by Terry Towers
“By all means.”
Grant didn’t even want to think about the look of disappointment that would appear on Nikki’s face when he told her the news. He hated disappointing her. He supposed he could just add it to the list of things he’d done to upset her recently. He’d make it up to her when he got back. A nice, relaxing vacation. Anywhere in the world, her choice.
~*~ TT ~*~
Nikki
Nikki’s hips swayed to the sound of the music R&B playing in the background as she began to prepare the steaks to be put on the grill. They hadn’t done a BBQ for quite some time, so that was what she planned for dinner tonight. Steak, roasted potatoes, corn on the cob, a fresh salad… It was going to be great. Grant said he had an activity planned for them after supper. She was dying of curiosity over what he had in mind.
The weekend had been wonderful, once they got back from the day cruise, they spent the rest of the weekend together. A good chunk of it was in bed, but they found time to go for a long hike. They’d also seen a musical and he’d promised to take her to New York City tomorrow night and spend the evening and most of Thursday exploring the city. They’d been to New York numerous times, but it never got old.
The sound of Grant’s Lotus caught her attention as he pulled into the driveway. Just hearing the car made her pulse race. She was so glad that they had spent the time to talk through their issues and come to an understanding. Dr. Greer had certainly helped, he’d given them the tools they needed to solve their problems, but they needed the past weekend to put those tools to use and find a balance. They had needed to rediscover why they fell in love in the first place, and they had.
“Hey Nikki?” Grant called as he entered the front door.
Leaving the kitchen, Nikki greeted him in the entryway. He was holding a large bouquet of roses. Two dozen would have been her guess. “More flowers!” Grinning from ear to ear she ran to him and threw herself into his arms. “This is bordering on being spoiled.”
“I can take them back if you like.”
“Heck no!” She laughed as she took the flowers from him and buried her face into the bouquet, inhaling deeply. “We can have a bouquet in both the living room and our bedroom now. Thank you, thank you, thank you, Babe!” Turning she made her way back to the kitchen and busied herself with finding another vase and settling them within it.
“Once you’re done with the flowers can you sit down for a moment, we need to talk,” Grant said, pulling out a chair and taking a seat at the table.
Her entire body froze, her fingers quivering as she held onto the stem of the rose she was adjusting. The tone of his voice told her it was something she wasn’t going to like.
“What if I don’t want to talk?” she said, focusing all her attention on the flowers.
“We have to. It’s important.”
Nope. Nope. She shook her head and forced the tears back. There was no way he was going to ruin the night for her.
“Nikki. Please. We can’t ignore what has to be said and pretend it’ll go away.”
Taking a deep breath in, she slowly released it and forced herself to turn and face him. “Okay, what’s this about.”
He nodded to the chair beside him.
With a nod, she slowly made her way to the table and sat down. “Okay, what’s going on?”
“There’s no way real way to sugar coat this, so I’ll just say it. They’re sending me tomorrow morning instead of Friday. The task got moved up and I have to be there immediately.”
Don’t be selfish. It’s his job. Be strong, she coached herself, but it was fucking hard.
“I see.” She looked down at the table. If she looked up and into his eyes, she’d cry. “You still don’t know how long it’ll be?”
“No. I don’t. Hopefully, it won’t be long. From my understanding, it should be pretty cut and dry. Maybe a couple of weeks. But if there’s one thing I’ve learned from this job, it’s to expect the unexpected.”
“I know the deal.” She forced a smile to her lips even though she was being torn apart inside. “It doesn’t mean that I have to like it.”
“No, it doesn’t,” he confirmed. “Not at all. I’m angry as well, but it’s important that I get there immediately.”
“And it’s classified so you can’t tell me anything.”
He shook his head. “I’m sorry. Maybe one day.” He reached across the table and took her hands in his. “When we’re old and gray and all of this is decades behind us.”
She laughed. “You’re so optimistic.”
“When it comes to you, of course I am. You and Jasmine are the only things in my life that I can be one hundred percent sure of.”
Looking up into his eyes, her smile became genuine.
“And when I come home we’re going to have a vacation. Me, you and Jasmine. Maybe a nice relaxing week of beach time in Bermuda? We could have your parents watch Jasmine and perhaps go someplace a little more exotic. Or do a couple weeks in Europe?”
“I can think about it when you’re gone and let you know.” She loved how he was trying so hard to make it up to her. If anyone would need a vacation when he got back it was him, not her!
“I know you’re preparing a meal, but how about we go out to eat?” he suggested.
She was tempted by the idea, but shook her head.
“I have the nanny on standby. One call and she’ll be here within a half-hour.” He pulled his phone from the inner pocket of his jacket and began scrolling through the names.
Taking his phone from him, she shut it off and place it on the table, face down between them. “Since this is going to be your last night here for a while, I think we should spend the night here. Have a Bar-be-que, enjoy our time with Jasmine. Pop come popcorn and watch a movie on the sofa. We can have fun times out when you get back.”
It looked as though he were going to protest, but then he smiled back at her, taking her hands and giving them a squeeze. “If that’s what you want then your wish is my command, my love.”
Chapter 10
Grant
Supper was average. Nikki tried, but she wasn’t the best of cooks. Some stuff she was amazing at; take for instance her spaghetti and meatballs. Nothing short of amazing, it was one of his favorite dishes of hers. Her steak on the barbeque, however, not so great. But she had been right, it was so much better spending his last night here in the house with her and Jasmine, enjoying the basic life of a family man, as though they were just a normal couple.
There was something to be said about normal that most people didn’t realize. Maybe one day they’d be normal, just not today.
“I’ll put Jasmine to bed if that’s okay.” Grant said getting up from the sofa and scooping the sleepy baby up from her bouncer and holding her tight to his chest as he proceeded through the living room and up the stairs to the second floor and into her room.
He felt a great since of reluctance as he bent and gingerly placed her into her crib. By the time he finished tucking her in, her eyes closed and she was well on her way to a deep sleep. A part of him envied her; she had no worries or cares. She didn’t have to concern herself with the state of the world and juggling career and family. One day she would. But not today, and for that he envied her.
Even though she was asleep without a problem, Grant continued to stand by her crib running a finger along her smooth cheek. She was such a beautiful child, just like her mother. She was going to grow up to be someone amazing, he could feel it in his bones. What, he wasn’t sure, but someone special. With any luck, he’d be alive to find out if he was right or not.
If… That word lingered in his mind. Each time he left on a mission, he rolled the dice on coming back. He’d been lucky thus far, but one day would his luck run out and he’d never get to see his family again? He hoped not.
“Grant?”
He turned at the sound of his wife’s voice at the doorway.
“Are you coming back downstairs or are you going to hang out in here all night. The m
ovie’s over.”
“Seriously?” He looked down at his watch and was surprised to discover that he’d been up here staring at his daughter for over twenty minutes. “Sorry, honey. I was just thinking.”
“About what?”
With one last look, he placed a gentle kiss on Jasmine’s forehead. Turning from the crib, Grant walked over to the woman he promised to spend the rest of his life with, pulling her into his arms. “About our family and our lives together. About Jasmine and what she’ll become when she grows up. Her first boyfriend. When she graduates high school. And when she goes to college, like her mother is going to start doing again.”
Nikki opened her mouth, no doubt to protest, but he stopped her placing an index finger over her lips. “I’m chasing my ambitions and it’s time for you to get back to chasing yours. I won’t accept you saying you can’t go for this or that reason, you’re going. Non-negotiable.”
She nodded.
“Good. The new semester starts next month, you’re going to register for classes and start whether I’m home or not. The number for the nanny from the agency is one the fridge. Use it.”
Another nod.
“I need a verbal confirmation here,” Grant teased leaning down and kissing her lightly on the lips.
“I will. I’ll do it tomorrow.” Slipping her hands up his chest, she pressed herself tight to his chest, staring up at him with love in her eyes.
“Good.” Bowing his head, he kissed her a second time, this time the kiss was deeper, lingering a moment before breaking off. As his lips began to move up and away from her, she pushed up on her tiptoes and claimed his lips, pulling him back down to her.
Sliding his hands around her waist, he pulled her tighter to him, their bodies melding into one. Slipping his hands lower, he grasped her thighs and hoisted her up and onto his hips. She giggled, holding a little tighter to his neck as he carried her from their baby’s room and into their own.
“You have to be up early tomorrow; shouldn’t you conserve your energy?” she asked teasing, as he carried her to the bed and deposited her upon it, falling onto the bed over her, his torso settling between her legs. As they landed, he braced himself with a hand on either side of her head to keep from crushing her small frame under his heavier weight.
“On the contrary. If we don’t do it, I might be jittery due to the blue balls and it’ll put me off my game for the entire mission. I need to fuck you for the safely of our nation, the world even.”
The expression on his face was so serious and genuine that it made her laugh outright. “You can’t be serious.”
“On the contrary, I’m quite serious.” He ground his rapidly thickening cock against her pelvis. Her laugher immediately stopped, and a soft groan passed her lips. The sound of her groan, so sexy and thick with desire, was like throwing gasoline onto a slow burning fire. His dick thickened to its full protentional, probing at her.
“Oh.”
He loved it when she got to the point where her desire took over and her thoughts became limited to the emotions and physical sensations rushing through her. The soft, “oh’s and yes’s were like music to his dick.
Lowering his lips to the side of her neck, he began a trail of nibbles down the side. Her hands gripped at his shoulders, her fingernails digging into the hard muscle. He ground against her again. Again, she moaned, a little louder this time.
Keeping himself braced with one hand, the other slid down her side and up under her skirt. Grasping the thin string of her panties, he gave it a tug, pulling the dainty garment down her hips and thighs. She lifted her hips assisting his effort, the bucking rubbing his erection and sending a jolt of yearning through him.
It was his turn to groan as his lips reached her collarbone. He nipped at her collarbone as he undid the button and fly on his pants and pulled it down. A moment later his throbbing cock was unleashed. Sliding it between her legs, he let his shaft slid between her soft folds, resting it there.
“Grant!” she sighed, bucking against him. “Why do you do this to me?”
“To you? I’m a fucking rock.” Slipping from her, he began to strip off his clothing, watching as she pulled herself further up on the bed until she was dead center. She braced herself back on her elbows, her chest heaving as she watched him undress. She wasn’t shy about leaving her skirt high up on her thighs, her knees bent and legs spread wide so he could get a magnificent view of her swollen, pink pussy. He was determined he was going to devour her core with his tongue until her juices greeted his lips and tongue.
His buttons on his shirt fell away quickly under his nimble fingers. Shrugging out of his shirt, he pulled the t-shirt over his head and tossed it onto the floor with the shirt. With a wiggle of his hips, his pants and boxer briefs slid down to puddle at his feet. Two socks later he was completely nude, his cock pointing at her and watching her with heat and desire in his eyes.
She ran her tongue along her lower lip and then got to her knees. Not saying a word, but the wicked look in her eyes said it all as she crawled over to the edge of the bed. Cocking her index finger at him, she beckoned for him to come closer.
“Yes, baby.” He took a few stepped and stopped at the foot of the bed, the tip of his cock, just inches from her luscious lips.
Reaching out, she grasped his shaft in her hand and began to slowly stroke him. He groaned softly, closing his eyes and savouring the feel of her hand. It was so soft and she knew exactly how to touch him to drive him insane in the matter of minutes. Tension began to build within him as he slipped his hand into her silken hair and fisted the locks.
She moaned softly, so soft that he barely heard her as she leaned forward and ran the tip of her tongue along the underside of his shaft. As her tongue began to torture his dick, her free hand gently grasped his balls, massaging them and sending his head spinning with pleasure.
Her tongue was back at the tip of his cock once more, but instead of moving back down the length, her tongue began to swirl around the underside of the mushroom head, periodically moving up, to lash at the pearl of cum that formed at the tip.
“You’re driving me crazy.”
“Mmm-hmm, that’s the point.” Her voice sounded deeper than normal and heavy with lust.
With his free hand, he began to unbutton the tiny pearl buttons on the bodice of her dress, allowing her bare breasts to spring free. “Then you’re achieving your goal.”
He’d barely finished speaking when her hand slid to the bottom of his shaft as her mouth slipped the head in fully, her mouth taking in close to three-quarters of his length.
“Oh, God,” he murmured. More to himself to her, but considering the gurgling sound she made in response, she must have heard.
Her hand and mouth began to work in perfect harmony, up and down, in and out. With each stroke he began more enthralled in the need that was surrounding him, keeping him in a suspended state of bliss.
He had been planning on devouring her core with his mouth. That had been the intention, but as usual she’d taken his plan and turned it on its ear. If she didn’t stop soon, he’d explode in her mouth and it would be over. He’d have lost out on the opportunity to indulge in her quivering core one last time before he left.
But, dammit, it felt so good!
He was weak, he couldn’t have stopped her expert mouth if he wanted to as she began to increase the speed of her movements, her hand and mouth working in unison and driving him to insanity. Each time he attempted to push her away, another surge of pleasure would race through him, making it impossible to stop her.
His hips began to thrust against her mouth, working with her. Though the act began to take a turn from her giving him pleasure to him taking it. The hand in her hair gripped a little tighter as he increased the speed of his thrusts, a mixture of her saliva and his pre-cum began to slide down his shaft and onto his scrotum.
“Nik-“ He couldn’t even get her full name out as the sensations that had him wound so tightly broke and his entire mind we
nt blank for a split second as the release came to him. One, two, three jolts of pre-cum escape him and sought refuge in her greedy mouth.
She drank down his seed as if it were the finest of wines. She even moaned a little, as if she were savouring the taste of his offering. His body gyrated once more, before he was able to gather himself and watch as he slowly removed himself from her lush lips.
“Fuck, if it was possible to die of pleasure, I’d be dead right now sweetheart.”
Grabbing her hand, he pulled her from the bed and began to remove the dress from her. She looked beautiful in the dress, but her naked body was perfection as far as he was concerned. He took a step back from her, his eyes taking in every inch of her nakedness.
She smiled, a hint of a blush coloring her cheeks. “What are you looking at?”
“You. You’re the most perfect woman I’ve ever met, Nikki, in every single way.”
Chapter 11
Nikki
Hearing him tell her that she was perfect as he stared at what she felt was a less than perfect body was both flattering and embarrassing. But regardless of the mixture of feelings, she felt as warming within her, amplifying how much in love she was for this man.
In the past, she had things going on in her own life to keep her occupied while he was gone, so this was the first time she’d be home with nothing to do but sit and wonder what he was doing and who he was with. It was going to be torture.
He took a step towards her, and she noticed that, while he’d unloaded within her mouth, his dick didn’t go down, but remained rigid and ready for action. “You do know this,” he took her chin in his hand and forced her to look up and into his eyes, “don’t you?”
“I do.” And she was being completely honest. He never looked at her with anything less than love and respect, even when they were fighting; she knew he loved and cherished her.
“Good.” Bending down, he captured her lips with his own, kissing her with passion that was so intense that when he eventually broke away, she was left breathless.
