by Raine, Alice
‘Thank God for that, because the pregnancy hormones are making Rebecca really horny and I’m struggling to hold back when she keeps throwing herself at me.’
Laughing again, Nathan nodded. ‘Oh yeah, Stella was the same – even more insatiable than usual. Make the most of it!’
Nathan topped up my champagne and stood to refill Stella’s glass, too. ‘We did stop most of the kink, though. I’m not sure if you and Rebecca do that, but I cut out a lot of the toys.’
‘You don’t do it any more?’ I asked in surprise, only to be granted by another bark of laughter from Nathan and an incredulous glance.
‘Of course we do it again now. I just meant during the pregnancy. What do you think I am, a fucking saint? This is me we’re talking about, Nicholas. I hardly have a vanilla bone in my body.’
Digesting this, I nodded, knowing that he had always been more into that lifestyle than I had. What I had with Becky was perfect. I mostly had control over the bedroom stuff, and we occasionally used a toy or two, but I suspected we were poles apart from the relationship that Nathan and Stella shared.
As Nathan got to Rebecca’s almost empty glass I leaned forwards and put my hand over it. ‘I think she has enough in there for now.’
Placing the bottle down, Nathan smirked at me. ‘Getting a little overprotective, are you?’
A huge sigh slipped from my lips and I looked across at my brother and nodded. ‘I can’t help it. I try to control it, but it’s overwhelming. It’s taken every ounce of my self-control not to empty her glass while they’ve been out of the room. It’s stupid, isn’t it?’
‘Nah. Sounds fairly reasonable to me.’
‘Did you find you were worrying about Stella all the time like this?’
‘Brother, I worry about her all the time anyway. Regardless of pregnancy,’ Nathan said with an ironic chuckle. ‘I’m so pussy-whipped it would be shameful if we weren’t so fucking perfect for each other.’
Hearing Nathan’s confession was hugely reassuring for me, because he was the only role model I’d ever really had, and although I might not vocalise it frequently, I really looked up to him.
‘Actually, I have some news of my own …’ Nathan sounded cautious, so I turned in my seat and gave him my full attention.
‘You guys aren’t having another baby as well, are you?’ I joked, but in response to my words Nathan’s face seemed to visibly pale and then he drew in several short breaths.
‘No.’ His reply was adamant, which confused me slightly, but then he managed to shock me completely with his next words. ‘Stella has agreed to a collaring ceremony with me.’
I raised my eyebrows at his remark. As a couple, Nathan and Stella seemed so vanilla these days that I really hadn’t seen that as a possibility.
‘Congratulations.’ His announcement had been such a shock that it was the only thing I could think to say. ‘I hadn’t realised that side of things was such a big thing for you these days.’
‘It’s not like I used to be. We don’t live as Dom and sub or anything like that, but we still scene regularly so it plays a part in our lives that way.’
‘Wow. And you’re having a ceremony, huh?’
Nathan drew in a satisfied breath and smiled, looking the proudest I’d seen him since William was born. ‘Yep. At Club Twist. We haven’t gotten around to arranging dates or anything yet, but I’m really excited about it.’
I was excited for him, too, and about to say as much when he gave me a hopeful glance. ‘I was hoping you would accompany me? Be my attendant?’
I’d been to a few collarings before, and knew that the role of attendant was a bit like a best man at a standard wedding, so I immediately nodded.
‘It would be my honour,’ I replied, holding my hand out for a firm shake as we shared a quiet moment.
My big brother had protected me as much as he could throughout our childhood, and saved me when times had got to their lowest. It was about time he had his happily ever after, too.
Chapter Eleven – Rebecca
‘Becky? Have you got a few minutes?’ I presumed Nicholas was calling down from his piano room, because he’d been squirreled away up there for the best part of the morning. Lifting my head from the accounts spreadsheet before me, I rubbed my eyes, glad to rest them for a while.
‘Yep, hang on, I’ll come up.’ I needed a break, and I hated doing the accounts for my bookshop so this gave me a perfect excuse.
Once I got to the landing I found Nicholas waiting for me with a broad grin on his face. It had only been about four hours since I’d seen him at breakfast, but I still paused to appreciate the view. He was wearing a white T-shirt and low-slung light blue jeans which clung to his trim waist. He’d obviously showered, too, because his hair was damp and ruffled, and his feet were bare.
Mmm. Very nice.
Since I’d moved in he had stopped wearing his formal suits all the time. He still graced me with a breath-taking appearance in a three-piece every now and then, but he regularly wore jeans around the house these days. I wasn’t sure if it was because he’d just started to relax more, or because he’d noticed how I couldn’t drag my eyes off him when he was clad in denim. Either way, I wasn’t going to complain.
Taking me by surprise, he dropped to his knees. He placed a kiss on my belly and nuzzled it with his nose, which caused a goofy smile to spread on my lips. ‘Hello, Bump,’ he murmured affectionately. Since the baby had responded so positively to his voice a few weeks ago, Nicholas now spoke to my bump without nearly as much embarrassment, which always made me smile and appreciate how lucky the baby and I were to have him.
Standing up, he grinned at me. ‘Hey, baby momma.’
Rolling my eyes, I propped my hands on my hips and tried to give him my best irritated glare. ‘Nicholas, please don’t call me that.’
‘Why not? I can’t call you baby any more, can I? Because our baby is in here,’ he stated, gently placing a hand on my belly.
Ever since we’d done the pregnancy tests Nicholas had, for some unknown reason, started to tease me with the silly nickname, always said in his terrible version of an American accent. It was seriously starting to wear thin now, but he seemed to think it was hilarious.
‘You can still call me baby. Or Rebecca, or Becky.’
‘OK, baby momma, I’ll think about it.’
I was about to argue further, but got completely distracted when he guided me into his piano room and I saw the change of furniture.
The shiny piano was still the same, but instead of the white armchair he used to have there was now a squishy teal chaise-longue along the wall closest to the piano, and a wooden rocking chair topped with cushions in a corner.
‘Wow, you’ve been shopping. When did you have this delivered?’ I asked as I immediately went to try out the rocking chair.
Instead of answering my question, he asked one of his own instead. ‘Do you like it?’
‘I love it!’ Rocking back and forth a few times, I grinned across at him and saw Nicholas sharing my excitement. I got up and went across to the chaise-longue. I prodded at the cushions. When I sunk down onto it I found that it was just as squishy and comfortable as it had looked.
‘I thought of another way I could be involved in the pregnancy,’ he explained, waving a hand towards his piano. ‘Music is supposed to be good for the baby’s development, so I thought I could share my piano. What do you think?’
The way he seemed to hang on my answer was so sweet that I immediately nodded my head. ‘It’s such a great idea, Nicholas!’
He let out a relieved breath and smiled. ‘During the rest of the pregnancy, you can sometimes lie in here while I play, and I got the rocking chair in case you ever wanted to feed in here once the baby is born.’
Considering he had been a closed-off, almost neurotically withdrawn guy once upon a time, it was amazing just how much of a sweet and considerate man he’d grown into. He always thought of everything and he always, without fail, put my needs
first. It seemed that now he was including our unborn child in that caring, protective circle and I loved him so much for it that I felt a sob break in my throat.
The sudden rush of emotion that flew up on me caused tears to instantly spring to my eyes and several more sobs to escape, and I watched as Nicholas’s excited expression morphed into panic as he dropped to his knees before me.
‘Don’t you like that idea? We don’t have to do it! We can even get rid of the furniture, if you don’t like it.’
I was still too overwhelmed to speak, so instead I reached across and silenced his panic by placing a finger on his lips. I swallowed hard, then drew in a breath and tried to dig up my composure.
‘These are happy tears. Sorry, it’s my hormones; I can’t control them. It’s an amazing idea, Nicholas, you’re amazing.’
The relief that crossed his face was instant. It was followed by the small shy smile that I absolutely loved, and completed by the appearance of his dimple. ‘Shall I play you both something now?’
Both.
God, I loved how it sounded when he said that. Worried that I was going to cry all over him again, I nodded and gave him my biggest smile. ‘I’d love that.’
Nicholas encouraged me to get comfy on the chaise, which really wasn’t difficult given how soft the cushions were, and produced a blanket to lay across my legs. Jeez. He’d thought of everything. Where had my old dominant Nicholas gone? I wasn’t really complaining; I loved this sweeter side to him, and he still mostly ran our bedroom sessions, so to be honest, I now had the very best of both worlds.
Thinking about it, though, he’d been a little sparse with sexual attention since he’d known I was pregnant. He’d been affectionate and cuddly, but my hormones were making me horny as hell and he seemed to think I might snap in half if he so much as touched me between my legs.
Settling back, I looked across at him and found Nicholas watching me, his face still open and showing the utter depth of his feelings for me. Yeah, we were so good together that I knew without doubt we’d work the sex stuff out eventually.
He flashed me a wink, then he took his seat at the piano and briefly shook out his wrists and hands. Without fail, he always did this before playing. I’d never asked, but I assumed it was an inbuilt habit of his now, a bit like the way I subconsciously played with my hair when I was wound up.
Rolling off his shoulders, he placed his hands on the keys and briefly shut his eyes. The utter perfection in his posture and the calm that radiated from his entire being was really quite beautiful to watch.
After settling himself for a second he dipped his shoulders slightly and began to play the first few bars of his piece. It was slow, but compelling, and I settled back and closed my eyes as I listened.
I lost myself in the music, which wasn’t difficult to do because it was utterly beautiful, and by the time he finished playing I felt drowsy from the lulling nature of the piece. ‘ That was beautiful, Nicholas. What was it called?’
‘Stargazer, by Patrick Hawes. I thought it was perfect for the baby.’
He was right, too; it really was.
I think Nicholas must have seen me about to doze off, because the second piece he began playing was a little quicker, still very relaxing and utterly stunning to listen to, but instead of feeling sleepy I rested my hand on my baby bump and turned myself so I could watch him play.
It was an incredibly sexy sight. Not only was Nicholas gorgeous, but the intensity with which he regarded the sheet music was a huge turn-on for me, too. I knew only too well what it felt like to be on the receiving end of one of his deep, desire-filled stares, and I felt my stomach clench with lust as I continued to watch him.
The way his T-shirt pulled over his back and shoulder muscles as he lightly dipped and swayed when he played gave a tantalizing glimpse of the perfection I knew lay underneath, and then there were his hands. They flew across the keys, caressing the music from the beautiful instrument in an almost unbelievably skilled demonstration that had me remembering exactly how talented those fingers were at other activities.
I’m fairly sure Nicholas’s intention with this music session hadn’t been to get me ridiculously horny, but it had, and I suddenly became determined to get him to stop treating me like glass.
As he finished the second piece he paused and looked across at me, his eyes narrowing as his gaze passed across my features. After a second, he raised his eyebrows as if he had read my wanton expression, then he carefully lowered the piano lid, gracefully stood from the stool, and sauntered across the room towards me.
He dropped to his knees beside me, then peeled the blanket back from my body and gently placed both his hands on my bump. Gently massaging me with his fingers, he lowered his head to place a kiss on my tummy, then kept his lips close so that the material of my T-shirt warmed as he spoke. ‘That was Beethoven’s Romance number 2. It was supposed to relax you both, but judging from the look on your mummy’s face, she’s after a different kind of romance at the moment.’
I couldn’t help but laugh at his silly comment, but boy, was he right. We hadn’t had sex since the night we’d done the pregnancy tests, and that was ages ago now. The laugh dried up in my throat when he glanced up at me and I saw how desire-filled his own gaze had become.
Ever so gently, he slid his hands under my T-shirt and lovingly caressed my growing bump, skin on skin. ‘I know I’ve been a little cautious with you since we found out you were expecting, but it’s only because I was worried I might hurt you, or the baby.’
We’d had this conversation before, several times, and each time I’d referred him to the stack of pregnancy books beside the bed, but so far nothing had managed to convince him. ‘Sex during pregnancy is totally normal, Nicholas, I promise. Look it up on the internet if you’re still not convinced.’
The hands massaging my belly began to shift higher, running across my rib cage and then lifting to settle over my bra. I sucked in my breath as he sought out my nipples through the cotton, and then circled the needy nubs with his fingers. I gasped as they instantly hardened under his touch. Since my pregnancy my breasts had grown larger, and my nipples were super-sensitive so his touch felt incredible and a needy groan rose in my throat.
I didn’t care where this had come from, or who had persuaded him, but this was starting to look decidedly promising, not to mention feel amazing.
‘The other night when we were at Nathan and Stella’s I had a private word with my brother. I feel better about it all now.’
Nathan. Of course. Nicholas might not be willing to listen to the advice of a PhD-owning birth specialist, but he idolised his older brother, and so if anyone would have been able to get through to my worried man, it was Nathan.
‘So, does this mean …?’ I left my sentence hanging, hoping he’d finish it for me, but Nicholas did even better than that and rose up so he could place a long, lingering kiss on my lips.
It would seem the sex drought in our house was finally over.
As his lips moved against mine and he continued to skim his hands over my body, I realised that Nicholas’s touch was still gentler than usual, and his movements less demanding. But as he slowly stripped me of my clothing, piece by piece, he proved that he could be just as efficient a lover when he lowered his dominant streak.
Once I was naked and sprawled across the chaise-longue, Nicholas stood and slowly peeled his T-shirt over his head. I’m not sure he had any clue how divinely sexy he looked when he did that, but my mouth was now hanging open and it took all my self-control not to touch myself in excitement. It was like the old Diet Coke adverts where some sinfully handsome man gets wet and removes his top to display the perfect six-pack below. Nicholas had the looks, and the six-pack, and to top it all off his hair always got ruffled in a way that made him look like a complete bad boy.
As he lowered his hands to the top button of his jeans and popped it open, I actually shuddered. Desire seared through my body, leaving me feeling hot, wanton, and desperate
for his touch again.
Nicholas saw my reaction, and his casual undressing suddenly became more frantic as he ripped his jeans open and pushed them and his boxers down his legs and stood up. He was fully erect, his cock so tight and needy that it almost looked angry as it bobbed around. I was almost surprised that he bothered to undress fully, because after weeks of abstinence he must have been gagging to get on with it.
As soon as he’d kicked his clothes aside, Nicholas was on the floor beside the chaise again, encasing me with his warmth as he leaned over and met my lips with a groan. I ran my hands over the warm skin of his back, briefly gripped his firm buttocks, then worked my way back up to loop around his shoulders and play with the hair at the nape of his neck.
He trailed his lips from my mouth, down my neck, and finally found my erect nipples. My breasts had already grown by a cup size, and the nipples were frequently achy from the changes in my body, but as Nicholas’s hot mouth covered the tip and he gently lapped at it I felt nothing but pure, undiluted pleasure.
I reached down and managed to slip my hand around his shaft. I began a slow drag and pull with my fist which caused Nicholas to let out a moan against my skin that sent a zing of desire straight to my core. He reciprocated, sliding his hand between my legs, exploring my folds and quickly discovering just how ready I was for him.
A sigh of satisfaction passed his lips as he slid a single finger inside me. My back arched at the delicious sensation and I felt my channel clench around his finger as he began a slow thrust. ‘You OK, babe?’