The vulnerability written on his handsome face is too much for me to bear. He’s trying to give me everything. Telling me he’ll surrender all that he is—all the things that I love about him.
“Nick, I do trust you.”
/> He shakes his head as if he isn’t hearing me. “I’m never going to do anything to hurt you. I’d sooner eat a fucking bullet than make you fear me—”
“No.” I frame his head in my hands, bringing his brow down to meet mine. I stare into his eyes, needing him to see me. I want him to understand I’m not afraid of the man I see in front of me now. “Nick, I know you won’t hurt me. And I’m not afraid of you.”
A miserable look washes over him. “The other night—”
“The other night is behind us. Look at me. Feel me.” I slip his hand beneath the loose silk of my robe, settling his palm on my breast before guiding him down to my sex. His fingers flex as they meet the slickness of my cleft. “Does that feel like fear? I’m not afraid of you. And I’m not glass that’s going to break if you touch me.”
I kiss him, pouring all of my desire and need for him into the fevered joining of our mouths. His arms close around me, his hands sliding down to rest on the curve of my ass. I step back, unfastening the tie at my waist.
My thin robe falls away, leaving me naked except for Nick’s watch and the long strand of pearls.
His gaze flares with arousal as he looks at me. “Ah, Christ.”
I move farther back, until the vanity counter comes up against the backs of my legs. I hop onto it and take hold of the front waistband of Nick’s jeans. His erection bulges against the zipper. I free him, lifting the thick shaft and heavy balls in my hand and then pushing his pants and boxer briefs down onto his muscled thighs.
Leaning back onto the cool marble surface, I spread myself open to him, holding his hungered gaze.
The growl that escapes him is animal and wild. It races through me like a lick of flame to the gasoline of my desire. My sex throbs, aching for the full measure of his lust.
“Fuck me,” I beg him. “I need you to fuck me now.”
He steps close, raw heat radiating off his powerful frame. One hand clamps onto my hip; the other guides the dripping head of his cock to the ready sheath of my body.
He leans into me, taking my mouth in a savage kiss as he penetrates me. The long, hard thrust stretches me, tunneling deep and wrenching a jagged cry from my lips.
“Mmm,” I moan as he fills me again. “God, yes. Fuck me, Nick. I need you to fuck me hard.”
His answer is a strangled snarl against my ear. “I thought you were never going to ask.”
Chapter 21
“Enjoy the rest of your evening, Mr. Baine,” the restaurant doorman tells me as I slide into the back of my private limousine behind Avery.
At nine o’clock it’s early to be calling it a night, but after spending several hours at the opening ceremony of the recreation center and all of the press hoopla that entailed, I craved a quiet meal with Avery somewhere far away from chattering crowds and flashing cameras. The little hole-in-the-wall, cash-only Italian place in the East Village isn’t much to look at, but the home-style cooking has been bringing people back for more than a hundred years.
“That. Was. Amazing,” she says once we settle into the car and Patrick pulls away from the curb. “Hands-down the best spaghetti and meatballs I’ve ever had. And the chocolate cannoli was insane!”
I smile and take her hand in mine. “I remember you enjoy authentic Italian food, so I thought you might like this place.”
“I loved it.” She cuddles against me on the wide leather seat. “Today has been incredible.”
“I’m glad you were with me at the ceremony,” I tell her, draping my arm around her and smoothing my fingers over the soft skin of her arm. “I wouldn’t have wanted to share the day with anyone else.”
“I wouldn’t have missed for anything, Nick. Watching you up there in front of the press and hundreds of kids and their parents, telling them about your vision for the center and what you hope it brings to the community is something I’ll never forget.”
And I’ll never forget looking into the crowd and seeing her there in the front row, her face full of encouragement and excitement . . . and pride. For me. Even after everything I put her through a year ago.
Especially after the things I’ve done more recently than that.
It’s going to take me a while to purge my shame for my behavior the night we came back from the hospital together. That she’s agreed to give me another chance is nothing short of a miracle, but then, that’s what Avery has been for me from the start.
A miracle I never expected.
The angel I’ll do anything to deserve.