Worth the fight

Chapter 44

Elle

“What about your training? Is there a gym?” We’ve been heading north for a long time, and I regret telling Nico I didn’t want to know where we’re going, because now curiosity has gotten the best of me. I keep asking him questions, trying to get a hint of our destination, but he doesn’t budge an inch.

“There’s no gym, but I’m planning on lots of cardio this weekend.”

Nico smiles but keeps his eyes on the road as he drives in the dark. There aren’t any street lights and the road has narrowed to one lane in each direction. I take in his handsome profile, the beautiful lines of his cheek leading to his square jaw. A jaw that hasn’t seen a razor in twenty-four hours and the stubble makes him look even more rugged and handsome, if that’s even possible.

“You’re staring.”

“I like what I’m looking at.”

Nico takes his eyes off the road for a second and glances at me quickly and then they return to the road. But in that split second I see the green in his eyes and it makes me want him. His bright eyes light up his sexy, dark-tanned face. As he turns back to the road, he smiles and his stunning cheek dips, revealing the dimple that makes me weak in the knees. I don’t know exactly what it is, but there is something about the contrast of how strong and masculine Nico is that mixes with his boyish, dimpled smile that does me in. I actually need to squeeze my legs shut to calm the swell growing between them. I have the urge to reach over and feel him. Start at his solid thigh and slowly follow the heat that will undoubtedly lead me to a place that will leave us both panting with need.

“We only have another five minutes drive, or I’d be pulling off to the side of the road the way you’re looking at me.”

I laugh at his comment, grateful that he can’t see my face as it reddens. I’ve never been one to seek out physical contact with a partner. I usually enjoy it and participate in it actively, but I have just never been the pursuer. Yet with this man, I find myself unable to stop my body’s natural reaction to being near him. It has a mind of its own when it comes to Nico Hunter.

We finally turn off the road and head down a long driveway, or perhaps it’s a private street, I can’t tell in the darkness. But we drive for a while and there are no longer any houses. There’s a light off in the distance that seems to be in the direction of where we’re going.

“Where are we?”

“Preach’s lake house.”

“I can’t even tell there’s a lake it’s so dark.”

“It’s behind the house. Tomorrow in the daylight you’ll be shocked you couldn’t see it, the damn thing’s huge.”

We finally pull up to the house and I can see the light that was flickering in the distance is now on the porch. It’s one of those solar lights that gives off a blue tint and barely enough brightness to see more than three feet ahead. But the porch looks huge, wrapping around the entire house. There’s Adirondack chairs and small tables set up in various places that I can barely make out in the dark. Nico comes around and opens my door to help me down out of his SUV.

We make our way up the few stairs to the porch and Nico opens the front door with a key on his key ring. With the headlights now off, it’s pitch dark except for the sole dim light sitting on the porch.

“Stay right here.” Nico let’s go of my hand and I can barely see what he’s doing, just a slight change in the level of darkness shows me he’s moving through the room. He doesn’t bump into anything, so either the room is empty or he knows his way around well. A few seconds later, I hear the familiar sound of a match striking a flint and then a candle is lit on a small table up against a window.

“You’re not going to turn on the lights and let me see the place? After keeping me in the dark about where we were going for hours?”

Nico laughs and I watch as he comes towards me, the one candle providing enough light for me to see him more clearly. “There’s no electricity here.”

“What do you mean there’s no electricity?” My voice comes out almost appalled, because for a second I am.

“Preach calls it his sanctuary. No phone, no electricity, no cell service. No people for miles.” Nico wraps his arms around my waist as he speaks and pulls me close against his body, making it easier to digest what he’s telling me. Everything seems easy when I’m pressed up against the man. He makes me lose my wits, my edge, my common sense.

“You took me to a place with no electricity and no cell service.” I have to try now to sound disturbed, because I’m not anymore. Not with his warm breath nuzzling its way onto my neck as he buries his head into my hair.

“I did.” His sinful mouth finds its way to my ear, where his words are spoken quietly but they travel through me like heat through a coil and wake up every molecule in my body. The hair on the nape of my neck responds, prickling through a chill that breaks out all over my body in goose bumps.

“Come on, it’s cool enough up here to make a fire.” Nico releases me and my body is disappointed to lose contact so soon. He holds my hand and steers me through the dark house into a room at the back. After he’s made a fire I can see the enormity of the fireplace. It’s made of stone and I feel dwarfed by the sheer size of it.

“Wow, it’s…incredible.” The words don’t do enough to describe it. The light from the fireplace casts a soft glow on the room and I can see that the walls of the room are all glass. It’s too dark to see anything on the outside, but I imagine that I would be looking out at a lake if the sun was shining.

Nico is still standing by the fireplace, but now he’s watching me as I take in the beauty of the room. “Jesus, Babe, you look like an angel standing there.”

I smile at his compliment, I’ve never been good at accepting compliments, but with Nico, the way he speaks to me, I believe every word he says. I know I don’t look like an angel, but to Nico, I do at this moment. Neither of us moves, both content in what the light finds for the other to see. Then his eyes find mine and everything else fades away…the darkness, the fireplace, the room, everything. None of it exists anymore. It’s just us and everything seems so simple. It’s one of those moments in life that you feel a shift. Like everything you’ve done before has lead to this point and whatever happens from this point on will be different. I don’t know how or why, but I’m as certain of it as I’ve ever been of anything in my life. I’m in love with this man, and the realization doesn’t even scare me. Not the slightest bit.

Nico walks to me slowly, his eyes never releasing mine. He stops as he reaches me, falling short of contact between our bodies, but just short. We’re standing so close I have to tilt my neck back and look up at him to keep our eyes locked, but I don’t dare move for fear that one of us will blink and the moment will be gone. He raises one of his big hands and softly brushes my hair back from my face, his touch is so tender and gentle. Slowly, he lowers his head down to mine and I think he’s going to kiss me, his face is so close to mine that I can feel his breath on my lips, but he doesn’t. He stops so we don’t have to lose the contact of our locked eyes. And then everything I felt shift is confirmed and my world changes.

“I love you, Elle.”

I don’t have to think about my response. Because there’s never been anything in my life I’ve been surer about. “I love you, too.”

Then he kisses me. Sweetly. Gently. Passionately. Really kisses me...in a way that I’ve never been kissed before. It’s not a prelude to sex or foreplay. It’s love. Pure and simple, it’s love pouring from both of us and connecting in a kiss. And in that moment I realize, I’ve never really been kissed before. I thought I’d been, but I wasn’t. There was absolutely nothing before this kiss, and I can’t wait to see what comes after.

By the time we break for air, I’m holding onto his shoulders in order to keep upright. Without his arms wrapped so tightly around me, I would be a puddle on the floor. My knees are weak and my arms are shaking and then there’s the tears. The tears have welled up in my eyes and I can’t stop them from falling when he looks at me that way. I’d heard people say they cried tears of happiness before, but I’d never given the term any thought. But that’s what they are and they start falling. Streaming from my eyes as I smile up at the man that I’m madly in love with. And he with me.

He smiles back down at me and wipes the tears from my eyes. “You’re smiling and crying.”

“I know…I think fifteen years of holding back my emotions just got the best of me…and now you’re in trouble.” I laugh as I speak, realizing how ridiculous it must sound, but it’s true. I haven’t felt anything for fifteen years, really, and now I’m overwhelmed with emotions I hadn’t even realized I was capable of anymore.

Nico smiles before he reaches down and lifts me into his arms, cradling me tightly against his chest. I wrap my arms around his neck. “What are you doing?”

“I’m taking the woman I love to bed to make love to her.”

“Oh.” His words are like music to my ears.

The next morning I wake to a familiar warm hand on my exposed back, rubbing gently up and down my spine. I turn my head to face the man I’ve professed my love to and he smiles at me. “Mornin.”

“Morning.” I smile back and can’t help that it’s a goofball smile, I feel satisfied and happy and completely and totally in love. I can’t remember the last time I felt so relaxed. Telling Nico about my past has lifted a weight off my chest that I didn’t even realize I was carrying.

Nico laughs at my smile. “I want to take you out onto the lake this morning before it gets too hot.” He pushes my hair covering part of my face behind my shoulder and kisses my cheek.

“Okay.”

“I could get used to this new agreeable woman that you’ve become.” Nico lifts up and kisses my bare back, just above the sheet that is covering me from the waist down.

“And I could get used to waking up to this.” He trails sweet gentle kisses up from the small of my back all the way to the nape of my neck.

“Come on, before we don’t leave the bed all day.” He abruptly stops kissing me and I miss the warmth of his body covering my back instantly.

I groan loudly, very unladylike, “Or we could just stay in bed all day?” I attempt to persuade him with an invitation.

“Not a chance. There’s a dozen places I want to have you here.”

“Have me?” Is he saying what I think he’s saying?

Nico pulls back the sheet, exposing my naked ass, as I still lie face down on the bed. I’ve not yet made any attempt to move. He groans and smacks my ass playfully.

“I’m going to have you on the little island that’s in the center of the lake. I can’t wait to see you spread eagle in the middle of that patch of grass under the tree.” I begin to sit up and I watch as Nico’s light green eyes turn stormy. There’s no hiding when he wants me and I love it. It’s raw and real and he doesn’t try to mask it for something it’s not. Nico drinks me in and then takes a deep breath before his eyes return to mine. “And maybe even bent over the captains chair before we leave the dock if you don’t hurry.”

I expected the lake to be pretty, but nothing I could have imagined comes close to what I see when my eyes first take in the stunningly picturesque scenery right before me. Nico brings me a cup of coffee as I stare out the wall of glass where the darkness hindered my vision the night before, and wraps his thick arms around my middle as he stands behind me. “Beautiful right?”

“It’s stunning. It doesn’t even look real. It’s all too perfect.” I truly am in awe. It’s not that I don’t stop to appreciate nature, but the times that I do have become few and far between the last few years as I’ve thrown myself into my work and the city.

“I’m glad you like it.” Nico squeezes me a little closer as he speaks.

“How could anyone not like it?” The trees are in bloom and the entire perimeter of the crystal clear sparkling lake is lined with tall purple and orange wildflowers. I wonder for a moment if they were planted, but then I think better of it and realize that nothing man-made could possibly be that beautiful.

Nico sighs, it’s a sound of contentment. Happiness. I know because I feel the exact same way. “Do you come up here often?”

“I used to.”

“Why did you stop?” Nico doesn’t respond right away and it makes me think there is a story, something difficult that made him stop.

“I started coming here when I was fifteen. Preach used to bring me up to fish the lake. Sometimes my brothers would come, once in a while even my mom when she could get a full day off, which was rare.”

I turn myself in Nico’s arms…sensing the part of the story that made him stop coming was near. I look up at him and he continues with my full attention. “We had a good many parties up here after I won fights.” His face is smiling as he recalls some of the good times. “Preach won’t allow electricity, so my brothers and I used to fill the back of a pickup truck with coolers.” He chuckles at the thought. “We could get a dozen coolers filled with beer in the back of a short cab.”

I smile watching him, he has such nice family memories. Families coming together to celebrate their success around a lake filled with love and laughter. Something I longed for most of my younger years.

“So why did you stop coming?”

Nico’s face drops and I almost wish I didn’t ask, but I want to know everything about this man. What makes him happy or sad, smile or frown…all of it, the good and the bad. It’s all part of what makes the man before me.

“Preach brought me up here after I tore apart my gym last year. After the fight.” He doesn’t need to explain which fight, it’s just the fight. “It was ugly. I couldn’t sleep without nightmares without the meds and I spent days trying to outrun the memories. It sucked. But Preach wouldn’t leave me, no matter how many times I threatened his life and pushed him around.”

I wait for him to continue, but nothing more comes. “And you haven’t been back since?”

Nico shakes his head.

“So what made you bring me up here?”

He looks down at me and smiles. “I love this place. Some of my best memories are here.” He kisses me chastely on the lips before continuing. “I’ve wanted to come back, chase away the haunted memories with new ones. Ones that will make me forget the bad ones.”

God, the man is beautiful. And not just on the outside…on the inside too…and he doesn’t even have to try. It’s just who he is. Underneath 220 pounds of tattooed hard muscle that screams trouble is the most sensitive and beautiful soul I’ve ever met. For the first time since I was eight years old I feel like the luckiest girl on the planet.

The island in the center of the large lake is small, maybe the size of a house. But it’s beautiful, with pristine sand, a small patch of grass, and a few simple weeping trees that look like they’ve been plucked off of a postcard that reads “Hello from Paradise.” Sitting in the center of the lake emphasizes the enormity of its size... it’s more than one hundred acres in size. Nico tells me that Preach saved for almost twenty years to buy the property and the lake. His father had owned a small piece of land and he’d loved the area since he was a kid. The reasons why are obvious.

“Let’s go for a swim.” Nico suggests.

“I don’t have my bathing suit on.” For a second I answer as if he might not realize I’m not wearing one. But then I see his smile. The dirty one that shows his deep creviced dimples and I’m sure he’s had many women drop their panties without further effort.

“Don’t need one.”

“But what if someone sees.”

“Do you think I’d let anyone get a glimpse of that fantastic ass that belongs to me, Babe?”

He has a good point. He’s possessive and protective and there is no way there’s a chance that anyone might see me naked if he’s suggesting we swim without suits. I’ve spent fifteen years being conservative, it’s time I lived a little. I don’t respond with words. Instead, I stand from the blanket we’re sitting on and take a step back, giving Nico a better view. He leans back, stretching out his long body, his elbows supporting him as he positions himself for my show with a lazy grin on his face. Slowly, I pull my t-shirt over my head, revealing a pink lace bra. Nico doesn’t move, but his eyes rake over me with appreciation I can actually feel on my body. It’s like a blanket of warmth and it covers me and fuels my nerve to keep on going.

I unbutton my shorts, slowly pulling the zipper down, allowing my thumb to reach up and graze the skin underneath the zipper that is still hidden. I’m not touching myself anywhere intimate, but it feels sexy and intimate just the same. With an exaggerated bend, I lean over and shake my hips suggestively, allowing my shorts to skim my legs and fall to the ground.

I stand, clad in only pink, lacy boy shorts and a matching demi cup bra and watch as Nico’s eyes go dark. He begins to push up from his elbows, but I raise my pointer finger and motion no, I want to give him a show.

“Are you trying to kill me?” Nico’s voice is husky, but he stays put as requested, even though I can see he’s working to keep himself seated.

I reach behind me and undo my bra, slipping it off slowly before I speak. “No, I’m trying to give you new memories that will make you forget the bad ones.”

Nico blows out a deep breath loudly and settles back on his elbows again. He’s going to listen to me and let me do this for him. I stand before him in only my lacy panties and I’m not ready to take them off. I want to give him something to remember, something that will really sear into his brain and make him forget the last time he was here.

Reaching up, I slowly trace my breast with one hand, lazily allowing my fingernail to lightly scratch at my skin. I’m nervous, but I want to do this, so I close my eyes and try to surrender to the moment.

With my eyes still closed, I drag my fingernail over my swollen nipple and it swells even more under my touch. Slowly, I raise my finger to my mouth and suck, wetting my fingers before returning to my engorged nipple and coating it with my own silky fluids. It feels good, but I need more. Firmly, I grasp my own nipple between my thumb and forefinger and pinch. I feel it straight down to my toes and the sensitive skin between my legs tingles with anticipation. Another pinch, this time with more pressure and I feel wetness between my legs and I gasp at the sensation it sends through my body in a jolt.

I’ve touched myself before, but it never had such an effect on me. I need more, more friction, and I need it fast. My hand travels down my flat stomach and slips into the front of my panties. They’re lace, so even though I’m still wearing them, there isn’t much that Nico can’t see.

“Fuck.” Nico’s gravelly voice vibrates through me, raising my arousal to a new high. I find my clit and gently rub it, making slow small circles. My head falls back and a low moan escapes my lips as I feel a familiar feeling build within me. And then he’s on me. Touching and feeling and grabbing and biting, we go at it like wild animals. I’m not even sure when he undressed, but I’m insanely grateful that there aren’t any clothes between us. I feel every ounce of his rock hard body, it feels so good that I think I may find my release before we even get started.

Nico growls as he takes my stiff nipple into his mouth and bites down hard. Pain, just shy of too much, shoots through me and my body begins to pulse on its own. He releases my aching nipple, but only enough to suck it back into his mouth and tease me. He swirls his tongue around, gently lathering it with attention, begging it to forgive him for the pain inflicted just moments ago.

He sucks his way from my breast up to my neck and eventually finds my mouth. His tongue leading mine in a dance that leaves me panting heavily when he turns his attention to my ear. “I need inside of that pussy you made so wet for me.”

His words set off a moan that comes from deep within me and I feel my body begin to contract. I need him inside of me too. Now. So badly. “Please.” I don’t even care that it comes out as begging. I have no shame when it comes to the pleasures of this man.

He lifts me up into his arms before dropping down on one knee, gently positioning me on the grass. Two seconds ago we were biting and grabbing and now he is so gentle with me. He takes care of me first, makes sure I am okay, putting his own desire on the back burner to tend to me. It’s one of the things that I love about him, something that’s hard to put into words and explain to your girlfriend when you’re on a rant to explain why you’ve fallen in love with a man. He just puts me first. Always.

I expect to feel his warm body on top of mine, but it’s not, so I open my eyes to see what’s taking him so long and find him looking down at me. What I see takes my breath away. I try to speak, but I have no words. He’s mentally searing the moment into his brain, capturing it forever like an artist with a brush. I can feel it. It’s adoration and lust and love and every other heartfelt emotion rolled up into one perfect man who loves me and couldn’t hide it if he tried.

Unable to speak, I’m so filled with emotions that I can only reach up and offer him my hand. He takes it without a word and gently steadies himself on top of me, propping himself up on his arms, his muscular forearms on either side of my face. “I love you.” I finally find the words for the perfect moment he’s given me.

His head comes down and he kisses me as I feel his thick head push into me. I deepen the kiss as it smothers my whimpers as his thick cock fills me. I know we should go slower, but I can’t wait any longer. It’s a tight fit normally, but without the slow ease in that Nico usually controls, it’s snugger than usual. But it feels so good, so right. I’ll worry about being sore tomorrow.

With the base of his hard length pushed up against me, Nico steadies himself. He wants to give me time to adjust, but I’m not waiting anymore. I buck up the little that I can move underneath his weight, tilting my pelvis ever so slightly, but it allows him to sink even deeper. A gasp slips from deep within me.

“Fuck, Babe. Are you okay?”

“I will be if you would stop treating me like glass and get that tight ass of yours going.” I dig my nails into his ass to accentuate my need.

Nico’s eyebrows raise in surprise, but I’m going to get my way one way or the other. I reclaim his mouth and bite down hard on his bottom lip, so hard I’m surprised I don’t taste blood. But it gets his attention and it’s the attention that I want. He pulls almost all the way out and then slams back into me…hard. I moan. It’s exactly what I need.

And then he does it again, this time swiveling his hips on a forceful draw down and he hits that sensitive place on the inside. I tremble as my body begins to convulse around him. But he keeps on going, pumping in and out, in and out, each time rubbing me within an inch of my orgasm until we are both within seconds of climax. Nico reaches between us and strokes my pulsating clit with his wide thumb and it’s enough to push me over the edge. I moan his name as my body begins to climax, pulsating wildly as wave after wave of bliss rolls over me. I feel the heat of Nico’s release pour into me and I think I’m about to hit bottom, but I keep falling, his release prolonging my own.

By the time we leave the next evening, there is no doubt in my mind that we’ve replaced Nico’s memories with new ones that he won’t soon forget.