Chapter 14 Aaron
fourteen
Aaron
I’m not completely sure what’s going on for Nick, but as soon as I see tears welling in his eyes, I can’t help but wrap my arms around him and tell him it’s okay.
Beneath his cockiness and attempts at keeping up the libertine facade, I’ve seen his softer side.
It’s the part of him that made it impossible for him to stay silent when he realized what had happened to my brother, the part that wouldn’t let Kit stay in a dangerous situation, and the part that agreed to come with me to meet my family knowing it might cause issues.
And when he leans back and stares into my eyes, it’s not lust I see in those incredible blue eyes.
It’s something deeper, something that takes my breath away when he closes the distance between us and presses his lips against mine.
I taste the faintest hint of salt as I open to him and let him explore my mouth, but then it’s gone, and my senses are filled with the wonder that is Nick.
The scent of him as I inhale, the taste as we kiss, the feel of him in my arms.
He is everything I have ever wanted but never thought I’d find, and as we kiss in front of all those family photos, I can almost believe that bringing Nick into my life was Zack’s final gift to me.
“Now you’re crying,” Nick says softly, his fingers brushing away the dampness that has spilled onto my cheeks. He rests his forehead against mine. “Today was a lot, hunh?”
I let out a huge breath and nod. “More than I thought it would be. Thank you for coming with me.”
“Of course,” he says, and the tone of his voice makes me believe that he truly understands how much it means to me to have him here.
“I think I’m about ready to leave,” I say, suddenly tired and wishing to be alone with Nick. I want quiet cuddles and soft kisses while a movie we’ve lost interest in plays in the background, and I’m reminded that Nick’s apartment actually has a fireplace. “Can we go back to your place?”
The smile Nick gives me is radiant. “Of course. I wanted to ask, but I wasn’t sure…”
I kiss him and tell him what I’m thinking.
“That sounds amazing,” he says. He turns his head and looks at the closed doors to what used to be Zack’s room and mine. “We’ll leave the childhood bedroom fantasy for another time.”
Laughing, I take his hand but pause before leading him up the stairs. “Zack’s room is full of the stuff from his apartment. We’ll have to go through it all at some point, but…” I shrug. “I have no idea when my parents are going to be ready to do that.”
Nick leans against my side. “No sad thoughts about Zack,” he says. “Today is a happy day. There’s progress in the case. You and your family may get justice after all. Everything else can wait for another day.”
I nod and swallow. “Yeah.”
We aren’t able to get out of my parents’ house for another hour because both my sister and mother decide to grill Nick.
Everything from where he grew up to what he studied in school is fair game.
I try to intervene a couple of times, try to redirect them to other topics, but Nick seems to be holding his own and might actually be enjoying the impromptu inquisition if the sparkle in his eyes is anything to go by.
Eventually, I’m able to extricate him from their endless questions and get us both into my car with only a few storage containers of food my mother insisted we take.
“At least we have dinner sorted,” Nick says as he puts the bag holding the food at his feet.
“Which will save us from being interrupted by a delivery person.” I wink at him as I press the ignition button on my car and laugh at Nick’s dumbfounded expression.
I’ve never been one to tease the guys I’ve been with or make suggestive comments to them, but it’s different with Nick.
He makes me feel light and brings out a playful side of myself I hadn’t known existed.
More than that, though, I know even if I’m the one who brought up having sex, Nick won’t get upset with me if I don’t get aroused or want to spend the evening kissing on the couch instead of fucking. He’ll go at my speed, give me what I want when and how I want it.
I want to do the same for him, too. I want to take care of him and make sure his needs are met as well. I get the feeling that for all his friends see him as a Lothario, Nick’s really a caretaker at heart. I also get the feeling he hasn’t been able to show that side of himself that often.
“There’s a couple of guest spaces in my building’s garage,” Nick says as I turn onto his street. “I’ll get out to open the door, and you can pull into one of them.”
After I park, Nick joins me, and we walk hand in hand to the elevator. Once inside, Nick faces me, presses me lightly against the wall, and kisses me until the bell dings to announce we’ve arrived on his floor.
“That ride wasn’t nearly long enough,” I complain as we exit.
Nick laughs. “You’re right. Usually, I have more stamina.”
We’re still laughing when Nick opens his door, and we step into his apartment.
I was here less than a week ago to deal with Kit, but it feels like I’ve never seen the place before.
It’s not the difference in lighting—Nick had kept the lights low for Kit’s sake—but the difference in me.
I take the bag with the food from Nick’s hands and set it on the kitchen counter, then turn to him and walk him backwards until he’s against the wall.
“Hi,” I say.
“Hi.” He smirks. “Probably should put the food in the refrigerator so it doesn’t spoil.”
“Probably,” I say but don’t move away from him.
“Do you want a beer?” he asks, his gaze rising to meet mine, then flicking down to my mouth.
“No.”
“Wine?” His gaze follows the same trajectory, but this time his tongue darts out to run along his upper lip.
“No.” I move in closer, my mouth just brushing his, our bodies touching only enough to be aware of each other. A tease that has my cock getting hard.
“Then I don’t know what I have that you could possibly want.”
“Don’t sell yourself short,” I say. “Use your imagination.”
Nick hums, leans his head back until it rests against the wall, exposing his throat. He closes his eyes, and I can’t resist the invitation.
I place gentle kisses just below his ear then continue to kiss and nip my way down his jawline. Sometimes I tease the soft skin under his chin with the tip of my tongue, sometimes I bite softly along the bone with my front teeth, and sometimes I let my lips map the contours of his neck.
The quiet sounds Nick makes—the hums, sighs, soft moans—coupled with the lazy way his hips rock against mine are driving me nuts.
My blood fizzes with arousal, but I’m in no hurry to move on to anything else, and I love that Nick isn’t trying to rush us to the couch or his bedroom. We’ll get there. We both know that.
I let my hands take over for a bit, tracing Nick’s cheekbones, dragging a fingernail along the perimeter of his plush mouth. I can’t stop playing with the divot over his top lip, enamored with how soft his skin is there.
“Why is everything so easy with you?” I ask.
Nick’s eyes open, and I see the same emotion in them I saw when we were holding each other at my parents’ house.
Not only can I see it in his expression, I feel it in my body.
A warmth and weight that emanate from my core, grounding me, comforting me, connecting me to the beautiful man in front of me in ways I didn’t think were possible.
And that is when I know, as improbable as it might be, I’m falling in love with him.
He shakes his head, and for a moment, I think he’s responding to my thoughts rather than what I said.
“I don’t know,” he whispers against my lips.
“But it feels like that for me, too.” His gaze finds mine.
“You’re the first person I’ve ever wanted to be with as much as I want to fuck.
Maybe even more because I’m not thinking about anything but being able to touch you and kiss you.
Talk to you. Be with you in any way I can. ”
My mouth touches his, and he opens for me, letting me explore and taste him.
His hands slide under my jacket, but it’s so he can put his arms around me and pull me against him, not to start undressing me.
And, yeah, we’re both hard, and the friction against my cock feels amazing, but it’s because I’m with Nick.
We continue kissing for several minutes until we’re both rocking against each other, our breath more gasps and moans than anything else.
Nick steps away from me and shrugs out of his coat, and I do the same.
His face is flushed, sweat beading at his hairline, and when I run my fingers through my own hair, I feel how damp it is.
Nick hangs up our coats, then puts the leftovers my mother gifted us in the fridge.
“Being a responsible adult,” I tease.
“I try,” he says, then grins. “Really, I needed a few moments to cool off.”
“Good thinking.” I step into the kitchen, put my hands on his hips and guide him backwards until his ass touches the counter.
“What do you want, Aaron?”
He asked me that question before, and I hadn’t been able to answer in a way that wasn’t about everyone else’s needs. But tonight, I know exactly what to tell him because it’s the truth.
“I want you to take me to your bed and make love with me.”
Nick’s eyes widen. I see the fear and uncertainty in them, and I think I know what he’s worried about.
Instead of reassuring him or telling him he’s already shown me how generous a lover he could be, I lean in and kiss him, letting him know I don’t care what we do as long as it involves being with him.