Redemption (The Bet) (57 page)

Peering at her through the dampness of his dark fringe, Nicholas observed Ellie in all her wondrous glory. The very sight of her, warm and beautiful, ensconced by the red coverlet, her skin, illuminated by the crackling embers, like honey gold, gave Nicholas pause, stole the very breath from his lungs and left him dizzy. She was breathtaking, truly, the incarnate of a masterpiece and standing in her presence, humbled him. Because he knew, that he did not deserve this woman and yet, having her, being able to hold and cherish her, made him rise to the challenge, made him better than he was. Nicholas loved her, with every bit of his being, he loved Ellie Holbrook, here, Nicholas grinned--- Ellie would be a Grayson soon. Ellie Holbrook-Grayson---that definitely had a good ring to it.

"You look happy; did you have a good shower?" Ellie asked smiling when Nicholas approached the bed.

"It would've been better had you been there to wash me."

Ellie snorted and lifted her face up to receive Nicholas’s kiss. "You know damn well we never shower when we're together."

Nicholas grinned, "Hmm, but that's the fun of it."

Eyes twinkling, Ellie reached out and quickly pulled Nicholas’s towel away and very leeringly, she caressed his body with roving hazel eyes. "Yes…definitely fun. Dance for me, Nicky."

"You can't handle my moves, lover." He said, swiveling his
hips.

Ellie laughed. "Oh, but I think I can." Rising to her knees, she wrapped her arms around
Nicholas’s neck tugging him on top of her, mindful of her stomach. "I can handle every one of your moves, and then some." She kissed him, long, sweet and heartfelt.

"I think you'd have me beat," he whispered against Ellie’s lips, "You kiss like you fuck." Nicholas rolled over on his side, but remained close enough to trace her face with his fingers.

"I learned from the best." Ellie kissed Nicholas’s fingertips as they settled on her mouth; they trailed away again, sweeping across her cheeks, down the slope of her nose, across her brows and back again to her cheeks. The caress was languorous, the brush of his finger pads, like gentle kisses on Ellie’s skin. "Having fun?"

Nicholas met Ellie’s gaze, and his silver eyes danced with wicked humor. "Lots."

With a tender smile and a shared kiss, they settled into the silence. The snap and crackle from the fireplace played a soothing soundtrack in the background, enhanced only by their rhythmic breathing. Knitting their fingers together, Ellie turned Nicholas’s hand and whispered a kiss to the knuckles, never breaking their gaze; she smiled and squeezed her lover's hand. "Nicky?"

"Hmm?" Languid, melting relaxation weighed Nicholas’s body down; the simplicity of this moment was everything he cherished.

Ellie ran her tongue over her lips, suddenly nervous. "Can you do me a favor?"

"Anything."

"Can you rub my tummy?"

A small pucker immediately appeared between Nicholas’s brows. "Does it hurt? Are you all right?"

Ellie inhaled and slowly exhaled, before turning on her back. "I'm fine, but I think I ate too much at dinner, will you rub it for me, please?" through the veil of dark lashes, Ellie gauged Nicholas’s face and really, she desperately tried not to laugh.

Nicholas slipped his hand beneath the coverlet, his palms immediately circling the flat expanse of Ellie’s belly. "How does that feel?"

"Still hurts, maybe if you kissed it?" She suggested softly, with the best pitiful look on her face.

"You're such a baby," Nicholas teased and Ellie tried not to laugh at the irony of the statement.

With her heart in her throat, she watched Nicholas with unwavering eyes, paying close attention to every minute detail.

Nicholas scooted down the bed, until he was in line with Ellie’s abdomen and very gently, he pulled the coverlet aside, on his stomach, with his weight on his arms, he leaned over, his mussed hair sweeping over Ellie’s skin, he puckered his lips and readied a kiss, but stopped short at the sight that greeted him instead.

Written in bold black ink across Ellie’s smooth honey skin were words BUN IN THE OVEN!

He stared
blank-faced, unable to think, unable to move. Nicholas forgot how to breathe. It was only when his chest burned, the lack of oxygen drying out his lungs that he deeply inhaled. His brain, having forgotten how to function, sparked to life and with it, his body.

He sprang up as though he'd been catapulted and turned to the smiling woman he called lover
and soon to be wife. Unmistakably her joy shown like a beacon, grinning from ear to ear, her hazel eyes, beautiful hazel eyes that forever ensnared Nicholas in their hypnotic spell, shown brilliantly, her mirth unmatched. That mirth however, dimmed a fraction at Nicholas’s silence.

"Nicky, say something."

Nicholas’s brain worked in the attempt to come up with something to say, but words eluded him. Nothing… no words could describe the emotions whirling through him. So he sat there, in a veritable stupor, unable to say anything but stupidly, blankly look at Ellie.

Ellie’s joy vanished, worry and anxiety taking its stead. "Nicky, for God sakes, please say something."

He couldn't! The words refused to come out! Stuck in his throat, he couldn't drag them out!

In the span of a millisecond, Nicholas was before Ellie, framing her face between hi
s hands, he crashed his lips to hers. His tongue, stroked the seam of her lips, demanding entrance and when she gave it, Nicholas spoke the words he could not otherwise say. Like a sonic boom, his emotions, his voice, his sheer happiness, resonated, the wavelengths penetrating, resounding with a marrow-jarring rumble through Ellie’s core.

The kiss was loud, brimming to the point of overflowing with Nicholas’s euphoria and Ellie
heard it, loud and clear, she heard. She felt and she gave just as loudly, just as profoundly, without inhibition. She clung to him, her tongue, her lips, her mouth, matching her lover's passion, meeting him thrust for thrust, stroke for stroke. She didn't want it to end, refused to part from something so profound. Ellie felt as though she was drowning, her lungs burned, but she wanted to fall deeper, she wanted the seduction to never end.

"God!" Nicholas whispered harshly, dragging his mouth away from Ellie’s lips, his breath escaped him in ragged bursts, but he held on. Firmly, as though he would lose himself if he didn't, he held on to Ellie’s round face, his forehead pressed to Ellie’s own. "God…God, Elle." he breathed, incapable of saying anymore. There were tears in his eyes, it stung his lids and only after he closed them did the burn abate. Clear, diamond like tears, trickled down his cheeks and Ellie kissed them away
.

"We're going to be parents again, Nicky!" Ellie rejoiced
giggling at Nicholas’s tremulous smile. "Diapers, bottles and late nights."

"How…?
I thought…"

"I don't know, but it's a miracle, Nicky."

"How…how long have you known?"

"I only found out this morning. But I had my suspicions for a few weeks; I just wasn't sure until, Dr. Morrison's results."

"Morrison was here? When?"

"A few hours before you arrived, before you get all protective on me, it wasn't all that serious, just a silly dizzy spell and now we know why."

"And you've waited until now to tell me this?"

"I didn't want to worry you, but I'm all right now, Nicky and we're going to have a
little baby running around soon!" Ellie smiled beatifically, took hold of Nicholas’s hand and settled it on her stomach. "A baby, Nicky!
Our
baby!"

Nicholas
reverently stared at his hand resting on Ellie’s stomach and the very idea that a child grew there, even now, boggled his mind.

"Our baby." He whispered, yet again overcome with emotion. "God, Ellie, your pregnant!" he grinned and tenderly brushed a kiss to Ellie’s belly and then another, and then another, until it became a shower of sweet butterfly kisses. "Hey in there," he called, "This is your father, can you hear me?"

Ellie giggled and swept her hand through Nicholas’s hair, brushing the silky strands away from his face. "It can't hear you, babe."

"Of course it can hear me. That’s
a Grayson in there.” He grinned at Ellie before returning his gaze to her belly. “Isn't that right? You can hear your father, can't you? You grow up nice and strong, for me and when you're ready to come out, I'll be right there to welcome you into the world. You'll have two sisters and your brother who'll love you to pieces. Your grandparents will just eat you up, but don't worry, your dear ol’ dad won’t let that happen---"

He looked so engrossed speaking to his child that Ellie di
dn't have the heart to stop him. So, with a smile on her lips, she settled back against the mound of pillows, closed her eyes and listened to the sound of Nicholas’s hushed voice.

Finally, life was as it should h
ave been and Ellie Holbrook couldn’t have asked for anything more.

Then End

###

Thank you for reading “The Bet” series. It’s been an amazing journey and I’m so happy I had the opportunity to share it with you.

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