NICK (Carsonbrothers Book 3)

by S R Dyble

  "No," I pushed him away as he pulled me into his chest. "Forget it. I'm just hormonal—living up to the stereotypical hormonal woman…" I brushed him off, attempting to get back to my bedroom to re-write my speech I had mentally planned to give him.

  I was, yet again, reminded of the fucked up situation I'd allowed myself to get into with Nick. I shouldn't have been with the one person I needed to be furthest away from. Instead I was shacked up in a luxury Australian beach house with him.

  I sighed, feeling stupid and defeated as Nick held onto my arms.

  "I'm sorry, I should—"

  "Forget it, Nick…"

  "No, listen to me. You're right. I'm supposed to be here protecting you. I shouldn't have left you for so long, allowing you to be afraid. I just got so caught up in what I had planned that I lost track of time."

  I nodded, feeling silly after going off on him like that. Then it dawned on me that Nick had mentioned planning something.

  "What have you planned?" I asked, eyeing him.

  He smiled and it made me even more confused.

  "Come with me," he said, holding my hand.

  "Is smiling like that supposed to fill me with confidence? Expectations maybe? Or should I be worried?"

  "Just come with me," he answered, rolling his eyes.

  "Outside?" I asked as he led me to the front door and onto the patio.

  "This is gonna take longer than expected," he said, grunting as he hoisted me into his arms.

  "Sorry baby, but I wanna do this now." He smirked at me.

  "You arrogant little—"

  "Shut your mouth, will you?" he said, kissing my forehead as I cursed him some more.

  "Nicholas, I swear to God if you—"

  He placed me on the sand beside the water and I glared at him as he left me standing there. Once he was gone, I stared down the beach and into the dark water. I felt the chill on my shoulders and I began feeling nervous about being alone. I thought Nick was going back inside, instead he ran up onto the porch to grab the blanket on the outside chair, then ran back down towards me.

  "Here." He threw the blanket over his shoulder then took my hands to help me sit down. Then he draped the blanket over my shoulders and sat down beside me. I realised then that Nick had brought me to see the beautiful moon shining onto the water, but then why had he been taking so long planning this?

  He reached into his pocket, pulling out his phone. Before I could question him on what he was doing, he pocketed it again and smiled at me.

  "You just wanted to sit on the beach?" I asked him. "That was your plan?"

  Maybe this was a good thing. Although I didn't want to spoil the beautiful view, maybe this was the perfect time to talk to him about everything.

  He opened his mouth to speak, but it was short-lived because the sound of fireworks shrieking into the sky made me stare out over the water just before it exploded into the most beautiful circles of glittery lines.

  "Oh my…" I continued staring as the boat in the distance set off more fireworks.

  This time it was so big that the edges of the fireworks disappeared into the water. My eyes were wide, taking in the beauty of the fireworks against the night sky.

  I bit onto my lip, feeling a little emotional again, knowing Nick had organised this for me.

  "How did you do this?"

  "I pulled in another favour with Dixon, let's just say I owe him even more than I did already..."

  I tried not to cry at how perfect this was. My insides were full of butterflies and feelings I knew I shouldn't have been feeling right now. These feelings were dangerous, but as he stared at me, looking so absolutely perfect, I couldn't help but beam back at him. Then he reached into his pocket, holding something within his hand. He handed it to me, revealing something I had been looking for.

  "My shell," I said, holding it up, but there was a thin cord attached.

  "You made it into a necklace?" I asked.

  He nodded and took it back from me.

  "You can carry it around with you now."

  He shifted around me, gently moving my hair so he could place it around my neck, clipping the clasp together at the back. I had no idea how he'd managed to make it into a necklace, and I didn't care. All I cared about was how perfect it was.

  I placed my fingers over the shell now on my chest. "It's perfect."

  He smiled, then we watched the last of the firework display as I sat in my own little bubble with him.

  Little did we know, our bubble was about to be invaded and popped. We heard the sand shifting behind us, the atmosphere changing all of a sudden as Olivia's friends giggled and Olivia planted herself beside Nick on the sand. The lads followed, one of them Omar who sat not far behind me with the others. They had to have seen the firework display and figured they'd join.

  "This is amazing." Olivia beamed as she snuggled into Nick's arm.

  He smiled but edged away from her, meaning he shifted closer to me.

  "Nick, dude, you organised this?" Sawyer asked.

  He nodded and took the bottle of beer Teddy was handing to him.

  I knew Nick well enough to know he was pissed off but didn't wanna show it. Instead, he sipped on his drink and sat back as the fireworks came to a stop.

  "Why didn't you tell us, Nick, we missed most of them?" Luna said.

  "Don't be a dummy, he organised it for Lilly, not us," Sawyer answered.

  "Oh." Luna giggled innocently.

  Olivia heard everything but sat unruffled beside Nick, not showing one ounce of being bothered.

  "Shit, do you want us to leave, bro?" Teddy asked, also realising that they had interrupted.

  Nick shook his head and took another mouthful of beer. He looked at me, giving me a certain look. I could tell he was still pissed and was apologising to me through his eyes. I smiled back at him and fiddled with the shell on my necklace, wondering how the hell I'd started this night planning on talking to Nick about everything—now sitting here with this group of people I hadn't known long without talking to Nick about a single thing. But he had confused me. Because why had he arranged something so intimate if he planned on only using me again? Or was this all a plot to sweeten me back into being his little thing? I honestly didn't understand. Nick had his pick of any girl, and I mean any girl that he wanted. Why was he wasting so much of his time on me? Was it purely because he still felt bad for how we ended things? I was so confused and continued a constant circle of thoughts.

  "Beer?" Omar stood just behind me, offering me a beer as Olivia and her friends engaged Nick in conversation. I took it from him, thanking him before gulping some of the liquid down. I was seriously pissed and this was needed.

  "We're leaving tomorrow," Omar told me.

  "Leaving?" I questioned him.

  "We're going camping, didn't Olivia tell you?"

  "Thanks, Omar… I was getting round to it." Olivia rolled her eyes before staring at Nick. He didn't pay her any attention despite her gazing at him. I wanted to smile but knew it would be cruel.

  "Nick?" She eventually addressed him and he lowered his beer bottle to see what she wanted.

  "Sorry… yeah?" he asked her and she beamed whilst positioning herself closely.

  "Remember when we went camping?" she asked, causing Nick to choke on his beer.

  "Yes?" he shrieked and I narrowed my eyes, wondering why.

  "We're going back tomorrow, just for two nights. You should come," she said, holding his arm.

  Ugh, I hated the way she felt the need to touch him. I wanted to march over and rip her manicured fingers off of his flesh and I probably would have if Nick and I were a couple.

  I noticed her eyes on me from over Nick's shoulder and she quickly rushed to my side, catching me off guard.

  "It's such a magical place, honestly, you never know what may happen," she beamed at me.

  "Cool…" I said feeling a little freaked out by her proximity.

  "So, you gonna come, Nicholas?" she asked, her voice teas
ing and playful.

  Nicholas sat with his legs risen to his chest, still drinking his beer and not even looking at us.

  "It's up to her," he said and I raised my eyebrows.

  "Her?" I asked and he finally turned his gaze onto me.

  "Yes, you," he answered.

  I wanted to know what was wrong with him besides our firework display being interrupted but didn't ask him in front of everyone.

  "So it's settled then!" Olivia spoke before I could babble out a reply.

  First, the amusement park where I could have well died on a roller coaster defying death itself. Now the open bush where deadly spiders were sure to reside...

  "I guess so…" I answered feeling overwhelmed by her erratic fussiness.

  "Yay!" Luna cheered as Olivia returned to right beside Nick again. I wished I'd said no to wipe that look off of her face.

  The fact that Nick was acting strange, and now Olivia was sitting in close proximity beside him and had ruined our night, I wanted nothing more than to leave. And so I did. I got up and started hobbling away when Omar asked where I was going. I didn't turn around to look at any of them as I replied.

  "To…" quick, think of something, "get a tent."

  I rolled my eyes as I continued taking small steps away, only to gasp when I was scooped into the air. Nick's familiar scent filled my nose—a mixture of aftershave and something else that I could only describe as Nick. I loved it.

  "Thought I told you not to wander off alone, Petal," he said, without looking at me.

  "You said that?" I acted dumb.

  He walked down the side of the house and to the jeep parked behind.

  "Where are we going?" I asked as he placed me gently inside.

  "To get a tent?" he said as if it were obvious, then once in the driver's seat, he smirked at me sending a bolt of electricity down my body.

  These sudden changes in mood were giving me whiplash. I couldn’t keep up… I stared at Nick as he drove and he seemed to be in deep thought about something. Instead of racking his brain for answers, I decided to do what I hadn’t had a chance to do yet.

  "Thank you for the fireworks, no one has ever done anything like that for me before."

  "I'm sorry they ruined it…" he sounded pissed, glaring at the road ahead.

  "Where are we even going? It's getting late, nowhere will even be open."

  "This store doesn't shut until ten," he told me and I glanced at the time on the dashboard.

  "So we have thirty minutes and we're not even there yet?" I raised my eyebrows.

  "Have faith, Petal…" he said, before pulling into a large retail park.

  "Go without me, I'll only slow you down," I told him as he parked up and climbed out of the car.

  "No man shall be left behind!" he said enthusiastically like a little kid.

  I snorted a laugh as he rushed around the car and opened the door for me. And just like that, the playful side of Nick was back as he reached for me, pulling me out of the car and into his arms.

  "Nick!" I laughed as he ran across the car park with me in his arms.

  There was something incredibly free about being in his arms, running across a deserted car park in the middle of the night, the look on his face as he grinned and picked up speed.

  Once we reached the front of the shop, he lowered me down gently and I stared around the shop.

  "Outdoor gear is to the back, come on." He lifted me up again, my insides lunging from the unexpected movement, then he paced down the aisles and to the outdoor living area. Thankfully the shop was pretty much empty and rightly so, we'd arrived twenty-five minutes before closing time.

  "Okay," he said, placing me gently down again.

  "I can walk, you know? My leg is starting to feel better…" I told him.

  "Then it should feel better even quicker because I've carried your ass here." He smiled and I punched his arm playfully.

  "Okay, enough," he said, the edges of his mouth still turned up. "We need to find a tent," he told me before taking steps down the aisle. As we moved, I stared up at the tents hanging from the high ceilings. This shop was huge and I'd never seen tents hanging from the ceiling before.

  "How about that one?" I pointed.

  "Absolutely not. We only need one big enough for the two of us and I don't want anyone thinking they can swan into our tent, pissed out of their heads."

  "So it will just be the two of us in our tent?" I asked him and he lowered his head to look at me.

  "Yes. You wanted to go camping, right?"

  I guess I did… I just didn't think that we would need to be in such close proximity. I figured we'd all sort of share our tents... I realised how stupid that was. I didn't know these people and wouldn't wanna co-sleep with them anyway. But my worries had increased even more since Nick picked out a two-man tent and I saw the size of it from the hanging example above our heads.

  "It's a bit small, won't your legs hang out of the door?" I asked, knowing how tall Nick was and trying to sway more towards a tent I could have some privacy in.

  "I'm sure I'll be fine, Petal. Unless you want a section for a dressing table to do your makeup, is that it?"

  I instantly glared at him and carried on walking down the aisle.

  "Hey, look, they have pink camping cups. Do you want one?" he asked and I turned to see him holding up matching aluminium cups. One was blue, the other one was pink and he held them together, grinning at me. I moved towards him and snatched the pink one from his grasp, knowing that he was lapping up my attitude and acting as if it was a huge joke. I rolled my eyes and followed him to the checkout.

  "This was my idea, let me pay," I told him.

  "It's okay, I've got it…"

  "At least let me pay half?" I asked before he placed his card into the card reader.

  He shook his head as I got angrier. Nick thanked the guy and walked away, pulling the large rucksack holding the tent over his shoulder. We'd also picked up some sleeping bags and he held them in his other arm while I carried the cups and camping dishes we'd picked up.

  "You've gotta stop doing that," I told him.

  "Saying thanks to the checkout guy? But he was such a nice guy…"

  I glared at him which only made his smirk grow more as he passed by me. First, he'd rented a flash beach house when we could have just stayed in a hotel, then he'd paid for all of our food. Now a bloody tent and camping equipment. He wouldn't let me pay for anything…

  Eventually back in the car, Nick had placed all of our new gear in the back of the car and I pulled my seatbelt on while yawning my head off.

  "You tired?" he asked and I nodded as I snuggled into the door with my arm bent, acting as my cushion.

  I knew we still hadn't had the chance to talk, but I was so tired and dared to close my eyes. Shortly after drifting into sleep, I hummed as Nick laid his hoodie over my bare legs. I pulled it up to my face, inhaling his amazing scent and not thinking about him sat still beside me as he drove. I cuddled onto his hoodie, feeling safe and secure and fell back to sleep. Shortly after, I felt myself shaking about and my eyes opened slightly to feel the car driving over a bumpy patch.

  "Shh, go back to sleep," Nick said, placing his hand on my thigh.

  It wasn't long after that that I felt a breeze over my body, then felt myself being carried out of the car. I snuggled further into the smell that made me feel safe and so warm. I snuggled further in until I realised the warmth I was snuggling into was actually the bare skin on Nick's neck. I flashed my eyes open at him, seeing the bottom of his chin as he carried me through the dark house. Then he laid me down onto the bed and pulled the sheet over me. I waited, wondering if he was going to leave. He bent down and kissed my forehead, then left me alone. I felt a deep need in my chest and I tried to deny the fact that the need was for Nick. I made quick work of pulling off my clothes and snuggled back into the pillow with my sheet over my body. I pulled Nick’s hoodie into my body and inhaled before closing my eyes and smiling. Not long after
I heard footsteps on the wooden flooring and felt pressure on the other side of the bed. I glanced at the bedside cabinet, realising that it wasn't a piece of furniture I had in my room. Nick had brought me to his room and had placed me in his double bed. I turned over to see the figure of Nick sitting on the edge of the bed and pulling his shoes off.

  "Nick?"

  He turned to look at me, the moonlight outside was the only way I could see him shifting.

  "Hey," he said before standing up to pull his top off.

  "Go back to sleep, Lill', I'm getting some sleep tonight knowing you’re safe in here with me."

  "I'll be fine in my own room—"

  "I told you, I wanna know you're safe. I can't do that if you're asleep in the other room."

  I pulled the sheet further to my chin, remembering I'd stripped myself of my clothes apart from my knickers as he got into the bed with me. I thought about trying to look for my bra, but I'd have to get out of the bed, revealing myself to Nick in order to find it. I turned away from him and kept the cover up high. I wasn't expecting Nick to shift behind me, draping his arm over my body in the process.

  "Holy shit, Lilly, you're naked!" he said, moving back to try and assess my body.

  "I thought you'd taken me to my room…" I told him and he remained silent as I felt the chill against my bare back.

  "You don't have to hug me," I told him.

  I wasn't expecting him to return to my back but he did. He wrapped his arm back around me and it laid just beneath my breasts as his warm and naked chest pressed into my back.

  "Nick?" I was about to tell him that this was a bad idea when I heard his peaceful breathing against my neck. Where he had settled his head behind mine.

  "Nick?" I whispered until I realised he was asleep.

  I smiled, taking joy in the fact that he'd fallen so easily into a peaceful sleep.