by Ace Gray
“You’re mine forever.” Nick's voice rang through the room with its usual sincerity.
I jumped and my heart shuddered when it realized he was standing a few feet from us. His eyes were blazing blue and his brow crinkled in confusion. My eyes fell from his face to my fingers while we all sat there in a thickening silence.
My hand instinctually rubbed my chest. The antidote had worked so well my heart couldn’t hammer but the gesture was oddly comforting. Nick took two purposeful steps before crouching next to me.
“Sweets, are you okay?" His hand came to my face and he gently stroked my cheek. “What the hell is going on?” His voice stayed sweet despite swearing.
"I think that's my cue." Ari stood and wove out of the room. She paused for just a minute. "Nicholas, you be nice to her or so help me God.” He turned to yell at her and then caught the severity of her look and decided better of it.
He turned back to me, fully focused on my face. "I would never…I love you."
My eyes dropped away from his again. "For now.” I sounded pitiful even to my own ears.
“No." He crooked his finger under my chin and pulled me up to face him dead on. "For always.” His voice was adamant but I still couldn’t force my eyes to meet his. “Are you leaving me?"
“What? No I…" My voice was shaky but he interrupted.
"Did you cheat on me?" I finally met his gaze, he was smirking.
It wasn’t even a real question. He was proving a point.
"Never. But Nick…"
"No, Kate, no buts. That's all I need to know. We will get through anything else." His eyes became that deep blue that shown only for me. “I've been a wreck, and I'll apologize forever for that, but it doesn’t change how I feel about you. About us.”
"I'm so sorry." My voice got quiet and my eyes fell to the floor again. More than anything, I wanted to nuzzle into his hand. I just couldn’t stop picturing that hand pushing me away.
“Sweets, tell me what is happening. I will get my shit together and fix it.” He didn't force my eyes up, instead he crouched lower so he could look up at my pout. "I mean it. Just tell me.”
I took a deep breath, then clammed up again.
"I will spank and or fuck it out of you.” He chuckled slightly at a threat he’d used before. I couldn't help but crack a small smile and look back into the deep blue eyes I adored. "There's my girl. Story time or shall I follow through?" My tears came before I could even answer. “Hey, shhhhh.” His thumbs rubbed on my cheek bones. “I just wanted to see you smile.”
The words suddenly became every bit as easy as the tears.
“Do you remember what I said to you when I left?"
His brow knit together as his hands moved down my neck and rested on my shoulders, his eyes searched for the memory in the mortar of the bricks on the floor. Finally, his eyes focused back on me and he shook his head. My sigh was heavy and a little choked as he shifted to perch on the lounge with me.
I started at the beginning, telling him about what Laura had said about keeping him going, keeping the business going, then about the call I got from Julien. The longer the story went on, the more I could see his edges fraying, his eyes churning back to gray as I listed each development.
“Brooklyn Hart realized it was a trap before I did.” Nick’s breath hitched and I didn’t know if it was about New York or Brooklyn.
“Victor was a pawn after all?”
I dropped my eyes back to my fingers, slowly swirling my engagement ring as I picked the story back up. The race out of the building, the fire, the events on the street. Somewhere in the middle of the story, Nick shot up and swatted at a plant nearby, totally unconcerned that ceramic shattered and soil flew through the pristine room.
This is going to get so much worse before it gets better.
I told him about the poison, about how Brooklyn sent me home. For the slightest second I saw blue filter back into his eyes.
Fuck.
When I got to the part about Christopher, his whole demeanor changed. He didn’t rage like I anticipated. The mention of Christopher in our home drained all color from Nick’s face.
“I fought him off as best I could, Nick.” Tears dripped off my cheeks and onto my trembling bottom lip as I relived the memory.
“Did he…?” Nick couldn’t even finish his sentence. For the first time all day I was grateful, so unbelievably grateful—I was able to say no. Nick let out a deep breath and wrenched my body against his chest, tangling hands into hair as he pulled on me. “Thank God.”
“Nick.” I was talking against his shoulder now. “The stress on my heart was too much.” He pulled back and stared directly into my eyes again. “They said I was legally dead when the EMTs arrived. I’m not sure how I survived. I woke up in the hospital. Two days later. That’s why it took me so long to get back here.”
“What?” Panic was plain on his face. His hands scrambled against my skin where he could reach, desperate to hold me even closer.
“Yeah.” I finally drew blood where I bit my lip. “And that’s not even the bad news."
31.
He must have sensed my fear—because that's what it was—bone chilling fear for the future. Nick hadn’t planned for this. He couldn’t want it. I certainly didn’t. Everything I’d ever wanted was about to tumble to my feet.
"What? Please God, tell me you're going to be okay? You have to be okay.” There was a tremble in his voice that matched my shaking fingertips perfectly.
"Define okay…"
Fuck, fuck, fuck.
“You said you weren’t leaving me.” His voice cracked, his hands pulling at my hair as he crushed me further to his chest.
“Nick, I’m pregnant." My lips whispered across his shoulder.
"Sweets, what did you say?"
I tried to push back from him. I needed air. When he wouldn’t let me move I started to scramble against his chest, pressing harder and harder, panicking, desperate to take a full, deep breath.
And see his eyes.
“Kate, what did you just say?"
“I'm…pregnant." I stuttered and continually whomped against the immoveable boulder that was his chest.
"How?" He lessened his grip on me, letting me push him back, his eyes still watching me intently.
“The Tetrahexazine. It eliminates everything in your system.”
“When?”
“I don’t know Nick. It’s not as if we’ve been celibate since New Year’s.” I would have smirked if there was anything but terror filling my chest.
“No, no we have not.” His crooked smirk played on his lips. “Is this the bad news?" My favorite deep blue eyes studied me.
One last beautiful blue.
I could only manage another meek nod.
“So not the explosion, not the hit to our company, our assets. Not that you were attacked. Or even dead. None of those things are the worst news?”
“I’ve had time to think about all of those things,” I squeaked. “I’ve got people working on solutions as we speak. But this? You didn’t even want a relationship when I met you and here I’ve shoved the whole fucking mess of a family on you.”
“I’m going to be a dad.” His voice was quiet, awed. He wasn’t listening to me anymore. He wasn’t even remotely focused on the business. “Kate, you’re going to have my baby?" His smile was growing with each moment. “And you aren't happy about this?"
"No, God no. What am I supposed to do now? Give up Vesper? Be barefoot in the kitchen? Move into some ridiculously huge house in the middle of nowhere like this? Give up everything that makes me, me? Everything that makes us, us?” Tears were coming back to my cheeks. “What will be left of the person you fell for? What will be left of the person I am?”
This time Nick used his grip still tangled in my hair to force my eyes to meet his.
"Are you serious right now?" he snarled at me.
“My life is over and I'm fucking stuck! And you’re not going to want to be stuck with me.”
I started off screaming but ended with a whimper. “I don’t want to be stuck with me.”
Nick’s hand fell away and my head naturally fell forward. I chewed on my tearstained lip, worried I would fall apart completely without him. I was able to keep from hyperventilating simply because he used his hand to pry my knees apart then pin me down to the chair.
"Let me address your points one by one." He lowered himself partially onto me and ran his nose along mine.
"First, the answer has been and always will be, do whatever you want. I’m quite sure nothing can stop you. Second, don’t even think about giving up Vesper. I know we’ve joked about you staying chained to my bed, but we’ve also discussed that no one can run it like you. If you need to share responsibility, restructure. It's not that problematic." He moved his lips so they grazed against mine.
"Third, you already are barefoot in the kitchen occasionally. It's a wondrous and beautiful thing but never an expectation. Fourth, people raise children in the city all the time. The penthouse is certainly large enough." He started kissing on my neck, my body relaxed marginally as he did.
“Finally, and perhaps most importantly, you are amazing and we are electric. And you have never amazed me more. Nor have I ever wanted you more than I do right now. The sexiest thing I have ever pictured is you, as my wife, carrying my child. It makes me extremely hard."
He kissed my eyelids and then the tip of my nose and finally my mouth. "Nothing could lessen my feelings for you." He took my lips violently this time and pressed the weight of his body fully into mine. "Nor how desperately I need you and your body." He went back to my lips and nipped gently before lifting me. “Specially not this.”
Nick was careful with me as he strode to the first room outside of the solarium. He kicked the door shut behind us and stood me on my feet facing away from him. My skin goose bumped as his hands travelled over me, reaching for the hem of my shirt.
"You aren't going to walk away? You'll take me whatever happens with this, this, this…?” I was still having an exceedingly hard time with the word baby. “My body won’t be the same.” The words just blurted out. I couldn't help it. Even if it ruined the mood.
"I wouldn't walk away from you, ever. May I remind you, I never have.” He trailed kisses up my neck to my ear and nibbled slightly before pulling my shirt up and over my head. "I want you until you're old and gray and hunched and every single moment in between. I found you because of this…" He skated his hands down my body. "…but I'm keeping you because of this." He moved his hand over my heart; it actually pounded in response.
Without another word, his hand moved toward my zipper. He pushed my pants to the floor, sucked in a very deep breath and stepped away from me. A chair puffed then creaked behind me. "So beautiful,” he whispered reverently. "Turn around."
I did as I was told and faced him, finding deep clear pools watching me. My entire universe was looking back at me. A smile played across his lips, and his muscles bunched and flexed underneath his shirt as he shifted on the seat.
If I have to be pregnant, thank God it’s with some small piece of that man.
That gorgeously wonderful, perfect man loved me exactly how I was. And however I would become. My mood shifted. Nick noticed and he tried to stifle his smile and slip his sexy, steely look in place. It didn’t quite stick.
"Run your hands over your body. Caress and tease your skin. Every inch." My body obeyed before I even thought about it.
I took first one finger and started to trace up my arm, I swirled ever so slightly at the inside of my elbow where the skin was so sensitive I flushed. When my skin colored pink, Nick bit his lip but otherwise stayed still. I let my fingers drift slowly across my collarbone then back. With those sultry tracks, my nipples hardened. Nick's eyes twinkled.
"Play with your breasts the way I would.” His voice was already gravelly, telling me this excitement was more than just enjoying the show.
My eyes fluttered shut and I finally found a broad, genuine smile as I brought my hands to my chest to tickle and twist. My breath kept catching as I played, somehow more sensitive than just a week ago. When my thighs started to press together and shift past one another, Nick crooked one finger at me, wordlessly asking me to come closer. I did and he pinched one nipple and pulled. Hard.
Wetness spread between my thighs but my body instinctively tried to back away, making the stinging sensation more intense. He chuckled his delicious, wicked laugh and let go of my breast.
"I want to see you touch yourself. Like I would."
I arched an eyebrow then seamlessly stepped wider.
I hadn't seen this coming; that he’d know the truth and want me anyway. I hadn't given him—or rather us—enough credit, just as Laura had said. The relief was palpable and my fingers were moving before I refocused. I slipped into my slit and my senses were consumed as a moan I couldn't contain escaped my lips.
His familiar growl rumbled in his chest. I added a second finger and my mouth fell open in delight. I was lost to the game.
“Sweets." He had to clear his throat. “Look at me." It wasn’t his choked request that forced my eyelids open; I wanted to drink him in anyway.
I let my palm start to rub against my clit and the friction forced my knees to knock together. Nick’s eyes didn’t waver from mine as he reached forward and pushed them open. I had to focus to keep them that way as I thrust and swirled inside of myself. When the arousal that coated my fingers started to drip down my leg, I begged.
"Baby, please!” My plea was rough.
Nick could take over with fingers or his cock, it didn't matter; I just needed it to be him. He arched his eyebrow, deciding whether to give in. My knees kept wobbling but I managed to keep up the rhythm and the soft brushes, whimpering while I waited for him to clear his throat.
"Stop. Go back to your nipples."
"Ahhh," I couldn't help the groan.
Or doing what I was told. The second I twisted on my hard nipple, electricity shot to my belly and more wetness dripped down my open legs. I opened my mouth to beg.
Wait, I know what to do.
My eyes fixed on his as a wicked smile stretched across my lips. I lifted my fingers to my lips. This was playing dirty and I knew it. Judging by how intently he watched the fingers that’d been inside me, he did too. He scooted forward in his chair as I let my fingers dance on my lips. I shoved them in roughly and let my tongue swirl around.
MMMmmm.
Nick swore under his breath and stood. He yanked my fingers out of my mouth and pulled them into his. He'd loved tasting me since the very first moment I met him. Literally. While his tongue swirled around my fingers I pushed my free hand down his pants.
He bit down on my fingers as I started stroking him. I kissed his jaw and yanked my fingers out. His lips chased my hand, changing direction at the last moment to crash down onto my mouth instead. I lost myself in that kiss but somehow managed to keep stroking him.
Nick yanked off his shirt and pulled me flat against his skin. We stumbled backwards to the couch. The cushions hit him just behind his knees and he fell to sitting. I clumsily fell on top of him with a laugh. My hands clutched onto the back of the couch as I righted myself and straddled him. I leaned my forehead to his and grabbed the band of his sweats to pull his cock free. His hands snaked to my hips and they gripped. Hard. In one swift movement, he had me lifted and then fully seated on his erection.
I kept my hands on the cushioned back of the couch and used it to help roll my body up and down. His hands dug deeper and deeper into my hips. It was his familiar viselike but oh-so-delicious grip. I’d probably have bruises tomorrow, and the thought made my toes curl.
That grip confirmed Nick was enjoying himself as much as I was. He wasn’t hung up on any part of my story. And if he wasn’t, I didn’t need to be. Any trace of my anger or worry had faded. Nick groaned repeatedly as I circled on top of him, and for the moment, everything was right.
He pushed me backwards, arching me
away from his body. He supported my upper back with one hand and traced his other down my breastbone. That hand moved further down my body. When he got gentle over my belly, I paused, suddenly self-conscious but then he continued further and he used his fingers to play between my thighs. That distracted me quite thoroughly.
Without warning, Nick switched to small, fast thrusts into me. My eyes fluttered shut again and my fingers left the chair to grasp at his shoulders before he yanked me back against his chest.
His hands curled into my hips and he thrust fully into me again. Our delightful rhythm was only interrupted when he dug in further and used his grip to take me down to the floor. Once on the carpet he pulled my arms from his body and pinned them to the floor. After a few thrusts, he grabbed both of my wrists in one hand and pulled them straight up overhead. He used his free hand for support as he expertly rolled his hips against mine. It wasn't long before I was building in that far too fast way.
"Baby," I gasped. "Let me be on top." My voice was garbled and breathy.
His answering, “No" was through gritted teeth.
"Nick I don't want it to end,” I gasped.
My back arched involuntarily as I moaned, our bodies still rolling together. He didn't stop or hesitate. Instead, he shifted his support hand to my hip and grabbed. Just the way I liked it. I was going to come even quicker now. My whimpers told him as much.
"We have a good six months where you'll have to be on top," he growled. "Let me stretch out over you while I can."
Those words struck me deeper. It was a promise I hadn't known I needed to hear. My whole body heated and flushed when I pictured us like that; bright blue eyes watching a round pregnant belly.
I surrendered completely. That honeyed feeling washed over my body and everything in me clenched, gripping onto him, and his cock inside me. I threw my head back onto the carpet and closed my eyes, relishing the feel of him working hard against me. The way he stretched me, the way he worked his hips, the way he possessed me, had only gotten better over time. Why had I thought that would change? Why had I ever doubted him?