Cocktails & Dreams (14 page)

A slow song began, and Nicholas led Jena to the small patch of floor that was cleared for dancing. He folded her in his arms, burying his face in her hair as she wrapped her arms around his waist.

“That wasn’t very nice, Nicholas. They’ll probably get in a fight,” Jena said.

“Probably,” Nicholas agreed, unconcerned. “Conor could do with a beating.”

She chuckled, closing her eyes and resting her head against his chest. Nick’s heart stuttered and then began to thunder madly when her fingers slipped under the hem of his shirt and started tracing lazy circles at the base of his spine, occasionally dipping just below the waistband of his jeans.

“I really missed that,” he said, pressing her even closer and kissing her forehead.

She smiled. “It’s been a long week, hasn’t it?”

Nicholas took a deep breath. “It
has
been a long week, but I was talking about months. You haven’t done exactly that since the shower in Frisco.”

Jena stopped dead, flashing a startled look at Nick’s face. Her mouth opened and closed like she had something to say a couple of times, and then she buried her face in his shirt. Nicholas slowly started dancing again, running his hands soothingly up and down her back.

“I can’t talk about this.” Jena’s voice was muffled by Nick’s shirtfront. “This is so humiliating.”

“Why? I told you, you have nothing to be embarrassed about. I—look, will you come somewhere with me so we can talk?”

She shook her head. Nicholas lifted her face from his shirt, trying to catch her eye. “Jena, I’ve spent nearly every night for the last eight months dreaming about you.” He searched for the right words. “Please come with me. Please. We need to talk about this.”

Nick realized that they were standing still on the dance floor again, curious couples steering around them, but he wouldn’t move until Jena made her decision. After a long minute, she slowly nodded.

“Okay. Yes,” she whispered. “Let’s go.” Without another word, she took Nick’s hand and pulled him toward the door.

“Where are
you
going, birthday girl? You haven’t even opened presents yet.” Leisa barred the door, laughing.

“Please, Leisa…” Jena murmured. “I can do that tomorrow, okay? We need a quiet place to talk, and there are no quiet places in this nuthouse.”

Leisa looked around, and cringed at the crash of glass and the loud guffaw of laughter that followed. “Yeah, you’re probably right. I assume this is
that
talk?” Nick nodded once. “Well, thank God. It’s about time.” Leisa kissed Jena on the cheek and handed her a pair of shoes. “You’ll need these in the parking lot. And don’t go to Nicholas’s apartment. Conor and Luke got in a fight over something at the bar, and I think Conor was headed to his place for triumphant caveman sex.” Leisa sighed. “If Conor only knew Luke is probably wishing he was the one going back to that apartment…” She pushed them outside and shut the door, cutting off her chortle.

Nicholas heard jingling keys and turned to see Jena smiling at him. “If Conor’s gone, so’s his truck. Come on, I have my car.” Jena grabbed Nick’s arm and leaned over to slip on her shoes, and he had to look away as her breasts threatened to escape the confines of her bikini top.

No touching before talking…no touching before talking…

Jena stopped beside a fairly new Jeep Liberty, unlocking the doors so they could swing inside. After she put the keys in the ignition, she turned and looked at Nick. “So…where are we going? Do you want to go to a restaurant, or…”

Nick smiled wryly at himself; he hadn’t even considered going anywhere but Jena’s apartment. “Anywhere you’re comfortable is fine with me.”

She started the engine and pulled onto the street, glancing at Nicholas occasionally as she steered through the quiet neighborhood. She rubbed her palm on her thigh briskly, and he wondered if that was a sign Jena was as nervous as he felt. She threw him a sideways glance.

“I think I’d feel most comfortable at my apartment, to tell you the truth. Is that okay with you?”

Oh, yes!
Nick’s hormones screamed, pumping their tiny fists in the air and doing a happy dance. He quickly shoved the little bastards in a cage so they couldn’t ruin this for him before it even happened.

“Sure,” he answered mildly, turning his head to look out the side window before his grin could give him away.

A few minutes later, Jena led the way up the stairs to her apartment and Nick could look at her openly. Now he really did feel like a perv, but he couldn’t keep his eyes off of the nearly naked sweep of skin from her shoulders to her waist. Memories of running his hands slowly up her back, feeling both the weight of her hair and the softness of her skin, flooded his mind, and he was struck stupid. He must have made some sound, because Jena looked around from unlocking the door with a questioning smile, and Nick reminded himself again that they were there to
talk,
damn it. Anything else had to be on Jena’s terms, and she might throw him out after he admitted that her name and face hadn’t stuck in his mind, but her body had. Even
Nick
had to admit that made him sound like a pig.

Jena tossed her keys in the bowl on the end table and slipped off her shoes. “Um…do you mind if I change? This was Leisa’s idea.” She gestured to her outfit and looked down, chewing her lower lip.

“It was a damn good idea,” Nick assured her, smiling. “Get comfortable, Jena. I can wait.”

She headed for the doorway of her bedroom, hands already loosening the knot on her sarong. “Okay. So…there are drinks in the fridge if you’d like one. Make yourself at home.”

Her door shut softly, and Nick put his hands on the kitchen counter, letting his head sag down between his shoulders.
No touching before talking…no touching before talking…you can do this,
he chanted to himself again, but this time he wasn’t convinced. How was that going to happen when even now he was imagining that sarong floating to the floor, with Jena’s top joining it, as she whispered, “Come to bed, Nicholas…”

“Fuck,” Nicholas muttered as he felt the sudden pressure in his jeans. That was going to look great: he asks the girl to just talk to him, and when she comes back from changing her clothes she finds Captain Tripod lying in wait.

Nicholas heard Jena’s doorknob turn and quickly opened the refrigerator, staring into it like it held the secrets of life eternal so he’d have an excuse to have his back turned when she finally entered the kitchen. Untucking his shirt, Nick started making deals with his dick as he searched the shelves for a drink.
No matter what Jena is wearing, or not wearing, if you will behave yourself for just a little while, I promise you can have whatever you want. If Jena agrees.

It agreed to try.

Nick heard Jena pad into the room barefoot, and asked, “Beer or Coke?” In the second she considered, the trouser monster subsided enough that he could turn around without embarrassment. Nick felt a funny twist in his gut when he saw that Jena was wearing the rowing shirt he’d loaned her the morning after the incredible non-sex night, and soft shorts. He liked seeing that, but had to stop thinking about it or he’d be making more deals with Spike.

“Coke, I think. I had a couple drinks already, and I probably shouldn’t have any more right now.” Jena looked nervous, but she caught the can Nicholas tossed her and they settled at opposite ends of the couch. She took a sip and set the drink down carefully, pulling her feet up on the cushion and wrapping her arms around her folded legs. She rested her cheek on her knees and sighed.

Nick took a deep breath and let it whoosh out. “So…New Year’s.” He cleared his throat and tried to remember what he had planned to say. He got nothing. Winging it, then. “Can we stop pretending it didn’t happen?” Encouraged by her slow nod, he went on. “I want to apologize to you. I can’t excuse myself for not remembering you were the same girl from New Year’s Eve right away, but there is a stupid, half-assed explanation. Conor and I had been party hopping, and I got into a groove of ordering Jäger everywhere we went. I don’t think I’ll do that again.” His lips lifted in a twisted smile. “Apparently, Jäger fucks with my mind mightily, but still allows me to function.”

“I didn’t know you were so messed up,” Jena said softly, resting her chin on her knees. “Though, to be fair, I’d had a lot to drink myself. Probably not a great idea.” She put her forehead on her knees and continued. “So what you’re saying is that it was all a big mistake, right? Too much alcohol and a warm body at the right time.”

“Jena, no.” Nicholas scooted across the couch until he was right next to her and could lay a gentle hand on her leg. “I don’t go off with whoever’s available, no matter how much I’ve had to drink. I wasn’t lying to you about how much I wanted you in college, and I think we’re lucky to have found each other again, even if it was like that.” He put his hands on her cheeks and raised her face. “I wasn’t lying about the dreams, either. I’ve been replaying that night for months now. I remembered everything about being with my angel. Every room. Every inch of her skin.” Nick stroked Jena’s forearm with his fingertips, and she shivered. “How she tasted and how she smelled.” He raised her chin with a finger and leaned in to run his lips along the side of her neck. Jena let out a shuddery sigh and grasped Nick’s wrist with a soft whimper when he nibbled at her ear.

Nicholas closed his eyes and smiled. “And that. You drive me crazy with those little moans and sighs and…Come here.” He stood up, bringing Jena with him, wrapping his arms around her and kissing her forehead. “I’ve had
you
in my head, Jena, and I want you. No one else. You’re my angel.”

Jena stopped breathing for a minute and then gasped and wound her fingers in Nick’s hair, pulling his face down to kiss him with hungry intensity.

He groaned and folded her closer, knowing she could feel how her kiss affected him and not giving a damn. Threading the fingers of one hand in her hair to cradle her head, his other hand stroked slowly down her back until he could cup her ass and gently squeeze.

Jena’s hands were shaking as she fumbled with the buttons of his shirt until she could press soft kisses on his skin. “Nicholas, I want you so badly,” she whispered, fingers stroking the springy hair on his chest. Her hands slid down, still unbuttoning, until she could lay them flat on his bare stomach. “I’ve had some dreams of my own…”

Nicholas backed her toward the bedroom, taking the kisses she freely offered. Stopping in the doorway, he finally remembered his vow to let her take the lead. “Jena, do you want this? Do you want to sleep with me tonight? I need to know now, because this is where I stop if you don’t.”

Jena laughed and stroked his cheek. “God, you talk a lot. Would you just take me to bed, already?”

“Yes, ma’am,” he whispered, dropping his head to catch her lower lip in his mouth, sucking it in and nipping around the edges of her lips as he backed her into the room and lowered her onto the bed. She grasped the front of his shirt, pulling him down on top of her before sliding his shirt off his shoulders. Nick shrugged it the rest of the way off and tossed it on the floor. He held up a finger for her to wait, then pulled his wallet out of his back pocket.

“That predictable?” Jena winced.

“That hopeful.” Nick laughed at himself as he tossed a foil wrapped package on the nightstand. “There’s no handy gift shop around here, right?”

Jena covered her face with her hands and peeked through her fingers briefly. “I forgot about that.”

“I wish I was that lucky. I went down there the next morning to buy aspirin and had to face the owner.”

Jena laughed wildly. “Poor baby. Was I worth it?”

“Definitely.” Nick smiled and adjusted his position until his hands were to either side of Jena and he could lean down to kiss her all over her face.

He didn’t stay playful for long. As soon as he reached her lips, Jena’s hand slid into his hair and anchored him in place until they needed to come up for air.

“I love feeling you all over me, Nicholas,” Jena murmured, her breath coming hot and quick against his skin. Her hand slid down between them to press against his crotch. “This especially. I like feeling you hard against me. It’s fucking sexy.”

“You might want to stop that for a minute,” Nicholas said breathlessly, pulling her hand up to kiss her fingers, before he rolled on his back, bringing her with him. “Unless you want this to be a very short ride. It’s been a while.”

Jena cocked an eyebrow.

“It’s not unheard of. I told you, I’m not Conor.” They laughed, and he stroked the hair away from her face. “Besides, everyone else pales once you’ve had perfection.”

She snorted, but lowered her head to kiss him before answering. “That’s probably the cheesiest line I will ever hear, Nicholas.” She kissed him again. “But thanks for the sentiment.”

“You’re welcome. And it’s true, you know. You’re perfect for me, Jena.” Nicholas ran his hand down her neck and chest to gently cup her breast. “You’ll never hear a cheesier line, either,” he murmured, “because I don’t think I can top that one, and I don’t want you with anyone else.”

Jena moaned and shivered as he rubbed her hard nipple with his thumb. Nick pushed her shirt up, and she helped him get it over her head. It joined Nicholas’s shirt on the floor as he eased her onto her back and ran his hand down her body from her neck to her waist. He gathered a handful of her hair to fan it over her breast, wondering if the contrast between her dark hair and white skin could possibly be as sexy as he remembered. Nicholas groaned again as he buried his face in the hair at her neck and let his hand slip against her breast over her silky hair, because it was better.

Jena sighed, and he raised his head to look into her eyes; the need in them took what was left of his breath away.

“I want you to touch me,” she said, her voice raw, vulnerable. She unbuttoned Nick’s pants and pulled the zipper down slowly before pushing the cloth down over his hips. “I want you inside me. I want
you
.”

“You’ve got me,” he murmured, taking a moment to prepare before spreading her legs and gradually entering her. Nicholas focused on the moment, wanted to feel every fucking thing, remember every second. She gasped, and he paused to enjoy the sensation of her enveloping him for the first time in months.