Open Your Eyes (14 page)

Chapter Twenty-five

Nick

There it was. My declaration of love unmistakably roared into reality.

Set free.

I had tried to hold it back; I knew it was too soon for Natalie to hear it. In that moment when heaven and earth moved, all I could think of was her, being inside her, filling every inch of her with me. I could no more hold it back than I could not know my own name. It was so natural to say what was in every cell of my body. My heart so filled with love for this woman that it felt like it would burst if I
didn’t
declare my love for her.

Silence.

She stiffened in my arms for a nanosecond. No!
What had I done?
I’d ruined it. I knew she wasn’t ready. If only I could keep the words back, if only they didn’t pour from me.

U
nsure what to do next, I squeezed her to me tightly, my face buried in her neck, inhaling her scent. Still buried deep inside her, I wanted to stay there forever; never leaving the soft warmness that was Natalie. She was my home. I knew it. Had known it from that first moment she looked at me. And every day with her had just made me more certain.
Love her more.

My gut clenched.
I trembled with fear. What if she didn’t want my love? What would I do? What if she still loved
him
?
It would be hell.

I felt her hands in my hair, stroking softly. Then a small sigh escaped her lips.

“Nick.” Her lovely voice drifted over me. “Look at me.”

I was afraid. For the first time in my adult life I was more afraid of learning the truth than I was of anything else. Why had I said it?
I had so much to lose.

“
Baby
,” I whimpered, kissing her neck, unable to look at her for fear of what I may see.

“Nick? I need to see you
.”

I understood. When we looked into one another’s eyes there was only
unspoken truth. I raised my head slowly; my eyes screwed shut, closing out everything I couldn’t bear to see. A truth I may not want to know.

“
Open your eyes, Nick.”

Slowly, very slowly, I willed my eyelids to crank open. To look into her eyes.

This is the moment of truth.

What I saw took my breath away
. Her eyes were iridescent, love shining back at me. Gone was the sadness that always nestled there. Radiating from the depths of her soul was unadulterated
love
. Impossible to fake.

The truth I need to see.

“Thank you,” I breathed as I leaned down to kiss her tenderly, our fingers intertwined above her head.

She kissed me back, softly and sweetly. I tasted saltiness on our lips.

Tears.

Mine.

God, my heart burst with joy.

She held my face in her small hands and kissed my cheeks one by one, then my eyelids, and finally my lips once more.

“I love you so,” I groaned against her mouth.

“I know
.” Her lips curved into a smile.

She laced her fingers through mine again and I nuzzled her neck as I slowly started moving inside her again. I couldn’t get enough of her.

“Again?” she whispered against my ear.

“Still
.” I smiled.

The second round was slow; I kissed her lips, her nose, her jaw,
her chin, her neck, her collarbone. I thrust slowly at first, grateful that she would have me. Grateful that my body, even though I wasn’t as young and virile as I wished I could be, could still worship hers. There was no better way to show her the depth of my love than here, inside her, moving as one.

She wrapped her legs around my waist, pushing up to meet my every thrust, running her hands through my hair, chanting my name softly. It sounded like a prayer.

I felt her climax building again, her lips swollen, her nipples peaked as they rubbed against my chest. I could make love to her all night, riding her, feeling her surround me.

Natalie pushed against my shoulder
s and rolled us over, now she was on top of me, her hair in my face, and her cheek on my chest as she lay on top of me for a few moments, squeezing her legs together so I could feel her around my shaft. My heart raced and blood pumped vigorously through my veins. She sat up and grabbed my shoulders, my hands settling on her hips. The sweetest smile was on her lips.

Natalie
looked like an angel.

My angel
.

She started moving on top of me. Her breasts slowly moving up and down as she rode me,
cautiously at first, a faint blush spread over her skin as she bit her lower lip. I could tell she was shy, so my hands on her hips helped her slide up and down my shaft; increasing the rhythm as I felt my insides tighten and my cock harden to steel. I didn’t think it was possible that I could get this hard so soon after climaxing, but my need for her kept building.

My
gaze drifted over her body, her full breasts swinging faster now with the increased speed of our thrusts. Her nipples erect, pink and puckered, I licked my lips as my mouth watered for them.

“Lean over,” I commanded
gruffly and as she did I drew a nipple into my mouth and sucked hard. She pulled in a sharp breath and let out a slow moan, writhing on top of me.

She leaned back once more, grasping the tops of my thighs.
Watching the spot where we joined as she slid up and down my cock, I groaned. I reached down between us and found her sweet spot, wet and swollen. My thumb circled her clit and she let out a gasp as her eyes widened.

“Fuck me
, baby,” I choked out. “Fuck me hard.”

Our
rhythm became frantic, my thumb pressing into her flesh, her breasts swaying; her eyes hazy as I felt her clench and squeeze my cock. She shuddered as she peaked, her orgasm taking her over.

Frenzied, s
he slammed down onto my balls and they tightened before releasing into her. My hands left her hips and cupped her breasts, rubbing her nipples to and fro with my thumbs as I pumped into her. She fell forward, her face buried in my neck.

“Baby, that was amazing,” she whispered.

I grinned from ear to ear. “
You
are amazing,” I said, kissing her hair.

Just then we heard the church bells ring out and a lot of noise outside. People shouting and whistling.

“Happy New Year.” She smiled as she leaned in to kiss me.

“Happy New Year, my love
.” I kissed her back. She still held me inside her.

I pulled the
quilted blanket up around us. We lay like that for the longest time, her cheek on my chest. Both out of breath at first; then slowly settling down as I stroked her hair then caressed the soft flesh of her rounded bottom. Leisurely I ran my palms up and down her spine, feeling the sexy curve of her back and she sighed against me.

My Natalie.
I was the luckiest man alive. She hadn’t said the words I longed to hear, but I knew she loved me. It was in her eyes – in her very soul.

We had the rest of our lives to look forward to. I could wait.

She completely owned me.

It felt so good, so right.

Chapter
Twenty-six

Natalie

Nick’s big hands rubbing up and down my spine, caressing my skin so lovingly, lulled me to sleep.
He said he loved me
. My heart filled with so much love and joy, that after all that lovemaking and multiple orgasms, my mind and body shut down. My breathing slowed as I lay on top of him, completely exhausted.

He had the stamina of a man half his age
– I was in trouble. But it was a good kind of trouble, and I was so up for it. I’d had such a long dry spell; there was a lot of catching up to do. Bring on the multiple orgasms… I let out a contented sigh. For now I just gave in and treasured the moment, I fell asleep in Nick’s arms, his body blanketing mine.

L
oud noises at the front door startled me. Nick and I were still in front of the fireplace, wrapped in a blanket, where we had fallen asleep.

“Shit!” Nick groaned as he
jumped up, and still naked, wrapped the blanket around my body and scooped me up into his strong arms. He carried me up the stairs, which creaked under our joint weight. Instead of taking me to my bedroom, he carried me directly to his room and laid me down on the bed in the semi-darkness.

“
Tonight we sleep together,” he said softly as he pressed a kiss to my forehead. “I need to hold you all night – feel you against my body.”

“
Our clothes…” I whispered, panic setting in.

“Don’t worry
.” He chuckled softly. “It's nearly dawn; the kids will be so tired they will sneak off to bed without going into the living room. Once they settle down, I will go and fetch the evidence of
our
New Year’s Eve party.” He winked at me.

Nearly dawn? How had that happened?

Nick placed a finger over my lips before I could speak. “They are adults. Let them enjoy themselves. The girls were safe with Josh and Connor.”

We listened, holding our breaths as footsteps creaked up the wooden staircase and doors squeaked in the silence of the night. “Shh
.” Someone giggled before a door closed rather loudly. I tried not to imagine who went into which rooms, and if my daughter would be admiring male appendages.

A
robust appendage throbbed at
my
hip.

“I’m greedy
.” He smiled sheepishly. “I can't get enough.”

“Stop talking.” I pulled him down and kissed him thoroughly, the warm pulse unfurling inside me rushing to all the spots that needed his touch. I wanted Nick’s hands and mouth on me, loving me.

He crawled behind my back and snuggled into me. His big hands cupped my breasts and this thumbs thrummed over my pointy peaks. His cock lay between the cheeks of my ass, heavy and hard as steel, and I pushed back to feel every inch of its girth against my softness. He kissed the sensitive flesh on my shoulder and neck before licking along the shell of my ear. His tongue was warm and wet and sent shivers down my spine.

Next his hand slid between us and he directed his shaft into me, groaning loudly as he did. I bit my lip, trying to control my cries as he filled me from behind.
God, this was so good.

It got even better. Nick’s hand slid down my stomach and cupped my mound. His fingers slipped deftly into the wet, swollen folds and strummed my clit. I pushed my ass back into him, wanting him as deep as he could go. One hand on my breast, the other on my
sex, filling me from behind… there was only so much I could take before completely coming apart. I placed one hand over each of his and let out a guttural moan, my head thrown back against his shoulder as I burst into a mind-blowing orgasm.

“Nick
, baby, fuck me,” I cried as his teeth sank into my shoulder and he pumped into me, his hips slapping furiously against my ass as the mother of all groans left his body.

He finally stilled behind me and I could feel a smile creep over his lips against my back. “Fuck, I love it when you talk dirty,
baby, it makes me come so hard.” He chuckled, his thumb still making small circles between my legs.

T
he sensation was pure bliss – I was amazed at how long I wanted his hands on me, even after I had climaxed. I’d never had this pleasure before, always in a hurry to jump up and clean up after sex, thinking it was over once we had both reached orgasm. Nick was teaching me otherwise. He taught me to take my pleasure and hold on to it for as long as my body craved it.

And that’s how we feel asleep again, his body wrapped around mine, my hands laced over his as he held my breast in one and my mound in another, him still deep inside me.

Chapter
Twenty-seven

W
oken by banging on Nick’s bedroom door, I sat up in a panic.

“
Nick?
” Olivia’s voice was frantic, pleading. “Sorry to wake you, but where is my mother?” 

F
inding me in Nick’s bed shouldn’t be such a shock to her – Olivia was a big girl now. Surely she understood at some level that this was inevitable?

Nick
sat up looking dazed and confused, his hair mussed. “I’m here, Livy,” I cried out before he could answer.

“Mom,
it’s Daniel. He wants to speak to you,
now
. Says it's urgent. He's been trying to call you all night and can't get hold of you on your phone.” Her voice sounded borderline hysterical.

“I'm coming
, sweetie, hold on,” I shouted, frantic now, as I wrapped the blanket around my body.

I strode to the door, turned the key and
yanked it open. Olivia looked at me, wide-eyed, taking in my just-fucked hair, the blanket wrapped around my naked body and Nick sitting up in the bed, only a sheet covering his assets. She shoved her phone into my hand. Her face was white as the snow outside, but somehow I knew it wasn’t what she saw here that upset her.

It was the caller on the other side of the world.

“Daniel.
Is everything OK?”
I blinked as I looked at the time on the clock next to where Nick sat, his face contorted with worry. It was 4:27 am in New York. Surely Daniel knew about the time difference of sixteen hours between us. My heart squeezed in my chest and I struggled to breath. If Daniel, my practical oldest child, knew it was close to the break of dawn in New York, something serious must be wrong.

Was the lag in conversation due to the phone line or just my imagination? Daniel didn’t answer, the seconds ticked by while my heart beat in my throa
t. “It's Dad,” he croaked. “Dad had a heart attack.
You have to come home
.”

“Is he…” I choked. I couldn’t bring myself to say the words.

“He's in intensive care. Alive; but barely. He needs you now, Mom. We all need you. Please come home.” His ragged breath barely contained his sob.

“He's alive.” I let out a breath. “When did it happen?”

“A few hours ago. Robert and I’ve been at the hospital since we found him on the floor… in his study. We thought he wasn’t going to make it. It was terrible!” His voice quivered and I knew he was trying to be strong for his younger brother and for me.

“Is Robert OK?” My youngest child was the most sensitive of the three; it would hit him the hardest. Just like our separation did.

“Yeah, he's trying really hard to be brave. But he needs you now, Mom. And…so do I.” It was rare to hear Daniel admit that he needed me; he was the strong and independent big brother. Saying it in as many words was a
bad
sign.

“I’ll be on the earliest flight back possible. But you know it's a long flight, even if I come immediately, it w
ill be at least 24 hours till I'm home. Will you be OK till then?” I closed my eyes and leaned against the door.

“
Olivia. You have to bring Livy too, Mom. She’s going to freak when she hears about Dad.” Daniel’s voice was laced with concern for his little sister. My heart leapt into my throat. Sweet Jesus, I was going to have to tell her what happened. By the look on her face, she already knew something serious had happened.

“We’ll both be home as soon as we can. I’ll let you know the details as soon as I make the arrangements. Stay strong, Daniel. Help your little brother… and your father. I love you.”
Tears strangled my voice.

“What’s wrong?”
Olivia’s face crumpled with worry. “Why are you crying?
What the hell happened?
” Her voice rose as her alarm grew.

“It's your father,” I said as calmly as I could, even though I couldn’t control the stream of tears rolling down my cheeks. I
reached out quickly and took her hands in mine. “He’s OK now, but he had a heart attack only hours ago. We have to go home, sweetheart.” I watched as the blood drained from her face. I hugged her closely – I needed comforting as much as she did.

“I can't believe it! He's always been so fit and strong. And he's still so young. It can't be!”
Olivia protested, her tears spilling onto my shoulder. She was the apple of her father’s eye. Daniel was right about her freaking out.

“I’ll make the arrangements while you get ready. It's a long way home, so we better get going.”
My practical side kicked in. No time for hysterics now. I’d have enough time to digest it all on the long flight back to Sydney.

Nick was by my side
; he had slipped into his sweatpants while I comforted Olivia. His eyes were wide, and I could see my own terror and fear reflected back at me. He swallowed hard, unable to speak.

Olivia turned around and went off to her bedroom just as Sarah peeked her head out of her room. I heard her follow Olivia to the room, their voices drifting to me as if in another world.

Nick placed his dressing gown over my shoulders and I shrugged into it, wrapping it tightly around my still naked body. In a daze, I followed him down to the kitchen where he placed a telephone receiver in my hands. Nick started brewing coffee; I suspected he needed something to keep him busy. He hadn’t uttered a word since I had spoken to Daniel. He placed a cup of coffee on the counter in front of me as he gently pushed me down on a chair.

I explained our situation to the
operator, not holding much hope to get a flight home quickly. But to my surprise, I learned that our airline made provision for circumstances like these. They promised to call me back within twenty minutes to give us details. Twenty minutes to grab a quick shower, pack our things and get ready to go to the airport.

Twenty-eight
minutes later, my phone buzzed. They were able to squeeze us onto the next flight. But we had to rush – it was leaving in less than five hours and we still had to get from the Hamptons to JFK, go through security and customs and board on time. The kind lady suggested the plane would be delayed up to fifteen minutes to give us extra time to get there, but beyond that, we would have to wait twelve hours for the next flight to Sydney.
We simply have to make it to this flight.

It was a whirlwind from there.
Olivia helped me get our things together, both of us shaking; from the cold at this time of morning and from a deep fear within us both that something would go horribly wrong before we could get back home. That Gabriel would have a turn for the worst. I didn’t want to think about it, but Daniel warned me that the doctor said Gabe wasn’t out of the woods yet. Anything could happen in the next twenty-four hours. And Olivia and I would be stuck on a damn plane.

Half an hour later, Olivia and I huddled up in the back seat of Nick’s car. I closed my eyes, immense turmoil flooding my heart and brain.

I couldn’t shake the memory of the haunted look in Nick’s eyes as we said a quick goodbye. I had pecked him on the cheek, his expression drawn, his eyes bewildered, as he stood by the car door before I quickly scrambled in beside Olivia. Words failed me – I didn’t want to upset him further. But more to the point: I didn’t want to say goodbye like this. I knew our time together would inevitably come to an end, but I had hoped for a better farewell – and more time.

Precious time snapped away from us now.

In an instant everything had changed.

As the sun rose,
Nick’s driver sped us to the airport. Luckily for us, the roads were relatively quiet by New York standards. I had insisted that Olivia and I should leave alone. Right now I couldn’t deal with saying goodbye to Nick so unexpectedly on top of the burden of what waited for us back home.

Sadness overwhelmed me as I
remembered the taxi ride taking us from our home to the airport in Sydney only two short weeks ago. It felt light years away. So much had happened since then.
I was a different person then.
But in my wildest dreams, I never imagined this would happen. Gabriel having a heart attack was not part of the plan.

Neither was meeting Nicholas Gallagher.

Would Nick understand that I had to do this? For my family and for Gabriel? It was hard enough understanding it myself; I was compelled to go home to my nearly ex-husband, to be by his side in this time of crisis. To just be there for him and my children.

Even if it meant leaving like this.

More tears trickled
down my cheeks. This time they were for Nick.