Chapter Forty-One
CHAPTER FORTY-ONE
Nina
I LEAN AGAINST THE frame of Elena’s room and watch Nick read Green Eggs and Ham as she begins to fade, and for a brief moment, all feels right in the world. Life feels normal. The way it did before everything happened…Before I took back over at the company.
Kai left about an hour ago to catch our flight to New York. He said he would handle the board for now. I’d have to go back sooner rather than later and face them, but he’d find a way to hold off their demand for my presence a little longer. There was no way I could fly to New York right now, and if that meant the board decided to remove me permanently, then so be it. Do I think they would? No, but they’re not going to be happy.
Nick closes the book as he finishes the last line and smiles down at Elena, who has finally succumbed to sleep. He slips out of the bed with the utmost care, gently resting her head on the pillow he’d been leaning on. Tucking her in, he flips the switch on her night light, casting an array of stars on her ceiling. He turns off the lamp on her nightstand, kissing her forehead. He tiptoes out of the room and meets me in the hallway, closing the door behind him. “Should we head to bed?”
I nod, and he tugs me back by my hand when I start to walk down the hall, sweeping me off my feet. “Nick!” I giggle but cover my mouth to stay quiet and not disturb Elena or the others who have already gone to bed. “What are you doing?”
“Just wanted you close,” he says, kissing my temple, and finds his way through the house to our bedroom. I nuzzle into his neck and kiss the exposed skin above the neckline of his shirt. Despite the tension that has wormed its way between us, the thought of him being home feels surreal.
When Nick sets me on my feet behind the privacy of our bedroom door, he pulls me into a tight embrace. His arms wind tightly around me, and he inhales deeply. A contented sigh follows before I feel something wet on my skin. Another inhale confirms my suspicions, and I look up, meeting his teary gaze.
“Oh, Fossette .” I sigh, wiping a few tears from his cheeks.
He smiles at the word. “Say it again.”
“ Fossette .”
“I missed that,” he says, eyes closed.
“I missed you .”
Whiskey-golden orbs meet mine and a fresh round of tears makes them glassy. The sight makes my own blurry. “I missed you so much,” I say, wiping another tear from the corner of his eye. “Nick, I’m sorry. I—”
“Stop,” he interrupts me. Gathering both of my hands in his, Nick kisses them before holding them against his chest. “Nina, I don’t want to do this right now. I don’t want to spend my first night home talking about Beau Turner or Charlie Blackwood or Luke Benson or whoever or whatever else there is standing between us. Tonight, I just want to be with my wife. I want to enjoy the feeling of you in my arms and hear you say you love me as much as I love you. As for the rest…We can deal with it tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow,” I agree.
Nick pushes my hair behind my ear and his fingers trace my jawline before he pulls my mouth to his. I missed this. Missed him. I moan against his lips, and he swallows the sound, cupping the back of my neck. He pulls away briefly to let his eyes roam across my face, memorizing every feature, and his thumb traces across my bottom lip. He smiles when I gently nip at his finger. “ Ti amo ,” he says softly, his hand still splayed across my neck, a slight pressure in his grasp.
“I know,” I say. “I love you too, Fossette .”
He hums in approval, his eyes practically rolling in the back of his head. “Fuck, I love when you say that.”
Without warning, Nick swoops down to catch my lips in another kiss. He traces the line of my bottom lip with his tongue before biting down on the flesh and swallows my gasp as he devours my mouth. Our tongues locked in a desperate embrace, I didn’t even notice he was leading me farther into our room until the back of my thighs hit the bed.
His warm mouth caresses every inch of my skin down my neckline. The urgent need to have him as close as possible ignites inside me when I plunder my fingers through the short hair across his scalp, missing the length he used to keep and how it used to end in soft curls. His fingers drift along my curves, tugging my white satin camisole free from my jeans. He leaves gentle love bites against my collarbone when he pushes the caramel-colored button-up from my shoulders, and it lands in a heap on the floor.
Lifting my shirt over my head, I’m met with a soft smile before his eyes roam across the exposed skin of my chest. His fingers make note of every new mark I’ve earned in the last twelve months: the small scar on my shoulder, the result of a scratch from a branch full of thorns on the trail; three new freckles on my chest; and a new tattoo embedded in the skin where my right shoulder and collarbone meet, a simple N with a delicate heart. Fingers trace the letter before his eyes meet mine again, and I nod, the right corner of my lips tugging upward. Nick leans his forehead against my shoulder, taking a deep breath, before his breath ghosts over the tattoo, followed by his lips, and the sensation sends a shiver up my spine.
His fingers dig into my flesh as he reaches around, unhooking the clasp of my bra, and takes one of my nipples into his mouth.
“Nick,” I whimper, wrapping my fingers around the back of his neck.
His teeth graze the peak, sucking greedily. It’s a mix of teeth and tongue against the sensitive bud and it fills my veins with pure ecstasy. His fingers tremble slightly as he works the buckle of my belt. I take his hands in mine, gently removing them to undo the buckle and then the button of my jeans. He slowly peels the denim from my waist, shoving it down my thighs, and I shimmy out of it.
Before I know it, I’m standing bare, and he hasn’t shed a single piece of clothing.
“No,” he says when my fingers play with the end of his shirt. His hand caresses the side of my face. “No, Davina. Tonight is about you. Only you.”
Nick lifts me off my feet, setting me on the edge of the bed, but his fingers aren’t gone long before they brush against my core. One finger slips between my folds, dipping inside me, and my body reacts immediately to his touch.
“God, I missed this,” he whispers against my neck. “You are so fucking wet already and I’ve barely even touched you, Davina.”
I gasp when he slips another finger inside me, and I clutch his shoulders in desperation.
“That’s my favorite sound.” He hums before his tongue trails up the column of my neck to my ear, all while slipping a third finger inside me and curling them. His name falls from my lips like a prayer. “I take it back. That’s my favorite sound.”
I whimper when he pulls his fingers from me, but anticipation floods my entire being when he climbs onto the bed and sits behind me. His legs plant on either side of me before he caresses down the length of my left leg and bends it upward, planting my foot on the bed. His mouth attaches to my right shoulder, his tongue following the love bites on my skin.
“Keep your leg up, Davina. Understand?”
I nod, unable to get the words out. Normally, I know it wouldn’t be enough for him—he likes a verbal response—but he seems too invested in the moment to care. His lips trail up my neck and down my other shoulder. His right arm hooks around my middle while the left reaches around, under my leg, until his fingers brush against my wet folds.
“Good, baby,” he whispers when my hips buck against the sensation. He slips two fingers inside me and his thumb begins a relentless assault on my clit. Nick kisses my temple when my head falls back against his shoulder. His right hand slides up my chest, stopping for a soft squeeze of my breast before slipping around my neck, applying soft pressure to the sides. There’s a deep inhale below my ear and I whimper when his teeth graze the skin. “Just look at you, Dee. Fuck, I love watching you like this.”
My hips move against his hand, craving more friction, and before I know it, he slips another finger inside me. The heel of his palm plants firmly against my clit and it lights every one of my nerves on fire. The pressure around my neck tightens and he pulls my mouth to his in a forceful kiss. The new angle makes his fingers reach deeper inside me before he curls them, scratching an itch that hasn’t been satisfied since he left.
Pressure in my belly builds and I know it won’t be long if he keeps going at this pace. I want to make this last. I don’t want it to end. But my husband has other plans, deepening each circle of his palm against my clit and elongating his fingers inside me before curling them forward in such a painfully slow manner it makes my body ache with the need for release.
“You want to come?” Nick breathes into my ear, nibbling on the lobe. My head nods and he applies the same pressure to my neck. “Come when you want, but I want you to look forward.”
“W-what?”
Nick motions ahead of us and forces my gaze to follow his, keeping his hand on my neck, and suddenly I’m staring straight into the floor-length mirror across from the bed. The sight is otherworldly—him wrapped securely around me as I sit between his legs spread out on the bed, one hand gripping the column of my throat, the other positioned between my legs in a deliciously possessive way. I meet his eyes in the mirror and a devilish smile forms on his lips.
“Keep your eyes on the mirror, Davina,” he commands, and I cry out when his fingers begin to move in and out of me at a brutal pace. Sounds of wet skin fill the room and he peppers my skin with warm, wet kisses, but his gaze stays on the mirror.
My body clings to his fingers, begging for release, and when he commands me to reach between my legs and rub the sensitive bud, I don’t hesitate. My fingers work the bundle of nerves, bringing me closer and closer to the edge, but it’s the sound of his moans and watching us in the mirror that pushes me over.
“Watch,” he commands when my head starts to fall back against his shoulder. He forces my gaze back to the mirror. My body trembles under his touch, fingers still slipping in and out of me as my pussy clutches onto them with each thrust, and when I can’t force my fingers to move against my clit any longer, his replace mine.
Tears sting my eyes at the pressure rebuilding in my core when he continues the brutal assault, and when Nick bites down on my shoulder, I come again.
“That’s my girl,” Nick whispers against my skin, his fingers slowing down until he finally pulls them away from me, bringing them to his mouth and slipping them between his lips. He moans at the taste, and I swear I could come from the sound alone. “Fuck, Dee.”
His hand grips my chin and he kisses me, his tongue delving into my mouth, swiping against mine so I taste myself on him.
“I love you,” he whispers, brushing his nose against mine, still holding my face between his fingers.
"Lo so.” I know.