24. Chapter 24
Chapter twenty-four
Brandy
Nick leaned slightly closer. "I can't?"
"No." I held my ground despite the fact that my kitchen had gotten considerably smaller in the last thirty seconds. And I was very aware that my breathing had dramatically increased. "You've been drinking. You can't drive."
He considered this with the expression of a man who knew I was right and was deciding whether to admit it. "It’s alright, I'll call a cop for a ride."
"Those gossip mongers?" I stared at him. "Absolutely not. You might as well take out a billboard ad. Local fire chief picked up by police at the house of the new slutty community ambassador. Empty ice cream containers and a bottle of bourbon found on scene. Good Lord, no."
"Well, it's either that," he said, his voice still low, his eyes still on mine, "or I stay here."
My ears were ringing because the kitchen was so quiet. The only thing I could hear other than my own breathing was Cap milling around somewhere in the other room.
I looked into Nick Carson's green eyes.
"Stay here," I said.
In less than a second, his lips were on mine. He wrapped his arms around me as his tongue met mine. This wasn’t like the storage room kiss. This one felt like a decision had been made. It was warm and certain and tasted like bourbon and ice cream.
I kissed him back with the same enthusiasm. My hands found the front of his T-shirt. His slid to my waist, pulling me closer.
We broke apart just long enough to breathe.
"Your hair," he said, reaching up and finding whatever remained of my bun, which at this point in the evening was not much. He gently took the clip out, freeing what was left to fall around my shoulders.
"It was a terrible bun anyway," I said.
"It was adorable," he agreed, and kissed me again.
I broke the kiss, grabbed his arm, and pulled him behind me to my bedroom, where I pulled my sweatshirt off, tossing it to the corner. It might have been the bourbon or perhaps the menopause, but damn it, I wanted him.
Nick took off his T-shirt and my hands immediately found his chest.
Holy Hannah!
Nick trailed kisses down my neck, causing me to shudder.
“Cold?” he asked.
“Nope, shut up and do that again.”
This time it was Nick’s chuckling that made me quiver in his arms.
Thank every god in the heavens that I actually shaved this morning. For some reason, my head told me I should. I really should consider listening to my head more.
Nick’s hands found the waistband of my stretch pants.
Damn, what underwear do I have on?
“You need to stop thinking,” Nick said, tilting my head up to his.
“What makes you think I’m thinking?”
“You keep pausing.” Nick’s hand cupped the side of my face. “Do you want me to stop?”
“Hell no!” I said with all the certainty I had in my body. “I was just trying to remember what underwear I was wearing.”
Nick let out a deep laugh. "Brandy, I promise you, I have not spent a single second wondering about your underwear."
His mouth engulfed mine and my stomach fell like it was on the peak about to plummet off an epic roller-coaster fall.
Now, here is what I will tell you about Nick Carson as a lover. Dude is thorough. Like, give that man a standing ovation. I’m talking completely, methodically, with absolute attention to detail and zero interest in halfway measures — THOROUGH!
And focused in a way that made me feel like I was the only thing in the room. The compliments were soul-building. And when we finally collapsed, I was spent. Twice. And that’s with a bottle of bourbon between us.
Good night, think of what he’s like sober.
Nick was lying on his back next to me. “That was—” he started.
I interrupted him. “Excellent, thrilling, toe-curling?”
He laughed. “Yeah, all of that. Can I tell you something?”
“After what we just did? Yes.”
He chuckled. “Fair. It’s been a long time, like a really long time for me. I was afraid I’d do things wrong.”
I rolled over so I was facing him. “Oh, believe me, you did everything right. It’s been a long, long time for me too. So much so, I probably wouldn’t know if you did it wrong.”
We both laughed, then yawned.
“Better get some sleep.” Nick rolled to me and placed an arm on my hip.
What the hell, there’s a man in my bed!