Authors: Kristen James
Nick raised his head and looked at her face in the candlelit. “Is this okay?”
She writhed and tried to answer. He kissed her stomach again it felt like an electric shock driving through her. “Nick!”
He moved up by her face. “Are you trying to be quiet?” Now his lips held a very satisfied little smile.
“I can’t handle any more teasing.”
His expression sobered. “But is this okay? Now?”
“I’ve been thinking about it, about you, all week. I didn’t want to leave you up there.”
He twirled a strand of her hair. “I know that now, and it’s okay. It’s behind us now.” He locked gazes with her and looked so earnest and focused on her.
She’d seen that yesterday, that it was okay and he wasn’t angry about it even when he had every right to be after she ran off. “Okay,” she said, leaving it at that.
“So,” he said, memorizing her face. “You thought about me all week?”
With his body so close, his heat warming her, his breath on her, she couldn’t help wiggling against him. “You didn’t?”
At that, he gave her a wide smile. “Oh, I probably shouldn’t tell you the things I’ve been thinking about. Although…I could show you.”
He bent to kiss her neck, teasing his way to her ear while his hands wrapped around her waist. She liked teasing. She wanted to see what he had been dreaming up. But right now she needed fulfillment.
“Let’s get fancy later,” she breathed. “I need you.”
He rose up, took the bottom of her T-shirt and pulled it up. She lifted enough to allow him to slip it off. Her next thought was her shorts, and getting them off, but he dropped down to trail his mouth down her. She couldn’t hold in the cry this time. Instead she had to cover her mouth with her hand and hope no one heard.
He wasn’t being quiet, either.
“Nick!” she said his name again, pulling two fists of his hair. His fingers slipped into her shorts to pull them down, and slid over the sensitive skin of her lower abdomen and thighs, sending her desire to a frantic level, her back arching off the bed.
His boxers came off in lightning speed and he lay over her, looking into her eyes. He looked delirious with desire too, his face almost pained in concentration. His mouth came down on hers as she wrapped her legs around him, begging him.
It turned out he didn’t need convincing. He came down onto her, into her. She lost it, giving herself up in mind blowing, wet release, gasping at the wave of endorphins surging through her body.
“Cora?” He paused, his entire body shaking – vibrating – from the effort.
“More, Nick!”
Fourteen
Adam softly tapped on Nick’s door during the night to wake him for his watch. At first Nick didn’t hear it, and when he did, he was surprised that he could pull himself out of that dead-to-the-world state of bliss.
He slid back from Cora and out of bed, resisting the urge to kiss her check. She needed a good night’s rest.
“I’ll be right out,” he said to the door, finding his shorts and shirt.
In the hallway, Adam told him, “Herald and I talked for a while. He’s got an extra mini 9mm.”
“What are you saying?” Nick wasn’t sure Cora wanted a gun.
“Just ask her, show her how to use it. You never know, bro. What if she needs a way to protect herself and has nothing?”
He couldn’t live with that. “I’ll talk to her in the morning.”
Adam nodded, and only then did he give Nick a knowing glance. “Now that you’ve enjoyed some beauty sleep…I’m going to catch some zzz’s.”
From Adam’s smile, Nick guessed he was happy for him. He went to the front room and began silently checking around, ensuring the doors and windows were locked, the alarm was on, and there wasn’t anyone lurking around. The house was silent and dark, and there were motion activated lights outside by the doors and windows, hidden under so they weren’t visible until someone walked by and turned them on.
He’d brought his own gun in the house, but he prayed they wouldn’t need it. Using a gun was his last resort. Alexander had pushed him that far by trying to kill Jerry. Hopefully the police would come through for them to finish this.
He left his family behind, thinking he could never change them. That didn’t work anymore. Now he had to stop them from hurting anyone else.
Thinking about Jerry, and if he would make it, put a huge weight on his shoulders. No matter what Jerry’s involvement and level of knowledge was, he didn’t deserve this. Cora deserved so much more.
Cora. He’d been trying not to think about the passion they’d shared, to keep his mind clear and focused, but it wandered now, right back to the bedroom where she slept, to the bed where she’d lost all control over him. He’d gotten lost in her eyes, in her touch and the way she responded to him. This wasn’t the time or place for letting go like that, but he hadn’t been able to control himself, and she hadn’t either.
One way or another, he’d make sure the Holloways and Alexander never bothered or scared her again.
Nick returned to bed an hour before the sun rose so he could be with Cora when she woke up. He pulled off his shirt and slipped into bed, curling around her. Lucky for him, she hadn’t woke up and pulled her shirt back on yet.
Since they’d just made wild, crazy love, he didn’t expect the feel of her skin on his to send him into another frenzy. Somehow he had to get a grip on his hormones, at least for now.
***
Cora woke up with Nick’s arms holding her close, keeping her warm in the cool house. She stretched, feeling the reminders of their night of lovemaking. It was a very nice feeling.
Curling up with him in bed, naked, was a very nice feeling too. And it could turn dangerous if she lay here too long. She slowly slid away from him and found her clothes, getting up so he could sleep. If she were tired from this week, he must be running on fumes. He had skipped sleep more than her even.
She took a quick shower and towel dried her hair before heading to the kitchen. She found a bag of coffee beans and started a pot. A beautiful summer day was beginning outside with the sun rising over the tree line and burning off the light mist around the house.
“Morning,” Nick said behind her.
Turning and standing on tiptoe, she wrapped her arms around his neck. She couldn’t get enough of him.
When she leaned back and met his gaze, she could read concern. He had expressive eyes, when he wanted them to express something anyway.
“What is it?” she asked.
“Herald has an extra gun, and I’d like you to carry it.”
The determination on his face wouldn’t let her argue. On top of that, she knew he was right. “Okay, but I don’t have a clue how to use one.”
Nick pulled a gun out of a drawer and motioned her to step closer. He demonstrated how to turn the safety on and off, load it, aim and pull the trigger. Stepping behind her, he wrapped his arms around her and positioned her hand correctly. “It helps to support your gun hand with the other. Ideally, to get a good aim at something, you should use a rest. I pray you won’t ever need to use this information, but I can’t risk it. Here, practice aiming at a few things.”
Cora nodded, taking aim at the handle of the front door and then a tree out the kitchen window. She tried, but couldn’t, forget those scary seconds at Keith’s house. She had wished for a gun then, something she never thought before in her life.
“Coffee’s done,” she said, nervous, checking the safety on the gun and setting it in the corner of the counter. He watched her while pouring coffee for them so she added, “I’ll take it with me.”
Nick nodded and handed her a bottle of powered creamer. “There’s no milk or creamer, but I have this if you don’t mind it.”
“You have everything here. That worked out nicely,” she said.
“I like to be prepared. I actually set everything up here in case I could bring you here to hide out. This was supposed to be your safe house while I figured out how to get Jerry out too.” He sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose. “I planned for several different possibilities…”
She was shocked and touched at how he had tried to protect her the entire time.
“But Alexander followed us,” she said, finishing his thought. Adam came in the front door as she spoke.
“Morning to you both,” he greeted. “I know we didn’t hear anything during the night, but I thought I’d check for any signs that someone was here.”
“I don’t think there’s any way Keith or Alexander can know about this place.” Nick poured another cup of coffee and handed it to Adam.
“You’d be surprised,” Adam said, “I think we should get out of here, go somewhere completely unconnected with any of us.”
“They can’t look everywhere, but you’re right, we shouldn’t push our luck.”
Cora had her cup to her mouth for a sip, but something about that made her pause.
Looking everywhere.
After sleeping so well, she felt like she’d been missing something. She was supposed to look for something…from her dad! “My file.”
Nick stopped midsentence while talking to Adam. “What?”
“On the way to the hospital, my dad said to look at my file. I think he meant the CD I found at his house.” Nick and Adam both raised their eyebrows at her. “I can’t believe I forgot about it.”
“Well, it’s not surprising you forgot, not after that,” Nick said. He shared a look with Adam before turning back to her. “Do you have it here?”
Her shoulders sank. “I found it at Dad’s house… and then Alexander found me.”
The light faded in Nick’s eyes too, but then relit. “If he has it, he isn’t tracking us down. That’s probably what he needs.”
“He doesn’t know he has it.” She rinsed her mug and sat it in the dishwasher. Caffeine was the last thing she needed right now. “I wasn’t sure who I could trust. I kept it hidden until the morning I went to Keith’s house, and then I put it in the glove box in Alexander’s car before he got in. So hopefully he doesn’t know it’s there.”
“That’s it,” Adam said. “We need that CD.”
Nick didn’t look up when he said, “Cora, you would have said if you opened the file, or files, right?” He rubbed his stubble, forming plans already.
“I didn’t get the chance. I never even took it out of the bag. The bag! It had a note and a key with it, but I’m not sure if they mean anything to us.”
Nick knew his hand out in surprise, throwing coffee in the process. “The key! On the phone Keith said he wanted the key.”
She gasped. “Do you think Alexander or Jerry put that money in a safe deposit box?” Cora finally understood the importance of the key, but she didn’t think Alexander locked the money away. “Alexander was depositing money slowly into the trust fund with my name on it. Then the money disappeared into a safe deposit box, and Jerry had the key. Do you think Jerry discovered Alexander’s activities and moved the money?”
“So Keith couldn’t accuse Jerry of stealing it?” Nick spoke thoughtfully. “I think that’s it. So Jerry, in a way, did steal the money from Alexander.”
“He moved someone else’s stolen money.” Adam gave a sad laugh. “Guess it’s all how you look at it.”
Cora pictured the rest of the story. “Then Alexander threatened Jerry, but didn’t get his money, and went to Keith. He accused Jerry of stealing the money from Keith. Jerry didn’t have a way of proving that Alexander was behind it.”