by S R Dyble
"How was that?" he grinned at me.
"That was.... Absolutely amazing." I breathed before beaming at him. "Thank you," I said breathlessly before he lowered me to the ground. I felt embarrassed as the guy who was probably meant to catch me at the bottom came towards us and began unclipping me. Nick moved aside for him and once I was free he led me with him before kissing me.
"I love you," he said and I ran my fingers through his hair.
"I love you too. That was amazing."
He continued to grin at me as he led me inside of the cabin and towards a desk where he went on to purchase photos of us both. I bit my lip and couldn't help but laugh at the photo of me screaming. Nick full-on laughed and ordered two copies of it. I hadn't even noticed a camera on my way down. Nick, however, looked like bloody Tarzan of the trees in his photo. He looked like the next picture on the front of the brochure advertising this place, that was how flawless he looked. It made me roll my eyes as he held it out for me and he laughed before getting me to place the pouch containing the photos inside of his backpack.
As we walked holding hands, I felt so content. We'd had photos taken together while scuba diving, at the amusement park and now at the zip wire. Although this had been far from your average holiday, I was so grateful to be here with Nick. I'd never felt so close to a person before besides Eve. But this was different. I'd never experienced anything like this before. Ever.
"You ready to go back?" Nick smiled at me as I continued to stare at him, my chest full of admiration.
I nodded and linked my hand back into his as he offered me his.
We reached the end of the path back to the carpark and the cabin cafe we'd had breakfast at.
I nodded. "I need myself a refreshing soak in the lake," I told him.
"Sounds like a plan," he said, opening the passenger’s door and ushering for me to get in.
I chuckled at him and got into the car before pulling down the sun viser and staring at myself in the mirror.
Nick pulled out of the carpark and headed back the way we'd come. The drive home allowed more time for the most calming feeling to layer over my body. Nick held the steering wheel with one hand and held my hand with his other. I tried not to stare at him but I couldn't help it. I felt so happy here with him that I never wanted this journey to end.
When we arrived back at camp, no one was there. It meant we could soak in the lake without being disturbed. I definitely needed a wash after our hike and I felt so much better once I was clean. I laid my head back in the water and floated that way, admiring the large clouds floating above me, just like me. I felt as free as they were. The only thing pulling on me was my need to drift closer to Nick because I could feel his eyes on me. I swam towards him and stared right back before lazily lying my arms around his shoulders. He continued to stare at me, his face not softening as he studied me.
"What's wrong?" I asked.
"Promise me, when we go back home that nothing will change."
I frowned at him, then studied his face.
The Nick Carson I knew back home didn't have a vulnerable side, and if he did he didn't allow me to see it. He was tough and didn't give a damn about anyone apart from his family.
"Only if you promise me it won't." I told him, staring into his eyes.
"Nothing will ever change this for me. I don't wanna be anything but what I am with you, I swear."
"Well then," I ran my thumb gently over his cheek, "looks like I'm stuck with you." I grinned.
I smirked but gasped when he used his hand to squirt water into my face. I stared at him, as if eyeing my prey then lunged at him, trying to submarine him. It allowed him the perfect access to my body and so he tickled at my sides. I tried to escape but it was no use, he held me there to continue his assault.
Then he stopped and laughed at me as I swatted at his arm. After what felt like forever just being held by Nick in the water, we heard the cars pulling up and everyone piled out and waved at us.
"We should go cook," I told him and he nodded before pecking my nose.
Together, we made sandwiches with the food the rest of the group had brought back. It was then as we all sat around the fire that I realised Omar wasn't here. Then I noticed Olivia straddling Sawyer and my eyes widened.
"She doesn't waste time," I said under my breath but hadn't realised that I'd said it out loud at all. Nick almost choked on his sandwich beside me as he tried not to laugh.
"So, where did you both go?" Teddy asked me as he placed his plate down.
"First he tortured me by taking me for a mountain walk, then I had to zip-rope down," I told him and Teddy laughed.
"I remember the last time we went," he said and Nick nodded.
"It was a long time ago."
Teddy nodded and took a drink. I was glad to see he wasn't drinking beer for a change.
"We're all really glad you're here, mate. I know it's been a long time since we last saw you, but it hasn't been the same since you all left," Teddy said, swallowing the mouthful of liquid.
Sawyer had to have heard our conversation because he nodded in agreement with the spare second he had been given that Olivia wasn't kissing him.
Nick smiled, looking touched by what Teddy had said.
"We never wanted to leave the way we did. Things were messed up back then," Nick explained, not telling them too much.
"We're glad you're happy now, mate," Sawyer said, lifting his beer in a toast.
Nick nodded and glanced at me, "I guess we are happy now. At least I am."
It made me shy away from his eyes as Nick lifted his beer with them and took a drink.
"Maybe we can all visit the UK one day," Olivia joined in and Sawyer and Teddy nodded in agreement.
"I'm sure we could arrange something," Nick agreed and his friends all smiled at each other genuinely.
"Thank you all for welcoming us," Nick said looking at me and then back at his friends. I nodded in agreement.
"It's been a pleasure," Olivia said, shocking me.
"It's our last night tonight, everyone, what do we all wanna do?" Frankie spoke loudly so everyone could hear.
"Me and Olivia are going out," Sawyer said, which made Olivia beam at him.
"Where is Omar?" I threw it out there, knowing I'd never know otherwise. I felt Nick stiffen beside me.
"He had to go home," Olivia said, "something to do with work…"
I nodded and glanced at Nick, knowing he'd be questioning that right now.
"We're actually heading home early," Nick then announced which caught me off guard. Everyone groaned in disagreement and Nick nodded, giving them all a tight smile.
"We leave soon," he added before placing his plate down and standing up to walk away. I didn't wanna cause a scene so let him leave.
"That's a shame," Luna said genuinely.
I nodded and stood up to follow after Nick.
Back inside our tent Nick was packing our things, not even taking time to do it properly.
"What the hell are you doing?" I dropped to the floor to pack my bag properly.
"We need to leave," he told me.
"Why? Is this because Omar left?"
"Yes, Lilly, it's my job to keep an eye on him. I can't be out here if he's not. There's no point."
My chest ached listening to his words.
"Lilly, that's not what I meant—"
"No, you're right. You only came here to watch Omar." I pulled my backpack up and took a few other things. "The heartfelt moment with your friends out there obviously meant nothing to you either…"
Nick threw his things down and stared at me.
"What do you want from me? I have a job to do, Lilly."
I stared at him, my frown deepening. "I don't want anything," I said before marching out of the tent and throwing my backpack into the car. Nick followed after me as I walked back to the fire pit to say goodbye. Everyone stood up to say goodbye and gave me a hug.
"Sawyer and Olivia, there's a spare tent going n
ow. No need for you all to sleep in that tent together," he smiled at Sawyer knowingly as he came towards him to give him a manly hug.
"Thank you," Olivia beamed at him before coming to me.
She stood just before me and stared at me. I think she didn’t know what to do. There had been some problems because of her the last few days, and I understood. I pulled her towards me and gave her a hug. At first she seemed shocked but then wrapped her arms around me and smiled as I let go.
"Have fun tonight," I told her, "don't do anything I wouldn't do." I winked at her and totally ignored Nick as he smiled and I walked away and towards his car. He gave Olivia a hug and everyone walked towards our car to wave goodbye. Once Nick pulled away and drove down the harsh road leading out of camp, he sighed and I could feel his eyes on me.
"Lilly, you know I didn't mean—"
"There's no point in you explaining this to me, Nick."
"I want you to understand," he pleaded.
"I already do. It's fine."
I could still feel his eyes on me but he dropped the subject and drove us home in silence.
It took a long time, and by the time we got back to the beach house it was getting dark. Nick ordered us pizza so that when we got back to the beach house we could eat it together.
"So tomorrow you start looking for Omar?" I asked as I picked up a piece of pizza.
We both sat at the kitchen counter.
"Will we have to leave?" I asked him.
"I don't wanna talk about tomorrow," he said, and I wasn't expecting him to.
I nodded, feeling a bit taken back by his attitude. Nick swore to me that nothing would change. It felt to me like things were already changing and we weren't even back home yet. I'd eaten as much as I wanted and got up.
"I'm going for a shower," I told him. It was fully dark outside now and I was feeling tired.
Nick gripped a hold of my hand from across the table and I stared at him.
"I don't wanna talk about tomorrow because I wanna go swimming."
"Swimming in the pool?" I frowned. "Go ahead, enjoy…" I said, yanking my hand back.
I tried walking away but this time he got up and walked around the counter.
"No, the sea. And you're coming with me."
"It pitch black out there…"
"Yeah, it is." He nodded. "It's perfect."
I shook my head in defeat. "Fine..."
Taking my hand, Nick took me outside and led me down the beach into the darkness. It was pitch black like I'd said. I had no idea how Nick could see where he was going. Then at the water's edge, I began pulling my clothes off to reveal my bikini underneath when the clouds parted, revealing the full moon behind it. It shone down on the water, as if laying a path. I stared up at it as I lowered myself into the water, then I heard Nick following after me but didn't turn around to see him. The water landed just under my shoulders and Nick grabbed a hold of my hand so I wouldn't go any further. Then I gasped as I felt my bikini becoming loose. Nick had undone the ties and I stared up at him, trying to hold the fabric over my breasts. He tugged it away from me and pulled me towards him. Once my breasts pressed against his chest, I gasped.
"You're naked," I said quietly.
"Don't miss much, do you?" he said as he kissed down my neck.
"What if someone comes down the beach?" I asked him.
"Who comes down the beach apart from Olivia and everyone else? They're not here. Relax." He continued kissing down my neck and to the other side before running his hands down my body.
I had to admit, being topless in the sea felt amazing.
"Now your panties," he said, nipping at my ear.
"Nick…"
"You afraid, Petal?"
I glared, although he couldn't see because he was still nipping at my ears and sending his own waves of pleasure down my body.
I did as he said and brought my knickers down my legs before taking them in my hand to the surface. Nick took them from my hand, as well as my bra, and pelted them through the air so they landed on the beach. Then he scooped me up against his body. I closed my eyes and began placing small pecks against his built shoulders.
"Do you forgive me for leaving early?" he asked and made me look at him.
I nodded and waited for him to speak.
"Going camping wasn't just about following Omar around. If it was, I never would have left the camp to spend time alone with you."
I nodded. "Because you did, he left and now you don't know where he is."
"Don't you worry about that," he said, kissing the edges of my mouth.
"Do you really have to focus so much on him? I think he's harmless."
He scoffed. "That's what he wants you to think…"
I rolled my eyes.
"Shut up and bring that hot little body here, will you?" he said, pulling me closer again.
"Or what?" I teased him which made his eyebrows raise.
"Then I'll come and get you."
I smirked at him and continued to take steps away from him. He watched me and smiled as I began rushing further up the beach. Earlier I was afraid that someone would see us naked together on the beach, now I was running out of the water fully naked and towards the beach house. I looked back to see Nick stalking after me and made quick work of running across the patio and flicking off all of the lights inside of the house. I could hear Nick's footsteps on the wooden beams outside and scrambled inside. Now that it was dark inside, I had to slow down so that I could work out where I was going. At least no one from outside could see inside. Unfortunately I didn't make it very far, Nick grabbed a hold of me and I squealed and laughed as he backed me up against the kitchen counter.
"You little tease," he said against my lips before reaching his hand around my behind and squeezing.
We were both still wet from our swim, but I could feel my skin drying after I'd ran across the beach and into the house. Nick shocked me by lifting me onto the kitchen island and laying me back onto the cold marble. At first, I gasped but welcomed the crisp feeling against my skin as Nick pushed me legs apart and stood in between.
"Time for dessert," he said just before I felt his warm breath between my legs.
"Nick!" I tried to grip at something, at anything as he devoured me on the kitchen counter. My hands settled on his head and shoulders where I gripped hard. Nick hissed as I tugged at his hair, resulting in him applying a nip to my sensitive skin. I moaned louder, savouring the slight pain before he continued his torturous skills with only his tongue.
"God, you smell so sweet, it's intoxicating," Nick said before gripping a hold of my arms and pulling me up.
I wanted to complain but he threw me over his shoulder and marched through the house. He threw me onto the bed then climbed up between my legs. While kissing me hard, he thrust into me just as hard and gripped a hold of my hands as he began making love to me.
"I love you so much, Lill'," he breathed against my lips.
"I love you so much more," I said, pulling my arms free from his and gripping at either side of his face to kiss him hard.
I couldn't express it enough, and in a bid to show him how much I needed him, I used the full strength in my body and rolled us both over so I was straddling him. My wet hair fell around my body, little speckles of water falling from the ends and onto Nick's body as I continued to ride him.
"God, I'm not gonna last another second if you… Oh God, Lill'..."
Seeing him come undone beneath me was so unbelievably sexy that I wasn't going to last much longer either.
"Lilly," he began panting and gripped at my body.
"Come," I said seductively and closed my eyes to listen to him. I loved hearing his voice. There were so many things about Nick that I found sexy, but his voice alone did things to me that no one else could do. I continued to ride him hard until we both had our release and Nick's fingers clenched into my skin.
Breathlessly and panting, I rolled off of Nick and onto my front.
Nick had to gasp
for breath too and eventually rolled over so his body was pressed behind me.
"Did I hurt your skin?" he asked and I rolled back over to stare at him.
I shook my head and he looked relieved.
"You drive me so mad," he told me and I eyed him.
"I don't wanna hurt you. I gripped onto your skin pretty hard."
I smiled back at him and brought my hand up to run my fingers through his hair.
"Have you ever had sex like it with anyone else?" I asked.
He stared at me then shook his head.
"You can tell me the truth. You don't have to lie."
"I'm not lying," he said, simply. "I've never had sex as mind-blowing as I have with you. It's addictive."
I smiled, feeling a little big-headed.
"It keeps on getting better and better," he told me and I nodded, then yawned. I couldn't have agreed more.
"You tired?" he asked and I nodded again.
"Wanna watch TV or go to sleep?"
"Both," I said, snuggling into him as he brought the sheets over the pair of us.
"You can't watch TV if you're asleep," he told me.
"Watch me," I said, snuggling further into his warm body.
"You're so weird, Lill', and I fucking love you."
I lifted my head off of his chest as the TV played in the background.
"I love you, too."
Once he'd kissed me, I settled my head back against his body. It was still a little damp but he didn't seem to care. I tried to stay awake for as long as possible, but within seconds I fell to sleep.
I hummed and stretched my legs, trying to feel for Nick behind me. When I didn't feel him, I turned around to see he wasn't there. I looked at the bedside cabinet and saw my phone had been placed there.
I flicked on the screen and was thankful to see I now had signal. Also, a message from Nick:
Gone for a jog. Hope you're still lying naked in my bed when I get back. I love you.
I smiled and held my phone to my chest like a giddy teenager. Unfortunately, I wasn't going to be lying naked in his bed on his return. My stomach was growling loudly and I couldn't hold it off any longer, I needed to eat. I got out of bed and found one of Nick's t-shirts lying on the chair. Then on my way to the kitchen I grabbed a pair of my shorts from my bedroom and tied all of my hair up into a messy bun. I needed to take a shower to wash my hair properly and to get it under control. For now, I turned the kettle on and nibbled at some toast whilst I rang Eve. It felt like a lifetime since we'd last spoke. I wasn't sure what time it was and was about to hang up when she answered.