Chapter 8
It started with a kiss.
It was past midnight and I could not sleep.
Then again being in a strange place to sleep was always hard for me. I was still at the private rehabilitation center where Nick had been taken too. I was only here because Aaron didn't think it was such a good idea that I go back to my place alone because of some issues with the media. Someone at the hospital had told the gossip reporters that Nick had been hurt.
Even though he wasn't a major celebrity, someone hurt on the job made great headlines. They had also gotten wind that Nick had been on an investigation with a mystery woman, hence me, and none of the other guys from the team. The media was going to have a field day with several new wild claims.
Aaron didn't go into details but he and the Ghost Adventure's crew were quite leery of the media and they were just being extra cautious with having me stay here. So here I was, in a room next to Nick's.
I stared sightlessly in the darkness. With a sigh I started to kick at the bed sheets, getting them off from my legs, trying to find a more comfortable position to sleep in. I tried my side, my stomach, but nothing felt right. The private rehabilitation center was more like a fancy hotel with nurses than anything else, but regardless of how homey the place was I could not shut my mind off.
To keep busy, earlier in the evening I had spent my time texting Sophie, who promised to come by in the morning. Sophie was my best friend so I natural told her everything. From the crazy fall I had to the even more insane attraction I had felt between Nick and me. Although I had not told her about Keane. No one knew about him. He was my shameful secret that was apparently back to haunt me.
With a groan I angrily flopped onto my back, but no matter what I did I was left wide awake. I was lonely and achy. The worse kind of awake. I tried to occupy my mind with counting sheep. I summoned the images of clear blue skies and a grassy field with tiny little sheep, all nicely jumping one by one over a wooden fence.
But soon the image in my mind distorted and Nick appeared, standing there with a cocky grin.
I had spent the day with Nick, he had watched me while I corrected some papers and he listened intently when I read some passages of those reports to him. He had teased me and there had been just a general relaxed air between us. But there had been a great deal of flirting ... on both our parts. So by the time I had left him to get some rest I was about ready to burst from the sexual tension in the room.
The good news in all this was that his fever had broken and he was ready to be dismissed in the morning. But suddenly the thought occurred to me that his fever might come back. He might need some water, or some medication. The staff might have forgotten about him.
With that I left the bed and snatched up my robe before I could think twice. With bare feet, I crossed the wood floors into the hallway which was darkly lit and quiet. When I reached his door it was partly opened so I just slipped in without a sound. I tiptoed to the bed just like I had the night before. I couldn't explain why I wanted to make sure Nick was alright, but I did. I felt this pull to him and I couldn't fight it and I wasn't sure I wanted too.
The darkness of the room was penetrated by a few strands of light from the open window. I could hear the soft and steady flow of Nick's breathing. Making my way to his side, I reached out tentatively, my heartbeat thickening as she laid my fingers on his forehead. No fever. Only smooth, healthy warmth. Nick's breathing fractured as he awakened.
-"Evie?" His voice was sleep-thickened. "What are you doing?"
Suddenly busted I felt awful regret for having come into his room. Any excuse I gave now would sound false and stupid, because there was no rational reason to have bothered him.
Awkwardly I started to mumble.
-"I … I came to see if…"
My voice died away. Any excuse would make me sound like a stalker of some sort. I began to draw my hand back from his forehead but he caught my wrist with remarkable dexterity, considering that it was dark and he was barely awake. We both went still as stone. I was caught over him, my wrist imprisoned in his grip. Nick pulled some tension on my arm, forcing me to lean farther over him, until I lost my balance and fell on him in a slow topple.
Terrified of hurting him, I scrabbled to brace my hands on the mattress, as he used my panic movement to lever me more fully onto his body.
-"Nick," I whispered, "I didn't—"
His long hand curved around the back of my head, and he brought my mouth down to his. It wasn't a kiss, it was a possession. The sudden heat of his tongue thrusting inside my mouth drained me of all anger and thought. The masculine scent of his skin filled my nose. Erotic and delicious. It was almost too many sensations to take in at once … the hot silk of his mouth, the tight grip of his hands, the hard masculine contours of his body.
The whole world slowed down as Nick turned with me in his arms, half pinning me to the bed. His kisses were rough and sweet, which involved his lips, teeth and tongue. Gasping, I reached around his neck and bandaged shoulder. He moved expertly over me. He was big and dark, and kissing me as if he wanted to devour me.
The folds of my robe open, revealing the boxer's and tank top I had brought from my place. Nick's mouth suddenly broke from mine and he began a slow search of my throat, following the tender nerve paths down to the place where my neck and shoulder met. His hands slipped under the thin tank top and hitched the fabric up hastily. His head lowered and his lips slowly descended at the slope of my breast until he reached the tip. Taking me into his mouth, he warmed the cool bud with slow strokes of his tongue.
Ragged moans rose in my throat, mingling with the pants of his breath. Nick settled heavily between my thighs, giving me all his weight until I felt the hard length of him pressed intimately on me. He sought my other breast, closing his mouth over the peak and tugged wetly, creating waves of pleasure deep inside of me.
Nick tore himself away from my breasts and took my mouth with long, drugging kisses, while his hips had begun a subtle rhythm, nudging and sliding, using his erection to arouse me. I twisted beneath him, desperately trying to follow his hard rhythm. Our bodies pressed together tighter then pages of a closed book, and it felt so right, so wildly freeing, that it frightened me.
-"No," I gasped, pushing at him. "Wait. Please—" One of my hands accidentally pressed against his injured shoulder, and Nick rolled off me with a curse. "Nick?" I scrambled off the bed and stood there, shaking from every limb. "I'm so sorry. Did I hurt you? What can I—"
-"Go." He growled.
-"Yes, but—"
-"Now, Evie." His voice was low and guttural. "Get the fuck out or let me finish ..."
So I did the only thing I could. I fled.
oOo
After the worse night of sleep, I fumbled around the room in a hurry to get dressed. What had possessed me to go to Nick's room last night? A stupid impulse, I thought dully. A moment of madness. I should never have given in to it. There was no one to blame but myself.
I dressed with painstaking care, coiling my wild hair in a loose bun and put on a pair of jeans and t-shirt. I tried hard to keep up with my traditional routine to keep my mind away from last night, but as I finished with my hair a voice from behind me startled me.
-"Looking lovely as always, Evelyn."
I cringed at both the use of my full name and the man using it. I spun around to face him.
-"Ever heard of knocking, Keane?" I glared at the man from my past.
I wasn't sure why Keane was back but he and I had a past that I wish I could forget. I had a questionable past ... One that I have worked hard to put behind me. After my mother died, I had only been sixteen and put into the system. That was when I started to steal. I was good at it too, never got caught, at least not until I ran into Keane.
I was almost twenty and I had heard of a man who collected rare things. Things that people would pay a fortune for on the black market. The place had been Keane's apartment. He had of course caught me, because Keane was no regular human. He had powers like I had never seen before. He was faster than a regular person and stronger, and that was how I also started my first real relationship.
You could say we were doomed from the start. Neither one of us trusted each other. I knew he wasn't human, but he saw potential in me, he thought me things that no other person could do, like how to use my sight of people auras to my advantage. He also said there was so much more that I could do, but I wasn't ready to learn them yet.
Keane and I were together for six months of my life. He told me all the right things, bought me the sweetest gifts. I thought we had the perfect relationship. We went on many heists together, stealing thousands of dollar's worth of stuff weekly. Keane had always showed concern for me, asking me hundreds of questions about myself and my family. Little did I know, he was snooping. He was getting information from me and when he got what he needed he just disappeared.
But not before making one last promise, that if I ever spoke about him he would turn me in for all my misdeeds. Over the six months that we were together he had collected thousands of pictures and video of me stealing. Since that day, I changed. I went to back to school and tried to return almost everything that I had stolen anonymously. I was not that girl anymore; I was not a thief and con-artist. But that didn't matter, Keane was here and I was stuck to do what he said, for fear of being exposed.
Keane shrugged and gave me a bored look.
-"Is that anyway to treat an old friend?" He asked.
-"We are not friends. Remember you told me to stay away from Nick when you broke into my apartment."
-"I did, but I see that you did not heed my warning."
I started to feel slightly nervous.
-"I – It's not my fault, he was investigating the school I work at! He got hurt; I couldn't just leave him -"
Keane held up his hand.
-"Relax, girl, I am not here because of that. In fact disregard everything I said. I need your help."
-"What?"
-"That ghost that visit you, we are going to find out what he wanted and the guys from Ghost Adventures will help you."
oOo
I entered the cafeteria and spotted Aaron right away. I nervously straighten my shirt and headed towards him, my mind still reeling with the conversation I had just had with Keane. He somehow knew about the ghost and he wanted to know more about him. He said he knew who the guy was but we had to figure out what he wanted from me. Keane had not elaborated anymore and I wasn't so sure I wanted to know more than I needed to know.
Part of me was still terrified of who he was and the other part of me was still slightly infatuated with him. I knew what Keane was. I had figured out his secret long ago. He was some sort of immortal man. He was a warrior, in charge of another world, a world where the ghosts wandered. He was not a man to be trifled with, I had witness this to many times over the time we were together.
Sitting down in front of Aaron, he looked up and gave me a bright smile.
-"Morning Evie."
-"Hi, Aaron."
He was on his phone but as I sat down he quickly swiped the screen off.
-"Listen, Nick is getting discharged today and he is bound and determined to go back to the school. But he has to take it easy. Please tell me you are going to help me keep him busy so he doesn't go back there." Aaron gave me a pleading look.
-"Why can't you watch him?"
-"I unfortunately have to meet with the network producers. We didn't have permission to go to that school, so they are pissed off, especially since he got hurt." Aaron paused and seemed unsure on how to continue. "Nick's been ... different lately." I nodded, understanding his meaning. "He is okay on camera but off camera he is hard to deal with. The network is annoyed about it and they want to temporary replace him. I need to go convince them otherwise."
I nodded unsure what to say. That seemed rather unfair for Nick, but before I could mention how lucky Nick was to have friends like Aaron, Keane sat down next to Aaron.
-"Sup, mate." He nodded to Aaron.
-"Hey! Where the hell did you come from?" Aaron asked eyeing Keane suspiciously. "You just like disappeared from Ana and Zak's place."
Keane shrugged.
-"Oh you know me. I have my ways." He gave Aaron a brilliant smile.
I watched a bit puzzled.
-"You know each other?" I asked surprised.
-"Yeah. Keane here is the newest addition to our crew." Aaron returned Keane's smile. "Why do you know him?"
I looked at Keane unsure what to say but he answered for me.
-"Evie and I go way back, isn't that right, luv." Keane winked and Aaron eyed us suspiciously but gave a cautious nod. "Anyway, I overheard your dilemma with Nick and I believe I have a suggestion for you."
-"At this point I will try anything short of stuffing him a closet." Aaron said desperately.
-"I have an estate in the Hampton's. I merely use it as a stopping point when I am flying through, the rest of the time I rent it out for vacationers. It's vacant at the moment." Keane nonchalantly examined his fingernails. "It would be the perfect place for Nick. He would be far away from temptation, but not far enough that you could not drive to him. It quite lovely this time of year as well. Nick would get his rest." Keane's gazed moved to me. "And Evie here could stay with him to make sure he stayed out of trouble."
Aaron mulled this over for a moment, but as soon as Keane had mention the house in the Hampton's I knew Aaron was already sold on the idea.
-"Sounds awesome, Keane." Aaron nodded. "I'll get a hired driver to take him and Evie there as soon as he is discharged. You don't mind do you Evie?"
-"Uhm ..." I hesitated, avoiding Keane's sharp gaze. "I don't know ... I still have to work ..."
-"Nonsense. I am sure you can take a few days off." Keane scoffed. "She will be happy to go with him. I will join them in a couple of days to check on them."
Aaron stood up with a smile, seeming relieved.
-"Awesome! Evie we own you one, girl. Let me call Zak and let him know, he will be relieved."
As Aaron walked away I could help but glare at Keane. I wasn't sure what he was up too, but I hated being manipulated. Especially by this man. The prospect of being alone with Nick for a few days seemed like a very bad idea.
oOo
After going home to pack, I returned to the rehabilitation center. I had called Sophie to tell her what was going on, promising that I would see her soon. I had not seen Nick since our kiss the night before and I was rather hesitant on seeing him again. But Nick was discharged and was just waiting for a nurse to take him down to the car waiting for us. I thought it best that we get the awkward first meeting over with before we were stuck in a car together for an hour.
I entered Nick's room, acutely self-conscious of myself. Nick was seated in a wheelchair patiently waiting for the nurse to return. As soon as I entered I was more than aware of his eyes on me. The room was so quiet that I thought for sure he could hear the pounding of my heart. I walked to the window and glanced outside, just for the need to do something, unsure what to say I spoke the first thing that came to mind.
-"Aaron got us a car, its waiting." I stated the obvious and immediately wished I said something else.
-"Yeah, I heard ... everyone is trying to keep me out of trouble, so I am being shipped out of town for a while ... with a babysitter."
-"They are just worried about you."
I gazed sightlessly at the boring picture on the wall in the room. Silently hoping that we were going to pretend that what happened last night never did. But to my dismay Nick spoke.
-"If you want an apology, you're not going to get one."
I turned to face him.
-"I'm sorry?"
Nick was quiet for a moment seeming to search for the right words.
-"When you visit a man in his bed at night, don't expect coffee and a nice little chitchat."
-"I wasn't visiting you in your bed. I mean you were in your bed, but it was not my intentions to find you there." Aware that I was not making any sense, I resisted the urge to smack myself on the forehead.
-"At two o'clock in the morning," Nick informed me, "I can nearly always be found on a mattress, engaging in either of two activities. One is sleeping. I don't think you need a picture of what the other is." He said crudely.
-"I only wanted to see if your fever came back," I said, turning crimson. "Or if you needed anything."
-"Apparently I did."
I suddenly had never felt so extraordinarily uncomfortable. All of my skin had become too tight for my body.
-"Are you going to tell anyone?" I brought myself to ask, purposely avoiding his gaze.
One of his eyebrows arched mockingly.
-"Afraid I might tell all the dirty secrets?" Nick waved his hand in the air as if dismissing the whole thing. "Don't worry, I won't say anything. Anyway I usually enjoy gossip that enhances my male prowess and there is nothing to tale in this case."
Blushing, I went to the single plastic bag on the bed that contained Nick's ruined clothing. I nervously started to arrange things inside the bag and looking on the bed to see if anything had been missed.
-"Did I hurt you?" I managed to ask, recalling how I had inadvertently pushed on his wounded shoulder. "Does it feel achy this morning?"
Nick hesitated before replying.
-"No, it eventually went away after you left. But hell knows it wouldn't take much to start it up again."
I was suddenly overcome with remorse.
-"I'm so sorry. Should we tell the nurses so they can give you another pain-killer or something?"
-"Another pain killer?" He repeated blankly. "On my … oh. We're talking about my shoulder?"
I blinked in confusion.
-"Of course we're talking about your shoulder. What else would we be talking -?"
-"Really Evie?" Nick looked away from me as his shoulders started to shake with suppress laughter. His voice held a tremor of humor.
-"Oh my god, Nick!" I gasped getting his meaning. "You are talking about your…" A wild blush raced over me. "Well, I don't care if you are achy there!" I tried to feint outrage at his crude words but it was hard not to laugh. "I was talking about your shoulder!" I snapped, hiding the humor in my voice.
-"It's much better," Nick assured me, his eyes bright with amusement. "As for the other ache—"
-"That has nothing to do with me," I said hastily.
-"I beg to differ."
Suddenly all my defenses were down and I knew there was only thing left to do. Run away
-"I am going to wait for you downstairs!"
I took off with speed, leaving a chuckling Nick in my wake.
It had been three days since the accident and Nick had been shipped to the middle of nowhere. Actually that was not a very accurate description of this place. It was more like a mansion with everything that you could possibly want. Except for decent cell service or any sort of way of leaving.
Keane's little house in the Hampton's was more like a small county that belong to him. The large house was almost impossible to keep track of. Nick had been here three days and still had not seen everything there was to see. The house was three floors and had an old English type feeling to it, but with all the modern-day things a person could need. The giant mansion even had a full crew of personal who took care of the cooking, cleaning and gardening.
So all Nick had to do here was relax, take it easy and unwind. It was driving him insane! He wasn't sure he could take one more day of this. He was not one to sit idle for long and his shoulder felt much better. So why was he still stuck here? Because Zak had asked him too.
Nick knew he had put the show in jeopardy by going back to investigate that school when he had no business being there, and for that he felt awfully guilty.
-"Dude, I get it, you are hurt and pissed off by what is going on with your divorce." Zak had said over the phone the first night Nick had been at the house. "And we all have been really supportive of you, giving you your space and shit, even when we saw you being self-destructive." Zak had sighed sadly. "We probably should have said something and I guess I haven't been a good friend, I been so busy with Ana ... and I am sorry bro. But this shit stops now. You got to get your head straight."
Nick had felt like he was being scolded by an angry school teacher for not doing his homework.
-"Look I know I been ... difficult lately, but -"
Zak didn't let him finish.
-"We are like family and I fucked up by not being there for you more, but I am here now. I told the network that you just had a slip up and it will never happen again, I swore to them Nick. It's on my reputation now." Zak had said seriously. "If you fuck up again we all get sacked."
Nick sighed, wishing Zak had never done that. The show meant everything to him, he had worked hard to get it where it was now.
-"Dude ... I'm sorry, I know I been a fuck up lately but I swear I will try better," and Nick meant it.
-"I know man, I know. That's why you have to stay there for a while, I'm taking you out of the team just for a while ..."
-"Zak .. Come on, I need to investigate ..."
-"No way, you need some time away, Nick."
-"So what the fuck am I going to do? I can't just sit around!" Nick had cried outraged.
-"Don't worry man. You are still going to be doing some work. This girl Evie ... you believe her story about this ghost she saw?"
-"Yeah, I do." Nick said without hesitation.
-"Good, cause Keane does too. He has an idea of who this ghost is."
-"What? How is that even possible?"
-"Who knows, something to do with him having contact with the shadow world. Even though he can't go to that world he still has some contact with it and he is working on tracking it down now. He is pretty sure the ghost name was Cole Walsh and he was from Chicago. That's about all he got though. What I need from you is to get more information. Find all the Cole Walsh's that have died in the past couple of hundred years and get addresses. You, Keane and Evie are going on a trip."
Some of Nick's gloom and annoyance disappeared at the prospect of still being able to do some investigation. But he had to wonder what the point was? Why was Zak suddenly interesting in Evie's sighting.
-"Why?" Nick asked.
-"Keane seems to think this ghost might know something about the Guardian. It's probably a long shot, but it's worth looking into."
Nick had agreed and hung up, promising to get back in touch with Zak when he had some information about their ghost.
Over the last two years Zak had followed any and all leads that might have been linked to the Guardian or Ana. All of them had been dead ends and Nick doubted this would fruit to anything, but it was better than just sitting around all day.
But three days later, Nick had gotten very little information. He had found several people with the same name on the internet who had died in the last hundred years but when he had made calls to the records department to get more information no one was ever available to talk to him. So now he had to wait.
It had also been three long days of avoidance and sexual tension with his babysitter, Evie. She had worked just as hard as him in avoiding him. He hardly ever saw her and when she did, she seemed so on edge it was almost impossible to have a full conversation with her. It also didn't help that his mind kept drifting back to the night she came to his room and the heated kiss they had shared.
Since his separation he had not looked at another woman, ever. They all just reminded him of one thing. Hurt and betrayal. Evie was no exception to this, in fact she fit especially well in this category. She was an extremely secretive woman, refusing to reveal anything about herself or her past. In fact, Nick was positive that Evie somehow knew Keane from before this whole incident but she denied ever meeting him. And despite all these giant warning bells, telling him to stay away, he couldn't seem to help the pull she had on him.
Nick leaned back in the fancy office chair with a groan. He had called the city hall four times today and every time he was transferred to a dead-end. He just wanted the records department. Glancing around the posh office Nick looked out the window to the vast garden, when he noticed the top of a very blonde head walking by his window. He knew it was Evie. No one had hair that blonde or so perfect.
Without hesitating he rushed out of the chair and headed out to the garden. It didn't take him long to find her near one of the duck ponds, gazing out at the family of geese that had made it their home.
-"Hey." Evie gasped startled and spun around. "Sorry, didn't mean to scare you." Nick gave her a sheepish smile.
Now that she was facing him, Nick could see that she looked tired, with slight circles under her eyes and a certain pitched to her forehead, but she still looked breathtaking.
-"Sorry, I was thinking ..." She trailed off.
-"About what?"
Evie merely shrugged and turned back towards the water.
-"Have any luck on finding my ghost?" She asked.
-"Not yet." Nick came and stood beside her. "But hopefully soon." He paused. "Want to walk with me?"
Evie nodded and they set down the small path that led away from the house. The garden path was long and winding and went on for almost a mile. There were hundreds of variety of flowers and plants, almost of them in full bloom.
-"It's quite a lovely garden." Nick commented. Evie shrugged again, not seeming impressed. Nick couldn't help but chuckle. "Wow, I'd hate to see what a guy has to do to impress you."
-"What does that mean?" Evie snapped.
-"I just meant, this place, it's amazing but you don't seem all that impressed by it."
-"Oh ..." Evie laughed awkwardly. "It's just stuff ... it's pretty but I guess I just can't be bought like some people."
-"All women have their price." Nick said before he could think.
-"Seriously?"
-"Oh yeah, I think so. If you get her what she wants and give her the right distractions, she won't even be able to think and she will be putty in your hand."
-"Excuse me?" Evie gaped at Nick.
-"If you tell a women she is beautiful enough she will eventually just jump into bed with any guy."
-"Just because your ex-wife did it, doesn't mean we are all the same." Evie tried to say as calmly as possible.
Nick was actually not even thinking about Jennifer, he was just trying to get a rise out of Evie. Call him sadistic but he enjoyed his verbal sparring with her.
-"No, no, this isn't about her. It's just in general. If people are distracted enough, let's say by physical pleasure all their brain cells seem to disappear."
Evie let out a laugh.
-"I don't think so, not everyone is controlled by their hormones."
"I'm serious! Want me to prove it to you?" Nick added quickly.
Evie's luscious lips twisted skeptically. But then, as if she couldn't resist, she asked.
-"How?"
Taking her arm, Nick drew her to a more secluded area. Off the path was an old nursery he had spotted on his morning jog. They soon stood next to a glass house, which had several windows pane missing along with English ivy growing from every which way covering the small building. Nick glanced at their surroundings to make sure they were not being watched by any of the staff. Gardeners worked outside all day long and it was not unusual to pass by a few of them on a walk.
-"Here's a challenge for you and it will prove my theory is right. First, I'll kiss you. Directly afterward, I'll ask you a simple question. If you answer correctly, I'll consider that you might be right."
Evie frowned and looked away from him.
-"This is stupid," she said to no one in particular.
-"You can just say no and we will walk away," Nick told her.
-"I'm sure I can, but then that will mean you are right." Folding her arms across her chest, Evie gazed at him with narrowed eyes. "One kiss?"
Nick put his hands up and opened his hand exposing his palms, as if to demonstrate that he had nothing to hide. His gaze never left her.
-"One kiss, one question."
Slowly her arms loosened and lowered. She stood before him uncertainly. Nick was shocked. He hadn't actually expected her to agree to the challenge. He felt his heart begin to beat in concentrated thumps. As he stepped closer to her, anticipation tightened inside him into knots. Very gently he tilted her face upward with both hands. He saw her swallow hard. He had made her nervous. Good, he thought darkly.
-"Are you ready?" he asked.
She nodded within the careful bracket of his palms, her lips trembling. Nick brought his mouth lightly to hers, kissing her with careful, undemanding pressure. Her lips were cool and sweet. Teasing them apart, he deepened the kiss. His arms slid around her, bringing her fully against him. She was slender but compact, her body supple. He felt her begin to mold against him.
Concentrating on her mouth, he explored her with tenderness, searching with his tongue until he felt the vibration of her soft moan between their lips. Lifting his head, Nick looked into her flushed face. He was so mesmerized by the drowsy look in her eyes that it was a struggle to remember what he'd meant to ask her.
-"The question," he reminded himself aloud, and shook his head to clear it. "Here it is. A farmer has twelve sheep. All but seven die. How many are left?"
-"Five," she said promptly.
-"Seven." A grin spread across his face as he watched her puzzle it out and when she did, Evie scowled.
-"That was a trick. Ask me another one."
-"That wasn't the deal," he said.
-"Another one," she insisted.
A husky laugh escaped him.
-"Damn, you're stubborn. All right."
He reached for her and lowered his head, and she stiffened.
-"What are you doing?"
-"One kiss, one question," he reminded her.
Evie looked annoyed for a moment but she tilted her head giving his full access as he pulled her against him again. This time he was not so tentative. His kiss was firm and urgent, his tongue sinking into the warm interior of her mouth. Her arms lifted and wrapped around his neck, her fingers delicately tangling in his hair. Nick went dizzy with desire and pleasure. He couldn't pull her body close enough, he needed parts of her he couldn't reach. His hands shook with the need to find to touch her soft skin. He kept trying to feel more of her, kiss her more deeply, and instinctively she tried to help him, sucking on his tongue with little sound of pleasure escaping from her. The hair on the back of his neck lifted as a chill of delight climbed up his spine to the base of his skull. He broke the kiss, gasping.
-"Ask me a question," she reminded him thickly.
Nick could barely remember his own name. All he wanted to concentrate on how he could get less clothing on the both of them. But somehow he obliged her.
-"Some months have thirty-one days, some have thirty. How many months have twenty-eight days?" He panted out.
She furrowed her delicate brow for a moment but her face lit up quickly.
-"One."
-"All of them," he replied gently.
He tried to look sympathetic as he saw her incredulous outrage.
-"Ask me another one," Evie said, furious and determined.
Nick shook his head, breathless with laughter.
-"I can't think of any more. My brain is suffering from a lack of blood." He grinned. "Accept it, Evie, you lost the—"
She grabbed the collar of his t-shirt and dragged him back to her, and Nick's mouth fastened on hers before he knew what he was doing. The amusement and laughter all disappeared. Staggering forward with her in his arms, he put out one hand to brace himself against the glass greenhouse. And he possessed her lips with rough, wholehearted passion, reveling at the feel of her body arching against his.
He kissed her without restraint, sucking, almost gnawing, and stroking the inside of her mouth. Before he lost all semblance of self-control, Nick tore his lips from hers and held her tightly against his chest. Another question, he thought dimly, and forced what was left of his mind to come up with something. His voice was hoarse, as if he'd just tried to breathe in fire.
-"How many animals of each species did Moses take into the ark?"
Her answer was muffled in his shirt.
-"Two."
-"None," Nick managed to say. "It was Noah, not Moses."
But he no longer found their little game amusing, and Evie didn't seem to care about winning. They stood together, gripped tight and close. Their bodies cast a single shadow that stretched along a garden path.
-"We'll call it a draw," Nick muttered.
Evie shook her head.
-"No, you were right," she said faintly. "I can't think at all."
They waited a little longer, while she leaned into the wild rhythm of his heart. They were both in a daze, mutually occupied with a question that couldn't be asked. Letting out an unsteady sigh, Nick eased her away. He winced as his dark jeans rubbed at his erection and was suddenly glad his t-shirt was a little long to conceal his problem.
Nick stood stiffly and awkwardly as he wondered what were they to do next.
-"Nick -" Evie started but stopped, her face was flush and she seemed just as lost as he.
But before Nick could offer any sort of comfort they were interrupted.
-"Nick? Evie? What are you two doing all the way back here?"
Glancing over Evie's shoulder Nick spotted Keane with a secret grin.
A/N:
This chapter was slightly longer than expected and very fluffed filled, but it was fun wasn't it? ;)
I do hope you enjoyed. Please Follow/Favorite and review :)
