by T. R. Cupak
Before she could rethink it or let her heart betray her, Kady turned on her heel and all but ran across the street. Tears blurred her vision. She didn’t look back, not even when she heard his voice behind her.
“I’m going to win you back, Kady. I’ll do whatever it takes.”
It was a promise that her bruised and broken heart heard only as a threat.
Chapter Three
Nick ignored the glare Connor shot him as he picked up his take-out order from the counter at the diner. They’d been partners for nearly a month now and he’d yet to garner anything but disdain from the younger man. He’d tried to be patient and play along. He’d tried to give Connor the time and the space to come to the conclusion on his own that Nick was here to stay and he might as well accept him, but damn, it was getting hard not to knock the asshole upside the head whenever the guy sneered at him like that.
“You’re not really going over there again, are you?”
“Yep.” Nick tossed some cash to the waitress and pocketed his wallet.
“You’re not going to win her over. You might as well give up.”
“You’re one to talk. Maybe you should take your own advice and give up already. You’re not winning this argument, Shaw.”
“You’re not getting my sister back, Sloan,” Connor shot back.
“We’ll see about that.” Nick smiled, mostly because he’d figured out nothing pissed Connor off more, and then glanced at his watch. “I’ll meet you back here in thirty. Enjoy your lunch.”
“Enjoy getting rejected for the twenty-third day in a row.”
Nick ground his teeth together and refused to acknowledge the barb. He pushed out of the diner with the bags of food in his hands and headed towards the hospital, just as he’d been doing for the past three-plus weeks. Kady had refused to go out with him or see him, but she couldn’t kick him out of the public hospital so he’d taken to calling on her at work.
At first, she’d ignored him. Then, she’d fought with him. When he’d continued to come back, she’d eventually relented and eaten the food he brought her because she said she’d missed breakfast that morning. But she’d been eating with him for the last week—talking to him, even—and he thought maybe, just maybe he was wearing her down.
Not exactly the most romantic thought, but he’d take what she would give him.
So far, that had been nothing but grief. She’d refused to talk to him about anything of importance. She’d kept their lunch conversations to small talk, purposefully ignoring the elephant in the room.
Clearly she was still hurt. Maybe he was a bastard for taking that as a good sign, but he did. If she was still hurt, then she hadn’t managed to shut him out of her heart completely. If she’d agreed to see him, even for just a handful of minutes a day, it meant there was still an opening. If he could just get her to talk to him, really talk to him, he might have a chance of getting the woman he loved back in his life and in his arms where she belonged.
Nick rode the elevator to the third floor where he knew Kady would be working When the elevator doors opened, he smiled his first genuine grin of the day. She wasn’t working. She was leaning against the nurses counter and her gaze met his as soon as he stepped off the elevator. She’d been waiting for him.
His heart double-tapped in his chest.
God, she was beautiful, even more beautiful than she’d been when he’d left. Her long blonde hair was tied up in a tight ponytail like it always was at work, but he’d spent many a night the last few weeks imagining pulling that tie out and running his fingers through the golden waves. Her blue-green eyes sparkled and her full pink lips tipped up just a little at one corner, as if she wanted to smile at him but was forcing herself not to. He’d earn a smile before he left today. He promised himself that would be enough even if just looking at her made him want so much more.
She’d always been tall, which he loved. She fit against him just right. Curves in all the right places. In shorts, those legs of hers were a walking fantasy, and naked, wrapped around his waist… Jesus, the memory alone made him hard.
She was wearing light pink scrubs today. The boxy material did nothing to hide her body though. She looked young and beautiful and like his, because she was all of those things.
She’d always been his. From the moment he’d kissed her when they were nothing more than kids, he’d known she was his. He just had to remind her.
“Hey gorgeous.” He strolled towards her with the bags of food. “Brought you your favorite.”
“Bacon cheeseburger with extra cheesy fries?” Her eyes lit up and he laughed.
“You know that shit is bad for you, right? You’re a nurse. You’re supposed to be more health conscious.”
“I am health conscious. I eat fruit for breakfast. I work out. And occasionally, I indulge in really delicious fried foods smothered in cheese.” She grabbed the bag from him with a shrug and opened it immediately. “Oh God, that smells delicious.”
“You smell delicious.” He leaned in close, boxing her in against the desk, needing to be closer to her. “Like strawberries and vanilla.”
“Nick.” She said his name in a warning tone, just like she did whenever he tried to flirt with her, but for the first time since he’d begun his attempts at wooing her, she didn’t try to push away from him.
“It makes me want to taste you.”
Kady sighed. “Ok. That’s enough. You can go now.”
He raised an eyebrow. “You’re just going to take my food and kick me out?”
“Yep. Sorry. I have to get back to work.”
“Kady…”
“I was going to tell you I was busy as soon as you stepped off the elevator, but you distracted me with cheese fries.”
He chuckled at that. “It was more than the cheese fries. Admit it.”
“Maybe I wanted the cheeseburger too,” she teased and he grinned.
“You wanted…”
Voices from down the hallway distracted him and he frowned when Kady tried to move away from him. Instead of letting her go, he grabbed her hand and pulled her across the hallway. He ducked into the first door he found, knowing it was a supply closet.
“Nick!”
“Shh,” he hushed her gently. “Nobody saw us.”
“What are you doing?”
“Reminding you of something.” He motioned around, “You remember this closet? We’ve been in here before, Kady.”
“What… I…” She glanced around and he saw the moment the memory hit her.
The two of them had sneaked in here late at night during one of her night shifts, back when they’d both been right out of college and couldn’t stand to spend the night apart. He’d taken her in this very spot while he covered her mouth to keep her quiet.
“Oh.” Her cheeks flushed the prettiest pink and he chuckled.
“Yeah. Oh.” He moved closer to her. “You remember that night, Kady? Remember how it felt to have my hands and mouth on you? Remember what it felt like when I was inside you? Like home, baby. Like coming home.”
Kady’s breathing had sped up and her breasts pushed against her top. She bit her lip and lowered her chin a little. She looked up at him from beneath her lashes shyly.
When she spoke, her voice was so quiet it was almost a whisper. “I remember, Nick. I remember everything.”
He groaned as his willpower broke and he stamped his mouth down on hers. She gasped, but when she didn’t pull away, he took advantage. He stroked his tongue deep, tasting her for the first time in far too long.
Kady made a sweet little moan that sounded like surrender and then her arms were around him. Her breasts pressed against his chest as she tried to get closer and he obliged. He grabbed her hips and pushed himself against her, rubbing them together and creating the most delicious friction.
God, she was made for him. How had he gone without this for six years? How had he ever thought he could live without it? Without her? He’d been a damned idiot.
He kisse
d her just the way he knew she liked. Hard and unrelenting, he stroked her tongue into playing with his. He cupped her ass and squeezed and she responded by dragging her fingers through his hair, pulling hard.
Damn if she didn’t remember what he liked too.
He pushed her back against the wall, desperate to have more of her. This wasn’t enough. Not nearly enough. He’d spent years starving for her. He’d spent weeks teasing himself with glimpses and touches. Now that he finally had her back in his arms, claiming her mouth wasn’t going to be enough.
He needed all of her.
Sliding his hand up, he found the hem of her scrub top and snuck beneath. He pushed upward until he found her full, lush breast. When he hefted the heavy mound and swiped a finger over her nipple, she broke the kiss on a moan—his name!—which only made him crazier. He tugged the cup of her bra down until her breast sat atop it, then he pinched the hard flesh of her nipple, catching her cry of pleasure with another hard kiss.
Her legs parted for him instinctively and he used his free hand to grip her thigh. He pulled it up around his hip, allowing his weight to notch himself between her thighs. He could feel her heat through the thin barrier of her scrub pants and his trousers.
She was so close. So close. She slid her hands down his chest and he felt her reaction the second she brushed against the gun he’d forgotten was on his hip.
Kady recoiled as if a snake had bit her. She jerked back so hard, her head banged into the wall. He tried to reach for her, to soothe the injury but she was already pulling away from him. Her leg dropped and she shoved at his chest so hard that he had no choice but to back away.
“Shit,” she muttered, straightening her clothes hastily. “Shit. I’m sorry. That shouldn’t have happened. I’m sorry.”
“Kady.” He tried to keep his voice level. “Don’t you apologize for that. It should have happened. It should have happened a long time ago.”
“No.” She shook her head, her blonde ponytail bobbing. “No. It… We… No.”
“Kady.” He caught her and cupped her cheeks gently. “Look at me, Kady. Listen to me.”
“Nick.” She said his voice like a plea and he hated it.
She wanted him to let her go. She wanted him to play along and let them continue this game of cat and mouse. She didn’t want him to catch her. She didn’t want to admit she was already caught. She was his.
“Give me a chance. Please, baby. Please just agree to go to dinner with me. Let me take you on a date. Let me try to make this right. Please.”
She chewed on her bottom lip and he dropped his forehead to hers. She was wavering. He could see it. He could feel it and he wasn’t sure if he should press her just a little bit harder or wait for her to realize what he already had.
She was going to say yes.
Kady let out a shaky breath. “Just dinner?”
“Just dinner,” he lied.
He couldn’t help it. He wasn’t going to let her go if she agreed to one dinner and then decided to cut him off. He’d keep coming here until he was old and gray, so long as she would give him the time of day.
“Okay.”
He smiled. “Yeah?”
“One dinner, Nick.” She gave him a firm stare that he was sure was supposed to douse his hopes but it didn’t.
She’d agreed to see him at the hospital. She’d accepted his lunches. She’d given him a chance already. Dinner was just phase two, the next step back into her life. She had opened the door and he didn’t intend to let it close this time, not until he was on the other side.
“Pick you up at seven?”
“Dinner. It’s just dinner.”
He smiled and gave her a quick peck of a kiss. It was their first dinner after all the time apart. The first in what he hoped would be a lifetime of many, many more.
Chapter Four
Kady might as well have “sucker” stamped on her forehead. That was what her brother had told her. Connor had told her she was an idiot when he’d found out she’d agreed to a date with Nick. He’d roared and yelled and told her she was only setting herself up for more heartbreak, but in the end, he’d simply hugged her and told her he hoped he was wrong.
He was a good brother, but she hoped he was wrong too.
So far, he had been.
So far, Nick had done nothing but convince her he was real.
In the last week, she’d let him take her out three times. Three dates. Three chances for him to show her he was still the man she’d fallen in love with all those years ago.
And he had.
He’d been sweet and charming. He’d reminded her of all the good memories they’d shared. She’d remembered all the reasons she’d fallen in love with him as a girl. He could be serious and thoughtful, but he also had a sense of humor that never failed to make her laugh. Dad jokes. He’d told those silly, ridiculous dad jokes even when he’d been a kid himself. She’d fallen in love with that side of him and spent so long yearning for the day when they would have a family and he would be a father.
Nick would make such a good father.
“Kady?” His deep voice pulled her out of her thoughts and she blinked, taking a moment to remember where they were, and when.
They were on her front porch—their front porch, really. They’d bought this house together, but after Nick left, she’d never found the time or the strength to change the paperwork. The swing he’d hung on the corner the day they’d moved in was where they’d sat down to talk when he’d brought her home from dinner.
She hadn’t been ready to invite him inside. Even now, she was scared to let him in. She still wasn’t certain she could see him in there, surrounded by all the memories in that house,—memories of the life they could have had, the one he’d set aside like a book and then come to pick back up years later, as if nothing had happened to make her reconsider finishing their story.
But she wasn’t the same young, naive twenty-something he’d left behind. He wasn’t the only man she’d ever been with either. She’d moved on, even if her heart never had and going backwards seemed scarier than going forward ever could.
“What’s wrong?” Nick pulled her hand to his mouth and kissed her knuckles. “You zoned out on me, babe.”
She looked at their joined hands. They fit together so well. They always had. Like two puzzle pieces that had clicked together from the very start. Only she wasn’t as naive and accepting now as she’d been back then, and what he’d done had made her the skeptical woman she was now.
“I was just thinking…”
“About what?” Nick tilted his head curiously when she trailed off.
“Do you… Do you want children?”
Nick squeezed her hand. “Of course I do. You know that. We talked about it before…”
“Before you left, you mean.” She chewed her bottom lip. “Things change. People change. You’ve changed.”
“Not where it matters.” He pressed her hand to his chest, just over his heart. “Kady, look at me. Please?”
Her eyes went back to his; they had to. She’d never been able to deny him anything. His dark, soulful orbs looked deep inside of her and let her see inside of him as well. To the truth.
“I love you. I’ve always loved you. I made a mistake leaving. I’ll regret it for the rest of my life, but I want to fix it. I want you. I want us back. I want the life we’d planned together, filled with so much love and happiness that it feels like we’ll bust at the seams. And, of course, I want kids, Kady. I want them with you.”
Kady’s heart ached as she stared into the eyes of the man she loved so much. Not past tense. She still loved Nick. Always had and always would. He’d broken them, broken her, but he’d come back to try and fix it. How could she possibly tell him that it was too late, when everything inside of her still yearned for a chance to have all that she’d lost?
The answer was, she couldn’t.
Maybe she was a sucker. Maybe Connor was right and she was only setting herself up for more hearta
che. Or maybe Connor was so wrapped up in his own sense of loss that he couldn’t fathom what it would mean to have the person you loved come back to you, to choose you, to put every fiber of their being into convincing you that they would never hurt you again.
Kady took a deep breath and reached out gently, tracing her fingers over Nick’s scruffy jaw. He eased closer at her touch. His eyes drifted shut as if he were taking in the moment, soaking it in. Whatever doubts and fears she had, Kady knew they didn’t change the truth.
“I want that too,” she whispered and Nick’s eyes flashed open. “I want us back too.”
“Kady?” His dark eyes searched her face. “Are you sure?”
She nodded. “I want the life you promised me, Nick. We have to at least try, don’t we?”
“I won’t just try. I’ll give it to you. Everything you ever wanted, it’s yours. I’ll give you the world, Kady.”
Nick’s mouth was on hers before the last syllable of her name was out, and she felt the tidal wave of his need crash against her. She drowned in it. In him. She wrapped her arms around him and held on tight, kissing him back with all the love she hadn’t been able to erase from her heart.
It wasn’t a sweet kiss; it was hard and demanding. It was a promise of so much more.
Kady threaded her fingers in his dark hair and pulled. Nick moaned into her mouth, his teeth nipping her bottom lip. He’d always loved it when she ran her hands through his hair. So had she. She loved the feel of the thick strands beneath her fingers, loved knowing that just touching him like that made him want her.
He leaned forward, pushing her back, and the porch swing wobbled unsteadily. Kady gasped but Nick caught her before she could fall. A giggle fell from her mouth and Nick’s eyes sparkled when she looked back up at him.
“I did promise we’d christen this thing when I hung it.”
She laughed. “And I told you there was no way in hell we were having sex on the front porch.”