Nick Of Time (Blue Ridge Romance 2) (10 page)

“Yeah, well, he was looking at my chest when he said it.” She was rewarded with Tucker’s deep chuckle. “I should have deballed him that summer he stayed with you.”

“When you were babysitting us and you caught him drowning me in our little pool out back?” He laughed again. “And then you grabbed him and held him underwater until he started crying.”

“You were smaller than him. I wanted him to know there was always someone bigger.”

“I’m not sure, but I think you could still take him,” Tucker said.

“I have no doubt.”

He eyed her for a long moment and then smiled.

“You know, if you dropped the icy, tough-girl act, you might actually find a nice guy to marry you and give you babies.”

“The nice guys are all taken or gay.”

He was quiet for a long moment.

“Why didn’t you end up with my brother? I know you guys hooked up.”

“He told you?” Her voice squeaked.

“No. Hell, he never talked to me about that kind of stuff. I slept in the room next to his. I was thirteen, for God’s sake. I heard things.” They laughed. “I had a thing for you the rest of that summer. You were the cause of many ruined tissues.”

“Oh, God!” She squeezed her eyes shut and laughed.

He moved closer to whisper in her ear. “Don’t make me turn to tissues tonight, Nic. Come to my room.” His voice, once joking, had turned serious, and she didn’t even need to consider her answer.

“Okay.”

“Really?” He seemed shocked.

“Yes.”

“Awesome. But we should dance a little longer.”

Right. They were still at the reception. For a moment, she had forgotten where she was, or that there were other people around.

Was she gazing up into his eyes dreamily? Had anyone noticed? She glanced around to see the dance floor had filled up. The swirling guests were focused on their dance partners or the bride and groom. No one seemed to be looking at her and Tucker at all.

When the song was over, the group split up and changed partners. Tucker went to his new sister-in-law, while Cooper held his open arms out to her.

“Thanks for dancing with my brother and not killing him,” Cooper said.

“It’s no problem.” Definitely not a problem.

“You helped him with that song?”

“Yeah. When we were iced in at the cabin.”

“I’m glad you found something constructive to do instead of fight. I know he’s not your favorite person, but I appreciate your being nice to him.”

“He’s not so bad now. You were right, he’s changed.”

He had changed. He wasn’t a loser anymore. He wasn’t a bratty kid trying to get attention. He was a man now. A very sexy, sweet man who was giving her a crooked grin at that moment, probably in anticipation of their plans later that night.

“He has indeed,” Cooper said. “I didn’t tell you before, but he had to go into rehab for drugs and alcohol. I thought for sure it was just the start of a downward spiral, but it made a huge difference. He’s finally straightened up. He has a job, kind of. He offered to pay me back every dime of what I’d paid out for him.”

“You didn’t take it?”

“No. He’s my brother.”

“I think you should let him,” she said.

“I know you don’t have brothers and sisters, Nic, but this is what they do.”

“No, I get that. But I think his trying to pay you back is a way for him to alleviate some guilt he feels. I’m not saying you should let him pay you back because you need the money or to teach him a lesson. I think you should do it for him. To release him from the debt he feels toward you.”

“He doesn’t owe me a debt.”

“I know that. You know that. Tucker doesn’t. I’m just saying, let him pay you back. Do something good with the money on his behalf, but let him.”

“You really think that’s why he wants to do it?”

“I know I would want to if it was me and I’d finally got my shit together.”

“Hmm. I’ll talk to him about it when we get back from the honeymoon.” He glanced over to where Tucker and his wife were dancing and laughing. “He’s staying at our house while we’re away.”

“I heard.”

“You’ll stop in to check?” Cooper worried.

“I will, but I don’t think I need to. I think you can stop worrying about him so much.”

“Maybe. It’s hard, though. I’ve been doing it for so long.”

“I know, but like you said, he’s changed.” It felt very odd taking Tucker’s side in anything, but she knew what she’d said was the truth.

“I still don’t want him messing around with Riley,” he said as the song ended and Tucker made his way over to the small blonde. “She’s been through enough and she has a kid.”

With that, he frowned and moved to Lexi as Ian offered to dance with Nichole.

Ian was a nice guy who talked about his son with the pride only a parent could pull off. She could tell by the way he spoke that he knew he was blessed.

Eventually, she was faced with Cousin Richie.

Unable to get out of it without making a scene, she put her hands on his thin shoulders and tried to keep a safe distance despite his tugs to draw her closer to his scrawny body.

Out of nowhere, Tucker swooped in to save the day.

“Hey, Nic. You gotta minute? We need to go take care of their room,” Tucker interrupted.

“Oh, right! I almost forgot.” She stepped away from Richie, feeling as if she needed to wash her hands.

“I get you again when you get back,” Richie said, creeping her out.

Tucker put his hand on her back as he quickly escorted her out into the hall.

“That rat bastard doesn’t
get you
at all.” Tucker scrunched up his nose in disgust as she smiled at his protectiveness.

“Are we really doing something to their room?” she asked.

“No. Cooper left his key with our mother, and she’s guarding it like it’s the key to launch the nukes.” He shook his head with a grin. “But I do still get you alone for a few minutes.”

He pulled her through a door at the end of the hall. The same office where they’d been the night before.

“I don’t want to look like I had a roll in the hay when we go back in there, Tucker,” she warned.

“I don’t want to mess you up just yet. We have all night. I just couldn’t wait any more to do this.”

And with that he leaned down and kissed her. His large hands rested lightly on the sides of her neck. She felt the calluses on the fingertips of his right hand from playing the guitar.

The chemistry between them ignited, as it had at the cabin, and she suddenly found herself not caring so much about messy hair or wrinkles in her skirt.

But Tucker pulled back and rested his forehead against hers as they caught their breath.

“You did it again,” he whispered with a smile.

She didn’t need to ask what she had done. She could feel his arousal pressed against her hip.

“Think about other things, like baby bunnies and heavy traffic.”

He chuckled and stepped back.

“Baby bunnies?”

“I don’t know. I was trying to come up with something that couldn’t be sexy.”

“You holding a baby bunny while you’re naked is still sexy. And let me just tell you what I could do with you if we were in heavy traffic.”

“Fine. Maybe I should go, and you can deal with this on your own.”

“Very funny.” He kissed her again, but it was quick.

He reached in his pocket and handed her a key card.

“This is to my room. I’m on the fourth floor in a suite four-oh-two.”

“Okay. I’ll see you soon.”

“I’m looking forward to it.” The look he gave her would have melted her panties had she been wearing any.

 

He lost track of her when they went back to the party.

“Have you seen Nic?” Tucker asked his brother, hoping he sounded nonchalant.

“She said she had a headache.”

“Oh.” Excellent. No one could pressure her into staying if they thought she was in pain.

“You okay? You need something?” Cooper asked.

“No. I’m great. It’s just getting late and the only thing to do at this hour is something I’m not supposed to do.” Tucker hated using his addiction as a way to get out of the room, but by God, it was time he got something useful out of it.

“Right.” Cooper winced.

“I think I might head up to my room, if that’s okay.”

Cooper looked at his watch, which reported it was after eleven.

“Roslyn and I are leaving soon, too.”

“I’m surprised you lasted this long,” Tucker joked.

“Only the knowledge that I get to spend the rest of my life with her has kept us down here as long as we have.”

“Congrats, bro. I’m glad you’re happy.”

“You have no idea.”

Tucker smiled and walked off. Cooper was right; he really had no idea how that felt. To have someone. To know she wasn’t going anywhere because she only wanted to be with him. It sounded good in theory, but what happened when
he
needed to get out?

The only woman who had ever come close to making him think about forever was Nichole, and she was way too good for him. She had standards no human man would be able to meet, let alone his loser ass.

But for tonight, she was his.

He smiled as he walked toward the elevators.

Nichole didn’t want to be with him. Not long-term anyway. She hated him. And he hated her. Or at least they had hated each other. That obviously wasn’t the case anymore.

He opened the door to his suite, expecting to find her waiting. Maybe spread out across his bed with nothing on but those heels.

His room was dark.

He flipped on the light and looked around. Nope. She wasn’t there.

If she’d bailed on him again, he might actually burst. Could that happen? How many times could a guy get hard without release before there was some kind of damage? He couldn’t take the risk.

With a sigh, he left to go down to her room. He knocked and waited. Nothing. Maybe she’d gone back down to the party. She wasn’t the most patient person in the world. He knew because he wasn’t either.

He went down to the lobby and stood by the door, scouting the dwindling dancers for her red hair.

She wasn’t there.

Which meant she must be hiding in her room.

He let out a deep breath as he rode up in the elevator again, getting off on the second floor. There was another couple who’d stayed on to go up to three.

He knocked on her door, harder than the last time.

She whipped it open right away, her eyes wide.

“I can’t help but notice you never showed up,” he said with a hint of annoyance.

She grabbed his arm and pulled him into her room. Before he had a moment to argue, she had her arms around his neck and was pulling him down to her lips.

What the hell?

“Nic? Where were you? Are you having second thoughts?” He was answered by her fingers fiddling with his shirt.

“You have no idea how hard I tried to get up to your room, but there were too many people on the elevator. I tried the stairs, but the key card didn’t work on the door. Then I called your room and your cell, but you didn’t answer.”

“I was probably out looking for you when you called.” As for his cell, he couldn’t quite remember where he’d left it. Was it still in his swim trunks? He was always losing phones.

“We’re together now. There’s a bed,” she said, tugging at him.

He looked her over. He didn’t see any doubts, just lust and a smile.

“My bed is bigger,” he mumbled against her neck.

“I don’t care.”

S
he wanted to say she was sitting in front of Cooper and Roslyn’s house because she cared about the houseplants. But she knew why she was really there.

Tucker.

She hadn’t heard anything from him in the last four days. Nothing since he’d snuck out of her room the morning after the wedding. Not that she’d expected to; this was Tucker after all. They’d had a great time at the wedding, but that was over. She was busy moving from Cooper’s condo into Roslyn’s abandoned town house.

It was a nice place. Great for someone like her, who didn’t know where she belonged.

She took a deep breath and walked up to the door at Roslyn and Tucker’s new house, hating that she was nervous.

Should she knock? Cooper had given her a key. It wasn’t Tucker’s house, and she had business to attend to.

She decided to open the door but call out her arrival.

“Hey! It’s me! I’m here to take care of the plants,” she shouted.

There was silence for a moment before Tucker came out to greet her wearing nothing but a towel and a smile.

“Hi!” he said, sounding happy to see her. She just stared at the muscles, tattoos, and absence of clothing. “I actually watered the plants yesterday. I didn’t know when you might be over. I know you work and I don’t really, so I was helping.”

“Oh. Okay.” Was he really having a casual conversation with her while wearing only a towel?

“Tucker?” a woman’s voice called from down the hall. “Is it okay if I turn the fireplace on in here?”

“Sure. The switch is on the left,” he yelled back before smiling at Nichole again. He took a step closer. “It’s nice to see you. The scrubs are hot.” He looked down her body.

“Are you messing with me right now?” she asked. He was hitting on her while he had a woman over? Even he couldn’t be this disgusting.

“What?” His brows creased. He really didn’t seem to know.

“Nothing. I’m going. I’ll let you get back to . . . whatever.” She tossed her hand out in the direction of the hall.

“Oh, shit,” he said suddenly. “No.” He shook his head as he looked down at the towel, almost surprised to see it there. “This isn’t . . .”

“Please don’t. I have to say I’m curious as to what excuse you can come up with, but I’m okay.” She started walking toward the door, but he jumped in front of her.

“Come here.”

“What? No!” It didn’t matter; he was dragging her down the hall. “I really don’t want to see this.” She had to fight not to squeeze her eyes closed as he led her into the sunroom.

She looked at the fully clothed young woman standing there, who smiled at them and then pointed at the folding table in the middle of the room.

“You ready?” the woman asked.

“Do you have time after me to do Nic? She’s very uptight,” Tucker said, patting Nichole on the shoulder and kissing her cheek.

“Sure!” the perky girl said. “I’m Aubrey.”

“Th-that’s okay,” Nichole stuttered, studying the scene in front of her. He was only getting a massage. Not having sex.

“Come on, let me get you a massage. You’re going to love it.” He was still holding her hand as he walked to the table with her trailing along. “Sit here and keep me company until it’s your turn.”

She sat on the edge of the sofa while he hopped up on the sturdy-looking table and lay down on his stomach.

“You do this often?”

“I try for once a week. Especially when I’m playing a lot. I know to most people playing the guitar doesn’t look strenuous, but I lean over a lot while I’m writing. I’ve got a hell of a knot between my shoulders right now.”

“Not for long,” the girl chimed in as she put her hands on his back and started moving. Tucker didn’t so much as flinch at the contact. “I left a sheet there for you. Go change and I’ll work on you next.”

“Don’t say no,” Tucker ordered with a playful scowl. “I want to see you in nothing but a sheet.” He winked, and she gave in with a nod.

When it was her turn, she awkwardly climbed on the table and situated the sheet so it was covering everything. She thought she heard Tucker laugh, but when she looked over he was readjusting his towel.

“I’m going to go change. Enjoy.” He leaned over and kissed her cheek before he left.

“He’s a nice guy,” Aubrey noted as he walked out.

“Yeah, but don’t tell him.”

“I think he already knows.” The two women laughed together.

“I hear you laughing and I’m sure it’s about me!” Tucker called from down the hall.

“Not everything is about you, Tucker Matthews!” Nichole joked.

“Well, it should be,” he said as he walked back into the room wearing sweatpants and a T-shirt.

Nichole suppressed a moan of relaxation as Aubrey worked her lower back.

“This is amazing. I can’t believe I don’t do this every day,” she said with her eyes closed.

By the time Aubrey was finished, Nichole felt boneless. There was no tension anywhere in her body.

As she left the room to go change into her clothes, she saw Tucker handing Aubrey a few hundred-dollar bills like it was nothing.

She knew he had money now that he was a big star, but it was strange seeing him actually using it. Especially on something for her.

She was smiling when she walked back into the room.

“So, I have you scheduled for the same time next week. Hope you can make it, too, Nichole. It was nice meeting you,” Aubrey said with a smile.

“You too. You’re my new hero.” Nichole laughed.

“No, no.
I’m
still your hero. After all, I’m the one who suggested it,” Tucker protested.

“Yeah, yeah. Whatever.” It was best not to let his head get too big. For safety reasons.

As soon as Aubrey was out the door, Tucker had Nichole pushed back against the wall in a deep, slow kiss.

Who was she kidding? This was the real reason she’d stopped by.

Tucker seemed content to go at it right on the sofa like they had at the cabin, but Nichole paused.

“This is Cooper and Roslyn’s new sofa. They’ve probably already christened it.”

“Fine.” He took her elbow and led her up the stairs to his room. “New bed. Just for me. This is Uncle Tucker’s room.” He held his arm out wide at the doorway, and she went inside.

He leaned her back on the bed, kissing her again.

“You were jealous,” he said as he stroked his thumb across her bottom lip.

“A little.” She didn’t bother to hide it. Her honesty was one of his favorite things about her. Or so he’d told her.

“It was kind of cute. I never thought I’d ever make you jealous.”

“Shut up. Are we doing this or what?”

“I was going to call to ask you to come over, but I was afraid you would think it was only a booty call,” he said. She was touched he’d thought it out. She was glad she wasn’t the only one who had issues.

“So you just waited in the hope I’d show up?” She smiled as she slid the sweatpants down his legs.

“No. I was going to break down and call you tomorrow. I just had to make up some reason to have you over.”

“I thought you liked that I didn’t play games. Why are you gaming me?” she asked as he worked his way down her throat to her collarbone.

“True. I apologize. Next time, I’ll just say, ‘Get your sexy ass over here because I want you like there’s no tomorrow.’”

“Yeah, that would work.” She giggled as he pushed up her shirt.

How had she gone without this? Had she known he was this great in bed, she never would have been so snarky with him all this time. She would have been begging him to have sex with her, like all those groupies.

The way he moved—like his sole purpose on earth was to please her—made her nearly insane with need.

He didn’t seem to have any complaints. Not that guys ever did.

“Wow,” she sighed when they were finished. “This sure is a nice bed.”

 

Tucker laughed and shook his head before he rolled over to look in her eyes. This was one of the many things he found he liked about Nichole. In addition to how she didn’t play games, she had an awesome sense of humor.

“Will you stay?” he asked.

“I can’t. I have to work in the morning and I didn’t bring clothes.”

“Will you stop over tomorrow after work?”

“For a booty call?” He could feel her body shake with laughter.

“No. Dinner.”

Her laughter stopped abruptly. “Okay.” She nodded against his chest.

“What’s wrong?” He couldn’t help but notice she’d gotten quiet.

“I didn’t expect to like you this much.” She shrugged like it was no big deal, but it was a big deal.

He laughed harder than he had since they’d gotten the giggles after sex the first time.

“I sure as hell didn’t expect to like you at all,” he told her.

“Hey! You don’t have to get nasty.” She poked his ribs, making him jump.

He pulled her hand to his lips and kissed her fingers.

“Do you need to leave right now?”

“No. What did you have in mind?” She edged closer to him with that look in her eyes.

He wasn’t a teenager anymore; he needed a minute. “You’re killing me, woman.” He chuckled. “I’ve heard older women are like that.” That remark earned him another poke in the ribs, but she leaned up and kissed him. “I was wondering if you have time to listen to this song. I wanted to bounce some ideas off you.”

Her face brightened. “Really?”

“Yeah. You’re my muse.” He brushed his fingers through her hair, thinking she was the most beautiful muse ever.

“Hmm. Okay. Let’s hear it.”

He scrambled out of bed and went for his guitar, not bothering to put any clothes on.

“I can’t imagine how many women would hate me to know I’m getting a private Tucker Matthews unplugged, undressed session.”

He winked at her as he tuned the guitar and then started playing. It was the song he’d played at the wedding, though there it had been incredibly short. He sang the words they’d worked out so far and then stopped at the part where he was stuck, humming the missing piece.

“So that’s where I need help.”

She twisted her mouth to the side in a way that made him want to suck on her lip and crawl on top of her.

He’d always thought Nichole was hot. Ever since he was a kid, he’d fantasized about her, but his fantasies hadn’t given her reality justice. She was more than just hot; she was fun and smart and . . . well, sexy. In a way most women tried to be but failed.

“I never want to know what missing you feels like,” she said. He blinked at her. Why wasn’t he freaking out? This was serious. He didn’t do serious. He blinked again. “I know the word
like
doesn’t really rhyme with
take
, but can you make it work?”

The song.

She was talking about the song.

He swallowed and nodded.

“Yeah. Actually, I can do that.” He played it back, adding her line and nodding again. “Very nice, Nic. You could do this if you ever wanted to give up saving people’s lives. You know, move on to something important.”

She smiled at him, looking proud of her contribution.

“You’re going to make me a lot of money,” he told her with a smirk. “I might even pay for dinner tomorrow.”

“If you think it would be the first time someone has asked me out and then made me pay, you would be wrong.”

“Seriously?”

“Yes.”

“Tell me who it was. I’ll hunt his ass down and get your money back,” he threatened, only half kidding. He felt a huge desire to protect her from people who treated her badly. Like the ex-fiancé. Sure, he couldn’t help being gay, but he sure as hell could have mentioned it in the beginning, before Nichole had had her whole life planned out with him. The worst part was, she didn’t even realize she had a right to be angry. Not that he had a lot of room to throw stones; he was on the list of people who had treated her badly, too.

After a half hour of working on the song and another hour of fooling around, she got dressed.

“You really have to go?” he said, hoping he didn’t sound as needy as he felt.

“I’ll bring clothes with me tomorrow.”

“Good thinking.” He kissed her for a long time when he walked her to her car. He didn’t want her to leave, but he wouldn’t beg.

“I’ll see you tomorrow,” she said with a smile.

“I’ll be looking forward to it.” It might have been a lame ass thing to say, but it was true.

 

Nichole was smiling when she walked into Cooper and Roslyn’s house the next day. She’d had a rough day at work, but that was all forgotten now that she could be with Tucker.

She’d changed into real clothes at the clinic and couldn’t wait for him to take them back off.

“I’m here! With a bag!” she called out as she entered.

She could hear his voice from the hall and she tensed, worried he was with someone. Yesterday’s events hadn’t kept her from jumping to that conclusion yet again.

She knew Tucker had difficulty sticking to one female. Or at least the old Tucker had.

He came out wearing only jeans. He was carrying a shirt, and he winked at her as he repositioned the phone by his shoulder.

“Yeah, well, I gotta go. I’ve got a hot date tonight.” He rolled his eyes. “Why would I sleep with someone in your bed when I’ve got this nice new one in my room?”

It was obvious he was talking to Cooper. Nichole covered her mouth so as not to make any sound that would give her away.

“Yeah, Nic stopped by to check on the plants. They’re alive. She does good work.” He pinched her butt, but she held in a squeal and jumped away from him. “Talk to you tomorrow, when you call to check on me yet again. ’Bye.”

He ended the call and smiled at her before he leaned down, claiming her lips in a very long kiss.