Page 67 of Nick

"You let me win," I mumble, staring at the dark wood of his door.

His arms tighten, and he gives me a little shake. "No, I didn't. It was too important to fake Bree. You needed to see how strong you are. You're a fucking powerhouse. And if Tyler pulled that shit today, he'd be a sniveling mess on the ground. I am completely certain of that."

My head droops in relief. I thought I was doing well, but it also seemed impossible that I could overpower a man as big as Nick. But it's just like Becca promised me. It's about leverage, not about strength. "I hate to admit it, and if you tell her, I'll deny it, but Becca was right. I do feel stronger."

His low chuckles sends a shiver dancing along my skin. "I won't tell her, promise. Her head's big enough already." A wave of gratitude washes through me. Becca was there as soon as I was healed, offering to train me. It took me a while to agree, and a while longer to get comfortable. Maybe comfortable isn't the right word. It took me time to feel not broken. But now? Tonight. I feel almost like me. And that's a really good place to be.

"Nick," I say suddenly. "Let's go inside."

He's silent for a long moment, then slowly, deliberately, like he's giving me time to change my mind, he reaches for my left hand. Holding my wrist, he brings my palm to the scanner next to the door. All the doors have it, an uber level of security set up by Declan. Cara and I didn't used to use it, but since they've been together, Declan's been pretty insistent. But it's a shock when it scans my palm, and Nick's door opens with a click.

"Wait...what?" I say breathlessly. "Why does my hand open your door? Does yours open mine? Can anyone get in?" I'm spiraling a bit, I know it. But until this second I didn't realize how comforting that layer of security was to me. The idea that anyone can come in scares me.

"Shh, no Bree," he says soothingly. "It's just you. I asked Declan to add your print to my door. Just mine. Yours is still just you and Cara."

"Oh," I say with a breathy exhale. Thank god. I didn't like the idea that Declan would betray us like that. "When did he do this...why?"

Nick covers the hand still pressed on the scanner, interlacing our fingers and bringing our joined hands to his mouth. I turn my head, resting it against his shoulder, so I can look at him. I want...no, I need answers.

"After the first night you came to me," he says, eyes looking distant. "I didn't know if you would ever need to get in here without me, but I wanted you to have the option. I wanted you to be able to get to me if you needed me."

"What did Declan say?" I ask breathlessly. We're supposed to be friends, but having a key to a guy's house isn't really a friend thing. "He doesn't know about our...sleepovers does he? That's supposed to be just between us."

"He was a little suspicious, but I told him that we've been hanging out just like he wanted, and that I didn't want you waiting in the hall with takeout."

I raise my brows at him and he grins, some of the tension breaking. "Weak, I know. But he bought it. It probably helps that Cara was wearing his favorite heels, and kept walking back and forth, teasing him. Well, that's what he calls it anyway. She just calls it working."

"What do you think?"

"I think she looks for all kinds of lame excuses to see him during the day. She plays it cool, but we all know she's nuts for him. And him for her."

"Yeah, they're pretty lovey. She didn't talk about him a lot, before they were together I mean, but when she did, I knew there was a spark there."

"A spark," he murmurs, pressing his lips to my palm. There's a roaring sound in my ears. All I can focus on is his plump lips against my skin. I want those lips on other parts of me.

Now.

"Nick," I say, my voice raspy and low, "take me inside."

The arm around my ribs tightens, and then I'm airborne, toes a few inches from the floor as he slowly walks inside. He lowers me just inside the foyer, then turns me and presses me against the wall. "Don't move."

I nod dumbly, and stay exactly where I am, watching as he grabs our bags, bringing them into the foyer, and shutting the door firmly behind him. He presses something on the panel next to the door, and Privacy Mode flashes on the screen. Privacy seems like a really good idea.

Our bags are dropped against the door, and Nick's dark figure is looming in front of me. His hands go to the wall next to my head, one muscled leg pressing into the seam of my thighs. Head lowering, he brushes his lips against my hair, my brow, my cheekbone, gliding all the way to the corner of my mouth.

"What are we doing, Carino?" he asks again. "Just a few nights ago, you were in my bed telling me you weren't ready for this. For any of this. We agreed to stay friends. But this is not what friends do, Bree. My friends don't look at me the way you do. Like you're thinking dirty things about me. Like you want to be under me. Friends don't look at me like they want me inside them."

My core clenches, and a low moan escapes. "You're right. I said that. I did. I meant them. Then."

"So what changed? I need to understand Bree. I won't let this break us. I won't do anything that might hurt you or scare you. I can't...I can't be someone that hurts you."

I search his eyes, sad for the pain I find there. Pain that I caused. Not because I did anything, but because this man has feelings for me. "I don't want that either," I wet my lips, and raise my hands to his neck, cupping the sides and running my thumbs along his jaw. "I don't know exactly what I'm ready for. I don't think I can know that until we're in the moment. But I do know just being friends is dumb. I can't even believe I'm saying this, but I want more with you. You're such a good man. The best, really. You're nothing like the guys I've dated before. Nothing. And I like that. But it's not just about you, not really. It's about me. I feel different. Today made me feel different. Stronger."

"You are strong. You're the only one that didn't see it," he says fiercely.

His breath catches as I lift and press a kiss to the underside of his jaw. It flexes under my lips. Then, with a rumbling growl I feel right on my clit, he takes my mouth. It's not a tentative kiss. There's nothing delicate or first time about it. He kisses me like he's been waiting to devour me. Like he knows exactly how good I taste and he's desperate for more.

He holds me with a fierce tenderness, like he never wants to let me go. It's the single hottest moment of my life. Better than anything I've felt before.

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