Simone stood barefoot in the kitchen equipped with beautiful dark wood cabinets and stainless steel appliances. She held a full glass of wine in one hand, while she leaned against a pantry door watching the man at the stove.
Simone let her eyes caress his body as he moved methodically, preparing their dinner. His brown muscled rippled underneath the T-shirt he wore with a pair of black sweatpants. He’d changed out of his suit when they’d arrived at his wooded hideaway.
Nick glanced over at her. “Are you safe?” he asked.
Simone smiled at the counseling terminology and understood that he was asking if she felt comfortable in his home. “Yes, I’m safe.”
He nodded. “Good, because you are…”
“Did you wonder why I requested to come to your house for dinner?” Simone questioned.
“The first thing you learn, is to observe your subject in his environment,” he told her, checking his pots on the stove.
“You’re my subject?”
Nick looked at her. “Am I wrong?”
Simone sipped her wine. “I wanted to see if you had a whole wife and baby hidden somewhere.”
“So you decided to catch me off guard and tell me that you wanted to have dinner at my house?”
She nodded. “The element of surprise is the second thing you learn.”
He agreed. “Since I have nothing to hide, you can go through everything you’ve learned to plan your next move.”
Simone stared at him. “You don’t have a problem with that?”
“I’m doing the same thing,”
“We make quite a pair,” she said softly, starring down into her glass.
Nick approached and stopped in front of her. “I’m hoping that’s the conclusion you will come to…”
She looked up at him and held his gaze. “Is that what you’ve decided?”
“The moment you jumped through that window.” Nick stared at her mouth, then looked at the glass in her hand. “How’s the wine?”
“It’s delicious,” Simone whispered, and lifted the glass. “You should taste it.”
Nick gently moved her hand aside, before placing his lips over hers. The kiss was both sweet and sultry at the same time. His kiss let her know that she could have it either way and he’d provide it without hesitation.
He didn’t touch her with his body, keeping a small distance between them as he savored her lips. Simone joined in, and the heat level increased until Nick lifted his head. Staring down into her face, he reached up and stroked her cheek.
“More than delicious…” he told her.
Simone slid her tongue slowly across her lips. “I certainly agree.”
Nick turned back to the stove and prepped their meal, while Simone stood planning how she was going to get him out of his clothing…again. For some reason this man, made her want to undress him and delight in all that was underneath the garments that he wore. The heat he’d ignited in her from the start, was about to detonate.
“Let’s eat,” she heard him say, then followed him to a well-set table.
Nick held her chair out and seated her, before returning to the kitchen and bringing out two plates. He sat one in front of her, then the other at the space across the table. Again, he disappeared and came back with the wine bottle and refilled her glass along with a glass for him.
When Nick took his seat, she smiled at him. “This looks delicious. I wasn’t expecting you to actually cook the meal.”
“A superhero has to be able to do it all,” he told her.
She laughed and reached for her fork. “I see you take the title seriously.”
“I take everything seriously,”
Simone looked at him. “I can see that, too. I don’t think I’ve seen you smile at all…let alone laugh.”
Nick paused. “You’re probably right. My work consists of me being on guard to protect others and myself. There’s not a lot of humor in that.”
“I know,” Simone agreed. “Until I started therapy, I wasn’t a bowl of giggles either…but Dr. Richards showed me that it’s okay to enjoy life, to smile and be happy.”
“And what do you enjoy about life now, Simone?”
She looked reflective. “That I can live my truth. I don’t have to be ashamed or conform to how people think I should act.” Simone began. “I’m sure people have looked at me like a whore, but all they saw was my actions, and not the pain that caused them.”
She smiled again. “But now, it doesn’t matter because I’m happy within myself and I make the choices for my life.”
Nick nodded. “Life is not about chance, it’s about choice…and once we figure that out, we begin to live.”
“You understand what I’m saying,” Simone whispered.
“I do,” Nick confirmed. “And I’m glad that you’ve reached that place.”
Simone quietly began eating, then Nick joined her. They watched one another while they enjoyed the meal.
“I’m glad I didn’t meet you two years ago, when I first came to Atlanta,” Simone told him.
“Why not?”
She shook her head. “I wouldn’t have been able to slow myself down and see what an amazing man you are.”
“This is slow?” Nick questioned.
“For me, in the past…” Simone paused. “I’d have had you on the first day, and been on to the next.”
He lifted a brow. “You think I’m that easy?”
“I’m that good,” she told him, reaching for her glass.
“I see you’ve mastered confidence,”
Simone chuckled. “I just know myself.”
Nick sipped his wine. “So what exactly is your plan for me Miss Jenkins?”
She looked down at her empty plate. “Every time I think I’ve formulated one, you throw me a curve ball,” she admitted.
He studied her. “I have a feeling that you enjoy the unpredictable.”
“I won’t lie,” Simone confessed. “I don’t do boring, and you are certainly not that…you’re excitement personified.”
“Excitement personified?” He lifted a brow.
She nodded and stared at him. “And it’s so damn sexy and arousing…”
“You are so beautiful.” He told her. “And so damn sexy and arousing…”
Their gazes held for a long moment while each studied the other. Nick looked away, then stood and began to clear the table.
“Thank you for dinner,” Simone said, joining him in removing the dishes.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t have time for dessert,” he said apologetically.
She watched him as he headed for the kitchen. His walk was upright with a straight spine that emphasized the tightness of his back and rear. Simone bit her lip as she followed him.
“I’m not worried about dessert,” she told him hotly, and he turned back to her.
“You know I can pick up on that,”
She smiled. “I wasn’t trying to hide it.”
He gave her a soft smile and she blinked.
“Oh my goodness…was that a smile?” Simone questioned and he turned toward the sink.
She followed and tried to see his face.
“Can I see it again?” she teased. “I can’t believe it’s real.”
Nick turned and took the dishes from her, then placed them in the sink and turned on the water. Simone placed a hand on his waist and looked up at him.
“If you let me see yours, I’ll let you see mine,” she whispered sexily.
Turning off the water quickly, Nick moved swiftly and lifted Simone onto the granite kitchen counter. Her eyes showed surprise before arousal. He placed both palms flat on either side of her and stared into her face.
“Why are you here, Simone?”
“Huh?” That was the last thing she’d expected him to ask in this position.
Nick repeated. “Why are you here? What do you want from me tonight?”
Simone felt her breathing increase and she tried to calm herself. Looking into his serious dark eyes, she answered honestly, “I don’t know…”
He pulled her gently into his arms. “I know.”
“I’m so off-balance with you.” Simone said, placing her head on his chest.
Nick lifted her face to his. “I’m not a mission. I’m a man. I eat, breathe, and feel…just like everyone else. I brought you here because I want you to know me, the man I am…I’m not settling for being the next conquest on your journey.”
“Uh…okay…” Simone said, surprised and enticed at his firmly spoken words.
“I’m thirty-five years old. Old enough to know what I want and what I don’t want. If I wanted a woman to sleep with, I wouldn’t bring her to my house for dinner. I wouldn’t open up and tell her about my past. I’d take what she offered and move on,” Nick continued, and Simone listened while her chest rose and fell.
“When we rescued those kids the other night, I realized that was something missing from my life. I’ve spent my entire life watching over other men, their wives and children. It’s time for me to have my own to watch over.”
Simone felt her heart swelling as Nick went on.
“It hadn’t been a possibility in my mind, until I met this unbelievable woman who carries combat boots in her car.”
She smiled softly. “Those are for ass kicking.”
“I witnessed that.”
Simone wrapped her arms around his neck. “So you want to try to be my man?”
“Not try, Simone…”
“You’re attracted to my danger?” she asked.
Nick gave her another soft smile. “You’re dangerous in so many ways.”
Simone stared at him. “I’m going to work very hard to get those smiles. They’re priceless.”
“I’ll reserve them for you.”
She studied his handsome face, then lifted her lips to his. The kiss ignited them both instantly and turned into a sultry joining of tongues and lips. Simone felt herself being lifted from the counter and carried out of the kitchen.
In his living room, Nick sat her on the sofa then looked down at her. He walked away, then reappeared with their wine glasses. Handing one to her, he took a seat on the opposite end of the couch.
Simone sipped from her glass. “Is there a reason why you’re way over there?”
He nodded. “We’re still talking, and you have the ability to momentarily deter my focus.”
“How long are we going to ‘talk’?” she questioned, watching him.
Nick shrugged. “Until you momentarily distract me again.”
Simone looked away into her glass of pale liquid. “He was the last one that I even considered being my man,” she whispered and Nick listened while she went back into her memory.
“He was handsome, wealthy, and charming…so I thought…” She took another sip and frowned. “I met him while I was in college at the bookstore. He approached me and we starting talking. I was surprised that he’d wanted to talk to me, but he was pretty smooth.”
“We went out a few times and he wined and dined me. I thought I was going to be someone special to him,” Simone shook her head. “He invited me to his place which I thought was an honor, because he cared enough to show me where he lived,”
Nick sat his glass down and gave her his full attention when he heard the emotion in her voice.
“We had dinner where we were flirting around with one another, then everything just went bad…he changed into someone that I didn’t even recognize and he did things to me that I didn’t want him to do…” Simone finished softly.
“I didn’t report him, I just steered clear…” Simone sighed. “Which wasn’t hard, because he never tried to contact me again.”
Closing her eyes, she took a long sip of her wine. “I can finally talk about it without crying or being angry at myself. Dr. Richards is a wizard…”
Nick didn’t try to touch her, but instead gave her the time and space to emerge from her memories. Simone opened her eyes and looked at him.
“After that, I hated men…” Simone told him. “I hated that they desired me and that I desired them, so I took what I needed and got what I wanted, trying to regain the pieces of me that he’d taken away.”
“I actually propositioned Ray when I first met him.” She put a hand to her head. “He was the first man after the incident that didn’t respond to my overtures. He didn’t look at me like his next concubine, because he’s had many…”
Nick thought about Ray and agreed in his head.
“Somehow, he saw more than the woman in front of him and he changed my life, gave me a purpose and an outlet for my anger,” Simone told him. “Dr. Richards was another man who helped me. I was on an assignment when I met him and I came back to work with him.”
She took a deep breath. “And this is where I am today…” Simone looked at Nick. “I’m completely overwhelmed by a man, whose quiet ferocity, both stimulates and comforts me in a way that I’ve never known.”
“I’m both anxious and afraid to be with you,” she confessed. “Because I know, this is unlike anything I’ve ever engaged in before.”
Nick moved closer and removed the glass from her hand. Staring down into her face, he asked, “Are you safe?”
Simone nodded and blinked at the dampness, she now felt in her eyes at his thoughtfulness and mindfulness, not to touch her until she was ready. “Yes, I am safe.”
He then reached for her hand and placed it over his heart. “I am safe, too.” Nick told her and she smiled.
“You really want to try this?” Simone asked.
“The reward is so much greater than the risk,” Nick answered. “Another thing we’ve been taught.”
“Lotus says that she knew we were meant to be together,”
He lifted a brow. “Do you know their story, her and Kent?”
Simone nodded. “Only those two…”
“But I don’t doubt Lotus,” Nick told her. “Not because of her ability, but because of this right here…” He pressed her hand against his heart. “It’s never felt this way.”
“You didn’t have to share that with me tonight,” he said softly. “I’m thankful that you felt safe enough that you could, and I hope that you will always feel safe with me.”
Simone felt his heartbeat underneath her hand. “I want to be honest with you because if we’re to have any type of relationship, I want you to know the real woman you’re dealing with.”
“And I am an open book to you,” Nick responded. “Ask me whatever you want to know…”
She looked around his living room. “Hmm…how many guns do you have hidden in this house?”
“More than a few,” he answered. “Less than too many.”
Simone touched the hairs on his face. “I really like that about you,” she whispered.
“I don’t like things complicated, especially when they don’t have to be,” Nick commented. “I’ve settled my life down considerably.”
“Me too,” Simone added. “I spend my time at work and visiting with Kent and Lotus’ adorable daughter.”
“Have you considered an adorable daughter of your own?” Nick inquired and Simone did something that she hadn’t done in a very long time…she blushed and looked away.
“Yes,” she replied softly.
“And what was your conclusion?”
Her eyes darted back to his. “It’s become something that I want more each day.”
She was rewarded with another of his soft smiles, and felt her ovaries tingle.
“You’re absolutely gorgeous,” Simone told him.
“I think that’s my line…”
“It’s not a line, it’s the honest to god truth.”
Nick brought her hand to his lips. “Thank you.” He held on to her hand as he moved his mouth to hers. Simone closed her eyes as his full lips toyed with hers, teasing and sucking them. She felt her body ignite from the heat of him.
Resting his forehead against hers, Nick softly placed tiny kisses on her mouth before moving along her jaw. “Simone, you are so beautiful, so strong and so honest. I would be honored to be the man that you allow into your life.”
She lifted his face to look at her. “Nick, I should tell you that I haven’t been intimate with a man, since my return to Atlanta.”
“Is that what your therapist suggested?” Nick asked.
Simone shook her head. “No, it was my choice because I was afraid that it would make me regress in my process, and I was determined to let myself heal.”
He nodded comfortingly. “Okay, I can understand that. Your wellbeing is what’s most important.”
Simone looked confused. “Wait, let me clarify, I was just telling you that for informational purposes, you know, just to prep you, in case my A game is down to a B, since I’ve not had practice in a while.” She smiled. “But now, it’s game on, baby…”
“I know you’re a Diamond, but do you think you can handle this?” Nick asked, giving her a look.
“You know that Diamonds always handle it…”
Nick got to his feet and held his hand out to her. Slipping her hand into his, Simone allowed him to help her to her feet. Placing her in front of him, he led her to his bedroom with his arms around her waist.
Simone smiled at the package she felt against her backside as he walked pressed against her back. Inside the nicely furnished room, her eyes lit on the large four-poster bed with pristine white bedding.
“I’m starting to think that you were expecting me,” she whispered over her shoulder.
“Wishful preparation,” he replied, kissing her neck.
She turned in his arms. “You wished for me?”
“Even before I knew you were here…” He settled her into his strong arms.
Simone inhaled his neck then slid her tongue along the strong cords as she caressed his dark hair.
“Mmmm…so that’s what you like?” Nick murmured.
She continued licking his skin. “Yesss…”
He moved them to the bed and they fell across the soft covers in a soft swoosh. The pair stared at one another before Simone let her hands explore his warm body. She delighted in touching him, sliding her hands underneath his shirt to feel his skin.
“Since this is your first practice, we can take it easy…” Nick whispered.
“No baby, I know what to do…I just may not be able to do it as long,” Simone explained, lifting his shirt. Nick assisted her by sitting up and removing it completely.
“I have nowhere to go,”
She reached for his sweatpants. “I’m not letting you leave,”
Slipping her hand inside, she fondled him with a practiced hand until he groaned.
“Some things you never lose your touch,” Simone whispered, watching the pleasure in his eyes.
Nick was content to allow Simone to control their pace. He laid back as she climbed off the bed and stood watching him. Slowly, she removed the fitted dress, pulling it over her head and tossing it aside. Simone stood in her bra and panties, while Nick surveyed her with hooded eyes.
She held his stare. “Raincoats?” she asked.
“Is it wet?”
Simone touched herself, much to his enjoyment. “Soaked…”
Caught up in watching her, he answered absently. “In the drawer,”
Nick scrunched his face when she turned her naked ass toward him, to reach into the nightstand. Simone looked back over her shoulder and chuckled at his expression. Retrieving the package from the drawer, she turned back and climbed over his big body.
Nick’s large hands circled her waist as she straddled him. Languidly, he moved them down her hips and thighs. Simone rocked back onto his rigid erection and they both sighed. The feel of it against her, almost made her climax after two years. The mere thoughts of having him embedded deep inside of her, had her already breathing heavy and trembling.
When his hands moved back up her legs to touch her intimately, she reached for his arm. “I’m not going to need any foreplay,” Simone panted, on the edge.
Nick gave her a full smile with beautiful teeth and deep slashes in his jaws, and Simone felt herself go completely over the top.
“Awww…damn,” she said falling on top of him.
Gently rubbing her back for a minute, Nick whispered. “Can we get undressed next time?”
With her face buried in his neck, Simone said quietly, “Now I understand why you don’t smile. Women would be having orgasms all over the streets of Atlanta.”
He gave a low chuckle then flipped her over onto her back. “I’m only interested in giving one woman many orgasms…” he said, staring down into her face.
“Yes, please and thank you…” Simone whispered.
“Now, let me try this…” Nick said, then began by removing her underwear and placing hot kisses all over her body.
Standing to his feet, he shed his bottoms and added the protection while Simone sat back in anticipation. This was not how she’d normally operated. Her previous encounters had not been for her pleasure, they had been to transfer the pain. She’d never had an orgasm without actual physical sex, but here she was on the brink of another, watching Nick prepare that unbelievable instrument, he was working with.
His dark eyes looked up and connected with hers. She waited, while he reached out to touch her heat, causing her to moan softly.
“Are you safe?” he whispered.
Simone looked over his beautiful body, then brought her eyes back to his. “That right there, is the danger that I want…”