Part 598
Becca stepped out onto the landing and the smells wafting up from below were nothing short of heavenly. Tentatively taking the first step down, and then the next, she was midway when Nick rounded the corner, looked up and stopped. Their eyes met, and then traveled from head to toe, speechless.
Nick broke the silence first.
“My god…”
Becca smiled, then blushed almost as deep a shade of red as the silk lounging pajamas that she wore.
“Bec-” he began, then had to stop and clear his throat. “You look incredible.”
“Thank you,” she whispered, and reached out to take the hand he offered her. The last three steps were the easiest, and they stood a foot apart, neither speaking, neither moving.
“Dinner’s ready. You hungry?” he asked with a smile.
“Famished,” she grinned and neither missed the double meaning behind her answer.
“I thought we’d eat by the fire. If that’s okay,” he added.
“Nick?” She stopped him with a hand on his arm.
“What baby?”
“I have to ask. And … I mean, I don’t want to spoil this, but-”
“GT’s fine, Bec. He’s with Sarah for the night, and she knows how to get hold of us.” He reached out to tuck a damp tendril of hair behind her ear and smiled in relief as she sighed.
“I’m sorry. It’s just-”
“It’s okay, baby, I understand. I poured you another glass of wine, go get comfortable.”
“Okay, thanks,” she said with a shy smile.
“Be right back.”
Becca watched him walk away and her mouth watered. Sweet lord, he was stunning. While she’d been lazily soaking upstairs, Nick had changed too, and now wore what appeared to be an exact match of what she herself was wearing. Silk lounging pajamas, in emerald green. The bottoms rode low on his hips, and the top – the top was unbuttoned and hung completely open, his bare chest revealed in glimpses as he moved and the fabric swayed just barely open. She was still standing at the foot of the stairs gazing after him when he returned with their first course.
“Bec, come on, girl. Food’s gonna get cold.” He winked as he sauntered by, two steaming bowls in his hands. Afraid to spill it, he set the dishes on the ledge of the fireplace as he dropped to the floor, settling himself amongst the pillows he’d casually tossed about. “Bec? Come on.” He patted the space next to him and reached for his glass.
Becca sank down to the floor beside him, taking the glass he offered her and tipping it to her lips.
“Uh uh,” he cautioned, “I have a toast to make first.”
“Oops,” she laughed, and wiped her lips with her fingers.
“To us, Bec. A new start to a new chapter in our lives. Happy anniversary, baby.”
“What?”
Nick chuckled. “After all this, I can’t believe you forgot.”
Becca was thoroughly lost. “Forgot?”
“Today’s the day, Bec. Six weeks today. GT is six weeks old now.”
“It’s-” Becca stopped to think, then chuckled in embarrassment. “I can’t believe I forgot.” Dropping her head, her face was obscured when her hair fell around it.
“Then it’s a good thing I remembered, huh?” Nick laughed. “Score one for the husband. We’re the ones who always screw up birthdays and anniversaries.”
Becca looked up and her eyes were brimming. “I’ve been so awful to you. And to Sarah, and-”
“Bec, no, you haven’t.” Nick set his glass down and scooted closer. “I’d say that considering all that we’ve been through, you’ve held up amazingly well. I’m sorry I couldn’t get you back home.”
“But look at this-” Becca waved her hand and looked around the Great Room of the cabin. “You did all of this for me.”
“No, Bec, I did it for us. Tonight is gonna be … well, it’s gonna be amazing.”
“Thank you,” she whispered.
“Hey, you’re not the only one to benefit here, yanno.” Nick laughed and leaned closer. Weaving his fingers through her hair, he pulled her face to his and kissed her. It was restrained, it was soft and sweet, and it didn’t even come close to what they both wanted. Their mouths moved together, tasting and touching and when it would have blazed out of control, Nick pulled away.
“Nick?” Becca said breathlessly.
Nick just smiled. Reaching for the bowls he’d set by the fire he said, “Dinner’s getting cold.”
“Dinner.” Becca looked at him. Dinner? He actually wanted to eat?
“Yes, dinner,” he grinned. “Wait’ll you see what we’ve got.” Reaching for the earthenware bowls, he stuck a spoon in one and passed it to Becca.
“This looks incredible, Nick.” Stirring it gingerly, she lifted the spoon to her lips to sample the creamy concoction. “Nick, this isn’t clam chowder, it’s-”
“Lobster,” he grinned. “Florida lobster tail. You like it?”
“It’s wonderful,” she sighed, scooping up another spoonful and closing her eyes in bliss as she savored the taste.
Nick came close to choking as he watched. He’d never known lobster bisque could be so erotic, and when she moaned, he damn near chucked the rest of his plans right then and there. When Becca opened her eyes, she found him watching her, his lips parted and a dazed expression on his face.
She couldn’t resist.
“Nick? Your dinner’s getting cold.” Her eyes twinkled, and when his eyes narrowed and focused finally, she knew the evening was going to get very interesting.
Over another bottle of wine, they lingered over the rest of their meal, laughing as the butter from Becca’s shrimp scampi dribbled down her chin. Nick was dying to simply lean forward and lick it off, but he was determined to draw this out as long as he possibly could. Finally their plates were empty, and they both sighed.
“That was wonderful,” Becca said. “Thank you!”
“You’re welcome, and no I won’t tell you how I did it. Let’s just say it pays to have connections,” Nick laughed, standing and gathering up the dishes.
“Nick, leave those till later. Come sit.”
“Nope. It won’t take long, and besides … I don’t want any distractions for the rest of the night.”
Becca blushed. “Oh,” she whispered, swallowing the sudden lump in her throat.
“Back in a minute.” Casting her a fond glance full of promise, he quickly carried everything to the kitchen and stacked the dishwasher. Wiping down the countertops took a bit longer, and when he was finally finished, he reached for the master light switch and cut the lights off, leaving only the wall sconces in the stairwell and upper hallway lighted.
Passing into the Great Room, he simply stopped to stare. Becca had moved to sit in front of the fire, and she stared into the flames, hugging her knees and appeared lost in thought. Her hair cascaded over her shoulders, and the flickering of the firelight caught the fine wisps and turned them into spun gold. Nick called her name, but she was a million miles away. He sank to the floor beside her and pushed her hair behind her ear.
“Hey girl, come back to me.”
Becca jumped. “Oh! Sorry.”
“Where were you?” he chuckled.
“Don’t know,” she shrugged. “Just out of it I guess.”
“Bec, what’s wrong?” Nick combed his fingers through her hair, gently stroking the long strands and watching her face for some kind of clue as to what she was thinking.
“Nothing really,” she attempted lamely, still not meeting his eyes.
“Bec, don’t. Please?” His hand wrapped around the back of her neck and squeezed the tight muscles. “Talk to me.”
“This is stupid,” she said, laughing self-consciously.
“Try me,” he smiled.
Becca sighed, looking away to gather up her nerve. “It’s just-”
Nick turned to face her, pulling her hands away from her knees and clasping them in his own. “Just tell me, baby.”
“I … I’m nervous.”
“Why?”
Becca looked up, startled at how calm he was. There was no surprise, no condemnation, no teasing, just understanding, and when he threaded his fingers through hers the lump in her throat swelled to mammoth proportions. “B- because…”
“Because why, Bec?”
“I’m not sure. I guess … I guess I’ve just wanted this for so long that now it’s finally happening…”
“Baby, look at me.” Nick tipped her chin up, and saw the very real fear in her eyes. “We’ve done this before, Bec, so why does this have you so spooked?”
“Silly, isn’t it?” She tried to laugh, but it fell short.
“No, baby, it’s not silly at all.” Nick wrapped his arm around her, and pulled her head to rest on his shoulder.
“This is all so different. It’s so quiet up here, Nick.”
“It’s great, isn’t it?” Nick smiled. “No bodyguards outside the door, no fans outside the elevator doors, no phone. This is perfect.”
“I know what you’re saying, but that’s just it. It’s been, well, almost never since we’ve been able to be together like this and-”
“Whoa, whoa, wait a minute.” Nick pushed back, giving her a horrified look. “You don’t mean to say that you can’t have sex without an audience?!”
Becca giggled at the look on his face, and the ice was broken. “No, but I guess that is how it sounded. Nick, I’ve changed. I’m not like I was before.”
Nick counted to five, trying to phrase this just the right way. “Bec, you’ve been through a lot. It’s only been six weeks since you had GT, and I know you’re not gonna look the same. Is this what’s got you so upset?”
“Nick, the last time we made love without a baby in the way was over ten months ago.”
Nick smiled, cupping her face in his hand. “I know, baby. But you know what?”
“What?” she whispered.
“Tonight? Tonight it’s just me and you.” He kissed her cheek. “Me … and you,” he kissed her other cheek. “All night long.” He kissed her eyes as they fluttered closed. “All,” he brushed her lips with his own, “night,” and again, pressing her gently toward the scattered pillows, “long.” He lay himself down gently upon her, kissing her softly, but thoroughly, swallowing the tiny sounds she made and sighing as he felt her arms come around his back. Pulling away, he locked his eyes with hers and smiled. “Welcome back, Bec.”