Chapter 25 – Rae
Nico straightened, closed the door, and came around to the passenger side. I narrowed my eyes at him, and when he climbed inside, I lifted my shoulders.
“What are you doing?”
He sighed. There was so much weight in that wordless noise. “Start the car, Rae.”
I looked around in confusion. He wasn’t coming with me. This was his home. What did he think he could gain from this? I would drop him off at the house?
“Rae,” he warned. “I’m trying to respect your rule about who drives this car, but if you don’t start the damn engine and start driving, I’m going to tie you up, throw you in the backseat, and speed out of here to the tune of your screams.”
Well, in that case….
The Camaro purred to life, and I began to creep it out of the garage.
“Take a right out of the front gate,” Nico instructed and buckled his seatbelt.
I obeyed. What choice did I have? We drove in silence, except for his occasional direction, for twenty minutes. The route took us into the heart of the city. It might be the middle of the night, but the city was alive and active.
My fingers kept a death grip on the wheel, until we pulled up to a high-rise right in the heart of downtown Boston.
“Take the parking ramp,” Nico instructed. “The code for the gate is 7869.”
It must have been the brutal exhaustion, because I snickered like a tween at the number.
Nico shot me a look. He probably thought I was losing my mind. Which, clearly, I was. It wasn’t even five in the morning, and I was driving with a ruthless mobster into the belly of a strange building. Anything could happen!
“Park here.”
I did. Nico left the car a second later. Going around the back, he tapped the trunk. I frowned at the rearview mirror.
“Open it, Rae,” he barked. His voice was loud enough to shake into the interior.
Already far down the crazy train, I popped the latch. As Nico removed my suitcase, I cut the engine and vaulted out.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” I shouted.
Nico pinched his eyes. “Rae, it’s the middle of the night—”
“Technically—”
“Will you be quiet, woman. For one fucking minute, just…just give up control for one minute.”
He dropped his hand, momentarily defeated. His look spoke volumes.
“Let me help you. Please,” he breathed.
It was that tone, coupled with the please, that tamed the bristles at his domineering command.
Locking the car, I followed him to the elevator.
It was a silent ride. Nico looked as tired as I felt.
The urge to reach up, to smooth the lines from his face, was strong.
I shoved my hands in my pockets to keep from doing it.
The wad of stolen money was a brutal reminder of what I was caught in the middle of doing.
“You waited outside for me,” I muttered.
“Mhmm,” he answered.
“All night.”
His shoulder lifted and dropped. “I wasn’t sure when you’d run. I was actually about to go inside to sleep a little, but…I’m glad I trusted my gut and waited.”
Me too.
I caught myself before I could blurt out the truth. I turned away so he wouldn’t read it in my face.
The elevator opened to a dark hallway. The carpet was buttery soft. Dramatic wall sconces cast a low light over the yawning length. Nico led the way, stopping at the only door part way down and inserting his key in the lock.
If the hall was luxurious, the apartment was ten times that. Both were deceptively simple, but the cost was plain in the minimal decorating and sumptuous interior.
“This is my place,” he explained dragging my suitcase across the open concept.
“Your place?” I gaped at it. “Why the hell would you stay in that house of horrors if you have this private, pimped out bachelor pad?!”
Nico snorted. “Dio mio, cherry-bomb, you have a way with words.”
I brushed the observation off and wandered aimlessly around. Nico pulled my suitcase down the hall off to the right of the main area. Lights from the floor-to-ceiling windows beckoned me, and I trailed over.
“Wow!” I breathed. “You can see everything from up here.”
Nico returned and leaned against the island. “Not everything. Not until now.”
I flicked a glance at him but had to look away. His stare burned me.
“It’s pretty,” I murmured, unable to acknowledge what he’d said.
The glass was cool against my forehead as I continued to stare at the street below, the building across the way, and the open sky beyond.
“Here’s what’s going to happen.” He yawned. “You’re going to sleep.”
Spinning around, I started to protest.
“Rae.” He scrubbed his hands over his face and looked at me through his fingers. “Please…enough.”
But I was breathing too hard again. Panic edged around me, and I shuddered violently. He didn’t get it. I had to make him understand.
As if sensing this was a battle, Nico sighed and pushed off the island. He prowled over with slow, deliberate steps. I let him approach. It wasn’t like there was anywhere else to flee. He gently cupped my cheeks between his hands.
The touch was warm. Solid. Reassuring.
My eyes fluttered closed despite the raging storm in my head.
“Let me take care of you.” He pressed his lips on my forehead.
What was a few hours in the grand scheme of things? I could always grab my stuff after a good nap and disappear later.
“Okay,” I breathed.
“Good.” He kissed me again. “Sleep. I’ll have food in the fridge. What do you like to eat?”
“Oh, you don’t have to—”
“Rae,” he groaned. “Stop it.”
I huffed.
“Why is it so hard to let me in?” he muttered, more to himself than me.
That was something we weren’t talking about.
“What is your favorite food? Your cheat meal, your absolute favorite.” He tipped my face back and studied me. “Tell me what you like, baby.”
I didn’t even hesitate. “Brisket. Fatty, not lean. Corn bread, bread pudding, greens, and grits.”
He cocked his head slightly. Those black eyes zeroed in on me as if I spoke a foreign language.
I pressed my lips tight, but the laugh bubbled out despite my effort to hold it in.
“Go take a shower if you want or go straight to bed. The food will be in the fridge when you’re ready,” he murmured.
His thumbs brushed under my eyes. Right before I leaned into his hold, he tore himself away. I jerked forward, my body drawn to him like a freaking magnet. Nico tapped on his phone for a few minutes, shoulders hunched, back turned.
Reluctantly, I trailed down the hall. A shower sounded great, but the moment I saw the massive bed, I dismissed that thought.
I collapsed on the mattress. It took less than ten seconds for my eyes to close.
About thirty for sleep to tug me under. The last conscious thought was how nice this felt.
If it was only a delay, at least the dream of belonging to this man was nice.
***
I jolted awake. I could have sworn I’d only been asleep for a few minutes, but the digital clock claimed it had been much longer. Something was different than when I’d drifted off. My sleep deprived brain tried, and failed, to immediately recognize what that was.
The bed was warm.
The room was silent.
There wasn’t any immediate threat to make my heart pound, but it did. The rapid thump-thump made me breathe hard. It almost sounded like I was snoring.
No, that wasn’t right.
I held my breath to listen. Before my brain sorted out the sound, it registered a delicious heat radiating along my back. It was as if there was an electric blanket just a few feet away. I heard it. The rough catch followed by a deep exhale.
Nico.
He was here, snoozing on the other side of the mattress. I listened to him for a few more moments. When his breathing didn’t change, I decided he was asleep.
I rose carefully and braced myself on my elbow to look over. In the faint glow of the room, it was easy to see him, arm tucked under his head and bare shoulder not covered by the sheet. He wasn’t using the blanket.
It was intimate to be this close to him. While we’d had animalistic sex, being with him like this felt closer. But yet, I wasn’t close enough.
I want…him.
Carefully, I removed my shirt and bra. Wriggling out of my shorts was trickier, but I managed. Then? I closed the distance. My back pressed against his front. My legs curved around his.
Nico murmured softly, draping an arm over my middle. Holding me. Cradling me. His chin lifted slightly to tuck my head against his neck. We were connected everywhere.
Well.
Not everywhere.
As he drifted back into a deeper sleep, his cock thickened against me. I was restless. Not necessarily in the mood for more sex, but that hard shaft wasn’t quite where it belonged.
I can fix that.
Reaching over, I tugged his sweatpants down his thigh. They were trapped on the other side by his weight, but I managed to create enough space to free his cock.
“Rae,” came the rumble of sleepy thunder.
“Hush now,” I whispered, stroking his length once. It was too velvety not to touch. “Go back to sleep, killer.”
Nico grumbled something, but I tipped my hips and lined the tip right where I wanted it. Pushing back, I slid him deep inside.
The feeling of completeness consumed me.
With a groan, Nico pushed.
My hand shot out and rested on his hip. I pressed hard, letting him know to lay still.
“Let me hold you,” I breathed.
I had to calm my own urge to move against him. It passed as I breathed through the moment. The bone-dead exhaustion helped push it away.
This was how I would sleep the rest of the night, wrapped in his hold and with his cock nestled inside me.
It was perfect.
“Dio sacro, a new meaning to sleep tight,” he muttered above me.
Smiling, I snuggled into him and left his cock to warm inside me. This was about connection, not sex. The future was uncertain. Hell, tomorrow I might be gone! But for now, I pretended he was mine.