Coming Apart at the Seams (14 page)

Sweet Mother of God!

The weatherman was a liar. He'd promised no precipitation, but the entire Northeast was snowed in.

Nick muted the weather report on Teagan's big-screen TV and made his way to the kitchen. He'd heard the shower running a while ago, so he assumed she felt better.

Opening the fridge, he pulled out some butter and the cheese he'd bought last night. Teagan needed to eat something, and vegetable soup and grilled cheese sandwiches were on the lunch menu.

After rummaging around in the cabinets, he found a skillet and put it on to preheat before opening the soup and dumping it in a pot. While the soup heated, he slathered the sourdough bread with butter and lightly grilled it before adding slices of cheddar, Monterey jack, and Swiss cheese.

Letty called them grown-up grilled cheese sandwiches, and he loved them. They'd be even better with bacon. Everything was better with bacon.

Teagan's bedroom door opened, and he heard her light tread on the hardwood floors as she came down the hall. He flipped the sandwiches before turning to face her. She stopped abruptly when she saw him. They stared at each other across the room,
and he ran his gaze from the top of her head to the tips of her toes and up again.

Her long, dark hair waved loosely around her face, shiny from its recent wash. Her cheeks were tinted pink, but thankfully no longer red from fever, and her eyes were much brighter. Her nose and lips still looked a little raw, but overall, she looked a thousand times better.

A light blue flannel nightgown with a long line of buttons enveloped her from neck to knees. Her legs and feet were covered in fuzzy black socks that started right where her nightgown ended. They looked a little like leg warmers, but they were tight and clingy.

It was a decidedly unattractive look, nothing sexy about it, yet all he could think about was unbuttoning those tiny little buttons, one by one, until he bared her plump breasts to his gaze. He'd been fantasizing about the color and taste of her nipples for months.

Or maybe he could take the easy route, pulling that old lady nightie up and over her head so he could lay his hands on her bare ass. He was desperate to shape its round curves and touch her smooth white skin.

Teagan joined him in the kitchen, and before he could say anything, she wrapped her arms around his waist and rested her head against his chest. He squeezed her to him, rubbing big circles on her back.

She had scared him last night.
A lot.

She'd been burning up, totally out of it, and none of the drugs he had poured into her mouth had seemed to help. He'd been so worried he had called Letty in the wee hours of the morning to get her opinion on whether he should take Teagan to the hospital.

He relied on Letty more than he'd ever let himself depend on anyone. She had become an important part of his life, and he trusted her to give him good advice, especially since she'd raised three children.

Letty had told him to keep a close watch on Teagan, so he'd slept in her room, checking on her every hour. When her fever had finally broken this morning, he had been so relieved he'd felt light-headed.

The smell of burning bread drifted to his nose, and Nick
reached behind him to turn off the stove. The movement pushed his chest against Teagan's, and he tried not to notice her breasts.

He was pretty sure she wasn't wearing a bra because he could feel how full and firm they were. His heart rate increased, pumping blood straight to his cock, and he stepped back to put some room between them before he had to explain why he had an erection . . .
again
.

She looked up, and he smoothed her hair away from her face. It smelled fruity, like tangerines maybe, and his taste buds quivered. He pushed down the urge to nuzzle his nose into her hair before licking his way down her neck.

“Thank you for taking care of me.”

He smiled. Her voice sounded like the offspring between a bullfrog and a goose.

“You're such a good friend,” she continued.

Friend.

The smile slid from his face. He was starting to hate that fucking word, especially when Teagan's kissable lips said it.

“You're going to get sick, you know,” she warned. “I already gave this to Bebe.”

He shrugged. He didn't get sick a lot, and when he did, he rode it out alone. He remembered having strep throat in high school and being so sick he could barely move. His dad had been in New York City for a book tour, and he'd been irritated when Nick had called him. He had told him to “use his head and find a doctor.”

Nick shook off the memory, focusing on Teagan's face. She wasn't wearing any makeup, and her skin looked dewy from the shower.

“You won't be so blasé about it when you're suffering with this plague,” she predicted. “You'll blame me for giving it to you.”

He stared into her eyes. He already suffered from something she had given him: a bad case of lust.

She sniffed the air before peeking around him. Her eyes widened.

“Did you cook?” she asked incredulously.

He nodded, a little insulted by her shock. He was a grown man, and he knew how to make a simple meal. He laughed
under his breath when he realized he might be just a tad too offended. Grilled cheese sandwiches weren't exactly adult fare.

She stepped around him, and he turned to see what she was doing. Bending down, she opened the lower cabinet and reached inside. He watched as the hem of her nightgown inched up and continued to rise until he could see the top of her creamy thighs.

Saliva pooled in his mouth as he thought about the moist pink flesh barely covered by the flannel. He had to clench his hands into fists to stop himself from reaching out and easing his fingers between her legs.

She stood up, her hands filled with two oval plates and two matching bowls. “These are my special soup and sandwich platters,” she said as she placed them on the granite counter. “They have a built-in place for the soup bowl.”

He touched her elbow, and she lifted her face to look at him. She smiled, a tiny curve of her chapped lips, and he tilted his head toward the dining room.

“Sit.”

Surprisingly, she did exactly as she was told, and he couldn't stop himself from watching the sway of her ass as she left the kitchen. He rubbed his hand over the back of his neck, massaging the tight muscles.

Although he'd expected his desire for Teagan to fade, it hadn't. In fact, it had grown exponentially. Even when her hair had been stringy and her nose had been runny, he'd wanted to be close to her.

He ran his hands roughly over his face. He didn't know what to do, but he knew he couldn't go on like this.

He moved to the stove and plated their lunches, giving himself the burned sandwich. Carrying the plates into the dining room, he found Teagan standing beside the table. She turned to face him, and he noticed she held the bear he'd bought her.

“Is this guy for me?” she asked, holding up the bear.

He nodded, depositing the plates on the table.

“And the roses? Are they for me, too?”

He nodded again. He had tossed the lavender roses on the table when he'd returned from the grocery store. He had been in such a rush to get some medicine into her, he'd forgotten to put them in water, and they'd wilted a little bit.

Teagan looked down, rubbing one of the bear's ears between her thumb and her forefinger. He wondered if maybe he'd made a mistake. After all, she wasn't
his
Valentine.

“Why did you get them for me?”

“You're sick,” he answered, but he didn't know if that was the truth.

He didn't know why he'd bought the bear and the roses. They had been an impulse purchase, one he regretted now. She nodded and returned the bear to the table before sitting down.

“Apple juice or tea?”

She shrugged lethargically, and he could tell she felt bad again. She needed to get some food in her stomach before she went back to bed, though.

“Eat. Then b-b-b-back to bed.”

“I'm not hungry,” she said, her chapped lower lip pushed out in a small pout.

Poor baby.

“Just a few bites,” he negotiated, dropping a kiss on top of her head as he walked back to the kitchen to grab some juice.

*   *   *

“
Groundhog Day
is the best movie of all time,” Teagan said, reclining against her velvet sofa.

“
Terminator
,” Nick countered as he draped a blanket over her.

After lunch, he had tucked her into bed like she was a little girl, and she'd slept for four hours. When she had woken up and stumbled from her bedroom, she'd been surprised to find him on her sofa watching the History Channel and drinking a beer.

While Teagan had been napping, Letty had dropped off a change of clothes for Nick and homemade dinner for two. He'd showered and changed into a navy blue thermal pullover that outlined his chest and arms in mouthwatering detail and a pair of sand-colored cargo pants that made his butt look like a work of art.

Right now, his crotch was level with her face, and she wished she had the right to reach out, unzip his pants, and slide her hand inside. She wished she had the courage to take him into her mouth and damn the consequences.

Thinking of the treasure to be found inside his pants, she
licked her lips, and Nick's eyes fell to her mouth. He frowned before pulling a tube of lip balm from his hip pocket and handing it to her.

She'd been thinking about giving him a blow job, and he'd been thinking she needed lip balm for her chapped lips.
Stupid
man.

“Drink?” he asked as she slathered ointment on her lips and handed the tube back to him.

Nick was determined to keep her well hydrated, but she wasn't sure she could swallow much more tea or juice without floating away. She declined his offer, and he grabbed the TV remote from the coffee table and handed it to her. He pointed to her legs, and she pulled her knees to her chest so he could sit down.

Settling himself against the cushions, he reached for her feet and draped them across his lap. He delved under the blanket and tweaked one of her big toes before starting to massage her foot. His hands were so warm she could feel the heat through her knee socks. She shivered, and he turned his head to look into her eyes.

“Okay?” he asked.

She nodded. He could touch her anywhere and anytime, and she wouldn't say no. In fact, she'd probably say more.

It was almost impossible to hide her feelings for Nick. When she'd seen the bear and flowers he'd bought her, she had almost burst into tears. Didn't he realize he was torturing her with his friendship? How could he expect them to spend so much time together without her falling in love with him?

Who wouldn't love a man who took such good care of her when she was sick? Who could resist the lure of a man who not only looked like a Greek god but also laughed at her stupid jokes?

Teagan stared at the TV remote, rubbing her finger over the Pause button. Although she'd tried to move forward, her life was on pause. She was waiting for Nick to miraculously wake up one day and decide he wanted to be with her.

Maybe she should grow a pair and just tell him she felt more than friendship for him. She didn't have to show all her cards by telling him she was in love with him. She could play it cool.

What was the worst that could happen?

Closing her eyes, she imagined telling Nick she wanted to be more than friends. And then she imagined the horror on his gorgeous face, the pity in his eyes when he told her he didn't want her “that way.”

And what if he found her attractive? To use a cliché, he wasn't relationship material. She knew sex was the most she could expect from him. And the worst part about it? She wouldn't even be the only woman in his life.

She groaned softly. She couldn't imagine anything worse than being just another member of his harem.

“Feeling bad again?”

Teagan opened her eyes to find Nick staring at her, a look of concern on his face. It was obvious he cared about her—he wouldn't be here otherwise. But she knew she couldn't read anything into it.

He cared about her whole family, and she knew he'd do the same for her brothers. In fact, she'd bet he
had
taken care of her brothers when they'd overindulged in liquor and loose women.

“I'm feeling better. You can relax, Nurse Nightingale.”

He laughed, moving his hands to massage her lower leg. His hands were strong, and she imagined him shifting them higher until he could slip his long fingers inside her.

Wetness trickled from her body, and she resisted the urge to squirm against the sofa. She wondered what he'd do if she unzipped his pants, climbed on his lap, and rode him until they both were mindless with pleasure.

“You're flushed,” Nick noted. “Sure your fever isn't back?”

Teagan exhaled loudly. She had a fever all right, but it was because of him, not the flu.