Angels_A Guardians Series Military Romance

by Beth Abbott

  Chapter 66 – Hollywood

  “I need to get up.” Niko announced, throwing the duvet back.

  “No, you don’t.” Hollywood flicked the duvet back down over her legs and sat on it for good measure, making sure she couldn’t throw it off again.

  Niko pouted at him, her lips a kissable baby pink.

  “I’ve been in bed for two days, Hollywood.” Niko pointed out. “It’s time I got up and did something useful, like look after my son.”

  “Niko, you’ve had a concussion, and you’re still recovering from sustaining two cracked ribs and a fractured cheekbone.” Hollywood reminded her. “A few days rest will do you good. Roman is being well looked after, so stop worrying.”

  “Hollywood, I need to get up and move around or my muscles will atrophy.” Niko protested.

  “I’ve already told you I’d give you a massage, just to keep you all toned and shit.” He grinned, knowing exactly how much he wanted to touch her.

  “I hardly think it would be appropriate for Roman to walk in on us with your hands all over me.” She scowled.

  “Honey, I don’t think that kid is going to have a hope in hell of growing up without seeing me with my hands on you at least once.” Hollywood grinned. “Or a hundred times.”

  Niko stared at him, open-mouthed.

  “Growing up?” She stuttered. “How long do you plan on sticking around?”

  Hollywood shrugged.

  “Until you get all old, and saggy.” He scratched his chin as though he was thinking about her question. “Maybe fifty or sixty years? It all depends on how flexible you still are.”

  “Flexible?” She gasped.

  “Well, yeah, obviously.” Hollywood snorted. “I’m a man of voracious appetites. If you can’t satisfy them, I may have to look elsewhere to sate them.”

  “Hollywood, in sixty years, you’ll be ninety-eight.” Niko pointed out with a smile.

  “Exactly!” Hollywood was trying to make just that point. “At that stage I expect you’ll need to do all the work, so if you’re not supple enough to get on top, I may have to trade you in for a younger model.”

  The look on Niko’s face was priceless, and it was all he could do not to laugh.

  “Umm, while you’re getting ahead of yourself, and planning the next sixty years of our lives, can I just point out a few facts?” Niko asked, lining her fingers up to tick them off. “Firstly, can I point out that we’ve only known each other a little over a week?”

  “Eleven days.” Hollywood interrupted, earning himself one of Niko’s classic scowls. “Continue.”

  “Secondly, I haven’t decided whether I actually like you yet.” She announced, as though there was still a question mark over the matter. “I mean, we met under very trying circumstances. Back in the ‘real world’ I might find you’re quite… well, boring, maybe?”

  “Boring?” Hollywood snorted. “As if! But do continue…”

  “Thirdly, Roman is at a very impressionable age.” Niko pointed out. “I don’t want him around anyone who’s going to be flaky and unreliable. He already looks at you like you hung the moon. You have to be dependable if you’re going to be around him. Especially if you think you’re going to be around him throughout his childhood.”

  “I already spoke to Ellen about registering us with her doctor, and Hannah is bringing a list of potential schools and pre-school groups in the area for you to look over, when she visits later.” Hollywood announced. “Is that responsible enough for you?”

  “Really?” Niko was obviously surprised, although why, he couldn’t fathom.

  “Niko, Roman is as important to me as you are.” He explained truthfully. “I want the best for him, the same as you do. So, while we’re living here, that means finding him the best schools, and somewhere you can take him where you can mix with other moms, and not fret that you’re not doing everything you should for him. You’re an awesome parent, and it’s time you saw that for yourself.”

  He saw Niko’s chin wobble, and her eyes grew bright with tears.

  “Ok, well that brings me on to number four.” She sniffed. “Where the hell are we? Is this a hotel?”

  Hollywood grinned.

  “We’re in London. Not far from Earl’s Court, if that means anything to you.” He smiled. “And these are my new digs. I just moved over to London to work with the Guardians and was in a hotel before the operation started, because we didn’t have time to find somewhere to live between my arrival in London and us shipping out.”

  “How did you get moved in so quickly?” She asked, glancing around the room. “And with all this furniture?”

  “It’s funny you should ask that…” He smiled. “On the way back from Budapest, I was talking to Ellen Roberts on the flight… did I tell you she was the lady who looked after Roman while you were unconscious, and did all the translation between the Hungarians, the Russians and the assorted languages spoken by the women?”

  “And…” Niko prompted.

  “Oh, yeah… and it turns out her husband renovated this apartment building years ago, and this whole floor was vacant, with three empty apartments.” He explained. “Two have two bedrooms, and this one has three, so they thought we’d prefer to have the extra space.”

  “It’s lovely.” Niko smiled. “But can you afford it? London apartments can’t come cheap.”

  “It’s all paid for by the company I work for.” Hollywood grinned. “And even better, we know the neighbours, so we’re good for babysitters.”

  “We have neighbours already?” Niko asked, obviously confused. “But I thought you said the three apartments were empty.”

  “They were until yesterday.” Hollywood grinned. “Ok, well, I already told you that Ellen and her husband and kids live nearby, right? Well, they actually live in a place just outside London most of the time. But they often spend their weekends here in the city, so they can take the kids to shows and museums and the like. Well, when they’re in the city, they live upstairs, in the penthouse apartment. As well as them, Kellen has moved in right next door, and as soon as he’s finished being debriefed by the Russians, Drago has been asked to come and work with the Guardians as something of a go-between, so he’ll be moving into the other free apartment.”

  Niko gaped.

  “Seriously?” She whispered. “Drago is going to be here as well?”

  Hollywood wondered why she was so excited to see the Russian.

  “Is there something between the two of you I don’t know about?” He asked quietly.

  “What?” Niko sat up straighter. “Hell, no! Not the way you’re thinking, anyway. He’s just been there for me for so long, watching out for me whenever he could. It’s like he’s been the brother to me that Ilya should have been. Y’know?”

  Hollywood felt the ripples of jealousy fade away, and he was relieved. He’d have hated to give the guy a good beating, especially when he’d only just been shot. It wouldn’t have felt right.

  Niko was still staring at him, but there was a strange smile on her face.

  “I guess that brings me to number five.” She lifted her hand and wiggled her pinkie finger. “Compatibility.”

  “Compatibility?” Hollywood frowned. “We already know we like each other. Hell, even Roman likes me better than he likes Kellen.”

  Niko laughed, as if realising that for Hollywood that meant a great deal.

  “He definitely likes you better. As do I.” She agreed, sliding her hand over his and linking their fingers. “But that wasn’t exactly the compatibility I was thinking of.”

  “No? Then what…” Hollywood caught the twinkle in her eye a second before the penny dropped. “Oh, you mean THAT sort of compatibility, huh?”

  He watched as the flush on her cheeks darkened, his cock already standing to attention.

  “Exactly.” She said quietly. “How can a girl make a decision based on unknown factors? It wouldn’t be sensible.”

  “Lady, are you suggesting you wanna try before you buy?�
�� Hollywood tried to fake outrage, but his grin was probably giving him away. “Should I be affronted?”

  Niko’s cheeks were getting rosier by the second, but she held his gaze.

  “You can be affronted if you want to.” She nodded. “Or you could just kiss me. Your choice.”

  The effect she was having on his willpower was devastating.

  He’d promised himself that he wouldn’t even try and nudge her towards a physical relationship, not until she’d given him a sign that she was ready.

  A month, he’d reckoned. Maybe two.

  No way did he think that three days after getting back from Budapest, she’d be waving a flag to get his attention.

  “If I kissed you it would probably lead to something else.” He said honestly. “And I’m not sure that you’re ready for that yet.”

  Niko smiled at his honesty.

  “I’m not very experienced, it’s true, but I’m not completely naive.” She squeezed his fingers. “I didn’t expect a kiss would stop at being just a kiss.”

  Hollywood held his breath, still not sure what she was offering.

  “And you want that?” He asked. “Because once we start, I’m going to want to take it the whole way. We might not have time for me to do everything I want to do to you, but I’m damn sure not going to stop before we’re both satisfied that we’re ‘compatible’.

  Niko glanced at the bedside clock.

  “What time will Roman get back from the park?” She wondered.

  “Ellen said she was taking him with her youngest twins, and that after they play on the swings and slide, they were going to feed the ducks.” He smiled. “Tag on a trip to get some ice-cream, and she reckoned they’d be back around four o’clock.”

  “Then that gives us just over an hour, if you take half an hour off to shower afterwards, and allow for them to get back fifteen minutes early.” She concluded. “Definitely not enough time to cover the whole A to Z, but certainly enough to go from K to O.”

  “K to O?” He wondered what she meant.

  “Kissing to…” She gave him a very large hint.

  “Oh!” He grinned. “That ‘O’.”

  “Yes, please.” Niko leaned forward taking his face in her hands. “I’m tired of everything in my life being controlled by someone else. It’s time I took control back and lived my life for me.”

  Hollywood saw the flash of lust in her eyes just as her lips found his, and his willpower vanished into thin air.

  He wrapped her in his arms, the thin satin of her nightgown doing nothing to disguise the weight of her breasts as he crushed her to his chest. Her hardened nipples rubbed against him as he deepened the kiss.

  What was he doing? Should he even be doing this?

  “Are you sure about this?” He rasped. “I don’t want to push you too far, too fast.”

  Niko pushed him back a little and scooted up onto her knees.

  As he watched, she reached down and grasped the hem of her nightdress and pulled it up and over her head, throwing it onto the floor next to the bed.

  Hollywood almost swallowed his tongue in shock as his eyes skimmed from her reddened face, down across her magnificent breasts, over her stomach to the white lacy boy-shorts someone must have bought for her since their arrival.

  He could still see the bruising on her ribs, but it was faded to a dirty brown smudge now.

  “Do I look unsure?” Niko still blushed, but her voice was confident.

  Hollywood pushed himself back off the bed, long enough to kick off his flip-flops and pull his t-shirt up and over his head.

  Niko’s eyes wandered all over his shoulders and chest, and the look of appreciation in her eyes made him even harder.

  He slipped the button of his shorts and was just about to push them down when he remembered something.

  Reaching into his back pocket, he pulled out his wallet and extracted a condom.

  At her raised eyebrows he grinned.

  “It’s been in there for at least six months.” He smiled. “A guy’s gotta be prepared.”

  “I have a device fitted so I can’t get pregnant.” She blurted out. “And I’m clean. I was tested after I had Roman, and there’s been nobody since.”

  “I’m clean too, I promise you.” Hollywood nodded. “But until I can show you the paperwork that proves it, these are an absolute essential.”

  He handed her the condom while he finished shucking his shorts, finally slipping his fingers inside the edges of his Calvin Klein trunks, and relieving the pressure on his poor aching shaft as he slipped them down over his hips, allowing them to fall silently to the floor.

  He smiled as she handed the condom back.

  “Another time, maybe I’ll let you do the honours.” He smiled. “But if I let you touch me now, it’s likely to be over before it’s begun.”

  Niko smiled, a little embarrassed.

  “Even if I could stop my hands from shaking, I don’t think I’d know how to do it right.” She admitted.

  Hollywood disposed of the packaging, and slowly rolled the condom over his thick shaft, noticing that Niko’s eyes never left his hands the whole time.

  She looked like she was committing everything he did to memory, so she would know how to do it the next time.

  ‘Next time’? He almost snorted a laugh. There hadn’t been a ‘this time’, yet.

  He reached over and slid his hands around her shoulders, gently tugging her towards him.

  When they finally touched, skin to skin, his cock damn near exploded in ecstasy.

  Niko slid her fingers up his arms and around the back of his neck, bringing his head forward to mould her lips to his.

  Hollywood couldn’t hold back his need any longer.

  His lips devoured her, tongue demanding entrance, and when Niko opened her mouth to allow him inside, he groaned with satisfaction. The need to dominate was battling with the desperate need to please her, and he longed to satisfy all her aches and desires.

  As her tongue met his in a dance of eager anticipation, Hollywood’s hands skimmed over her shoulders and down the sides of Niko’s heavy breasts.

  He felt the shudder of pleasure run through her body, and his cock twitched against her stomach.

  Cupping her breasts in his hands, Hollywood let his thumbs rub over her nipples, swallowing the sweet sigh that escaped her lips.

  He’d made love with more women than he could remember, but he couldn’t ever recall being this turned on from kissing.

  As he massaged Niko’s firm flesh, Hollywood let his fingers glide upwards, so he could pinch her nipples between his fingers and thumbs. He tweaked and twisted, tugging gently to test her response, and feeling her fingers gripping his hair tighter as she pushed her mound into his cock, he knew he was stimulating her in a way she needed.

  Pulling his lips reluctantly from hers, Hollywood kissed down her neck, loving the gasps she made as he reached her breasts.

  He wasted no time in grazing his tongue over each nipple in turn, pausing to nibble and suckle each one, rewarding her increasingly frequent gasps and moans.

  He continued to torment her nipples, sucking one deeply into his mouth, licking and then blowing on the other until Niko shuddered in pleasure.

  Meanwhile his hands trailed over her rib-cage, across her slim waist, and skimmed down over her hips until he found the lacy edge of her panties.

  Hollywood slipped his fingers underneath the sides, and slid them down gently, alert to any sign of protest from Niko.

  When she moved to part her legs to allow the lace to slide down more easily, Hollywood felt his cock jump wildly, begging to be allowed some relief.

  Instead of returning his hands to her breasts, he skimmed them back up her thighs, brushing the backs of his fingers of one hand across her mons, as the other hand slipped between her legs to tease the flesh of her labia, and gently rim around her channel.

  He guessed she had no idea how tightly she was gripping his hair, but if it was commensurate w
ith the pleasure he was giving her, then a bald spot would be a small price to pay.

  He felt Niko move her legs apart and used the extra freedom to slide a finger inside her. He groaned against her nipple, appreciating her tight wet heat.

  Gliding his finger in and out, rubbing that place everyone knew as the ‘g-spot’, he felt Niko jerk as she groaned his name aloud.

  “Hollywood, please?” She begged, pulling his head up so she could devour his lips, even as she whispered into his mouth. “I need you so much.”

  Hollywood had tried so hard to hold back, but in the face of their combined desperation, he couldn’t help himself.

  He reached around and grasped the cheeks of Niko’s ass, lifting her up so her pussy was poised at the tip of his shaft.

  “Is this what you want?” He murmured, before sucking her dusky rose nipple between his lips and squeezing down hard, pressing it between his tongue and the roof of his mouth.

  “Yes!” Niko hissed as she pushed her breasts into him, trying to wriggle so that his cock would penetrate her dripping wet pussy.

  Hollywood held Niko just that little bit too high for her to get the satisfaction she needed, not out of any desire to torment her, but from a need to have her as wet and ready as possible.

  He wasn’t under any illusion about his size. ‘Bigger than average’ didn’t begin to cover it, and the last thing he wanted to do was cause her any pain.

  When she seemed determined to push him over the edge, he finally gave in and lifted her legs, wrapping them around his hips to give him leverage.

  His shaft was perfectly lined up with her opening, and he allowed himself to slide a couple of inches inside, drawing a groan from Niko’s lips that was so lust-filled it was almost pornographic.

  Without warning, he bent his knees, leaning forward with one hand out, so he could lower Niko onto the bed. As his weight came down on her, he slid his shaft in another few inches, and her sigh of satisfaction was almost enough to make him come.

  He held his body over hers and began to thrust with short shallow strokes, feeling her inner muscles quiver as they stretched to accommodate him, inch by agonising inch.

  With his free hand he reached for her breast, lifting it to his mouth so he could suckle some more on those incredible nipples.