Solving for Nic (Self Made Men...Southern Style Book 2)

by Lexxi Callahan

  “This looks good and those lemons are perfectly sliced.”

  She laughed, pushed him away playfully. He pulled her chair out for her. “Such a gentleman.”

  They drank a light red wine and ate crackers with cheese and fruit. The canvas canopy blocked out the sun but nothing could stop the cool, clean ocean air. The water was calm and there was no one for miles.

  “This is wonderful.” Lizzie sighed. “How can you stand to leave this place?”

  “I hate to leave this place. It’s the one place I have to myself.”

  “Except for now,” she reminded him.

  “Yes, but see how useful you are.” He waved at the empty plates between them. “This gourmet feast you prepared was delicious.”

  “Did it earn me a place in your crew?” She grinned.

  He plucked a strawberry out of a bowl of mixed berries and held it up for her. She leaned across the small table and opened her mouth. The berry was cold and crisp and juice ran down her chin as she bit down.

  When she licked the juice away with her tongue, she almost laughed at the pained expression on his face. “Delicious,” she admitted.

  “I think I can definitely find a place for you on my crew.”

  “Oh, then I’ll need a uniform.”

  “Come here.” He pushed back from the table.

  She took her time standing and moving toward him. She loved the way his eyes skimmed all over her. She stopped in front of him, standing between his legs staring down at him. His hands went to her waist before sliding up her bare rib cage. She loved the feel of his hands there and the way his thumbs swept over her abdomen.

  “You won’t need a uniform.”

  She smiled and caught her breath as his thumbs moved to tease her nipples. They beaded into hard points and the pressure of his thumbs made them ache. She grabbed a strawberry to distract him and held it for him. She watched him bite down on the strawberry with strong white teeth, then ducked down and traced the trickle of juice at the corner of his mouth with her tongue.

  He tugged her forward. She lost her balance and fell into his lap as he swallowed the strawberry. He kissed her. Wine, strawberries and Nic was more than Lizzie could take.

  “You are delicious.”

  She stretched. Light-headed, she settled down against his shoulder and gave into the weight pulling at her eyelids. “I think I had too much wine.”

  His index finger pressed against her lower lip. “Thank you for lunch.”

  Another first for her. She smiled, kissing the tip of his finger. She was having all kinds of first times with Nic. The wine, the rocking of the boat, and the heat from Nic’s body were all too much and she lost the battle with her eyelids and fell asleep before she knew it.

  A splash roused Lizzie from the catnap she was dosing in and out of. Another splash had her up and looking around. She spotted a neat pile of clothes by the stern. She leaned over the side of the boat and found him in the ocean treading water.

  “Are you crazy?”

  He wiped the water off his face. “I needed to cool off. Come in.”

  Lizzie shivered, the sun was already starting to set and the water was darker. “There are creatures. Jellyfish, seaweed. I don’t do oceans, Nic. I like the beach.”

  “Some mermaid you are,” he teased, swimming back toward the boat.

  “Mermaid? What makes you think I'm a mermaid?”

  “Your hair,” he told her. “Definitely mermaid hair.”

  Lizzie grinned then a second later dove into the warm water.

  “What about the creatures?” he asked as she surfaced next to him.

  She shrugged. “Mermaid. Remember?”

  She splashed him in the face then pushed away from him, enjoying the warm sea water on her skin. They played in the water for a while, laughing and splashing and kissing until Nic dragged them both back to the boat before they drowned because they couldn’t stop touching each other.

  He levered onto the swimming platform, then pulled her next to him.

  “You want to stay out here tonight or go back in?”

  “Stay on the boat?”

  He nodded. “Cabin’s comfortable.”

  “You think that's a good idea? You may not be safe. Mermaids can be dangerous.” He might not be safe anyway. Her hands wanted to smooth away the water droplets clinging to the fine hairs on his chest. She'd never realized how sexy chest hair could be. She wanted to rub her whole body all over him.

  “I’ll take my chances. You don't scare me, mermaid or not.”

  A second later, Lizzie got her wish as crisp hairs met soft skin and a bonfire blew up between them. She pulled her mouth away this time, and ran a sizzling line of open-mouthed kisses along his jaw, down his throat until she was tracing the lines of his pectoral with her tongue. He was delicious. He tasted like the ocean and Lizzie wanted to taste all of him.

  He stopped her when her mouth trailed down. She was about to trace his navel with her tongue when he flipped her to her back on the swimming platform and blocked out the afternoon sun.

  “My turn.”

  “It’s always your turn.”

  His slow sexy smile held her in thrall as he moved over her, droplets of ocean sliding from his hair to her skin.

  “Tell me where you want me to kiss you next.” His voice was at least two octaves lower this time. It redefined sexy. “Lizzie,” he warned, drawing her name out and smiling at the same time he tried to sound dire.

  She pretended to think, rolling her eyes around as if it were a hard decision. When one dark eyebrow lifted, she tapped her cheek, turning it to him. “Here.”

  “Good choice.” He pressed a gentle kiss against her cheek. “My turn to pick.”

  She choked back a shriek when he pushed one black triangle of her bikini top aside then closed his mouth over one aching breast. His tongue teased her ruthlessly, but not for long enough. Then he made a move for her other one and she tried to wrench away from him. “My turn.”

  His tongue flicked out in one quick circle. “No, matching set counts as one.”

  She giggled then yelped as he teased her other nipple until she wasn't sure if she was laughing or crying or trying to breathe. His teeth nipped at her and a slight edge of pain sliced through her. Her eyes flew open and she found him studying her reaction.

  “You like that, don't you?” His voice was hoarse. He rolled her tight bud between his finger and thumb as he watched her closely, not letting her break eye contact. Her lips parted as another arrow darted through her. “Don't you?” He increased the pressure.

  “Yes.” The husky tone of her voice called something dangerous out of him. He straightened and pulled her to her feet. “Nic, what’s wrong?” Concern shook her.

  He crushed her against his chest. “I’m not inside you, that’s what’s wrong.”

  Heat seared through her. “You can fix that, right?” she teased.

  He was silent a full heartbeat then the most amazing thing happened. He laughed and it turned him into a complete stranger. She’d never heard him really laugh before. Chuckle maybe, but not the rich, full laughter that made her knees go weak.

  “I may have a plan,” he agreed, urging her toward the deck lounger. Confused, she stumbled. “Knees,” he rasped against her ear and she dropped to her knees on the end of the heavy deck lounge chair.

  He pulled the bikini top ties loose and it fell away. His hands closed over her breasts, massaging and teasing until she was delirious. She turned her face into his neck as he rolled her nipples harder. There was the slightest edge of pain but it sharpened the pleasure. The muscles in her back flexed involuntarily and she shivered in reaction.

  Overwhelmed, she couldn’t think. He spoke against her ear, warm raspy words asking her to do dirty things. Fire licked through her and she got her body to do anything but burn. His tongue traced the spiral of her ear as he continued the slow pressure on her nipples, torturing them until Lizzie admitted to herself she liked it when he got a little
rough with her.

  “You got to see what I see, now I want you to feel what I feel.”

  “I do feel it.” She whimpered, her whole body shaking.

  “Show me,” he whispered against her ear. “Touch yourself for me.”

  The hunger in those raspy words sliced through any inhibitions she had. She wanted to comply but her body wouldn’t cooperate with her brain. “I can't.” The words rattled past her teeth and she couldn’t stop shaking.

  “I'll help you,” he whispered, taking her right hand and lacing his fingers through hers.

  “Nic.” She tried to jerk away from him but he flattened her hand against her stomach and held her tight against his chest. She didn't think she could do this. The idea of touching herself in front of him paralyzed her with a drugging combination of embarrassment and excitement.

  He tugged the strings at her hips loose and the two triangles of the bikini bottoms fell away. “There is no one else here,” he assured her. “It's just us.”

  She was losing all sense of herself. The edges of her reality were blurred and all she could feel was the heat from Nic's body pressed tight against her back and the sound of his voice calling out the wicked part of her that wanted to do anything he asked.

  “I've got you.” He moved her hand lower, curving her fingers until she felt her own slick heat and then reality joined her bikini on the deck as it fell away.

  He rolled her fingers and every part of her burned. Making her share something so intimate with him unlocked layers and layers of pleasure inside her. She got drunk on discovering each one before she floated straight out of reality.

  “Bella, let go.” The quiet words were like silk on her skin and Lizzie surrendered to the knowledge she would never be the same again.

  His name escaped from her lips in a harsh gasp as the orgasm consumed her. He let go of her hand, and used his own to push her further into oblivion and she died, not understanding why he could do these things to her. Why she let him. He turned her around and pushed her back down on the lounge chair, spread her legs until her feet touched the ground on either side of her. She pushed to her toes when he slid his hand under her hips and lifted her to his mouth.

  His tongue moved over her much more slowly than his hand. Too slowly. Her fingers clawed into his hair and she felt him chuckle, his breath sending chills racing across her skin.

  “Nic,” she pleaded, her body coiling tighter and tighter as she fought to suck in oxygen. “Please...I need…”

  “I know what you need,” he rumbled, licking her deep until she cried from the pain of so much pleasure.

  He dangled her over the edge, building something sharp and bright inside her. She didn’t think she could come again. It was too far away. She couldn’t quite reach it. Whimpering as he pushed hard fingers deep inside her, she lost her mind when he crooked them and the bloom began. He stroked that spot inside her, coaxing the orgasm into a frenzy until it ripped her apart piece by piece. The release wouldn't stop. She burst into tears when she realized another wave was hitting before the last one receded.

  His hands moved and she cried out in protest, “Don’t stop.”

  “Hold on.”

  Relief speared through her when he ripped the condom wrapper. She forced heavy lids open and watched him roll on the thin barrier. He moved over her, blocking out the world.

  “Tell me what you want.” He nudged at her, ruthlessly teasing her as she lifted her hips, trying to take him in.

  “I need you,” Lizzie hissed, biting into his bottom lip, surprising him into pushing deep.

  “Nothing should feel this good,” he rasped into her ear. “Nothing has ever felt like this.”

  She wasn’t sure if he was aware he was speaking out loud. The words were so low, they were practically growls but they spun liquid pleasure through her, taking her higher as his body rocked them toward oblivion.

  There was nothing but the heat of him deep inside her. He lifted her hips, pushing deeper. She tried to wrap her legs around his waist as his hands flattened on either side of her hips. Then he was on his knees on the lounger, wrapping his hands around her waist and pulling her up as he continued to strip her down to nothing but pure sensation.

  He was so strong. Every move he made was controlled and powerful and the thing he was coaxing awake inside her now was going to destroy them. Pleas tightened his expression into fierce concentration. She pulled him closer and pressed her palm to his cheek. He sucked her fingers into his mouth. Her orgasm came out of nowhere, catching both of them off guard as she detonated around him and he let himself go, pounding into her then rearing back. His neck almost snapped as his face crashed into exquisite pain. The sound coming from his chest was primal and violent and so ecstatic it sent Lizzie straight into another rogue wave.

  Brown eyes clashed with blue. She tried to smile at him but her facial muscles weren’t listening. None of her muscles listened. She was boneless and floating and she wanted to stay where she was the rest of her life.

  He lowered his weight toward her. She expected him to lie down beside her and pull her into his chest. Instead, she caught her breath, tears sparking at the back of her eyes as emotion clogged her throat. He moved down her body, his cheek resting on her belly as he tried to catch his breath. Lizzie’s fingers sank into his hair, sifting through the silky waves. He sighed and stayed there, resting his head on her, making her wish the world would go ahead and end because nothing could ever top this moment.

  Emotions cascaded over her. He wiped the moisture off her cheeks. She closed her eyes, sucked in a ragged breath and tried to smile. Nic moved then, doing what she had expected before, curving around her, surrounding her with his warmth, making her forget the world was not a safe place.

  She didn’t know how long they slept while the boat swayed on the gentle sea. She dozed, feeling safe and complete, something she hadn’t felt in a long time.

  Later, the air turned cool. She woke with Nic curved around her but he wasn’t asleep.

  “Why are you smiling?” he asked.

  She wanted now to last forever. “Three orgasms? Something would be wrong if I weren’t smiling.”

  “You’re keeping score?” His smug smile was back. “And I think it was four.”

  She traced his smile with her index finger, stopping in the center of his bottom lip. “You made me lose count.” She couldn’t believe it. She’d never lost count in her life.

  “Good.” He kissed the tip of her finger. “I need to go check my lines. You aren’t going to disappear on me, are you?”

  “You mean swim back out to sea?”

  He moved away from her and gathered her bikini and sarong. He dropped them in her lap then kissed her hard. “Don’t disappear.”

  She tied the sarong around her waist then sat back down on the lounger. She pulled her knees to her chin and rested her cheek on them. Had it really happened?

  When he wasn’t touching her it felt like a dream. Her legs ached, and electricity popped and snapped along her body. She wished she hadn’t fallen asleep. Maybe they could have talked. She’d felt so close to him for a few minutes, but with him gone she wasn’t sure what to do next.

  Nic’s fishing lines were fine but he took his time reeling them in and reeling himself in, which proved to be more difficult than it had ever been. Something had happened. They’d connected on a level that had nothing to do with his body joining with hers. When their physical connection was broken, the other remained. Nic wasn’t sure it would ever go away.

  This trip had been a huge mistake, but making love to her had not been. Shock whispered to him, growing exponentially until it threatened to explode out of his chest. The difference was they hadn’t had sex. They’d made love.

  At least he had been making love. He wasn’t sure about Lizzie, although she seemed to be giving him everything.

  Now he had lost his mind. Nic held his breath, bracing himself for the suffocating pressure. The chill in his stomach. The claustrophobic r
eaction. The instinct to run.

  Instead, there was a strange sense of peace. Like he wasn’t alone anymore. The idea was too alien to consider. Nic had never been lonely. He’d been perfectly happy in the organized world he created for himself, surrounded by people he cared about but never letting them get too close. Lizzie had barged right in, breaching his defenses. He hadn’t even tried to put up a fight.

  He waited, staring out to sea, his tackle forgotten as his very understanding of himself split open and spilled out on the deck.

  A week, he reminded himself. Then he was flying to Hong Kong. The trip would clear his head, set him back on track. He could do a week.

  Relief speared him when he found her asleep on a lounge chair. Part of him had been listening out for a splash in case she decided to run again.

  She sighed and mumbled. She was beautiful sleeping, the delicate lines of her face relaxed as she spoke in low tones. Numbers? It sounded like a bunch of nonsense until he realized with a faint shock it sounded like she was calculating something. Nic frowned but continued to listen, intrigued by the numbers she whispered. She was full of surprises. He carried her downstairs to the cabin, smiling as she curled onto her side.

  He left her reluctantly, called his security team to let them know they were not coming in. He took his time securing the boat for the night. Afterwards, leaning against the railing, he watched stars flicker in the dark sky. The water was calm and the moon was high. Normally a night like this would have him up for hours, sitting on the fly deck, glad to be away from the world and enjoying the universe’ light show.

  Not tonight. He wasn’t where he wanted to be. He closed his eyes and sighed in defeat. His body came to life just thinking about her. Why couldn’t they stay here forever? He glanced over his shoulder, imagining her in his bed asleep, her hair a glorious mess on his pillow and his dark gray sheets draping around creamy limbs. As much as he loved being on the open water at night, he wanted to be with her more.

  She was asleep when Nic stepped back into the cabin. She’d flipped onto her back, her arm across the space where he should be. The bed linens had slipped down to her waist and they tangled in her legs. She was laid out for him like some exotic feast. A feast with cherry red toenails. And Nic was starving.