Page 31 of Dr. Scandal Claus

23

SCARLETT

"No roughhousing!" I called after Ethan. He rolled his eyes at me—seven years old and the teenager attitude had already started. I chuckled and watched him and his friend Ryan carefully cross the parking lot and walk to the corner. They were headed one block away to Ryan's house to play video games, after which his mother would walk Ethan home.

I sighed, grateful that the day hadn't been as tough as I thought on him mentally. He was discouraged there would be no summer soccer, but I was worse. Not about the soccer—about that woman in Nick's office.

I'd wanted to go back to him and demand answers, ask him if he had moved on already and if I meant nothing to him, but I had no right. It was his life, and I had no claim to his heart or his personal life at all. I lost that when I kept a secret that hurt him. Now I was paying the consequences.

I turned and headed back toward the apartment building and heard squealing tires in the parking lot. It wasn't abnormal, because we had a few teenage drivers who lived here, but it always caught my attention. I glanced up and saw Nick's carscream to a halt in a handicap space and shut off. Then he got out and the scowl on his face frightened me. I didn't know if he was angry with me, but he was moving so fast toward me I had little doubt he was full of some sort of emotion.

"Nick?" I blurted out, and he grabbed me with both hands, gripping my face fiercely as he planted his lips over mine.

I mumbled and whimpered. I was so stunned I didn't even kiss him back. All I could do was stand there with my hands on his shoulders pushing him back as he attacked me, until I realized he was crying, and then I relaxed. My body went limp in his firm grasp, and I wrapped my arms around his neck and locked my fingers. His hands slid down to my lower back and he held me against his body as he kissed me gruffly. And when he pulled away I was breathless.

"Wow, what was that?" I asked, almost panting.

"I'm an idiot," he growled, backing me toward the building. He bit my lower lip and guided me to the elevator, kissing me the entire way until his finger was on the elevator button and my heart was hammering.

Inside the elevator the kisses continued at a fevered pitch, complete with groping and growling. Nick was an animal, hungrily devouring my mouth and grabbing my curves until the bell dinged. I was grateful no one was waiting in the hallway. He couldn't get enough of me, so I took him by the hand and led him to my apartment, shutting the door behind us. We were no more than inside the room when he started tearing my clothes off like an addict needing a fix.

"Nick, my God…" I whimpered and raised my arms so he could pull my shirt over my head. His lips returned to mine with fury.

"I was such a jerk, Scarlett. I don't want to be angry with you. I need you in my life. I'm so desperately in love with you and I want it all." He kept backing me toward my bedroom, peelingeach piece of clothing off of me or himself as he went. "I want a family and my career, and I want a full home and a heart of love. And I don't care what the town says about us or whether Ethan was a secret for seven years. I want you."

Nick's confession wasn't entirely out of the blue. The checkup today went well, and what transpired when Ethan left the room did leave a bit of room for us both to think about things. Though, I'd left there feeling defeated, but maybe the brief interaction had made him think. Or maybe it was that woman. I couldn't get her out of my head even now as his face was buried between my breasts and he nipped and sucked at my skin.

I put both hands under his jaw and forced his mouth upward as he tried to kiss me, but I turned my head. I wanted him; I just wanted to make sure we were the only two people in this relationship.

"Nick … the woman at your office?—"

"Is nothing to me," he blurted out. "My ex…the woman who ruined my life. It's over; it's been over, and she's nothing. Now let me have you before I lose my mind." Tears welled up as he claimed my lips again and now my heart was fully in this.

He tore my slacks off, then my panties. Then he toed off his shoes, shed his dress slacks, and we tumbled onto the bed naked and hungry for each other. The memory of the woman at his office faded to the back of my mind when Nick's lips, tongue, and hands explored each dip and curve of my body as his length pressed against me, demanding entry. I was so desperate to feel the connection I'd been missing for the past four weeks, so hungry for all of him and everything he'd give me.

"Please," I whimpered and he covered a nipple with his mouth. His tongue swirled and flicked over the sensitized nub until I was squirming and moaning for him.

He uttered a growl, low, gravelly, and full of need as he moved downward and his tongue teased my entrance. Iwhimpered and spread my thighs, allowing him to search me with his lips and tongue, but my fingers stayed tangled in his hair.

"Nick. God, Nick," I panted as he slid a long finger inside me, then two, stretching me just right. "I missed you."

He moaned into my core, and surged his fingers deeper, finding that bundle of nerves that made me arch off the bed, my moans blending with his growls of pleasure as he worked his fingers inside me, finding the right spots.

"I missed you so much," I confessed in a rush of air as he found that sweet spot with the heel of his hand and rubbed in time with his thrusts inside of me. "I missed this. Us."

He pulled away from his task and looked up at me. Sweat glistened on his brow, and his eyes were full of something I couldn't place. It looked like—redemption? Hope? Desire? As if he'd been worried about this moment too. Then he continued rubbing and thrusting with one hand as he scooted up the bed, pressing his lips to mine again. I parted my lips for him, and his tongue plunged into my mouth. My hips bucked against his hand, greedy for more. My coil was tightening, my pussy clenching around him.

"You feel so good," he rasped, his voice a low growl. "So wet, so hot."

His words tipped me over and the coil snapped. I jerked and twitched helplessly as he watched. Our eyes were locked, but I couldn't speak. My throat constricted and all I could do was gasp as convulsion after convulsion shook my body and the bed. My pussy tensed and pulsed. My stomach twitched and jolted, and every bit of worry and stress melted away under his touch. When I was relaxed, limp on the bed, he kissed me again softly.

Nick removed his hand and I whimpered, but as soon as I felt the head of his length at my entrance, I moaned in pleasure. He nipped at my neck and shoulder, scraping his teeth against myskin in just the right way, and then he slid inside me with one forceful thrust.

It had been a month since we'd been together last and I could feel every inch of him stretching me, filling me. I wrapped my legs around his hips and pulled him closer to me, deeper inside me as he began to move in long slow strokes. There was something different about him tonight; he was more attentive, more focused. I really believed he meant what he said, that he wanted a family with me. It made things so much more intimate, more emotional. I felt like we were on the same page and there were no secrets between us now.

"Oh, God, Nick," I moaned, my eyes sliding shut as he wrapped his arms around me and pulled me closer.

"Mmm," he purred against my neck, his hot breath fanning out across my skin. Then he rolled, taking me with him. I straddled him, hands splayed on his chest, and he gripped my hips and pulled me down onto his body harder.