Chapter Six #2
We ate in a silence that was charged with possibility. Every time she licked her lips or made a soft sound of appreciation for the food, I got harder. Every time she looked at me through her lashes or bit her lower lip, I had to grip my wine glass tighter to keep from reaching for her.
By the time we finished eating, the sexual tension between us was so thick I could barely think straight.
"That was the best meal I've ever had," she said, setting down her napkin.
"Better than those fancy restaurants you probably go to for work?"
"So much better." She smiled, and it was the first completely unguarded expression I'd ever seen from her. "Thank you. For all of this. For making me remember what it feels like to be grateful."
"What are you grateful for?"
She was quiet for a moment, considering the question seriously.
"This," she said. "Tonight. Feeling like a person instead of just a job title." She met my eyes. "You."
The simple word hit me right in the chest. When was the last time anyone had been grateful for me? Not for what I could do for them or how I could make their body look, but just for existing?
"Nicole." I stood up, moving around the table toward her. "Come here."
She stood too, and I pulled her into my arms. This time, when I kissed her, there was nothing gentle about it. It was hungry and demanding and full of all the need I'd been trying to keep locked down.
She responded immediately, her hands fisting in my shirt, her mouth opening under mine. She tasted like wine and cranberry sauce and something that was uniquely her.
"I want you," I said against her lips, the words torn from somewhere deep in my chest.
"I want you too." Her admission was breathless, desperate. "But I don't know how to do this."
"Do what?"
"Be with someone. Be vulnerable. I don't know how to be what you need."
I pulled back to look at her, seeing the fear in her eyes. The same fear that had sent her running three days ago.
"You don't have to be anything but yourself," I told her. "Just let me take care of you."
"I don't know how to let someone take care of me."
"Then let me teach you." I framed her face with my hands, holding her gaze. "Trust me, Nicole. Just for tonight, trust me to make you feel good."
She searched my face for a long moment, and I could see the exact second she made her decision.
"Okay," she breathed. "Show me."
I lifted her onto the dining table, pushing aside plates and glasses with one arm while pulling her mouth back to mine with the other. She gasped at the sudden movement but didn't protest, her legs wrapping around my waist as I settled between them.
"Is this okay?" I asked, my hands sliding up her thighs.
"Yes." The word came out as a moan when I hit a particularly sensitive spot behind her knee. "God, yes."
I kissed my way down her throat, tasting the salt of her skin, breathing in her scent. She was trembling, but not from fear. From anticipation.
"You're beautiful," I murmured against her collarbone. "So fucking beautiful."
My hands found the zipper at the back of her dress, and I paused.
"Tell me to stop if you want me to stop," I said.
She looked at me with eyes that were nearly black with need. "Don't stop. Please don't stop."
I pulled the zipper down slowly, watching her face as I peeled the dress away from her body. She was wearing black lace underneath, and the sight of her in nothing but lingerie on my dining table nearly undid me.
"Jesus, Nicole."
She started to cover herself, but I caught her hands.
"Don't hide from me," I said. "You're stunning."
And she was. Every soft curve, every inch of skin I'd imagined touching.
I leaned down to kiss her again, and this time there was no hesitation, no fear. Just need and heat and the promise of finally giving in to what we both wanted.
"Bedroom?" I asked against her lips.
"Yes," she breathed. "Please."
I lifted her off the table and carried her to my bed, both of us already lost to everything but this moment.
I set her down beside the bed, my hands immediately going to the clasp of her bra. She didn't stop me, just watched my face as I peeled the lace away from her body.
"Fuck, Nicole." The sight of her bare breasts made my mouth go dry.
She reached for the hem of my shirt, and I helped her pull it over my head. Her hands immediately went to my chest, her touch tentative at first, then bolder as she explored the muscles and scars that told the story of my life.
"I want to see all of you," she said, her voice breathy with need.
I made quick work of the rest of our clothes, and when we were both naked, I took a moment to just look at her. Every curve, every inch of skin I'd fantasized about for weeks.
"You're staring," she said, a blush creeping up her chest.
"Because you're beautiful." I moved her backward until her legs hit the bed. "And because you're mine."
The possessive words made her shiver, and I could see how her nipples tightened in response.
"Lay back," I commanded, and watched as she complied without hesitation.
I followed her down, covering her body with mine, both of us groaning at the skin-to-skin contact. She felt even better than I'd imagined. Soft and curves and heat.
"I need you," she gasped as I kissed my way down her throat.
"I know, baby. I'm going to take care of you."
I moved lower, taking one of her nipples into my mouth while my hand found her center. She was already wet for me, ready.
"Please, Shawn," she begged, her hips moving against my hand.
"Please what?"
"I need you inside me."
The words were torn from her throat like they'd been ripped from her soul. I'd never heard Nicole beg for anything, and the sound of it nearly undid me.
I reached for the condom in my nightstand drawer, rolling it on with shaking hands while she watched with eyes that were nearly black with want.
"Are you sure?" I asked, positioning myself at her entrance.
"Yes. God, yes."
I pushed inside her slowly, watching her face as she stretched to accommodate me. She was tight, so fucking tight, and how she gasped my name as I filled her was better than any sound I'd ever heard.
"More," she demanded, her nails digging into my shoulders. "I need all of you."
I gave her what she wanted, burying myself to the hilt with one deep thrust. We both cried out at the sensation, and I had to pause to keep from losing control immediately.
"You feel incredible," I groaned against her neck.
"So do you." Her legs wrapped around my waist, pulling me deeper. "Move. Please."
I started slowly, savoring every sound she made, every way her body responded to mine. But when she started meeting my thrusts with equal fervor, slow became impossible.
"Harder," she panted. "I won't break."
I gave her what she asked for, driving into her with all the pent-up need I'd been carrying for weeks. She took everything I gave her and demanded more, her nails leaving marks on my back that I'd wear like badges of honor.
"I'm close," she gasped, her body tightening around me.
"Come for me, Nicole. Let me feel you."
My thumb found her clit, rubbing tight circles as I continued to thrust, and that was all it took. She shattered beneath me, crying out my name as her orgasm tore through her.
The sight and sound of her coming apart pushed me over the edge. I followed her with a groan, spilling myself inside her as pleasure overwhelmed every sense.
We lay there afterward, both of us breathing hard, her body still trembling with aftershocks.
"That was..." she started, then trailed off.
"Incredible," I finished for her.
"I was going to say life-changing."
The admission made something shift in my chest. This wasn't just good sex for her. It was something more. Something that both thrilled me and made me want to run at the same time.
"Stay," I said, pulling her closer. "Don't go home tonight."
She looked up at me, and I could see the war playing out in her eyes again.
"Okay," she said. "Just for tonight."
But as I held her while she drifted off to sleep, I knew one night would never be enough.
Not with Nicole.
Not anymore.