8. Nick
Nick
My hands are everywhere, and it’s still not enough. She’s warm and soft against me, her legs locked around my waist, her body arching into mine like she’s trying to close every inch of space between us. I can’t think straight. I don’t want to.
Her lips are parted, her breath coming in short, desperate gasps.
The sound she makes when my tongue brushes hers is enough to make my knees weak, but I don’t let myself falter.
I can’t. Not when she’s wrapped around me, grinding against me, her nails scraping against my neck like she’s trying to mark me as hers.
I shift my grip on her thighs, pulling her harder against me as I press her into the wall.
I jerk her blouse up, pulling it from the waistband and finally getting access to her skin.
My hand slides up, cupping her breast over the lace of her bra.
She gasps into my mouth. She arches, pressing her boob into my palm.
I can feel her heartbeat, rapid and wild, matching the frantic rhythm of mine. My thumb brushes over her nipple.
I’m losing control. I know I am. My body is on fire, every nerve ending screaming for more.
I can’t remember the last time someone made me feel like this—like I’m about to combust if I don’t have her right now.
My other hand slides lower, gripping her hip, pulling her harder against me as I grind into her.
She’s panting now, her hands fisting in my shirt like she’s trying to keep me from pulling away.
But I don’t want to pull away. I don’t want to stop. The taste of her, the way she feels in my arms—it’s intoxicating. I’m drowning in her.
“Nick,” she whispers, her voice trembling.
That whispered plea is the equivalent of dumping ice water over my head.
I pull back, my chest heaving, my mind racing. I gently put her back on the ground and take another step back.
What the hell was that?
I reach down to adjust my cock that’s threatening to split my zipper. I’m so hard it hurts. I had been seconds from fucking her.
“I’m sorry,” I say, my voice rough. “That came out of nowhere.”
I reach behind us to turn on the light. I know we both need to put ourselves back together.
Ava stares at me, her lips slightly swollen, her hair a little messy from my hands. She looks … disheveled. Beautiful. Confused.
“What the hell was that, Nick?”
I don’t answer right away. I can’t. I don’t even know what came over me. One minute, we were walking down the hallway, and the next, I was pushing her into a closet and kissing her like my life depended on it.
“Fix your shirt,” I say.
She looks down like she’s only just realized it’s hanging loose.
She tugs her blouse back into place, her hands trembling slightly as she smooths the fabric.
Her cheeks are flushed, and she won’t meet my eyes.
I run a hand through my hair. I know it’s sticking every which way.
My heart is still pounding, my body still humming. My cock still throbbing.
“What just happened?”
I shake my head. “I don’t know. But it shouldn’t have.”
“Shouldn’t have?” She finally looks at me, her eyes wide and searching. “You’re saying you didn’t want to?—”
“No,” I cut her off quickly, too quickly. “That’s not what I’m saying.”
“We said none of this,” she murmurs.
“I know. And it won’t.”
She runs her hands over her cheeks and then her hair. There’s no hiding what just happened. Her cheeks are still a pretty pink, and her hair is wild. Tousled.
Hot. She looks fucking hot.
“We’re going out after work,” I blurt out, my tone leaving no room for argument.
“What?”
“We’re going out. We’ll leave from the office.”
She frowns. “That’s not how this works.”
“It is now,” I say, my voice firm. “Deal with it.”
She opens her mouth to argue, but I don’t give her the chance. I step out of the closet, my heart still pounding, and immediately regret it.
Sierra is standing there, one hand on her hip, her foot turned outward and flames shooting from her ears.
She’s furious.
Of course she is.
“Nick,” she says.
I don’t say anything. I don’t need to, and I don’t want to. I step aside to let Ava out. Ava sees Sierra, and that pretty blush vanishes. She goes full strawberry-red. She hurries down the hallway without saying another word.
Sierra watches her go with sheer disgust all over her face. Then she turns to me, her lips curling into a sneer.
“You never change, do you?” she says, her tone dripping with disdain. “You’ll fuck anything.”
I laugh, though there’s no humor in it. “And you won’t? Let’s not forget who was banging the grocery delivery boy in my bed.”
Her face flushes, but she doesn’t back down. “He wasn’t a delivery boy.”
I roll my eyes. “Whatever, Sierra. Mind your own business. We’re not together. Never will be. I can fuck anyone I want.”
Sierra’s eyes narrow, and she steps closer. I can smell her cloying perfume. It makes me want to gag. "Oh, I’m minding my business just fine, Nick. But don’t think for a second that I don’t notice when you drag some poor girl into your mess. I know what you’re doing.”
“What am I doing?”
“You’re trying to make me jealous.”
I let out a bitter laugh. “Sierra, I don’t care if you’re jealous. I don’t care about you at all. I don’t even think about you. And trust me, when I’m with Ava, you are the farthest thing from my mind.”
“She’s a distraction,” she snaps. “So typical of you. You see a young woman and automatically have to take her to bed.”
“She’s not a distraction. And she is none of your business. Back off.”
Her nostrils flare like she’s trying to hold back a storm. But I don’t wait for her to unleash it. I turn on my heel and walk away.
I make it to my office and shut the door behind me, leaning against it for a moment to steady myself. I let myself breathe. The image of Ava—her cheeks flushed, her eyes wide with confusion—won’t leave me.
“Dammit.”
I’m not supposed to want this as much as I do. What the hell is wrong with me?
I’m not the kind of man that gets caught up. Women have been interchangeable in my life for years.
Since Sierra.
But Ava is different. I can’t shake her.
My phone buzzes in my pocket. I pull it out and glance at the screen. It’s my mom.
Great.
Every woman in my life has to have my attention in the same five-minute span.
I answer the call. “Hey, Mom.”
“Nick,” she says. “I just wanted to remind you that Mia and her family will be in town tomorrow. I’ve given her your number. She’s expecting dinner. Take her out somewhere nice. Maybe a moonlit walk on the beach.”
I sigh, pinching the bridge of my nose. Her attempt to plot a romantic evening is pretty obvious. That’s the intent. She’s not going to hide her desire for me to settle with some nice woman. “Mom, I’m busy?—”
“Don’t even start,” she interrupts. “You’re going to be a good son and show her around. End of discussion. We talked about this. You agreed. I already told her you were available.”
I want to argue, to tell her I don’t have time for this, but I know it’s pointless. My mom doesn’t take no for an answer.
“Fine,” I say finally, my voice tight. “I’ll take her to dinner.”
“Good,” she says, her tone softening. “And be nice, Nick. Mia’s a lovely girl. Really, really nice. I think if you can keep an open mind, you’ll like her.”
“Yeah, yeah. I’ll be nice.”
“I was thinking you should bring her flowers,” she says.
I groan. “Mom, please. It’s weird to have you telling me how to impress a woman.”
“It’s not weird, Nick. It’s called being a gentleman,” she says, her tone soft, as if she’s explaining the most obvious thing in the world. “You bring flowers, you hold the door, you pay for dinner. These are basics. Women like to feel special.”
“Mom, I know how to take someone to dinner,” I mutter. “I don’t need you to micromanage it.”
“Do you? Because based on your track record, I’m not so sure.” Her voice drips with that maternal skepticism she’s perfected over the years. “Just last month, I heard from Janice that you took her niece out and spent the whole meal talking about work.”
“Because her niece asked me about work!” I protest. “What was I supposed to do? Ignore her?”
“You could have steered the conversation toward something more … romantic,” she insists.
“What if I’m already seeing someone?” I have no idea what came over me. I’m already regretting saying it.
“Are you seeing someone?”
I walked myself into the trap I set. I see two options. I think fast, looking for the best way out of my mother’s meddling. “Uh, maybe. Kind of. It’s … complicated.”
“Complicated?” I can practically hear her leaning in, her curiosity piqued. “Nick, who is she? What’s her name? What does she do? How did you meet? Is it serious?”
“Mom, I don’t even know if it’s a thing yet. Can we not do this?”
My hope was she would back off her trying to set me up. But that was backfiring.
“I want to hear more about this woman.”
“I’m not telling you anything because you’ll just make it weird.”
“Please tell me it’s not that vile Sierra,” she groans.
“No. Definitely not.”
“Good. If you want to tell me about this mystery woman, I may back off pushing you on Mia.”
“Mom, I’m not talking about this with you.”
“Fine. Buy flowers for Mia tomorrow. I’ll call and see how things went. Take care.”
She hangs up before I can protest.
I toss my phone on the desk. This day just keeps getting better and better.
I sink into my chair and exhale. My mind goes right back to Ava, to the way she felt in my arms, the way she kissed me back.
This is a bad idea. I know it is. But I can’t stop thinking about her.
Taking her out tonight is obviously going to lead to sex. How could it not after what happened in the closet?