Twelve Days of Love

by Tess MacKall

“A few months later I found her birth control pills. She’d never tried to get pregnant. After that we didn’t have much left.”

  His revelation shocked her. What kind of woman lived that kind of lie? And why? Having a child with Nick, a family, should have been a blessing. How could Jenna have not wanted that with the man she loved? The idea of having a little boy or girl with Nick’s eyes… Eden doused the thought. She had no right to think that way.

  “That’s quite a deception. I’m sorry,” she said.

  “Don’t be. I’m glad it’s over. Guess you heard why.”

  She nodded.

  “So why didn’t you ever have kids?” he asked.

  Eden’s stomach flipped. The shoe on the other foot didn’t feel so good. But she had to answer him. Why would anyone want to have children with her? How do you tell someone that no one ever thought you were worth loving?

  “I-I…well, I never met anyone. I mean my relationships were never that serious.” Or rather, no man had ever been serious about her.

  “Maybe you just fought them. Like the way you fight me.”

  “Love just never happened. Not everyone is meant to be part of a couple, you know?” At least that’s how Eden pacified herself whenever she felt so lonely she thought she’d break.

  “Maybe not, but over the years, whenever I thought about you I’d imagine you with four or five kids. It seemed to suit you.”

  “Four or five?” Yeah, she heard him say he’d thought about her over the years, but she wasn’t going to touch that with a ten-foot pole.

  He grinned. “At least. Those hips were made for makin’ babies.”

  “What?” She knew her hips were a bit wide, but did he need to point it out?

  Slowly, he eased toward her. He snaked his hand around her waist, pulling her tight against him. Eden rested her palms on his muscular arms and stared up at him.

  “I’m gonna kiss you, Eden. Don’t you dare push me away.”

  Nick’s lips joined with hers, melting into a passionate, toe-curling kiss. This couldn’t be happening, yet it was. He moved one hand down to her butt and pressed her into his crotch. His erection rubbed over her pussy. Oh God. I’m kissing Nick in my mother’s kitchen and he has a hard-on!

  Pulse racing, heart hammering, she gave in, letting her hands smooth over his chest and up to his face. She threaded her fingers through his soft hair and moaned despite herself. He dug his fingers into her butt cheeks as he walked her over to the kitchen island and bent her slightly backward. Wetness pooled between her legs and the ever-familiar tingles that streaked through her body whenever Nick was near assailed her now, magnified to the point she couldn’t breathe. Her clit throbbed and adrenaline pumped through her veins in waves. Without thinking, she arched her hips into his.

  “My my, but aren’t you two getting cozy.”

  Nick broke the kiss and looked up at Eden’s mother. Eden, hot with embarrassment from the top of her head to the tips of her toes, tried loosening his grip. So not happening. He was not going to let go and didn’t appear a bit sheepish at having been discovered kissing her. Well, modesty never was one of his strong qualities.

  “Let me up, Nick.”

  Eden’s mother chuckled.

  “Mrs. Riley, I know this is your kitchen, but do you think you could excuse us for ten more minutes?”

  “Oh my god! Nick!” Eden couldn’t believe what he’d asked her mother.

  “I guess I can wait a few more minutes on that coffee refill. Carry on, Nick.”

  “Mom?”

  The kitchen door flapped as Eden’s mother left without another word. How could she? Whose side was she on anyway?

  Nick turned his attention back to Eden. “Now, where were we?”

  His smile was so damn infectious. That green gaze full of longing held her in place. Was it just sexual? Maybe he really did like her hips. Or maybe he just wanted to get as far away from blonde and gorgeous as he possibly could.

  “Why me, Nick?”

  “Because you’re beautiful and sexy and you’re my kind of gal. That’s why.”

  “I don’t look a thing like your kind of gal and you know it.”

  “You’re impossible. But I don’t care. Now listen and listen good. When I look into those big blue eyes of yours, I tremble. Your silky hair, your…” He laid his hand on her breast. “Your soft breasts and those tiny nipples are so damn perfect. All I can think about is sucking on them until you beg me to make love to you. I lay awake at night seeing you on top of me, riding me, my hands on those luscious hips. So don’t ever again pretend you know anything about what my kind of gal is.”

  With that, his lips came down on hers, the urgent invasion of his tongue leaving her breathless and wanting more. It had been so long for her. How did she know this wasn’t her sex-starved body reacting? Maybe any man could render her insides the consistency of mush.

  But this was Nick. Top-of-the-line, rip-my-clothes-off-of-me-and-fuck-me-now-please Nick! Every woman’s wet dream. A tremble racked her body, and warm wetness coated her pussy. He lifted her sweater, pulling back her bra cup, and settled his hand on her breast. The touch of his hot palm on her nipple nearly buckled her knees.

  He tore his mouth away from her lips and covered her nipple, sucking on it. Eden let out a little squeak. Every time his mouth tugged on the taut peak, tiny ripples of need raced through her and straight to her wet pussy. His leg came between hers and instinctively she humped against it, desperate for relief.

  It became apparent rather quickly that Nick had his own ideas on giving her relief.

  Before Eden had time to react, Nick unbuttoned her jeans, unzipped her zipper and slid his hand down inside her panties. His leg pushed hers farther apart, creating better access. As he flicked his tongue over her swollen nipple, he slipped his fingers through her cleft. Eden arched into his hand, crying out.

  “Nick. Stop. We can’t. My mother.”

  Her nipple popped from his mouth as he looked up at her. “She won’t come back in here. I promise.”

  “Nick—”

  “Sssh. Let me make you feel good.”

  How could she deny herself? She wanted it. Had wanted him for years. Her body was on fire and only Nick could put out the flames. In a slow, easy rhythm, she rubbed her clit over his fingers.

  “Fuck, yeah. That’s the way. You’re so damn wet, honey.”

  Dirty talk. Something inside her broke free and, unable to stop herself, she said, “Fuck me with your fingers. Shove them in me and give me a good finger-fucking.”

  The sound that emanated from him was almost a growl. His eyes darkened with lust as he thrust two fingers into her opening and pressed his thumb against her clit.

  “Talk to me, baby. Tell me how good it feels to your pussy.”

  Eden thought she’d come out of her skin. “So good. So hot. Rub my clit.”

  In lazy, circular movements, he polished the throbbing bud while her need escalated. Her hips rocked back and forth, pressure building deep inside. Fragmented sensations of heat burst through her pussy and traveled upward and across her body.

  Eden parted her lips to scream but Nick covered her carnal outburst with his mouth and swallowed the noise. He kept his fingers in place and waited only a few seconds before he began another slow, sensual massage. She couldn’t get enough of his mouth. Couldn’t get enough of what he was doing to her pussy. She pumped against his fingers. God, she wanted to suck on his tongue, his cock, ride him all night long. What was happening to her? Why was she so out of control?

  Squeezing her legs tight, she gasped for air and grew limp as the second orgasm shook her. Nick slowed the strokes to her clit and nibbled at the column of her throat. Undoubtedly, she’d just experienced the most erotic encounter of her life.

  His hand stilled. “I know that felt good, honey. Want some more?”

  Her breath heavy and ragged, she relaxed her legs and reached between them to grip his wrist. “No,” she whispered. “Too sensitive.”

>   “Trust me, Eden.” His fingers teased her clit once more.

  Her hands flew to his shoulders followed by her loud, “Oh!”

  At first she couldn’t move. The wild ripple of lust that coursed through her left her stunned. His fingers slid away from her taut nub and down through her slit. He dipped inside her juicy opening and spread her creamy essence up and down her folds. The need to have him do more overwhelmed her. Her hips moved without her even thinking about it, thrusting with the motion of his fingers, forcing them higher.

  He let his tongue dart outward to play along the seam of her lips. She opened her mouth and captured it to suckle, but he quickly pulled away and grinned.

  “My greedy Eden. Mmm, baby, you make me so damn hard.”

  Lost in her haze of lust, Eden watched him unfasten his pants. He brought one of her hands from his shoulders and slowly eased it inside his boxers. The room spun, taking Eden with it. The rough smattering of hair surrounding his cock tickled her fingers. He pushed her hand downward to rub against his hardness.

  “Hold it, honey. I just need you to hold it.”

  Hot, tight, his cock pulsed in her hand. Oh, she’d hold it all right. She’d do more than that for sure. Ever so gently, she eased his throbbing length from his pants.

  “Ahh…God, Eden.” The muscles in his neck corded. “Be careful, honey. I’ll come right here in your mama’s kitchen.”

  Feeling just a bit emboldened by his gut-wrenching reaction, Eden smiled and said, “Wouldn’t be fair of me to have all the fun, now would it?”

  His hands reached for her waistband and slid her jeans down to her thighs. After a couple of hard jabs of his hips, she knew what he wanted. The expression on his face had become a potent mix of lust and something incredibly feral. Eden stroked his cock back and forth, but Nick had his own way of doing things.

  He clenched his teeth and said, “Not yet.”

  A second later he pushed his hips forward and slid his cock over her clit and through her wet slit.

  She gasped with the sensation of the smooth yet demanding motion and slapped her hands to his chest. “Nick, we…we can’t do this here.”

  “Don’t worry.” He fumbled in his pocket, brought out a foil packet, and tore it open. He slid a condom over his cock and said, “We’re just playing. We’ll get to the main event later. But for now…”

  He shuddered, thrusting through her wetness once more in lazy, rhythmic movements. Eden rocked her hips into his. Each time he took his cock backward it teased her clit. Their sway, gentle at first, accelerated. Sweat dotted his forehead.

  “Look at me, Eden.”

  She lifted her gaze to meet his. Too wrapped up in her desire to say anything, she simply stared, allowing the tension to mount inside her. His eyes glowed with sexual hunger. A hunger that only deepened her own.

  “I can’t hold…back…much longer,” he gritted out.

  That was all it took. Just to know he was so close. She dug her fingers into the fabric of his shirt. Her mouth fell open and stuttered breaths mingled with a keen whine escaped her lips. The force of the climax hit her so hard she all but collapsed to the floor.

  Nick crushed his mouth to hers and released a throaty moan within her. She felt the warmth of his cum jetting into the condom as she finished riding out the sexual storm right along with him.

  Breathless, Nick released her mouth and nuzzled her nose with his. “That was something, wasn’t it?”

  She nodded, a bit taken aback at her shameless response to him—embarrassed.

  He kissed her once more. Such a sweet kiss, tender and loving. As the kiss ended, he began rubbing her shoulders.

  His forehead touched hers. “I’ve wanted you for so long.”

  And she’d wanted him forever. But were sex and what she truly wanted one and the same? Was it possible there could ever be more than passion? Why couldn’t she just accept that he wanted her for now at least? Other women just went with the flow and for some strange reason she couldn’t.

  “Nick, I’m confused. I need a few minutes alone.”

  “Honey, don’t talk yourself out of wanting me.”

  “I just need to get a hold of myself before I walk in there and see my mother. You understand, don’t you?”

  “I do. But, Eden, when you come into that living room, sit next to me. Let me put my arm around you. I need to be close to you. Promise?”

  Eden nodded, not quite sure she could keep that promise. Too much was happening and way too fast. Nick stepped back as she pulled up her jeans and buttoned them. She glanced back over her shoulder as she walked away to see him staring at her while he got his own clothing in order. He looked worried. She smiled, somehow wanting to reassure him, and not so sure herself.

  Chapter Seven

  The clock in the foyer chimed. Eden stood in the dim lighting of the hall and counted each hour it announced. Nine o’clock. Nick would go home soon, but in the meantime she had to face him—and her mother. Would Mom guess something more than a little kissing had happened in the kitchen?

  Her mom’s soft laughter floated in the air. Nick was good with her. Very polite and caring. By all indications he was still the perfect man everyone always thought him to be. Only now he was twice as perfect. Twice the man too. Even she had to admit that. He maintained that same devil-may-care attitude he had in high school but came across as being more serious than when they were kids.

  Eden supposed he’d done a lot of growing up. There was no doubt he’d suffered some great personal losses. His ball career for one and his wife for another. It was obvious he wanted children. She’d seen the pain in his eyes when he’d told her about Jenna’s deception.

  So if Nick was so damn wonderful, why couldn’t she believe him when he said he wanted her? Maybe their past had nothing to do with being afraid of him. Could it be that her past was the problem? God knew she’d spent the last fifteen years scared and lonely. Every time she found herself interested in a man he turned out to be a real jerk.

  She had to stop comparing Nick to other men, didn’t she? The changes in him were so obvious, even to her. And she had always been his toughest critic. Walking into that room and sitting next to him as he’d asked would signal her intention. Her intention to what, though? All she understood right now was that she had no answers to her questions.

  Could it be that she just needed to take a chance?

  With her head held high though fear threaded her veins, Eden made her way down the hall and into the living room. Nick was kneeling on the whitewashed hearth of the fireplace, laying a fire. Her mother, seated in the big floral-patterned wingback chair, chatted animatedly. Eden hadn’t seen her act so vigorous in weeks and had to attribute the change to Nick. He’d always had that effect on people. Well, everyone but Eden, that was.

  The scene before her appeared so domestic. Nice. It was almost like a family portrait. All the family photos were scattered about, some on the mantel, some on the antique sofa table. And Nick completed the album with his presence.

  She’d always loved him, hadn’t she? And she’d always been afraid of loving him too. The realization came to her suddenly, but somehow she wasn’t surprised. Admitting it to herself seemed comforting, especially considering the scene before her. At the same time, though, she couldn’t quite believe it was really happening.

  The long-stemmed match he held flamed. He placed it at the base of the wrought iron grate and lit the kindling stuffed beneath. Eden’s mom poured him another glass of wine and then drank from her coffee.

  “A fire. How nice,” Eden said as she stepped into the room.

  “It was Nick’s idea. Since it turned so cold the last couple of days, I’ve been wishing for a fire,” her mother said.

  “You should have told me, Mom.”

  “You work late most nights, come home dead tired and ready for bed. A fire should be enjoyed. Like now.” Her mother poured a second glass of wine and handed it to Eden.

  Eden accepted it and took a sip,
wondering where she should sit. Nick stood and walked over to her. He took her arm and guided her to the rose-colored loveseat where he gently tugged her down into place and sat next to her.

  Draping his arm around her, he hugged her to him and said, “Our girl works too hard, doesn’t she, Maggie?”

  Our girl? Maggie? Talk about getting cozy. Again she wondered about the reality of the situation. It was all so far removed from anything she’d ever dared imagine—with or without Nick in the picture.

  “Yes, she does, Nick.”

  The three of them talked for probably another half hour and then her mother picked up her coffee cup and pushed from the chair. “Well, I’m off to bed.”

  “Bed,” squeaked Eden.

  “Oh sweetie, I was up with the birds this morning. I’ve got twenty-five years on the two of you. Besides, I’m going to snuggle under the covers and read for a while.”

  “But, Mom, you just had coffee, and what about enjoying the fire?”

  “Decaf, darling, and you can enjoy the fire with Nick.” She leaned over and kissed Eden’s forehead. “Good night. Night, Nick.”

  “Good night, Maggie,” Nick called after her.

  It was a conspiracy as obvious as the nose on a body’s face.

  “Night, Mom.” Eden looked at Nick.

  He grinned like the Cheshire Cat in Alice in Wonderland. His fingers played with the hair at the back of her neck. Eden shuddered, a not-so-subtle reminder of how he’d made her shudder in the kitchen. Leaning close, he reached across her, pressed a button on the entertainment system remote and switched off the lamp. Only the soft glow of the crackling fire remained. Eden raised an eyebrow as Seal’s Kiss From A Rose drifted across the room. He removed his arm from her shoulders and placed his hands at the backs of her knees, lifting and spinning her around until her legs rested in his lap. He put his finger to his lips as if to quiet her and slipped her black velvet flats from her feet. Anticipation skittered up and down Eden’s spine.

  His strong, warm hands rubbed the soles of her feet, kneading the arches. Eden relaxed against the sofa arm and closed her eyes. Maybe she’d keep her mouth shut. After all, wasn’t that what he wanted?