The Darkness Within Him: The Untwisted series (26 page)

Pressing my body against his, I slid my other arm around his neck and rested my cheek on his chest where we swayed together for several silent minutes. ‘This isn’t how you danced with Harry,’ Nicholas commented in apparent bewilderment, wrapping his arms around my waist and holding me against him. I shook my head; in my annoyance at his attitude, I’d forgotten just how little he knew about relationships.

‘No, it isn’t. This is how I want to dance with you,
and only you
, Nicholas,’ I murmured, resting my face on his shoulder again and sighing contentedly.

Seemingly placated for the moment, he lowered his cheek against my hair and held me tightly against him as we swayed to the music. ‘I’m sorry if I was overbearing,’ he said at last and I leant back to study his expression.

‘
Was
?’ I teased with a raised eyebrow, but he just frowned in return before stroking my cheek with the back of his knuckles.

‘OK,
am
,’ he corrected himself reluctantly. ‘I’m working on it, Becky, but I still find it hard to see you with other men. I think I always will,’ he admitted.

‘I understand. I would be just as jealous if you were dancing with another woman,’ I conceded. ‘But he was a long-term friend, not some guy hitting on me,’ I explained again, hoping the difference would be clearer to Nicholas now he’d seen how I danced differently with him.

Unexpectedly, his hands gripped my shoulders and tilted me away so he could meet my eyes with a probing stare. ‘You would be jealous?’ He sounded genuinely surprised by my admission.

I nearly laughed but, knowing how sensitive he was about our relationship, I didn’t dare. ‘Of course. You know when you get all possessive and tell me that I’m yours?’ I asked him, stroking a hand across the silk of his waistcoat and loving the feel of the soft fabric below my fingertips.

‘Yes,’ he murmured, looking wary, apparently unsure where I was going with this.

‘Well … likewise,’ I said with a shrug. ‘As far as I am concerned, you are mine too, Nicholas, I just don’t express it out loud quite as much as you do. Surely you realise that’s why I bid so hard for the cruise with you? It would have killed me to know you were going for lunch with another woman.’ Especially the tarty blonde who had been bidding particularly hard; she’d looked like a complete gold-digger and had probably cost me an extra hundred pounds in her desperation to try and win the date with Nicholas. Cow.

After staring at me in astonishment for several seconds, a breath he had obviously been holding left Nicholas’ lips, and I felt the last of the tension ebb from his body as he cradled me against him gently while we continued to sway together in contented silence.

As the dancing began to wind down, Nicholas lazily slung his arm around my waist and guided me toward the exit with a promising expression on his face. Gosh,
again
? He’d better let me lie down this time because after the effort of two silent orgasms today my body was already exhausted, my muscles feeling like I’d run ten miles.

The crowds in the foyer meant Nicholas had to let go of me briefly, and as we finally escaped to the theatre’s main exit, I was astounded to see a horde of journalists snapping people as they left down the red carpet.

‘Nicholas! Just a quick photo, please?’ one cried enthusiastically.

‘Mr Jackson! This way!’ Another called.

God, it was like feeding time at the zoo.

Deliberately hanging back, I waited for them to get their photos but watched as Nicholas’ right arm reached out into thin air as if trying to find something. Turning, his brow puckered, he scanned the crowd and upon seeing me at the far side of the carpet, he strode over and looped his arm around my waist before guiding me back toward the press.

Oh, he had been trying to find
me
.

A visible tremor of excitement ran through the gathered journalists as we approached them and the flash bulbs went crazy. Holy shit. This was insane and my heart immediately began trying to burst from my chest. Gripping his waist with all my might, I did my best to force a smile onto my face but probably only succeeded in looking completely shell-shocked. This was an entirely new experience for me, and not one I was particularly enjoying.

Glancing up at Nicholas, I found his gaze was on me, not the press, a smile lingering on his lips as his eyes danced proudly. Just the look he gave me was enough to relax me and I smiled back, loosening my grip on his hip, which would probably be bruised tomorrow after my talon-like hold.

Lowering his head to mine, Nicholas nuzzled close to my ear. ‘I love you,’ he murmured, dropping a kiss on my temple and causing the journalists’ flashbulbs to go crazy as they all tried to get a picture of our intimate moment.

Wow, the L-word from Nicholas twice in one day; I
was
a lucky girl.

‘Nicholas, who’s the lovely lady?’ a portly man in a slightly too tight tuxedo shouted out.

‘This is my girlfriend, Rebecca Langley,’ Nicholas announced, causing a brief silence to fall over the press and making my heart constrict at his public announcement of me as his girlfriend.

‘How did you meet?’ A blonde woman called out, finally finding her voice.

‘Over a piano,’ Nicholas replied silkily, but the implication was not lost on me – bent over a piano, with him thrusting into me. Thankfully, the press seemed unaware of his double meaning, and with all the flashbulbs popping didn’t seem to notice my heated flush.

‘How long have you two been together?’ another called.

‘Long enough to know she’s the one for me,’ Nicholas stated with certainty, his eyes never leaving mine and making me grin goofily. Let’s hope that expression didn’t get caught on camera because I had a suspicion it wouldn’t be particularly flattering.

‘Goodnight.’ Nicholas raised his hand in a brief wave, which I copied, and then swung me in the direction of the waiting limos with a sigh of relief as he clutched me protectively to his side.

What a day. Changing room sex, love-egg action, silent orgasms under a table, first encounter with the paparazzi … Jeez, it was a relief to see Mr Burrett holding a limo door open for us so we could slide into the cool interior away from the flash bulbs.

After settling in his seat next to me, Nicholas sat back and closed the tinted glass of the privacy separator, effectively shutting us off in our own little world. The silence was a welcome relief after such a busy evening. The next thing I knew, I felt my handbag start to vibrate. Thinking it was my phone, I tugged at the zip, pausing when I saw Nicholas’ eyebrows dip in disappointment. The vibrating in my bag stopped as I looked up at him in confusion.

‘You took it out,’ he muttered, practically pouting at me.

Oh, it hadn’t been my phone vibrating – it had been the love-egg. Understanding his frown now, I grinned. ‘Yeah, sorry, Nicholas, two silent orgasms in one day were as many as I could handle,’ I explained, feeling ridiculously guilty as I saw his disappointed expression.

Glancing at the privacy panel, an idea occurred to me that might cheer him up, so, without waiting for common sense to kick in I unclipped my seat belt, dragged my dress up around my thighs, and dropped to my knees in between his legs. ‘I wonder how I could make it up to you …’ I murmured, already tugging at the belt around his waist.

God, I hoped that really was one-way glass and Mr Burrett wasn’t getting a full-on view in his mirror of what I was about to do to Nicholas.

Realising my intention, a dark smile spread across Nicholas’ lips before he helped me with his belt and zip. When I opened up his fly, his already excited manhood sprang free, bobbing up to meet me, and I wasted no time in palming it and beginning a slow rhythm with my hand.

Nicholas’ head lolled back on the leather seat, but as usual his eyes remained firmly on mine. I noticed his pupils were so dilated from desire that in the dim light, his irises looked almost completely black. Dark eyes to match his dark, complicated soul, I thought as I increased the speed of my hand.

Leaning forward, I continued the motion with my hand as I dropped a short, hard kiss on his mouth, forcing my tongue in between his lips and gasping at the heat in his returned kiss. Then, just seconds later, I bowed my head and used my mouth on a very different part of his anatomy, much to his apparent enjoyment.

As my tongue languorously explored the soft, silky skin, Nicholas’ hips bucked under me, and a throaty groan escaped from his chest. Tilting my head so I could look at him, I teased the head of his penis, running my tongue around and under his foreskin; something that seemed to please him a great deal. With another moan, he tangled his hands in my hair, encouraging me to continue.

Using my hand to hold him steady, I took him in my mouth completely, as far toward the back of my throat as I could manage. With my free hand, I cupped his balls before pressing a finger to the hard skin just behind them, the real base of his erection, and rubbed it in time with the bobbing of my head. The combination of my fist, fingers, and mouth were too much for Nicholas to handle, and after only a few minutes, I felt his balls tense and his cock harden further before he let out a strangled groan and came in my mouth in a series of juddering spurts.

Continuing with my motions until he was spent, I swallowed and finally lifted my head, smiling shyly up at him. I had a momentary glimpse of his blazing eyes before he pulled me off the floor of the car and into his arms, kissing me so softly and lovingly that I barely noticed the remainder of the journey home.

Chapter Twenty-four

The following morning, we were awoken again by the sound of tyres on the gravel driveway round the back of our house. Gosh, I couldn’t believe how quickly I’d slipped into using the term “our” when referring to Nicholas’ house … but that could only be a good thing, couldn’t it?

Without lingering to answer my own internal question, I jumped up to spot who our visitor was. As suspected, I saw Nathan’s Audi TT pulling up the drive. I rolled my eyes; this was getting to be a weekly event now.

‘It’s your brother again.’ I was keen to get an update on how things were going between Nathan and Stella, but still the thought of talking with Nathan in all his dominant glory made me feel edgy. Coping with Nicholas’ mood swings was hard enough, so how Stella coped with Nathan on a day-to-day basis I’ll never know.

‘Don’t rush,’ Nicholas said lazily as he watched me donning my bracelet and starting to dress. ‘He has a spare key. If he’s going to insist on disturbing us early on a weekend, he’ll have to hang around and wait for us.’ Then, grabbing the back of my jumper, he gave a sharp yank and brought me stumbling back onto the bed with a giggled yelp.

Gripping my head in his palms, he leant over me upside down and gave me a very thorough good morning kiss that left me breathless. I wasn’t sure I’d ever been kissed upside down before, I mused with a smile, almost laughing at how it made his eyes and mouth look a really peculiar shape.

‘He’s no doubt here to see you again,’ Nicholas murmured disapprovingly before narrowing his eyes at me. ‘Will you tell me what he’s so desperate to talk to you about?’

Smiling up at him, I shook my head. ‘He asked me not to …’ But as soon as I spoke I saw uncertainty settle in Nicholas’ eyes and could tell he was getting protective, no doubt worried about my new apparent closeness with his brother.

Sighing, I stroked his cheek and relented. ‘You can’t tell him you know yet, but he’s asking for my help to mainstream a bit more. He wants what you and I have together, so he’s making a go of a proper relationship with Stella,’ I explained, deciding that I’d rather break Nathan’s confidence than put Nicholas on edge.

Sitting up, Nicholas pulled me with him so we both sat upright. ‘Really?’ He looked pleased, which was a relief. ‘That’s great; maybe he’s finally putting the stuff with Dad behind him.’ He frowned. ‘Why didn’t he want me to know?’

I had been wondering the same thing but, not knowing anything for sure, all I could do was share my assumption with him. ‘I think he’s worried in case it doesn’t work out. He’s your older brother and he doesn’t want you to see him fail.’ Nathan hadn’t vocalised this, but it was a logical guess.

The look of obvious affection that spread across Nicholas’ face was rather touching, and I couldn’t help but give him another lingering kiss that very nearly ended up with us spending far longer in bed than planned.

Once we had finally peeled ourselves apart and dressed, we joined Nathan in the kitchen and accepted a cup of coffee that he had already made for us.

‘I saw you two in the papers this morning.’ Nathan chucked a copy down. It slid across the worktop and I saw a half-page picture of Nicholas and me, grinning happily at each other at the concert the previous night. Oh my God, we were actually in the newspapers! Snatching it up from the counter, I gaped at it, wide-eyed.

The headline read,
Pianist Nicholas Jackson Saves Children’s Home.
To my shock, I saw it was running with the strapline of
And Lands Himself a Woman in the Process.
Well, that wasn’t technically the case … but I’d rather they printed it than the truth, which would be along the line of
Pianist Nicholas Jackson Seduces Student on the Veneer of his Grand Piano.

At least I looked good in the photo, I thought, analysing it again. That new dress had definitely been a good investment on Nicholas’ part.

Nicholas smiled proudly at the picture and gave me a kiss on the shoulder. Glancing up at Nathan, I saw his expression was impassive. It was quite a lovey-dovey pose we’d been photographed in, so he no doubt found it rather sickening. Unless things with Stella had moved faster than expected, of course. Studying his expression, I decided that Nathan didn’t look overly offended by the image so perhaps he was getting in touch with his emotions at last after all.

‘Rebecca, can I grab you for five minutes again?’ Nathan asked abruptly when I was partway through my coffee.

From his position across the kitchen, Nicholas suddenly appeared at my side. ‘You can’t
grab her
at all, brother,’ he warned with a predatory growl. He slid an arm around my shoulders and gripped me just a little tighter than was comfortable. Jeez, he was so protective of me even with his own brother that I wondered what he’d do if a stranger ever dared to ask me out. After a second’s thought where I remembered his reaction to my bumping into Harry, I grimaced. I suspected it wouldn’t end well for the stranger.

‘You know what I mean, Nicholas. Five minutes’
chat
,’ Nathan explained patiently.

With a shrug, I gave Nicholas a reassuring pat on the arm and followed his brother to the lounge.

As soon as we were over the threshold, Nathan turned to me and began to talk urgently. ‘I did what you said. We went for a meal last week; I think Stella enjoyed it. We had sex afterwards, no funny stuff, just sex … It was good … really good, actually.’ He sounded surprised, but I was beyond embarrassed, wanting desperately for the ground to open up and swallow me. Advice I could do, but discussions about sex with Nathan Jackson, no way.

‘Maybe you should discuss this with Nicholas …’ I started, a flush creeping up my cheeks, threatening to engulf me.

‘No, Rebecca, you’ve changed Nicholas, I can see that. I want to change too. I need your advice.’ He stepped closer, his eyes once again boring into me. ‘The thing is I’m fairly sure my father used to be in charge in the bedroom too, I … I saw my parents together by accident and my room was next door so I –’ He paused, looking embarrassed, a first for Nathan. ‘I didn’t stay to watch, of course, please don’t think that, but I heard certain, uh …
things
,’ he finished with a narrowed expression, as if reliving the experience.

Oh good God, I was
so
not going down this road with Nathan, discussing his sex life was bad enough but now I had to hear about his parents’ fucked-up bedroom activities too? Where would it end?

Completely oblivious to my enormous discomfort, he continued. ‘Do you and Nicholas do any kinky stuff now, any bondage? Any punishments at all?’ he demanded hotly.

‘I’m not comfortable discussing this, Nathan,’ I said, squirming on the spot. ‘It’s up to you and Stella to set the boundaries,’ I murmured through my blush.

I saw in his expression that Nathan wasn’t pleased by my response. Gosh, he really was quite scary when he looked like that, so I relented and tried to give him a little more to go on. ‘Look, Nicholas and I talked about what we both liked and what I disliked and there is certain stuff we don’t do any more, but it’s a personal thing. You need to sit down with Stella and ask her opinions.’

Nathan nodded, running a hand through his hair the same way Nicholas did when he was agitated. ‘Right, ask her opinion, got it,’ he said, nodding and then immediately frowning. ‘You mean what rules we stick to? Which toys she likes, things like that?’

Ground, please swallow me now, I thought. ‘Er, yeah,’ I replied, blushing as I sought to clarify my point. ‘You might want to loosen up on the rules bit, Nathan; normal relationships don’t use them quite the way you do. She needs to feel like an individual as well as your partner.’ That was an understatement. Needing permission to make eye contact?
Really?

‘OK … reassess the rules and ask her opinion on sexual stuff … I’ll go and do that now,’ he said firmly, striding for the door and calling goodbye to Nicholas, who I saw was hovering outside the kitchen door, scowling.

Once the front door had slammed shut, Nicholas stalked toward me and entered the lounge. ‘I’m not sure I like you being so pally with my brother, Rebecca. Are you certain he hasn’t tried anything on? I know how intimidating he can be when he wants,’ he observed in a dark, sulky tone.

‘Because you’d know nothing at all about being intimidating, would you, Nicholas?’ I asked sweetly as I fluttered my eyelashes at him.

My teasing words worked and I saw him relax slightly, although I noticed he still held some tension in his shoulders.

‘So did your mum really like that bracelet I picked out for her birthday?’ he asked, taking me by surprise at his sudden shift in conversation.

‘Yes. She’s mentioned it every time she’s called me; she says it’s the best present I’ve ever got her.’ I grinned. How ironic that I wasn’t even the one who had picked it out.

‘I’m glad. I notice you wear the one I gave you all the time too,’ he commented lightly, brushing his fingers over the bangle that only left my wrist when I was showering or sleeping.

I rubbed fondly at the bracelet and smiled. ‘Yeah, I love it, Nicholas.’

‘Good,’ he said, nodding but looking as though something was troubling him. ‘I got you something else that day, but I decided to hold on to it for a while,’ he added cryptically, causing me to look at him with an intrigued quirk of my eyebrows.

Digging in his pocket, Nicholas produced a small box in the same blue velvet that my bracelet had come in. Matching earrings, perhaps? I thought, but as I clicked open the box, my breath caught in my throat and my heart began to flutter unsteadily in my chest. Oh my God. Nestled in the blue silk pillow was a ring, a beautiful platinum ring with three delicate diamonds clustered together at the top. Holy shit! Was this one of
those
rings?

My eyes must have been as wide as saucers but as I turned back to Nicholas, I saw that he had dropped out of my eyeline onto one knee in front of me. Oh my God, it
was
one of those rings! Struggling for breath, I had to swallow down a yelp of surprise and force myself not to slip into shocked unconsciousness as I stared down into his gorgeous face.

‘We’ve been together for six months now … which might not seem long, but I don’t need longer to know you’re the one for me.’ He swallowed, his eyes intense and blazing. ‘Rebecca Langley, you’ve made me understand that I can be a better man. For you I will do anything. I love you – will you marry me?’

Holy crap! I couldn’t believe it. Nicholas I-don’t-do-relationships Jackson was down on one knee asking me to marry him! To be his wife!

There was no hesitation. The stuff with the cane was a distant memory to me now. Nicholas was dedicated to me and loved me and I knew without a doubt that I loved him back. I shrieked in excitement, leaping at him and wrapping my arms around his neck so exuberantly we both collapsed backwards in a heap on the soft, carpeted floor.

I sought out his lips with mine and kissed him frantically. Nicholas took control of the situation, rolling us over so he was leaning down on top of me. His eyes were dancing and his cheeks looked as flushed as mine felt.

‘Is that a yes?’ A wry smile played on his lips.

‘Oh!’ In my excitement, I hadn’t actually given him an answer. ‘Oh yes!’ I exclaimed breathlessly, causing Nicholas to utter a possessive growl as his head lowered to my lips again.

Sitting up, he slipped the ring from the box and slowly slid it onto my trembling ring finger. Raising my hand to his lips, he kissed the ring and then my palm before leaning down to kiss me on the mouth. ‘Mine,’ he rumbled against my lips as he began to speedily remove my clothes in celebration.