Coming Apart at the Seams (15 page)

She pressed the button to play the DVD and waited for the opening credits to fill the screen. They had debated which movie to watch, going back and forth between her favorites and his, until he'd taken it upon himself to make the decision alone.

She had no doubt they'd end up watching
Terminator
 . . . again. The man seriously loved his cybernetic organisms. She, on the other hand, seriously loved Nick Priest.

“What are we watching?”

Nick slanted an amused glance toward her. “
Groundhog Day.
”

Groundhog Day
was her favorite movie, but Nick wasn't a
fan. Apparently he didn't like watching a womanizing jerk relive the same day over and over until he finally—
finally
—got a clue. Maybe
Groundhog Day
hit too close to home for Nick.

And now I'm just being bitchy.

“Are you going to make rude noises throughout the whole movie like you did last time?” she asked.

He narrowed his eyes. “Maybe.”

Nick switched his attention from her leg to her other foot, pressing his thumbs deep into the arch.
Bliss!

A low moan escaped her. Maybe she didn't need to have sex with Nick to have an orgasm. He might be able to make her come just by rubbing her feet.

He shifted deeper into the sofa, shaking his head slightly. Teagan cocked her head.

“Why don't you like
Groundhog Day
? I love the idea of being able to relive the same day.”

He didn't answer, just continued to massage her foot, and she pressed her toes into his stomach. His entire body jerked, his eyes shooting to her face.

“Don't you have any days you want to relive?”

“No,” he replied slowly, his eyes bright in the shadows of the living room.

“What about the day of the Super Bowl? You could relive how great it was to win.”

“No,” he said again, laughing softly.

“Why not?”

He stared at her for a moment. “I could never catch that ball again.
Never.
”

She nodded. No one could believe he'd caught it. It had been uncatchable.

“You should relive bad days. Not good ones,” he added.

“What do you mean?”

“Leave good days alone. Fix bad ones.”

She considered what Nick had said. She'd always imagined how great it would be to relive the good days, to enjoy them over and over again. But having the opportunity to relive a day that went sideways, to go back and fix something that went wrong, would be beyond awesome.

“Do you have a lot of bad days you'd like to relive?”

“Some,” he replied, looking down at his lap as he continued to rub her foot.

Even though people assumed Nick's life was perfect, she had no doubt he'd had his fair share of bad days. Yes, he was talented, good-looking, and wealthy. But he'd grown up without a mother, raised by a father who was, by all accounts, a cold, unfeeling asshole.

He had lived his entire life without love, while Teagan had been blessed with an abundance of it. Her life was filled with people who loved her: parents who would do anything for her; brothers who adored her; and friends who cherished her.

But she was greedy. She wanted Nick to love her.

It wasn't a date. It
wasn't
.

That's what Nick told himself as he walked down the hallway to Teagan's door. It was her birthday, and the two of them were going out to dinner before heading to a new club to listen to some music.

Friends dressed up and went out together all the time. It wasn't a big deal.

When he had told Letty about their plans, she'd grinned. “I wondered why you bought a new suit when you have a closet full of them . . . and a new shirt and tie . . . and new shoes.”

As he'd left his condo to pick up Teagan, Letty had smoothed his Dolce & Gabanna suit jacket and adjusted his tie before patting him on the cheek. It was something a mother would do for her son on prom night.

“Enjoy your nondate,” she'd said, an amused twinkle in her eyes, as if she knew the truth.

And maybe she did. Maybe she knew how badly Nick wanted this to be a date—how much he wished the night would end with him and Teagan naked.

Reaching Teagan's door, he smoothed his hand over his hair to make sure it wasn't sticking up and adjusted his tie for the fifth
time. He shot his cuffs, the gift bag in his left hand shaking with the motion.

As he stared at the smooth wooden door in front of him, he took a deep breath and then another. He couldn't ever remember being nervous over a woman, not even when he'd been a teenager. Even back then, he had been in control of his emotions.

But he was nervous now—nervous about a nondate with a friend. He knocked on the door, and a few seconds later, he heard Teagan's muffled voice.

“Just a minute,” she called.

He took another deep breath, readying himself for his first look at her in three weeks. As she had predicted, she'd given him the flu. It had lasted for more than a week, and he had been sicker than he'd ever been.

Letty, bless her soul, had been there to take care of him. And he'd needed all the TLC she had provided. Teagan had texted to check in, but he hadn't told her he'd been sick because he hadn't wanted her to feel guilty.

He adjusted his tie again and inspected his new shoes while he waited for Teagan to open the door. The door swung open, and he jerked his eyes from his Salvatore Ferragamos to Teagan. He sucked in a breath when he saw her, astounded by the vision in front of him. He couldn't remember ever seeing her dressed up like this.

Holy shit, she's stunning. Absolutely stunning.

Her dark hair was arranged loosely on top of her head, drawing attention to her neck and shoulders. Her emerald green dress left most of her upper chest bare except for wide straps, and her breasts plumped above the low-cut square neckline. The gold and emerald necklace encircling her neck drew attention to the creamy mounds, and he struggled against the impulse to bury his face in her cleavage.

Her dress flared from her waist in floating folds, hitting well above her knees. Sheer stockings encased her shapely legs, and nude-colored heels covered her feet. They were so high he wondered how she could walk in them.

As he brought his eyes to her face, he noticed the green dress made her eyes look even bluer, so vibrant they were almost indigo. Gold eye shadow shimmered on her lids, and her long lashes framed her eyes.

“Hi,” she said, her glossy lips turning up in a bright smile. “I'm sorry I made you wait.”

He didn't respond because he was even more tongue-tied than usual. She opened the door, waving him in, and he trailed after her.

“I need to grab my coat. It's way too cold for me to go out without it. I'll be right back,” she said over her shoulder as she headed down the hall to her bedroom.

Placing the gift bag on the tall granite bar that separated the kitchen from the living area, he shoved his hands in his pockets to make some extra room near his crotch. He exhaled loudly, wondering how he was going to hide an erection in his new suit pants. They were a tad more formfitting than his others, and he should have thought about that when he'd had the pants fitted, damn it.

“Is that my birthday present?” Teagan asked as she came back into the living room, a cream-colored wool coat hanging over her arm. “Can I open it right now or do you want me to wait?”

He nodded, tilting his head toward the brightly colored gift bag. She smiled and threw her coat over the back of the barstool before eagerly reaching for her present.

Digging through the pink tissue paper, she pulled out a square leather jewelry case. She placed it on the bar and opened the lid, gasping when she saw the necklace inside.

He knew she collected vintage jewelry, and he'd wanted to give her something she would like. He had contacted a local jeweler and told him what he was looking for, and the jeweler had found several pieces for Nick to review.

Before he had begun the search for her birthday present, he hadn't known diamonds could be almost any color. He'd seen white diamonds, of course, as well as yellow, brown, and pink, but he hadn't been aware there were blue, green, and orange diamonds, too.

He had debated over which piece to buy her, but he hadn't been able to resist this necklace once he'd seen it. It was a collar of white and colored diamonds set in platinum and cut in the shape of various flowers that were interwoven together with smaller diamond clusters.

He moved to stand beside her as she gazed down at the
necklace. He'd never bought a piece of jewelry for anyone, and he hoped he'd done a good job picking something Teagan would like.

“Nick, this is beautiful,” she said huskily before looking up at him. “You know, most women would say something like ‘It's too much. I can't accept it.'”

He shook his head. He wanted her to have it. He wanted to give her something special, something that would remind her of him.

“But I'm not most women,” she continued, a glint in her eyes he didn't recognize. “I'm going to put it on and twirl around the room.”

He laughed. She was right. She wasn't most women. She was one-of-a-kind.

Removing the necklace from the case, she turned so her back was to him. She bent her head forward until he could see the fine dark hairs at the nape of her neck. He wondered what those tendrils would feel like against his lips, and his mouth tingled.

“Would you take off my necklace so I can put this one on?”

He unclasped the emerald necklace, laying it on the bar. She handed him the one he'd bought her, and he draped it around her neck before closing the clasp.

He ran his finger lightly across the precious metal, and although he told himself he needed to stop, he stroked it along the slope of her shoulder, relishing the feel of her soft skin. She slowly turned to face him, and he dropped his hand.

Placing her palm over the necklace, she traced the gems with her fingers. “How does it look?” she asked, gazing up into his eyes.

He stepped back so he could get the full effect of the necklace. Ever since he'd seen it, he had thought about what it would look like around her neck, resting above the enticing swells of her breasts.

It looked even better than he'd imagined, and when he was alone in his bed late at night, he would think of her wearing nothing but this necklace. He would think of her on top of him, the diamonds glinting against her chest as she rode him, and her name would be on his lips when he came.

“Nick, how does it look?” she repeated.

Clearing his throat, he pressed his tongue against his front teeth to get his mouth to work. “Perfect.”

She smiled and twirled around, her arms outstretched and her head tilted back. Her dress belled outward at the motion, and he saw a flash of a garter belt and the tops of her stockings under it.

Seriously?

What woman wore a garter belt and stockings nowadays? Didn't they all wear pantyhose, the least sexy undergarment in existence?

Nick squeezed his eyes shut, knowing his late-night fantasy now included a garter belt and stockings. And maybe the shoes. They were pretty hot, too.

Opening his eyes, he saw her stumble to a stop. She laughed as she teetered a little on her heels before making her way toward him. When she got close enough, she grasped his biceps, leaned up, and kissed his cheek. It was so close to his lips he felt as if she had kissed the corner of his mouth.

“Thank you so much,” she said as she drew back. “I will cherish this necklace.
Always.
”

She looked at him, and her lips quirked a bit. Reaching up, she swiped her thumb across the outer curve of his lips.

“Lipstick,” she explained before pointing to her own lips. “It's a new color called ‘Inevitable.' Do you like it?”

He imagined her on her knees in front of him with her “Inevitable”-shaded lips wrapped around his cock. Yeah, he liked it just fine.

*   *   *

Nick silently cursed Letty. It was her fault he and Teagan were having dinner in a restaurant better suited for lovers than friends. He should have known she'd been up to something when she had convinced him to change the reservation at the last minute from the restaurant he'd chosen to one her chef friend had recently opened.

Located in a trendy area of Boston, the restaurant was dubbed Plum, and now that he was there, he knew why. The entire décor was done in shades of plum, from the dark brownish-plum wood floors to the light lavender color on the walls.

It should have been ugly, but somehow it worked. In fact, the whole space was amazing.

He and Teagan were ensconced in a high-backed booth upholstered in dark purple velvet. It was encircled by floor-to-ceiling plum-colored curtains, and the filmy drapes created a sense of intimacy, along with the dim sconce lighting on the wall and the votive candles on the table.

The restaurant was beyond romantic. It gave off a sensual, sexy vibe, and if he and Teagan were more than friends, this was exactly the kind of place he would have taken her right before he took her back to his condo and stripped her out of that green dress.

Nick fought the urge to loosen his tie and pop the top button on his dress shirt. He was overheated and on edge, and he wasn't sure how he was going to get through the rest of the evening without jumping on Teagan like a rabid dog.

He wondered if there was a way he could graciously get out of taking her to the club after dinner. Maybe he could fake a stomachache.

Every time he saw her, he promised himself it would be the last time. And yet he always broke his promise because he didn't have the willpower to stay away from her. Somewhere—somehow—he was going to have to find some. Otherwise, he was going to ruin the best thing in his life.

“I'm so glad I'm spending my birthday with you. And I'm so excited about this club we're going to later.”

Her eyes shone in the glow of the candles, and her luscious lips turned up in a small smile. She was happy, and he didn't have the heart to disappoint her by cutting their night short just because he couldn't stop thinking about her naked.

“This is such a unique restaurant,” she added. “It's so . . .”

She pressed her lips together, clearly trying to come up with the right word to describe it. She gave a little shrug, which made her necklace—the one he'd given her—sparkle in the light.

“It's so
lush
,” she said finally, nodding a little bit, as if she were agreeing with herself.

He stared at her, trying to keep his eyes on her face.
She
was lush, from her thick hair and plump lips to her ample breasts and curvy hips.

She took a sip of merlot, and he watched as her pink tongue darted out to swipe a rogue droplet of wine. His cock twinged, and he knew a full-fledged erection was only moments away if he continued to look at her lips. He pulled his gaze from her and fiddled with his silverware, just to keep his eyes off her.

“This is probably the last time I'll get to have any fun for the next couple of weeks because midterms are coming up.”

He nodded. Teagan was a very dedicated student, and he knew she studied a lot. She claimed she had to hit the books hard to get good grades, but he doubted that was the truth. Without question, she was the smartest person he'd ever met. If brains were cars, Teagan's was a Ferrari, while everyone else's was a Ford.

“But after midterms, I am going to
relax
with a capital R. Bebe and I are going to Bora Bora for spring break, and we're going to lie on the beach and drink margaritas.”

Nick imagined Teagan in a skimpy bikini, her breasts overflowing from two tiny triangles and her pussy barely covered by a strip of stretchy material. He cleared his throat to push back the moan that had built there.

Thank God she was going with Bebe. If she'd told him she was going with Marshall, he might have tracked down the other man and caused him bodily harm to prevent him from vacationing with Teagan.

“Marshall invited me to go skiing with him in Whistler, but I wanted to go somewhere warm,” she added.

He clenched his fingers around his knife. The relationship between Teagan and Marshall must be serious if the man had asked her to spend spring break with him. But if it was that serious, wouldn't she have celebrated her birthday with Marshall instead of Nick? Wouldn't she prefer to spend this special occasion with the other man?