It was time to stop living in the shadows.
Chapter Seven
They pulled up to find Gabby pacing the sidewalk. Soon as she saw Nick in the driver’s seat, the gallery owner’s eyes widened. “Mr. B? I mean, Mr. Bonaparte?” She looked at Jenny then back at him. “I – I wasn’t expecting you to come to the gallery.”
“Jenny and I were looking for Lulu when you called.”
“Really? I didn’t realize.” She shot another look in Jenny’s direction before extending her hand. “It’s nice to finally meet you in person.”
Nick took in Gabby’s welcoming smile. If the woman found his scars repulsive, she hid her reaction well. Was it possible that all this time, his worries had been in his head? The byproduct of a selfish woman’s insults?
“Same here. Gives me a chance to thank you for taking care of Charlie. Hope he wasn’t too much trouble.”
“Nothing the four of us couldn’t handle. If anything, he seemed to bring us all good fortune.”
Yes, thought Nick, he certainly did.
“Not to interrupt the greeting or anything…” While he and Gabby had been talking, Jenny had gotten out of the car. She and Charlie bounced impatiently by the entrance, waiting to be let in. “You called about Lulu. Is she all right?”
Gabby grinned. “Oh, she’s fine. Come see for yourself.”
With Charlie leading the way, Gabby directed them through her front showroom and into the back office.
“I had no idea she was back here or I would have called sooner,” she told them. “I opened the door to grab some paper for the printer and there she was. I still don’t know how she got in here. I didn’t even know she knew where the studio was.”
Gabby swung open the door. On the floor, nestled in some old rags lay Lulu, four tiny brown and white bodies asleep by her belly.
“Oh my God, will you look at them?” Jenny exclaimed. She ran a finger over each of the four backs.
Charlie barked and licked Lulu’s nose before settling in next to her. “If I didn’t know better, I’d swear he was proud of himself,” Nick said.
“Can you blame him? Look at how adorable they are!” She frowned. “Wonder what made her come here?” Jenny said. “I didn’t think she knew how to get to the studio.”
“Me neither,” replied Gabby. “Only dog that ever visits is Charlie. I called Gideon, by the way. He said he’d be over to give her a check soon as the clinic closed, but until then she’s fine where she is.”
“Thanks. I’m sure he’ll happily remind me how he told me she wouldn’t need help delivering her puppies.”
“Looks like he was right,” Nick remarked.
“Which I’m sure he’ll remind me about, too. Good job, Lulu.” Jenny rubbed Lulu’s ears. “Good job.”
Seeing Jenny’s face glow with such obvious pride and affection brought a lump to Nick’s throat. And when she turned and that same emotion was aimed in his direction, the lump nearly doubled. That one smile was worth every stare, every whisper, and every risk he’d ever face. He smiled back, hoping she recognized similar emotions reflecting hers.
Her fingers entwined with his. Definitely worth the risk, thought Nick. Definitely.
…
“Lulu seems happy enough with her whelping box now,” Nick pointed out later that afternoon. Following Gideon Roth’s proclamation that mother and babies were one hundred percent healthy, Jenny and Nick had brought them from the studio back to Nick’s house. The entire family, Charlie included, was now asleep in Nick’s library. Lulu and the puppies were resting in the box they picked up from Jenny’s apartment, and Charlie slept by their side.
“She certainly does,” Jenny replied. “Something else Gideon will be able to gloat about.”
“Well, the man is a veterinarian. One should hope he knows what he’s talking about when it comes to our pets.”
Our. The word inspired thoughts of future that she did her best to tamp down. “You know, Gabby, Mia, and Marney have already made claims to three of the puppies.”
“Hope they cleared that with Charlie. He seems pretty darn protective.”
Yes, thought Jenny, Charlie did. The dog hadn’t left Lulu’s side since they’d discovered her. Funny how, when they arrived at Gabby’s shop, he ran straight to the back room. Almost like he knew where Lulu was hiding out.. Canine instinct, she supposed.
Nick was limping his way back into the living room. Seeing his uneven gait, Jenny felt a stab of guilt. He’d been on his feet most of the day. As a result, his limp was more pronounced, and he kept rubbing at his right shoulder.
“You let your muscles stiffen up, didn’t you?”
He waved off her concern. “It’s nothing.”
But Jenny could tell it was not nothing. He was obviously hurting. “Sit,” she said, pointing to the living room sofa.
He stood and watched her.
“I said sit.” She waited until he’d done what he was told, then settled on the cushions behind him. “You spent the day helping me. It’s time for me to do something for you.”
“You don’t have to,” he said as soon as she touched his shoulders.
His concern made her smile. He was offering her space, a chance to protect herself through distance again. His giving her the choice made her decision all that much easier. “Let me do something nice for you,” she told him.
Slowly, she began kneading the muscles between his shoulder blades, her smile growing when he groaned and let his head fall forward.
“Feel good?”
“Mmm.”
“Good.” Beneath his cotton shirt, Nick’s muscles tensed and released. She was enjoying his pleasure. So much so, it surprised her. A slow familiar heat began to curl through her.
She still couldn’t believe Nick had come to Gabby’s studio with her. The ladies, of course, thought he was amazing. She knew they would. Especially when he used his coat to swaddle Lulu and the pups.
“Do not let him get away,” Mia had whispered.
Jenny had to admit, his behavior was swoon-worthy. She wanted to tell Mia it wasn’t a case of letting Nick get away.
Now, with the day’s drama behind him, the familiar insecurities rose up to taunt her again. As if a man like this could care about you.
And yet today, when Lulu went missing, he’d been there for her. Not just by helping her look for the missing dog, but by understanding and holding her hand. He didn’t have to go into town when Gabby called. He could have stayed in his mansion, safely ensconced in his darkened room. Instead, he drove into town – into the public eye - without a second thought. For her.
A lump found its way to her throat. What Nick did today took courage. Maybe it was time she showed a little courage herself and trust Nick might stick around..
Taking a deep breath, she leaned forward and whispered, “This might be easier if you took off your shirt.”
She felt his body tense. He was waiting. To see if she truly meant what she said. Not every fear of his had been conquered today. “It’s all right,” she told him. “Let me see you.”
When he didn’t move right away, she reached out and slowly pulled his T-shirt over his head.
Based on the newspaper descriptions, she expected scars. And there were. There was also a body that looked carved from marble. The burns formed a granite like mosaic, dark on pale, across his defined skin. Covering his arm, the marks spread over his shoulder, and down his right side. Starting at the top, Jenny let her index finger trace the pattern edge down to his rib cage. The texture was rough, but not overly so. Splaying her fingers, she slowly ran both hands back up along his spine. The sigh that Nick breathed out was soft and laced with gratitude. Made Jenny want to drape herself over his back and hold him tight.
“She called me a monster,” he said in a soft voice.
She, meaning Megan.
“It was after the accident. I heard her on the phone. She said there wasn’t enough money in the world for her to want to wake up to my face every morn
ing.”
“Oh, Nick.” She wanted to say she couldn’t imagine hearing such awful things, but she could. She knew that kind of pain all too well.
“Sometimes I think she was right. I used to be a selfish bastard. Sometimes I wonder if the accident didn’t just take the ugly from the inside and move it where people could see.”
Wow, they really were two scarred peas in a pod, weren’t they? No wonder they found each other. Was he “the one” like the voice in her head kept saying? Who knew? He might be, he might not. But what she did know was that right here, right now, she felt closer to him than any man she’d ever known.
“I don’t think you’re ugly,” she whispered. “Inside or out.”
“That’s because you’re looking at nine months of state of the art skin grafting.” It was a feeble attempt to make light of her comment. A defense mechanism she knew well. Hearing this man fighting the same insecurities dissolved the last of her fears.
Arms slipping around his waist, she leaned forward and pressed her lips between his shoulder blades. “Not ugly at all,” she repeated.
Nick’s hand rested over hers. “Jenny…”
Again, offering her the chance to change her mind. Jenny answered by kissing a path down his back, her tongue flicking across each knob on his spine.
Down his back, across to his rib cage, until he swiveled around. Hands finding her shoulders, he pulled her toward him. “Jenny,” he said again, this time the word sounded like a groan. They came together in a need-fueled kiss. Nick’s tongue licked her lips, demanding entrance.
Jenny obliged without hesitation. He tasted as wonderful as she remembered.
“God, what you do to me,” Nick groaned. “Ever since that night in the woods… It’s like I was dead, and now I’m alive again.” Jenny gasped as he took her hand and pressed it to erection pressing at the front of his jeans. “Feel what you do to me?” He thrust up against her hand. “How hard and desperate you make me? I need you, Jenny. You and only you.”
Jenny shocked herself by whimpering and fumbling for the button at his waist.
“Shhh,” he said, stilling her. “Not yet. We’ve just started. I want to make sure you want this as much as I do.”
He ran a hand down the inside of her thigh, and Jenny whimpered, “I do.” Dear God, she wanted him so badly she could barely breathe.
His fingers danced across the juncture between her hip and thigh. “Are you sure?”
“Yes.” Why was he still holding back? His consideration was sweet at first, but now she needed him. It was her turn to show him. Grabbing his wrist, she moved his hand upward, so he could feel how badly. “Please.”
There was no need for words after that. They barely made it to his bedroom. Somewhere along the way, Jenny’s cardigan dropped to the floor, along with her turtleneck. As they tumbled to the bed, and Nick’s fingers skimmed the underside of her bra, she arched her back in anticipation, causing him to chuckle. To her frustration, he stopped there, instead pausing to rain kisses on her neck and jaw. She shivered as his incisors grazed the sensitive spot on her throat.
“That’s right, sweetheart,” he whispered. “Let go. I’m going to make you feel so good.”
His fingers were on her skin again, fingering their way beneath her bra straps, pushing them downward. Feeling his hot breath find its way to her collarbone, she arched again. Her nipples hardened, as though knowing only the thinnest of layers separated them from the touch she craved. It seemed an eternity, but at last his hand cupped her breast, his thumb swiping across the peak. Jenny twisted with pleasure. Finally! She let him mark her with his hands and his mouth, each touch, each swipe of tongue turning her skin to gooseflesh.
Her fingers dug into his shoulders. She ached to feel his hands back between her legs, a need she communicated by grinding her hips against his. A soft pop of a button, followed by the rasp of her zipper, and his hand was there, shoving her slacks below her hips. Lifting up, she helped kick them free. Her panties followed. By this point, she was wet, throbbing with the need for release. When he finally touched her, it didn’t take long for the melting sensation to start.
Nick ran a tongue across her breast. “Spread your legs for me, sweetheart.”
She would have stood on her head if he asked. It’d been so long since a man had touched her, and she was so close. So very, very close to coming. Maddeningly gentle, he eased one finger deep inside her. She ground herself on his hand, needing more. Slowly, he pulled out and added a second before thrusting back in hard. Jenny cried out with pleasure. This was what she needed. Over and over, he drove his fingers into her, his thumb passing across her clitoris with each stroke. Nails digging into skin, she rode his hand, letting the pleasure build. Still it wasn’t enough. She needed the fullness that came from him being inside her.
As though reading her mind, Nick reached out with his free hand to undo his zipper. Jenny helped him shove his jeans from his hips. The motion helped return a piece of her sanity.
“Please tell me you have protection?” she asked breathlessly.
He kissed her with a smile. “Top drawer on your left.”
A few ministrations later, Nick slid inside her. Jenny gasped at the fullness. She couldn’t believe how wonderful having a man inside her could feel. Never…never had she felt such…completion.
Looking to the man hovering above her, she saw from his expression Nick felt the same emotions. Fingers trembling, she brushed his scarred cheek.
“More,” she whispered. She didn’t know if the command made any sense, but she knew she needed him deeper, as deep as a man could bury himself. Amazingly, Nick understood and he obeyed, rocking slowly at first, then building, each snap of his hips bringing her pleasure to a crescendo. When she came, it wasn’t the rough hard pleasure she thought she’d feel, but a long, slow melting that lasted and lasted. Crying out, she wrapped her legs around Nick’s waist and drew him deep. His hips stuttered and stiffened, and a moment later he joined her, calling out her name with his release.
The air filled with the sounds of their breathing as they slowly floated back to earth. “That,” Nick murmured. He didn’t finish the sentence. He didn’t have to. Jenny knew exactly what he meant.
“That indeed.”
Rolling off her, he pulled her back tight against his chest in a spooning position, but Jenny had a better idea. She turned and nestled into him, her hand splaying over his heart. A soft sigh could be heard from his lips. Raising her eyes, she saw his gaze wet with emotion.
“See you in the morning?” he whispered.
It was both a question and a promise.
“In the morning,” she repeated, kissing the back of his hand. “There’s no one I’d rather wake up and find.”
Nick smiled. “Me, either.”
She closed her eyes and floated away on the sound of Nick’s deep, easy breathing. Just as sleep was about to claim her, she felt the mattress sag with added weight. A smile curled her lips. She knew exactly who joined them. Funny how one furry little creature could bring so much happiness to so many people. Somehow, he’d managed to bring Gabby, Mia, and Marney the loves of their lives.
As for her…Well, it might be too soon to say the word love aloud, but the voices in her head—and her heart—told her to trust that love was definitely on the horizon. Nick Bonaparte wasn’t walking away anytime soon.
She gave the furry little head one last sleepy tussle.
“Good night, Charlie,” she said. “Thanks for everything.”
About the Author
An award-winning author Barbara Wallace lives in Massachusetts with her five great loves – her husband, their teenage son, and three very spoiled pets (as if there could be any other kind). When she’s not writing you can find her rooting for the Red Sox and messing around in her kitchen. She loves hearing from readers. You can follow her (mis)adventures on Twitter (@BarbaraTWallace), and on Facebook.
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