Open Your Eyes (7 page)

Chapter Thirteen

Nick

“Dear God,” I breathed, unable to keep my silence any longer. The fool! I could strangle him with my bare hands! How could he inflict this much pain on the woman he was married to and supposedly loved?

But I needed to know this about Natalie if I was going to make her mine. I needed to know what I had to do to take the sadness from her eyes, so that when I looked deep into her soul it was gone
– banished forever. I wanted to replace the sadness with joy, with lightness, with passion. I wanted to light the fire in her soul. I wanted to see her passion and fire blazing for me.

Above all,
I wanted to wipe her memory of everyone who had come before me. I wanted the chance to make her forget everything that made her sad.

The beast in me
wanted to take her in the most primal ways, but I had to bide my time, take it slow.

For now all I could do was to
wipe the tears rolling down her cheeks, her beautiful face contorted in pain, her eyes still squeezed shut tightly.

“Look at me
, Natalie,” I commanded softly.

S
he did, slowly, as if her lids were too heavy. Tears trembled on her thick lashes.

“Listen to me.
Gabriel is a fool
. He must have his own demons that have nothing to do with you, yet he projected them on to you because
he
didn’t know how to deal with them.”

She looked at me, confusion in her face. I had to get through to her. “
You are so very beautiful, so worthy of loving,” I breathed, tracing my fingers over her jaw line, her soft wet cheeks, the shell of her ear. Tenderness welled up inside me, filling my heart. I had to let her understand how utterly desirable she was.

“Every time I see you, my heart melts. Just being near you makes my insides go crazy – my heart wants to jump out of my chest…and, my dick, well…” I licked over my
parched lips. Best not talk about the raging hard-ons I had just
looking
at her, imagining being buried deep inside her. I didn’t want to scare her with the intensity of my desire.

“Tonight when I saw you standing there in front of the fireplace, your beauty and grace dazzled me. I had to fight
my instincts to not tear this sultry red dress off you with my teeth and ravish your delectable body on the spot.”

My hand caress
ed the skin on her neck, skimming along the edges of the fabric of her dress, down the delicious V where her breasts dipped. I was burning from the inside, my fingers trembling slightly as they brushed over the peaks of her breasts.

I groaned.
“The gentleman in me is having a really hard time controlling the beast within me. I want you so much it hurts.”

Her eyes widened.

She has no fucking idea what she does to me.

Her full lips opened slightly as she gasped, glistening in the glow of the fire. I had to taste them –
now
. I leaned in and sucked those luscious lips into my mouth, sipping at them. The fire roared from my gut to my chest, igniting every nerve ending along the way.

As luxurious as the fabric
of her dress felt, I wanted to feel her bare flesh. I pulled at the tie. Her dress fell open, and it was my turn to gasp as I drank in everything about her. Her full breasts spilled over the sides of a sexy black satin and lace bra, which barely contained her sweet flesh, her nipples straining against the fabric. I sucked in a breath at the sheer beauty of her smooth lily-white skin, begging for my lips and hands to worship her.

“So fucking beautiful,” I growled, my heart hammering
in my chest as I undid the clasp behind her back and slid the bra off her arms. Her berry pink nipples puckered as the cold air hit them, causing my cock to jerk in my pants.

My hands reverently floated over her creamy soft skin, sending tingles of pleasure up my spine.
An overwhelming urge to feel the weight of those sumptuous breasts filled me, so I gently cupped them, stroking over her pebbled nipples with my thumbs. She trembled. I knew it wasn’t because she was cold. Her eyes were the deepest inky blue I had ever seen, intense longing radiated from them as we gazed at one another.

I liked what I saw.

She wants me as much as I want her.

M
y head dipped to her breasts. Desperate to taste her, I sucked a nipple into my eager mouth and felt it harden under the onslaught of my tongue, I rolled her free nipple between my fingers, plying it like putty.
God, that soft moan
...

Covering
her other breast, I kissed and sucked at her skin as I went between them. I lightly nipped the tight bud and felt her stiffen for a second before a moan escaped her lips. I lavished my tongue on her nipple, easing the sting I knew she felt.

Natalie’s
fingers twisted and pulled the strands of my hair as she tried to contain her pleasure. She arched her back, allowing me to take as much of her breast into my mouth as was possible. She wanted more.

H
astily I pushed the dress down her hips and legs till it pooled at her ankles. She lifted her legs and kicked the dress to the side. My breath hitched. I wanted to devoured her. She was even more beautiful wearing only a scrap of black satin and lace to cover her feminine mound. The contrast between the black fabric and her soft white skin sent my blood rushing, whooshing in my ears.
I simply have to taste her.

K
issing my way down her belly, my tongue dipped into her belly button, circling slowly as I worked to rid her of her panties. She lifted her bottom to help me, and I groaned loudly as her mound rose up toward me. I couldn’t hold back any longer. I knelt down in front of her as she pressed back into the cushions. She closed her eyes, licking her lips – still swollen from when I had sucked at them, glistening in the light. But I wanted her feminine lips now – to taste her essence.

H
er legs parted, exposing her core to my hungry eyes. All the air squeezed from my lungs as I shoved my hands under her ass, gripping the soft flesh, digging my fingers in hard. A gravelly moan escaped my lips as she opened her legs and I saw how wet and swollen she was, ready for me. I slipped my tongue between her wet folds, delighted by her unique taste.

“Ahh, you taste so sweet!” I
mumbled as I sipped at her sweet nectar. Her clit was hard as stone; I circled it
langorously with my tongue, enjoying her moans – louder now – edging me on to pleasure her. She arched her back, pushing her mound up for me to take her fully. I greedily obliged.

Taking
the lashings from my tongue, she slid down the cushions and placed her legs over my shoulders so I could have even better access to her. Her breath hitched as I plunged my tongue into her soft core, fucking her with it. She writhed, tilting her mound higher, moving her hips in unison to the rhythm of my tongue.

“Nick,” she groaned.

“Come for me, baby,” I croaked, hardly coherent, as I felt her core tighten.

She let out a cry, then my name as she shudder
ed under my mouth. I went back to her clit, licking with long strokes, encouraging every last spasm from her body.

“So good,” she moaned
, her voice husky and sexy as hell. I chuckled – that was exactly what I wanted to hear.

I lifted from my knees and bent over to kiss her.

Natalie smiled seductively at me, and my heart did a summersault. “Thank you for making me feel beautiful,” she whispered.

My
gaze slid over her body; a fine mist covered her skin, making it glow in the soft light of the fire. She triggered something primal in me that I couldn’t resist.

“That’s because to me you are the most beautiful woman in the world
.” I grinned sheepishly. I wasn’t done with her yet; my cock strained against my zipper in agony, aching to get inside her. She must have seen the depth of my desire for her in my eyes, for she drew in a sharp breath.

Her fingers were at the buttons of my shirt, trembling slightly as she undid them
. I was desperate to get out of my clothes, to sink myself into her slick hotness, so I helped her by unbuckling my trousers and slipping them off quickly. She gasped as she looked down at my arousal tenting my boxer shorts. I imagined her mouth around my cock, and it twitched in anticipation. I was so hot for her I would probably start coming as soon as I slid into her wetness.

My mouth went dry as she reached down and slid her hand under the waistband of the boxers, the back of her hand brushing over my skin.
Fuck, it felt so good.

Ding Dong. T
he doorbell. Our heads jerked toward the sound in unison.
Who the hell…?
Raucous giggling followed.

N
o! Not now!

Natalie
’s eyes widened, but she gained her composure first. She scrambled to her feet, grabbed her clothing off the floor and rushed down the passageway, looking for the bathroom.

“Just a minute!” I growled as I looked down at my erection, still half
-mast and definitely not ready to settle down. What the fuck was I going to do about that?

I pulled my shirt back on as well as my pants
, rearranging my dick so it lay flat against my pelvis. It throbbed painfully, screaming for release. I grabbed a thick sweater hanging on the hook in the entrance hall and pulled it over my head to hide the lump in my pants. The lump in my throat was going to be harder to disguise.

Frustration seething,
I combed my hands through my hair and padded my way to the door. The two young ladies burst in giggling.
What the fuck?
My driver, Hank, stood behind them. I shot him a look to kill. Why had he brought them back this soon? I had given clear instructions to not be disturbed. I needed time, alone, with Natalie. Now they were standing here on my doorstep.
Damn
.

Hank sensed my anger and quickly explained, “They were having too much to drink
, sir. And then two gentlemen approached and invited them to go home with them. I thought it safer to deposit them back here, even if it was a bit early, to be on the safe side.”

“Thank you
, Hank. It was the right decision given the circumstances,” I acknowledged with a nod. He breathed a heavy sigh of relief and tipped his cap as he retreated.

“
You
, young ladies, come inside,” I ordered.

Olivia
stumbled inside, nearly tripping over her own feet. Sarah thought it was hilarious and laughed out loud, snorting. I could see why Hank was concerned. They were plastered.

“My mother…where is she? I don’t want her to see me like this…
” Olivia slurred.

“
Take Olivia to the guest room,” I instructed Sarah as I put an arm around Olivia to steady her. She squeezed my bicep with both of her tiny hands.

“Oh, what strong arms you have, Nick. No wonder my mother likes you
.” She started another bout of uncontrollable giggling.

“Sick. I'm going to be sick,” Sarah wailed, her complexion a shade of green. I grabbed her around the waist and dragged the
m both to the guest bathroom.

Natalie came
down the passageway. “What’s going on here?” Her gaze shot to the girls, and she instantly knew the answer. She jumped forward, caught and lifted her daughter’s hair just as Olivia lurched forward and hurled into the basin. Sarah wriggled free from my grip and sank down to the floor, hugging the toilet as she vomited into it.

I watched
, stupefied. I’d never seen Sarah drunk. She went out and partied, but I had never seen her slaughtered like this. Usually she had a few drinks, but she was always a perfectly behaved young lady. I shook my head in disbelief.

“A wet cloth please
, Nick?” Natalie's soft words floated through the fog in my brain. I jumped into action and found the basket with facecloths, running two of them under cold water. I followed her lead and wiped Sarah’s face with the wet cloth as she wiped Olivia’s.

After a while, the girls settled down and
we virtually dragged them to the spare bedroom, depositing each of them into a double bed. The girls were out cold.

P
ulling her into my embrace, I wrapped my arms around Natalie. She rested her head on my shoulder, fisting my sweater as she trembled. “I've never seen Olivia like this. I'm afraid, Nick. This isn’t just getting drunk. The way they are passed out cold suggests something else happened.”

“What do you mean?” I was a street wise guy, but never having
had kids of my own, I wasn’t used to handling situations like these.

“Drugs. I mean drugs,” she whispered
, dread in her voice.

M
y stomach lurched. “You don’t think they took drugs, do you? I don’t think Sarah does drugs – at least I didn’t think she did. This is serious.”

“Their
drinks could have been spiked,” Natalie choked out. “Just think what could have happened to them if Hank hadn’t brought them home…”