Until Series: Box set (97 page)

“Yeah,” I whisper, taking another breath as my belly goes crazy with butterflies. I feel his chest moving and I think he’s laughing, so I turn my head to look up at him.

“You know, you’re really adorable,” he says when our eyes meet. I scrunch up my face at him. I don’t want to be adorable; I want to be beautiful or sexy, not adorable.

“Relax, sweet Sophie. We’re just watching a movie.” His hand cups my cheek, his thumb sliding over my lower lip as his eyes follow.

My breath catches and I nod. His hand drops and slides around my shoulder, pulling me snug against him. I can’t help but to relax as he slides it gently up and down my arm. We watch the movie in comfortable silence, and at some point, I fall asleep.

I wake to the room being cast in a blue glow. It takes a second to remember where I am and who I’m lying on. I put my hand to my mouth, knowing that I probably just drooled all over his shirt, and when I turn my head to apologize, I see that he’s asleep. His arm tightens around me like he doesn’t want me to move. I watch him closely, taking in every contour of his face and the slight stubble along his jaw. Even in sleep, he looks dangerous, but then I think about how gentle he is with me and I wonder how it’s possible for someone to be so complicatedly beautiful.

When he showed up tonight, I wanted to fall into his arms. He looked hot standing there, wearing a plaid shirt with the sleeves rolled up, showing off his tattoos and his black jeans hugging his thighs. Then I saw the flowers. They were such a complete contrast to the way he looks, and I almost laughed when he held them out to me, looking unsure about them.

My fingers twitch; I want to trace the outline of his lips with my fingers. I lift my hand slowly; my finger touching his bottom lip causes him to jerk his head away. My hand freezes then moves on its own accord when he stills. His lip is smooth and warm, and I can still remember how it felt against my own when he kissed me. My finger moves slowly as I watch its trail, mesmerized, captivated… Then I scream when his mouth clamps down around my finger, his teeth biting down, not hard, but enough so that I can’t pull away.

My eyes jump up to meet his as his hands go under my arms, his mouth not releasing my finger, and he pulls me on top of him. He runs his tongue over my fingertip behind his teeth as he situates himself underneath me.

“What are you doing?” I breathe.

“I think I should be asking you that,” he says, smiling, and I can feel a large bulge against my belly.

“Sorry. I just…” I try to get away, but he holds me a little tighter, making my pulse spike.

“You’re safe with me,” he says, reading my face.

I force myself to relax, reminding myself that he has been nothing but kind to me.

“I like that you want to touch me.” He gently pushes my hair away from my face. My eyes close at the contact then open to see him smiling. “We both fell asleep?” he asks as his hand continues to run over my hair and down my back.

“I didn’t realize how tired I was,” I say with a nod. My eyes start to feel heavy as he strokes me, so I lay my head against his chest, wondering not for the first time why I feel so safe with someone I don’t know all that well.

“I like this,” he whispers, pressing his lips to the top of my head.

I snuggle closer, enjoying his warmth and the way he smells. In the back of my head, I keep thinking about the things Maggie said along with the way Nico makes me feel and how much I want to explore things with him, but I wonder if I should wait until I’m in a better place mentally.

I must have fallen asleep again, because I’m suddenly aware that I’m being carried into my room. Nico lays me on the bed then pulls a blanket up over me.

“I’m the worst date ever,” I say tiredly as I snuggle down into my bed.

“This wasn’t a date, remember?” he says quietly.

“Oh yeah. I don’t do that.” I smile.

“If this was a date, it was the best one I’ve ever had.” His hand slides gently down the side of my face. I think he is going to kiss me—I want him to kiss me—so I turn my head slightly, but his nose skims my cheek, and his lips go to my forehead. “Sleep, baby. I’m going to head home. I’ll call you tomorrow,” he tells me, kissing me once more; this time, his lips touch the corner of mine. I watch his shadow leaving the room.

I can hear the doors close, and I know I need to get up and lock my deadbolt and set the alarm, but it takes a minute for me to get out of bed. I pull off my jeans and bra before wandering into the living room to make sure everything is off. I turn on the hall light and start setting the deadbolt when there is a knock on the door. I look through the peephole, seeing Nico standing on the other side, which makes my belly flutter once again.

“Hey. Did you forget something?” I ask when the door is open.

“Yes,” he replies, his body suddenly pressing me against the wall. “Jesus,” he groans, looking down my body.

I forgot I’m almost naked, wearing nothing but a tank top and a pair of boy shorts. When his hand grabs my ass and his mouth lands on mine, I’m instantly reminded of my state of undress. My mouth opens under his, my tongue following what his is doing. My fingers fist into his T-shirt to hold him to me. His hand on my ass squeezes, making me moan into his mouth. He presses me harder into the wall, and I can feel his excitement through his jeans and my thin tank top.

I don’t really know what I’m doing, so I follow his lead and give up everything I have to that kiss. He rips his mouth away before placing his forehead to mine. We’re both breathing heavily, and it takes a second to come back to myself. I slowly loosen my hands, which have wrapped around his shirt so tightly that my fingers now have impressions on them. He tightens his hand on my ass, his fingers digging into my skin. When I open my eyes, his eyes are on my mouth.

“I knew I wouldn’t be able to sleep tonight if I didn’t come back and do that.” He presses his lips to mine again, this time just a touch before moving away.

“I’m glad you came back for that.” I feel my cheeks heat up, and I start to look away, but his fingers go under my chin. His eyes roam my face, and I don’t know what he sees, but I feel exposed and want to pull away.

“All right, sweet Sophie. Get some sleep.” His hand drops from my ass, and as his body pulls away from mine, he takes his warmth with him. He kisses my forehead and then tilts my head back to kiss my mouth once more before heading out the door he just barged through. “Lock up, babe,” he says over his shoulder.

“’Night, Nico,” I say softly, closing the door behind him. My fingers touch my mouth and I smile as I lean back against the door. I could definitely get used to him kissing me.

Nico

I
pull up
to the front of my house, exhausted. It’s been four days since I’ve seen Sophie. I got a call for a run I couldn’t pass up not long after I left her standing inside her house wearing nothing but a tank top and panties, her mouth still swollen from what mine did to it. My phone buzzes, and thinking that it’s her, I look at the screen, but instead, I see that it’s a text from Asher. I groan, opening the message; all I want to do is take a shower and sleep before I see Sophie.

Asher:
You busy?

Yes, busily about to pass out, I think.

Me:
Why?

Don’t say you need me; don’t say you need me… I chant to myself with my fingers crossed as I wait for his reply.

Asher:
I need your help setting up the pool fence.

“Shiiit,” I groan out loud. I scrub my eyes with my fists and let out a sigh before I respond.

Me:
On my way.

When I pull out onto the highway and hit dial on my phone, the loud ringing fills my car.

“Hey. Did you make it home already?” Sophie answers, making me smile.

“I did, but then my brother messaged me, so I’m heading to his house.”

“You haven’t slept. Are you going to be okay?” The concern in her voice only solidifies why she is the one.

“I’ll be okay. I was hoping I could see you at some point tonight.”

“Oh,” she replies quietly, making my eyes draw together.

“Oh? Baby, you know you’re a killer on a man’s ego, right?”

“Sorry, it’s just…”

I listen as she takes a breath, but when she doesn’t continue, I ask, “Haven’t you ever dated anyone?”

“Um…”

“What are you, a virgin?” I joke, expecting her to laugh.

“I should let you go while you’re driving,” she says quickly.

“No, you shouldn’t.” I grip my steering wheel tighter.

“I really should,” she argues.

“No, you’re going to tell me exactly what’s wrong with you,” I growl.

“Actually, I’m getting off the phone,” she snaps, and the phone goes dead.

“What the fuck?” I press dial on the phone again, and this time, it goes right to voicemail.

She’s lucky I have to meet my brother; otherwise, I would be at her house dealing with this shit face to face. I drive the rest of the way to Asher’s with my music on full blast, thinking over our conversation. I have never let a woman affect me, never given a fuck what they think, say, or do. I have been told the same shit my whole life about the boom and used to think it was a bunch of bullshit. That is, until Asher met November, Trevor pulled his head out of his ass and claimed Liz, and now Cash with Lilly. Then I felt it for myself when I saw Sophie.

“I’m such an asshole,” I say aloud as everything clicks into place. Her shyness, the way she carries herself, how her body reacts when I touch her—either she’s had very little experience or is a virgin, and I just threw that shit in her face. “Fuck me,” I whisper into my empty car. I shake my head and drive the rest of the way, coming up with a plan. No way am I letting her push me away.

I pull up to Asher’s house twenty minutes later, shut off my car, and hop out.

“Uncle Nico’s here!” July yells over her shoulder before running down the steps straight into me.

“Hey, kiddo.” I swing her up into my arms.

“You didn’t bring Daisy,” she pouts, looking over my shoulder and into my car.

“Nope. She’s at home.”

“Awww! But I wanted to see her,” she whines.

“How about the next time I go out of town, you babysit her for me?”

“Really?!” she squeals.

“Really,” I say, kissing her head before setting her down once we get into the house.

“Thank God you’re here,” November says as soon as she sees me. I raise an eyebrow, and she shakes her head as she gives me a hug. “Those three”—she points out the glass backdoors towards the pool where Asher, Trevor, and Cash are all standing—“have been trying to get the kid gate put up around the pool for the last three hours. I tried to help them, but they refused to listen. Hopefully, now that you’re here, they will stop arguing like a bunch of old ladies and just get it done already.”

“I’ll see what I can do.” I laugh when she rolls her eyes. Then I walk out to the back patio and down to the pool area where—just like November said—Asher, Trevor, and Cash are all arguing.

“You do know that, if you guys stopped bitching for a few minutes, you would probably already be done, right?” I ask, walking up to join the circle.

“You think this shit’s easy? There aren’t even instructions in English! All this shit is in Chinese,” Cash complains, shoving the piece of paper at me.

I don’t even bother looking for English directions; I just look at the picture, glance at the pieces, and immediately start to assemble the fence.

“You have always been a fucking show-off,” Trevor says in disgust, making me laugh.

“You’re just mad I’m smarter than you.”

“You wish, motherfucker,” he replies, helping me put pieces together.

“You girls going to stand there and watch, or are you going to help us out?” I ask Asher and Cash, who are both just standing over us in identical poses with their arms crossed over their chests.

Realizing they’ve been called out, they immediate jump into action. It takes thirty minutes to get the last piece attached, but once we’re done, we all stand back to appreciate our hard work.

“That didn’t take long to do once y’all stopped bitching,” I pointed out, just to rub it in their faces.

“We would have figured it out…eventually,” Cash says, smiling—something he does a lot more these days.

“How are Lilly and Ashlyn doing living with you?” I ask him.

“Good. They’re settling in. Never thought I’d be thankful to Jules for anything in my life besides Jax, but she proved to be useful getting Lilly to live with me, even if the situation was fucked up.”

“True,” I agree; Lilly is the best thing to happen to Jax and Cash. Every time I’m around them as a family, I see the love she has for my brother. In the beginning, I was worried about her intentions, but now, I know she is exactly what Cash said she is—a good woman.

“How’s work been?” Trevor asks. He always asks me the same thing, and I know they all want me to go back to working with them, but I can’t; I love what I do.

“Good. Busy.” I give him the same vague answer I always do.

“Guess there’s never a short supply of criminals. At least you have job security,” Asher says, laughing.

I look at my brothers and chuckle. I’m blessed to have such an awesome family, and I can’t wait for everyone to meet Sophie.

*