Page 20 of True North

Nico sat down next to her, making the bed dip from his weight. She wished his body was on top of hers, but she was getting ahead of herself. First, she was going to have to tell Nico about her conversation with Mr. Shields, then she would negotiate getting Nico to lose the towel and help remind her just how bossy he was.

“What did the lawyer say?” he asked, pulling the towel tighter around his waist as if reading her dirty thoughts. She smiled at him, letting her eyes dip to where his hand rested on his thigh.

“Well,” she started, “he said my father left a sealed letter for me and placed a stipulation in his will that if any living blood relative came forward, he or she would inherit everything.”

Nico whistled. “Do you think James knew you were alive?”

Toni shrugged. “A part of me thinks that but the rational side of me knows that couldn’t have been the case. Why wouldn’t he come and find me if he knew I was alive and well?” Nico pulled her onto his lap and wrapped his arms around her body. She loved that he picked up on her sadness, giving her the comfort she needed before she even knew what she wanted.

“Maybe he was trying to protect you?” Nico asked. She wondered the same, but then why would her father take his own life? “When can you get the letter? Maybe that will answer some of your questions, baby.”

“Mr. Shields says he can have everything to me, overnight. That would also mean I would have to tell him where we are. What if Zac somehow gets that information?” Toni knew Nico was working with the island’s police department to try to piece together what, if anything, Zac had to do with her accident and James’s death. He was still a wild card, and without knowing Zac’s involvement, they had nothing to go on.

“Let’s have him send everything a few towns over. I have an old college buddy who wouldn’t mind us using his address. We can even have it sent to him, and that way our names aren’t linked to the package.” Toni nodded against Nico’s chest, cuddling into his hold.

“As for the other things running through that pretty mind of yours, baby, the answer is no.” Nico stood and set her gently back onto the bed. Toni didn’t try to hide her pout, and Nico chuckled.

“But why?” she questioned, grabbing for his towel as he started back to the bathroom. She successfully grabbed it away from him and was gifted with the sight of his glorious ass as he walked away from her.

She watched as he pulled on his boxer briefs and moaned as he covered himself up from her roaming gaze. “You still have one more full day of recovery,” he said. “Then I’m all yours, baby.” Nico held his arms open wide as if giving her full access to his body. She couldn’t help her glee at the thought of getting her way with him, even clapping her hands and squealing at the prospect of it all.

“Hold onto that enthusiasm for tomorrow, honey.” He shot her a smile and pulled his t-shirt over his head. “I’m going to run you a bubble bath and help wash that sexy body of yours, and then we can order room service and watch some old movies.” Toni knew arguing would do her no good. Nico was determined to follow the doctor’s orders this time. She had overdone things with her meeting with Zac and the reporters and having to travel to Boston.

The doctor said her body and mind needed time to rest. He gave them hope that if she got proper rest, she might even get her memories back. Toni knew Nico wanted her to remember him, but she also wanted to reassure him she didn’t need to remember her past with him to know she wanted a future with him in it. She was falling for him again. The sooner she admitted it, the better because she was tired of Nico walking on eggshells around her and treating her as if she might break. It was time to introduce Nico to how strong she was and remind him that his Jenn was still in there too. Tomorrow, when he gave her the green light, she’d show Nico exactly who she was.

Nico

Nico loved spending alone time with Toni. Her recovery had allowed him to take care of her and to show her just what she had come to mean to him. But being around her all day and night and having to keep his hands off of her was starting to take its toll on his resistance. He wanted her, and today he could have her. He watched Toni as she slept soundly, resisting the urge to wake her up and take her over and over again. She needed her rest and he needed to fight his inner caveman’s urge to make her his.

They spent the rest of yesterday and into the night lying in bed with room service, watching old black and white movies. It was almost perfect. He loved the way Toni so freely touched him and sought him out for comfort. In the week and a half since her accident, he noticed her becoming more and more his girl. That helped to ease his fears of her leaving, which were very real when she admitted to not remembering him. Nico thought he was going to lose her, never in a million years imagining she’d give him another chance to be a part of her life.

Toni had called her lawyer back to give him Nico’s friend’s address. He just hoped they could fly under the radar and stick to the plan of laying low for a while longer. Jace and Oliver were working with a few of their friends on the local police force to find anything that they could about Zac’s involvement in Toni’s first accident or James’s death. They hadn’t come up with anything yet, but he got them to release Zac’s statements after both incidents, and he wanted to comb through them to see if anything stood out. He was hoping to find some clue as to Zac’s involvement in either case. Nico would bet everything he had that Zac was somehow responsible for both Toni’s accident and James’s death, but he would never let Toni know that. She already told him she felt bad that he was involved in her family’s mess as if he’d have it any other way. If it was something that involved her, he wanted in, no matter what the circumstances. But he wasn’t sure if she was ready to hear that from him.

Since that first night in Boston at his parents’ house, she hadn’t said she loved him again. God, he wanted her to; it was as if he were secretly willing her to say it, but he didn’t push. That wasn’t the way he wanted it to happen. He wanted Toni to say it of her own free will, not out of obligation or guilt. He wouldn’t push her into anything she didn’t want, no matter how badly he needed those words from her. Sure, he could see how much she wanted him, every time she looked him up and down, he instantly got hard. He wanted more. Nico wanted what they had together before, all the bits and pieces she couldn’t remember, but hopefully someday would.

“You’re up early,” she whispered and turned into his body. Toni planted a soft kiss on his shoulder and stilled. “Sorry,” she said. “When I’m waking up, I sometimes forget the way things are.”

Nico pulled her tighter against his body, not letting her escape. “Or you remember exactly how things should be—how they were between us. You remember me, Toni.” She gave a curt nod, not really answering him.

“I do remember parts of you, Nico. I won’t lie about that. I dream about you, about us. It’s almost as if the past year was just a fantasy, made up in my mind, and when I wake up, it’s gone.” Her voice sounded so sad she nearly broke his heart.

“But it isn’t gone, honey. Not really. I’m right here and you just need to hold onto me—to us.” Toni snuggled against him, and his cock seemed to take that as a green light, springing to life.

“I wish I knew what to do or even how to act around you. You make me feel things I’m not quite sure what to do with,” she said.

“Like?” he asked. God, he didn’t want to admit that her answer meant so much to him, but it did. He felt himself holding his breath as if waiting for her to answer. He was turning into a fucking teenage girl when it came to his feelings for her.

“Well, like how much I want you,” she whispered.

“Thank fuck, baby, I want you too,” he barked out. She giggled against his body, causing it to hum to life.

“I know,” she said. “I can feel just how much you want me against my leg right now,” she teased.

“Sorry, honey.” He started to pull away from her and she threw her leg over his, stopping him.

“I like it, Nico. I want you just as much. Hell, I practically threw myself at you yesterday.”

“Well, you did rip the towel from around my waist, leaving me completely vulnerable to your prying eyes,” he joked. She giggled again, and he realized if he didn’t get her naked and underneath him soon, he was going to lose his tightly held control.

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