She let out a moan in answer as her torso swayed toward his. He caught a nipple between his lips and began abrading it against the roof of his mouth. Jesus Christ, nothing had ever felt so good in his entire, godforsaken life.
Not able to wait any longer, he removed his finger and lifted her until she was sinking down over his cock. She gasped, and he wrapped both hands around her face and held her tightly. They stared at each other as she took him all the way in, and when he was seated inside to the fullest, they both closed their eyes in ecstasy.
She began moving over him in a motion as old as time, and as she lifted and fell and repeated the motions, Nick gritted his teeth and couldn't stop his hands from touching every inch of her that he could reach. He caressed her spine, his fingers moving up and down over the planes of her back before moving back to the tight, hard nipples that fascinated him.
He felt the moment begin to build within him, felt the blood fuel him as he was about to go over, and more than anything else, he wanted her to come with him. His fingers landed on her clit, and strumming her without breaking the movement, he quickly pushed her to the point where they were going to fly over the edge together.
His cock hardened one last time with the flow of blood and semen as Courtney began to let out an endless moan and he knew she was there. He let her ride her orgasm as his own began to short-circuit his brainwaves. Her body stiffened over his, and they groaned together until he couldn't stand it anymore and had to fuse himself to her every way he could think of.
He grasped her by the back of the neck and fastened his mouth to hers. Pushing his tongue inside and holding it there, he lost all sense of the outside world, of time, of anything else but Courtney as she unfolded in ecstasy around him.
Slowly, he began to come down and he released her mouth. His hands slid around her as her torso slumped against his and her head fell to his shoulder.
She took a deep breath and then another.
His hands tightened instinctively as his lips found her ear and he couldn't stop the words that came from his mouth. "I'm never letting you go. Ever."
Courtney was missing from the apartment the next morning. As Nick strode through the corridor from his office towards hers, a blistering heat suffused his entire being. Last night had been perfect. It had been as if the previous six years had disappeared and now he could finally have the one thing in life that he wanted above all else.
But when he arrived at her office, her secretary informed him that Courtney was catching a plane to Texas.
"Where, exactly?" Nick was so pissed that he couldn't control his tone.
The woman had only been working at the corporation for a short time, coming on board for the express purpose of assisting Courtney. As she looked up into his face and turned white, Nick tried to control his mounting impatience. She swallowed and answered, "Houston, sir."
"Do you have any idea why?" he asked, trying to smile but finding it impossible.
"I believe it has something to do with a tract of land."
Nick thanked the woman, went straight to the computer in his office and began going through the pending acquisition files, but he came up empty. He could find no reason for Courtney's presence in Houston. What the hell was his brother up to now? Nick took a deep breath and picked up his phone, preparing to contact Garrett for answers, but before he could make the connection his cell pinged with an incoming message. He slid the bar across and felt a sharp moment of relief, the text reassuring him that Courtney had gone to Houston on business and hadn't purposely run from him. Your brother's a slave driver.
Nick keyed in a response, not even pretending he didn't know where she was. Are you still at the airport? Turn around and I'll tell Garrett you're working for me now.
Lol, no. I can't work for you. :)
No?
No.
Why?
Her answer came quickly. After this weekend? I think you know.
The weekend was good.
Yeah, it was. I'm boarding my flight now.
Nick took a quick breath and keyed in his response. Be careful and let me know when you land safely.
K. I love you.
Nick's heart constricted when he read those words. I love you, too. Come home as soon as you can.
I wish you could come with me.
Nick couldn't resist the opportunity to tease her. That'll happen, baby. We just need practice.
Omg!
At her response, he laughed out loud, the sound echoing through his office. Get home as quick as you can or I'm going to beat my brother to a pulp.
I'll be home in about a week.
Be safe.
You, too.
Nick was so impatient he felt like he was going to snap in two. Courtney's one-week trip had turned into a month, and about the same time that she'd wrapped up her business in Texas, he'd been called away to California again. So now, finally, after a long, tedious, fucked-up two months, they were finally back in St. Louis together.
Of course, he hadn't been able to stay away from her for the solid two months; he'd caved several times and caught a flight just to sleep in her bed and be with her for a few hours. Although those trips had managed to let off some steam, the short intervals together hadn't even scratched the surface of what he needed with her in his future.
So now, with the irritation, the agony of their forced separation blazing fire through his system, even if it had been for business reasons, Nick decided to put the wheels into motion to keep Courtney tied to him forever.
On Monday morning, Courtney suddenly felt goosebumps rise on her flesh. She glanced up from her computer screen to the door of her office, looking for the reason. Nick stood at the threshold, watching her intently. She took the pen from her mouth and set it aside, leaning back in her chair. A lot of damn good a secretary did for protecting her privacy when the woman was faced with one of the Rule brothers.
"Are you busy?" he asked.
"You pay me to be busy," she retorted.
"I don't pay you. Garrett, maybe. Technically, the corporation pays you."
She rolled her eyes and shook her head. "Whatever."
"Seriously, can you get away for lunch? But fair warning, you're going to be gone for several hours."
She frowned as she studied him. It was unlike Nick to think of anything but work during business hours. "What's up?" she asked him now.
"Nothing, really. I've carved out some extra time and want to spend it with you."
"We can't start sneaking off while we're supposed to be working, Nick."
He stiffened minutely. "We won't. Today will be an exception. Things have finally settled down and I need some time with you; I need to know you're okay."
She felt his words hit her heart and her expression softened. "I'm fine, you know that."
"Courtney," he said as his tone became short. "Get to a stopping point and meet me downstairs in half an hour." The words weren't a question.
"So, we're not just going upstairs?"
"For a quickie? No, I'm going to feed you at least," he said with a half-smile.
She smiled back. "All right. Downstairs, half an hour."
Courtney sat back in the plush leather seat of Nick's BMW. He was driving toward the riverfront, and she figured he was headed to a restaurant nearby. But as the car ate up the miles and Courtney saw the Gateway Arch as they passed the area, she realized that he was actually heading across the Mississippi River, into Illinois.
A couple of minutes later, she glanced over and studied Nick's profile as he drove. "Where are we going?"
"I don't know. I'm just driving."
"Why?"
He glanced at her for a second before looking back to the road. "I needed to get you to myself, babe. Is that so damn hard to understand?"
Pleasure rippled through her midsection. "I guess not," she smiled.
"Want to watch the eruption?" he asked.
Courtney knew he referred to the Gateway Geyser on the Illinois riverfront, the second tallest fountain in the world and a backdrop to the St. Louis Arch, which was on the Missouri side of the river. The fountain didn't run continuously, it only went off three times a day, during certain times of the year. "Sure, that sounds fun." She'd only ever seen the fountain go off a couple of times, and it was always amazingly impressive.
As Nick parked the car and they walked to the Overlook Platform, he took her hand as they strolled across the grounds. Arriving at the top, he stood behind her and wrapped his arms around her, lightly resting his chin on the top of her head.
The view from up here was amazing. The St. Louis skyline and the Gateway Arch with the mighty Mississippi River in front were incredible. When the eruption began at straight-up noon, Courtney gasped with pleasure and Nick's arms tightened around her. They watched in companionable silence, and when it was over, oblivious to the tourists around them, Nick turned her in his arms and kissed her as if there were no tomorrow.
Her legs trembled the entire way back to his car.
She swallowed hard, knowing that she'd have this memory forever. Nick reached over and buckled her in and then caressed her cheekbone with his fingers. "Want to drive into Belleville for lunch?"
Totally undone by the unexpected romance of the day, Courtney nodded her head. "Okay."
Nick smiled as if she'd pleased him and then tapped her on the nose before turning away and pulling away from the parking lot.
The drive to Belleville, Illinois took less than half an hour, and soon, they were sitting in a quiet restaurant with two glasses of wine between them. "Alcohol during the day, Nick?" she asked with a quirk, still a bit embarrassed because the waiter had carded her.