Chapter 40
For the first time in years, Thea didn’t feel any doubt about the decision she was making as she followed Nick up the steep stairs of the cottage and into his bedroom.
This had been on the horizon since the first kiss they’d shared in the car park of Saints’ Farm.
The sensation of Nick’s body pressed against hers had awakened a desire in her that had lain dormant for a very long time.
But this wasn’t just lust, Thea realised.
This was something deeper, something more intense, that was happening because they knew each other so well, and also, despite it.
Their long familiarity meant that as Nick lifted the latch on the wooden door that led to his bedroom, Thea felt only the briefest sense of apprehension.
This was Nick Saint, her friend, and about to be her lover.
This was Nick Saint, a boy she’d known at school but also a man she felt a burning, passionate attraction to.
This was Nick Saint; someone she knew she could fall in love with.
‘Everything all right?’ Nick asked as he let go of her hand and hurriedly drew the curtains in the bedroom.
Thea nodded, and then realised he couldn’t see her in the almost pitch-black darkness of his room. ‘Yes,’ she murmured. ‘Everything’s perfect.’
The room gently lit up as Nick flipped the switch on a small, plug-in night light on the wall between where they stood and the ensuite bathroom door.
‘Mum and Dad insisted I put in a motion sensor if I was going to be living here alone.’ Nick grinned apologetically. ‘But I figure it’s got more ambience than the bedside light!’
Thea laughed. ‘You’re such a nerd.’ Then, to soften the words, she kissed him again. ‘I’m glad it’s there. I, er, haven’t let anyone see me naked in years, so soft light is fine by me!’
Nick’s jaw dropped before Thea saw him collect his thoughts swiftly. ‘So, you’re OK with all this, then?’
‘I wouldn’t have followed you up those deadly stairs if I wasn’t,’ Thea replied.
She’d left her silver shoes in the hallway, and on stockinged feet she padded towards him, pushing up against him and pulling his white dress shirt out of his trousers before running her hands up his back.
His skin felt warm, and soft, and as she moved upwards, she could feel the muscles of his back and shoulders, firm and taut under her touch.
There was something to be said for a man who had such a physical job.
She felt a warm surge of desire as Nick arched towards her so that she was in no doubt that he was already aroused by her touch.
‘That feels so good,’ he murmured as their lips met again and she explored his mouth with hers.
The coffee they’d sipped was surging through her system, and she shivered as he raised a hand to her neck, stroking and caressing, before leaning down to kiss her collarbone as his hands slipped downwards over the soft velvet of the back of her dress.
‘May I?’ he asked as his right hand travelled up her spine and found the top of the zip.
‘Be my guest,’ she said, and drew a breath in as he slid it down, gently pushing the dress from her shoulders until it slithered down her waist and pooled at her feet.
Nick’s sharp gasp of pleasure did things low down in Thea’s abdomen that had her anticipating his next move even before they’d made it to the bed.
His eyes were wide as they met hers and travelled down her body, and his hands pressed her closer to him, grinding himself against her until there was no doubt just how much he loved seeing her semi-clothed in front of him.
‘You are just as stunning as I imagined,’ he said between kisses that travelled from her neck to her mouth and then began to move downward in tandem with his hands, which were stroking her nipples over the black lace of her strapless bra. ‘Even more gorgeous, in fact.’
‘You’ve been imagining me like this?’ Thea teased, trying to hide how bowled over she was at his lust and his honesty.
‘Oh, you wouldn’t believe what I’ve been imagining.
’ Nick gave her a smile that was unlike any other he’d given her before.
It was as if, now they’d consented to each other, he’d been freed of some of the things that had been holding him back.
‘Ever since you kissed me that first time, I’ve wanted to touch you so badly. And feel you touching me…’
‘Like this?’ Thea whispered, reaching down and caressing Nick’s hardness through his dress trousers. ‘Tell me how you’ve imagined it, Nick…’
Nick groaned and kissed her harder, pressing himself into her hand as she increased the firmness of her touch.
‘Like that,’ he said hoarsely. ‘Your hands, your mouth, Christ, Thea, your whole body, just like that…’
She pushed up against him, sliding one of her bare thighs between his legs and feeling him rocking against her, desperate to increase the friction she was teasingly providing.
The sounds he was making as she moved with him were such a turn on that she felt an ache between her own legs, and a desperate desire to feel him inside her.
Reluctant to break contact, Thea walked forwards until Nick could feel the foot of the bed behind his knees.
She pushed him back until he was sitting on it, and then knelt down herself, hands quickly unfastening his dress trousers.
He shucked them down, and she allowed herself a long look of appreciation at the sight of his cock straining against the white jersey boxer shorts he’d been wearing underneath.
She felt another surge of lust as she imagined what it would feel like to have him inside her.
Thea dropped to her knees and pushed Nick’s thighs further apart, glancing upwards as he looked down at her in surprise.
‘It’s all right,’ she said. ‘I’m very, very good at this.
’ She kissed her way up his thigh, and then gently teased him through the fabric of his boxer shorts, the scent and sight of him creating throbs and waves of desire that had her wanting to go over her own precipice, even without the intimate touches.
It was the fact that he trusted her, without question, that was almost as arousing as their physical chemistry.
He leaned back slightly, and she slipped a hand into his boxer shorts, encountering warm, aroused flesh and eliciting another groan from Nick.
Licking her lips, she began to explore him, until his hips were moving to her rhythm, and she knew she had to slow the pace down.
‘Come up here,’ Nick said, taking her hand and pulling her up onto the bed. ‘I want to touch you.’
Thea smiled down at him, one hand still in contact with the warm flesh between his legs. ‘I want to feel you come,’ she said, and Nick arched his back again in pleasure.
‘Not. Just. Yet,’ he ground out, obviously torn between her expert touches and his desire to prolong the sensations. ‘Let me feel you, too.’
It took them a few seconds to discard their underwear, and Thea felt that aching throb of desire as she wrapped a leg around Nick’s waist, pressing against him until she was the one who needed the rhythm and friction.
She looked at him and he gently reached a hand downwards, slipping a fingertip into her warmth and stroking where she needed him the most. The tingling she’d already been feeling intensified, and she pressed against his hand, desperate for her own release.
Nick’s strokes, gentle, relentless, were guiding her to the edge, and as the waves of pleasure intensified, she pushed up against his hand, feeling his fingers deep within her and needing to feel something substantial.
Riding the wave of a first orgasm, she threw her head back, feeling the increased sensation as Nick kissed her neck and continued to give her pleasure.
But that wasn’t quite enough. Thea sat up and raised a questioning eyebrow.
Nick, despite his evident pleasure and own arousal, reached into the bedside cabinet and grabbed what they needed.
Sitting astride his thighs, Thea looked down at him as he readied himself and felt another deep surge of desire and anticipation.
When everything was in place, she looked him in the eye. ‘Are you still OK?’ she breathed.
‘Absolutely,’ he replied. ‘Are you?’
Thea smiled broadly. ‘Never better.’ She shifted slightly, and then, as their bodies joined, she felt a warmth and pressure that seemed to reach her core.
Rocking against him, feeling his hand caressing her once again as he matched his rhythm to hers, she ground down onto him, until the fluttering, pulsing sensation of another orgasm pushed her over the edge.
As she broke around him, Nick’s thrusts became harder and faster until with a groan, he came too.
Sweating and breathing heavily, they held each other tightly.
‘Wow,’ Nick said. ‘I mean… wow.’
Thea grinned. ‘Double wow.’
Nick shifted slightly and Thea felt the loss as he pulled out of her and quickly disposed of the condom. Thea was still sitting on his lap, and she snuggled into his warmth, wondering what happened next.
‘Are you OK?’ Nick asked gently, stroking her hair back from her face. The bun had been thoroughly dishevelled, and the bun maker was now lying on the floor.
‘Yeah,’ she said, smiling broadly. ‘I’m feeling pretty good, actually. How are you?’
Nick’s grin matched her own. ‘Fucking amazing,’ he said, and then blushed. ‘Sorry about the swearing, but it really, really was.’
‘You’ve just made me come twice, had me riding your lap and you’re embarrassed about swearing?’ Thea was laughing now. ‘I will never understand you, Nick Saint!’
‘But you do want to try?’ Nick teased back.
‘Oh, abso-fucking-lutely!’ Thea replied. She climbed carefully off Nick’s lap and settled back against his pillows. ‘But for goodness’ sake, don’t let me fall asleep or I’ll be in so much trouble when I get home.’
‘I promise.’ Nick settled down beside her. ‘We’ve got the rest of the coffee to keep us awake, anyhow, if you want me to go and get you a fresh cup.’
‘That would be amazing,’ Thea replied. She gave him a look that she hoped was mischievous. ‘On one condition.’
‘What’s that?’
‘You get it for me naked!’
Nick shook his head. ‘If you tell anyone I said yes…’
Thea lay back against the pillows and watched Nick’s rear view with appreciation as he left the room.