Chapter Six
Slade joined Jordon, their club manager, behind the bar, wishing Deb could have made it tonight. Now, he couldn’t rely on her to keep his attention off Nicole. He picked up a whiskey glass from under the bar top, questioning whether his and Deb’s long-term friends-with-benefits relationship would have been enough to keep him from thinking about those scars. Every time he imagined Nicole suffering such pain and fear, he went taut with fury. He was glad the bastard was dead but wished someone else had taken him out, suspecting the guilt weighed on her. Something he was all too familiar with.
“Are you going to pour that or stare at it all night?”
Jordon’s amused tone broke into his thoughts and tore his gaze off the liquor bottle and glass he held. “I’m getting there,” he muttered, the music and volume of the crowd filling Casey’s tonight getting on his nerves.
“Couldn’t talk one of your brothers into filling in for you tonight, huh?”
Slade moved down a few steps to hand the drink to the patient customer who nodded his thanks. “I didn’t ask them,” he said, turning toward Jordon.
He had agreed to go in on the club and put in the same amount of sweat equity as Reed and Brett to renovate the auctioned-off old lodge, knowing the social commitment required. They only opened Friday and Saturday nights, the three of them proud of the club’s popularity and good reputation. When Lily mentioned inviting Nicole tonight, his first inclination had been to make an excuse to switch shifts with Reed, who planned to assist behind the bar tomorrow night. Instead, the constant urge to check on her all week, ensure she was okay, won out over his need to keep his distance.
“I intended to spend time upstairs with Deb later, but she made plans with her sister-in-law. Where’s Bianca tonight?” Jordon and his longtime girlfriend had recently married, and with Brett and Reed settling down, that left scant few members of their private play group still single.
“Attending some kitchen gadget party, where she’ll order stuff she’ll never use.” Nodding to the woman holding up her glass for a refill, he said, “Reed and Brett just came in. If you need to head home, feel free. I can always snag one of them if I get behind.”
“Thanks, but I’m good.” Besides his family, Jordon was the only other person aware of Slade’s occasional moody silences and need for solitude when plagued by his war memories.
He glanced toward his brothers and couldn’t prevent the quick jolt at seeing Nicole enter before the others reached the bar. She paused, scanning the filled tables separating the bar from the dance floor, her face as unsure as he was about her being here tonight. He’d tried telling her shunning others wouldn’t help her burden, whatever it was, and admitted he was proud of the attempt she was making. That didn’t mean he had to entertain her tonight though. There were plenty of other people around for her to hang with.
“You’re here.” Allie feigned surprise as she settled on a stool, the dangling row of small colorful balls hanging from her ears swinging against her chin. She smiled at Nicole’s approach then said, “I half expected you to cancel.”
He shrugged, refusing to let her obvious reference get to him. “I’m on the schedule.”
Brett squeezed her nape with a warning to his wife. “Stay out of it, Allie.”
Reed sat down and hauled Lily onto his lap and sent his brother an amused look. “Good luck with that.”
Slade had to agree. Allie’s manipulations put Reed and Lily together when neither suspected to see the other following a month-long separation. Instead of thinking about how well that had worked out for them, he asked, “Who wants what?” He started filling their drinks as Allie joined them, saved from greeting her when Lily pushed out a stool next to them.
“Here, sit between Allie and us. We’re so glad you came.”
“Thanks. It’s a popular place,” she commented, avoiding glancing his way as she sat down.
“Location and luck, mostly. Have a drink on us as a welcome,” Brett insisted.
Shifting a few steps her way, Slade couldn’t keep from zeroing in on the edge of her scar peeking from the loose cowl neckline of her light-blue sweater or noticing how the color matched her eyes. Those eyes were pretty, the scar a reminder of the ugliness she’d endured, sparking a desire to replace the pain with pleasure. Imagining her reaction were he to suggest getting that close for an hour or two almost dared him to go for it.
“What can I get you?” he asked, the impact of the turmoil swirling in her direct, bright-blue gaze hitting his solar plexus as hard as a one-two punch.
“Bourbon and seven, light please. I’m driving.”
Reed leaned around Lily to say, “Responsible. I like that. I’m glad you’ve hired someone and won’t be out there alone much longer.”
That news relieved Slade also. After learning of the attack on her, he couldn’t deny how much her isolation bothered him. He set her drink down, compelled to add to his brother’s comment. “Living outside the city comes with its own set of risks, one being the longer time it takes for help to arrive in an emergency. Having someone nearby is a good thing.”
Nicole smiled, and some of the hesitancy with coming out tonight let up on her face. “Okay, I admit I’ve felt better since talking to Paul. Thanks again, Lily. I hope he’s still looking forward to the move.”
“He is.” She rested a hand on Reed’s forearm wrapped around her waist. “There’s comfort in having a guy around a lot.”
Allie chuckled. “Is that what you call it?”
“Excuse me,” Nicole said abruptly. “Thanks for the drink. I’m going to check out the activity on that mechanical bull.”
She walked away carrying her glass, but not before he caught a glimpse of sadness in her eyes. He might not like it, or want it, but his curiosity and the need to distract her from the memories of that painful incident weren’t going away, only increasing.
Jordon’s wife arrived, and he took a break to dance with her, leaving Slade busy behind the bar, but not enough over the next fifteen minutes to prevent him from keeping tabs on Nicole. She’d watched several people ride the gyrating vault designed to move similar to a bucking bull before someone asked her to dance. He knew a lot of their regulars, but not this guy, and didn’t care for his taut reaction when the tall blond pulled her flush with his body. There was nothing untoward about the placement of his big hands on her lower back, except Slade discovered he wanted to be the one that close to her enticing butt showcased in those tight jeans.
“Hi there.”
Shifting his attention away from Nicole, he ignored the brunette’s flirtatious smile and asked, “What can I get you?”
“Screwdriver, please. You weren’t here last time I was. Are you new?”
“Not hardly.” He turned to retrieve a small orange juice from the under-counter refrigerator behind him and proceeded to mix her drink with his back to her. With luck, that would dissuade any more small talk. Instead, she jabbered away loud enough, her high-pitched voice carried over the music, grating on his nerves.
“Are you sure, ’cause I definitely would have noticed you. I just split with my boyfriend, the two-timing jerk. My friends all warned me about him, but I didn’t listen. Live and learn, I guess. How about you?” she continued as he set her drink down. “Seeing anyone?”
“I see a lot of people.” He tried but couldn’t pull his hand away fast enough to avoid the caress of her fingers along his arm.
“How about a dance when you take a break?”
“How about you —”
“Kincaid, how the hell have you been?” Dave Marsh, a friend from high school, thrust a hand across the counter in greeting. “It’s been a while.”
“Too long,” Slade agreed, mentally thanking him for his timely interruption. Too bad it didn’t deter his customer.
“Kincaid? You’re one of the brothers?” Her eyes gleamed with greedy lust, a reminder of Nicole’s more appealing down-to-earth personality.
“The troublemaker when we were in our teens,” Dave told her then addressed Slade again. “Listen, I gotta get back to our table after I get an order, but let’s catch up soon.”
“Definitely,” Slade replied, now ignoring the woman altogether. From her frown, she wasn’t happy. Tough. He was working and wasn’t interested. No, his interest seemed to stay glued on Nicole, eyeing the sway of her hips as he mixed two drinks for Dave.
No sooner had Dave and the woman walked away than Brett strolled over and took their place with an amused glint in his eyes. “You once told me when you get an itch, you scratch it and it goes away.”
“Your itch didn’t,” he taunted in return. That had been over a year ago, when Brett was fighting his attraction to Allie because of their age difference.
Cocking his head, Brett asked, “Is that what you’re afraid of, if you act you’ll get hooked?”
Ridiculous.Cutting his gaze toward Nicole again, he caught her quick grin as the couple separated and swore the spike in his pulse when she kissed the guy’s cheek meant nothing. “Not in the least,” he replied.
Brett chuckled. “I can warn you, lying to yourself won’t help, but you won’t listen. I’d say she’s as closed-minded about a serious relationship as you, so neither one of you has anything to lose. No one is using the upper floor tonight. Just saying.”
Slade glared at his brother’s back, thinking he’d taken a page out of his wife’s book for meddling. Nicole was snagged for another dance, and he experienced the same gut-clenching reaction. Aw, what the hell, he decided as Jordon returned.
“Your turn. Take your time. Things are slowing down.”
“Thanks.” Cursing Brett, Slade wound through the tables, bypassing attempts at conversation with a nod or wave on his way to scratch a fucking itch. The blood-pumping anticipation flowing through his veins didn’t mean a damn thing, he swore, except a chance to appease his curiosity about her attacker and basic attraction.
There’s comfort in having a guy around a lot.
Nicole regretted coming out tonight when Lily said that, those words describing her relationship with Tony and what she missed most. But comfortable friendship and profound caring didn’t equate to love, and that guilt still lived inside her, day in and day out.
She sighed in relief when the slow ballad ended and she stepped back from her dance partner, more than ready to leave until she went hot upon seeing Slade. He was wearing his hat again, but she didn’t need to see that pewter gaze clearly to feel the impact of his focused look or see the rigid set to his bristled jawline. Nicole didn’t care for the man, and she sure as heck wasn’t comfortable around him the way she’d been with Tony, but her neglected libido refused to listen to the rest of her.
Regardless, she wasn’t in the mood to spar with him. After thanking the man for the dance, she headed toward the table where she’d set her glass down, the throng of people and loud music turning her hands clammy. Her breathing hitched, and she grew desperate for space and air, the sudden reaction coming out of nowhere. Veering toward the exit, luck eluded her as she bumped right into Slade’s rock-hard body.
“Sorry,” she muttered, attempting to go around him, needing the cooler, quieter outdoors.
“Come on.” Taking her hand, he tugged her to the doors and outside, as if he’d read her mind.
Nicole filled her lungs, the cold compared to inside almost painful, her tension easing as the door closed behind them, muting the din. She’d gotten too used to going out with Tony to quiet bars or a movie, or just staying home, then isolating herself both at home and since moving here. It had been a mistake to ignore her instincts to pass on Lily’s invitation.
“Crowds would do that to me when I first returned home from the military. It’ll pass. Until then, don’t drive. We can...”
“Don’t tell me what to do.” Slade’s deep voice erased the last dregs of her uncharacteristic panic, but it was the calming effect of his large, rough hand holding hers that she wasn’t prepared for and didn’t want to like. “Let go of me,” she insisted when he tightened his fingers instead of releasing her when she pulled.
“Not until I’m sure you’re okay.”
Her fury was way out of proportion, given his concern, yet that didn’t stop her from trying to take a swing at him. She gasped as he caught her uplifted arm by the wrist, spun her around, and pinned her against the building, away from the lighted doorway.
“Now, listen,” she panted, head tilted as he towered over her, shielding her from anyone else’s view with his wide shoulders.
“No, you listen.” Slade lifted her shackled wrists and held them against the wood wall. “You need to let go of the anger or it’ll eat you alive.”
Nicole was too busy trying to tamp down the surge of heated lust inflaming her senses to fight his controlling move, but she managed to sneer, “Three uninvited visits, and you think you know me?”
“Getting there. I’ve told you I’ve been there. The difference is, I came home to friends and family who helped, whether I wanted them to or not. You ran away.” He moved in closer, until their bodies touched, chest to pelvis, robbing her of breath and words as he whispered in her ear, “When the nightmares threatened my sanity, I found a friend who understood my needs and spent hours getting back in touch with my humanity.”
Nicole’s pulse spiked, and her breathing hitched as he raised his head. Her heated response to his dominant, caveman tactic shocked her, the lust coiling low in her abdomen hotter than anything she’d experienced before. “You’re talking sex,” she whispered.
“Am I?” He slid one hand behind her nape, his thumb resting against the pulse on the side of her neck. Sharp teeth sank into her lower lip, the sting ricocheting down to her toes, and she latched onto his forearm with her free hand to anchor against the onslaught of heightened sensation.
Damn.Tony had been nice, even in bed, the sex good but nothing that left her panting for the next round. Sex with Slade would be a lot like him, rough but focused on her, and she could go for that right now.
She licked her lip then brushed her mouth against his before returning the bite. “Sex I can do. Not interested in anything else.”
“Then we’re on the same page for once.” Stepping back, he yanked her toward a side staircase she just now noticed, a small light turned on above the door at the top.
“Now?” she stuttered, following him up the stairs, her pussy going damp, her heart beating triple time. Shoving aside all hesitancy and what-ifs in favor of a temporary reprieve from grief and guilt wasn’t easy until his calm matter-of-fact answer floated back to her.
“Why wait?”
She loved the way he simplified the matter and entered the darkened room without pause, confident enough people watched them leave the club together from downstairs to ease any worries. He surprised her, though, when he left the door ajar, enough for the overhead light to change the pitch-black to pearl gray along one side. She barely made out the stone fireplace and guessed that was a small bar in the far corner.
“What is this room?” she asked as he strode forward.
“A playroom.”
Nicole’s legs bumped into a sofa right before she found herself sprawled on her back on the wide leather seat, Slade’s big body covering hers. She huffed a laugh – that alone felt good – and looped her arms around his neck. “Is the neighbor boy going to share his toys?”
“Not tonight,” he returned, tugging her top up to slip his hand under. “Well, maybe one.” He flexed his hips, grinding his thick cock against her mound as he covered her mouth.
A wave of potent need consumed her, and her humor fled, lust once again taking precedence. Nicole returned the kiss, her lips clinging to his then parting from the pressure. Her low groan vibrated between them as their tongues danced, sending ripples of pleasure through her bloodstream. She tried arching against his groin, unable to budge because of his weight, and demonstrated her frustration by pinching his side. In retaliation, he shoved her bra up and delivered a much sharper squeeze to one unsuspecting nub, the snap of pain sending a lightning bolt of heat straight down to her pussy.
Slade lifted his head a fraction and spoke against her mouth, his lips brushing hers as he asked, “There’s a bed down the hall. Continue this there, here, or do you want to call a halt?”
The matter-of-fact way he phrased that she took as a challenge, but, given her rapid, unexpected response to that small pain, Nicole wasn’t about to back out now. “Here.” She pushed her hands between them and sought his zipper. “Now.”
Fumbling in the dark to get their jeans down took a lot of wriggling, shoving, and energy since Slade didn’t seem inclined to take a minute to stand. That was fine by her. The faster, the better. She was already to the point of combustion and figured one quick round would last her a while at this rate. His heavy, hot flesh sprang into her hand, and she stroked up and down the thick length, brushing a thumb across the smooth damp crown, and savoring his indrawn breath until he pulled away.
“Enough.” Slade punctuated the demand, spearing two fingers inside her, her body accepting the invasion with a damp surge. “You’re tight. How long has it been?”
“None of your business,” she replied smoothly, annoyed with the inquiry. Her long abstinence was why she wanted sex, not questions. “Do you want to do this or not?”
Instead of answering, he shoved his hand behind her neck, gripped her nape, and held her head still to grind his mouth on hers. She accepted the aggressive move with relief, his control freeing her of doubts and worries as he slowly withdrew his fingers, scraping her clit then tracing her bare labia while fumbling for a condom. Desperate for him to fill the emptiness inside her again, she snatched the latex from his hand and worked it over his thick, rigid length herself, clinging to his ravaging mouth.
His chest vibrated against hers with a low laugh as Slade lifted his head and released her nape. “Since you’re in a hurry...” He bent her legs, kneeling on the sofa, leaving her jeans and panties at her ankles, then slid his hands under her cheeks to raise her pelvis. “Yes, I want to do this.”
Nicole gripped his shoulders as he came forward, spreading her knees with his body to press his cockhead inside her. She almost wept from the pleasure/pain of his careful possession, aching for the mindless oblivion she craved from his body. Tony had given her slow and tender. Tonight, she needed just the opposite.
“I’m not fragile,” she insisted, glad for the dark that hid the flush crawling up her neck and face from the thread of desperation in her voice.
“No, you’re not. At least not at this moment.”
With that cryptic remark hanging, Slade brought her pelvis up a notch and pushed harder, Nicole bracing for the reprieve she prayed this risk would give her.
***
NICOLE’S FACE REMAINEDin shadows as Slade worked his way inside her snug pussy, making it difficult to read her. Her body quivered under his, her breathing rapid, which he’d put down to nerves if her tone hadn’t conveyed such surety. He much preferred her lost in the throes of pleasure, though, instead of on the verge of a panic attack like downstairs. Recognizing the signs, he’d whisked her outside and taken control the best way he knew how, which was working damn well until he realized she’d abstained for a long period. He thrust harder, the grip of her slick muscles making it harder to stretch her tight walls, wishing he’d gotten her to open up about the attack before this. Knowing the facts would make it easier than second-guessing how far to push this tonight. He’d left the lights off on purpose so she couldn’t make out the apparatus along the unlit side of the room. It wouldn’t do to add to her stress by allowing her to walk in and see the bondage equipment and believe that’s why he’d brought her here.
“Slade.” Nicole dug her nails in hard enough he felt the prick under his shirt.
“More? You want more?”
“Yes,” she insisted, her buttocks contracting in his hands with her attempt to move her hips.
He took her for her word, detecting no hesitation, and shifted his left hand from her ass to brace on his forearm by her head. Sliding his other thumb between her cheeks, he grazed her rear orifice and surged inside her pussy. She greeted his full possession with a soft cry and small contractions teasing his cock, her eager acceptance spurring him to pump faster, thrust harder. Nicole’s orgasm burst swiftly, her sheath enveloping his straining cock, snug as a confining glove, and he grunted with effort to work through her spasms. The fire he’d ignited in her body was absolute torture, yet he basked in the flames snapping at sensitive nerve endings, driving him to the edge.
As his climax erupted with forceful jets of mind-fogging pleasure, Slade pressed his thumb harder against Nicole’s tender anus than intended, slipping past the tight pucker. Her startled gasp ended with her teeth sinking into his neck, the sharp prick accompanying the delicate tremble of her muscles and one more small damp, quivering release. Her responsiveness drove home a point he couldn’t deny or walk away from – once wouldn’t be enough for either of them.
“Are you with me?” he asked, pulling out of her and running his hands up and down her smooth thighs.
“I’m here, yes,” she returned, her voice steady.
“Good.” Getting to his feet, he yanked his jeans up then bent to lift her over his shoulder, swatting her upturned butt as he strode toward the hallway. “We’re going to get more comfortable for round two.”