Chapter 13
Nolan took the fastest shower in history before pulling on his jeans and a long-sleeved KFD T-shirt.
False spring was slowly starting to show her true colors.
By this weekend it would be below freezing with ice and snow.
The seventy-degree weather was down to sixty-five during the day, but there was a hint of the arctic cold front in the air tonight as Nolan walked up the stairs to the B&B.
Lucas greeted him with a gun, a smile, and wearing a tank top. The man was sweating.
“It’s a hot one, isn’t it?” Lucas said about the night air. Northern Alaska men were . . . interesting. But if you play with polar bears, you’re good to protect the woman Nolan loved. Loved?
“I’ve seen that look before,” Lucas laughed. “It’s the same look Big Hughie got when he saw Bertha during mating season. And now Bertha’s a mom.”
“Are you comparing my feelings for Helena to polar bears?” Nolan asked, trying not to be offended.
“You betcha. Polar bears don’t care where you came from or what kind of baggage you have. They either like you or kill you. Anyway, it’s been pretty quiet since we got back from visiting Bella. The Rose sisters stopped by and brought us some food. Besides that, it’s been pretty standard.”
“Thanks, Lucas. I appreciate it.”
Nolan headed up the stairs and knocked on Helena’s door. She opened it almost immediately, looking totally adorable in jeans and a light sweatshirt with the name of a rock band on it.
Nolan should have said hello first, but instead he pulled her to him and kissed her. “I missed you. I hope you had a good day.”
“You know, I missed you too. And it was a good day.”
Nolan felt his chest swell with the pride that Helena had missed him too. Maybe Lucas was right. Maybe he should be more like a polar bear and let everything else go except for his feelings for Helena.
“Why don’t you tell me about it as we walk to the café. I’d love to hear more about Bella.”
Nolan listened and laughed at Helena’s description of Bella meeting Ahmed. He heard the promise of Ahmed bringing Bella to the training center and knew from what little he’d heard about Bella that she would be in her element.
Then it was his turn to tell her about his day. He didn’t know how to explain the issue they’d been having with women being flung at them or stranded in trees, so he decided to polar bear it. Just tell it as it is.
Helena bit her lip and he was afraid she was upset, especially when she turned away from him and began to shake. “I’m sorry. I don’t care about these women. The only woman I care about is you,” Nolan admitted.
Laughter was not what he was expecting. Helena had tears in her eyes as she bent over, trying to gasp and catch her breath. “Young women,” Helena tried to take a deep breath, but burst out into giggles again, “get themselves stuck in trees for you?”
“Yeah. Like I said. I don’t care about them. I promise.”
Helena wiped the tears from her eyes. Her face was red from laughing so hard.
She grabbed his arm and stopped him from walking any further.
“Nolan, I know we don’t know each other well, and if I were in my circle I would be worried about cheating.
It happens all of the time. However, one thing I knew instantly when I met you is that your word means everything to you.
If you commit to something, nothing is going to change that.
You and cheating are two words I would never put together.
Ever. However . . .” Helena paused and Nolan didn’t know where she was going, “we aren’t committed to each other.
I’ll tell you you’re the only man I’ve been interested in for almost a year.
But if one of these tree girls catches your attention, you don’t owe me any loyalty. ”
Nolan had never been so offended. “I watched you orgasm in my arms. To me, I owe you my loyalty. I guess I should have been clearer about my feelings. I should polar bear it as Lucas told me.” Nolan didn’t pause to explain even at Helena’s quirk of her eyebrow.
“I don’t know what the future holds, but I know I want you in it. ”
Helena rose up and kissed him and he hoped that meant she wanted that too.
“So, what you’re saying is my boyfriend is a sexy firefighter who rescues women and kittens from trees, fights fires, and then comes back to give me orgasms? How did I get so lucky?”
Helena kissed him again and Nolan lifted her up and clutched her to him. “My girlfriend is a beautiful, badass international rights attorney who kisses like a little hellion and is all mine. I think the real question is: how did I get so lucky?”
Helena put her arm through his and held herself to his side as they walked into the café. “What was this about polar bears?”
“Nolan!”
Nolan turned to see Marcy, the elderly matriarch of the Davies family sitting with her husband, Jake. “Good evening, ma’am, sir. Have you met my girlfriend, Helena Diakos? Helena, this is Marcy and Jake Davies.”
Marcy’s face lit up with surprise. “Girlfriend! Well, I guess that’s a good thing because Jake and I ordered all this food and we have to go because Jake . . . has a bunion. Don’t you, honey?”
“But—” Jake looked longingly at the food. “Yes, honey. A bunion.”
Marcy scooted from the booth. “Please, it’s already paid for. Enjoy it as a celebration of your new relationship. Just remember that the twenty-eighth of February is a wonderful time for a wedding.”
“Freaking bunion,” Jake muttered as he put his arm around his wife and escorted her from the café.
“I guess we should take it. I’d hate to waste it. This is an interesting spread though.” Helena sat down and Nolan really looked at what was on the table.
There was a pitcher of tea, which was undoubtedly spiked with bourbon. Then there were oysters on ice, chocolate, strawberries, figs, honey, and pomegranates along with a couple of really tasty-looking sliders.
Nolan poured the tea and took a sip. Yup, it was the Rose Sisters’ Special Ice Tea, which meant it was loaded with bourbon.
“This is delicious, but,” Helena leaned forward and dropped her voice, “aren’t these all aphrodisiacs? I mean, good for them, but I hate that they left it.”
Nolan chuckled and shook his head. “Oh, you na?ve New Yorker. These were never for them. She set us up and is probably betting on us getting together from it.”
“We are together,” Helena pointed out.
“Ah, but we weren’t ten minutes ago. We ruined her plan, but then she pivoted and moved up the date she bet on us. She wants us to get married on the twenty-eighth.”
“No way. That sweet couple was setting us up to do what? Have sex, fall in love, and get married in a couple of weeks? Come on. That’s ridiculous.” Helena took a deep sip of her drink and instantly her shoulders relaxed as they began to eat.
Within twenty minutes, her foot was on his crotch under the table.
Her cheeks were pink. She was giggling and she’d only had a sip of the ice tea and had cringed at the bourbon that was extra heavy in tonight’s pitcher.
The bourbon was usually undetectable for most people, but Helena was a champagne-only woman and she noticed.
However, Helena didn’t need the spiked ice tea to let loose.
Nolan was struggling because Helena, when hopped up on oysters and other aphrodisiacs, was very flirty.
“This is a date,” Helena told him holding up one finger.
“See, you stayed with me at the hospital for our first date.” She held up a second finger and Nolan was getting confused about what she was talking about.
The hospital wasn’t a date. “Then you spent the night so we can count that as a date too, right?” She held up her third finger.
“Um,” Nolan said, but Helena continued on.
“That means tonight is our third date, which is a perfectly respectable time to have sex with your boyfriend,” Helena whispered, not particularly quietly, then she bit her lip as if visualizing just that.
Now it was Nolan’s turn to feel heated. He looked down at the food, waved over Poppy, and asked for a to-go container.
Helena didn’t take her eyes off of him, and it was incredibly hard for him not to just toss her over his shoulder and run back to the B&B.
By the way her nails began impatiently tapping on the table, he wasn’t the only one struggling not to just rush from the café.
“Here you go,” Poppy said, standing there holding the to-go boxes for the fruit and sliders. But she didn’t put them down. She just held them as she turned a friendly smile to Helena. “How are you enjoying your stay at the B&B?”
Helena smiled, but the tapping of her nails on the table picked up speed. “It’s wonderful, thank you.” Helena reached for the boxes, but Poppy wasn’t deterred.
“I hope my husband hasn’t bored you with too many polar bear facts,” she said with a laugh, still holding the boxes.
Nolan and Helena laughed, but it was forced. Helena’s eyes kept darting to the door. “It’s been a lot of fun and he’s such a wonderful man,” Helena told Poppy, reaching again for the boxes.
“Well, he loves having a mission, so thank you for having your life in danger. Otherwise, he starts tinkering around the house and that’s never a good thing.” Poppy laughed and Helena’s gaze darted to the door again.
“We’ll just take those boxes from you,” Nolan told her as he reached up and plucked them from her hands.
“Oops. I totally forgot I was holding them. Well, you all have a good night and let either me or Lucas know if you need anything else.” Poppy gave them another one of her warm smiles and then hurried off to another table.
“Finally,” Helena whispered as they filled the two boxes. They’d need a snack if everything went according to plan. “I am so ready to see you naked. You know, on our third date.”
Nolan chuckled at how she classified dates, but completely agreed with the whole seeing-her-naked thing. “I can’t wait to see how many times I can make you orgasm tonight.”
“That is a goal I can get behind,” Helena said before licking her lips in anticipation as they practically darted for the door.
“I’m pretty sure I’ll be the one behind you. Maybe have you on all fours while I—”
“Hey guys!”
“Holy crap!” Helena jumped back at the figure blocking the door.
Nolan had his hand cocked, ready to punch before he realized it was Flint. “I could have punched you after sneaking up on us like that.”
“Um, I wasn’t sneaking. But, I am glad I ran into you. I had wanted to talk to you.”
Nolan was getting antsy. “Can we talk about whatever this is later?”
Flint didn’t move. “It won’t take but a second. I was curious if there were any dates coming up in the next month that held special meaning to you.”
“What?” Nolan was starting to feel desperate. “Are you trying to bet on my love life?”
“Duh. Conley thinks the twentieth, but I’m thinking March first would be nice. Almost springtime and all. Especially since we’ve needed to move up our bets, twice.”
Helena was standing there looking frustrated and he did not want the mood to be ruined by the stupid betting app. “Flint,” he snapped between gritted teeth, “move.”
“It’s not a hard question.” Nolan grabbed his friend by the arms and simply picked him up. All six feet plus and two hundred pounds of him.
He looked over and saw Helena’s mouth hanging open as she stared at him. He didn’t waste any time. He grabbed her hand and hurried her across the street.
“That was the hottest thing I’ve ever seen.”
“Hey, you two!”
“Shit!” Nolan cursed as Conley appeared out of nowhere.
“I saw Flint trap you. Look, don’t listen to his whole March first thing. We all know when people in Keeneston fall, they fall hard and fast. In fact, no one would guess the twentieth because it’s so far away.”
“Are you seriously using reverse psychology on us?” Nolan asked.
“Pick him up too,” Helena whispered.
Conley chuckled. He was a good thirty pounds of muscle heavier than Flint. “He can’t—”
Nolan hefted him like a hay bale and set him aside with a little toss.
“You are so going to be the first man to hold me up against a wall to have sex and I am so here for it.” Helena grabbed his hand and they started running.
“No!” Nolan snapped when Jack appeared. Apparently, that single word and the glare were enough to have Jack hold up his hands and slowly back away.
“You can thank me by picking the seventeenth!” Jack called out.
“Finally,” Helena sighed as they raced up the sidewalk to the B&B.
The door opened and there was Lucas with a shotgun. “Look. I have a shotgun,” Lucas said with a grin. “You know what they’re good for? Shotgun weddings.” Lucas paused and his grin widened. “You know, that’s a great idea. Isn’t it? Why wait? Let’s have a shotgun wedding right now.”
“No you don’t, Lucas Sharpe!” Miss Lily yelled from her front porch next door.
She must have her hearings aids turned all the way up to hear this conversation.
However, the Rose sisters did tend to do that so they could eavesdrop.
“You know darn well that I have the fourteenth and you are not going to shotgun your way into winning this bet!”
Helena started to giggle as Lucas and Miss Lily yelled at each other.
“For the love of all things holy,” Nolan muttered before reaching down and scooping Helena up in his arms.
“Ha! Told you it was today!” Lucas yelled. “He’s carrying her like a bride over the threshold.”
Except Nolan didn’t go into the house. He ran around it and through the backyard.
“Where are we going?” Helena asked as she seemed very comfortable in his arms. Her fingers absently played with the back of his neck and it was damned sexy.
“My place.”
Nolan ran behind the courthouse, through the parking lot, up Main Street, past Nora’s Fluff and Buff, the law offices, and the doctor’s office. And then darted down an alley.
“I have an apartment above the feed store I manage for my parents. I know it’s not what you’re used to.”
He carried her up the stairs at the back of the building. He unlocked the door while holding her and carried her inside.
“I think we’ve already established that what I’m used to isn’t working for me. Now, Nolan, take me to bed, or against the wall. Either way, just take me now.”