Second Nature (4 page)

“Dana, you’re so beautiful. I can’t get enough.”

She lifted her head just as his mouth closed onto one pert nipple. Her fingers gripped his hair to hold him to her. He pulled away and moved to her other breast.

“Nicholas, I can’t take much more. Please…”

Pretending not to hear her, he continued to fondle the tip of her breast with his tongue while situating his leg between her own, spreading them with ease.

“I want to make love to you all night long,” he said.

Dana moaned, giving him all the invitation he needed to be back inside her. He found a rhythm that quickly took him higher until he reached his climax. He shouted his release into the quiet room.

Nick buried his lips into her warm neck, nipping at her skin. Her hands moved lazily over his shoulders and down his dampened back. She seemed lost in thought. He moved to her side, pulling her to him tightly, fearing their lovemaking had been a dream. But this time it wasn’t a dream, she was real. Loving her had been more vivid than any dream he had in the past five years. He loved this woman, deep in his soul.

****

Dana woke several times during the night in a heat of passion, starving for Nick, as he was for her. Their last lovemaking had been under a warm stream of water, and then they’d retreated back to his cozy bed to sleep.

With her hand propping her head up slightly from her damp hair, she lay beside him, watching the moon’s reflection shine off the water to dance along the wall of Nick’s bedroom. The shades over the French doors were still open, creating a romantic atmosphere in the room. He snuggled behind her, his arm snaked around her middle just under her breasts. Heaven seemed like the only word to describe how good his body molded so perfectly against hers. His chest hairs tickled her bare skin, and his legs intertwined with hers.

Dana smiled, remembering the intensity of their lovemaking. Now wasn’t the time to wonder about the consequences and what would happen next, but she couldn’t help but worry. Nick had reeled her in despite her better judgment. She wanted him so badly. This…them naked in bed, should never have happened. Dana needed to leave. She had to get out of his house before he woke up.
Shit. Shit. Shit.

She carefully grasped the arm nestled around her and lifted it slightly to see if he would move. He didn’t.
Whew.
Very slowly, she moved away from him, inch by agonizing inch, until she was free. She immediately sensed the loss of his warm body. When he shifted to lie on his stomach, she paused for a moment to watch him sleep. He was so peaceful and handsome. Her heart ached. Well, no more. She couldn’t go back. The hurt was too deep in her soul.

She sat on the edge of the bed, scanning the room for her clothes. Her dress laid in a wrinkled mess near a mahogany dresser and then she remembered the rest of her clothes were on the kitchen floor.

She eyed one of his Navy T-shirts lying on the old bamboo rocker in the corner of his room and grabbed it as she dashed to the bathroom. Dana held his shirt to her nose before pulling it over her head. It smelled just like him. In the bathroom, she found a pile of neatly folded laundry on the counter. She snatched a pair of boxers, stepped into them, before glancing at her reflection in the mirror. Thankfully she looked presentable wearing a baggy T-shirt and shorts. No one would know the difference. She then tiptoed through his room and down to the kitchen.

Picking up her purse, stockings, and shoes, she called a cab and waited at the door. She had requested the driver not to honk upon his arrival. Not only did she not want to wake Nicholas, because he’d surely come after her, but the sound of a car horn would also wake his neighbors. What a sight they’d get this morning, a woman sneaking out of Nick’s house in the wee hours of the morning. Rumors would be buzzing before morning tea.

Twenty-five minutes later, the cab dropped Dana off in front of Amy’s townhouse. Dana paid the driver, and then said a silent prayer that Dave and Amy had gone somewhere else after the party. She’d sneak in and hope for the best. She dug in her purse for the key, slowly turned the door handle, and stepped into the dark house. No one seemed to be home, but she still tiptoed to the spare room. She dumped her purse by the door and crawled under the comforter, breathing in his scent from his T-shirt. She cried until sleep found her.

Chapter Six

Nick knew Dana had left even before he opened his eyes or moved his hand to where she had slept.

“Damn it.” He pounded his fist into his pillow. “This is not how this was supposed to work out.”

He swung his legs to the edge of the bed, squinting from the bright sun shining through the windows. Reaching for his T-shirt, he frowned. He was sure he had left it on the chair after his workout, but it was missing. Nick laughed. Dana must have taken it. When they were dating, his shirts seemed to disappear and reappear at her house. He loved watching her walk around wearing his shirt. A tempting scent of pineapple and coconut lingered on his clothes when she gave them back to him.

Why was he torturing himself? She had left in the middle of the night and didn’t wake him. That should clearly explain where she stood.

He let out a frustrated sigh and headed for the shower. Damn if the bathroom didn’t smell like pineapples and coconuts. He had created one hell of a huge mess.

****

Dana heard her bedroom door squeak, but didn’t bother to uncover her head. “Go away, Amy.”

She was still mad at her friend for letting her walk blindly into the party with Nick there. The bed dipped as Amy sat on the edge. It was obvious she wasn’t going away.

“I’m sorry,” Amy said. “Just tell me what I can do, and I’ll do it. I feel really bad about this.”

Dana whipped the sheet off her face. “How could you do that to me? You knew what he meant to me. How could you put me in that position?”

Amy hesitated. “I was afraid if you knew Nick was there, you wouldn’t come.”

Dana sat up and stared at her friend. “You’re my best friend. I would do anything in this world to see you happy. It would have been nice to at least know. I could have prepared better to see him.”

“I’m so sorry, Dana. Really, I am. I know you’re angry about how he left, but he seemed so sincere and wanted to make up for the past. The guys had already planned it out, and you had your plane ticket by then. I thought if I told you about Nick, you wouldn’t come. I wanted you here so badly. It wouldn’t be the same without you by my side.”

Oh, geez. Now Dana felt like a selfish idiot. Of course Amy meant no harm. “It was such a shock. I’ve dreamed about him for five lonely, long years, but I didn’t think I’d see him again. I never worked through what would happen if I did.”

“Was it really that bad?” Amy asked.

Dana lowered her head, hoping Amy wouldn’t see the tears that formed at the corners of her eyes. She let out a heavy sigh and fought back the tears. “It was awful…and so wonderful at the same time.” She glanced at her best friend to see a smile cross Amy’s face. “When I saw him, he took my breath away, but then I got so mad and confused. I didn’t know what to do. I panicked, and I ran from the room.”

“I wanted to follow you, but Nick said he had to make things right.”

“I agreed to a truce for your sake. Otherwise, I would have left his house immediately. I may have even left Seattle.”

“Well, I’m glad he convinced you to stay.”

Dana clenched the comforter in her lap.

“So?” Amy asked after a long silence.

“So…what?”

“Don’t
so what
me, girl. I wanna know what happened after Dave and I left. Details, please.”

Dana shook her head.

“Dana!” Amy’s voice held an authoritative tone.

After a moment’s pause, Dana met Amy’s gaze. “I slept with him, all right? Are you happy? I slept with Nick, and it couldn’t have been more wonderful. Even better than I imagined after all these years of my heart breaking every time I thought of him, which was pretty much every damn waking moment of my pitiful life.” At this point, Dana couldn’t stop the tears streaming down her face, and she just didn’t care.

“Oh, sweetie.” Amy pulled Dana in her arms and held her.

“What am I gonna do, Amy?”

“Nick called this morning.”

Dana wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. “What did you tell him?”

“That you were asleep. I didn’t know what happened last night, so there wasn’t anything else for me to tell him. He wants you to call him.”

“I can’t do that.” Dana’s determination to be strong had returned.

“Why not?”

“Because nothing’s changed.”

“Wait, are you telling me you slept with him, but you didn’t talk?”

“I know it was a huge mistake.”

“You’re right. You should have talked first, had sex later.”

Dana laughed. “No, I never should have slept with him at all. He tried to explain, but at the time I didn’t want to hear. I just wanted to be with him so badly. There’s no future for us.”

“Oh, no, you don’t!” Amy shook her head, her hands waving in protest.

“Excuse me?” Dana frowned.

“I will absolutely not let you walk away from this man after all these years, not without hearing what he has to say first.”

“Amy…”

“I won’t let you do it, Dana. You love this man, and I know he loves you. It’s so blatantly obvious.”

“I’m not sure it matters.”

“Of course it matters!” Amy’s scream echoed in the small room. “After last night, do you really think you can leave Seattle, and Nick, and move on with the rest of your life?”

“Aren’t you supposed to be at work?”

“Changing the subject won’t distract me.”

Dana took a deep breath and then sighed. “Honestly, yes, I was hoping.”

“Okay, that’s fine. Bury your head under the covers. I have to go back to work. My lunch break is over, but this discussion is not. Nick isn’t going away, and he isn’t going to let go of you as easily as you apparently think he will.”

“Whose side are you on?”

“You know I’m on your side. He’s a good guy, and he really is sorry. Would you at least agree to talk to him?”

“Fine.”

“So you’ll call him?”

“I’m not sure I can,” she whispered. “I snuck out of his house like a common thief while he slept. He must hate me.”

“Well, I seriously doubt that, but he called, so he can’t hate you that much. He screwed up, now give him a chance to make up. Nick went through an awful lot just to get you to that party last night. He deserves the chance to explain.”

Dana tossed the covers to the side of the bed, nodding her head in agreement. “Man, I have a headache.”

“I have to get back to work. Get your butt out of bed, take a shower, and get something to eat. You’ll look alive and feel better.”

Dana followed Amy to the kitchen and made a pot of coffee. She searched the cupboard for a bottle of aspirin.

“Let me guess, those are his clothes?”

Dana laughed and then winced as her head throbbed. “Yeah, I couldn’t resist.”

“All right, I’m leaving.” Amy hugged her. “It’s going to work out. Trust me. I’ll check on you later.”

An hour later, Dana stared at her reflection in the bathroom mirror. She appeared somewhat human again, clean from a much-needed shower and stomach full from leftovers in the refrigerator. The several cups of coffee she drank along with a couple headache tablets helped ease the pain in her head.

“Now I just need to get Nicholas out of my head, so I can get some work done. Like that’s even possible.”

She unpacked her laptop and spread her paperwork over the bed. Dana anticipated the next week to be busy with Amy and wedding plans, so getting ahead of her own work now would be a bonus.

She checked emails and communicated with her stepsister about handling the customers’ shipments. There were new orders to update on her web site, and a few supply-stock orders she needed to check on. She also jotted down a few ideas in her notebook about a cookbook idea she had been throwing around with one of the editors she knew in New York.

The ringing phone in the kitchen broke her concentration, just about scaring the crap out of her. It was probably Amy checking up on her. What were best friends for?

She snatched the phone on the fourth ring, praying she caught it before it switched to the answering machine. Dana would definitely hear a lecture if Amy had to leave a message.

“Hello.” Dana took a deep breath, her pulse racing from running to answer the phone.

“Dana?”

“Yes…this is Dana. Who’s this?”

She knew it was him when he said her name, but she chose to act naïve.

“It’s Nick.”

“Oh…hi, Nick.”

A dead silence hummed from the telephone line.

“I’m sorry,” Dana finally said.

“I missed you this morning.” Nick said, almost at the same time as her apology. “Dana, I’m the one who should be sorry. Wait, I didn’t say that right. I’m not sorry for what happened last night, but for how the events of the evening took place.”

She didn’t know what to say. She truly thought that sneaking away had been the right thing to do. Now hearing his voice again made her pulse race. She didn’t know right from wrong anymore. With just one sentence, he could make her body explode with longing.

“I’m still sorry though, for the way I snuck out. I was…scared,” she whispered.

“I know my promises don’t mean much at this point, but I do promise to never hurt you again. Could you please let me prove it to you? I have a lot of explaining to do.”

She paused, taking a deep breath. “Okay.”

“Really? Thank you,” he said. “I know it’s a lot to ask, but will you spend the day with me tomorrow?”

“Ah…” She didn’t have any plans and wanted to see him again, yet she wondered if she could keep her emotions under control while being in the same room with him.

“It’s Sunday, and I don’t have to work. I wasn’t sure if you’d go to church with Dave and Amy. If so, I could wait until lunch time to pick you up, and we can go out from there?”

“I’m not sure if that’s a good idea.”

“Please, give me a chance, Dana.”

Oh how she wanted to say yes, throw caution to the wind, and follow her heart instead of her stupid brain.