Chapter Twenty-Two

 

 

 

 

Nick

 

 

 

 

 

“Have you text Megan yet?” I asked Owens as I used my foot to kick him in the shin. He tore his gaze from the window of the airplane where he’d been watching the passing clouds.

“My phone is completely dead.” He shrugged his shoulders. “I think she likes to be surprised with it anyway. Have you told Kelly?”

I shook my head and pulled my phone out of my pocket. “Dead, too. Do you mind if I take a shower before we go home?”

“I was going to ask you the same thing, honestly. I’m grossing myself out.”

“Try sitting next to you both,” the woman next to Owens mumbled with her eyes closed.

Owens chuckled and shook his head. “You don’t smell like roses, Jones.”

Shuttles were waiting for us when we landed and they drove us from McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas back to New Hope. I was antsy the whole time. We’d been gone for almost two weeks thanks to windy and dry conditions and my phone had been dead for at least one of those weeks. I’d managed to get onto some wildland guy’s phone to email Kelly a couple of days before because I knew she was probably panicking but I hadn’t been able to even check for replies since.

The showers at the house were immediately full and a few people had to wait. Not me or Owens, though. He’d pulled rank and declared he wanted to go home so he got a shower first and since I was his ride, I did, too. We both rushed through them and once our civvies were on, we went out to my Camaro.

I plugged my phone into the car charger and dropped it into the cup holder so I could drive. We were about halfway home when Owens unplugged my phone and put his on instead.

“How many texts do I have from her?” I asked as I glanced from the road to Owens. He lifted my phone and shook his head.

“Fifty-eight total. Twenty-six are from Kelly. Want me to read them?”

I snatched my phone out of his hand and tucked it into my lap. “Fuck no. She’s brave and unpredictable in text.”

He laughed for a moment before it tapered off and we were both quiet the rest of the drive home. The sun had gone down and the clock on the dash read that it was half past eight. When I killed the engine, I glanced over at Owens.

“Is it Thursday or Friday?”

“Friday, I think.” He picked up his phone that was no longer dead and nodded. “Friday.”

We got out of the car, grabbed our bags, and headed down the path to the front door. Nervous adrenaline ran through me and I had no idea why. It’d been twelve days since I’d seen her and part of me was scared that the time apart would have caused her to realize she didn’t want this. That she didn’t want me.

I stuck my key into the lock and pushed open the door. Both girls were sitting on the couch and they stared as we walked in. I’m not sure which one of them moved first, but they both scrambled quickly as they moved to their feet and dashed towards where we were. I dropped my bag as Kelly launched herself into my open arms and her legs came around my waist when I lifted her off the ground.

I felt complete for the first time in almost two weeks. Holding Kelly in my arms was like holding anything and everything that I’d ever need and I’m not sure whose hold was tighter. Kelly’s face was buried in my neck and I breathed in the familiar berry scent of her hair. I pressed my lips to her head and let out a long, happy sigh.

“Hey, sweetheart.”

She pulled her face from my neck so we could look at each other and her eyes shined with tears as they roamed my face. A smile stretched across her lips and her forehead dropped to mine.

“It’s about time.”

I chuckled and shook my head with a grin. “Such a smart ass.”

Her only response was to kiss me and I didn’t hesitate to kiss her back. She tasted like chocolate and wine and, despite my exhaustion, my whole body was instantly awake. When our lips finally parted, we just stared at each other without saying anything.

Whining from by my leg broke us out of our moment and I looked down to see Simba staring at me. I pushed my lips to Kelly’s one more time before slowly placing her on her feet so I could crouch to rub the dog’s ears.

“Hey, old man. I missed you, too.”

When I straightened up, Simba went to do the same thing to Owens, who was holding Megan to his chest as he whispered to her quietly. He let her go when Simba demanded his attention and I gave my sister-in-law a hug.

“Welcome home,” she said quietly as she squeezed me tight.

“It's really good to be back.”

Owens gave the dog one final pat before standing to pull Kelly into an embrace. When he released her, she smiled at him as she stepped back to where I was and my arm went around her waist immediately.

“Are you guys hungry?” Megan asked as she took Owens’ outstretched hand. He tugged her to him with a nod.

“I would love some food.”

What I really wanted was to lock myself in the bedroom with Kelly but I was also starving. As if she could sense my inner turmoil, Kelly shook her head with a smile.

“Come on, Nicky. You should eat.”

I let her lead me to the kitchen table and I had a plate of boneless baked chicken wings with pasta salad in front of me a few minutes later. Megan and Kelly had obviously already eaten but both women sat at the table as we ate.

“When did you find out you were coming home?” Megan asked as her eyes looked from Owens to me.

“Not until late this morning,” I answered as I wiped my face with my napkin. “We finally reached full containment on the fire late last night.”

Owens nodded and swallowed the food that was in his mouth. “No one had a working phone, not even the captain so… surprise.”

“Best surprise ever,” Kelly said with a smile and Megan nodded in agreement.

“Two weeks is way too long.”

Kelly gestured at my almost-empty plate. “Do you want anymore?”

“Yeah, please. These wings are delicious.” I dipped my last one in some ranch before shoving it in my mouth. “Did you make these, Megan?”

She shook her head and looked over her shoulder at her sister. “Kelly did.”

“Kelly cooked meat?” Owens asked with his eyebrows raised. “You’re such a murderer.”

Kelly just smiled as she returned to the table with the bowl that held the rest of the wings that had already been reheated. Stealing my fork out of my hand, she used it to stab a piece of the chicken and instantly put it in her mouth.

Owens and I both froze as we watched her chew with a smug look on her face and I finally shook my head.

“What the hell just happened?”

“It’s not chicken,” she replied with a chipper tone as she put some of them on my dish. “They’re cauliflower wings.”

I watched as the two women shared a look before laughing and Owens just shook his head as he ate another.

“Rabbit food.”

“That’s some delicious rabbit food, though,” I replied with a shrug.

We ate a bit more before our plates were empty and in the sink. Owens grabbed Megan’s hand as he stood and he smiled at us.

“Dishes can wait. Goodnight, you two.”

Megan squealed as he lifted her over his shoulder and they disappeared into her bedroom, only pausing to let the dog in before they shut the door. I chuckled slightly and turned to look at Kelly. She was still in the chair next to me with a grin on her face. Her eyes locked with mine and I reached out to run my fingertips down her cheek.

“God, I missed you, Kel. So much.”

Her hand covered my own and she closed her eyes briefly. “I missed you, too.”

I studied her beautiful face. Her deep blue eyes shined with happiness when she reopened them and her gorgeous, tempting lips were tipped up in a smile. Her brown hair was left down in its usual waves and I brushed some off it off of her forehead before touching the small, silver hoop in her nose.

“This is new piece.”

She shrugged her shoulders and stood from her chair, drawing my eyes to the tiny sleep shorts she was wearing. “Megan and I probably spent too much time shopping while you guys were gone.”

I moved to my feet and wrapped my arms around her from behind when she headed to the sink.

“You heard Owens. Dishes can wait.”

“Yeah?” she asked as she turned in my arms and I nodded.

“Definitely.” I pressed a brief kiss to her lips before tugging on her hand. We walked to the bedroom at a slow pace, as if it was any other day, but the second the door was closed, I had her back against it as my mouth assaulted hers. My hands held her face to mine as I kissed her reverently, tipping her head back so I could run my fingers down her throat. Kelly’s hands were underneath my t-shirt immediately and my skin felt like it burned under her amazing touch when she trailed them up my chest.

I slowly ran my hands down her shoulders and sides until I could grip her tank top. When it came off, I brushed my fingertips along her ribs until they were ghosting over her pert nipples. Her breathing hitched slightly and her nails dug into my bare chest. She pulled her face from mine and jerked my shirt up until it was over my head. As soon as it was gone, her lips pressed to my neck and my head tipped back as my fingers continued to pay attention to her amazing breasts. God, I loved her body. I loved the way she smelled. I just loved her.

Kelly had just made it to my throat when the words slipped from my lips. I’d been repeating them over and over in my head but I hadn’t realized I’d said them out loud until she froze. She drew away from my neck and looked up at me, surprise written all over her face.

“What?”

I swallowed and pulled my hands from her breasts so I could place them on either side of her neck.

“I said… I love you.”

She blinked several times before shaking her head minutely. “You love me? Like… love me, love me?”

“Yeah, Kel,” I whispered as I pressed my forehead to hers, my stomach churning nervously. “I’m so in love with you that it scares the shit out of me. It also makes me so fucking happy that I can’t even think sometimes.”

I watched as her face remained passive and her eyes stayed on mine. Her chest rose and fell quickly and I shook my head.

“You don’t have to say anything. Just… don’t end this, okay? Not if there’s a chance you could feel the same way at some point.”

Kelly closed her eyes for a moment before shifting so her arms were around my neck. When she reopened them, a euphoric expression had overtaken on her face.

“I love you, too, Nick.” She moved so her lips were almost touching mine. “I’ve never loved anyone like I love you.”

Our mouths reconnected and we both kissed hungrily as elation shot through every part of me. I wrapped my arms around her waist and lifted Kelly so I could walk us to the bed. I gently dropped her to her back and watched as she quickly took off her sleep shorts and underwear before settling on the pillow.

The sight of my wife on the bed almost undid me. She looked like something I could only imagine in my head with her perfect, naked body on display and her tousled hair fanned out on the pillow behind her. The best part, though, was the dazzling smile on her face.

She was stunning.

“Nicky,” she said in a low voice. “Come here. Please.”

I snapped out of my daze and unbuttoned my shorts. As soon as I was naked, I climbed into the bed and covered her body with my own. I ran the tip of my nose down her cheek as I hooked my arm under one of her thighs.

“Tell me again,” Kelly breathed as our eyes locked, the lust and love obvious in hers.

I positioned myself at her center and gently thrust my hips so I could slowly fill her. Once I was buried to the hilt, I pressed a kiss to her nose and smiled.

“I love you.”

She shook her head, as if she couldn’t believe it, and dug her heel into my ass. “I love you, too.”

As I moved my hips against hers, I touched her everywhere, and she was crumbling to pieces underneath me just moments later. I followed her immediately as pleasure overtook my senses and my sweaty body collapsed on top of hers.

Kelly’s fingers ran down my back lazily as she caught her breath and I shifted so I could brush my lips along her collarbone. She squirmed as a small giggle escaped her lips and she pushed back on my head.

“I love the clean shaven look but I miss your soft scruff. The stubble you’re sporting now is scratchy.”

I grinned and pulled my body off of hers until I was on my side next to her. “It will grow back all too soon. What I really need is a good shower.”

“When my limbs work again, I can help with that last part.” She turned so she was on her side facing me. “I’m glad you’re home.”

“Me, too.” I pushed some of her hair behind her shoulder. “What have I missed these past two weeks?”

Kelly shrugged as she shook her head. “I worked, I went to the gym, I taught a few yoga classes, and I spent time with Megan. It was completely uninteresting.”

“You unpacked all of my stuff,” I added as I looked around the dark room. Every single box was gone and you never would have known that they had been there in the first place.

“I did,” she replied with a nod. “I washed all of your clothes and gave you official closet and dresser space. All of your movies and books have been shelved and I even put your Playstation on the TV stand but didn’t hook it up. I wasn’t sure if you wanted that in here or the living room.”

I shook my head as I stared at her. “You’re amazing.”

Her response was to press her lips to mine and that only caused me to deepen the kiss. It wasn’t long before she was on top of me, our bodies reconnected, and we made love again. One of us was constantly declaring our love for the other, as if we couldn’t say it enough. We took a shower afterwards, our bodies joining under the warm spray as we did, and it was shortly after midnight when we both fell asleep, our limbs completely entwined.