by Sara Orwig
His hungry expression intensified and he glanced beyond her, closing the partition between them and the driver. “We have a little time.”
Pulling up her silk skirt, she pushed him down on the smooth leather seats and straddled him while she unbuttoned his shirt. Her tongue trailed down his chest, circling his flat nipples, inching across his muscled belly.
He was aroused, straining against his tux trousers and she ran her hand over him lightly. He groaned, sitting up and pulling her to him as he kissed her. His tongue thrust into her mouth while his hand slipped beneath the neckline of her dress.
After a few minutes, she slid off his lap and gripped his wrists. “We wait. The limo will arrive at the airport and when the door is opened, I want to be ready to step out.”
Nick was breathing hard, desire obvious in his dark gaze that peeled away the wedding dress, but he began buttoning his shirt. “Soon,” he said.
She straightened her dress and sat beside him, watching him get his clothes in place. They exchanged a look that made her temperature climb another notch and then he leaned close to brush her lips with a light kiss. “This is taking all kinds of self-control.”
“Just think about that door opening shortly and that you have to get out and talk to your pilot and others.”
Nick smiled at her and pulled her onto his lap. “I can hold you until we get there.”
Feeling giddy, she combed his hair back in place with her fingers. She leaned close to trace his ear with her tongue. “I can barely wait, too, Nick,” she whispered in his ear, blowing her warm breath on him. “I’ll kiss you from head to toe.”
“Grace,” he said in a rough, husky voice, turning to kiss her until the limo slowed.
She slipped off Nick’s lap quickly and straightened her clothes. “Nick, my hair—”
“Is beautiful and I will soon take the rest of it down,” he said as the limo door opened and they stepped outside. She had envisioned a small jet. Instead, it looked like a commercial airliner.
The moment she stepped on board, she wondered just how much her new husband was worth. “Nick, this is a palace,” she said, surprised by the sumptuous luxury of the cushioned seats, the small bar and big-screen television. She had given her clothes to Nick, who had had them delivered early to the plane so she could change out of her wedding dress after boarding.
“We’ll have to buckle up until we’re airborne and the flight is smooth. Then we can move around,” Nick said, leading her to a seat.
She sat near him and fastened a buckle over her lap. “I could change first.”
He shook his head. “Wait. It won’t be long.”
She watched out the window when they lifted and circled above Dallas to head northeast.
Once they had leveled off and were airborne, she gazed out at a cerulean sky dotted with a few small clouds. The dreamlike feeling continued to capture her. The entire ceremony had seemed imaginary. Now this flight on a plane that was fit for a king was also like a dream.
“A perfect day, a dream night,” Nick said, brushing her knuckles with a kiss and holding her hand.
“It was a perfect day. This brief time together was the closest I’ve felt to my sisters. Maybe it was just an age difference thing when I was growing up. I really enjoyed them today and I think they’ll come back to visit.”
He chuckled. “I think they decided they like some of the men they’ve met. Tanya told me she’s flying to Houston to go out with Todd Deakins.”
“He’s one of your friends. I don’t know him, but she told me she’d met someone she was going to see again.”
Nick unbuckled his seat belt. “You can unbuckle now,” he said, taking her hand. “Let’s get you out of that dress.”
“Actually, I may need help with the buttons. Aunt Clara got me into this.”
“And I will take great pleasure in getting you out of it. While you are gorgeous in it, you are breathtaking without it, so without it wins,” he said.
She drew a deep breath when they entered a plush bedroom. “What don’t you have on this plane?” she asked, turning to look at him, her thoughts of the plane vanishing instantly at the look in Nick’s eyes.
“The most important thing this plane has today is you,” he said in a husky voice, drawing her to him. “We’re alone in here, undisturbed unless there’s some flight turbulence.”
“Hopefully, the only turbulence will be in that bed,” she drawled. “Come here, Nick,” she whispered, standing on tiptoe to kiss him.
Something flashed in the depths of his dark gaze before she closed her eyes as they kissed and their tongues touched. She tingled, desire enveloping her with urgency.
“I want you more than I’ve ever wanted anyone in my life,” he said, combing his fingers in her hair. “I can’t get you out of my thoughts. I’m going make love to you all through this honeymoon. You drive me wild, Grace,” he whispered, showering kisses on her and then turning her around.
His breath was warm on her nape and she felt his fingers twisting free the buttons of her dress. She reached behind her to place her hands on his thighs. “Hurry with those buttons, Nick. I can’t wait.”
“I’d like to tear it off you.”
“Oh, no. Not my wedding dress.”
He trailed kisses down the row he had opened in the back of the dress. She wore no bra beneath it and in minutes it fell around her ankles, billowing with a soft hiss.
She turned, and he caught her as she reached for him, holding her a few inches away to look at her, a heated look that made her tremble with longing.
“Nick,” she said, taking off his shirt and unfastening his trousers, letting them fall. He stepped out of them to rid himself of the rest of his clothes, and she studied him as hotly as he seemed to be looking at her. He was virile, sexy, ready for love, with a lean, muscled body.
Reaching for her, he pulled her into his embrace. “Mrs. Nick Rafford, I’m going to kiss you all the rest of this day and night.”
“I want to make you fall in love and never want to walk away,” she admitted. She received a hooded look from him that burned with desire, and she wondered if her words had registered with him.
“You’re gorgeous,” he said before placing his mouth on hers, and she forgot the future and vows and their contract marriage.
After making love throughout the night and next day, they flew to a villa Nick had leased in the south of France, where the beach was a perfection of white sand and blue water. She never was on the beach.
Late one afternoon as she reclined in his arms on a chaise near their pool after making love, she toyed with his chest hair, curling it around her fingers. “Nick, this is paradise.”
“It is paradise, indeed,” he said in satisfaction.
“We go home tomorrow.”
“I’d like to extend our honeymoon, but I have to get back. We’ll try to get away together next month. How’s that?”
“It’s fine. We might as well not travel so far. We could be fifty miles from Dallas for all we’ve been out of the bedroom.”
He chuckled. “If you knew what the lease for this villa cost, you would know it’s far more than anything fifty miles from Dallas.”
“I hope we can return sometime and I can look around, because I suspect it’s beautiful.”
“I haven’t noticed anything except you,” he said, kissing the inside of her wrist. “This is the best, Grace. You’re all I want. This marriage is the smartest thing I’ve ever done. It’s given us each other.”
“Talk, talk, talk,” she whispered, really loving every word yet knowing he had different thoughts in his head about their union than she. She kissed him and their conversation ended for the time being as Nick began to caress and kiss her in return.
Tomorrow they would return home, back to reality and problems and the future. Would Nick be as interested in her when they were in familiar surroundings?
She hugged him tightly while they kissed. Daily she fell more in love with him. Did he feel
anything for her in return or was it all lust?
Nine
They returned home the last week of January and she moved into his condo with a suite containing an enormous master bedroom. Her first task was to redo the adjoining room into a nursery so Michael would be close at hand.
She went to the office twice a week, but the rest of the time was spent at home with Michael while decorators transformed the room into the new nursery. It was idyllic and after the passionate honeymoon, each night with Nick was paradise.
The last day of January, she bubbled with eagerness for Nick’s arrival. She had bathed and dressed in new red pants and a red silk shirt. She was on the nursery floor with Michael, stacking toy plastic rings on a wide plastic peg when Nick entered the room.
“At last you’re here,” she said, coming to her feet to cross the room to kiss him. He pulled her close, kissing her long and thoroughly before releasing her because Michael was throwing blocks.
“I think I miss you more each day.”
“I hope you do, because I miss you and can’t wait for you to walk through that door.”
“I can’t wait for bed,” he said, kissing her again. “Whoa,” Nick said, abruptly ending his kiss and looking down at Michael, who was tugging on his pant leg and trying to pull himself up.
“Hey, fella.” Nick bent to scoop up Michael “Are you wanting some attention, too?” he asked, swinging Michael up to kiss his cheek. “Have you been waiting for your dad to get home?”
She wondered how long it would take her to get used to hearing Nick refer to himself as Dad. It had been Nick’s suggestion because he said he was legally going to become Michael’s father. It suited her, but she hadn’t grown accustomed to thinking of Nick as a dad. She had tried to teach Michael to say “dad.”
Michael laughed and held out his small arms and Nick hugged him. He handed Michael to Grace. “Take him a minute and let me get out of this jacket and tie.”
When she sat on the floor again and took Michael from Nick, she watched Nick shed his coat and tie. Wind had tangled his thick hair. He looked virile, energetic, sexy. She wanted to be in his arms and to make love, but Michael was awake and she needed to care for him and, shortly, feed him.
Nick dropped down beside her, brushing a light kiss on her mouth while Michael wiggled to get free. She set him down and he began to climb on Nick, who lay on the floor and swung Michael above his head, making Michael giggle.
“You’re an easy one to please,” Nick said to the baby while Michael babbled. He swung Michael to the floor and set him down, scooting back to roll a ball to him. Michael laughed and picked it up to try to chew on it.
“Hey, that’s not what you do,” Nick said, taking the ball. “When does he outgrow chewing on everything?”
“Probably when he has more teeth.”
“That’s going to be next year at the rate he’s going,” Nick said, and she smiled.
“The pediatrician said his teething is quite normal,” she said. She had been surprised and pleased by how much Nick enjoyed playing with Michael. His attention to Michael seemed to grow steadily. She wondered if it was a deliberate effort on Nick’s part to make her happy or if he truly enjoyed Michael.
“Your dad called today and I told him we would bring Michael to see him either this evening or tomorrow.”
“We can go now. We can grab something to eat on the way. Dad will have already eaten.” Nick continued to play with Michael, but he turned to smile at her. “I’ve thought about you all day. Let’s go right now so we can come home early.”
“Good plan, Nick,” she said, thinking that he sounded like a man in love even if he didn’t say he was. Or was she fooling herself? Nick seemed deeply interested in Michael. She prayed he was falling in love with her and that love for Michael was growing, real love that would make him want them all to stay together.
Nick stood and picked up Michael, carrying him to put on his jacket and place him in the carrier. She watched Nick bending over the baby, talking to him and Michael smiling at Nick.
“Da,” Michael said, holding up his arms.
Startled, Nick glanced at her. “Did you hear him? He called me ‘Da.’”
Surprised herself, she watched Michael as Nick picked him up again. “Da,” Michael mimicked, playing with Nick’s nose.
“Hey, he’s calling me Dad,” Nick said, grinning at her.
She placed her hand on her hip and stared at Nick. “I never thought I would see you happy about that,” she said, amazed at Nick’s reaction.
“I think it’s great. I’m his dad now and will legally be for the rest of both of our lives whatever happens with you and me,” Nick said, making cute faces at Michael and shaking his head, causing Michael to giggle.
Nick’s casual “whatever happens to you and me” hurt. The marriage was still a temporary state in his mind, and it didn’t sound as if he had given the slightest consideration to making it something lasting.
“You’re turning into a good dad, Nick.”
“It’s easy with a cute baby like Michael.”
“You enjoy being his dad.”
“Sure. He’s a cute little guy. Why wouldn’t I care for him? He has my looks and maybe he’ll act like I do.”
“What an ego,” she said playfully.
“Let’s go so we can come home to bed,” he said, slipping on his suit jacket while she went to get her coat. He helped her on with her coat and pulled her into his arms to kiss her.
As soon as he released her he picked up Michael. “Come on, Michael, we’re going for a ride. Dad will take you to see Granddad.”
Later, as Eli watched Nick playing with Michael, she sat quietly. Megan joined them now most times they visited and Grace had enjoyed getting to know Megan better. As she looked at Megan and thought about her being a nurse, Grace’s nagging worry returned.
It was the end of January, time for her period. She had missed one at the end of December which she figured was because of the excitement and upheaval in her life. Occasionally she’d had late periods, but she had never missed two periods. A chill of concern slithered down her spine, but she tried to reassure herself. They had used protection. That first time it had been a condom and after that she had been on birth control pills. It had to be the enormous changes she had experienced. There was no real likelihood that she was pregnant and she felt fine.
She watched Nick sitting on the floor with Michael and laughing, causing Michael to laugh. When she glanced up at Eli, his face was wreathed in smiles. His hair was laced with white and he looked like a benevolent grandfather, not a ruthless entrepreneur.
He had been good to her, but then he had what he wanted from her. She had benefited, and would the rest of her life. She was beginning to lose the lingering hostility over Bart’s treatment of Alicia. None of them had dealt directly with Alicia except Bart, so it was unfair to blame Nick or his dad, although Eli could have made Bart treat Alicia in a better manner as easily as he had caused Nick to end up in this marriage.
“Nick, you get to play with him every night at home. Bring me my grandson and let me hold him a minute before you go.”
Talking to Michael, Nick carried him to Eli. Nick sat close at hand and stretched out his long legs, looking at her, and for a moment she felt closed off in a world with just Nick. He winked at her and then turned his head to converse with Megan, who had asked him a question.
In minutes, Nick stood and picked up Michael. “Dad, it’s time to take him home. His charm will vanish when he gets sleepy.”
“That is definitely not so,” Eli protested with a smile. “I have never seen Michael fussy.”
“Don’t pin Grace down on that one. Michael has his moments, but all in all he is one happy fella,” Nick said, putting Michael’s jacket on him once again.
It was an hour before they were home and had Michael tucked in his crib. She smoothed his mussed hair and touched his cheek lightly. “He’s asleep,” she whispered.
Nick stood be
side her with his arm around her. “Little guy is worn-out.”
Knowing he was asleep, they left the room where a small light burned. As she headed for the door, Grace looked appreciatively at the nursery. It was a dream compared to the simple room she had left behind.
In the darkened living area of Nick’s condo, a fire burned in the fireplace and outside lights twinkled in a panoramic view of Dallas.
“At last, we’re alone,” Nick said, shedding his jacket and pulling her into his arms to kiss her. Her fingers went to the buttons of his shirt and in seconds she ran her hands over his chest as she kissed him.
Hours later, she fell asleep in his arms, holding him tightly and wondering where their relationship was headed and if Nick would ever move beyond lust. What would happen if she admitted she loved him?
Grace waited another week until the first of February. She had definitely missed the second period and her worries were growing. She couldn’t imagine she was pregnant, but something was wrong. She made a doctor’s appointment, but the day before the appointment, she bought a pregnancy kit.
While Michael napped, she tried it. Her head swam and her stomach knotted when she stared at the results. “I can’t be,” she whispered to no one. Dizzy, turning cold, she sat down and stared into space.
Then her emotions swung the opposite direction as she thought about having Nick’s baby. Another precious baby was her reaction as she placed her hand on her stomach. Longing struck her. If only their marriage were real and Nick cared. What a joyous moment this would be. For an instant her spirits soared as she thought about another baby. And then they crashed into reality.
A pregnancy was not something they had given one thought to happening. Nick would feel trapped and angry. Certainty settled on her that he would want out of the marriage.
Her throat grew tight. Now there would be no chance for this fledgling relationship to grow into true love, become lasting or meaningful.