Page 2 of Wine & Whiskey: Everything for You
Shae snuggles deeper against Nick, her cashmere skin caressing his bare chest, her fingertips gliding across his arm curled around her waist. No words are spoken between them as they cuddle in this cramped hospital bed. None are needed to know this is where he belongs, that she’s what he needs to live, even if he doesn’t deserve her.
He breathes in her light, flowery scent. All of her pure essence, tormenting him in his dreams for too damn long, is finally real. God, he’s fucking missed her. And now, somehow, he’s lucky enough to have her back. Grateful, despite the hell circling around them, to be holding her, to know she’s his again.
How he’s even here, he’ll never understand. How she forgives him, after the torture she endures, he can’t comprehend. Regardless of how fucking stupid he was to think he could survive without her, he’ll never do anything to fuck it up again.
After yesterday—hell, after the last few weeks—he craves exactly what she always gives him—a peaceful moment before the real world intrudes. Before he deals with the paternity test, funeral arrangements, and Juan.
Fucking Juan. Carter’s betrayal implies weakness he needs to dispel. Not for revenge, although he sure as hell will take immense satisfaction in it, but to protect her and the baby. Just a hint of vulnerability is enough to tempt his enemies to try and finish what Carter started. He must crush any thought of a challenge before it even begins.
But, for a few minutes more, he’s going to make things right with her. He can’t help but smile at her sweet body pressed against his, her gentle touch on his skin. Once again, she brings him happiness he’s never known or expected. A strand of her silky hair tickles his neck as she stretches. His grip tightens around her, and he kisses the top of her head. “Good morning, sweetness. How’re you feeling?”
“Better.” She entwines her hand in his splayed across her stomach, together holding the family they’ve created. “I like waking up and finding you in my bed.”
Last night, she welcomed his love, not realizing the comfort it provided was for him as much as it was for her. That hearing her whisper his name in the darkness, the relief in her tone at his touch, eliminated all his fear she could accept him again. He’s never needed anyone until her, and he won’t risk losing her. His laughter shakes both of them. “Hey, you’re stealing my line.”
She rolls onto her back and smiles up at him, her eyes twinkling with love, slaying him with her certainty after all she’s been through because of him. “Well, now we’re even, because you’ve stolen my heart.”
Sexy, mischievous, beautiful. They have a lot of lost time to make up for when she gets better. “Look at you, Miss Armstrong, trying to be slick.”
“I learned from the best, Mr. DeMarco.” Gentle fingers wrap around his ears and draw his head to hers, brushing against his lips. “Among other wonderful things you’ve taught me.”
After only one stroke of her tongue, he forces himself to gain control. Unaware of the fuse she lights with her kisses, she frowns, questioning him for pulling away. “You’re too tempting to be able to stop.” Clearing his throat does nothing to hide his desire, the huskiness of his voice betraying his need. “We need to wait until we get home.”
“Home?”
The hopefulness infused in her one word question crumbles the last barrier between them. She wants to be with him just as much as he needs to be with her. “Yeah, I want you to live with me again. If you think you can put up with me.”
She shrugs her shoulders, feigning hesitation, but her bright smile and flushing cheeks reveal the truth of her happiness. “It won’t be easy, but I guess I can try.”
“I promise I’ll be good,” he whispers against her lips.
Shaking her head, she pretends to turn away. “In that case, I’m not sure if I want to come.”
They tread dangerous territory, testing all of his willpower. Yet, he can’t resist one last tease. His fingertips glide across her thigh, pushing up the hem of her scratchy hospital gown, and tracing the lacy edge of her silk panties. “Oh, you’ll come all right.”
She squeezes his hand before pushing it away, her laughter filling the room and his heart. “You’re terrible.”
A bit more of her normal personality peeks through, and he smiles before winking at her. “You started it. And, as much as I would love to stay in bed with you all day, you need to eat breakfast.” He glances at his watch, much later than he realized. “Or, I guess, actually lunch.”
“Okay.” She takes a deep breath, the playfulness gone from her voice. Her brow furrows deep with worry, as if she’s trying to find the right words. Unaware that only her uncertainty dampens his elation of her telling him about the baby. Once she says the words, she won’t ever have any doubts about his true feelings. “I’m sorry about Carter. I know how much you loved him.”
Fire races through his veins at that motherfucker’s name. Not at all who he wants to talk about. He drapes his leg over hers, attempting to absorb her sweetness and squelch the inferno engulfing him. “Yeah, it was a fucking shitty way to find out he didn’t feel the same.”
“Yes, he did. I think he regretted everything once what he’d done became real.” Pink tipped fingers gingerly stroke the white bandages circling his shoulder, still throbbing from the damage Carter inflicted. “He was really broken-hearted on the plane. I tried to convince him you could work it out, but he wouldn’t listen.”
Unbelievable. Only an angel like her would try to absolve the fucking devil of his sins. When he and Max were searching for them, all he wanted to think about was finding her and destroying Carter. Not have his sanity challenged by the thoughts sneaking into his mind of his cousin killing her. Of that bastard stealing the only joy he’s ever had in his life. Or of her last thoughts being filled with doubt about his love for her.
Instead, she worries about helping the son of a bitch who kidnapped her. “Don’t defend him.” The words push out through clenched teeth, fighting to keep his tone steady. “Not after what he did to you.”
“I’m not. I trusted him, and he hurt me.” Her voice cracks and drops to a whisper, surging the fury in his pulsing nerves at her pain. “But, you need to know he loved you even though he betrayed you. That’s the only way you can forgive him.”
“I can’t. He deserved worse than what he got.”
The pads of her fingers stroke down his arm, giving up the argument, attempting to soothe his anger. “He thought he was Emme’s father, not you. That’s what pushed him over the edge. Jessica was cheating on you with him, and they were together even after you broke up. He loved her, and then she turned around and dumped him for someone else.”
Fucking motherfucker.Carter hurt Shae because of a woman who played both of them, using him for his money and his cousin for his attention. Nobody wins in this perverted triangle.
“Even if you’re not her father, Emme needs us. I think we should try to be a part of her life if Jessica will let us.”
