Friends

Chapter Four

Zebraboymom

Disclaimer: They do not belong to me. Oh, but to be Nico's.

Author Notes: More wonderful reviews and not all just saying good job and keep going, which are great too, but talking about certain parts that touched you. Thank you. Now back to our two leads. Dinner. Candlelight. Finally taking the friendship to the next level. Shall we?

Dani woke up to the most incredible smell. The room was dark and Nico was gone. She stretched luxuriously and slipped out of bed barefoot. Once down the hall to the great room she found the source of the amazing smells and leaned against the archway watching Nico cook. He had obviously showered and shaved and he was wearing a tight fitting black knit sweater with the sleeves pushed up. She loved being able to observe him so openly. He was chopping vegetables and dropping them in a pot of what she could only imagine had a sauce bubbling in it. She was struck with how handsome and domestic he looked. This was not the way she had ever imagined him. She pictured him eating out at restaurants and living in a hotel or something. Her heart began to pound wildly in her chest. A blush flew to her cheeks as he became aware of her presence and looked up smiling at her.

"Hey, sleepy head. Glad you are up."

"I missed my teddy bear."

Nico gave her a small smile.

"Dinner is in ten minutes. Your friend will be by in an hour and bring you some clothes. She said to tell you she is the new Dani Santino. Also, is it okay with you if she charges $5.00 per autograph? Your friend is a funny girl."

Dani crossed over to him and looked in the two pots on the stove. One had this rich red sauce that made her mouth water and the other one had penne cooking. She could also smell fresh bread and maybe chicken in the oven. As her eyes took in his dining room table that sat in front of the windows, she saw a beautiful salad, elegant place settings and candles. The lighting created an intimate scene. This was so romantic. Nico stepped behind her and reached around from behind to pick up a glass and pour her some wine. She watched the muscles of his forearms flex while he poured the wine and handed it to her. She knew her cheeks were turning red again. Did he have any idea what he was doing to her? His hands went up to squeeze her shoulders before he returned to finish the food. She leaned against the counter.

"What can I do?"

"Um, you can pull the bread out and put it in that basket and then take the chicken out and put it on that platter."

They worked side by side as he drained the pasta and placed it in huge bowls, then poured the sauce filled with squash and zucchini over the penne. He did everything with such ease. It was incredibly sexy to watch. She loved this. She had never cooked with a man before. Ray always expected her to provide the meals even when she was working full time and going to school to get her masters and then her doctorate.

They carried everything over to the table and Nico poured more wine.

"Nico this looks amazing."

She took her first bite of the penne, closed her eyes and moaned. Nico swallowed hard. She was going to have to stop that if he was going to survive dinner without tackling her. They continued to eat and look out at the city lights below.

It was so nice here. This man had surprised her at every turn since the day she met him. He was so different from any man she had ever known. She could feel his eyes on her and she looked over to find him watching her with his chin in his hand.

"What's going on in that head of yours?"

Think fast Santino.

"I have never met a man that cooked in my life."

"Really?"

"Really. Nico, I had more fun cooking dinner with you tonight than I have ever had creating a meal."

Nico reached across the table and took her hand.

"Then we will make a habit of it this week. You deserve some fun."

Dani looked down at their hands and smiled.

"You are being quite charming this evening Mr. Careles. You continually surprise me."

"As do you Doctor Santino."

Dani watched as Nico lifted her hand up, stroked it down his cheek and then kissed it. The timbre of his voice was low and sweet.

"You do so much for others, but nobody looks after you."

Dani couldn't help the shiver that ran down her spine.

"Oh, yeah? I thought you gave a pretty good performance of that over the last twenty-four hours. Nico…I…"

Suddenly a buzzer went off. Dani actually jumped, as the spell was broken. Nico stood.

"That will be your friend."

Nico went and buzzed her in. The two of them just stared at each other as they waited for her to ride the elevator up. It was like so many of their conversations the last day or so. No words were necessary. Nico turned to answer the door before Jeanette even had time to knock.

"What? Are you psychic or something?"

Nico shrugged and opened the door fully.

Jeanette entered the condo with not one, but two huge roller bags.

"Jeanette, did you pack my entire wardrobe? I'm only staying here a week or so."

"I know, but I couldn't make up my mind, so I gave up and brought almost everything you own."

"Gee thanks. It will be so fun hanging all of them up and possibly ironing them."

"Sorry. Ohhhhh…"

Jeanette took in the room, the lighting, the table, and the soft jazz music playing in the background. She knew it. She was definitely interrupting something. She knew because her friend's cheeks were bright red. Lucky Dani.

"It looks like I interrupted something here."

"No. We were just having dinner. Have you eaten? There's plenty."

Nico who had been quiet up until now, spoke up.

"Of course. I'll set another place."

"Oh no you don't mystery man. I am on my way to a club. I am going to use my new media status to pick up guys tonight. Love you Dani. I would worry about you, but by the looks of things I shouldn't. Good night."

With that she turned her back to Nico, winked at Dani and made a gesture like hubba, hubba with her hand. A small giggled bubbled up as she exited the condo.

Nico closed the door and leaned against it, just gazing at Dani for the longest time. She shivered.

"Are you cold?"

"Uh…a little."

Dani stood up quickly and brought her plate to the sink. Nico moved over to the fireplace that sat between his towering bookshelves and lit a fire while Dani cleared the table. He joined Dani at the sink and they put the food away, loaded the dishwasher and once again took on the domestic life.

"Shall we have one more glass of wine by the fire?"

Dani looked at the inviting loveseat that faced the fireplace. Oh definitely.

"Sure."

She carried her wine glass over, sat down and looked at the book that was lying on the table. It was The Brothers Karamazov by Dostoevsky. She knew he would be well read.

"Dostoevsky, Nico?"

He brought the wine over and sat next to her on the loveseat. Their knees touched.

"Absolutely. The whole idea of who we are and what drives us? The fact that no matter how strong or how wise we are, we are frustrated by our failure to do what we know we must do or at least think we should do?"

His voice got really soft.

"…the need for forgiveness."

Dani could tell that this wonderful man had had some sort of crisis of conscience. Most men who went to war had. She knew he had a military background.

"Nico, when you came to me about what you should do, I teased you and asked if you had killed someone. I'm sorry. That was so insensitive of me and I regret it more than you could know."

"It's all right Dani. I have killed. In the service I was required to. Some of the things I've done in the name of patriotism, however, I'm not proud of. If you knew, I'm not even sure you would want to be my friend. I will regret some of it for the rest of my life."

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"I can't. Knowing could put your life in danger."

"Were you a SEAL? Black Ops? CIA?"

Nico gave her a warning look and then sat looking into the fire. Dani could see the pain the thoughts caused him. She wished with all her heart she could take the pain away, even for one night.

"What you did doesn't define who you are Nico."

"Yeah? And just exactly who do you think I am?"

"From where I'm sitting, I see a strong man with amazing convictions, who broke things off with a woman he obviously loved rather than compromise himself. I see a man who puts himself last and everyone else in his life first. He's a man who can be incredibly tender and yet strong at the same time. I am and will always be friends with this man who is who he is because of those very things he endured. I think he's pretty wonderful."

She looked at his profile flickering in the firelight and saw a tear making its way silently down his cheek. It was in that moment that he spoke to her and his voice came out so broken.

"Danielle…"

Dani reached out her hand and brushed the back of her hand across his cheek wiping away the tear.

Nico reached up and took her hand in his and held it to his chest unable to look at her.

Dani slipped down on the floor and turned towards him kneeling between his legs. Nico dropped his head and refused to look at her. The walls were coming down fast and she knew he was scrambling to protect himself, probably to protect her too. His voice came out strangled.

"I'll hurt you. I know I will. I won't let myself destroy you. You're too good for that. You would be safer to stay friends with me."

"I've already been destroyed. I've been hurt before and survived. You may be a strong man, but I'm a strong woman too. Let me in NIco. I want in."

She reached down and lifted his chin to look into his eyes.

"I want all the way in. You know me. I don't take no for an answer either."

He looked at her tenderly.

"I won't be a rebound guy."

"I won't be a rebound girl."

His hands slipped up to cup her face. She slipped her hands up to hold his wrists. The look in his eyes was unlike any a man had ever shown towards her.

"I'm a one woman man."

"I'm a one man woman."

He ran his eyes over her entire face from her hair to both eyes and down to her lips. It was like he was memorizing it for the first time up close. He had the sweetest soft smile on his lips. He nuzzled her with his nose and then he hesitated with his lips above hers, so close but not yet touching. She could almost feel him making the decision to love her. It wasn't like any connection she had ever had. His lips finally covered hers in the most unbelievably tender kiss she had ever received. They lips were so soft and as he opened his mouth to her and slipped his tongue in hers, Dani actually felt dizzy. She couldn't remember ever having been kissed like this. God he was wonderful!

The kiss started out slow and sweet and then over several minutes of exploration began to turn passionate. Without breaking the kiss Nico put both hands on her waist and pulled her up to straddle his lap. He then cupped her bottom in both hands, stood up and started carrying her down the hall. Dani wrapped her legs around his waist and her arms around his neck as he continued kissing her lips, the sensitive skin under her ear lobe and along her neck.

This time he passed her room and walked into the master suite where a huge king size bed faced expansive windows. It was lit only by moonlight from the outside. He walked to the foot of the bed and putting one knee up on the mattress, he slowly lowered her down as he moved his arms around her back. Dani leaned back as he kissed down her neck and throat and settled her into the soft cotton bedding. He kneeled over her and pulled his sweater over his head, tossing it to the floor behind him. Dani slid her hands up over his delicious abs. She knew he worked out, she could feel his muscular torso when they had slept together the last two times. She sat up to remove her top and together they undressed each other. Nico settled between her legs raising himself up on those strong forearms. The gentle smile he reserved just for her never left his face and she returned it with one of her own. He looked down at her in the moonlight and they just stared into each other's eyes. When he spoke it was a soft whisper.

"Danielle, are you sure about this, because if we do this there is no turning back for me. You've only been with one man since high school, well, maybe two, but I am a jealous man when it comes to someone I…love. I promise I will never hurt you like Ray did. I will never toss you aside like Matt did. You are too precious to me, too important in my life to ever deal with you in any way other than lovingly. When I fall in love, it's forever."

"Are you in love with me?"

"Have I done anything to make you think I'm not?"

"No, but a girl likes to hear it."

"I do love you. I have been in love with you for some time now."

"How long?"

He ignored the question.

"What about you? If you don't love me, tell me now Dani before we regret anything."

Dani ran her fingers down his jaw and rubbed her thumb across his soft lower lip.

"I have never been more sure of anything in my life. I love you Nico. You need to know something else. The way I love you is totally different than my first marriage. The way I trust you is beyond anything I've ever had with a man. I am very loyal. I think you know that about me. I am not like Gabrielle. I would never leave you unless you betrayed me. That's the funny thing about this kind of love. I know that the man you are would never do that to me. It makes me content on a level I have never been in my entire life. This is the first time in my life I have felt this passionate about someone, this cared for, or this happy. Make love to me Nico."

Moments later they became one.