Emerson
I wake to the sound of Jax meowing from the next room. It is a soft cry but enough to make me crawl out of Nic’s bed in search of the cat. He stands near the counter looking up, like he’s waiting for something.
“Are you hungry, buddy?” I ask as I step around him and start to open one cabinet after the other. After the third one, I find a small bag of cat food and immediately he begins circling my legs, bumping his head against my shins.
I’d always wanted a cat or even a dog as a child, but my father referred to them as a nuisance. As I got older, I guess I developed a resistance to that urge. But being here, cuddling with this furry little guy, reminds me of why I’d always longed for a pet. They love you no matter what. It’s a love I’d gone without for most of my life.
They say you never know what you're missing if you’ve never had it before. Well, this is something I’ve never had before. It’s the same with Nic—that closeness, that feeling of being wanted.
I tilt the bag and give him just enough to fill the bottom half of his bowl before tucking the bag back into the cabinet. With a gentle pat on his head, I begin to walk back toward the bedroom just as Nic steps out of the doorway. He halts, his hand running through his hair that sticks up in all different directions. His eyes squint, shielding the light spilling in from the kitchen.
“Everything okay?” he asks, taking another step toward me.
I nod.
“Because when I woke up and you were gone—”
“You thought I skipped out on you,” I finished his sentence. It’s his turn to nod. “I heard Jax and went to check on him.” He grinned as he arched a brow. “He was hungry.”
“I am beginning to feel as though you just want me for my cat.”
“I thought I was hiding it so well.” Have I said how much I adore this banter with Nic? Because I do. Things are comfortable, too easy maybe. I am so used to challenges and expectations, but with him it’s you get what you see, no need to pretend to be something else. I can’t remember a time before this that I’d ever felt so relaxed.
“Tomorrow I’m taking him to the pound.” Nic stares at me, doing his very best to appear serious.
“You wouldn’t.” I place my hand against his bare chest and his eyes follow the movement. “Because if you did,” I lower my hand, loving the way he feels beneath it, “I don’t think I could ever forgive you.”
“Is that so?”
I nod just as I slip my finger beneath the hem of his boxers. “And you love him too much to get rid of him.”
Nic reaches out and hooks my waist, pulling me in closer. “I think I need some attention. Something to soothe my doubt.”
“You are such a needy man.”
When he places his other hand behind my neck and pulls my face closer to his, with his eyes locked on me, such a fierce look filling them, I feel my knees weaken. “Only for you, Emerson,” he assures me. “Only for you. I just can’t seem to get enough.”
* * *
“I’m gonna be late for work.” I push back against him just as he thrusts his hips forward.
One second I am exiting my room, entirely dressed and ready to leave my apartment to start my workday. The next thing I know I am gripping the edge of the countertop, my back to Nic, my skirt lifted and my panties around my ankles. He has this uncanny way of making me lose sections of my thoughts. Like blank spaces in my timeline where I can’t recall how I got from one place to the next. Like I damn near lost my mind.
“Me too,” he growls, slamming inside me once more. “But it’s worth it, so fucking worth it.”
There is no need to argue because it’s true.
My toes curl in the heels I am wearing as I arch my back, giving him better access. I can feel the wetness pool between us as his fingers dig into the flesh of my hips. I am so close and from the deep, ragged breaths falling from his lips, I’d say he is too.
“Jesus, Em,” Nic wraps one arm around my waist as he pushes down gently with the other on the lower part of my back. “How the hell am I supposed to focus on anything other than seeing this play out over and over in my mind? You are unbelievable.”
Stars…I swear I see them. Little flashes of light in my peripheral vision and my body begins to tingle from the rush of pleasure hitting me. If it wasn’t for the fact that he is holding onto me so firmly, I think I would have sunk to the floor. My legs tremble and I grip the counter so tightly my fingers have begun to ache from the pressure.
“Incredible,” he praises, pumping faster and hitting the desired spot inside me. “Let go,” his whisper encourages. “Show me how good I can make you feel.”
“Yes,” I push back, “so, so good.”
The next minute is a blur as I squeeze my eyes so tightly I cannot confirm nor deny that I didn’t black out for a few short seconds. Holy hell, even my toes ache from the way they curled so intensely in my heels.
We both remain just where we are, him still buried inside me as his thighs twitch against my backside, the long-lasting effects of his release still trying to run their course.
“You’re making it hard for me not to—” Nic pauses as he rests his forehead on my shoulder. I wait for him to continue though he says nothing more. There was something different about his voice, something unsettling.
Then suddenly he is standing as he slowly pulls back and the instant I feel him slip out I miss him fiercely. I stand, righting my skirt and wondering what took place in the last few seconds that made him suddenly withdrawn, both physically and emotionally.
“I guess that we better start our day.”
“Even though we don’t want to—” I turn around to look at him, and he still appears as if something is weighing heavy on his mind. But before I have any further time to analyze it he steps in close and cups the back of my neck, pulling me in close. His forehead rests on mine, and for a few short seconds, we remain in that very spot.
I love when he does this—holds me so delicately.
“The last thing I want is to leave,” he confesses. “If I could stay locked away with you, day and night, without the outside world interrupting us I’d much rather do that.” I smile, the fear of his withdrawal quickly fading. “Call me tonight. We’ll order takeout and watch a movie. Or even if it’s too late for a movie we can curl up and go to bed. As long as I get to hold you I’ll be fine.”
This man made my head spin with possibilities. “Okay.”
He leans in and presses his lips to mine, offering nothing more than a sweet kiss. “I miss you already,” he whispers against my lips then moves back and steps around me quickly. Just as he reaches the door, his phone starts to ring and he reaches into his back pocket. “Vaughn.” His eyes lock with mine as he listens to the other end of the line. “When was she found?”
My stomach tenses, knowing instantly that our moment has passed.