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He surged inside of her again and again with deliberate precision, the friction of his body against her flesh almost painfully good. She came apart on a long, delicious surge of pleasure, her fingernails digging into his biceps. Nik groaned, clasped her hips tighter and came inside of her, the skin of his beautiful face pulling taught as the pleasure consumed him.
Their breathing slowed. Her legs slipped to the floor. The haze of passion enveloping her lasted throughout the hot shower Nik set her under and until he tucked her into the big, luxurious bed. As she drifted off to sleep she curled against his chest.
She didn’t want to think about the jump she’d just taken. The stakes that had been raised, just as she’d known they would be tonight. The fact that if she crashed this time, it would be a far bigger fall than the last.
* * *
Two sun-soaked days passed, and with it Sofi´a’s hope for her and Nik grew. They ate delicious food, played in the sea and indulged in an endless amount of lovemaking that had her convinced her fiancé had the stamina of four men.
It was the time they’d needed to be able to focus on one another away from all the pressure. It had made all the difference in the world. Slowly, Nik was opening up to her. He was still guarded. He would likely always be guarded given his past, but less defensive when she probed, as if he was learning the rules of a game he’d never played. But then again, so was she. In that way, they were perfect for each other.
What worried her, she thought pensively as she watched Nik return from a sail on their final day in Evangelina, his lithe, beautiful body as he secured the boat a major distraction from the sketch pad in front of her, was when they returned to their stressful life tomorrow where Nik literally carried the weight of a nation on his shoulders. Where she was going to have to face the forces that awaited her and somehow not let them destroy her. She feared their progress would be sorely tested.
And that wasn’t even counting the part of her that knew she was falling in love with Nik, something that made her feel like crawling out of her skin. So vulnerable she felt raw and exposed. But she’d promised herself she was going to see this journey through. She was stronger than this as Nik had reminded her the night of their engagement party. She could do this for the sake of her child. And maybe, just maybe, she would end up with far more than she’d bargained for with Nik.
She looked down at her sketch pad rather than let that thought fester. Examined her latest drawing. Still not right. Yet again. Grimacing, she tore the sheet off, crumpled it into a ball and added it to the growing pile beside her lounge chair.
Dammit. Why wasn’t it coming? All those ideas she’d had in her head weren’t translating to the page. She picked up her cool lime drink and attempted to channel some Zen.
Boat secured, Nik loped up the beach and dropped down on the chair beside her. Plucking the glass out of her hand, he drained its contents and set it on the concrete. Her mouth curved. “Is there anything you think is not yours?”
His eyes glittered in the sunshine. “No. Did I not prove that last night? Do you need a reminder?”
Her chin dipped, a wave of heat descending over her that had nothing to do with the sun. “What I need is for one of these designs to work.”
He picked up one of the balls of paper. “May I?”
“Will you be honest?”
He lifted a brow as if to say when hadn’t he been?
“Go ahead, then. I’m working on a maternity line.”
He unballed one of the drawings, then another. Until he’d looked at them all. Twice. A frown of concentration creased his brow. “Well,” she said, teeth buried in her lip. “What do you think?’
He looked up. “Qualifying this with the caveat I know nothing about fashion, I agree they’re missing something.”
“Inspiration,” she murmured. “Nothing’s hitting me.”
He sat back in the chair, sprawling his long limbs out in front of him. “I think you’re doing a typical Sofi´a. You’re going for the safe choices—what you think people will like, approve of, instead of giving your imagination free rein. You’re not fully committing.”
“I am,” she protested. “I’ve been killing myself over these.”
He gave her a look as if to say that was exactly her problem. “Draw something for yourself. Draw something crazy, way over the top to get your creative juices flowing. You can always pull it back.”
She eyed him. “Where do you get all this creativity expertise?”
