Lisa's Gift (28 page)

Personally, Nicolas had never thought about children, but observing Jana, seeing how her face lit up while watching the kids, made him wonder if there was another part of life that he had overlooked. If they had a daughter together would she have Jana’s dark red hair, or his mother’s wavy ebony hair? Would a son take after him or would Jana’s unknown past bring forth a surprise? He chuckled silently with his wanderings.

Then he rose from his seat and grasped her by the hand and tugged.

“Come on, I want to buy you something.”

She came to her feet, responding as he knew she would. “But, I don’t need anything.”

He pulled her into his arms and kissed her solidly on the lips.

“Sometimes you just buy something for the hell of it, Jana. It doesn’t have to serve a need—it serves a want. And I want to buy you something.”

She shook her head as if saying, “Frivolous.”

Nicolas threw down a handful of Mexican pesos, an equivalent of thirty US dollars to cover the check and tip and they were on their way.

Every street was lined with vendors. People from all over the world were haggling for a better deal. A hand-carved chess set caught Nicolas’s 206

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eye and he tugged her toward the booth. There was a gray-haired woman in her mid-sixties counting out her money.

“Many of the crafts available here are made by local Indians,” the woman explained. “Did you know that these chess sets and many of the other gifts from Puerto Vallarta are produced by using the same methods they’ve had for hundreds of years?”

“I didn’t realize that,” Jana said. Her gaze widened at the numerous selections.

The woman purchasing the chess set smiled, her eagle eye watching the salesman wrap her choice in paper and place each piece into a box.

“I’m here with my daughter from California. The chess set is for my husband.”

Jana scanned the store taking in the many wood carvings along the wall. “It’s a lovely gift. I’m sure he will enjoy it.”

“Are you buying one?” She accepted the now-sealed box the salesman handed her.

“Uh… Are you buying one?” Jana turned to Nicolas.

“Why not? Which one do you want?” he asked.

“I don’t play chess,” she responded.

He cocked a brow. “I do. I play chest
all
the time.” His play on words was not lost on Jana or the older woman, who blushed prettily and then quickly said her good-byes. When the lady was out of sight, Jana’s hand came out and playfully popped Nicolas on the arm.

He flinched, and then winked at her.

“That wasn’t funny,” she growled, even though her eyes danced with laughter.

“She thought it was.” He grinned.

Jana shook her head.

“In fact, I’m in the mood for chest right now.” He grasped her hand and they were off again, but this time he knew exactly where they were going. He had seen an alley around a couple of buildings and down the www.samhainpublishing.com 207

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street. He was still hot and horny from finger-fucking Jana in public. His erection felt like it was about to burst, pressing against his shorts.

“Where are we going?” Jana stumbled as a cart pulled by a donkey caught her eye. He slowed his pace.

“I have to feel you around my cock or I’m going to explode.”

“What?” Her eyes widened and she tugged on his hand.

“I’m going to fuck you in the next couple of minutes even if I have to throw you on the ground in the middle of a crowd.”

Panic, or perhaps disbelief, spread across her face. “You’re kidding.”

He raised a brow. “You’re not. Okay.” She quickly scanned the area.

“Alley?”

“Alley,” he agreed.

It wasn’t the most romantic place. Garbage littered the ground and the smell had Jana wrinkling her nose. Nicolas was hurting, his cock pressing painfully against its constraints. He pulled her into a walled alcove and pressed her back against the brick building, his mouth finding hers.

Jana reached for his khaki shorts, popping the button loose. His zipper hissed on its descent. His aching erection pushed into her palms and she began to fondle him.

“No. I need to be inside you.” He bit her earlobe. “Are you ready for me, doll? Wet? Hot? Horny?”

“Yes.” She pushed down his shorts just below his butt cheeks and threw her arms around his neck.

He grabbed her ass and lifted her up. “Wrap your legs around me.”

She didn’t hesitate. As she did, he slipped his cock into her pussy. “Shit.

Jana, you’re so hot.” He thrust his hips once, twice. “So. Fucking. Hot.”

He pulled her down hard on him eliciting a whimper from her lips. “I’ll never get enough of you.”

She went wild in his arms, even biting his neck as he moved in and out of her slit. “Fuck me hard, Nicolas,” she purred and he nearly lost it right there. Clenching his jaw, he tried to breathe, tried to hold on. But, 208

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when she said, “Oh, God,” he exploded. Hot sensation shot down his shaft, filling her with his seed. Her orgasm clamped down around him and began to milk him, wringing out every spasm, until he felt weak in the knees and spent.

Her next words were, “Oh, shit!”

He nuzzled her neck loving the smell of sweet perfume on her skin.

“What?” he murmured, relaxed and sated and wrapped in her arms.

“Tell me you’re wearing a condom.”

He froze. How the hell did he forget the condom? There were four of them in his pocket, but there wasn’t one on his cock.

She went rigid in his arms, her legs unlocking from around him as her feet hit the ground. “Oh shit!” she repeated, but this time there was panic in her tone.

When he stepped away from Jana her eyes were closed. She leaned against the building as if she would fall if not for its support. Then she put her fingertips on her forehead. “It was just one time. What are the odds?”

Was she trying to convince him or herself? Clearly he had fucked up.

“Jana?”

“Don’t say it.” She opened her misty eyes. “Just don’t say it. I’ve heard enough sorrys to last me a lifetime.” She rolled her eyes skyward.

“It was as much my fault as yours.” She took a deep weighted breath.

“What are the odds? Right?” She pulled her skirt down around her thighs.

“Right,” he said.
Fifty-fifty
, he voiced silently, drawing his shorts up and zipping them. For some reason he didn’t feel scared, nor guilty. If she became pregnant with his child they would get married.

It was as simple as that.

Perhaps his problem of tying her to him had just been solved.

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Evening came and stars graced the heavens like tiny specks of light scattered about. Jana felt as if she were floating in a dream world, the ocean singing a soft lullaby to lull her further into her fantasy. Hand in hand, she and Nicolas walked on the beach, soft sand squishing between her toes as the tide swirled around her ankles. They had left their sandals and a blanket further up the beach beneath a palm tree.

It was a perfect ending to a perfect week that had gone by much too quickly. Tomorrow they would return to Arizona and the rat race of the real world. The intrusive thought morphed her happiness into a sudden melancholy, forcing a heavy breath from her lungs.

“Something wrong?” Nicolas asked, looking down at her.

“No,” she lied, refusing to meet his eyes. “It’s just so beautiful…so peaceful. I hate to leave.” Honesty hung in her last words. Many things had been missing from her life, serenity being one of them. She had no idea that such peacefulness existed, until now. From the corner of her eye, she glanced at Nicolas. Emotion squeezed her chest. “Thank you.”

He pulled her to a stop, stepping in front of her. Strong, warm hands cupped her face. He stared into her eyes before leaning in to brush a feather-light kiss upon her lips. “No. Thank you.” His palms moved to stroke up and down her arms. “It’s been years since I’ve taken a vacation and I can’t think of anyone I’d rather spend my time with than you.”

How Jana wished that were true. Lisa hadn’t found a replacement.

Nicolas had been stuck with her all week long. She turned in his arms, his length spooning her back as she gazed out over the water. Shadows and moonlight bounced across the surface. The slight scent of fish and 210

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salt mingled in the air. In the distance muted music played and laughter rose.

“I guess a family-owned business poses more difficulties than most jobs?”

His arms tightened around her as he laid his cheek against hers.

“Yeah. Trying to keep things running can be challenging. But I love to cook. It’s in my blood.” His fondness expressed a passion beyond her comprehension.

What would it feel like to care about something as he did? She wondered.

“Did your mother teach you to cook?”

“Grandmother and mother. I always seemed to be drawn to the kitchen. Mom said, ‘The kitchen is the heartbeat of a family.’ Most decisions in our family were made around a big pot of spaghetti sauce and, of course, freshly baked garlic bread.” Every time Nicolas spoke of his mother his features softened, and there was an inherent quality in his voice. Love.

“I wouldn’t know anything about family.”

Nicolas spun her around, holding her so he could gaze into her eyes.

“Those days are gone.”

A snort pushed from her lips. “Those days never existed, Nicolas.”

Jana pulled from his arms and strolled deeper into the water, allowing it to splash up her legs and dampen the hem of her jeans shorts. A cool breeze off the water caressed her belly, exposed by her crop-top shirt.

“I’m sorry.”

She turned sharply facing him. “Don’t be.” Her tone dropped, harsher than she had intended. “You can’t miss something you’ve never had.”

Who was she kidding?

But strangely, somewhere between the time she arrived in Arizona and this moment her past
had
taken a backseat to her future.

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She wanted to laugh aloud. Who would have thought that Jana Ryan would actually be thinking of a
real
future?

“Jana—”

“Nicolas, don’t you see? I may not have been born to a family, or inherited one through a foster home, but I can make one of my own.

Marriage. Children.”

Holy shit! Is that me talking?
Damned if Dr. Tate wasn’t right.
The
world is at my fingertips
. She could make her life anything she wanted—

well, almost anything.

Water slapped against Nicolas’s legs, never touching the hem of his khaki shorts as he moved toward her. Gently he placed a finger beneath her chin, lifting until their eyes met. The black silk shirt he wore made him almost fade into the night.

“Is that what you want, doll? Marriage? Children?” he asked.

She couldn’t read his expression in the dim moonlight, and it wasn’t important. She knew he didn’t want the same things she did. The triangle between Lisa and them was proof.

“Yes.” Her response was breathless, knowing that each word would wedge between them. Drive Nicolas away. But she didn’t hold back.

There was no future between them—there couldn’t be. “Yes. I do want those things. I want a man to love me and children to hold in my arms and protect.”

And she wanted one last night with Nicolas. When they returned home her new life would truly begin—a life without Nicolas Marchetti.

The thought was bittersweet.

His hand dropped from beneath her chin. Her gaze followed the nervous bounce of his Adam’s apple as he swallowed. “What if you’re already pregnant?”

Oh. My. God. He’s right
. Jana’s pulse sped. Did Nicolas worry she would try to trap him in a relationship? She stared at him a moment longer, expecting to see an expression of accusation or regret.

And what would Lisa say?

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It took every ounce of strength Jana had to dismiss his comment as if it were insignificant. “I’m not worried about it.” Truth was, until now she had never imagined herself being a parent, much less a single parent.

The idea of a life growing inside her sent a shiver up her back.

Nicolas’s baby.

“Are you cold?” he asked, pulling her into his arms.

“A little.” She buried her face in his shoulder and inhaled his masculine scent. He smelled good. In his arms she felt safe, something she hadn’t experienced in so long. She couldn’t bear the thought that this was their last night together.

“Jana, if you’re pregnant—”

“I’m not.” She didn’t want to hear him make a promise he couldn’t keep. “Don’t worry about it.”

“But—”

Jana captured Nicolas’s objection in a kiss he could only describe as hungry. Arms wrapped tightly around his neck, she held him close as she devoured his mouth. Without hesitation he swept her up into his arms and blindly moved up the beach where their sandals were and a blanket was spread.

Their kiss broke briefly as he laid her upon the soft blanket and then followed her down, lying beside her. Her chest rose and fell, the gentle swells of her breasts peeking beneath her shirt. With a brush of his hand, he eased the material up, baring her globes.

“Beautiful,” he whispered, before dipping his head and drawing her nipple into his warm, wet mouth. Her back came off the ground as she arched into his touch, weaving her fingers through his hair to hold him to her chest. The diamond-hard bud slid over his tongue as he teased, suckled, and then bit, scraping his teeth across the sensitive skin.

She gasped. “
Nicolas
.” His name was breathless upon her lips. “Fuck me. Make me remember tonight, forever.” There was something desperate in her request. But he didn’t have time to analyze it as her delicate www.samhainpublishing.com 213

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fingers slipped beneath his shorts and briefs, cupping his balls and massaging tenderly.