“No, it’s not. I have Callie to think about and my mom.”
“You don’t think Callie and Lola would want to move back in?”
“No, they would.”
“So what’s the problem?”
“That’s the problem.” I knew that I wasn’t explaining this right, but in fairness to me, it wasn’t every day that the man with whom I was completely and totally in love with asked me to move in with him. I took a breath and appreciated Nick giving me the time to collect my thoughts. Most people just spoke over me, but Nick never did. He allowed me to sit in the silence so that I could figure out what to say.
“Whatever is going on between us is not sustainable, and we can’t drag our families into it.”
“How do you know it’s not sustainable?”
“How many serious relationships have you had?”
He flinched at my question, and I knew that I’d hit a nerve. “Why does that matter?”
“Because it does. Look, I know that you miss me. I miss you. I miss Bella. I miss Naomi. I even miss Parker and Carmen. But those are feelings, and they will pass. Things will go back to normal. Your life will go back to normal. You can’t make any sort of life-changing decisions right now.”
“I’ve never felt for anyone else the way I feel about you. You have to believe that.”
“I do.” It wasn’t that I questioned his sincerity; I just knew the catalyst for his feelings were based in trauma. Still, I found myself confessing my own feelings. “I’ve never felt for anyone else the way I feel about you.”
Our eyes were locked, and with each second that passed, the sexual tension between us built. I felt like I was in an arousal pressure cooker. I wanted so badly to lean forward and kiss Nick, but I knew that wasn’t fair. I’d just told him that I couldn’t move in with him. I’d said that his feelings would pass. I’d been the one to set the boundaries; I couldn’t just cross them when I felt like it.
Nick’s phone vibrated, and he glanced down at his watch.
“Everything okay?”
“Yeah, just someone wishing me a happy birthday.” When his eyes lifted to mine again, they had a predatory gleam in them that was like throwing a match into dry shrubs. My entire body lit up in flames. “There’s still one more hour left of my birthday.”
I wasn’t sure where he was going with this. “Did you want to go back to the party?”
“No, but do you want to know what I wished for when I blew out my candles on my cake?”
“If you tell me, I don’t think it will come true.”
“Okay, can I show you?”
Yes!My hormones screamed as I nodded my head.
Nick lifted his hand and cupped my jaw. Slowly, giving me plenty of time to stop him, he leaned forward. My eyes closed in anticipation of his lips pressing against mine. Finally, after what felt like an eternity, his mouth covered mine.
The kiss started out sweet, slow, and sensual. His thumb grazed my cheek as his fingers speared through my hair. He tilted my head slightly, giving him a better angle to deepen the kiss. My lips parted, and the second his tongue touched mine, I knew that this wasn’t going to just be a birthday kiss.
All the feelings and emotions that I’d been trying to keep at bay flooded through me like a dam breaking. I was overwhelmed with urgency like I’d never felt before. A desperate whimper escaped from the back of my throat as our tongues tangled together. I almost didn’t recognize that the sound had come from me, but I knew it had.
Nick’s hand slid beneath the hem of my skirt, and I felt his fingers brush along my inner thighs. His touch registered in my brain as the magical command open sesame, and my knees parted as wide as they could. His hand traveled further up until it reached my core.
His fingers rubbed against my cotton-covered sex, and he moaned into my mouth. “You are so wet.”
I was very aware of that fact. Every time he walked into a room, it was like Niagara Falls in my nether region. My senses were so tuned to him that my body primed from just seeing him, hearing him, and smelling him. By the time I touched or tasted him, I was so close to the edge of release that a barely-there graze of his fingers could push me over.
Which is exactly what happened now. His hand slid beneath my panties and instantly found my needy clit. He began to flick the roughened pad of his fingertip across my swollen nub. The sensation rocked me with a force that caused my head to fall back against the headrest, breaking our kiss. Within seconds, my core burst with an explosion of bliss. My release lashed through me in a surge of pleasure.
I gripped his arm as I rode out my climax. His expert touch sensually massaged the hood of my sex, prolonging my orgasm. When the final flutter of tingles subsided, I opened my eyes to find him watching me.
He removed his hand without breaking our stare. “Thank you.”
“For what? I should be thanking you.”
“For making my birthday wishcometrue.”
His emphasis on the word come had the corners of my mouth tilting up.
“Is that all you wished for?” I asked.
“Yes.” His gaze was serious, and I knew what he was trying to communicate without saying the words. All he cared about was making me feel good and bringing me pleasure, which only made me love him more.
I knew that he would drive me home right now without batting an eye over the straining erection trying to Hulk its way out of his pants. But that was not going to happen.
