you, you darling girl,” Julia whispered in my ear before leaving the room to find Ari.
“He does it to you too,” Laura said, mercifully still focused on a newspaper. The conversation would be very different if she’d seen my befuddled look. “You’re feeling more. It’s not always great but you’re much more alive. He breathed something new into you.”
My shoulders melted away from my ears and a smile easily returned at the thought of Nick breathing, his chest rising and falling with that familiar cadence below my ear.
Ari shrieked from the other room, and I knew Nick had emerged. I walked leisurely to the living room behind Laura to find Nick receiving hugs and handshakes from our small group of family and friends. I stood at the back of the line, patiently waiting my turn. When Ari grabbed him a second time he stopped her.
“Ari, I want a hug from my girl.”
He closed the small gap between us and grabbed me around my waist. He pulled me tightly to his chest and bent to kiss me. I poured all the love I had for him into that kiss and couldn’t help that my fingers flexed into his chest. Laura cleared her throat behind him but he only held me tighter. I cracked a smile against his lips. He broke away but kept his focus on me.
“You’ve lost your touch little sister. I expected much, much more out of the decor.” He kept a serious mask in place even though a loud HA! shot out of my lips. Our beautiful apartment, usually a testament to design, looked like an eight-year old girl’s birthday party. Ari’s mouth dropped open as she stammered for words.
“He’s kidding, Ari.” I winked over his shoulder.
She let out a deep breath then planted a playful slap on his shoulder. He turned to face everyone then let slip a shy smile, looking exactly thirty in that moment.
Nick’s fingers wove into mine as our herd ambled toward the dining room and whether it was below the table, across armrests or in plain view of everyone, he only squeezed tighter throughout the day. He even kept hold as he ate the breakfast “hot dogs” I’d asked Romana to make. His thumb rubbed over the back of my hand more times than I could count.
“Thank you.” He kept his voice low, husky even, as he turned to focus on me. “Really, from the bottom of my heart.” He searched my eyes and I caught my bottom lip between my teeth. My heart burst, overflowing with something I didn’t think I’d find after my parent’s death: love and gratitude.
The thud my heart made was deafening in my ears. Nick had to have heard it, or sensed it or whatever it was that let him read my body so well. I couldn’t help it though. This life that was laid before me and the family circling the table, was so unexpected, so remarkable. I’d given up on ever getting this and the fact that it had appeared anyway, well…
Oh God, don’t lose your shit.
“Everything okay?” Nick whispered as he leaned to kiss behind my ear. I kept hold of the inside of my cheek while I nodded yes.
We chatted and laughed long enough for the coffee to turn to champagne and then to scotch. Somewhere along the line, Nick pulled me off my chair and into his lap. We were one little entity, laughing and chattering away. When presents were passed out, he simply wove his arms around me to pop the paper open.
“Where’s yours?” His breath was warm against my neck, his lips brushing against my skin.
“You’ll just have to wait and see.” I snuggled back into him.
The door of the idling Bentley shut behind us as Nick turned to me. “Vegas?” His eyebrow raised as he took a stab at my birthday surprise. I hadn’t been able to hide travel from him when Jaime appeared with his overnight bag packed courtesy of Romana.
“No.”
He smirked. “Miami?”
“God help us.” I rolled my eyes.
“Paris.”
“Should’ve thought of that.” I leaned over and kissed his jaw before burying my nose in my BlackBerry. He let a few blocks go by before he took the device from my hand and slid it into his pocket.
“Where are we taking a helicopter?”
“You’ll see.” I smiled over at him, completely unsurprised that he’d guessed where we were headed.
“I really didn’t want all this…” He paused as he rolled his hand along my arm. “…madness.” His soft words were warm against my skin and rustled my hair.
“I promise no madness. I didn’t intend on there being madness this morning.” I laughed to myself. “As if I should’ve expected anything less from Ari.”
“Sure you don’t want to tell me where you’re taking me? I’m not overly fond of surprises.”
“I’m taking you to pick up your present.”
Wordlessly, he wrapped his arm around my neck and shoulders and pulled me into him. We looked like handsy kids in the back of a car, not CEOs headed to the Downtown Heliport.
Cold wind whipped around us as we walked to the helicopter. Ther
e was a dreamy quality to the scene as my hair danced across my lips and cheeks. Nick, in his jeans, tight fitting sweater, and wool coat, striding powerfully across the helipad didn’t hurt either. He climbed in first, but only so he could bend down and help me up. I was glad I’d worn Boyfriend jeans as I stepped up to the seats.
Nick helped me buckle in then wrapped his arms around me. I had to worm around his hold to pull on the headphones but then I leaned my head against his shoulder and, even with the clunkers, I fit.
We were still about twenty minutes out when he crackled in my ears. “Will I get to drive?” He’d figured my plan out.
“I think we can pencil that in.” I made a show of rolling my eyes.
We landed close to the house and he grabbed our bags then me out of the helicopter. When Nick shouldered our luggage rather than handing it off, I realized this was the only place we were ever truly alone. I punched the code into the house lock box and grabbed the key before it fell to the ground. When I opened the house we were greeted by fresh flowers and a beautifully wrapped matte black box, complete with dark royal blue ribbon tied neatly up into a bow. Nick dropped the bag and whistled at the gift waiting in the kitchen.
“Would you like to open them now?” I ran my finger along the packaging.
“Them as in plural?” He smiled. “I only see one.”
“That may be on purpose.” I walked over to him and used the same finger to trace down his chest. He caught my finger and kept me from traveling lower.
“Would it be entirely too much to ask for a quiet evening with you? I’m enjoying the whole birthday thing and wouldn’t mind prolonging it.” His smile was shy and bewitching.
“What do you mean quiet?” I asked and he made a face that meant only one thing. “No sex? Nick, are you serious?” A frown tugged at my lips.
“Well, I was more focused on the sweet stuff. You know, talking, cuddling, one on one time, but I guess yeah, that too.”
I made a face like I’d bitten into a lemon. He’d been touching me all day. Every inch of me had sang, singed, or goose bumped with want. A very primal place in my body recalled how sharply he’d pulled on my nipple in bed. And I was in danger of going as slick with arousal at the memory as I’d been this morning.
