He gave her that smile that was so winning that Eden was surprised it didn’t have its own rodeo buckle collection.
“I have a better idea.” Nico said, moving his mouth right against her ear. “We’ll both go for it and watch each other. I’m sure I make a weird face, and I’d rather you have that image of me somewhat fuzzy because you’re making your own weird face.”
Eden closed her eyes and smiled when he started nibbling her neck. “Great theory, but I don’t think I have another orgasm in me right now.”
“Sure you do,” he coaxed. “Let’s make this one dirty,” he whispered in her ear.
Nico moved. That was all it took. One smooth, very effective lunge of his hips. He caught on to her leg, lifting it and then pushing it to the side, opening her up even more. And just like that, Eden realized she was wrong.
There was another orgasm in her.
One that was already getting stoked by the long thrusts that he started making inside her. And as for the “dirty,” well, he took care of that, too. He put her fingers in his mouth, wetting them and then moved her hand between them. To her own breasts.
“Touch yourself,” he whispered. “I want to watch.”
Eden was already so worked up that she would have agreed to shock treatment, and it felt surprisingly good to slide her wet fingers over her nipples. As promised, he watched. And smiled. Before he pulled out and went down on her.
“Keep touching,” he insisted.
She did, but he was touching, too. And kissing. And using his breath in a very amazing way.
“Alabama—”
She didn’t get further than that before he quit trying to tongue her into ecstasy, and he gave her a different kind of ecstasy instead. He kissed his way up her body, redamping her fingers with his mouth.
“Now, touch here,” he instructed, moving her hand between her legs. “Here,” he said, sliding her fingers over the most sensitive part of her body. “You stay there because this is my spot.” He raked his thumb below her fingers.
Apparently, Eden hadn’t been adventurous enough because she’d never done this, and the surprise of what he wanted likely would at least have given her a moment’s pause. But Nico didn’t give her a chance for that to happen. He pulled her to the edge of the bed, her back slipping and sliding against the comforter, and he thrust right back into her.
All the inches of him at once.
In that spot he’d already claimed.
That eliminated the surprise and the doubt, and Eden found herself touching. Of course, Nico had much better equipment for that than she did. Simply put, his stroke-thing was a lot bigger than hers. Still the two worked in tandem. Her fingers wet from his mouth and his hard erection pumping in and out of her.
“Screw the states,” she muttered. “I don’t want to say them. I’m ready,” she warned him.
But somehow Nico already knew that. Maybe because she was making that weird face. Or maybe because he was just a champion at this, too. Either way, it didn’t matter. Eden let go, letting her third orgasm knock the breath right out of her.
And thankfully it was enough.
Because with a dirty grin on his mouth, Nico gave her one last dirty thrust and came right along with her.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
WHEN SHE TOLD Nico what she’d come to say, he was going to hate her. Rayelle was sure of it. Still, that wasn’t going to stop her.
Nico had to know the rest of the truth.
He had to know all the mistakes she’d made. And then he could do something about it. It was possible he would order her to leave Coldwater and never see Piper and him again. It was also possible he wouldn’t keep her mistakes and shame private. But if that happened, it would be what she deserved.
Rayelle pulled her car into the parking lot just up from Nico’s office and looked around not only at the building but also Main Street. His truck was there, which meant he was inside. Still, she sat there, waiting for nothing more than just to remind herself—again—that she needed to do this. And she had decided she should talk to him here and not risk going to his house.
She didn’t like listening to gossip and hearing the ugly things that seemed to excite people who wanted to savor it like bites of well-prepared party food. But it was impossible to miss the fact that many people believed Nico and Eden were having an affair. Rayelle had seen the connection between them. The hungry heat in their eyes. So it was best not to go there to his house and interrupt whatever they were doing.
No need to make this more uncomfortable than it already was.
If Rayelle did see Eden and him together in a postsex visit, Nico might feel the need to explain why he wasn’t a bad influence on Piper. Of course, he might also just tell her that what he did was none of her business, that she had no right to judge him or anyone else after what she’d done.
And he would be correct.
If she’d ever had a right to judge anyone, she had lost that when she’d gotten pregnant and then allowed herself to be pressured into giving up the baby for adoption. However, that weakness was proof that she would have been a lousy parent. A good mother needed backbone. Still did. And that’s why she was here.
She couldn’t be the one to raise Piper. The facade couldn’t continue. She doubted Nico would argue with her about that since it was blatantly obvious that she was doing such a bad job at taking over from Brenda.
It was starting to rain, but Rayelle didn’t bother with the umbrella. She hurried out of her car and inside. She remembered Brenda telling her that the building had once been some kind of retail shop, and Nico’s brother, Callen, had bought it and converted it to office space.
The conversion had been well-done. The bottom floor featured a reception area as well as Callen’s office. His office door was closed, and the reception desk was empty. That was good as far as Rayelle was concerned. She didn’t especially want to see anyone other than Nico. Not with her eyes red from crying and with her nerves likely showing.
She made her way up the stairs, and since she’d been there once before, she knew where Nico’s office was. Her stomach tightened, though, when she saw that it was empty. She immediately looked across the hall, and her gaze practically collided with his hulking assistant when he stepped into the doorway.
“Ma’am,” he greeted.
“Mr. Hannigan,” she greeted back, though there was no warmth in her voice, and she didn’t look directly at him because she didn’t want him to see her red eyes.
“Hog,” he automatically corrected. “Or you can call me Wally.”
“Wally,” she selected, even though she could understand how he’d gotten the nickname. His unfortunate physical features probably had gotten him teased a lot, and considering her mood, that made her feel more sympathetic toward him than she normally would have.
“Nico’s across the street,” Wally told her. “He had an early meeting with Roy, the lawyer, and then he was going to stop by Eden’s, but he should be back soon. You want to wait in his office and I’ll get you a cup of coffee or tea?”
“Thank you. Tea would be nice,” she said, walking into Nico’s office.
“I’ve got Earl Grey or a nice herbal blend of peaches and mint that I picked up at a shop in San Antonio. Which would you like?”
It was such a surprise to hear him talk of teas that Rayelle looked back at him. He smiled. That was a surprise, too, because it softened his features.
“The herbal,” Rayelle told him and she added another, “thank you.”
Wally went to a small room next to his office. It had perhaps once been a storage closet, but it was now a small kitchenette area, and he started the tea.
Rayelle was too on edge to sit so she looked at all the pictures that Nico had in his office. Pictures of him and his brothers. Of Brenda.
And Piper.
In the photo, Nico had his arm s
lung casually around the girl, and they were laughing at something, a moment the person behind the camera had obviously managed to capture. A happy moment—something that Piper hadn’t had many of since Rayelle had taken over her care. In fact, Piper had been miserable. Even an idiot could see that, and it cut away at Rayelle.
God, what had she done?
She’d taken this beautiful, amazing girl and made her unhappy and broken. That’s why this charade had to stop.
The tears threatened again, and Rayelle was trying to blink them back when Wally came in with her tea. “Here you go,” he said, placing the cup in her hands. Hands that she hoped he didn’t notice were trembling.
He had his own cup, and while he sipped it, he looked at the photo that she’d been studying.
“That girl can light up the whole Texas night sky,” Wally remarked.
It was a kind remark, said with genuine affection, and it caused the tears to fill her eyes again. Because it was true. Piper did have that light, and Rayelle had caused it to dim considerably. If the girl continued to stay with her...
Rayelle couldn’t even finish that thought. Nor could she stop the hoarse sob that tore from her mouth.
“Oh God,” she muttered. “Oh God.”
“There now,” Wally consoled. He set his tea on the desk, did the same to Rayelle’s and then he gently took hold of her shoulders to turn him toward her.
Since the tears were spilling now, she didn’t want him to see that. But she didn’t have the energy to move away from him, either, so she did the unthinkable. Rayelle buried her face against his chest.
His arms came around her. A gentle hug. One that she wanted to resist because she didn’t deserve it, but she stayed there, letting him hold her and stroke her hair.
“Shhh,” he whispered. “It’ll be okay.”
Despite the tornado of emotions going on in her head and heart, it surprised her to notice just how soft his voice could be. How comforting. Wally definitely didn’t look like a man who was capable of holding her as if she were something fragile and precious. But he was wrong about one thing.
It wasn’t going to be okay.
She wasn’t sure how long they stood there, and Wally certainly didn’t rush her. He just kept up those gentle murmurings and the hair strokes.
When she finally eased away from him, Wally immediately produced a pristine white handkerchief from his pocket. She made use of it and didn’t miss the fresh scent and the fact that it’d been ironed. The man was certainly a surprise.
But he was also now privy to her breakdown.
She didn’t owe him an explanation, she reminded herself. No matter how kind he’d been to her. And despite her knowing that, Rayelle was surprised when she said anything to him. Especially something so personal.
“Have you ever done something that you’re deeply ashamed of?” she asked.
“Yes,” he answered without hesitation, causing her to look up at him. “When I was a teenager, a punk,” he amended, “I was drinking and got behind the wheel of a car with some friends. I wrecked it and one of them was hurt bad enough that he’s never fully recovered.”
Stunned, Rayelle pulled back her shoulders. She certainly hadn’t expected this near stranger to share that. Nor had she wanted to know it. Still, it was hard to ignore that he’d just confessed something very private, very painful, and he’d done that simply because she’d asked.
She wouldn’t be sharing that much with him, but she almost wished she could. The burden of her secret was so heavy that it felt as if someone had gripped a meaty fist around her heart and was squeezing the life out of her.
“It took me a long time before I could talk about that to anyone,” Wally went on. “An even longer time before I could forgive myself.”
“But you did forgive yourself?” she quickly asked.
He nodded and looked at her—not in an examining kind of way as if he’d just put her under a microscope. There was sympathy in his eyes. No, wait. It was empathy. He seemed to believe that he knew what she was going through. Heck, maybe he did, but Rayelle knew she couldn’t say her secret aloud.
Not just to Wally but to Nico.
It’d been a mistake coming here. She had to leave and come up with a different way to do this. A better way to tell Nico the truth. Then, once he knew, he would understand something.
That she was the coldhearted bitch people believed she was.
Nico would know about the lie she’d been living. He’d see that there was no way she could continue to pretend to raise Piper. And then Piper would know, too. Because Nico would tell her the very thing that Rayelle had tried to keep hidden all these years.
That she was Piper’s biological mother.
* * *
EDEN HAD MADE it all the way to Florida before Nico had felt her climax quiver and quake to bring him to his own release. Of course, he’d given her a hand job prior to them landing in her bed so he’d expected it to take her a little while to build back up to the point of finding her second wave. He definitely wasn’t seeing her quick draw as a problem. Just the opposite. He could take his time with her and watch her go over and over and over. That added plenty more pleasure for him, too.
“That was amazing,” she said, her voice all dreamy and slack.
Actually, the slack and dreamy applied to the rest of her as well since she had collapsed against him after riding him hard—just the way he preferred his rides.
“It’s been way too long since I’ve had a morning quickie,” she added. Her face was pressed to the crook of his neck, and he could feel the words as she mumbled them against his skin. It was nice. The calm after the sex storm.
“Then, we’ll have to make sure there are a lot more of them,” he said.
Because there weren’t many of her muscles that weren’t touching him in some way, he had no trouble feeling Eden when she went a little stiff. And he immediately knew why. That was not the comment of a guy whose relationships had a shorter shelf life than fresh bread.
Nico considered giving her some kind of assurance that even if the sex ended, their friendship wouldn’t, but that was possibly bullshit. Of course, their friendship would be affected. You didn’t just forget dirty sex, especially when so many of their conversations dealt with answers to her blog. So, if the sex ended, well... He wasn’t ready to go there just yet. That’s why Nico made a stupid ploy to distract both himself and Eden.
He located her mouth and kissed her. Long, deep and hopefully hot enough to give her temporary memory loss about what he’d said just moments earlier.
She responded, too. Eden made that purring sound in her throat, and since they were still joined, he felt her internal muscles stir again. Coming to life, and considering how fast she could do that, it meant he needed to take a quick trip to the bathroom to deal with the condom.
He hurried, but then hurried even more when he checked the time. He’d told Hog that he wouldn’t be gone long, only about an hour or so, but it had been nearly two hours. First, because the contracts he’d brought to Roy had taken longer to deal with than expected, and then because of getting Eden all the way to Delaware and then a follow-up trip to Florida.
Nico grinned, thinking of that, and wondering if once she made it through all fifty states she could start doing the capitals. Now his grin faded. Best not to mention that because it sounded more long-term than even a string of morning quickies.
He went back into her bedroom and saw her naked, the covers coiled and wrapped around her so that it seemed like some kind of well-placed striptease outfit. His dick reacted, urging him to go for another quickie, but it was going to have to wait. Nico located his boxers and jeans, and he went to her, kissing the frown that was already starting to form on her mouth.
“You have to go?” she asked. Definitely not a purr, more like a protest.
Nico nodded. “And so do you. It
’s nearly nine, and you’ll need to be at work soon. In fact, you’re going to be a little late.”
Something Eden obviously realized because she scurried off the bed, gathering up her clothes and giving him an incredible view. “Shoot,” she grumbled. “Roy has an important client coming in at nine, and he wanted me there to take notes.”
Yes, she wouldn’t want to rile her boss or the client, but Nico wondered if she knew how hot she was running around naked like that. Probably not. But he put the mental picture of her in his head, something that would ensure he had the makings of a hard-on for the rest of the day.
“I saw you naked once, years ago,” he said when he pulled on his boxers.
She’d been in the process of wrangling her very nice breasts into a sensible-looking cotton bra, but she stopped and looked at him. “When you went skinny-dipping with Shelby down at the creek,” he added.
Eden’s eyes widened, but she continued to dress. “You mean when we were like sixteen?”
“That sounds right. I’d just finished a swim myself when I heard you two.”
“And you watched?” she asked.
He shrugged. “Actually, I was doing then what I’m doing now. Putting my clothes back on, but I admit, I peeked a little.”
“Perv,” she said, but there was no anger or protest. Just the opposite. As if it’d been a year or two since she’d last had him, she walked closer and skimmed her finger down his still-bare chest. A quick one, since she was obviously still in the hurry mode.
And, oh, it had an effect on him. A bad one. He immediately considered shirking any and all responsibilities so he could get back on that bed with her—and lick her in all the good places.
The sound of the doorbell put that plan on hold, though.
“Crap, that’s probably my mother,” Eden snarled, reminding Nico that she had that particular issue on her plate. “I really don’t have time for this.”
Now that her folks knew about the blog, they were probably trying to talk her out of continuing it, and it was a reminder that Nico should ask Eden if she wanted to vent about that to him. There hadn’t exactly been a lot of long meaningful talks between them since they’d discovered how nicely their parts fit together.
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