Chapter 7 #2
Nick moved his head, tilting it to the side, the friction parting her lips.
Oh... yes.
She lifted her chin to meet his kiss, and she felt her teeth bump against his.
"So-"
She'd opened her mouth to apologize for her awkward fumble, but instead she felt his tongue slip between her lips.
Ruth forgot what she'd been about to say and found a way to wrap one arm around him, under his arm to his back.
Just as she grabbed a hold of him, his hand reached under her and gripped her.
Oh!
He was strong.
His hand...
She wasn't a small woman.
She had a healthy figure, but he still grasped one cheek in his hand and gave her a squeeze.
Ruth gasped at the sensation and that's when things changed.
He pressed her back against the arm of the sofa and all of those marvelously male cushions felt like heaven against her back.
Nick kissed his way across her jaw to press his lips against the column of her neck.
The spot he found just under her ear felt like heaven and when his lips found their way down her neck, she moved under him, managing to draw her legs up so she could cradle him against her.
When his kisses reached her collar bone, his beard tickled her skin and she almost sat bolt upright, her eyes widened as if she'd been shocked.
Nick sat back, his arms circling around her.
"Hey... hey..." He drew her closer to him and met her startled gaze with his concern. "Did I scare you?"
"Scare me?"
Her mind was muddled.
Her heart rate pounded like mustangs at full gallop.
"I... I'm not scared." She lifted a hand and set it over the little bit of skin that had been tingling just a moment before. "I'm ticklish... apparently."
Her cheeks heated and she looked away.
"Of course I'd mess this up."
"Ruth."
She squeezed her eyes shut, feeling like a complete idiot.
"Ruth? Honey... Look at me."
She opened her eyes and turned her gaze up to meet his.
She hadn't known what to expect.
Maybe humor?
But, no.
His eyes were full of warmth.
"I'm a mess, I know." She shook her head. "I had to ruin it."
"Ruin what?" He reached out and helped her move her legs so they were draped across his lap. "Things don't always go the way we want them to."
She leaned in, laying her cheek near his shoulder.
"I still feel like I'm an idiot." She sighed. "It's like my body didn't get the plot."
He laughed and she felt his laughter against her side and shoulder. "Actually, I think it's fascinating."
She leaned back and looked up at him with her eyes narrowed. "What?"
"Fascinating." He nodded. "I wonder where else you're that ticklish?"
She rolled her eyes and smiled when she heard his chuckle. "Oh, I'm glad you think it's funny."
"Funny in 'that's interesting.' Yes. Not funny 'I'm laughing at you.'"
She wanted to lean into this man. Not just his wonderful, broad-shouldered bulk, but all of the warmth of his personality and the strength that she felt when she was near him.
"And here I was thinking I could be... not necessarily sexy, but at least I'd give it a try."
Nick wrapped his arms around her, and she felt him put a kiss on her head. "All you have to do to be sexy is breathe, honey."
She felt another kiss touch the top of her head.
"Maybe..."
She felt a gentle weight on the top of her head and as she looked across the room at the big flat-screen TV on the wall, she could see him leaning his cheek on her head.
"We should just sit here for a little while and look at the stars?"
Ruth let out a breath and snuggled closer. "Can we just stay inside? I don't feel like going outside right now."
She felt him drape an arm around her and hold her closer.
"We don't need to go outside to see the stars."
The tone of his voice was so sure that she didn't want to question it.
She just answered him with a soft sigh and, "As long as I don't have to move... I'll leave it up to you."
He chuckled and she felt his laughter as a warm hug. "Oh ye of little faith."
Nick shifted a little behind her and a moment later she felt something incredibly soft drape over her legs.
It was a blanket that was unbelievably soft. Almost like rabbit fur, but shorter, like one of those fancy weighted blankets. It had the same effect.
Ruth rubbed her palms gently against the fabric and watched as Nick took out his phone. With a few quick brushes of his fingertips across the screen, the TV across the room lit up and instead of Netflix or Prime Video, the screen changed to a dark expanse of stars.
A few taps on the screen later the lights in the room around them were all but extinguished.
That's when she heard the sounds coming from all around them.
"Nick, what is this?"
She tilted her head to listen again, closing her eyes to search out the sounds with just her ears.
"This is the camera feed from our cabin by the lake."
Lake.
Her ears searched for any sound of water. Or the wind across the water.
No.
Not that.
She heard little noises.
Movement out of her sight.
"It's the place that Katie and I go to when we need some quiet around us. When we need a little less of the rush of city life."
Ruth nodded, understanding his words.
"It was our haven after Katie's mom passed away, a place to soothe our souls when we need some quiet." He let out a breath. "We can't get out there as much as we'd like, but the last time we were there I set up a camera where we could see the stars there at the cabin from here."
Ruth found herself drawn into the thousands upon thousands of stars on the screen.
With the sounds of the outdoors at the cabin quietly filling the room, she leaned in against Nick.
"Katie and I have been talking about taking you up there after the run of Nutcracker is over. There's a good chance of some chilly temperatures and maybe some snow. The pine trees surrounding the cabin make it smell like Christmas year-round."
Pine...
She liked that smell.
No, she loved that smell.
Turning her head, she pillowed her cheek on his chest and breathed in his scent.
She wasn't sure exactly when they fell asleep, but it was the best night's sleep she'd had in years, wrapped up in his embrace.