by Ellis, Aven
Niko grins at her. “I’m sorry, no, I’ve been distracted,” he says, gazing at me.
“Take your time,” she says pleasantly.
After she leaves, Niko picks up his wineglass and lifts it toward me.
“To our first date,” he says.
Happiness floats through me. “Cheers,” I say, clinking my wineglass against his.
I take a sip of the delicious merlot, and I study the man sitting across from me, with the intense, dark looks and beautiful blue eyes. The man who sees me as sexy and fun and smart.
The man who sees me as no man ever has before.
I feel Niko’s hand on my leg now, gently resting there as he studies his dinner options. I place my hand over his, and he once again laces his fingers through mine.
And that’s where it stays as we debate our orders and talk while we wait for appetizers to arrive. Just like we always do, we laugh and joke and talk about everything and anything, from what is going on in the hockey league to our favorite movie quotes. In fact, the only time Niko removes his hand from mine is when food is brought to the table, and the fact that he likes to constantly touch me like that makes me feel . . . cherished. For the first time in my life, I have a man who cherishes me.
And I’ll never take it for granted.
We share our appetizers and before I know it, our main course is brought to the table. Niko ordered a filet with pommes frites, and I stay true to my word with the truffle lobster mac and cheese.
I glance over at Niko’s steak with the red wine demi-glaze and the crisp pommes frites in a silver cup.
“I think I have dinner envy,” I blurt out.
Niko grins, revealing the dimple in his cheek. “What’s mine is yours. You want a fry, don’t you?”
“How did you know?”
“Because I know you,” Niko says, holding the silver cup out to me. “Take one.”
I help myself to one and take a bite. It’s crisp, perfectly salted, and utterly delicious.
“Mmmm,” I say, “that’s so good. I could eat way too many of those.” Then I smile at him. “But I think this truffle lobster mac and cheese will more than keep me occupied.”
“I do want to try that,” Niko says as he cuts his steak.
“Only if I get some steak,” I tease.
Niko laughs. “I gave you a fry. You owe me one.”
“You’re right. I should reciprocate for the pomme frite,” I say.
“Well, I’ll give you some steak, but you’ll have to come up with another trade if you want more fries.”
Then he lifts an eyebrow suggestively at me.
Butterflies shift in my stomach from the look in his eyes. “I think that can be arranged.”
And the rest of dinner is like this-sexy, flirty, fun. We linger over our food. We pass on dessert and agree we only want coffee and to walk outside for a bit.
We leave the restaurant, and I love the fact that Niko puts his hand on the small of my back to guide me out. The valet brings his car around, and we head over to Highland Park Village, a Mediterranean-Spanish style outdoor, high-end shopping center that is famous for its elaborate holiday light display.
“Ah, so this is where the beautiful people of Dallas shop, right?” Niko asks as he turns into the parking lot.
I inwardly cringe. This would probably not be the time to say Kenley and I have shopped here since we were teenagers. I know the boutiques here: Jimmy Choo . . . Dior . . . Chanel. . . Tory Burch . . . Trina Turk . . . all crazy expensive.
“I love the architecture,” Niko says, interrupting my thoughts as he searches for a parking space.
“It was built in 1931,” I say. “And the lights are gorgeous.”
I drink them in, all the sparkling white lights in the trees around us.
“You’re gorgeous.”
I turn to him, and he’s gazing at me through his fringe of eyelashes again.
Electricity shoots through me from the way he’s staring at me right now. I see so much in his eyes. I see that this man really does think I’m beautiful. And sexy. And he wants to be with me.
It’s almost more than I can handle.
I’m about to thank him when I see a car begin to back out. “Over there!”
Niko shifts his eyes to where I’m pointing, and we’re able to maneuver around and grab the spot. We park and get out of the car, and as soon as we do, Niko links his hand through mine.
“Your hands are going to be ice in no time,” Niko says as we walk under the glittering trees.
“I’m counting on you to keep them warm,” I say.
“It’s my new mission in life,” Niko quips. “Keeping your hands warm.”
We both laugh as we stroll toward Starbucks. The air is crisp, in the fifties, and even though the stores are closed, there are loads of people out—taking in the lights, headed to the movies, or to restaurants. The streetlamps are decorated with elaborate ornament and pine displays, and everything seems to dazzle under the twinkling trees.
I lean into Niko’s shoulder, relishing this moment. Being with this man, taking in the holiday season, feeling his body against mine.
We head inside Starbucks and wait in line to place our drink order, and as we do, Niko moves behind me and wraps his huge arms around me, pulling me into his chest.
“Have you thought of your beverage after Red Cup season is over?” he asks, his deep voice reverberating sexily against my ear.
Can we forget coffee and go home now?
“Niko, please let me enjoy my gingerbread latte season without reminding me that all good things must come to an end,” I tease.
He laughs and turns me around, sliding his arms around my back and drawing me closer.
“I disagree. All good things don’t come to an end,” Niko says. “Sometimes they’re just beginning.”
And then he drops a sweet kiss on my lips.
Oh, I’m lost to this man.
I somehow manage to stay focused enough to put in my drink order when it’s our turn. We get my latte and his black coffee and head back outside, talking as we peer in the shop windows and drink in the holiday atmosphere.
“So will you go home for Christmas?” I ask, taking a sip of my latte.
Niko nods. “Yeah, the players worked a three-day holiday around Christmas into their agreement, so I’ll go back to Baltimore for a few days. It’s the first time in six years I’ll be home for a holiday.” He glances at me. “Are you all right with me being gone on holidays?” he suddenly asks.
I furrow my brow. “Um, it’s part of your job, isn’t it?”
Niko stops walking and leads me off to the side, so we’re leaning against the Carolina Herrera store window.
“Lexi, I need to emphasize that dating me is not like dating a normal guy. I work holidays all the time. It was a problem for Jessica.”
I swallow hard as I look at him. His expression is pure earnestness. He wants me to know the pitfalls—what he perceives as pitfalls—of dating him will be and if I can handle it.
And I know, without a doubt, I can spend every single holiday without him as long as I know he’s mine when he comes home.
“Niko,” I say slowly, “I want to be with you. And if that means celebrating Christmas with my family and friends and then celebrating when you get home, I’m fine with that. You matter more to me.”
“You have to deal with an athlete’s schedule without the perks of dating an athlete.” Niko glances into the store window next to me. “JP could buy you everything in here if you wanted it.”
“Now you’re talking crazytalk,” I say firmly. “I don’t want a closet full of Carolina Herrera or Chanel. And I don’t want JP. Or Matt. Or any other hockey player. I want you.”
I slide my fr
ee hand up to his face, letting his stubble scratch against my palm. I move my hand to the back of his neck, and then I lean up on my tiptoes and sexily place my lips next to his ear.
“And I’m not wearing a surprise underneath these clothes for either of them, Niko,” I whisper teasingly in his ear. “That’s for you to unwrap tonight.”
Niko stands straight up. I see the heat in his eyes. Without a word he takes my Red Cup and walks over to the trash can, pitching both our drinks. He comes back to me, draws me to him, and lowers his lips to my ear.
“I’m taking you to my bed. Right now.”
Chapter 18
The One Online Dating Service Profile Question: Do you worry if your chemistry will carry over to the bedroom?
My write-in answer: No with the intensity of a thousand suns . . .
Excitement rips through me as Niko leads me back to his car. He’s taking long strides, walking with purpose, determined to get us out of here and back to his apartment.
As soon as we’re in the car, my whole body is burning in anticipation.
We’re about to make love for the first time.
We don’t talk much on the drive over to Mockingbird Station, where Niko told me he has a loft apartment. His hand is on my thigh, his fingertips suggestively stroking my leg while he drives, and it’s sheer torture to me. I want his hands all over me. I want his skin against mine, to kiss him deeply and with abandon.
I want him in a way I’ve never wanted a man.
We get back to his place, with Niko leading the way and holding my hand as we hurry through the parking garage and to the elevator. He punches the up button a few times, impatient for it to come back down to our level.
“Come on, come on,” Niko snaps in annoyance.
My pulse responds to the urgency in his voice. He wants this moment as much as I do.
The doors finally open, revealing an empty elevator to us. We jump inside, and Niko presses the button for his floor. Then he turns to me and moves me up against the back wall. Niko’s hands are sliding underneath my silk blouse, and the second I feel his warm skin on my body, heat sears through me. He lowers his face toward mine, our lips mere inches apart.
“Πείτε ότι είστε ορυχείο απόψε,” he whispers. “Say you’re mine tonight.”
My breath catches in my throat. He’s speaking Greek to me. Something I’ve only heard him do when he was mad.
But now he’s speaking it out of passion.
“I’m yours,” I whisper back. “Don’t stop touching me.”
The elevator chimes. I can feel his breath grow rapid, and I match him. My whole body feels hot and coiled, with the only release being able to make love to him.
As the door opens, he takes my hand, leading me down the hall, to his apartment door. Niko thrusts the key in the lock, opening the door and bringing me inside.
The apartment is dark, with only the lights of the city streaming in through the floor-to-ceiling windows illuminating it.
The second Niko shuts the door behind him he brings me into his body. His hands cup my face, and then his mouth is on mine. He parts my lips, and he demands more of me, his tongue hot and searching in a desperate kiss. His stubble burns against my face as he moves me backward, pinning me against the exposed brick wall in the living room.
Niko’s hands move underneath my jacket, finding my waist, skimming down over my hips where he locates the bottom of my silk blouse.
“Baby, I need to feel your skin,” he pleads against my mouth.
Jesus.
“Maybe it’s time you unwrap your present,” I whisper back.
He lifts his head. I see nothing but heat flashing in his eyes.
“Start with my boots,” I say.
Niko steps back from me, and I brace myself against the wall and extend my right leg toward him. He yanks off the boot and tosses it aside. Then I hold up my other leg, and he does the same.
Niko then lifts my arms over my head, pinning me against the bricks, and stops short of kissing me, his lips teasingly right in front of me.
“What’s next?” he murmurs sexily.
Every nerve I have is pulsating with need. I swallow before answering.
“My scarf.”
Niko’s hands work the knot out of my scarf, and he drops it to the floor. “My turn for a request.”
If he asks me to take off his jeans, I swear to God I’ll pass out.
“Please undo your hair,” he urges, pressing his forehead against mine as his fingertips stroke the curve of my waist. “I want to feel your hair.”
Niko lifts his head so he can watch me. I move my hands to the band at the bottom of my braid. I work the band loose and pull it out. I run my hands through my hair, loosening the auburn waves.
I watch as Niko’s lips part as I shake my braid free. He quickly lifts his hands to my hair, running his fingers through my long locks, his mouth crushing against mine as he does.
I groan against his hot mouth, my hands skimming down to the bottom of his sweater, desperate to feel his hard body. I frantically begin to push it up as we kiss.
Niko breaks the kiss for a second and rips his sweater over his head. His mouth reclaims mine with intensity.
I slide my hands under his white T-shirt, and I feel nothing but warm skin and cut muscles. Oh, I want this so badly. I want this man and this moment in a way I didn’t even know I could.
Niko’s hands slide up the inside of my leather jacket, and without breaking the kiss I shimmy out of it. I begin moving his shirt upwards. Niko tears his mouth from mine and jerks it off, and I gasp aloud as soon as I see him.
He’s all muscle. With ripped abs and sculpted, powerful arms from boxing. His skin is dark and sultry, and I want it pressed against me.
“Take off the rest of my clothes,” I say.
Niko lifts off my blouse, and I’m standing before him in a completely sheer floral lace demi-bra, one that is a deep purple and I know looks amazing with my pale skin and auburn hair. There are embroidered flowers delicately climbing up one of the straps, and the look is both sweet and sexy.
As soon as Niko sees me, his eyes flicker again with desire. He quickly moves in, pressing his hard body to mine. He kisses me passionately, and I match his kiss as my hands explore his powerful arms and shoulders. His hands slide over my breasts, causing me to gasp and arch my back in response.
“You’re so beautiful,” Niko whispers against my lips. “I want you so much.”
I rake my hands through his hair as he kisses my neck, and his tongue flickers slowly down my throat, to my breasts.
“Your skin is so soft,” Niko whispers before placing a kiss between my breasts. “So gorgeous.”
I close my eyes, lost in him and everything I’m feeling right now.
He lifts his head, and my eyes flutter open. Niko traces his fingers over my low-rise jeans and then slowly undoes the button. I feel my breathing grow rapid as he eases my jeans over my hips and off my legs, revealing a sheer dark purple mesh and floral scalloped thong.
“Lexi,” Niko breathes as he traces his fingers along the floral edge of my thong. “You’re so fucking hot, it’s unreal.”
I swear I’m sweating now. I’m panting and sweating and he needs to take me against this wall soon, or I’ll die.
But Niko lowers himself down before me, picking up where he left off, exploring me with his mouth, and begins a trail of kisses from between my breasts right down to the top edge of my thong.
Oh God.
He breathes a sexy kiss right there, a teasing kiss, letting his tongue lightly linger there before standing back up.
“Take me here,” I beg, frantically unbuckling his belt. “Now.”
I’m trying to work the button on his jeans but N
iko puts his hands over mine and lifts them to his chest.
“Baby, no,” Niko says firmly. “I’m not banging you against a brick wall, that’ll hurt you.”
I gaze into his eyes. I love you, I think. I love you for being the man who cares so much about taking care of me.
“But I am,” Niko says, lifting me up, “going to make love to you right now. And I promise you’ll scream in the way you want to without being hurt.”
I’m wrapped around him as he carries me upstairs, kissing him desperately, feeling his hot skin, raking my hands through his jet-black hair.
Niko places me down on his bed, and I kneel up, determined to get his jeans off him. He kicks off his shoes, and I unbutton his jeans. Niko helps me tug them off, and now he’s before me in black boxer-briefs that leave nothing to the imagination.
Fuck. He’s perfect. Breathtakingly perfect.
Niko moves over to his nightstand and quickly pulls out a condom. Then he moves on top of me, kissing me, caressing me, and we’re both hot and desperate to make love.
I rip my mouth away from his, smiling at him. “You have more than one of those, right?”
Niko grins. “I bought a new box today. I hadn’t needed any for a while.”
“Good. Because I intend for us to use more than one tonight,” I say, running my hands over his gorgeous arms.
“So do I, baby. So do I,” Niko declares, closing his mouth over mine.
As we engage in another sensual kiss, I have no doubt that he’ll keep his word to me tonight.
And I plan to relish every moment of it.
I don’t ever want to get out of this bed.
I lightly trace my fingers over Niko’s tattoo on the inside of his forearm. It’s Monday morning, and we’re still wrapped up in his bed. Niko has me drawn into his chest while he sleeps, one arm underneath me and the other draped over the top. I feel warm and loved and protected all in one.
