Silent No More(33)

“What the fuck?” he says and sits up. He’s looking at me through eyes filled with caution. My breathing is heavy and I sit up. Reaching behind me quickly, I snatch a pillow and hug it to my chest.

I’m okay.

My wrists hurt, but I’m okay. I’ve never freaked out like this before. What the hell is wrong with me?

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I…I’m sorry, but maybe you should tell a girl before you do that,” I respond, my voice just a whisper. Fuck. He probably thinks I’m crazy. Maybe I am. No, I’m not, I remind myself.

“Are you sure, because you just freaked the fuck out on me. What the hell happened?” he asks. Damn. What can I tell him? I look over at him. He’s standing next to the bed in all his naked gloriousness. His wide eyes look down at me like he doesn’t understand, but wants to.

“I don’t know. I…I wasn’t expecting it, that’s all.” That sounded believable, right?

“You don’t know, or you don’t want to tell me?” he questions in an accusing tone. Maybe it didn’t come out as believable as it sounded in my head.

Ugh, just let it go.

“I said I wasn’t expecting it, so just leave it alone, okay?”

“Fine and I’m sorry. Can I at least get back in bed, now?” he asks as he reaches for the blanket to pull the covers back. I nod my head indicating yes; I mean, this is his bed not mine. I don’t have a right to tell him either way. He is reluctant for a brief moment, but then shakes his head and slides under the covers. He opens his arms and I leap into them. Fuck, I can’t believe I did that. Nick pulls the covers out from under me and yanks them over us.

“I’m sorry,” I whisper into his chest.

“It’s fine. I shouldn’t have tied you up without asking you first. It won’t happen again. Let’s just go to sleep.”

It sounds like a wonderful plan. I don’t know if I’ll manage sleep, but I’ll try. I inhale deeply and blow the air back out. I relax into his arms, forcing myself not to remember. Eventually, I fall asleep.





SEVEN





I wake up in the center of the bed, lying on my stomach. Rising up, I twist my head to look at the clock on the bedside table. It reads 8:49 am. This is a typical time for me on a Saturday morning. I’m pretty lazy on the weekends.

I roll out of bed and walk over to his dresser drawers to borrow some clothes. I settle on a black Ralph Lauren tee shirt and his black boxer briefs. The shirt is big and swallows me. I roll the band on the boxer briefs so they do not fall off and I go into the bathroom to pee and brush my teeth.

I feel a little stiff. After rinsing my mouth out, I leave the bathroom and go find Nick. Walking into the kitchen, I see him on the back deck throwing a ball for the dogs. As I walk out the door, he turns to me. He looks happy and relaxed.

“Good morning, beautiful,” he says as he walks up to me, and gives me the softest and sweetest kiss on my lips. “Someone used my toothbrush,” he says while chuckling. I reach for the ball in his hand.

“Sorry, I hope you don’t mind,” I say, taking the ball from him. The dogs are waiting patiently for the ball to be thrown. I throw it and they both run for it. Charmin is not nearly as fast as Niko. Poor girl probably never gets the ball.

“You can use anything of mine, and wear anything of mine,” he says as Niko brings the ball back to him, bypassing me. My feelings aren’t hurt. Taking the ball from Niko’s mouth, Nick tosses it into the yard and the dogs take off after it again.

Nick comes up behind me and wraps his arms around me. “You look good in my underwear,” he says, and I look back at him over my shoulder and smile.

“You don’t look half bad yourself in a workout shirt and gym shorts,” I say as he’s hugging me tightly. Nick is wearing a black sleeveless Under Armor shirt and matching black gym shorts. Man, he has nice big arms. The ink that’s wrapped around his biceps only helps to enhance the bulging muscles.

“Are you planning on working out this morning?” I ask.

“Yes, I’m meeting Jase and Nikki at Knocked Out in about thirty. Do you want to come?” he asks while moving my hair out of the way to kiss my neck.

“Isn’t that a gym for MMA fighters?” I ask, recalling him telling me his sister’s name is Nikki.

I really like it when he kisses that spot.

“Yeah. Do you want to come with me? You can meet my sister,” he says while bending down and picking Charmin up off the ground.

“No, I have a few errands to run today. Would you drop me off at my car? I left it at Katelyn and Stacy’s apartment yesterday,” I say, remembering I have to pick up my stuff from my old apartment. I’m really dreading going there.