Chapter 6- Claire
As a young child, I loved fairytales. The beautiful princess saved from the evil dragon by a handsome knight—it had all seemed like such a romantic adventure. As an adult, I’ve realized that I would have happily gone without the evil dragon part of the experience… but I was still feeling a little bit like a princess. Nick is my knight in shining armor. He showed up exactly when I needed him and saved me from Lenny.
Nick follows me into my small apartment and as soon as he slides the deadbolt closed behind us—how did he know that, despite it being the middle of the morning and Lenny locked up, I’d need the reassurance?—and I start babbling my thanks to him.
It all comes out in a bit of a jumbled rush, but he seems to understand, wrapping me up tight in his arms and cradling the back of my head with a strong hand. He comforts me gently, not saying anything but stroking my hair and humming occasionally. It just makes me fall in love with him even more.
As much as I want to stay in his arms forever, I disentangle myself and take a step back, working to compose myself. I feel that if I stay too close to him, I’ll blurt out how I feel about him. Somewhere in the jumbled mess of what I’d said was a thank you, how grateful I am to him for saving me. Calming down, I step back and look up at him.
Nick reaches out and wipes the remnants of tears off my face and leans in close. I think that he’s going for another hug but he kisses me. Right on the lips.
The kiss is slow and gentle. Nick’s hands are light as he frames them against my face. My eyes flutter shut, and I can’t contain the sigh of contentment that escapes as he drifts back. “I know I shouldn’t have done that,” he whispers. “But how could I not?”
Nick doesn’t wait for me to respond before bending and kissing me again. I melt into his arms and open my mouth to his. The feel of the wall against my back surprises me. I was so caught up that I didn’t even realize that he was moving me. It’s such a contrast to how Lenny threw me back against the tree this morning.
He pulls his mouth from mine to mouth along my jaw. “We shouldn’t be doing this,” he moans softly.
“Why?” I gasp. As his dark eyes bore into mine, I reach up and card my fingers through the hair at the nape of his neck. It’s so much softer than I imagined—and I’ve imagined a lot.
“Zach would kill me if he knew the things I’m thinking about doing to you.”
“He doesn’t have to find out.” The thought of keeping this a secret between us, something that only we share… it’s strangely thrilling to me.
“Thank god,” Nick mumbles against my throat. His hands dip under my t shirt to palm the sensitive skin of my waist. His fingers press up my spine until he finds the clasp of my bra, quick fingers unhooking it. As Nick works my t shirt up and over my head, I tear out of my shoes and socks before peeling off my shorts and under wear.
When I’m standing in front of him, naked as the day I was born, Nick steps back and gives me a long, hot once over. I’m not nearly as nervous as I thought I would be. Deep down, I had always hoped that my first time having sex would be with Nick. I can feel his hot gaze roaming over my body and my skin prickles with awareness. His eyes finish their exploration of my body and meet mine. The deep chocolate brown is gone, replaced by an aroused black.
I hardly have time to whisper a breathless “yes” at Nick’s unasked question before I’m back in his arms, his mouth on mine. We stumble back and into my matchbox of a bedroom, my arms wrapped around his strong shoulders. The feeling of his hands on the bare skin of my butt is unfamiliar but far from unwelcome as he settles me back to sit down on my rumbled bedspread.
Keeping his eyes on me, Nick peels off his clothes until he’s as naked as I am. The play of hard muscle under tanned skin is so enticing. Suddenly, all I want to do is lick him. Maybe it’s a bit juvenile, but it’s the truth.
Feeling bold, and taking Nick’s stillness as implicit permission to explore, I reach up and brush my fingers across the hard line of his collarbone and down his muscular chest. When my fingernail brushes one of his nipples, Nick shivers and captures my hand in his. “Enough,” he growls softly. A gentle shove and I’m on my back, gazing up at the ceiling as Nick follows me down to the bed.
He covers me with his weight, kissing me with an almost desperate fervor. I feel so safe and surrounded by him. He shifts and I can feel the heavy line of his erection against my thigh. I squirm, heat rising as I think about all the things he could do to me right now. My core tingles as Nick’s mouth moves to my throat and his hands to my ribs, fingers brushing the sides of my breasts. His firm grip makes me feel almost delicate but still… special, safe.
I moan softly and feel Nick chuckle against my sternum before bowing further and running his tongue between the valley of my breasts. One of his hands grabs my hip and the other ever so softly glides down my stomach until its brushing the burls between my legs. I tilt my hips up as much as I can with his weight on me, trying to convey my impatience, my need to get him where I need him. I’ve touched myself before, sure but that’s nothing compared to the feeling of Nick’s firm fingers gliding across my clit. A wordless shout bursts out of me as he works a finger deep inside while his mouth plants kisses across my breasts and throat. The newness of his touch is thrilling and makes me eagerly press down against him, wanting as much as he’ll give me.
Just when I feel like I’m about to come around his fingers, his motions still.
“Please don’t stop,” I pant and clutch at his strong back.
Nick’s fingers resume their dance against me and I can swear that I feel him smirk against the skin of my chest.
“Hey!” I exclaim. Why is he laughing at me?
He pulls his fingers from my body and crawls up until we’re face to face. Just when I think he’s about to say something, he instead laps at the fingers that had just been inside me. I can feel moisture pool between my legs at the sight. “You’re an impatient one,” Nick chuckles. “I thought bakers were supposed to be all about patience.” He punctuates his last word with a nip to my earlobe.
I give up and decide to just beg. “Please!”
“Well, since you asked so nicely…” Nick’s amused words are at odds with the intensity of his gaze as he uses a hard thigh to part my legs and settle between them. He keeps those eyes locked on mine as he eases his cock inside me. The pressure is almost overwhelming, and Nick soothes me with smooth strokes along my thighs and his lips on mine. When I relax, he starts to move.
From that point on, the only thing I really register is such an intense feeling of pleasure and joy. I know that no matter what happens, I’ll remember these moments for the rest of my life.
Chapter 7- Nick
Making love to Claire is nothing like what I expected it to be.
The shy girl from five years ago is long gone. So is the scared young woman from the park today. Now, she’s excited, even curious one could say. I could tell that she was a virgin as soon as we started making out, but that doesn’t hold her back. As we make love, she moves under me with such a grace, like nothing I’ve ever experienced with any of the other women that I’ve slept with.
I haven’t exactly had a lot of steady girlfriends, you could say. I dated a bit in high school but there wasn’t time for relationships once I joined the Air Force. Sure, there were hookups and flings, but nothing meaningful.
Those nights were nothing like it is now, with Claire.
She comes apart underneath me with a soft cry, her head tossed back in ecstasy. I follow her over the edge not even seconds later, collapsing against her chest with a gasp. I know that I should move, but I don’t want to. Claire doesn’t seem to mind our position either, scratching her fingers lightly against my scalp as we catch our breath.
I ease out of her and lay down on my side, wrapping an arm around her waist. Claire’s hair rustles against the pillow as she turns her head to look at me. She’s a vision—her eyes are heavy lidded with pleasure, her mouth and cheeks flushed, and
there’s a light gleam of sweat across her throat and chest.
“God, you are the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.” Did I just say that? I’ll flirt with a woman sure, but such a sappy compliment? That is not like me.
That’s how I know that Claire is truly something special. I mean, I already knew that, but… this feeling that being with her gives me? It makes me want to say all that clichéd shit that I always thought was just words, or just something that you say to get a girl into bed.
Claire ducks her head and bites her lip, cheeks flushed even higher in embarrassed delight. When she glances back up at me, it’s through long, dark eyelashes that cast dancing shadows across her face. “I’ve waited a long time to hear you say that.” Her voice is the faintest of whispers, felt more than heard.
“Wait, really?”
“You didn’t know?” She props herself up on an elbow to better meet my gaze. We’re still lying on top of her bed and the sheets are falling from the mattress. I’m almost distracted from her question by the smooth lines of her bare body. I just had my hands all over her, but I just want to do it again. “Nick!”
“Yeah?”
“You really didn’t know that I’ve had a huge crush on you? For… well, years?”
I didn’t, and I tell her as much. “I saw you at the barbeque at your parents’ house and thought you were so gorgeous, I just had to talk to you. Then I realized the woman I’d been staring at was you, and I knew you.”
Claire looks nervous. “That didn’t make it weird, for you?”
“No… I mean, I already knew what a great person you are. Now I just know you even better. And I’d like to keep getting to know you better…” I trail off and lever myself on top of her.
“That’s the thing, though… what about Zach?”
That’s a mood killer. I flip back to my side of the bed and stare at the ceiling. “Well, shit.”
“Yeah.” Claire is quiet for a few minutes as we both think. “We could… not tell him, I guess.” From her tone, I can tell that it’s not something that she’s in favor of. Neither am I. This thing between us is brand new, but I don’t want to start it with a lie.
“No, we should tell him and your folks. We’ll just have to wait for the right time.” I shift on the sheets, feeling them stick to my skin. “Can I go open a window?” Her apartment is so small (cheap, really—I’m assuming that it’s all she could afford, and we’ll be having a talk about her not asking for help when in danger, but later) and I doubt that it’s set up for air conditioning.
“Oh, sure.”
I crawl out of bed and slip my boxers back on. After I open the window in her room and head to the kitchen to get us both some water. As I’m searching through the cabinets, there’s a knock at the door. Without asking Claire, I head to open it. Lenny may be behind bars, but I’m still on alert. When I open the door, the worst possible person it could possibly be is standing there.
It’s Zach.
Once again, shit.
“Hey man,” I start slowly. I don’t even try to deny what just happened. It’s probably pretty damn obvious, but I figure that if I get it all out before Zach loses his temper—and most likely decks me—it may help ease the situation a little bit. “I want you to know that I really care about Claire. This isn’t just some fling for me, I think this is the real thing. She makes me happy and I want to protect her, keep her safe. She’s amazing, Zach.”
My best friend is quiet. Then, he starts shouting at me.
“What the holy fuck, Nick?!”
Chapter 8- Claire
Sex with Nick was nothing short of phenomenal. It wasn’t anything like what I had expected. He was playful but firm at the same time, mindful of my needs, my newness, but still easily controlling the situation. I’d be happy to lay in my bed with him all day, making love and talking.
I’m daydreaming and waiting for Nick to come back with some water as the breeze from the now-open window slowly cools off the room. Who knew that sex was so sweaty? The high that I’ve got right now makes how I feel when I’m running feel like nothing. I’m not just content. I’m blissfully happy.
The sudden shout from the other room tells me that my plans for the rest of the day are not going to happen.
I dive out of bed and scramble into my panties and Nick’s t shirt. It’s so baggy on me that it’s practically a dress. It covers more of my legs than my running shorts from earlier did. A repeat of earlier is just what I’m afraid of. That somehow, Lenny got out of the police station lock up and is here to hurt me and Nick.
I skid around the corner to see Zach in the open doorway of my apartment, a furious look on his face. Ah, so that’s who was yelling. I’m so relieved that Lenny isn’t back that I don’t really realize the severity of the situation until my brother starts talking.
“So, this morning I slept in and when I woke up, I decided that I should stop by my little sister’s apartment. I haven’t seen her new place yet, so I thought it would be the brotherly thing to do, see if there’s anything that she needs. I show up and what do I find but my best friend is his damn underwear!” As Zach rants, his face gets redder and redder until it’s closer to purple. Any other time and I would’ve teased him about it since he looks so darn ridiculous! But this really isn’t a laughing matter. I don’t want Zach and Nick’s friendship to be ruined because of me. They’ve been inseparable for years. This can’t be what ends their friendship… can it?
Nick and I have so much more to talk about, but we just don’t have the time. Zach is here right now and he wants answers.
Well, I think to myself, there goes mine and Nick’s plans to tell my family on our own time, when we’re ready. I guess I have to be ready right now. “We’re happy, Zach. It’s new, really new but… Nick is important to me.”
“He’s important to me too! In case you don’t remember, he’s my best friend! Claire!” Zach finally comes all the way into my apartment, instead of standing in the doorway and yelling for all my neighbors to hear. Well, I’m sure given his volume, they’ll be able to hear him through the thin walls, but now we at least have the illusion of some privacy. “What were you thinking?” Zach turns to Nick. “More importantly, what were you thinking?”
Really? “And what’s that supposed to mean? Don’t I get an equal say in this?”
“No!” Silence rings out after Zach’s shouted denial.
Next to me, Nick is dumbstruck. What a ridiculous sight we must make, standing there in our underwear and staring. It’s all I can really do though, stand and stare, because I realize what this is all about.
“You still think of me as a little kid, don’t you,” I say. It’s not a question and from the look in Zach’s eyes, I know that I’ve hit the nail on the head. It’s been like this my whole life. I love Zach, but he is overprotective to a fault.
“Claire, you’re my baby sister, I—”
I don’t give Zach a chance to continue. “You more than anyone should know what a good person Nick is. You said it yourself; he’s your best friend! Can’t you just let us be happy? Be in love?”
All of this is said without looking at Nick. It was wonderful, being with him earlier but love? I’m afraid that I’ve went too far, too fast. Will this drive him away? I’m not naïve, I know that he could just have said all of those things to me because he wanted to have sex with me and stay in my good graces, since I’m his best friend’s little sister. But I’ve known Nick for so many years. I know that he’s not like that—he’s not that type of a guy. He cares about me, I just know it! Maybe he doesn’t love me, but… I have to mean something to him.
“Love?!” The doubt on Zach’s face hurts.
For the first time in the conversation (if it can even be called that—it’s more Zach just yelling), Nick speaks up. “It’s true.” He’s standing next to me, tall and proud and confident. We exchange a glance and Nick reaches out to take my hand in his. His grip is firm and comforting. I didn’t even realize that I was shaking until
the trembling stops at his reassuring touch. “I love her, man. This, right here? It’s the real thing.”
That might just be the most beautiful thing I’ve ever heard said.
Chapter 9- Nick
“In… in love?” Zach looks shocked. I’m still waiting for that punch, but it never comes. Instead, a look of relief washes over his face. “You guys are in love with each other? Oh, thank god. That’s so much better than what I was anticipating. Way to freak me out, guys.”
Well, I can’t say that that was the reaction I was expecting. “Come again?” I ask.
“It’s different if you both feel the same way,” he continues. “I was afraid that you were just, well… you know, using her.”
Claire sputters indignantly next to me. I make my offensive known. “What the hell do you take me for?”
“I’m sorry! She’s my little sister, I protect her… even if it is from you. So, if you hurt her, I’m going to have to kill you, best friend or not. And you know that I know how!” Zach’s smiling, and his sudden change in mood is almost enough to give me whiplash. Almost. I’m too grateful that he seems to be on board with Claire and I to focus on it too much.
Suddenly, Claire springs forward and flings her arms around Zach’s neck. “Okay, okay,” he pats her gingerly on the shoulder before disentangling himself. “Let’s do this some other time, okay? Maybe when you’re not standing there in my best friend’s t shirt.”
The three of us exchange smiles and Zach leaves Claire’s apartment. She locks the door behind him before turning around and leaning back against it.
“So…” she starts, and drags a toe along the linoleum floor, tracing a pattern only she can see. “You love me?”
God, she has absolutely no idea how enticing she looks right now, all rumpled. Despite the fact that it almost swallows her whole, my shirt rides up one creamy thigh as she nervously shifts in place, waiting for me to answer her question. All I can do is give her the simple truth. “Yeah, I do.”
Closely Guarded (Alpha Agency Protectors Book 7) Page 3