Open Your Eyes (10 page)

Chapter Seventeen

Nick rose from the carpet and held out a hand to pull me up. “Time for us to prepare dinner.” He pulled me into his arms. “And let me congratulate you on your win too,” he said as he leaned down to kiss me gently. It was over all too soon. He tugged me
toward the kitchen. “Pasta. From scratch. Delicious, quick and easy.”

“What do you mean from scratch?” I ventured.

“We make and roll our own pasta. It's so fresh. Haven’t you made your own before?” he asked when he saw the puzzled look on my face. “I’ll show you how, it's a lot of fun and once you’ve tasted it you’ll never go back to store bought pasta.”

This man never ceased to amaze me with
his talents. He was pure genius at everything he did, and now clearly at cooking too. Truth be told I wasn’t sure my strategy at Scrabble was going to work, but I wasn’t going to admit that to him. I was looking forward to being served breakfast in bed way too much for that.

He tied an apron around my waist, then moved my hair to the side and planted a kiss on
my shoulder before tying a bow behind my neck.

“Let's prepare the pasta
dough first; I’ll get all the ingredients from the pantry.”

“That’s
it? Only flour, eggs and salt?” I said as he returned and placed the ingredients on the marble counter. I watched as he made a mound of flour on the counter top. Then he formed a well in the center of the flour and cracked four eggs into it. He grabbed a fork and gently whisked the eggs, gradually drawing in the flour till the dough became thick.

“Wow, that’s fascinating,” I said, perving at his thick sexy forearms and slender hands as he so expertly started kneading the dough. I could watch him all day and never grow tired. Next he shaped the dough into a disc and coated it lightly with flour. He wrapped it in plastic
wrap and set it aside to rest.

“Now comes the fun part
.” He winked at me and I grinned like a kid in a candy shop.

“What’s that, rolling it out?” I clapped my hands in glee as he set the pasta machine in front of me.

“Not yet. The dough has to rest for thirty minutes. The fun part is
kissing you
while we wait.”

He grabbed me around the waist and pulled me to him. He smeared a line of flour on my cheeks and nose. “So cute and adorable,” he rasped as he leaned in for a kiss. It
had been a very long time since anyone had called me cute or adorable. It may have been my aunt when I was five or six.

I
leaned over and grabbed the packet of flour and poured some over his head.

“You rascal!” he cried as the white powder settled on his hair and face, even in his
lush eyelashes. He snatched the packet from my hand and sprinkled some over me as well.

“Oh no,
I just washed my hair this morning.”

“You should have thought of that before you got into a food fight with me
.” He grinned.

“Not so cute and adorable any more, am I?” I laughed as I tried to shake the flour off.

Nick just squeezed me tighter to him. “Oh yes, even more cute and adorable now and totally kissable.”

He swooped down and kissed me,
dipping me in a ridiculous tango-like grip. I lost my balance and slipped on the flour that had settled on the floor, pulling Nick down with me.

“Oh I like this,
a roll in the flour!” He rolled our bodies till we were completely covered in a fine white powder. I landed underneath him, pulling him down by his collar for a kiss.

“What the hell…”
Olivia walked into the kitchen, followed by Sarah. “You guys are hilarious.”

Nick and I looked at each other
. Without saying a word, he jumped up, grabbed hold of the packet and sprinkled flour on the girls too. They shrieked and begged him not to, but he didn’t stop till the packet was empty and the kitchen covered in a fine layer of flour.

“Fine mess you got us into
.” Nick laughed as he pulled me up from the floor.

“We were just on our way out,” Sarah wailed, “and look at us now. We’re all messed up.”

“Well, if you had checked with me first, I would have told you that you aren’t going anywhere tonight. Not until Josh gets here and can accompany you.”

“We don’t need a babysitter,” Sarah retorted, clearly not happy.

“I'm sorry, sweetheart, but until the drama from Christmas Eve is solved, the two of you aren’t going anywhere without protection,” Nick said, a hard edge to his voice that didn’t invite arguments. “I'm not trying to spoil your fun. It's simply in your best interest, to keep you safe.”

Olivia
rolled her eyes and looked at me, pleading.

“I agree with Nick, I don’t want you going out either
, young lady,” I said, keeping my voice stern too.

“Tell you what, why don’t you invite your friends over here. Natalie and I will make the pasta and they can all join us for dinner. It will be fun. I’ll even let you play the music loud,” Nick tried to comfort them.

For a man who never had kids of his own, he sure was smart in dealing with them to reach a compromise that satisfied both sides.

“I guess that sounds OK,” Sarah agreed
. “I’ll just have to call them after we clean up this mess you made.”

“Just one more thing,” Nick said, cocking an eyebrow
. “Nobody brings alcohol or drugs of any kind into my house. I will provide the drinks. Otherwise the deal is off.”

We all started cleaning the kitchen surfaces till they looked sparkling clean again; then we went for a quick shower and change of clothes while Sarah rang her friends.

Back in the kitchen, Nick was dicing onions like a pro chef when I walked in, scrubbed clean, his hair still damp from the shower. I stood behind him and put my arms around his waist and hugged him, my cheek to his back. “You’re a good man,” I whispered. He set the knife down on the counter, and turned in my embrace. I stood on tiptoes and pulled him down by his shirt collar.

“Now where were we with the kissing?”
He chuckled as he leaned down to kiss me, careful not to touch my face with his oniony hands.

His eyes were glowing
. I wasn’t sure if it was from the onions, so I let go and started chopping the tomatoes and fresh herbs for the sauce. Nick washed his hands and poured us each a glass of red wine, holding mine to my lips to take a sip between chopping.

The aroma of fried onions and garlic filled the kitchen and my stomach rumbled. I scraped the other chopped ingredients into the pan
and added a generous swig of wine to the sauce. As I stirred the sauce, Nick sauntered over and placed his arms around my waist, his chin resting on the top of my head. “Let's taste for seasoning,” I said as I held out a spoon for him to sample.

“Delicious, all it needs is a teaspoon of brown sugar,” he said as he smacked his lips.

“Sugar? Are you serious?”

“Yes, little one, it brings out the
flavor of the tomatoes. I learned that in Italy.” He chuckled as he found the sugar bowl. “Now let the sauce simmer as I show you how to roll out the pasta.”

All my married life
, cooking had been a chore, not one I particularly enjoyed. Gabriel barely knew where the pantry was, never mind what was inside it. Sure, Gabe would fire up the barbeque on occasion, but that was the closest he ever got to cooking. The idea of us preparing a meal together, over a glass of wine, would be ludicrous to him. The kitchen was a woman’s domain and Gabriel wasn’t changing his mind about that the last time I checked.

Which also meant Gabe seldom helped with the washing up or unpacking of the dishwasher or any other kitchen chores. Besides taking the rubbish bins out every Thursday – which I had to remind him
of every single week. Go figure.

When the kids were littl
e, he sometimes helped them get cereal. But that was because he hated them spilling milk over the table. And I remembered one Mother’s Day when he helped the kids make toast and tea. All in all, that was the limit to his culinary skills.

So, being with a man who not only knew his way around the kitchen, but who was also adept at cooking and cleaning, made my heart beat a little faster. If only men
realized that the quickest way into a woman’s heart – and into her pants – was to allow himself to be a little domesticated. Women found that sexy, it certainly was a huge turn-on for me.

Nick had rolled
up his sleeves, exposing the sexy section of his forearm again. He certainly had my full attention. I took a sip of wine to wet my dry mouth as I watched the palm of his hand flatten the dough. It was corny, but I wouldn’t have minded if he was kneading some part of my body so deliberately with his palms.

“Now catch the dough as I put it through the rollers,” he instructed. He turned the handle as the dough fed through. He folded it and passed it through again, repeating the process many more times, till we ended up with a very long, very thin sheet of pasta.

“It's magic.” I laughed as he took the sheet from my hands and laid it down. He rolled the sheet into a log and cut the roll into thick slices.

“To prevent it from sticking, it needs to be lightly coated in flour,” Nick said as he unrolled our strips.

We repeated the process with the remaining three balls of dough till we had enough fettuccine strips to feed an army. Next we cooked the fresh pasta in a large saucepan of boiling water until al dente.

Nick clinked his glass against mine. “To cooking many more dinners together,” he said as he gazed into my eyes, grinning widely.

“I hope so too,” I said as I took a sip of my wine.

Yes
, please, many more nights of this.

We served the pasta
and sauce in bowls with crusty bread to Olivia and Sarah and all their friends, while Nick and I hung out in the kitchen, eating our meal while chatting and drinking more wine.

If only every day of the rest of my life could be like this.

Chapter
Eighteen

Nick

“Hmm,” Natalie moaned softly as I brushed my lips over her closed eyelids, the tip of her nose, her chin and finally her soft lips. My nose nuzzled her neck as I let my hand run down her side, over her ribcage and the curves of her hips. She fit my hand so well I couldn’t resist touching her.

Her eye
lids fluttered open, as if she was resisting opening her eyes. But when she saw me, she inhaled sharply and opened her eyes wide. A smile twisted at the corners of her mouth, sweet and inviting.

“I thought I was dreaming,” she whispered
huskily as a rosy blush flushed over her cheeks. The haze of sleep made her soft and sensuous. I drank her in. She was my Sleeping Beauty, and I wanted to be her Prince Charming.

“I hope the real thing i
s better?” I rasped, trying to control the urge to ravish her on the spot, wanting so much to feel her softness yield beneath my hands and mouth.

“Hmm, di
vine,” she said as her hands ran up and down my arms. I dipped my head and kissed her lips softly as she speared her fingers through my hair.

“Breakfast is served,” Sarah announced from the doorway with
Olivia in tow. Natalie’s arms fell from around my neck. I groaned.
These goddamn interruptions must stop, or I'm going to lose my mind.

Sarah,
Olivia and I had prepared breakfast for Natalie as was our agreement, but I had hoped to share it with her alone. The young ladies must have read the disappointment on my face.

“If you don’t mind, we would like to go into town this morning. We already ate our breakfast downstairs. We’ll set up your breakfast by the window and then we’ll be gone
.” Sarah winked at me as she placed the tray on the table, setting it up for two.

Natalie reached for her dressing gown and slipped it on before rising from the bed. But not before I got a glimpse of her full breast
s straining against the thin satiny fabric of her nightgown. I smiled impishly. This could turn into a great breakfast after all.

She padded over to the table as I drew the blinds up to let the morning sunlight stream into the room. As she sat
down, the light caught her hair; it shone with red glints that I had never noticed before.

“Fresh fruit salad and freshly
-squeezed orange juice,” she marveled, clearly very pleased at the feast in front of her. I dished scrambled eggs into my plate and buttered my toast, suddenly ravenous.

I let her eat in peace, before pouring us both a cup of coffee
, inhaling the rich aroma. “The cops are investigating three men in regards to what happened on Christmas Eve. Turns out you were right – the drinks had been spiked.”

Natalie
blew out a long breath, her hand trembled as she spilt coffee into the saucer. She set the cup down with a thump. “Who would do such a thing?” she breathed, her lips thin. Her hand flew to her chest.

“I don’t have all the information yet, but the cops seem to think they have the suspects under surveillance.”

“How long have you known this?” she asked, her eyebrow raised. “Since Christmas lunch? Then why are you only telling me now?” There was an edge to her voice I hadn’t heard before.

“
Yes, I found out then. But I was so angry I had to get hold of my emotions before I could tell you. Besides, we are miles away; there wasn’t anything we could do. I called Josh and told him what happened and that’s why he decided to come home. He wanted to be here to protect the girls. It looks less obvious if he hangs out with them than Hank or a bodyguard. And I promised my friend Tom, the chief investigator, that I would stay away and let them do their job.”

“You should have told me sooner
, Nick. I need to know these things,” she sighed.

“
I know. I'm sorry, I didn’t want to spoil everyone’s Christmas and yesterday was so perfect, I just wanted to hold on to that for a while.” I knew my reasoning sucked, but it was the only explanation I could give her. “But I knew sooner or later we had to face reality. This is why I am telling you now.” If only we could be doing other things right now instead – involving her, the large bed and me.

She placed her hand over mine. “I know you are trying to protect me, and I thank you for that, but we need to always be honest with one another. We need to share our feelings – good or bad.
” The smile tugging at her lips belied the seriousness of her gaze. “That’s what friends are for.”

“Ah, friends,” I ground out. If she knew how much I wanted her at this very moment, she wouldn’t be calling us
friends
. She pulled her hand away and poured fresh coffee into our cups. Her dressing gown slipped open, revealing the slender column of her neck to where her bosom rose. Desire flared in my groin, making it uncomfortable to sit still.

If only I had my camera now
, I would take such beautiful pictures of her. Her natural beauty in the soft morning light was beyond description.

“You look so beautiful, so soft and pure
.”

She sat back in her chair, staring at her cup for a few moments before answering. “Oh Nick, what your eyes see can be so deceiving. I am anything but pure
,” she said, her voice strangled.

“Well
, that’s how you appear to me. Especially compared to myself over the last few days.”

“What do you mean?” she asked, confusion in her eyes.

“Jonathan. I want to kill him with my bare hands. Those are very impure thoughts
,” I admitted reluctantly.

“But why? What has he done?”

“It appears he is behind the drink spiking,” I bit out, the anger seething through me at the thought. I clenched my fists open and closed, the desire to smash them into something overwhelming me.

“What?” Natalie
huffed. “How is that possible? And why?”

Her
wide blue eyes reflected concern. I had to tell her the truth.

“There has been a feud between
us since college days.” I closed my eyes before continuing. “I nearly killed Jonathan then. I should have finished his miserable life all those years ago… this would never have happened,” I gritted through my teeth, raising my gaze to meet hers.

“Nick,” she gasped, clutching at her chest.

“He fucked me over then, cheating with my girlfriend. The girl I was going to propose to. Only I caught them together. Betrayed by my own family. I had always treated him like a brother, yet he went behind my back for years and screwed every girl I had ever been with. They all liked the bad boy in him and the secrecy.” I sighed. “That’s why I never married. I could never trust a woman again.” I rubbed at the pain in my chest, I had thought I was over that by now, but obviously that wasn’t so.

“I'm so sorry,” Natalie said
quietly, understanding flowing from her.

“He's trying to get back at me for being banished to London for years. That’s why he gave the pills to two strangers to seduce our girls.
He engineered the whole thing – an act of revenge. It was no accident that he showed up at the theatre that night. And since then he's been stalking us; first me, then Olivia and Sarah too.”

Natalie shuddered, her mouth open as she stared at me.
“But how did he know?”

“He came storming into MoMA after the incident
at the theatre, threatening to press charges because I hit him. Then he made lewd remarks about you and the girls. I lost it. I warned him to stay away, that if he even attempted to go near you I would rip his head off. That’s when he saw my weakness. You.”

“Me?”

“Yes. The thought of him touching you or of you wanting him drove me mad. The past – I could let go of that – but never you, Natalie.” I pulled her up from her chair and buried my face in her hair, inhaling her singular scent deeply into my nostrils. Just holding her did strange things to me: it calmed me and yet it also excited me beyond words. The contradiction scared me; I’d never felt this way before.

Her fingers tangled in my hair, stroking softly. “It's OK,” she whispered, “I only want
you
.”

M
usic to my ears. I pulled her closer to my chest and she melted into me. “You don’t know how much that means to me,” I murmured, my mouth only inches from hers.

T
he satiny fabric on her back seared as I leaned down to take her mouth. She moaned softly as I kissed her, plundering her mouth with my tongue. I couldn’t hold back any longer.
I want her to be mine.

My hand slid up her spine, then slipped between us to cup
her sumptuous breast that had been teasing me all morning. “I want you so much,” I groaned as I rubbed my pelvis against her so she could feel my desire burning for her. By rubbing my thumb over the satiny fabric, I enticed her nipple to peak under my touch, delighted that I could enflame her desire as easily as she did mine.

W
alking her backwards toward the bed, I lay her down gently. She stared at me with luminous eyes, the dark rims even sharper by contrast; her lips quivering.

This was my chance to take her.
Finally, I had her all to myself – alone in the house. Hurriedly, I pushed my Ugg boots off my feet and pulled my T-shirt over my head and crawled onto the bed next to her.

Her hands reached out and smoothed over my abs and chest lovingly, she kissed my chest while her fingers explored further. My heart hammered in my chest, I was sure she could feel it beneath her fingertips. I groaned loudly as she kissed the base of my throat, then my shoulders, her hands never leaving my body. She caressed my jaw with featherlike strokes
, then ran the back of her fingers up my cheeks and along my brow. My whole body relaxed, giving in to the pleasure of her caress.

She leaned over, kissing me softly on my lips, her breath warm on my skin, her breasts squashed against my chest.

I rolled us over, covering her mouth with mine, tasting her. My hands fumbled at the tie of her dressing gown, pulling at it till it fell open and my hands could reach inside and cup her breasts. I slid the thin straps of her nightdress off her silky shoulders as I planted kisses all over her chest. Her nipples were engorged and begging for my mouth – I sucked one into my mouth. Chill bumps raced across her skin – it totally unhinged me. She sighed, whimpering my name into my ear.

My dick strained against the zipper of my jeans. I wanted to feel her stroking me
, loving me, until I filled every inch of her with my aching cock. My heart beat loudly in my ears, and I swallowed hard as my cock pulsed. Natalie must have felt it, because she reached out and unzipped my jeans, bringing some relief to the pressure.

“Free me, now.” I groaned as her fingertips brushed over the sensitive tip still inside my boxers. I closed my eyes in anticipation.

Her palm covered my grateful cock, stroking it while her other hand cupped and squeezed my balls. Dear God, this was what I had been waiting for. I wanted more, I wanted those luscious lips around my tip, kissing and sucking – hard. I wanted to feel her tongue slide up and down the length of me. I wanted…

The doorbell rang. “Fuck!” I growled. “Who the hell – ”
It rang again accompanied by loud banging. “For Christ’s sake!” I spat out as I sat up, bewildered. I had reached the limit of how many interruptions I could tolerate. My phone vibrated in my pocket. “What the fuck?” I grumbled as I retrieved it and looked at the screen. Josh.

“Hi, Uncle Nick – surprise! I'm at the front door. My plane landed earlier than expected so I got a ride with a friend. Please open, it's freezing out here.”

“Give me a minute
,” I grouched as I tucked myself in once again. Biting into her lower lip, Natalie covered her beautiful breasts. I shrugged and gave her an apologetic look before I made my way down the stairs.

Josh was standing at the door, shivering. Served him right for not calling earlier –
to give me
some
warning that he was on his way. Next to him stood his friend, Connor, who I had seen grow up in front of me. They were really good guys, but their timing sucked. I sighed and let them in.

“I hope it's OK we came straight here?” Josh
mumbled, sensing my restlessness.

“Of course it is,” I said, pulling first Josh then Connor into a bear hug. “Your sister and her guest,
Olivia, have gone shopping. They will be pleased to see you. Come in, I’ll get us some coffee and we can talk about what happened on Christmas Eve before they get back.”

A
djusting my dick, I led the way to the kitchen and prepared the coffee machine. It would be a while before I was alone with Natalie again. I hadn’t had a case of blue balls like this in a very long time.
Suck it up, Gallagher.

“I haven’t spoken to the
girls about my suspicions yet, I want to get all the details first. But I want both of you to look out for your sister and Olivia 24/7. Don’t let them out of your sight when you are out. Are we clear on that?”

They both nodded as I handed them their cups of coffee and we sat down at the kitchen counter.