Chapter Forty-Five Nico
Chapter Forty-Five
Nico
The day after Halloween is Thursday and so rather than bringing her home, Magda takes Phoebe straight to school, which is good news because after the emotional upheaval of yesterday, I’m ready for a slower start.
It was late by the time we got to sleep, and not just because I couldn’t keep my hands off Lee, but because there was so much to talk about: this whole situation with Edward but also our surprise visitors, the fact that Gran knows what’s been going on… and that she didn’t hear it from us.
Lee’s still asleep when I wake up, and I take a moment to look at her.
The morning light filtering through the curtains casts her face in tantalising shadows.
I linger over the kissable corner of her mouth, the gentle curve of her shoulder, the way the sheets are rumpled just so underneath her hand: there’s art in every line of her.
Eventually, I tear myself away and head for the shower, leaving her to sleep. When I come out of the bathroom, one towel wrapped around my hips, another ruffling my still wet hair, Lee is kneeling up on the bed with a troubled look on her face.
‘Here,’ she says awkwardly. ‘I think you’d better give these back to your mum.’
I look at the wedding rings in her palm, and frown.
Shit. I guess there’s no need for them anymore, right? Charles knows the truth, the game we’ve been playing is over. I’ve known this was coming all along so I’m not sure why it feels like a horrible surprise.
Lee and I might be married on paper, but we’re only just starting out as a couple.
I don’t have much experience with long-term relationships, but I’m guessing that four days in is too soon to tell the person who just agreed to be your girlfriend that you actually want them to be your wife.
We’re still something new and delicate. This situation calls for patience and maturity – not my natural strengths, but I’ve spent the last year working on them. I can do this.
‘Right,’ I say after a moment, like it’s no big deal.
‘I guess that makes sense. I’ll give them back to her today.
’ I open the drawer on my bedside table and pull out the ring box, placing her set carefully inside.
Then I look down at my own hand and twist the ring from my finger.
I try to ignore the wrenching sensation in my gut as I do so.
‘No more pretending,’ Lee says, and maybe there’s something wistful in her voice, too.
‘We don’t need to pretend anymore,’ I say with a touch of desperation. ‘Real is better, Daisy.’
She smiles at those words, and it chases any sadness from her expression. ‘Yeah,’ she says quietly. ‘Real is definitely better.’
Then she fixes me with a look, as if seeing me for the first time, and her eyes widen. Her gaze trails over me and my body’s response is instant. She watches, fascinated, as a bead of water falls from my damp hair, rolling down over my chest, and I watch her, a hectic flush rising on her cheeks.
‘Your eyes are doing that thing again,’ I huff out a laugh. ‘I don’t know why I ever thought you had any kind of poker face. I can tell the second you start thinking dirty thoughts.’
‘Oh, yes?’ she asks, and her voice is husky. ‘So what am I thinking about right now?’
‘Well, I could tell you… or you could come over here and show me.’
Her head tilts, and a smile plays on her lips. ‘If real is better,’ she says, getting slowly to her feet, ‘then I suppose a practical demonstration is in order.’
‘You know I love it when you’re practical,’ I manage, as she trails her fingers over my stomach. She reaches for the knotted towel at my waist and loosens it so that it drops to the floor and I’m standing naked in front of her.
Her smile widens, her right hand travelling lower, until she wraps her fingers around my cock, and the air hisses out from between my teeth.
With her other hand on the nape of my neck she pulls me in for a long, lingering kiss, her tongue sliding against mine as her fingers glide up and down over my dick, and I groan into her mouth.
In a minute I’m going to peel the pyjamas from her body and fuck her slowly in our bed, until some of this desperate haze dissipates, until I can breathe and think and talk again. Will I ever get enough of her? Is there such a thing as enough? I’ve never felt like this before.
The blood is rushing so loudly in my ears that it takes a moment for the rapid knocking sound to register.
‘I’m going to wring that bird’s neck,’ I mutter, but Lee’s busy fingers have paused.
‘I don’t think that’s Russell,’ she frowns. ‘I think there’s someone at the door.’
‘Ignore them,’ I breathe, capturing her mouth with my own. I don’t care who it is, the house could be on fire and I wouldn’t care.
It could be seconds or hours or days before Lee pulls away again. ‘Nico,’ she’s panting, her lips pink and swollen. ‘They’re still there.’
In fact, the knocking is growing more impatient.
‘For fuck’s sake,’ I growl, grabbing a pair of jeans and tugging them on as I make for the front door. ‘Why is our house suddenly the middle of the goddamn universe?’ I take a few deep steadying breaths, waiting for my body to calm down, while the knocking continues.
‘What?’ I snap as I finally pull the door open.
‘Hello, Nicolas,’ Gran says dryly. ‘I hope I’m not interrupting.’