Truly Madly Deeply Boxed Set(197)
He stroked a kiss across her lips, pausing to nibble and savor her sweet taste. As if to prove her words, she raised her hips a fraction, taking him ever deeper.
He groaned. Moist, warm, welcoming, and his. Kevin couldn’t say which thought drove him over the edge, but with one thrust, he edged firmly inside. An expression of pure ecstasy covered her flushed face and he’d put it there.
“Kevin.” Coming from her lips, his name sounded like the sweetest caress.
“Right here.”
She sighed and whispered something that sounded suspiciously like “mine,” before her muscles clenched around him. That’s all it took. He hadn’t realized he was so close to the edge, so ready to fall. He thrust in and eased out, each motion harder and deeper than the last. Caught up in the rhythm and beauty of Nikki, he came hard and fast. His climax not only caught him by surprise, but shook him to the depths of his soul.
Even as the aftershocks pulsed through him, Kevin knew he was in trouble. The only consolation he could find was knowing that Nikki was right there with him.
TWELVE
Married. Nikki rolled over expecting to find Kevin stretched out beside her, but her husband apparently had other ideas. She sat up in time to see him, fully dressed, attempting to slip from the bedroom. The disappearing act had eerie undertones of a night long past.
“Looking to avoid me?” she asked lightly, though she couldn’t have felt more different.
He turned. Expecting to see guilt etched into his features, Nikki was relieved to see he merely looked like a man who’d gotten up earlier than his... wife. Since she was stumbling over the word, she hoped Kevin was having an easier transition to their newly married state. Of course last night had been spectacular, but then nights with Kevin always were. “I didn’t realize you were awake.”
“I wasn’t till a minute or so ago.”
“I thought so. You were out cold.”
She smiled. “That’s because you wore me out”
He stepped toward the bed, heat and desire unmistakable in his dark gaze. “I could say the same.”
She glanced at the clock on the nightstand. “Then where are you off to so early?”
“To visit Max. His doctor checks in around ten A.M. and I want to make sure I’m there to hear everything. Otherwise I won’t get near the truth.”
The slight wrinkles around his eyes testified to the concern he felt for his father. Though he wouldn’t admit it aloud, and perhaps he’d never admitted it to himself, he loved the older man. Nikki was certain.
She just wished he didn’t have to beat his head into a brick wall every time he dealt with Max. But at least he wasn’t alone anymore. She tossed the covers off and swung her legs over the bed. “Give me ten minutes and I’ll go with you.”
He stiffened. “No.”
“I’ll be quick. You’ll be there by ten.”
“You don’t need to deal with Max and his addiction. I’ll go alone.”
Nikki narrowed her eyes. “At this point it’s his health and he’s your father.”
“Right. Which makes him my problem. Besides I have a few stops to make first. I’ll see you when I get home from work.”
She folded her arms across her chest. “Whatever.”
He walked toward where she sat on the bed and leaned down to brush a kiss over her mouth. He lingered, moistening her lips with his tongue and arousing her with the simplest touch.
She recognized his attempt at pacifying her, but he’d left her feeling more frustrated than placated. Still, when he lifted his head, she felt the loss.
“I know you mean well, but you don’t need to be there for Max.”
She’d have been there for him. But she wasn’t surprised he didn’t recognize the distinction. He may not feel she needed to be there, but she did.
Only after he left the house did she head for her old room downstairs to retrieve the information she’d accumulated from the local library. In her bag, she put literature she’d printed off Internet sites and her stomach filled with a growing sense of dread. Kevin had problems letting her in—creating that sense of family and togetherness she needed, that her baby needed. Nikki had known that going in. But she’d also hoped he could learn to open up. Learn to love her.
But he was also the child of an alcoholic, and as she’d learned over the last few weeks, overcoming his past was a prerequisite to them having a future—and that was something he had to want to accomplish on his own.
Nikki wasn’t averse to giving him a push in the right direction. All she could do then was hope for the best.
* * *
“He checked himself out.”