by Ostrow, Lexi
“Mmmmhhmm,” Anna said in a very disbelieving tone. “So about that comment of yours, if you get that angry that quickly, you want to talk about Tasha.”
“Drop it, Anna. Or I’ll call Marshall for you.”
Originally, the idea of bringing up her past would have halted Anna. Not today, apparently. “I saw you with her, Nick. I saw you with Leena for years too. You were different with Tasha. Sure you smiled and were happy with Leena, she practically lived your life for you. It was like being around Mom —”
“Don’t ever say that again. I think I’m scarred for life.”
Anna laughed whole-heartedly. “Sorry, forgot you likely slept with her. Anyway, when you were with Tasha, even when you were lying to us — we’ll get at that another day by the way — you were so different. Like how you used to be before you took over the US offices. Who cares if she started as nothing more than a distraction from your longing or anger? It ended with you genuinely caring about her. Don’t fuck that up, Nick. Fix it.”
He had never heard his little sister speak in such a sharp tone to him. His lips curved into a smile, enjoying knowing that she had a backbone and thoughts of her own that she wasn’t afraid to share.
“Not that I’m going to do what you said simply because you cursed at me for the first time, but I’ll think about it. I haven’t been able to not think about Tasha anyway, so what’s a little more thought on a thirteen hour plane trip going to hurt?” Besides a lot.
“Just buy some brandy in the duty free store, and you’ll be fine. Now, about why I called. My date for the wedding, I had to do a swap out last minute. Eddie was going to his husband’s estate up in Wales, which left me dateless, and I really, really didn’t want to deal with Mom.”
“And?”
“And, I don’t think Trevor is exactly Mom’s type. Or maybe he’s too much Mom’s type, and she’s going to decide we’re getting married since I’m taking him to a wedding.”
He knew that tone in Anna’s voice. “Ahh, he’s a fuck buddy, isn’t he?”
Anna was quiet for a second. “I hate that you can tell those things. Brothers shouldn’t be able to tell those things about sisters. It’s not cool.”
He laughed for the first time since letting Tasha leave. “Well, I do. So you’re stuck with it. I think it’s great that you’re bringing someone you have no emotional attachment to. Look how well it worked out for me. Maybe you’ll fall for him.”
“You’re a real ass sometimes. I don’t want to ruin a good time with strings. Mom is either going to love him or hate him. Either way, she’s likely to think me picking him at the last minute means I’ve been secretly seeing him. Which means you and Jake need to keep her away from him. The whole weekend.”
Nick laughed again. “You got it, little sister. I’m going alone anyway. She’s going to fixate like crazy on me. I bet Peter and Jake will be recruited to give me talks.”
“See, make up with Tasha before the wedding starts, and you’ll avoid it all!” she said cheerfully.
“Goodbye Anna,” he said with a laugh as he hung up.
“Making up with Tasha is not the point of this wedding. Don’t do anything until you’re certain.”
His eyes flicked to the DVD box on the glass table. A sense of misery filled him immediately. He wondered how much longer before he gave in to what the women in his life wanted and went and got the woman he wanted back.
Nick sucked in a deep breath and felt is slide through his front teeth. Perspiration dotted his forehead, and he knew he was wet with sweat in other places too. Jake looked at him through the full-length mirror as he straightened his bow.
“If you don’t go and knock on the damned door, you’re never going to know, bro.” Jake met Nick’s gaze through the mirror.
Sighing, he shook out his hands, trying to get rid of the nervous tension. Jake only laughed and turned to face him.
“I thought I was the one who was supposed to be nervous today?” Jake joked, mirth shining out of eyes similar to Nick’s.
Nick barked a laugh. “Yes, well, you’re not the one who royally fucked up and has been miserable for longer than you can remember.”
Jake clapped him on the shoulder and gestured for him to sit on the couch. Jake looked at the two others in the room, “Can you guys clear out for a sec, its big brother time.”
The two groomsmen nodded and left, closing the door with a resounding thud behind them. Nick sighed again and put his head in his hands. “I’m ruining your wedding, aren’t I?”
Jake laughed. “Well, I sorta took your girl, so I’d say it would be all right if you were. Look, I know this past year has been hard on you. I know that, to you, Tasha might seem like nothing more than a fresh start, but I like her. If you’re only here because you liked getting over Leena with someone close to her, well then, I encourage you to get the hell out.”
Nick swore his eyes bugged out of his head. “That is big brother time?”
Jake shrugged. “I don’t need you ruining Leena’s best friend’s life. Tasha’s a great girl. She doesn’t deserve to play second fiddle because you decided she’s a good substitute since I got what you really want.”
Nick growled and his hands wrapped around Jake’s collar before he could stop himself. “Don’t you dare talk about her like that to me. Tasha is more amazing than you’ll ever know from hanging out with her at a few dinners or days on set. She has one of the most beautiful, genuine souls that I have ever met. She’s funny, talented and far too good for me. But she is not second to anyone. Ever.” He could feel his ears flaming with anger, and he was breathing in short, rapid puffs.
Casually, as if Nick hadn’t just shouted at him, Jake unclamped his hands, removed them and fixed his suit. “First, thanks for not punching me right away, wasn’t sure how that was going to play out.”
Nick shook his head, bewildered by his brother’s comment for the second time in just as many minutes. “Excuse me?”
Jake smoothed the bow tie back into place and gave Nick a grin he typically reserved for after he’d kicked his ass as a kid. “Consider that lesson number, oh I don’t know, let’s call it five hundred on the brother scale.” Jake stood up and walked to the door, gesturing for Nick to leave when he opened it. “You’re in love with her. Your reaction proved it. I knew it the minute I saw you look at her, even if you thought you were faking it. You fell in love with her pretty much from the minute your little plan began.”
Standing, he walked to the door and embraced his brother. They had not had the best relationship, but Jake did know him. “Thanks. Not too sure I like you being in my head so well, but thanks.”
Jake chuckled. “Just doing my brotherly duties. Now, go get her. You’re running out of time before my special day trumps your declaration of love, and I will not postpone this for the pair of you. Leena deserves the perfect day, and that means being on time.”
Jake playfully shoved him out the door and made a shooing motion. Nick tugged on the sleeves of his jacket, something he did when he was nervous—no matter how infrequent that actually was.
As he walked through the halls of the Parisian hotel, he could hear laughter and conversations centering around his brother and Leena. They might have barely had a year together, but it was apparent they had made great friends in the community, and he was happy for them.
Listening in on a conversation about Leena trying to teach Jake how to horseback ride over the summer, he looked up and realized he was outside the bride’s dressing room door.
“Now or never, Nick. Don’t waste another minute. She’s not like Leena. She’s not going to wait.” He blew out a breath and knocked twice on the door.
“Jake, that’s not you, is it?” Leena called out, sounding slightly muffled through the thick door.
“Not quite, though I’ve heard straight from you, we look an awful lot a like.” His voice was tight with nerves, and the joke didn’t deliver as charmingly as he’d hoped.
A second later, Leena fill
ed the doorway as she opened it. Nick let out a breath. She was stunning. Her blonde hair was down and curling around her shoulders. A designer gown, studded with pearls, wrapped around her body like a glove, and her face had a glimmer of shimmer powder, making her blue eyes seem even brighter. Yet, she was still barely a flame next to the blazing inferno of Tasha’s beauty.
“You look amazing.” He kissed her cheek.
She looked as if she was debating between wanting to thank him and wanting to deck him. Thankfully, he knew her well enough to know she wouldn’t hit him, yet.
“What do you want, Nick? I don’t care if you’re Jake’s best man. I’m still pissed off at you.” She crossed her arms and glowered at him.
“But not at Tasha?” he asked sincerely.
“Not today, no. She did what she did because I was annoying her. I can forgive that. You did what you did because you couldn’t stand seeing me happy with Jake, or thought you couldn’t.”
There was nothing he could say, she was correct. “I just need to speak to Tasha.”
Leena raised a brow and turned back to look inside the room, still guarding everyone within with her small frame. “Tasha, if I let Nick in, can you not kick his ass? He’s got to walk you down the aisle, which is something I’d hoped you wouldn’t find out until it was time, but now you know, and if you’re going to kill him, just wait please.”
“I’m not going to kill him, but I have nothing to say to him.”
He heard Tasha’s clipped words.
“Leena, please. It’s important.”
A second later, he heard the familiar chime of her phone, followed by her mom’s voice.
“Sweetie, come look at this.”
Leena shut the door in his damn face, and when she reopened it, she was beaming as brightly as she had the first time she’d learned about the fake relationship. “Everyone, come on out.” She looked at him and narrowed her eyes. “You fuck this up, or ruin my wedding day, and I promise you many of those private emails filled with embarrassing moments gets sent to your entire contact list.”
He laughed and nodded as she stepped aside. His mom, her mom and two women he assumed were friends from Paris, walked out. With the door open, he could see Tasha standing near the window, in a dusty pink colored gown that seemed to flow around her.
Cautiously, he stepped in and cleared his throat. “You look beautiful.”
Tasha’s head whipped around, and her eyes blazed. They seemed to soften for a moment, and then hardened once more. “You look very handsome. These are pleasantries we do not need. We had fun, and we made an assumption after getting caught up in the moment. I have no hard feelings, and there’s nothing to say to you.”
Nick didn’t waste a second. He walked over to her and tugged her into his arms, pressing his lips to hers. She resisted for a moment, tensing in his arms, and then she molded against him with a groan. He felt as if he was soaring as they kissed. Everything he’d felt every time they’d touched was as strong as ever. When he pulled back, she slapped him. Her hands raised around her mouth as she gasped.
“I hadn’t intended to hit you, but I didn’t expect you to kiss me either.”
“Tasha, what happened that last night at the party, well just before the party . . . God my life’s on a fucking loop,” he growled and ran his hands through his hair. “Sorry, that hadn’t been what I’d meant to say. Tasha, things got shot to hell, and I don’t even know how. I meant everything I’d said to you. I care about you.”
Tasha stared at him, saying nothing. He could see she was breathing deeply, whether it was to calm herself or because she was panicking, he couldn’t be certain. When she didn’t speak, he kept talking.
“I’ve been a mess since then. I know you think it hasn’t been that long, but it has. Fuck, you woke me up. You got me back on my feet and reminded me that I had a life to live. And I don’t feel grateful or in debt to you for it.”
“Brilliant speech, Nick,” she snipped.
He took a step forward, closing the distance she’d made when she’d slapped him. Taking her hands in his, he stared into her eyes. “I don’t owe you anything. But I am in love with you. I was a fool for not chasing after you. I thought history was repeating itself, and maybe it was. But I won’t let it. I won’t let you get away without at least telling you how I feel.”
She shook her hands free of his and stepped back a few steps. He felt his throat constrict as if she’d already shot him down with her actions.
“Tasha, please say something.”
Tasha hadn’t realized she’d been holding her breath while Nick was speaking until she slowly grew dizzy from it. He was standing before her, quiet and staring hopefully. His midnight eyes were blazing with intensity, and the black rim around them seemed to haunt her as she looked at him.
Memories swam in her mind. Nick proposing the ridiculous plan of fake dating to make Leena happy. The two of them creating the most dilapidated gingerbread houses likely in the history of gingerbread houses. Going on a horse drawn carriage with him as the snow began to fall and twilight set upon the mountain. Her body trembled as she thought about him pinning her to the wall and commanding her to the most explosive orgasm she had ever known. Finally, to the moment their secret had come out, and he hadn’t properly responded.
She was clenching her hands, and she slowly unballed them. His words were everything that a woman would want to hear. Especially from a rich, powerful and handsome man. Her body betrayed her as her thoughts slipped back to Nick thrusting into her and claiming her long before that moment.
“I want to believe you, Nick. You’re always so aloof. I listened to Leena complain for years that you didn’t commit. I experienced your calculated charm and coldness. I want to believe you, so much so, I’m repeating myself.”
“Then believe me.” He reached out and tried to take her hand.
“It’s not that simple.”
He growled low, and she saw the faintest trace of fear flicker in his gaze. “Yes, it is.”
Tasha reached behind her neck and undid the tie on the rose-colored halter-top gown. It fell off her with ease, sliding to the floor in a billowing pool. She watched Nick swallow as she stepped out of it and walked toward him, silver heels clicking on the floor.
“Let me be in control, Nick. Let someone else be in control, and I will believe you.” She put her hand delicately on his chest, over his heart, and locked her eyes with his. She wouldn’t beg him, but her eyes were pleading, and she knew it.
He hesitated before wrapping his hand around her wrist. She could feel the tension running through his body, and when he dropped his hand, she felt herself grow wet. Nick took a step back.
“Anything, Tasha. Nothing matters but being with you. My life has sucked these past two weeks, and yours has to have too, the universe can’t be this cruel to me twice,” he said with a callous chuckle.
She could feel her heart beating rapidly. She found it thrilling the way Nick took charge, but it wasn’t in her nature, and she didn’t know how he would respond. “Leena is going to kill me if we’re late.” Her voice was husky as she looked at the clock on the wall. “Twenty minutes and touch my hair it will be Leena that castrates you.”
Nick smiled devilishly, and she slipped her hand into the thong that matched the chiffon gown that was now on the ground. Tugging them down, she pointed at Nick
“Take your clothes off and lay on that settee.” She wasn’t certain if she sounded as nervous as she felt, but when he complied, a thrill went through her. Not from being in control, but from realizing that Nick was sincere in his feelings.
Seeing Nick stripped bare, she licked her lips at the sight of his thick erection. He wasted no time in lying down on the cheesy Victorian style furniture. Leaning over slightly, she dragged her hand down the firm muscles of his chest, and her mouth followed with a trail of kisses. Gently, she slid her tongue over the tip of his dick, tasting the saltiness of the liquid that had seeped out. In one motion, she closed
her mouth over him and slid down his entire length. She allowed herself to relish the feel of his thickness between her lips for no more than three generous sucks before taking him from her mouth.
Shifting her gaze to his, she saw the strain in his face, his hands gripped around the edge of the furniture. She didn't waste any time wrapping her slender fingers around his thick shaft, not minding the wetness from her mouth. Pumping her hand along his length, her other hand rolled his balls, massages them before wrapping her other hand around his shaft as well. She stroked and pumped him with both, her body beginning to quiver at the noises he was making.
“Tasha,” he groaned and slowly began to thrust his hips into her hands, increasing the pace.
She swallowed hard and spoke before she could shy away. “Touch yourself, Nick. I want to know what you like.” Her hands slipped off his dick.
His eyes were molten pools of blue as he looked at her. The minute he grabbed himself, his body arched up, and his head tipped back. His groan sent a wave of pure need through her, and she felt her body pulse. Watching him, she took in the strain of the muscles in his neck, and the pace his hand moved. Her breathing hitched, and she knew she couldn’t sit back and watch any longer.
Climbing over him, she reached down and took him by the wrists. His hands stopped stroking himself, and she slowly peeled his fingers open. Her hips dipped low, brushing the top of his shaft against her core, and she choked back her strangled cry as she waited, poised above her male, body wet and ready. An evil grin spread across her lips as she looked down at him.
“Touch me now, Nick.”
The greedy look in his eyes seemed to smirk back at her. Reaching out his palm, he drove two fingers into her tight, wet passage. Over and over, he drove them in and out of her core, driving her wild. Tasha couldn’t find the strength to speak to tell him she wanted to come from him deep inside her. Instead, she took his hand and tried her hardest to stop. Nick understood, and his fingers slipped free, purposefully brushing her swollen clit as they did.