Imperfections (52 page)

He lightly kisses my lips and asks in a low husky whisper, "Did you get everything you wanted today?"

As I feel him thrust and glide into me, my head goes into the hollow of his shoulder and I exhale and sigh. "Yes! Oh God, yes." My legs wrap tight around his waist as he rocks back and forth inside me filling me completely. Calling my name in a hoarse whisper over and over again. I can't breathe, we're sweating, moving as one, thrust for thrust. My head goes back and he kisses my neck with a pull of my skin between his teeth. Screaming his name I sink my nails into his skin, leaving what I'm sure are going to be a wicked trail of scratches down his back. His hand slips between us and he drives me over the edge with the way he's rubbing my clit. I feel it coming hard and fast. He moves his hand and presses hard against me in the spot his hand was and grinds into me. I can't stop panting and moaning.

He whispers in my ear, "Come for me, baby; let go, I have you."

Just like that I come undone all around him, I shatter to pieces.

"I'm right there, baby," he says, and I feel him explode inside me with a force that renders me speechless, mouth wide open.

I'm exhausted. In a good way. His head is in the hollow of my neck, his weight on top of me. One of my hands rests on his back, the other in his hair cradling the back of his head. His lips move against my neck and I feel cold air over a spot he runs his tongue over. Rising up a little, he takes some of his weight off me, brushing my hair behind my ears and kisses the side of my neck; his favorite spot, I'm pretty sure.

"You okay?"

I put my hand under his arm on his shoulder, eyes closed, recovering from what we shared. "Yes, I'm perfect."

"I know. Inside and out."

I open my eyes and he smiles down at me with shining eyes and a smile that I know has melted down more than a few hearts, and melted a few panties off too. I should know, I'm one of them.

"Happy birthday and Merry Christmas."

"You told me already."

"On the phone, not in person. There's a difference."

"It's not my birthday anymore. I don't think? I haven't looked at the time."

"Well, let's see." He gets up and goes into the kitchen.

I love the view of him in all his natural-born glory. A work of art you have to sit back and appreciate. I laugh to myself. I realize I'm lying butt naked on Ava's favorite white bear skin rug, or is it sheep? She's not going to like this. She won't even let anyone stand on it much less sit on it. I'm not telling her and Nick's not telling her, what she doesn't know won't hurt her.

Nick comes back with a blanket and pillow in his hands. He sits down and pulls me between his legs and puts the cover over us. I settle back into him loving the spot.

"It's eleven forty-three. It's still your birthday. It looks like it's ending on a bang."

I tilt my head back and look at him. "It was more than a bang, it was an explosion."

"You can say you saw fireworks and stars on your twenty-fifth birthday. I'm that good."

I nudge him in the ribs with my elbow. "Shut up."

"I have something for you."

"What? I hope it's not another pair of sweatpants."

He grins down at me.

"If it is, you can keep it." I look at him skeptically. "What is it?"

"Something almost as beautiful as you." His hand comes up from under the covers. He's holding a red leather gift box with gold designs around the edges.

"Nick." I look at the box. I don't want to open it. I know whatever is in it I'm going to love it. Tonight is only one night, it wouldn't be right for me to keep it. "Nick—"

"Open it," he says with a stern voice.

I bite down on the middle of my bottom lip. I know exactly where this is from. I know it's over the top expensive. I put my hand on top of the box and look up at him.

"Go ahead," he coaxes, kissing me on my temple, his hands lightly pressed against my stomach, his fingers gently moving against my skin.

I flip the lid open; my mouth hangs open with my eyes glued to the twinkling lights I see in the box. It's an aquamarine and diamond bracelet with delicate dangling stars going all the way around it. I look at the clasp; it looks like two letters, our initials CN intertwined in a platinum setting. I've never seen anything like it before; I'm stunned by its beauty.

He kisses my temple and pulls me closer. "Do you like it?"

I run my fingers around it. Is he kidding me, do I like it? "I love it. I can't accept it. It's too much."

"It's yours I can't take it back. It's one of a kind like you, if you're not wearing it, no one will. You're not obligated to anything by accepting, it's yours."

I turn around and look at him.

"You're going to hurt my feelings. Do you want to see a grown man cry?" He gives me the pouty lip puppy dog face.

"Since you put it that way I have to accept." I bring his head down for a kiss. How can I resist those eyes and that face? They're a killer combination and I'm no fool.

"Will you put it on me please? He unfastens the CN clasp and puts it around my wrist.  "Thank you. It's beautiful." I can't believe I have to let this go. This man is what I've always wanted. I don't know if I will ever feel this way again with anyone else. We only have tonight and I want it to last, without thoughts of the things between us ripping us apart, shut it all out.

I turn in his arms sitting up, and wrap my arms around his neck and legs around his waist. I feel him rising up hard against me. I kiss the sides of his lips and he whispers across my lips, "I can't see myself spending the rest of my life with anyone but you. If I have to wait ten, twenty years, a lifetime, it's going to be you."

Feeling him ease into me my breath catches, loving the feel of him sliding in. "Nick, I don't think we should."

He runs the tip of his nose against the side of my throat kissing the spot. "Why not?"

"We didn't use anything before." We didn't and I'm hoping we get lucky a second time.

"I have a condom."

He puts his hand on his dick pulling out and rubs it against me between my folds teasing me with my wetness. I bite down hard on the side of his neck, he pulls my hair back and grabs his pants off the floor beside him, pulling out a foil packet, and ripping it open with his teeth.

"Hold on, baby." He rolls it on. My hands on his shoulders, he grabs me by the waist and pulls me down hard on his lap. Spearing through my walls he impales me, I scream his name feeling like I'm riding high and hard on a wave I never want to get off.

He grabs my hair pulling my head all the way back until I can hardly make a sound. Sinking his teeth into the swell at the top of my breasts, my hands go up his neck into his hair.

Harshly he says, "I want to fuck you, Cat, can I fuck you?"

"Yes, yes," I say, my voice hoarse to my own ears. "Fuck me, Nick, please fuck me." Before I know it he pins me to the floor, on my back, my hands above my head, he slams into me hard and fast. I hear myself scream and it's a scream deep in me from pleasure tinged with pain. He thrusts into me repeatedly. I scream his name, my body begins to quake, my insides clench tight contracting hard around him; all sound is gone, I can't talk. I spiral back down from my high and see the moment he finds his release and our eyes meet, and he screams my name. All I can see is the man I love and I know only I can do this to him and he to me.

We fall asleep wrapped in each other's arms and I wonder, where do we go from here?

She's sleeping in my arms, her head resting on my arm, my hand around her waist. There's not an inch of space between us. I like it like that. I missed her so damn much. I truly realized how much when she walked in at the gala. I wanted to touch her every time I saw her, she looked like she was glowing, shinning for me, pure magic.

It wasn't my plan to come here tonight but there was no way I could stay away. My hand touches the skin on her wrist over her bracelet. I wasn't giving her a line, this bracelet was specially made for her. I told the jeweler exactly what I wanted and he delivered. I wanted to give her the stars, stars that shine almost as bright as her in a cross between an exquisite charm tennis bracelet, as exquisite as she is.

I love this woman with all my heart; for the first time in my life I'm wearing my heart on my sleeve. It's a humbling experience. I've been turned down a time or two in my life but not by the woman I love. If tonight doesn't prove how much we belong together, I don't know what will. I'm not giving up on us. It won't be easy but I'm going to find a way to make her see we have a future together.

I don't need anything else to happen, she's at the point where she could say she wants to be with me or say to hell with me and my womanizing ass. We have enough going against us already, that's for damn sure. I don't want to think about what else could go against us besides her family. I don't want to know.

My eyes are closed but in the back of my mind I keep hearing a buzzing sound. I open my eyes and wait for them to adjust to the darkness. Nick has me trapped in his arms. I smile. It's like a vise-grip almost like he's afraid I'm going to escape in the middle of the night. If he holds me any tighter, he might crack a rib. I'm not complaining; it's better than what I woke up to this morning, a cold bed.

There it is again, what is—it's my phone. I turned it on vibrate before I left for the gala. Who the hell would be calling me at this time? It must be important 'cause the only person that would call me in the middle of the night to talk would be Ava or Nick and he's right here with me. Hmm, it stopped. No, it didn't, there it is again. I try to break free of the hold Nick has on me without waking him. He grunts and pulls me back in with no effort at all. The phone stops again. "Buzz buzz."

Shit, it must be important. I nudge Nick to get him to loosen his grip.

"Nick."

He grunts and moves his hand over to my hip. I can work with this. I carefully move out of his arms. He rolls over on his stomach and mumbles something unintelligible. I pick my phone up to see who's calling me nonstop. Nineteen missed calls and five text messages from Jay and Chris. Shit! It must be important for them to call me at four in the morning so many times. I listen to the first message from Chris, I hope everyone's okay. My heart drops when I hear the message. Oh my God. It's Kate, she was rushed to the hospital two hours ago. They think she might be losing the baby.

"Shit! Shit!" I almost drop the phone. I have to tell Nick. I rush over to him and shake him as hard as I can. "Nick, wake up! We have to go to the hospital." My hands are trembling and my body feels light.

He opens his eyes, groggy, he rubs his hand over his eyes, sleep in his voice. "What's wrong?"

It all comes out in a rush, my words one on top of each other. "We have to get dressed. Chris called, the ambulance rushed Kate to the hospital; they think she might be losing the baby."

Not another word is said until we get to the hospital. He throws back on the clothes he wore to the party and I grab a pair of sweatpants, a T-shirt, put my hair back in a messy ponytail and with no coat in the freezing cold, we are out the door.