Before Eden could even get out a “huh?” Nico brushed a quick kiss on her mouth and hurried to his truck.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
NICO FIGURED THAT Eden was going to have plenty of questions when he finished this errand, but unless he got some kind of signal from Rayelle that it was okay for Eden to know, he wouldn’t be spilling the woman’s secret. But maybe now that she’d told him, Rayelle could see her way to telling others. It couldn’t be good for her to keep her feelings bottled up like that.
And there had to be feelings.
No way would she have kept this box if there hadn’t been. And it made him wonder how Rayelle had been before she’d had a baby. Before her parents had labeled her a slut and her life had changed forever—not for the good, either.
Maybe that was part of the resentment Rayelle seemed to have for him. He had essentially gotten away with sleeping around. Yeah, there’d been plenty of judgments from folks, but he’d never had to deal with what she’d gone through.
The moment he pulled his truck in front of the cabin, he saw Rayelle look out the window. He saw her frown, too, and she was probably thinking—what now? But he knew that expression would change when she learned the reason he was there.
He got out, motioning for her to come outside. The cabin was small, and no matter what room Piper happened to be in, she would likely hear anything they said. Would almost certainly want to know the reason for the visit, too, but Nico was going to leave it to Rayelle to explain it any way she saw fit.
“We’re fine,” Rayelle said in a soft whisper when she came out on the porch. “You didn’t need to check on us.”
Nico nodded and handed her the box, watching the instant change in her body language. She made a strangled sound of relief, clutching the box in both of her hands. Since she looked as if all the bones in her body had turned to liquid, Nico took hold of her arm to steady her.
“You found it.” The relief also washed through Rayelle’s voice.
“No. Liddy Jean Carswell did. She found it in the parking lot at the diner and thinks it might have fallen out of your purse.”
There went the relief. Any trace of it. And despite the dim light on the porch, Nico managed to see the color drain from Rayelle’s face. “Did she look inside it? Does she know?”
Nico had to shake his head to both of those questions. “She didn’t say, and I didn’t ask.” But now he wished he had. “Is there something in the box that could...get you in trouble?”
Rayelle blinked as if confused. “I don’t want anyone to know.”
All right, that wasn’t much of an answer and didn’t help rid him of the notion that Rayelle might have committed some kind of crime with the proof of it being in that box. Since pussyfooting around wasn’t getting him anywhere, Nico went with the direct approach.
“Did you do something bad to the father of your baby? Is that what you’re hiding in that box?”
No blink this time, but Rayelle’s eyes widened. “No.” She dragged in a quick breath and repeated her denial. “I haven’t seen him since he told me he didn’t want anything to do with me. As far as I know he’s still married.”
Now it was Nico’s turn to feel some relief. He gave Rayelle’s arm a pat, figuring this would be the end of it, but then Rayelle took the lid off the box and held it out so that he could see what was inside.
Definitely not a bullet.
It was one of those little plastic bracelets that hospitals put on newborns. Nico didn’t read what was on it, but he had no doubts that this belonged to the baby Rayelle had given up for adoption. Beneath it was what appeared to be a small piece of folded muslin cloth.
“One of the nurses saved these for me,” Rayelle said. She touched the cloth. “This is the knit hat they put on the baby’s head.”
Nico couldn’t imagine how heartbreaking that had been for Rayelle. Hell, it still was, and even though they’d never been close, he still pulled her into his arms for a long hug.
“If there’s anything I can do, just ask,” he whispered to her. “And if you want me to look at adoption registries or such—”
“No.” She pulled away from him, closed the lid on the box and squared her shoulders.
Despite her eyes that were shiny with tears, she was back to the old Rayelle again. Or rather she was trying to be. And Nico wasn’t going to fault her for that. Maybe it was that shield that got her through this.
Even though he doubted she would care much for it, he brushed a kiss on her cheek and was about to turn and leave when he saw Piper come into the doorway. Despite it not being late, she was already in her pj’s.
Rayelle’s back was to the girl so she couldn’t have seen the woman’s expression, but she must have sensed something was wrong. Of course, she did. After all, Nico was there.
“Is everything okay?” Piper asked.
“Yes,” Rayelle jumped to answer. “Nico was just checking to make sure we got home all right.”
Nico went with that lie and nodded. He kissed Piper’s cheek, too, when she stepped into the doorway. “You’re sure?” Piper pressed, and she sounded worried.
“I’m sure,” Nico told her. “I’ll call you tomorrow. Get some rest.”
Though he wondered if rest would even be possible for Rayelle. If he’d thought there was any way he could talk her into counseling, he’d push for it. For now, he just said his goodbyes and headed for his truck.
On the drive back, he thought of what he should tell Eden about all of this. She might be thinking the worst, that things had bottomed out between Rayelle and Piper. And that box would have definitely piqued her interest. Heck, he should probably just spill everything to her and swear her to secrecy since it was hard to keep anything from her.
Well, most things anyway.
He’d kept her idiot husband’s secret of cheating on her, but Nico had only done that to spare Eden’s feelings. And now that Damien and she were over, there was no need for her to know about that ultimatum he’d given Damien.
Except it hadn’t actually been an ultimatum.
Nico had told him to end the affair with Mimi or else, but he hadn’t spelled out the “or else.” Nor would there have likely been one since Nico wouldn’t have ratted out the man to Eden. Still, it had been enough to spur Damien to action. Instead of ending things with Mimi though, he’d ended his marriage instead.
No. It was best that Eden didn’t know all of that.
Nico arrived back at his house, and he dragged in a long breath that he was certain he would need to face Eden and her questions. Of course, she was right there, waiting for him in the entry.
“Are Rayelle and Piper all right?” she immediately asked.
He nodded, tried to find his words, but that became very difficult to do once he looked at her. Yes, she was worried as he had known she would be, but for him to see the worry, he also had to see her face.
And what a face it was.
Despite everything he’d just gone through with Piper and Rayelle, Nico remembered the other thoughts that had stayed with him all day. Thoughts of being with Eden and having her here with him, and just like that, some of the weariness vanished. In its place came an overly healthy dose of lust.
“Want to talk about the box?” Eden added, moving toward him.
Nico shook his head.
She stopped in front of him, waiting, but then she cursed when her phone rang. “My mother,” she grumbled. “Again.”
When she let the call go to voice mail Nico saw the multiple missed calls, all from her mom. Since they filled up the entire screen, Nico understood Eden’s grumble.
“Maybe you should go ahead and call her back,” he suggested. “I’ll get us some beer.”
He could see Eden debating whether or not to do that, and she cursed when her phone rang yet again. She jabbed the answer button as if she’d picked a figh
t with it.
“Mom, I told you that I didn’t want to talk tonight,” Eden snapped.
Nico went to the fridge, opened two beers and went back into the living room, where Eden was now pacing.
“Yes, I told you the truth. I do write that blog.” She groaned. “You didn’t have to look it up or read it.”
Obviously, this wasn’t going to be a pleasant conversation. Or one that Eden would likely want to prolong. However, at the mention of the blog, Nico did think of something else. That surprise hand job on the phone. He wasn’t sure how Eden was going to react to something like that, but it couldn’t hurt. This would be like hand-job foreplay.
Nico set the beer bottles aside and went to her. He snagged her by the waist just as she paced in front of him, and he snapped her to him so that her back landed against his chest. She glanced at him, her eyebrow raised, but he decided to soothe away any doubts she might have with a kiss to her neck.
And by lifting her dress and sliding his hand over the front of her panties.
They were white lace and barely there. Perfect for this sort of thing because there was so little fabric between them.
Her breath caught, and even though he could hear her mother chattering on the other end of the line, Eden reached behind her, caught on to his hair and pulled him even closer. She made a not-so-soft moan, but her mother clearly hadn’t picked up on her daughter’s change in tone because she just kept going with the lecture. Nico caught a word or two and even a sentence.
Naughty. Dirty. For Pete’s sake, why’d you do this?
Eden just ignored the question and savored his touch. Nico could tell she was enjoying it not only because of the moans but because Eden was moving her butt against the front of his jeans. Since he was already rock hard, his dick very much appreciated that little maneuver.
It occurred to him that this wasn’t ideal circumstances to carry through on a hand job, but he was suddenly starved for Eden. Of course, that appetite for her had been building for days now, and it had gotten to the point where he ached to have her. Nico doubted that was a good thing.
Doubted, too, that he should escalate this, but that’s exactly what he did anyway. It helped some with his own clawing need when he ran his hand down into that lace and slipped his fingers into some incredible wet heat.
This time Eden gasped. “Gotta go, Mom. I’ll call you tomorrow.”
Her words rushed out at lightning speed, and the split second they were out of her mouth, Eden hit End Call and tossed her phone onto the sofa. She whirled around to face him, but she did that without untangling her hand from his hair and while his fingers were still inside her. What with her jockeying for position, and she didn’t even get to start reciting the states before her climax started. He felt her tight muscles clamp around his fingers.
“Damn it,” she muttered, sounding pleasured and pissed at the same time. “You were supposed to have something other than your fingers in me when that happened.”
Yeah, that had been his plan, too, but for now, Nico just kept his arm around her so that she didn’t slide to the floor.
It took her several seconds to recover, to come out of that warm-honey state and regain some focus. And she regained it with a very specific goal in mind.
“Get your clothes off now,” Eden said, and she went after his mouth with a hungry kiss.
* * *
THERE WAS NO way Eden intended to let this evening end with more hand jobs or oral sex. Not that those things weren’t good. They were, especially coming from Nico, but she wanted more.
“The bedroom,” she managed to say, despite the French-kissing that was going on. It wasn’t just their hands that were battling to get closer and deeper. Their tongues were in on the quest, too.
She didn’t mind having sex with him in the living room or anywhere else for that matter, but if they were in bed, the logistics alone would increase the chance that Nico and she might finally have orgasms together. Or rather as close together as her “condition” would allow. To give them a good shot at that actually happening, Eden intended to name as many states as possible, until she reached the brink of insanity.
They started in the direction of his bedroom. Arms and legs tangled. Breaths gusting. But multitasking slowed them down considerably. They were still kissing, and he kept giving her butt a squeeze in between trying to get her dress off. She wasn’t faring much better with his T-shirt.
Nico finally paused in the hall that led to his bedroom, reached behind him, grabbing on to the back of his own shirt and dragging it off over his head. He sent it flying. Then, he did the same to her dress, and the walking, tangling, groping and kissing started again.
They still weren’t naked, but this was much better. His bare chest was against hers, and she could feel him even through the lace. Bare skin to bare skin. And with her dress out of the way, it made it easier for him to locate the front clasp of her bra. He flicked it open, and her breasts spilled out into his waiting hands.
All in all, that was an amazing place for her breasts to be.
Nico made it even more amazing by flicking his thumbs over her nipples and then lowering his head to tongue each one. That slowed them down on the trek to the bedroom, but it was so worth it, and it caused a whole new fire to flare inside her.
After a few seconds, they picked up the pace, stepping and sidestepping down the hall, and Eden saw stars when her shoulder rammed into the doorjamb. But Nico had a cure for her pain. He mumbled an “I’m sorry,” caught on to her hips and ground the front of her panties against the front of his jeans. Specifically, against his erection. And, oh my, that was nice. So nice that it upped the urgency and got them moving again.
Eden pulled Nico’s mouth back up to hers so she could kiss him and not bop him in the face when she went after his belt. Of course, this was a rodeo buckle the size of a cabbage so it took her some fumbling to get it open and unzip him.
And finally she gave him some payback.
She slid her hand into his jeans. Into his boxer briefs. Where she clamped her fingers around him.
Oh yeah. His equipment would suit her just fine.
The clamping served another purpose, too. It got Nico moving fast, along with gutting out some grunts of pleasure.
Since Eden was the one who was walking backward, she didn’t actually see the bed, but when she felt it against her calves, she dropped back, dragging Nico down with her. Of course, she ended up kissing him again because after all, his mouth was right there, but Eden didn’t give up her quest to get him naked. In fact, she quit playing around in his boxers just so she could push his jeans off his hips.
His partial nudity must have reminded Nico that he was after bare-butt nakedness, too, because he got off the bed, and in the same motion, he stripped off first his boots, then his jeans. Then, those black boxer briefs.
If Eden hadn’t already been hotter than fire, seeing him like that would have done it for her. He was perfect. Tall, lanky and lean. A cowboy’s body with strong arms and a tight stomach. The tat didn’t hurt, either, and it was a surprise. A virile-looking bull on his right pec. Like the rest of him, it qualified in the hot-as-all-get-out category, but it was the first time she’d seen it. Then again, it’d been years since she’d seen him without his shirt.
Eden reached out to touch him but immediately got thwarted when Nico did some reaching of his own to rid her of her panties. He was clearly better at doing this than she was, but then she was distracted by all the gawking. Eden just drank him all in while he grabbed a condom from his nightstand, rolled it on and got back on the bed with her.
Except he didn’t just get on the bed.
After all, this was Nico, and he had the whole finesse thing going on. Finesse and scalding heat because he kissed her again—right between her legs. And he used his tongue. Lots of times. In just the right spot.
Maybe he thought
he had to get her ready for what was about to happen. Perhaps stoking the flames. But she was already stoked, and Eden let him know that by catching on to his hair and pulling him back up to her.
It worked.
Oh my. How it worked. She could feel him all hot and hard between her legs. Could also already feel another orgasm chasing her down.
“Alabama,” she said but then lost her breath, possibly her sanity, when he plunged into her.
She couldn’t speak, but mercy, she could feel. Every nerve in her body was getting in on this, and she could feel every inch of herself—and every inch of him. So many inches to feel.
“Alaska,” she finally managed.
But it was a lost cause. After Nico pushed into her exactly twice, Eden had no idea what planet she was on much less if that planet had states with names. Still, she thought he hurled her to some distant, brilliant star when her climax burst into a giant supernova thing.
She didn’t even try to tell him how amazing it felt, the vising of her muscles against the long, hard length of him. Eden just held on and let the pleasure crash through her. She got so caught up in it that it took a moment to realize Nico had quit moving.
Grinning, he was looking down at her. “You’re a bonus, you know that?”
“Huh?” she managed, and it was somewhat of a miracle that she could at least say that.
“You’re sort of the gift that keeps on giving.” Still grinning, he kissed her. “I like that. A lot.”
Surprisingly, at the moment, she liked it a lot, too. Except for the blatantly obvious thing that was wrong here. “You didn’t take your turn,” she pointed out, glancing down between them where they were still joined. Though she hadn’t needed to look to know that he was still rock hard.
“I’ll get there. I can wait for you if you think you can cum again in the near future. Very near future,” he added when an aftershock of her climax gave him a squeeze. He made another of those grunts and seemed to be steeling himself.
“I’ve had two already,” she pointed out. “Go for it and let me watch you.”
Sweet Summer Sunset Page 19
