by Silver James
“What words?” Her breath whispered across his bare chest.
“Agreement. You need to say yes, Peni.” He sucked in air. Fuck but it was hard to concentrate, to say words that made sense. “Rules. You have to tell me you want this. You have to tell me if you want to stop.”
“Stop?” She looked so bemused and…sweet. Damn it.
“Yes. I don’t want to hurt you, but I might. You have to tell me. If I do something you don’t like, you have to tell me. If you say stop, I will. This is your first time.”
He finally saw comprehension in her eyes. “Understood. I want this, Nicholas. I want you.”
“Thank fuck.”
Nick didn’t know if he said that aloud or just thought it. Didn’t matter. He knew what he wanted. Her. But first, his control was going to be tested because he vowed to bring her release a half dozen times before he ever entered her. For just a moment, his thoughts focused on the conversation he’d had with his cousin. This woman was his to love and protect, to teach, to honor her needs.
Her lips curved as he pulled her upright and rearranged the pillows behind her. “I want you watching me. Understood?”
“What are you going to do?” She sounded nervous, but intrigued.
“Anticipation can be an aphrodisiac.”
Her brow furrowed. “Now I really don’t understand.”
Nick could give her this to allay any fears she might still harbor. “It’ll come to me as I go along. I only have to look at you to know what you want, what you need. This is all about you, sweetheart. Tonight, you are the most important person in this world.”
Peni threw her arms around him, pressed against him. A sob formed in her chest but she swallowed it down. She saw his intent in his expression. This was all about her—about her pleasure. She’d been drawn to him almost from the beginning but until their first kiss, she had no name for her feelings. Desire. Want. And yes, need. She needed what he planned to do to her tonight. She swallowed a second sob, knowing if it escaped she would drown in this vast well of emotions he’d uncovered.
His fingers threaded through her hair, anchoring her. Pressing her lips to the curve of his neck, she relaxed. Show me, she silently begged. Show me how to be good enough for you.
As if she’d spoken aloud, as if he’d heard and understood, he stroked her. Gentle hands teasing across her skin, soothing and comforting and awakening all at the same time. Nick murmured words to her, almost crooning, and while she couldn’t catch them, it felt like a lullaby—one filled with dreams, with hopes and wishes. She found peace in his touch. And acceptance. She relaxed in his arms, her troubles melting away.
Her lips were soft and pliant as he covered them again. He explored her mouth, taking the kiss deeper. Slow, gentle, he coaxed her response, allowed her to drift into the kiss, into this thing growing between them. She sank into him, degree by degree, and when she surrendered, she was as elastic as clay waiting to be sculpted by his hands.
Peni floated on the sea of desire Nick created within her. This was a place of bright hope, of dreams that might come true. In the mists of her memory, there was no more room for nightmares, and the lurking shadows had been banished from the corners. There was only Nicholas. And Peni. Though she didn’t feel like herself. She felt new. Reborn.
Lazy hands caressed her with leisurely purpose. Gentle kisses turned demanding, and she dove into them like she would a pool of calm water, only to come up sputtering in a splash of glittering sensations. She could not be an onlooker here. Not in this place. No. Nicholas demanded she participate fully. Sensation after sensation assaulted her senses, layering emotions and wonder like tissue paper in a gift.
And he was. He was a gift. This…whatever it was happening between them was a gift. It was Christmas and her birthday and all joyous occasions wrapped up in a big bow that looked exactly like Nicholas Karras.
His mouth tasted her breast and her heart quickened. Using his tongue, Nick explored her puckered nipple. His free hand didn’t remain idle. It skimmed down her side, cupped her hip before splaying across her softly rounded belly. His fingers teased the shadowed thatch at the vee of her thighs, dipped lower.
Nick shifted so he could take her mouth again and as she blossomed beneath him, his hand turned demanding, teasing through her slick folds, urging her on when her hips arched to meet him. Shimmers of heat radiated off her skin, and he continued to tease with his thumb and fingers until she gasped, her eyes widening, her body tensing and rigid.
“Fly, baby,” he commanded. And she did.
He caught her on the way down and started the inexorable build of heat again. His mouth left hers, kissing down the length of her body until he reached more intimate places. He kissed her there and his lips and tongue worked the same magic his fingers had moments before. She soared once again, long, clenching pulls from deep in her core craving more.
Nick refused to hurry. He took the time to arouse her endlessly, over and over until her sweat-drenched body was as fluid as water. He watched her pleasure build and spill over. He took his time—infinite time—arousing, fascinating, and being fascinated. Her body was a joy to him with its soft strength, supple skin; the surprising curves a man didn’t see until her clothes were off. He watched the pleasure bloom in her, felt it spread through her with little quivers. He welcomed the husky moan shuddering through her body before it escaped from her throat.
Now. Now he was ready. Her hands clawed for a handhold on the sheets as he took her. At the very edge of his control, he endeavored to remain gentle. And failed. He wound his hand in her hair and pulled, arching her neck as he thrust hard, sinking in all the way to his balls. And stilled. If he moved, he would come apart at the seams. He breathed hard, sucking in air through his nose, holding it, before exhaling through his open mouth, that hard-won breath teasing across her pebbled nipples.
Fighting for and reclaiming—finally—his control, he eased back. Peni clenched around him and he smiled. Yes, she was definitely ready now. When it came, their mutual orgasm was a fiery wave of sensation swamping body and mind, heart and soul. The sheer power of it was magnificent, like a raging force of nature.
Her mouth opened on a soundless scream. Breathe, some ancient part of her demanded. So she did. She had no conscious thought. She could only feel. Instinct told her to wrap her body around his, to hold on with everything she had. So she did.
He continued to move, deep inside her. His tenderness overwhelmed her, tied her in delicate knots she couldn’t escape. A sob erupted—not one of fear or regret, but one of joy, of homecoming, and she climaxed again.
Her heart beat against his chest, a thousand butterflies seeking the freedom of blue skies. She opened her eyes, met his gaze. Like a rosebud, everything she was unfurled for him, all of it there for him to see, to claim. So he did. He branded her with his kiss, with his body. Nick knew the moment she understood, the second she submitted.
“Mine.” He named her and in the naming, claimed her.
Eyes hazed with the last remnants of her desire, she nodded. “Yes,” she agreed. “Yours.”
“It’s time to fly again, sweetheart.”
Chapter 15
THIS MORNING should have been like any of the previous mornings where Nick woke up with Peni in his arms, but it wasn’t. This morning, she was naked, warm, and smiling in her sleep. This morning he was in much the same state only his morning wood resembled a steel pipe. The woman he loved and had spent the previous hours claiming as his own pressed her sweet ass against his hard-on and he couldn’t breathe. Then she giggled.
“Minx.”
“Did you not get enough last night?”
“Sweetheart, I’ll never get enough of you. Ever.” He kissed the nape of her neck. “I love you.”
She stopped breathing for a long moment. “Truly?”
“Absolutely. I think I started to fall the moment I caught you in my arms when you fainted. And babe? I don’t believe in love at first sight.”
Nick c
ould almost feel her smile in her next words. “I was a bit slower but I…admired you very much.”
Laughter burst from a spot in his chest that had been locked tight until that moment. “Yeah? What did you admire about me?”
“You are a very handsome man.”
“Yeah, so I’m told.”
“But that’s not why.”
“It’s not?” Curious, he shifted their position so they were lying face to face. “My manly good looks didn’t lure you in?”
Peni blushed and scrunched her nose. He loved kissing the tip of it when she did. “Well, I noticed. But…you made me feel safe. And…” She blinked several times. “You gave me time to myself. To be myself. And you love the twins.”
“Uh huh.” He kept his voice dry and his poker face in place.
“Those are all very good reasons to love someone.”
“Uh huh.” She punched his shoulder—the one that still had a bandage. “Ow?”
Her eyes widened and she paled when she realized what she’d done. “Nicholas! Are you…did I hurt you?”
Nick kissed her crinkled forehead to smooth away her worry. Then he kissed her nose because it was a cute one. Finally, he homed in on her lips and kissed her thoroughly. “It’s just a flesh wound.” When she started to protest, he kissed her again. Several long minutes later, after the kiss turned to other things and he was now seated deep inside her, he gazed down at her face. She smiled up at him and poked a finger against the clenched muscles of his butt.
“Move.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
He did as ordered trying to squelch the thoughts in the back of his mind. The time was coming when he’d load Peni and the twins into a plane, fly them somewhere safe, and kiss them goodbye. His gut ached at the thought. He would love her—them—while he could.
****
PENI SWORE she wouldn’t let her heart rule her life. Sleeping in Nick’s arms, his love-making before they drifted off—and often upon awaking before the twins demanded attention. These were transitory things as ephemeral as the happy-ever-afters she read about in the novels she adored. Nick thought he loved her, but she and the twins did not fit into his life, a life as dangerous as the man himself.
Her time with Nick was coming to an end. She could all but feel it in her bones. Despite Theodore Vasile’s death, there were those still hunting her, even though the money was no longer available. Nick and Mr. Rossi talked to her about it, and Mr. Rossi still promised her a place to live, a new identity, a job. She’d probably be a maid or maybe a nanny. No, what did rich people call them? An au pair. Yes, that would make sense because she could keep the twins with her.
She was smart, even if she hadn’t graduated from college. Yet. That was still a dream. She wondered if high school transcripts came with her new ID. If not, then she would take the GED, would start college over again when she had enough money saved. She might be a hundred before it happened, but she would get her degree.
And she would say goodbye to Nicholas Karras. She would turn her back, walk away, make a life for her children without him. Because that would be the best thing for him. She was the one who’d made the mistake that meant she had to hide the rest of her life. She refused to drag Nicholas into the shadows with her. His job was important. He was important in the wide scheme of things. She wasn’t sure how she knew this to be fact, but she was positive it was true. He had his big Greek family and his cousin who was a brother. They would take care of him. Just as she would take care of Luca and Luiza.
Nick slipped into the bedroom and she raised her head to look at him. So handsome. So strong. Her fingers curled into her palms as she denied the urge to run to him, touch him, beg him to love her as deeply as she’d come to love him. Ha. What did she know about love? That’s what he would ask. She was a foolish woman. Naive. Not at all like the women who flirted with him when they thought she wasn’t looking.
“What’s wrong?”
He was beside her in an instant and Peni didn’t understand the concern in his expression, his voice. He cupped her face in his warm palms, and brushed his thumbs over her cheeks. Only then did she realize why. Tears. He was wiping away her tears.
“The twins—”
“Are fine.” She gestured toward the crib. “I’m fine.”
“Then I don’t understand, sweetheart. If you’re fine, why are you crying?”
No way would she admit to a broken heart. Instead, she grabbed an excuse she’d overheard so long ago in the baby store in Naples. “Hormones?”
He kissed her nose then each eyelid after she’d closed them. “I have the cure for them,” he teased in a husky voice.
And he did. He lifted her into his arms and took her to bed. He made love to her so she could hide her fears and her doubts, so she could get lost in the magnificence of the man who owned her body and soul. What would she do without him when the time finally came?
He held her, after. Let her cry as he petted her. Stroking and kissing and murmuring words of comfort until she pretended to fall asleep.
****
GABE’S CALL CAME as Nick stepped out of the shower. He wrapped a towel around Peni so she didn’t get chilled and snagged his cell phone. Rossi was already speaking. He listened, watching Peni, wondering about the expression on her face. Something had happened yesterday. Something Peni wouldn’t tell him about. And he was concerned.
“Are you listening, Karras?”
“Yeah, Rossi. Briefing in thirty, breakfast is on Uncle Nino, bring Peni, leave the twins with Poppy.”
Twenty-five minutes later, they entered the bungalow containing Rossi’s office. Uncle Nino, wearing a full, black apron puttered around the kitchen. Nick poured coffee, added sugar and a splash of milk to Peni’s. They were seated at the table, chowing down when Rossi showed up, twenty minutes late.
“So, Gabe from Bareass Bay, what’s up?”
Peni offered him a bemused look while Gabe smirked. The man snagged a chair and settled as Uncle Nino snapped the apron at him. Nick caught the old man muttering about why he bothered to put on his mopina to cook for lazy grandsons who arrived late for hot food. He figured out Uncle Nino meant the apron.
Biting his lips to keep a snicker locked down, Nick leaned back in his chair. “So what’s got your tail in twist, Rossi?”
Gabe’s gaze slid over Nick’s to focus on Peni. “I have a safe house for you.”
Peni stiffened beside him so Nick laced fingers with one of her cold hands. “It’s okay, Peni.” He glowered at Gabe. “What are you not saying?”
Lifting his fork to his mouth, Gabe took a bite of the frittata Uncle Nino had placed in front of him. After swallowing, he said, “I’m still waiting for the new ID papers. Like I mentioned, Vasile had a long reach and most of my usual channels are still closed.”
Gabe swallowed a swig of coffee before continuing. “There’s a new bounty on Luca. Vasile had a will. The baby with his DNA inherits.”
Nobody seemed to breathe, but every eye turned toward Nick. Peni’s hand convulsed in his, clenching for a moment before she tried to let go so she could flee. His grip tightened to hold her in place. His mouth opened and words came out. “She doesn’t need a name change. She’ll have mine. So will the twins.”
Gabe leaned forward. “Dude, do you realize what you just said?”
“Yeah. Peni and I are getting married. We’ll put my name on the birth certificate and file it. Vasile and his empire are out of their lives. Starting now.”
Chapter 16
THE ROOM seemed to shrink like all the air had been sucked out of it and then pandemonium erupted. Peni squawked. Uncle Nino sputtered in Italian. Nick held a staring contest with Gabe while Peni again tried to jerk her hand loose. He refused to release her.
“Do you know what you’re doing, bud?”
Nick lifted the hand he had clasped around Peni’s to show Gabe. “Yeah. I do.”
An almost imperceptible nod of Gabe’s head, a flicker at the corner of his left ey
e that might have been a wink, and a wry twist of his lips was the only acknowledgement Nick received. Or needed.
“You can’t do this.”
He broke eye contact with the super spook to stare at the woman he’d just effectively asked to marry him. Without actually asking her, of course.
“Already done, sweetheart.”
“No. It’s not. You can’t.”
“Yeah, I can.”
“I don’t want you to.”
The chaos continued around them, with Poppy now entering the fray, but Nick’s world narrowed to just he and Peni. “Why not?” Was that his voice sounding so icy? From the way Peni winced, it must have been. “Am I not good enough for you? Not good enough to be the twins’ dad?”
Damn but that hurt, the idea she might feel that way. He didn’t look away from her, gave no indication of how much her denial cut him.
“I won’t tie you down like this. You are only doing it because of your promise to protect me. It’s not you who’s not good enough. It’s me.”
“You need to tell her.” Gabe’s voice cut through the chatter. “Tell her what’s in your heart.”
Nick nodded, realizing he’d never completely explained his feelings to Peni outside of the bedroom. “He’s right, sweetheart. Duty has jack to do with this. I told you I love you. You’re mine. Now and always.” Her eyes widened and her mouth formed an unbelieving “O”. “Truth, Peni. I promised there would always be truth between us. You’re mine to protect. Mine to take care of. Mine to love. You and the twins.”
Her brow crinkled and her nose scrunched up as they did when she was thinking hard. “Yours to love?” The question came out breathy and full of hope. “That wasn’t just something a man says to a woman after—” She bit off the rest of her words, blushing.
“No, sweetheart. That wasn’t just something I said in the heat of making love to you. This is the truth. You are mine. Mine to love always.” He tapped her nose with a gentle finger. “So? Will you marry me?”