CHASING TROUBLE

Propping herself on an elbow to face him, she had a sip of the cocktail while he stretched out on the sun-bed placed inches from hers, and felt heat crawl over her face as his eyes, also hidden by shades, swept over the length of her swimsuit-clad form.

“Your body’s changed,” she said. “You’re more muscular.”

He grinned. “Yeah I guess it has,”

Her next words were stolen when he extended a hand and encircled one of her breasts. “Your body’s changed too.”

She shivered at his touch and put her glass on the table at the top of the adjoining sunbeds. “Having a baby does that to a woman.”

He smiled knowingly and rubbed his thumb over a nipple. “Having a baby has only made you more beautiful.” She couldn’t help her snort of derision at this. He caught a curl in his fingers. “Why do you find that funny?”

“You haven’t seen me naked in the light yet.”

“Yet?” He quirked his eyebrows. “Then I have something to look forward to?”

“Maybe.”

He put his head in the crook of his elbow and inched his face closer to her. “There is no one here now…”

She put a finger to his lips without thinking. He kissed it. “Nick….” She sighed.

He rubbed the tip of his nose to hers. “Yes, Care?”

The warmth of his breath seeped into her pores and it took more effort than she would have believed possible to keep her thoughts on track. “What we were talking about last night… Your idea of marriage.”

He rubbed his nose against her cheek. “Have you decided it’s an excellent idea?”

She moved away a little and rolled onto her back but that attempt at distance did nothing to stop his hands roaming over her body. Pressing her thighs tightly together, she tried to tune out the sensations skipping over her skin at his touch.” If I’m going to agree to it, we would have to live here.. In this town,”

“I know,”

“I don’t want to quit my job or start my life over so we won’t move.”

He made slow circles around a hard nipple with his finger. “I’ve already agreed to that, Care,”NôvelDrama.Org (C) content.

“Oh.” She swallowed. She should slap his hand away but it felt too good. “So you have. Sorry.” She had to swallow the moisture filling her mouth again.

“I was so prepared and ready with arguments that I didn’t listen properly to your answer.”

His fingers dragged down her belly. “I wouldn’t make you change anything. Don’t worry about it,” His fingers drifted away from her as he rose to his feet. He pinched the sides of his shorts and fixed his hooded eyes on her. She hadn’t even noticed him remove his shades. “Anything else?” He tugged his shorts down. His enormous erection sprang free.

She could hardly think, never mind speak through the lust rampaging through her. “About his school….”

He sat on the edge of her sunbed and pulled the straps of her swimsuit down. “He is too young for us to worry about school yet. We can decide that nearer the time.”

“And…”

He’d pulled the top of her swimsuit past her breasts and immediately taken one in his mouth while he slowly pulled the rest of the suit down.

“Yes, Care?”

“No…taking…” She squeezed her eyes shut and tried to concentrate, even though he’d tugged the swimsuit down past her thighs. Only dimly did she realize she’d actively helped him in removing it and that it was her kicking the suit away.

He climbed between her legs and gazed down at her. “No taking…?”

“Charge,” she breathed.

“Like this?” He slid inside her, long, deep, all the way to the hilt. Then, before she could really savour the sensation, immediately pulled out. “No taking charge like that?”

“Nick…” His name sounded like a moan from her lips.

He plunged inside her again. “Is that what you meant?” He made to pull out of her again. She grabbed hold of his buttocks with both hands to keep him in place.

“You win,” she breathed, wrapping her legs tightly around him. “Take charge.”

“And you’ll marry me?”

“Yes.” At that moment she would have agreed to anything to stop him pulling out of her again.

“Then I take charge with pleasure.”

____________

“Time to get up.”

Caroline opened a bleary eye and found Nicholas perched on the edge of the bed beside her. “What time is it?”

“Nine.”

She lifted her head. A cup of coffee had been placed on her bedside table beside the baby monitor. “Why didn’t you wake me?”

“Because you’re adorable when you sleep.” He placed his lips to her ear and whispered, “If our son hadn’t woken so early, I would have woken you in a much more pleasurable manner.”

She found it incredible that she’d slept so late and slept through the early morning babbling she’d always been so attuned to. Either she’d been exhausted from making love until the early hours or her subconscious had let her sleep soundly, knowing Nicholas was taking care of their son. The latter, she decided as she tilted her head for a kiss and breathed in his freshly showered and shaved scent.

“Where is he?”

“With Seema in the nursery. And you need to get up. We have an appointment to attend.”

“Have we?”

He kissed her mouth. “Yes, Care. An appointment to register our intention to marry. We can book the wedding too. Get everything in hand”

The last of her sleepiness flew away. Sitting upright, she stared at him. “Since when are we getting married?”

“You agreed to it yesterday.”

So she had. Under sexual duress. After she’d said yes, they’d made love hard and fast on the sunbed then gone to bed and made love at a much more leisurely pace until Charlie had woken from his nap. The early evening had been spent with their son and then, the minute he was asleep, they’d gone straight back to bed. Truth was, they’d been far too busy talking with their bodies to speak verbally.

Truth was, she’d happily shoved her agreement to marry him to the back of her mind rather than confront the magnitude of what she’d done, and now that she was confronted with it, darts of panic were making their way through her.

“I didn’t agree to marry you immediately.”

“The decision has been made so why wait?”