A/N: Pleasant Distractions is morphing into a collection of the companion pieces/excerpts from my ND/HB series. I've begun work on the sequel to Press & Predators – tentatively titled Shadows & Swindlers. It isn't quite ready to start posting (almost, but not quite) but I thought I'd go ahead and post this as a teaser of sorts.

Happy reading!

Skipping Dinner

Nancy looked at her watch frowning.

"It's six already and they aren't going to allow you to carry on both pieces of luggage. We'll have to check your bags. We better hurry if we're going to eat."

Frank looked at her hopefully. "You could still come with me to New York …"

"I wish I could, honey, but with all of the trips that we already have to make for the wedding and the honeymoon, I really think I should save the vacation days. Besides, I'm scheduled to finish that security project this week, so the timing is bad. And you have a full schedule anyway."

She sighed and moved toward him, slipping her arms around his neck. The truth was that she was convinced he needed to make this trip alone. The nightmares were becoming an every night occurrence and he refused to talk to her about them. She hoped he would talk to Joe, and if not she was hanging her final hope on the therapist. Surely one of them could help Frank cope with whatever it was that was tormenting him.

She consciously pushed those thoughts aside and smiled up at him.

"I'll be joining you on Friday, anyway. You are going to be able to pick George and me up at the airport?"

"Wild horses won't keep me away from that airport, sweetheart." Frank said before leaning down to meet her lips in a warm, familiar kiss.

She pressed herself against him, conveying the urgency she felt to have him, close, closer - hating the thought that in a few hours he would be winging his way half a continent away from her. She tangled her fingers into his thick, wavy hair and allowed her lips to part, greeting his probing tongue with her own.

The feel of Frank's fingers smoothing circles on the small of her back was enough to awaken every nerve in Nancy's body to his touch. She was disappointed when he pulled back, but knew that they should really get moving if they were going to get dinner before his flight.

He smiled down at her. "We could skip dinner."

At that point, food was the furthest thing from her mind as his hand slid down to knead her butt. Nancy tightened her arms around Frank's neck.

"That sounds good to me."

He lowered his head and she met his lips in an urgent kiss. With his departure imminent she found that the desire Frank always ignited in her burned hotter than usual. She felt his arms tighten around her too, and her feet lifted off the floor as he molded her body against his. She locked her arms around his broad shoulders and allowed the shoes to slip from her feet as she slid her legs along the outside of his.

His large hands both moved to her butt and he hitched her up onto his hips. She wound her legs around his waist, using the leverage to pull herself tight against him. Even through his jeans and her slacks she could feel his erection straining against her sensitive crevice. The sensation brought her close to losing all reasonable thought as they began rubbing against one another.

Nancy gasped as an orgasm threatened to overwhelm her. It took intense concentration to pull herself back from the edge and drop her feet to the floor. With shaking fingers, she undid Frank's jeans, and he didn't hesitate to do the same to her slacks. In seconds they had their pants off and were locked together again.

Frank lifted her onto one of the stools by the kitchen bar. Nancy shifted so she sat on the very edge and wrapped her legs around his waist again. Bracing his hands on the counter behind her, Frank thrust up into her. They both moaned with the relief of satisfying the intense desire to join. There were times when Nancy wondered if the orgasm wasn't almost secondary to the need to have him become a part of her – to be so close that it was impossible to tell where he ended and she began.

But both of them were too aroused to enjoy the initial relief for long as the tension began building again. They moved together in a dance as old as time, and it took only minutes before Nancy felt the mounting pressure of approaching climax. She locked her ankles at the small of Frank's back and forced herself down on him as her muscles clenched in orgasm.

The counter dug into her back as Frank thrust powerfully against her. She pushed back forcing him deeper and deeper until she felt his own release explode inside of her. The sensation of him throbbing, buried deep in her core amplified her own orgasm and she cried out as the intensity of their unified orgasm swelled through her.

Chest heaving, Frank let out a contented moan as the orgasm began to wane. His head fell against her shoulder as she relaxed against the counter. She imagined they looked rather comical half-dressed and coupled together on the kitchen stool. The realization caused her to giggle and Frank lifted his head, his lips quirking up in amusement.

"Impatient, aren't we?" He said with a chuckle.

Nancy curbed her laughter as she pressed her hands flat against him. The thought of removing his t-shirt flitted through her mind as the fabric intruded between her fingers and his bare chest. A fresh spurt of giggles escaped her.

"Just a little," she managed.

Frank lifted her off the stool and set her feet on the floor.

"Now I could use a shower," he said.

Nancy gave him a playful smile.

"That sounds like fun," she said.

The nudge of his hardening penis caused her smile to broaden. Frank chuckled again.

"I think I might be up for that."

"No pun intended?"

Frank took her hand and led her toward the bathroom.

"Oh, the pun was definitely intended," he said with a grin.

ndndndndndnd

The bathroom in the Nancy's apartment was barely big enough for one person let alone two, but Frank didn't mind the close quarters, especially once she was naked. When she leaned down to turn the water on his body's reaction was immediate and intense.

The brief thought that he might go mildly insane leaving her behind in Chicago, even if it was only for a few days, flitted through his mind. The fact that his nightmares were rooted deeply in how he felt about Nancy seemed to confirm the initial assessment.

He gave himself a mental shake. She was standing right in front of him – it seemed incredibly stupid to be obsessing over his pending departure, let alone vague fears of losing her that stretched far into the future. He made a conscious decision to enjoy the moment.

He leaned over her back, pressing his penis between her legs as he brought his arms around to cup her dangling breasts in his hands. She jumped in surprise, and then wiggled against him. He teased the back of her neck with his lips, kneading her breasts with his hands, all the while rubbing his stiff member along her warm, wet crevice.

"I cannot concentrate on getting the water temperature adjusted while you're doing that."

"I don't really care," he murmured against her neck.

Somehow she managed to get the shower on and when she stood he stood with her using the change of position to explore further around her neck and down her shoulder. Her hands slid up to tangle in his hair and she turned her head, meeting his lips in a warm, inviting kiss before pulling away.

It felt like he lost a piece of himself as she separated from him to enter the tub. He followed close behind but stopped himself from closing the distance between them right away. She had moved under the shower, head tipped back, eyes closed as she allowed the streaming water to soak her entire body.

She ran her hands back through her hair, and he reached up and laced his fingers with hers. As their joined hands lowered she opened her eyes and smiled at him. She pulled him forward and turned so her back was against the shower wall, the water falling where their bodies met. Using the length of his body, he pressed her against the wall and covered her mouth with his.

He felt her slip her hands out of his and slide them around his waist, pulling him hard against her. He continued to devour her mouth in a crushing kiss while his hands found her breasts again, kneading and teasing until her nipples were hard points. She turned her head away from the bruising insistence of his mouth, gasping for breath. He moved on to her neck and down to her shoulder, kissing and nipping at her skin and eliciting tiny whimpers with each touch.

He wrapped an arm around her waist and lifted her, trying to get them both positioned so he could enter her. She helped by bracing her feet up on the lower edge of the tub, kicking at the shower curtain to keep from ripping it off the rod. He pushed her legs farther apart, and then put his hands on her waist so he could guide her up and over his throbbing erection. He sighed in contentment as she slid down, enveloping him in her warm, tight sheath.

Widening his stance, Frank moved his hips forward, pressing her tighter against the wall. Nancy used her leverage against the side of the tub to begin stroking up and down and he matched her rhythm from below. He could feel her tightening inexorably, pressure building until he thought he couldn't hold back a moment longer.

She cried out his name as he felt the rhythmic tightening of her vagina around him. That was all he needed. One final thrust and he let go deep inside of her. He buried his face in the curve of her neck and moaned with the release. They strained into each other, reveling in their unity as the orgasm washed through them.

She moved first, clinging to him as she lowered her feet back to the floor. Her legs trembled, and he kept an arm around her to hold her up.

He gave her a gentle kiss and then pulled back to look into her brilliant blue eyes.

"You were right."

Her brow furrowed. "About what?"

"That was fun," he said with a grin.

She laughed with him as they hugged each other tightly. He buried his face in the curve of her neck again. It was his favorite place – the perfect spot to taste her sweet skin, smell the distinctive scent of her shampoo mingled with her musk, hear the whisper of her breath as she held him, and feel the beat of her heart under his lips. He allowed himself to indulge all of his senses in Nancy, soaking them up for the days they would spend apart.

Meanwhile, in a dark corner of his mind, he wondered what the hell he would be driven to if Victor Bucciano or anyone else ever tried to take her away from him.