6
I grin sleepily into Nick’s broad chest as I come awake. I’m slightly giddy with the realization that I’m sprawled naked over the man of my dreams. For real. Not just in my imagination this time. His skin is warm beneath my cheek and the soft rise and fall of his ribs is soothing. I take a second to just breathe it all in, to temper my excitement with a solid dose of stubborn man reality.
And I was right. I completely took over the bed. Nick’s now lying in the middle of the mattress on his back and I’m draped over him. My body is covering more of him than I should be able to reach, but somehow I stretch thin like a pancake when I’m sleeping. I always worried that some future lover would end up feeling trapped in a net. But from the way Nick’s hand is firmly cupping my butt, I think he can handle it.
I drop a short soft kiss on his chest and then raise my head. Warm brown eyes meet mine, and I smile in anticipation.
“Morning, Mr. Savage.” I grin cheekily.
“Mmm,” he rumbles thoughtfully, his gaze sweeping over my face and then past my shoulder. “My little octopus, we need to get up.”
I pout, but can’t hold back my good mood. “I’m no longer a mouse?”
“You’re still that. But mice don’t grow extra arms in the night and cling like a limpet.” He slaps my rear lightly. “Up.”
Yawning, I do as he asks, but take inventory as I go — the texture of his skin, his warm hand as he makes sure I don’t fall to the floor. The heat in his eyes as I stroll to the bathroom. Maybe I have more to work with here than I realized.
When I emerge, my breath fresh and dressed in shorts and a t-shirt, Nick is gone, but the bed is neatly made. Now I feel like a slob because I usually don’t bother. I find him in the kitchen wearing the same clothes from yesterday and making coffee.
“Didn’t you bring a change of clothes?”
“No. I intended to bring you back with me straight away. I’m having some delivered later today. Along with your ring,” he adds meaningfully.
I wince. “Nick…”
He holds up a finger. “After coffee. Then we talk.”
I nod and take down two of the hand-thrown mugs I found in the nearby craft co-operative. We sit silently at the kitchen table drinking coffee. I eye Nick over the rim of my mug and he keeps his gaze focused on the flat landscape out the window.
After he finishes inhaling the second cup, he sets it down on the table gently. “Now, what did you want to say about your ring?”
I fiddle with my mug mindlessly, turning it in my hands, running the tip of my index finger around the rim. Finally I blurt, “What does it mean to you?”
I glance up to see Nick’s surprised face, his thick eyebrows up. I laugh. “I’m asking you to explain whether it’s just a sign of possession or what kind of commitment does it represent. Because I know what it meant to me, and I also knew you didn’t feel the same way,” I finish softly.
Nick’s eyes narrow as he regards me thoughtfully. Finally, he takes another swallow of coffee before saying carefully, “It means you’re planning on sticking with me… for the moment.”
“But that would be my ring to you, which you didn’t want to do. My ring is supposed to signify your commitment. But commitment to what?”
“Your happiness, Candace. Always.” His voice is level, but there’s a hint of sadness that has my eyes watering. He doesn’t think he deserves to be happy. I can see it now — and I make my decision.
“I’ll wear the ring,” I hold up my hand when I see his smirk of satisfaction, “when you can look me straight in the eye and acknowledge that I love you. Not a minute before that.”
Nick opens his mouth to speak, then shuts it again abruptly.
“Meanwhile, I have some questions and maybe a few conditions for our new arrangement.”
“Is that what we’re calling it?” The dark humor is back in his voice.
I shrug. “Call it whatever you like. I think it should be more, we are married after all. But I can see that you’re struggling with the concept of domestic bliss, so I’m prepared to do things your way. For a while,” I amend cautiously.
He sighs with a slight twitch of his lips. “Fine. What are your questions?”
“Is there a price sheet or something?”
That sends the eyebrows back up. “A price sheet? For what, my services?”
He’s laughing outright at that, so I let him get it out. “Well, it’s your idea to make a point system out of orgasms, right?”
He nods, but I’m not done with him. “Because that brings things back to a balance sheet where you’re comfortable. Because you don’t really believe it’s something I want from you.” I pause to study his reaction. That stung, I can tell, because he winces. “There were… women in my past who simply wanted to…”
I wait breathlessly for this revelation. “They wanted to try out a man from the slums. One who wasn’t elegant and refined.” That makes my blood boil. Nick is the most educated and intelligent man I’ve ever met.
“Do you think I’m like that?” I ask quietly.
“No, little mouse, I don’t. Quite the opposite.” His response is quick, but now I’m confused.
“The opposite?”
“Your heart is too big, Candace. I think you want to take pity on me like a lost puppy, but eventually you will see that I truly am more of a beast.”
I open my mouth to deny it, but then I see that any response I give will aid his argument, so I take a sip of coffee and recommit to my original strategy. Winning Nick is going to take more bravery than I ever could have imagined.
“Right, well then, my original question was because you told me so many points for staying in Kansas? Or something like that, but what about you taking a vacation and not working for a week? Or how many points do I need for you to give in and give me all of your body?”
Nick looks shocked, like it had never occurred to him that I would ask. But of course, since I bundled everything into one big question, I’ve no idea if he’s more shocked at the idea of a vacation than he is by stuffing me full of his more than generous cock. “I’ll, uh, give that some consideration. Was there anything else?”
“Well, yes. I have some conditions of my own.”
He’s starting to look like he doesn’t even know me, so I’d better move fast here. “My first condition is any orgasms you’re delivering have to be by you and you alone. No vibrators, devices, implements, or anything else. Just you.”
Nick’s ready to object. I can see it in his face. I’ll bet he was planning on keeping his distance, just like he was holding me away from his body last night. But then he nods abruptly. “Okay, and?”
“When we’re… together like that, you have to give me all of your attention. Talk to me, kiss me, but no watching the news or scanning some spreadsheet.”
That amuses him again. “Agreed.” He’s laughing at me, but he simply laughs harder when I glare. “Candace, no spreadsheet could ever compare to watching your face. Now, anything else?”
“No, except I think we should get started.”
“What? Now?” He looks shocked. What the hell did he think we were just discussing?