by Blue Saffire
“I’m going to finish this conversation, Sephora,” Nick chuckles lightly. “When I get it all out I’ll take you home and we can spend the rest of the night making love.”
“Ugh, Nick, no matter what you tell me I am not leaving you. So you might as well get down on one knee and propose,” I huff and fold my arms over my chest.
Nick’s eyes darken with desire. They are almost completely black with no green in sight. His arms tighten around me tugging me closer to his chest.
“If you still want me after tonight, I will make that happen sooner rather than later,” Nick murmurs against my lips.
“Then please continue. I’d like to start planning my wedding,” I tease.
“Stop toying with me, Woman,” Nick growls capturing my lips for one more kiss.
“Are you sure I am toying with you,” I say breathlessly and smile.
“We shall see,” he replies as the playfulness from only a few seconds ago leaves his eyes.
I sigh and settle in for him to continue. “Days went by as we tried to find Ivana. I hadn’t made up my mind on whether or not I was ready to run to my parents with my tail between my legs to tell them they were right. I also hadn’t learned enough to go to them with the little I did know.
“What I did know was that Ivana had been homeless up until about a year before I met her in that club. She had a rap sheet as long as my body. She had no family. Her parents were dead and the aunt that raised her had died a few years prior, which led to her being homeless. She’d been on the streets from the time she was seventeen.
“None of it added up at first. Ivana always wore the best, had the best of everything. She fit into with our lifestyle. No one ever questioned if she came from money. When I tried to spoil, her she refused.
“Wyatt and Noah Black were onto a money trail the day my father started to call my phone none stop. I knew something was wrong. I didn’t want to answer but I knew I needed to. When I finally went to answer my phone rang again. I was floored to see Ivana’s number.
Nick
I just stared at the phone at first. I couldn’t believe she was calling. It had been days since Ivana disappeared. I was in shock to see her calling me. I forgot all about calling my father back. I needed to hear what Ivana had to say.
“Hello,” I quickly answered the phone before it went to voicemail.
“Son, she was right, you would answer her calls,” my father’s voice came through the line.
“Dad?” I say in confusion. “Where is Ivana? What are you doing with her phone?”
“The question is where are you, Nicholas? We have been to your apartment. You weren’t there. It is of a great deal of importance that I speak with you. I need to tell you some things and Ivana needs to share something with you as well,” my father explains with urgency in his voice.
“I’m at the Black and Hart office. I’ve been digging for some answers of my own,” I hiss.
“God no, Son. Stop, stop right now. Is Kevin with you?” My dad asks in a panic. I had never heard my father panic before.
Worry makes its way into my gut. Something is very wrong. My mind spins with all of the things that could be going on. When I have no answers and my father’s voice raises to get my attention, I am snapped back to the call I am on.
“Nicholas, is Kevin Briggs with you?” My father asks again desperately.
“Yes, father. He is,” I reply.
“Oh, thank God. Nick, I love you, Son. I plan to make this all go away. Don’t move. I am coming to you. I have your mother and Ivana with me, we will settle this matter once and for all. I am so sorry we have created this mess. But I’ll fix it, Son.”
“Okay, Dad,” is all I manage to say. I am too confused to say more.
Sephora
“I wish I would have said more,” Nick’s voice cracks as he recants the story of that day so long ago. “I wish I would have told him I loved him too. I wish I would have asked to speak to my mom.”
I am completely shaken when I see a lone tear slip from Nick’s eyes. I reach to wipe it away wishing I could wipe away the hurt as well. My heart feels so heavy; I have a feeling I already know what is coming next.
“Nick,” I say softly, but he shakes his head.
“It was ruled an accident, which was total bullshit. Wyatt didn’t have to tell me. I already knew there was foul play. I was ready to find the bastard that did it. I wanted to make him pay.
“Little did I know; he was a step ahead of us all. I have been in a game I didn’t even know I was playing in. I couldn’t touch him. Not then. What Wyatt uncovered stopped me dead in my tracks.
“I had no choice but to bury the truth along with my parents, my girlfriend, and my unborn daughter. Turns out dad was in the middle of a major deal that was needed to pump funds into the company. Not just his company, but Emilsson International, Hilton Industries, Ligal Enterprises, Carver World Group, and there were a few silent partners that were too dangerous for me to cross. I had to go along with covering everything up.
“I paid a hefty price to make it all go away. I made it as if my family started with me. I erased everything and anything from my past. The only lose string was the mystery man that tried to destroy my life for reasons I still don’t know.
“If I didn’t, I could have lost everything my father, his father and his father’s father built. If the truth had come out the investors would have pulled out and everyone would have been on the losing end. However, this what that bastard was after, he made his point very clear.
“I spent the first year getting the company back on its feet. The deal went through but it was only a Band-Aid. I needed FLI to be as strong as it was when my grandfather handed it over to my dad if not stronger.
“I did everything I could to turn it around. That is when the videos and pictures of your dad turned up,” Nick takes a pause as I stiffen in his arms.
I look up at him with pleading eyes. I don’t want to relive that time in my life right now. Everything he has just shared with me is already too heavy. I don’t know if I can relive the hurt from finding out my father was never the man I thought he was.
“Sephora, I know you and Ettie were hurt the most by what happened with your father. Neither of you knew the real truth. Your father let Ettie believe what she did because the truth was too dangerous. For a long time, Luke believed the same things you guys did.
“I couldn’t tell him the truth. I thought it was my fault. That I had brought all of this down on my friends and their families. Little did I know that deal that I saved by burying the truth is what pinned us all together against the same wall,” Nick sighs.
I wait as he seems to try to figure out how he is going to say his next words. I feel like I am on overload. It is all so overwhelming. I don’t know what to think about or analyze first.
“I promised Luke I would let him tell you what really happened back then with your dad. I just need you to know that we have been tied to one and other for a long time. I’m a selfish man. I should never have pursued you. I knew the risks. I knew this all could open a can of worms all over again. He has just been quiet for so long.
“For eight years we have waited for him to make his next move. I mean we,” Nick pauses as if he is about to say too much and looks away.
“What,” I ask not able to take the suspense.
“We can’t prove whether or not some events were a result of the man behind the voice on Ivana’s call in my office. The man is a damn phantom. Whenever we make a move shit like that lawsuit or the deal that fell apart in Seattle happens.
“I just... I just won’t not live my life because of a damn phantom. I lost my parents. I lost my little girl that I was so in love with just from hearing her heart beat. I cared for Ivana, despite her betrayal. I lost everything that day. My money, FLI, none of it can replace what I lost,” Nick reaches up to wipe away the tears I still haven’t registered are spilling from my eyes.
Nick places his forehead to mine, he inhales dee
ply. “I love you more than anything in my life, Sephora. I’ve said it before; I will say it again. I will take my last breath making sure you are always safe. You are the world to me and more,” are the words that wrap around me as I try to pull it together.
We stand like this for what seems like hours, but it is only minutes. It is an enough time for the weight of his words, every single word, to sink in. One question pushes to the front of my mind. My mouth is moving before my brain catches up.
“Why would I leave you? What about all of this would make you think I would leave you? I trust you to keep me safe. So why would you think I would leave,” I say.
Nick closes his eyes and shakes his head. “Baby, do you understand the danger I am putting you in? Not am I only putting your life in danger by having you in my life. After losing my parents and my daughter, I went to a very dark place. I wouldn’t do relationships, I didn’t date. I threw myself into the life. I found subs that would let me push the boundaries of my sadism to the limits.
“I have hurt more than a few subs, and they were okay with it. Luke had a few good reasons to want me to stay away from you, but I would never hurt you, Baby. But I need you to know that I have taken things extremely far before. I used to take out my pain through play. I was so destroyed after losing Nicky,” Nick says through a pained voice.
I furrow my brows in thought. “Nicky, was that your daughter’s name?”
“Yes, we were going to name her Nicky,” Nick nods.
I train my eyes on Nick’s chest. I have so many thoughts jumbled up in my mind. I know Nick thinks that all he has told me will make me run, but I find that I have only fallen that much more in love with him.
To lose his parents and his daughter, a daughter he never even had a chance to meet would crush a lesser man. To have all that happen and not be able to bring the man responsible to justice. To have to sweep it all under the rug, that would destroy anyone.
No, I don’t want to run from this man. If anything I understand him more. I want to be with him more. I want to help him find the man that ripped his world apart. I won’t be leaving Nick because I love him. We will see this to the end together.
I reach up and cup his jaw in my palm as I reach my own conclusion. “Nick, I am yours. I always have been, always will be. I understand you had a hard time for a little while and you lost your way. I am in love with the man you are now. The man you used to be has nothing to do with the man I love.
“When I ran from Seattle I realized something. I’m tired of running. That is not the woman I want to be. I plan to stand and fight for what I want from now on. If I have to fight for our love, I will. If I have to fight for you I will. I am not running, Nick. I want you. Nothing else will do for me,” I say with conviction.
Nick crushes his lips to mine. He kisses me passionately, it feels like he is pouring all his spoken and unspoken feelings into our kiss. I thread my fingers in his hair, holding him to me.
If this mystery man wants war, then he can get it. I have read between the lines. Just maybe, my daddy wasn’t a monster. If that is the case this has become my fight for more reasons than one. It’s time I really put my skills to use.
Chapter 12
Moving Forward
Nick
Sephora took it all a lot better than I thought she would. I wonder if she understands how much danger she is truly in. This person knows she is Luke’s sister and it wouldn’t be hard to tell how important she is to me.
I couldn’t share with her the real danger she is in just from being a Emilsson without exposing secrets that are not mine, but Luke will have to tell her soon. Both Ettie and Sephora need to know what kind of danger they are in so that they take this more seriously.
I haven’t pushed it because of the wedding. I want to allow Ettie to enjoy her wedding and everything she has been planning so hard for. The past few weeks have been about nothing but. However, It has given me time to put some things in to perspective and order.
I love the woman Sephora is becoming. Not only has she started to become more confident. She is turning into a real seductress. I already had trouble keeping my hands off of her when she was all sweet and innocent.
Now that she knows what she does to me and how to do it, I have a hard time thinking straight at all when I am around Sephora. She has been working from home, but I have been forcing myself into the office at least three days a week to get any work done.
Days that I am home we end up right where we are right now, naked and in bed. I watch my fingers glide up and down her bare back. I love the contrast of her dark skin against mine. It is one of the reasons I can’t keep my hands off of her.
If it weren’t for Ettie’s wedding I would have proposed already. There is just one more step I have to make in my relationship with Sephora. I know the attention it will draw, so I am being as patient as I can. Telling Sephora about my past and unlocking those feelings and thoughts has done something to me. Thinking of Nicky, my little girl, makes me want to start a family with Sephora all the more.
I was scared shitless when I first found out Ivana was pregnant. I had no idea what I was going to do with a baby, but then I heard our daughter’s little heart beat and I saw her on the screen in that doctor’s office and I was a goner. The day we found out that our little Nicky would be a girl my heart melted on the spot.
I hadn’t known at that time of Ivana’s betrayal. I thought she was amazing for giving me such a gift. However, now, I know I didn’t love Ivana the way I love Sephora.
I want to be a husband to Sephora out of love not obligation. I want to worship her day and night. I want to watch her grow with my children over and over again. These are the thoughts that have tempted me almost daily to toss out Sephora’s birth control.
I envy Luke. Kimmie is starting to show and she is positively glowing. The morning sickness has passed and Kimmie is back to her spirited self. So much so, she is giving Luke a run for his money. I can see my friend is on the verge of breaking down and giving in to his desires to be with Kimmie. He’d be a fool not to. I can’t even imagine denying myself Sephora ever again.
“What is on your mind,” Sephora’s sweet voice pulls me from my thoughts.
I can feel myself becoming aroused again as her small hand runs up my ribcage. I pull my eyes from the ceiling, not even noticing that I have been staring at it for so long. My eyes lock onto Sephora’s.
They are my favorite color once again, that beautiful mix of gold and grey. My mind wanders to what my daughters with Sephora will look like. I would love nothing more than for them to have their mother’s eyes and her cute little nose. I don’t care what color hair they have as long as it is thick and gorgeous like Sephora’s.
I have always thought that her hair makes her look like a little doll. I know she will give me gorgeous babies, boys or girls. It doesn’t matter. I will love them either way and adore their mother even more for giving me such precious gifts.
Sephora kisses the center of my chest, never breaking eye contact and reminding me that she has asked me a question. I reach to run my thumb across her lips and over her cheek. I could spend the day just staring at her.
“I have been thinking about what our children will look like,” I finally reply.
“Really,” Sephora says with a smirk.
I nod. “Yes, really. I am getting a bit impatient with wanting to start a family, honestly,” I say truthfully.
Sephora watches me silently for a moment. I can see the wheels turning in her head. Her little nose wrinkles as she tilts her head to the side. I watch her bottom lip tuck into her mouth.
“Nick,” she whispers.
“Yeah, Baby,” I lift a brow curious as to what she is thinking.
“All you have to do is ask. I’ll say yes. If you want to start a family,” she trails off and looks away from me.
I reach for her chin to pull her face back toward me so I can read her eyes. They always tell me what I really need to know. Sometimes I think I kn
ow Sephora better than she knows herself.
“I haven’t proposed yet because of the timing my little butterfly, not because I have changed my mind. And yes, I want you to stop taking your birth control. I know it can take time to flush out of your system so the sooner the better,” I answer the questions hidden in her eyes.
Sephora’s face lights up and she lifts to straddle my lap. I am already full mass just from the thought of her having my baby. I watch as her full breasts come into view. I love that her chocolate tipped nipples are pebbled and awaiting my mouth, and feast on them I shall.
“I love you, Nick,” Sephora says as she looks me deeply in the eyes. She lifts her hips and slides down onto me easily as her slick heat engulfs me. When she is fully seated she slides her hands up from her belly over her breasts and stops just below her collar. “There is nothing that can take me away from you. I don’t need more time, I know what I want and I want to be yours in every sense of the word.”
With those words she pushes the butterfly lock on her collar into place before I can protest. Not that I want to. I have waited for this day for so long. It feels right. Everything is falling into place.
I grab her hips lifting her, before thrusting up into her. Sephora’s head falls back and I lick from between her breasts to her collar. “God, I love you so much. Your mine, Sephora. I’m never letting you go now,” I growl.
“I know,” she whimpers. “I’m never going anywhere; I love you too.”
The magnitude of this moment hits me full force. Not only has Sephora locked her collar into place, giving herself to me completely, but she has agreed to start a family with me. I make love to her like I never have before, the whole time hoping that she becomes pregnant sooner rather than later.
Thank God this wedding is in two days. I need to have my ring on her finger. I want this woman as my wife yesterday. This will not be a long engagement. In my eyes, she is already mine. A wedding will just be for formalities and traditions.
