Page 24 of One Kind Soul

“Hell no.” Christian traced a fingertip along her bottom lip. “I’m completely sure I want this. It’s all I can think about which is awesome, considering only about ten minutes ago, I was thinking about getting steamrolled by a van.”

She took the packet from him, tearing it open and rolling the condom onto his length. “I’m sure I want this too, Chrissy. I want it more than I’ve wanted anything in a long time.”

He coaxed her up a little so he could reach her lips and they dove into another steamy round of kissing. Then he gently rolled them so she was on her back and he was supporting himself over her. The muscles in his arms and chest were taut as he hovered and while Nicole never liked the plank position when she exercised, Christian made it a thing of beauty.

“Let’s celebrate that we didn’t die today,” he whispered right before he slid into her, filling her in a way that expelled the emptiness that often made her feel separate from life around her. The emptiness her sister had started creating when they were kids.

The emptiness that threatened to swallow her sometimes.

She didn’t feel any of that now. She was completely focused on this moment, these sensations, this man. Nicole hiked up her legs, allowing Christian to plunge deeper, claim more of her, unite them. Each drive in and each glide out pulled her farther under the surface. She tended to stay in shallow waters, not trusting that she could stay afloat if she gave over control to someone else. She’d tested this in the past and frequently drowned when the waves crashed and the seas turned rough.

But Christian wouldn’t sink her, would he? She didn’t know him well, but maybe that was what would make this time different. She’d never had sex with a guy she’d just met. On the third or fourth date, sure. But technically, she and Christian hadn’t even had one date. He’d only intended to be her ride.

And now I’m riding him.

But they hadn’t had any relationship going before she’d started what they were doing now. And what were they doing now? Having sex. That was all. Two people trying to settle themselves after enduring a traumatic event together. It was all very . . . clinical actually. A way to reset their clocks after today’s events.

Why didn’t it feel clinical though?

Christian plunged into her, his rhythm quickly ferrying her out to water she’d never treaded before. Hell, she couldn’t see the shore anymore. What scared her was that she didn’t care. She’d keep swimming with him no matter how far he took her. She might sink to the bottom, but she didn’t care right now.

Nicole met each of Christian’s kisses, each of his thrusts, and before she could take in a deep breath, he’d pulled her under the surface with him. She expected to gasp for air, to choke, to black out as the pressure of the abyss crushed her, but instead, she was weightless, carefree as she floated on bubbles and held on to him. He shook in her arms as she spasmed around him then he collapsed on top of her and she wrapped her arms tighter around him.

“Wow.” The word was muffled as he spoke it into the curve of her neck. “Cheese curls and mind-blowing sex. This might be my favorite night ever.”

He eased out of her and took care of the condom, but he was back in a millisecond. She hadn’t moved from her position on her back. Christian climbed on top of her again and stayed on all fours, looking down at her.

“Tell me you’re not going back to Room 513, Nixen.” He sifted his fingers through her hair, fanning it out on the bed beneath her. “Tell me you’ll stay right here with me.”

Nicole rose to her elbows then sat up, nudging Christian off her. She slid off the bed and walked, naked, to the adjoining door that was still open. She peeked into her room then looked back to Christian, whose pout was absolutely adorable. As if he might throw a tantrum if she left him alone.

“I’m thinking we ought to see if that bed is as good as this one.” She pointed into her room then at his bed. “I didn’t only buy a single condom, you know. Those things come in boxes.”

The smile that bloomed on Christian’s face was something Nicole would never forget. She couldn’t remember a time she’d ever made a man that happy. When he got up from the bed and stalked toward her, his naked body drool-worthy in every sense of the word, she knew they’d make excellent use of both rooms tonight.

****

Nicole’s chest rose and fell as she slept beside Christian. Sunlight streamed in from the sliding glass door, turning her skin golden and making her black hair shine. They’d tested the bed in her room and the experience had been better than their first time. Of course they’d had to do it once more back in his bed, just to be sure, but yeah. Both rooms were great places to get it on.

And get it on, they had.

He rested his arm along his forehead as he rolled to his back and stared up at the ceiling in his room where they had stayed after test number three. Christian had not expected to have sex with Nicole once, never mind three times, but holy shit. Being physical with her was unlike anything he’d done before. Sure, he’d been with a fair amount of women, but he couldn’t recall a single time when the chick had been the aggressor. He hadn’t known what he was missing by always being the first one to get the party started. When Nicole had stepped into his room and kissed him like that last night, his brain took a few seconds to figure out this new puzzle. His body certainly enjoyed his brain’s decision to go with it. He would have been a complete moron not to have gone with it.

Who said no to a beautiful woman like Nicole?

Although, he sensed she didn’t play the role of initiator often. While she’d attempted to give off a determined, I-got-this air, something told him Nicole wasn’t all that sure of herself or of what his reaction to a kiss would be.

By time number three, she was comfortable in that boldness. At least that was the vibe he got off her when she’d slithered her way along his body, dropping little love bites along his flesh as she moved. God, he’d loved being her cheese curl.

Looking at her now, sleeping peacefully beside him, he composed a mental list of all the things he wanted to do with her in Vermont. All the things he wanted to show her. All the places he wanted to take her. All the people he wanted to introduce her to. All the spots he wanted to kiss her. Yesterday may have sucked with that accident, but things were looking up for the rest of the week and into next week.

Before Nicole had to return to Kauai.

His balloon deflated a little, but he quickly brushed the disappointment aside, choosing to take a live-in-the-moment attitude that would carry them through her two-week stay in Vermont. They didn’t have to have it all figured out right now.

Unable to resist any longer, Christian sidled up behind Nicole and circled his arms around her waist under the covers. She wiggled a bit, her bare ass brushing against his quickly hardening dick, and mumbled something he couldn’t make out. He took the rim of her ear between his teeth and lightly tugged before soothing the spot with a kiss. A purr vibrated from her and shit, he loved that sound.

“Good morning,” she said in a raspy voice, making a move to turn around.