Chapter 7
Chapter Seven
Rose lay there, her body humming with delicious afterglow as she slowly came back down to earth again. The tree lights were twinkling above her, ornaments swaying gently, and she couldn’t help but smile.
Happy holidays, indeed.
She felt Nick stretch beside her, and when she lifted her head, he was regarding her with a supremely smug smile on his face. She laughed. “This isn’t going to help that ego of yours at all now, is it?”
He grinned back at her. “On the contrary. My poor, delicate self-esteem was in dire need of a boost.”
“Ha!” Rose sat up, reaching to cover herself with a blanket. “Your self-esteem is plenty big enough to manage.”
He smirked. “And they say size doesn’t matter.”
Rose blushed. Even as her heart rate slowed, her body still ached, wanting more. Wanting him.
Who knew she could be so insatiable?
“Just so you know, I don’t make a habit of this,” she told him, the first flicker of self-consciousness beginning to creep through her glow. “I mean, dragging men back to my place and demanding that they ravish me.”
Nick chuckled. “I’d never have guessed.” He leaned in, and gave her a deep, sizzling kiss. “You’re excellent at it.”
She smiled. “You know what I mean.”
“I do, and I think it’s a waste.” Nick said, brushing hair back from her face. “Please, go ahead and seduce me any time you like. In fact, I insist on it.”
Rose groaned. “You’re making fun of me!”
Nick leaned closer. “I’m really not.”
He kissed her again, slow and sweet, and Rose swayed against him with a sigh. He was really too good at that. She reached for him, ready to resume their night of unexpected discoveries—
Then her stomach rumbled—loud enough to stop traffic.
Nick smirked. “Was that a freight train passing through town?” he asked, teasing.
Rose flushed. “I missed dinner!” she protested, laughing. “And then someone distracted me before I could fix us a snack.”
“Well, we can’t have you fainting of hunger.” Nick sprang to his feet, and offered her a hand up, too. “You need to keep your strength up. And your stamina,” he added, pulling her in for a kiss. “Because I have plans for you…”
Rose shivered with anticipation at the wicked look in his eye. If the evening was anything to go by so far, she was going to thoroughly enjoy those plans.
The buzzer on her dryer sounded in the kitchen, so Nick went and retrieved his pants. Then, bare-chested, he began rifling through her refrigerator and cabinets. “We could order delivery,” Rose offered, wrapping herself in a robe—and enjoying the view.
A handsome, half-naked man fixing her dinner? They may have lost that night of the scavenger contest, but Rose still felt like she’d won a first-place prize.
“And miss the chance to wow you with my cooking?” Nick replied. “Never.” He gathered ingredients on the narrow counter and set a pan of water on the stove to boil. She drifted closer, curious.
“I didn’t know you cooked.”
“Just one of my skills,” Nick replied, throwing her a wink. “My many skills.”
She laughed, still buzzing with proof of Nick’s capable hands. And mouth. And tongue. No wonder the man was never without a date. She was surprised there wasn’t a line of women beating down his door every night of the week. “What’s on the menu, then?”
“I’m thinking a quick spaghetti carbonara,” he said, setting out eggs, parmesan cheese, and bacon.
“Be my guest,” Rose said happily. She poured a glass of water, and watched him chop and sauté, moving confidently in her tiny kitchen.
“My parents weren’t ones for cooking,” Nick confided, whisking something together. “They were always busy with work. So, I learned pretty young that if I wanted something delicious, I’d have to learn to make it myself. Hence my childhood crush on Nigella Lawson,” he added, and she laughed.
“I’ll be sure to send her some fan mail,” she smiled. “You know, if you’re still looking for something to do with your life, you could sign up to be Dylan’s sous chef. Or open a rival restaurant and give him some real competition.”
Nick laughed. “I prefer to spend my time eating, rather than toiling in a kitchen.”
“Hmmm…” Rose mused, wondering about the next chapter in Nick’s life. He joked about being a man of leisure now that he’d sold his family’s company, but she could tell, he had far too much energy and imagination to just sit around. “What other skills do you have?”
He gave her a suggestive look.
“Not that!” Rose giggled. “At least, not in town limits. Let me see… You’re charming, friendly, can talk anyone into anything… Have you thought about a career in politics?” she asked, joking, but Nick looked interested.
“Now, there’s an idea. Isn’t your mayor retiring at the end of this term?”
Rose laughed. “I was kidding! Besides, you know what people are like around here. It takes a decade before they stop thinking of you as a newcomer.”
But Nick shook his head. “That won’t be a problem,” he said confidently. “I can spin that… Fresh, new ideas. An outside perspective.”
“See, you really are a politician,” she teased.
Nick gave her an irresistible grin. “Does that mean I can count on your vote?”
“Hmmm…” Rose pretended to consider it. “I’m not sure. You might have to cook me a few more gourmet meals before I make my mind up.”
“Oh, I’m sure I can persuade you.” Nick leaned closer, dropping a hot kiss on her shoulder. “I can be very, very convincing…”
Rose sighed in pleasure as his mouth grazed across her bare skin. He kissed his way higher, inch by inch, until he finally claimed her lips. Slow and sweet, he took his time, caressing her tongue in a sensual rhythm until she was molten in his arms. Practically sizzling…
The sound got louder, until Rose realized it wasn’t her smoking. “The food!” she exclaimed.
“It can wait,” Nick murmured, but Rose pulled away.
“Says who? I need my stamina, remember?”
He smiled. “You’re a demanding woman, aren’t you?” Nick set about draining the pasta, and coating it in a silky sauce, while Rose watched with a smile.
Demanding? Try pushover.
For too long, she’d put her own needs on the backburner: pining after Scott for years, and then tying herself up in knots to make him happy, thinking that he was The One. Now, she was seeing just how blind she’d been.
And how much sexy, exhilarating fun was waiting, if she went after what she wanted.
Who she wanted.
Nick finished serving and presented her plate with a flourish. “Dinner is served.”
“See, now a meal like this deserves some ceremony,” Rose decided. “Hold on…”
She quickly grabbed some silverware, and crystal wine glasses. Her little folding dining table was covered in gifts and wrapping, so she set up the coffee table instead, with linen napkins and a floral centerpiece she’d been working on. “Voila,” she said with a smile.
“Perfect. Eat your heart out, Beachwood,” Nick said, naming the snootiest restaurant in Provincetown as he brought their plates in.
“You know, I’ve never been there,” Rose said, settling cross-legged on the floor. Scott had always promised to take her, but, like so many of his plans, it had never happened.
“You’re not missing anything.” Nick assured her. “Besides, if we were in a restaurant right now, could I do this?”
He leaned over and kissed her until she was panting, his hands skimming low over her ass. Rose came up for air, laughing. “I’m guessing the other diners would have something to say about that,” she agreed.
She sat back, flushed and happy. How was it so easy to just relax and enjoy herself with Nick?
She wondered. Men she’d dated in the past wound her nerves up tight, worrying over every word.
What did they think about her? Was she saying or doing the right thing?
Even with Scott, a part of her had always been one step removed from the situation, wondering how she could be more enticing to him; wittier; what she could do to finally make him fall.
But this? This was simple. Easy. Fun. Nick always had a way of making her feel at ease, and the quippy banter they’d enjoyed as friends hadn’t changed with this new sizzling charge between them. And there was something more, too. A warmth, an unexpected tenderness in the midst of all his charm.
What else had Nick Sterling been hiding from the world?
She wanted to know more.
Rose stopped herself, before the thought could take flight.
This was just a casual fling, she reminded herself.
A wild affair. Nick definitely hadn’t volunteered for anything beyond that.
And he’d probably run, half-naked, through the streets of Sweetbriar Cove if he knew she was thinking of anything more.
She turned her attention to the food, instead. The pasta was delicious, silky and rich, and Rose devoured every bite. It was almost midnight, but she felt wide awake, ready for whatever else this magical night sent her way.
“You’re missing an ornament,” Nick noted, nodding to the empty spot on the top of her holiday tree.
Rose gave a rueful smile. “It was damaged. My grandma passed them down to us,” she explained.
“Handmade from our relatives in Italy. I hang one up every night in December, it’s like a little tradition for me.
But I guess I didn’t pack them away carefully enough last year.
” She pulled the box from the corner and showed him the intricate crystal star ornament—now cracked in several pieces.
“Can it be fixed?” he asked, examining it carefully.
She shook her head. “It’s so old, I’d need a specialist. And they don’t exactly have ‘ornament repair’ in the phone directory. It’s fine,” she said with a pang of sadness. “Not everything can last, I guess.”
“You were close?” Nick asked, placing it back in the box.
Rose smiled. “Very. She was such a character, this five-foot dynamo. She believed that every part of life should be beautiful, it’s why she adored flowers so much,” she explained. “I loved hanging out in the store when I was a kid; she taught me everything I know.”
“So, that’s where you get your elegance from.”
“Elegant?” Rose was sipping her drink when he said it, and almost snorted water through her nose. “Clearly, nope.”
But Nick shook his head, regarding her in the candlelight. “You’re a woman of mystery. Most people, I can get a read on, no problem. But you? I’ve never been able to figure you out.”
Rose blinked in surprise. She’d always thought of herself as shy and nondescript; the girl next door who blended into a crowd. After all, Scott hadn’t noticed her for years, and she’d been standing there right in front of him, pining away.
But to Nick, she was elegant. Mysterious. Captivating.
Rose felt his words settle around her shoulders like a cloak of confidence. She got to her feet and downed the rest of her wine. “It’s late,” she said.
Nick immediately scrambled to his feet, too. “Right,” he agreed, clearing his throat. “Well then. I better be off.”
He took their empty plates to the kitchen and looked around for his jacket. Rose smiled, watching him take what he thought was her hint to leave. A gentleman through and through.
She just had no intention of acting like a lady.
“Where are you going?” she asked, leaning in the doorway.
Nick paused, looking confused. “I thought, you said…” he trailed off, and Rose’s smile grew.
“It’s late,” she repeated, giving him a playful smirk. “Which means we should probably go to bed now. If we want to be fresh for the scavenger hunt tomorrow. Don’t you agree?”
Realization dawned on Nick’s face.
“I do agree,” he agreed immediately. “Wholeheartedly.”
“Well then…” Rose beckoned to him, and Nick closed the distance between them in a heartbeat.
His mouth was hot and urgent on hers as they stumbled into her bedroom, hands and limbs and tongues tangling in a heady, sensual dance.
Rose’s heart was racing with exhilaration and pleasure as she left her self-consciousness behind.
He wanted her, she wanted him, and it was the simplest thing in the world to peel away her clothes and inhibitions and surrender to the delicious rush.
Burning hands, bare skin, the delicious shock of friction as he moved inside her…
Rose gave herself over to the exquisite ache of every slick movement and gasping thrust. And when he brought her to the brink, moaning, shuddering, she could only hold on for dear life as the pleasure crashed through her, his body commanding her, over and over again.
She couldn’t get enough of him. This feeling, this connection…
Rose didn’t want it to ever end.