Touch Me Not(80)

The hotel was expensive too. Lily cringed thinking about the room service bill Luther was sure to run up. He loved room service. He’d spent all day yesterday telling her about the wonderful room service the hotel offered. It was their favorite place to stay when in Miami. Nikoli reserved two rooms, one for them and one for Luther. The front desk clerk was overly helpful when he saw them, which made Lily realize they must have stayed here quite a bit over the years for the staff to know them. She shouldn’t be surprised, though. They were into racing, and Miami was a racing city.

Luther declined going out for lunch. He wanted to pass out. Poor fella looked like he needed it. Nikoli shook his head and carried their luggage down the hall, motioning for Lily to unlock the door. The room was gorgeous. There was a sitting room with a very comfortable looking couch and a wall-mounted TV. A small fridge and sink were tucked into the corner next to the bathroom. Nikoli opened a set of double doors that led to the bedroom and dumped their luggage in front of the dresser that sported a TV sitting on it as well. The massive king sized bed was covered in a lovely gray comforter.

“Do you like it, Lily Bells?” Nikoli asked, coming up behind her and wrapping his arms around her.

“It’s beautiful,” she said, turning her head to meet his wandering lips, and she sighed when his mouth finally landed on hers. His kiss was soft, gentle. It left her breathless.

“Want to try out the bed?” he whispered against her lips before pulling back and staring down at her.#p#分页标题#e#

“Nice try.” She leaned her head back against his chest. “Ellie is mine.”

“Not after this weekend,” he promised. The determination in his voice sent a full body shiver though her. “What do you want to do first? Rest, grab a bite to eat, or go see your mom?”

Lily smiled. He hadn’t forgotten that she wanted to see her family. They’d flown out early so he could take her, since they’d be busy tomorrow. She wasn’t quite sure what time the race began. Nikoli said they’d text the time and location to him.

“Can we go see my mom?” she asked. “I called her last night to tell her we were coming. I’m sure she’ll cook a massive meal that no one can finish.”

Nikoli laughed. Lily had grown up in the mountains, and he’d learned that they tended to try and feed people into complacency, or so she’d threatened.

“Sure, baby. Go freshen up, and I’ll go down and program the GPS with the address. Meet me down there when you’re ready.”

He was being so sweet. This was the Nikoli she’d grown to love, not the person he was around everyone else, even Luther. She was going to miss him. Even though he hadn’t said anything, she had a feeling this was their last weekend together. Call it intuition or instinct, but she knew she wasn’t wrong.

She went to the bathroom and took care of her business before she grabbed her purse and the kids’ presents and headed downstairs. She refused to be sad. If she only had him for this weekend, then she was going to enjoy it.

The drive to her mother’s took them about an hour. She lived right outside the city, but with traffic, it took longer than either of them had expected. Lily saw two orange groves on the way. Her mother always raved about the fresh orange juice she got from one of them. She and Lily’s stepfather had moved from North Carolina to Florida right after Lily graduated high school. They loved it, and the kids loved living close to the beach. What kid wouldn’t, though?

When Nikoli slowed the car and pulled into the Spanish style home, Lily got nervous. This was her first big test to see if Nikoli really had helped her deal with her phobia, or if it was just him she could tolerate touching her. What if she started screaming? What if she terrified the twins? What if…

“You’ll be fine, Lily Bells,” Nikoli told her, his eyes calm and reassuring. “You’re better now. You can do this.”

“I don’t know,” she whispered. “If I can’t…”

“You and I have been together for months now, Lily, and nothing bad has happened to me, has it?”

“Well, no.”

“Then have a little faith,” he said. “You aren’t cursed, you aren’t responsible for anyone’s death, and you’re not going to cause anyone to be hurt or to die. You can do this, Lily. I have faith in you, so how about having a little in yourself, Milaya?”

His words wrapped around her, like a cool balm on a hot summer’s day to her rattled nerves, and she returned his smile. She still felt nervous, but the panic that had tried to overwhelm her disappeared. Vanished. Nikoli had that effect on her. He was her woobie. She almost laughed at the thought. She’d had a ratty yellow blanket she’d clutched whenever she was afraid when she was little. Her mama called it her woobie. Nikoli felt like that right now, her own personal woobie.