Guilty Cravings (The Steamy South 1) (19 page)

She nodded. He told
her every day how much he loved her. Just as she did him.

“The last few months
have been hard,” he said. “Probably harder on you than on me, and I’m sorry for
that.”

She shook her head.
“You don’t need to apologize for that. I was happy to go to Atlanta to spend
time with you.”

Looking more nervous
than she’d ever seen him, he sucked in a deep breath and lowered himself to one
knee. “Emily…will you marry me?”

Her breath stopped as
she studied his dark gray eyes, now going from nervous to smiling. So, that’s
what this was about? He was proposing? “Oh my god! Yes!” She laughed and hot
tears flooded her eyes. She tugged him up and threw her arms around his neck.

He laughed, picked
her up and spun her around. But she couldn’t stop the tears from flowing, no
matter how hard she laughed. Wow! Nick was going to be her husband. Truthfully,
she had been unsure whether he was the marrying type. He’d never mentioned it
the whole time she’d known him. This was a complete surprise.

“Oh, I almost
forgot.” He set her to her feet and pulled a small black box from his jeans pocket.
Opening it, he revealed a large sparkling diamond.

“Wow, Nick,” she
whispered. “Are you nuts? This must have cost a fortune.”

Grinning, he took it
from the box and slid it onto her finger. “Nothing’s too good for you,
sweetness.”

But she knew the
truth. A diamond of this quality and size must have cost a pretty penny. “You’re
the one who’s sweet. I love it.” She kissed him. “And I love you.”

“I love you too.” He
placed little kisses on her lips, then flicked his tongue against them, totally
stealing her breath away again. Each time he kissed her felt better than the
last and she was completely ready to tear his clothes off and drag him to the
bed. But she didn’t get the chance. He lifted her and carried her to the bed
instead.

They quickly
discarded their clothes and made love in the dim glow of sunset and dusk.
Afterward, he held her tightly in his arms.

“So…why don’t we get
married at Christmas?” he asked.

“What? This
Christmas?”

He nodded.

“That’s only a little
over a month away!”

“Yeah. Long
engagements are overrated.”

“But that only gives
me a month to plan the wedding,” she said, panic engulfing her.

“Oh.” He suddenly
looked glum.

“What?”

“You want a humongous
wedding, don’t you? I should’ve guessed, given your profession.”

“Well…no. Not
humongous.”

“Really?” He
brightened a bit. “A small wedding would be better, wouldn’t it? No need to
invite every person we’ve ever met. Just immediate family and close friends.”

She liked the sound
of that. It would be more intimate and fun. She didn’t care for big social
scenes anyway. She’d coordinated plenty of them and knew they weren’t all they
were cracked up to be.

“Yes.” She smiled.
“That would be perfect, actually.”

He lifted a brow. “Really?”

“Of course. Just the
people we’re closest to.”

“So, it doesn’t have
to be so elaborate, nor take much time to organize. I like spontaneity.”

“Me too. I have to
call Tia so she can start helping me arrange things.” She tried to wriggle from
his arms so she could go get her phone.

“Not so fast.” He
dragged her back to him and pulled her leg over his. And since they were still
naked, she felt every bare inch of him. “I’m not yet done devouring my
delicious fiancée.”

She laughed and
accepted his scorching kisses. He then proceeded to devour her in the best way
possible. And she returned the favor.

* * * *

Two weeks later, Nick
and Emily, along with their friends and family were at their engagement party
at a Savannah night club. The party had been arranged by Pierce, Nick’s best man.

“Are you enjoying
this?” Tia asked Emily over the loud dance music.

“Of course. Aren’t
you?”

Tia’s annoyed
expression said everything. “Well, it doesn’t matter. All that matters is that
you and Nick enjoy it.”

Emily did. It
reminded her of the nightclub where she and Nick had shared their first kiss.
It had been so scorching Emily had never been the same since. But she was
concerned about Tia and her horrid mood.

“I didn’t know you
were into dance clubs, strobe lights and mirror balls,” Tia said.

Emily smiled and shrugged.
“Just relax and have fun, girlfriend. At least someone else handled all the
arrangements, right? Besides, we need to let down our hair and go a little
crazy sometimes. We worked hard all summer. Why don’t you go talk to Pierce and
tell him I said thanks for the awesome party.”

“Seriously?” Tia
scowled.

“You know he’s hot
and you want him.”

“Very funny. He’s
barely spoken to me, even when I tried to strike up a conversation.” She
shrugged. “He’s not interested.”

Finding that hard to
believe, Emily glanced across the dance floor at the sexy man in question. His
dark hair and black clothes blended into the dimness. His gaze wandered the
room, then shifted abruptly to Emily and Tia. Or more specifically, Tia.

“He’s staring at you
right now,” Emily said.

Tia turned, but
Pierce had moved his attention to one of his friends as he struck up a
conversation.

“He’s just playing
hard-to-get,” Emily said with a grin.

“Hmph. Well, I don’t
like playing games. Maybe I’ll find some other hottie here tonight.” Tia’s gaze
darted along the dance floor.

“Yeah, why don’t you
do that?” Emily challenged.

“I will,” Tia said.
She drained her mixed drink, then set the glass on a nearby table.

“Don’t get into too
much trouble. I’m going to find my future husband.”

“Great. Have fun.”

Emily found Nick
chatting with a couple of his friends and coworkers. She slid her arms around
his waist from behind. He excused himself from his friends and led her to the
dance floor. She slid her arms around his neck and he pulled her close into a
slow dance.

“You know what this
reminds me of?” he asked.

“Our first dance, and
our first kiss.”

He nodded with a
mischievous grin. “I’m going to kiss you now. Try to make it convincing and
don’t slap me.”

She wanted to laugh,
but his warm sensual lips on hers made all thoughts scatter from her mind. Oh,
it truly was almost like their first kiss all over again. She opened her mouth
and he flicked his tongue inside to tease hers. Arousal electrified all her
nerve endings, just as it had the first time he’d kissed her months ago.

She melted against
him, her body flush to his. He was hard in all the right places. He pulled her
tighter against him, making it clear what he wanted.

He was her fantasy
come true.

Pulling back an inch,
she murmured against his lips. “I love you, Nick.”

“I love you too, Em.”

* * * *

Please look for more
books in The Steamy South Series by Nicole North.

* * * *

About the
Author

Nicole North's contemporary and paranormal erotic romance stories
have been described by reviewers as "exciting, high octane, captivating,
scintillating, sinfully delicious and pure romance." Her stories contain
"heart and heat, killer love scenes, magic and extraordinary characters."
Her books include the following:

Guilty Cravings

Blade of the Wolf