Glancing down, he finds her clinching and releasing her hands into fists. Sparing a gaze up to her face, he notices a fine sheen of sweat glistening on her forehead as the pleasure builds up in her body.
Taking another turn at her breast, he takes her nipple fully into his mouth and sucks on the engorged point before gently tugging at it with his teeth.
Her gasp of satisfaction spurs him on, and he repeats his movements on the opposite side while letting one hand travel to the neglected breast. His free hand is given the pleasure of trailing down the center of Nikki's body.
When he encounters the heat expelling from her core, he pulls his mouth away from her breast and halts the movement of his fingers. Austin watches as Nikki clinches her fists tight, but remains silent.
Knowing that he has her on the edge of sanity, he moves his hand slightly so that his middle fingers swipe only once across her swollen clitoris. He gazes as her fingers jerk from their tight hold and stretch out fully from her palms.
Their gasps for air ricochet off the walls of Austin's master bedroom, filling the space with their synchronized breathing.
Again, he stretches his finger lower, sliding across her clit, and her knees practically buckle underneath her. Not wanting her or the baby to be hurt, he stands quickly and places his arms behind her back and knees, then places her on the bed.
Startled, she exclaims, "You shouldn't be lifting me, you could hurt your back."
"Please, you weigh next to nothing."
She bounces on the bed and he crouches over her, capturing her mouth with his own. Before she has the chance to reciprocate his kiss, he pulls back and slides off the bed. Austin tugs her towards him by her ankles, bringing himself face to face with her slick pussy.
"Damn," he utters under his breath, using his fingers to separate the folds and showcase her inner lips.
Never one to waste time, Austin leans forward and drags his tongue across her center, up and down, then swirls it around her reddening nub. Increasing his momentum as her breathing intensifies; he strokes his finger through her moistened folds before sliding it gradually into her core. Once his finger is rested fully into her tight body, he performs a "come hither" movement that he knows drives Nikki crazy.
It doesn't take long before he feels the muscles begin to contract deep within her womb, and soon Nikki is crying his name out in bliss and rapture.
Moving back onto the bed, Austin places kisses along her shoulder, neck, and jaw before she reaches up and puts both of her hands on his face, guiding him towards her mouth.
Breaking away, she gazes up at him with the sexy smirk he has come to love – the one that had been his undoing so many months ago. Her hand pushes at his shoulder, directing him to rest on his back. Nikki follows the movement of his muscular body and straddles his hips between her thighs.
Her slick center rocks against his erection that had begun throbbing intensely as he went down on her body earlier.
"Fuck, that feels good, baby."
She nods her head in agreement and leans forward slightly, resting her hands on his chest. There is no resistance or difficulty as he slips himself inside her. No, their bodies work like magnets and seek out each other's pleasure points. Without preamble, his erection glides effortlessly inside Nikki's tight, hot, soaking wet body.
Amid their moans of desire, Austin would have thought that they hadn't made love in weeks or even months, but they had wild and passionate sex just this morning before leaving for work.
Without slowing her movements, Nikki rises from her leaning position and rocks her body back and forth, seeking her own pleasure. Austin can’t decide where to focus his gaze: between her bouncing tits, his cock sliding in and out of her pussy, or the look of ecstasy on her face. He does his best to spend equal time on all three erotic sights, but as he feels himself closing in towards his pinnacle, he finds his gaze focused on the image of his shaft moving effortlessly in and out of her body. Taking his hands and placing them on her hips, he strengthens her movements to help her reach her orgasm, as well as his own.
Austin tries to hold off as long as possible, but he comes before Nikki can reach her peak. To his surprise, Nikki takes her hand and rubs at her clitoris as she continues to milk his dick for all it’s worth, finally reaching her release.
Draping herself against his body, they both work to steady their breathing. He grabs the blankets and wraps them around their bodies, and the two quickly find themselves falling into a glorious, much-deserved sleep.
NIKKI WAKES TO THE sound of scratching at the bedroom door. Glancing at the red blinking digits on the alarm clock stating the time as 3:00 am, she stretches and makes her way out of the bed to address Duke.
“How did you get up here, sweet fella?” she asks in hushed tones, patting the dog’s head. At night, Duke usually resides in the toasty mudroom, next to his bowl of water and food.
Duke jumps up, scurrying around Nikki’s legs as she moves down the stairs and through the kitchen to let him outside. When she approaches the back door, Duke begins to growl. His menacing sound startles her.
“What’s going on?” Austin asks, strolling sleepily into the room, scratching his chest with a single hand.
“I don’t know. He was upstairs whining and I came to let him out, but every time I touch the door knob, he growls. Watch.”
Nikki gestures for the door and listens as Duke’s growls deepen in intensity.
“I’ve never seen him do this. Let me grab my coat and boots and I’ll check it out. There may be a wild animal outside,” Austin says over his shoulder as he walks into the mud room to grab his attire.
“Be careful,” Nikki reminds, kissing Austin’s cheek before watching him drag the reluctant beagle outside by his leash.
She observes as Austin walks Duke around the perimeter of the back porch, then Duke starts to tug and yank at the leash, yearning to go out farther into the yard.
Austin looks over at her exasperatedly and shakes his head, stepping towards the tree line. Knowing the darkness would make navigation difficult, she reaches over and flips on the overhead floodlights.
As soon as the light reaches the tree line, gun shots fire and echo on the property.
Nikki jerks herself away from the glass-paneled French door, standing with her back against the wall, only peering out the edge so she can see outside. Her heart rate skyrockets when she finds Austin and Duke running towards the shots instead of away from them.
Protectively, she covers her stomach with her arms as she leans back and takes a few breaths, then rushes to the mud room. She had noticed a BB gun propped against the corner of the wall the other day, and she is hoping she can use it to scare whoever had shot at them.
Finding the rifle in the dark proved to be a harder task than she had imagined, but she locates it quickly and checks to see if it was loaded.
Please don’t let me hit Austin or Duke.
Nikki cracks the door of the mudroom open, facing out towards the tree line Austin and Duke are running towards, and she crouches down to one knee. Lining up a shot in the direction that Austin is heading, she pulls the trigger and the small pellet soars through the air. Her goal is to scare, not to hit anyone or anything, but Austin’s eyes shoot venom when he turns back to glance at her.
Duke, who had run ahead of Austin, slows his pace to a halt and sits on his back legs. He sniffs the air twice, then prances his way back to where Nikki rests, crouched near the mudroom. She remains that way until Duke and Austin enter the house in front of her and Austin shuts the door.
“Get yourself some water, boy. You did good,” Austin says, throwing a loving glance towards his pet.
Nikki replaces the BB gun to its spot in the corner and then moves back into the kitchen to get a glass of milk, hoping to avoid any further conversation or viewing of Austin’s death stare.
After pouring the liquid in a glass she grabbed from the cabinet, she sighs as the cool liquid trails down her throat.
“Nikki,” Austin sta
tes, demanding her attention.
“Hmm?” she replies, spinning on her heel, but keeping her gaze focused on her glass of milk.
“Nikki, look at me,” he requests once more.
And she does. She can’t help but notice the way he leans against the door jamb, legs crossed, with his arms braced against his chest, tattoos on full display. As her eyes travel upwards towards his face, she notices the fury still residing in the midst of his own.
“Why would you do that, Nikki?” his deep voice rumbles, causing her to flinch at his seriousness.
With a deep sigh, she murmurs, “I was just trying to help. I wasn’t aiming for anyone or anything. I just wanted to scare whoever was out there.”
Austin steps forward and takes the glass from her hands, placing it on the counter beside them.
“It wasn’t that you used the gun,” he begins, twirling his fingers around a lock of her hair. “You actually have remarkable aim and nicked a tree about two feet from the person.” She narrows her eyes at him in confusion as he continues. “What has me so riled up is that you put yourself in danger; you and our child.”
“But…” she stutters, trying to defend her actions, but Austin persists.
“How could you have known where the person was? They could have been hiding around the side of the house. Hell, Nikki, it could have been more than one person for all we know.”
Her face blanches as she begins to understand his reasoning. She was stupid, so stupid.
“I’m so sorry,” she whimpers, wrapping her arms around her stomach, apologizing as much to him as to the child that lay safe inside her body.
“I know, darlin’. I just…I don’t want to lose you again. It nearly slaughtered me last time."
With his hand twisted in her hair, he yanks back slightly, tilting her head back and moving her stare from the floor. As her gaze meets his, she is shocked to find that the anger has receded and pure, unadulterated love resides in its place.
"I'm going to call the Sheriff and my contact with the FBI. I'm sure news has already spread through the town about shots being fired, so without a doubt, my family will be arriving shortly. But Nikki... I know that I was stubborn and unwelcoming at first, but you have to know how much you mean to me. When that wall collapsed on me this morning, all I could think was, 'I need to be there for Nikki and our baby. I'm not ready to go yet.' And you're not going to believe it, but I swear someone was there protecting me, telling me where to go and how to lie. It was as if an invisible bubble had been created around me. I know that the explosion should have killed me. I can’t explain it, but it wasn't my time to leave you. So please don't do anything to change that. Don't put yourself in danger, I wouldn't survive."
"Stop making me cry," Nikki utters, tears cascading from the corners of her eyes to her hair line.
Wiping away the damp trails with his thumbs, Austin adds, "You're my world, sweetheart. I love you."
Then he presses his beautifully full lips against hers, causing tingles to drift down from her neck to the tips of her toes.
"I love you too, Austin," she whispers against his mouth, watching as the corners lift into a sexy smirk.
"I know it's only three in the morning, but I give it five minutes before everyone shows up. And I still need to make those phone calls. Might as well get dressed."
As Nikki and Austin move towards the stairs, Nikki notices that Austin is sure to grab the pistol he keeps stowed away in a locked desk drawer in the kitchen. To their surprise, they hear a knock at the door.
"Man, they're getting quick in their old age," Austin chuckles quietly, turning to answer the door after slapping Nikki affectionately on her behind as she continues up the stairs.
In the bedroom, Nikki takes her time getting dressed. She washes her face, brushes her teeth, and braids her rapidly-growing long hair. Sifting through her small supply of clothing, she settles on a pair of black denim jeans and a light brown sweater with a leopard print across the shoulders.
She checks her phone quickly and notices a message from her father - a man she hasn't heard from in years. Nikki shrugs her shoulders and ignores the text, figuring that it has been well over a decade since she had heard anything from either of her parents. It can wait.
Leaving the master bedroom, Nikki can hear the voices of multiple people entering the house, joining those that had arrived in the past ten minutes.
As she slips into the kitchen unnoticed, she overhears Avery telling the crowd about the panic attack she had suffered a couple of months ago when she thought that Logan was leaving her. Nikki had heard the story over a phone call with Avery that very weekend, but as she describes the event in more detail, Avery swears her hallucination from that anxiety-induced fog had been real.
"I was blacking out and couldn't catch my breath. It was absolutely terrifying, but then my family showed up in front of me and guided my breaths. It turned into one of the most calming moments of my life," she explains, reaching over to touch Logan's hand which he was clenching in a fist as he remembers that day.
Avery turns her head and notices Nikki resting against the desk in the kitchen, taking in the scene before her.
"Nikki! Are you ok?" her best friend asks.
"I am. I’m just worried about this person on the loose."
"I know. We’ll come up with a way to catch them. But did you remember me telling you about my panic attack and how I went to the old school?"
"I do," Nikki acknowledges as Austin steps over to her and wraps an arm around her waist.
"Well, I was telling everyone that I think my family protected Austin because they knew he was important to me."
Nikki glances over to Austin, silently asking if he revealed how he had felt guided and protected during the explosion, but he shakes his head once in response.
Accepting his reply, Nikki tells Avery that she hopes her family continues to protect all of them.
As the front door opens once again, Nikki’s gaze wanders around the room and she notices everyone who is in attendance. All of Austin's brothers and sisters are scattered throughout the kitchen and living room, and she notices Brooks standing off to the corner of the room, his eyes locked on Everleigh in a daze, who is chatting with her mother.
Interesting.
Austin leans down and whispers in her ear, "I talked to Sheriff Fitzgerald and he is on his way with an FBI agent. They have an idea on how to trick this person."
"Ok," she replies as the Sheriff waltzes through the unlocked door, followed closely by a tall, muscular man whose dark hair is tucked under a baseball cap, his full beard neatly trimmed.
"Morning everyone," the Sheriff announces. "I hope that some of you got some sleep." Then looking towards Brooks, he adds, "I think I saw you leave Horizon's not too long ago, son."
"Yes, sir. Just trying to get to know my neighbors," Brooks says with a deep laugh.
Narrowing his eyes, the Sheriff moves to the side and allows the man with him to step forward.
"This is my contact with the FBI and he has volunteered to help with our case during his leave. Dylan Bennett, this is the Connelly clan."
Spinning like a top set on the ground, Sydney, who had been in a deep conversation with her mother, swirls in her seat and pins her confused but very furious gaze on Dylan. Sydney has always been the sweet and quiet one in their family, so the entire room is taken aback by her death glare.
"FBI?" she asks, directing her question to Dylan as she rockets up from the table and grabs her bag.
"I was on leave."
The crowd watches as Sydney huffs and mumbles to herself, practically running from the house.
"Sydney..." Dylan reaches out, but she ignores him and slams the front door.
"That woman," he murmurs as he turns to follow her out. "I'll make sure she gets to her car safely, then I'll be right back."
"Take care of her," Joseph, the patriarch of the group demands, shocking the entire clan.
"What the hell is going on?" Jam
eson asks to no one in particular.
"Nothing, dear," Amy says. "We just pay attention."
"There is something going on here and I want in on it... after we hear what the Sheriff has to say, of course," Cassidy adds as an afterthought.
Dylan walks in seconds later, adjusting his hat and taking the seat Austin had vacated not long before.
Turning to look directly at Nikki and Austin, he begins to explain, "So here is the plan..."
AS THE TWO LISTEN intently, Dylan lays out a plan for capturing whoever is so hell-bent on destroying Austin and his company.
"I've had a chance to sift through the paperwork already and unfortunately, I agree with the observations that it's coming from someone internally. But that doesn't mean that they are working alone. Actually, I'm certain that there are at least two people involved. My guess is probably a past lover and possibly one of your upper management."
"So, let me get this straight," his father bellows from across the table as Austin blushes slightly from his mother's stare. "You want to have Austin and Nikki fake a proposal at the beginning of the New Year's festival, bringing attention to themselves and giving the suspect prime opportunity to set something up."
"Yes. I believe this person is tracking Austin's every movement. And since Nikki has come back into his life, this person has ramped up their attempts. I have a few FBI operatives coming in who are going to mingle amongst the crowd, but at a distance. With the town's assistance, I am sure we will notice anything or anyone out of place.”
“I’m not sure how I feel about this,” Austin’s father expresses. “I don’t want any harm to come to anyone, but she is carrying our grandchild. I’m sure you can understand my concern, Mr. Bennett.”
“Please, call me Dylan; and I absolutely understand your concern and have some extra ideas as to that regard. After the proposal, I suggest we use a stand-in. At least until the betrothed couple needs to return for Logan and Avery’s party, which I assured Avery they would not miss.”
Seemingly pleased with Dylan’s answer, Austin’s father sits back down in his chair.
Coming Together: Welcome to Carson, Book Two Page 13
