Warning: The end of this chapter should perhaps be rated "M" for somewhat more adult content.
Chapter 4: Alone at Last.
As he waited to settle the bill, Nico looked over at Dani sitting collapsed on a chair against the wall and he could see that she was completely exhausted. It was well after midnight, and it had been a very long day. He'd noticed her fatigue earlier, and had told her several times as the evening wore on to go up to the room. But in her Dani-like way she'd explained to him, as if to a small child, how rude it would be for her to leave before the party was over. Especially since his parents, who were having the time of their lives, had been among the last to leave. So she'd found her second wind, pasted on a bright smile, and stayed with him until the bitter end.
As Nico handed his no-limit Amex card to the banquet manager, he noted that Dani was engaged in what appeared to be a very earnest conversation with Liz. They had taken to each other from the very first, as he had known they would. Liz was as exuberant and outgoing as he himself was, well he supposed he should face it, taciturn. He sighed inwardly. He was reserved by nature, and his life experience had only served to reinforce that trait. He had never really had a problem with keeping to himself.
Until Dani.
He smiled to himself. Sometimes it seemed that he really hadn't had a life until he'd met Dani. That was absurd, of course; he knew it was. He'd had a normal childhood, an excellent education, a successful military career, and was now well-respected in his chosen field. He'd earned his reputation as the go-to guy in many organizations, both in and out of government. Nico Careles always found a way to get it done, no matter what it was. (His mouth quirked a little as he remembered that his vaunted ability to "get it done" when nobody else could was what had left him vulnerable to the feds.)
And he had friends, friends that he valued. Perhaps it was true that none of those with whom he remained in contact knew him quite as well as Marshall had, but he definitely had friends. Well, maybe some of them were friendly acquaintances. And he was a man, after all. He could keep his own counsel. He didn't need to have girly chats with his buddies to talk about his problems. Right.
He smiled to himself as he remembered how after he'd known Dani for only a short time, he had found himself looking for ways to reinforce their connection. Somehow he had begun to see her as someone he could talk to, could confide in, could trust. And before long his protective instincts had kicked in. Quite apart from his job, or hers, it had begun to feel natural to think of her well-being as his responsibility, but he'd never asked himself why that was.
He'd let her see more of the real Nico than anyone had in years. And it had seemed so safe, so uncomplicated. She was a colleague as well as a therapist. She listened to people all the time. Her easy smile and her straightforward manner were like a siren call to forge the bonds of friendship.
Their conversations had just been…talk. He didn't see the light banter as flirting, because Nico didn't flirt. He didn't see the earnest discussions as intimacies, because Nico didn't do intimate, especially with a woman, except in the most physical way. But Dani was unlike anyone he'd ever met. There was nothing he hadn't liked about her. Her looks, her intelligent mind, her personality, her character. She was the most honest person he'd ever met – and, unfortunately for his peace of mind, ultimately the most lovable. By the time he'd figured that out, it had been way too late.
Nico gave his head a slight shake and returned from his musings as the bill was presented for his signature. He smiled at Dani to let her know he was ready to go.
Dani and Liz said their goodbyes. Another party was planned for the next day, this one very casual and for immediate family only. Liz had volunteered to host it, but his mother had nixed that idea. Her family, her house, and the rest of them knew better than to argue. He could understand why she wanted to prolong the party atmosphere; Nico couldn't remember the last time the entire family had been together.
After his mother had commanded them to make an appearance, Nico had taken Dani aside and explained that she wouldn't have to go.
"You don't want me there?"
"Of course I want you there, but all this family stuff…I know it can get to be a little too much."
Dani had smiled at him fondly and patted his cheek. "This family stuff – I've got that covered. Italian, remember?"
Now he heard her last words to Liz as they parted with smiles. "See you tomorrow."
XXXXXXXXXX
When they got back to the suite, Dani immediately kicked off her shoes and headed for the couch, where she stretched her tired legs and wiggled her toes.
Nico took off his suit coat and carefully placed it over the back of a chair, along with his necktie. He toed off his shoes, setting them under the chair, and sat on the other end of the couch, pulling Dani's feet into his lap.
"Does it work?" he wanted to know.
"What?"
"The toe wiggling? And the stretching? Can you really wiggle and stretch away the pain of walking around for hours on those stilts you call shoes?"
"Hey, mister! No making fun of my shoes!"
Nico just laughed. This was the ever-practical Dani's one foray into frivolity.
"They make me feel a little taller, particularly with giants like you! Instead of like a kindergartner who made a wrong turn into the big kids' school."
Nico took her feet in his hands and began rubbing them, pushing his thumbs against the soft tissue of her instep and massaging her toes.
"I'm hardly that tall, Dani, especially considering that you work with a whole lot of athletes and some of them are very big guys."
"But I don't have to dance with them and…oh, my God, Nico, that feels so good." She began to moan and move around on the couch as Nico's hands soothed her sore feet.
His hands stilled momentarily, and he looked down at her fondly. "Thanks for coming tonight, Dani. It meant a lot to me."
"Don't stop, that feels like heaven. Why did I never hear about this treatment for tired feet before?" She smiled up at him, and he resumed his foot massage.
"I had a great time tonight, Nico. It was such a privilege to meet your family. Well…most of them, anyway."
"Hmm. Yes. Did I see you reading Tony the riot act at one point? He looked like he didn't know what hit him. I've seen 7-foot athletes tremble after being on the receiving end of the full-on Santino glare, so I can understand his trepidation." His eyes were twinkling.
She frowned. "He was being ridiculous!"
"How so?"
"Well…he'd somehow got it into his head that I was your plus one."
"My what?!" His hands stilled again.
"Your plus one. You know, some random friend or acquaintance you ask to accompany you to an event so you don't have to show up alone."
"I know what a plus one is, Dani. But…what gave him that idea about you? I mean, this was a family party, so why in hell would I need to bring someone with me? Particularly a woman?"
"Well," and here she couldn't help smirking a little, "Tony seemed to think that you wanted to show your family that you actually had a social life, even though he was convinced it couldn't possibly be true. He said you probably didn't know many women." And now her smirk had turned into a giggle.
Nico turned his head and looked at her directly. "He thought I couldn't get a date because I didn't know any women, so I brought someone I barely knew to an intimate family function?"
As she thought about the absurdity of it, her giggle turned into a full-throated belly laugh. She writhed around on the couch, laughing so hard that Nico was afraid she was going to fall right off.
Nico shook his head and smirked. "He may be my brother, but he's an idiot."
Dani shook with laughter.
Nico felt a sudden burst of happiness, and it was mirrored in his face as he looked down at her. The intimacy of their shared hilarity over his brother's lack of insight warmed him in a way that nothing else had for a long time. Dani noticed the new expression on his face, and her whole mien went from mirthful to sensual in ten seconds flat.
He returned to his ministrations on her sore feet, but now they were less therapeutic and more like a caress. As Dani felt the difference in his touch, her breathing became irregular. She looked up at him through lowered lashes, and she began to rub her toes along the insides of his thighs.
They stared at each other for a moment, and then he pulled her down the couch until she was sitting in his lap. He knew she was exhausted, hell, he was exhausted, but it had been five days since they'd been together like this and he couldn't stop the jolt of desire that had him hardening beneath her.
"Your hair is starting to tumble down," he said.
She reached up, "I need to take it down before I go to bed."
"Let me do it." He pushed her hands away and slowly began to remove the hairpins, massaging her scalp as he did so, until her hair fell down around her face. "You have such beautiful hair," he said softly.
"And you have magic hands, Nico Careles." She smiled and her eyes dropped to his lips, mere inches from her own now.
He kissed her then, just a soft whisper of a kiss, and she moaned in response and kissed him back.
"I know you're tired, Dani. I don't expect you want to do anything but go to sleep right now…"
"Are you out of your fucking mind?" Dani breathed.
Nico chuckled softly. Dani almost never used crude language, and when she did, it was always an indication of some strong emotion.
"I'm not too tired for this. I tried so hard over the past five days not to think about maybe never being like this with you again?" She knew she was giving herself away, but she just couldn't seem to care.
Her eyes caressed him with a potent mixture of affection and desire, and Nico was lost. He kissed her softly again, but Dani was having none of that. She stretched her body against his, moving her legs to straddle him. Her lips were pressed against his, as though she couldn't get close enough to him; she slipped her tongue into his mouth and wrapped it around his own.
Nico groaned, utterly and completely aroused. And then she began to move sensuously against him, hampered only by her constricting dress.
He reached down to the hem of her dress and pulled it up and over her head, and she moaned as her access to him increased and she could feel his hardness against her. She unbuttoned his shirt and pulled it off him, while he ran his fingers lightly across the top of her breasts, along the edge of her strapless bra.
Their kiss increased in intensity as he unclasped and removed her bra, crushed her against him, and reveled in the feel of her breasts against the sprinkling of fine black hairs that covered his chest.
"God, Dani. I can't think when I get this close to you. I can hardly breathe." He looked at her as he took her breasts in his hands, feeling the weight of them, and thumbed her nipples.
"We need to move this." And then he was carrying her, her legs wrapped around him, into the bedroom. He pulled down the bed clothes and placed her softly on the bed.
"Nooo," she said, completely in the moment, as he left her briefly to remove the rest of his clothing.
"I really think you'll like me much better this way, Love". He lay down next to her on the bed.
He slid her panties down and off her body and pulled her to him. And then they were entwined together, their legs wrapped around each other, and although he was nearly a foot taller, it felt like they fit together perfectly.
He kissed her fiercely, and began to run his hands down her body. No woman had ever had this effect on him, had aroused him so quickly and completely. And the kissing. He'd never thought of kissing as anything more than a prelude to what came later, at least not since he'd been a teenager. But he could kiss Dani forever, their lips locked together in a circular dance, tongues entwined, teeth nipping gently.
He kissed and stroked his way down her body, and she responded to his every touch, searching with her hands and her mouth for pieces of him to caress in turn. Dani was the most effortlessly sexy woman he had ever known, and he marveled again that he was here with her now, like this.
"Oh, God, Nico. I don't think I can wait. This is all I've been thinking about for five goddamned days. I want you inside me now!" She pulled and grabbed at his shoulders, trying to tug his body into position.
Nico reached between Dani's legs and found that she was wet and more than ready for him. He struggled to find and open one of the condoms that he'd left on the nightstand. It was on in a flash, and he was slipping inside her body in one smooth stroke.
It had been five days, five agonizing days of tension and uncertainty and suppressed desire, and they were both overwhelmed by the feeling of being joined at last. He began to move inside her, but he knew that he wasn't going to last long tonight. Dani's moans only served to weaken his tenuous control, and when he felt her body stiffen, he gave in to his own needs, and they came together in a tangle of arms and legs.
It took a moment for his heart to stop racing and his breathing to become regular. Nico wanted nothing more than to stay exactly as he was forever, but he moved so that he wouldn't crush Dani's small frame with his much larger one.
He wrapped his arm around her and pulled her to him. "I would have liked to prolong that a little, but I guess I just wanted you too damned much." He was somewhat chagrined about the speed at which they had both climaxed.
"Do you hear me complaining?" Her face was alight with happiness. "And besides, I believe I'm the one who practically commanded you to get on with it!"
He smirked. "I don't think there was any 'practically' about it, Dani. I believe I heard a direct order from a superior officer."
She laughed and caressed his face gently. "I seem to recall that we have two whole weeks to work on improving our stamina and endurance."
He turned her hand to kiss her palm softly. "Sounds like a plan."