Chapter 52

"Will you? Marry me?" Nikolas asked, on bended knee. Everything around Nathalie disappeared except for the man before her – the only sound she could hear was her heart hammering in her chest. His dark eyes danced, his skin glowed and he looked at her with equal parts of hope and love. Her heart filled suddenly and took her breath away. "I know technically you asked me" he said, grinning. "But I'm a little old fashioned and I want to ask you."

She covered her mouth with her hand as her eyes filled with tears. "Of course I'll marry you" she whispered. "I love you so much Nikolas." Pulling him to his feet, she cupped his face and crashed her mouth onto his as tears trickled down her face.

"I love you too" he said as he broke their kiss. His thumb gently pushed the tears aside, grinning. "Can I interest you in a ring?" he asked, holding up the sparkling jewel.

Nathalie gasped as the diamond caught the candlelight. "Nik…it's…."

"It's meant for you" he finished for her. "Do you have any idea how hard it is to find something as beautiful and as precious as you are to me?"
Closing her eyes, Nathalie dropped her head and let his words wash over her. He cupped her chin, tilting her face towards him. Opening her eyes to look at him, her green eyes were nearly translucent with tears. "I just don't have the vocabulary to tell you what you mean to me."

"We don't need words" he said quietly, tracing his fingers over her cheekbones and her mouth. He nipped at her full lips while snaking one arm around her waist and pulling her flush against him. "So - you're going to be my wife…."

She beamed. "I am."

"So can I put the ring on you then?" She nodded, unable to take her eyes from him. Gently taking hold of her left hand, Nikolas slipped the yellow square cut diamond on her finger with the platinum band nestling against her hand. He brought her hand to his lips and dropped a soft kiss on it. "I love my life with you" he said softly. "I love your spirit, the way you laugh and your enormous compassion. If I could have picked the perfect woman for me, she wouldn't come close to you."

Nathalie blushed under the weight of such a strong declaration but gazed lovingly at her fiancé. "I think you better take me to bed" she said seductively. There was so much to tell him but there would be time later to do so.

"I was hoping you would say that." He scooped her into his arms and carried her from the dining room to their bedroom. Nathalie nuzzled at his neck as they climbed the stairs completely adrift in his love for her. She gasped again as he set her down. There was fire burning in the fireplace, music wafting through the air and the bed was covered in rose petals. Nikolas held on to her waist, pressing his lips against her head. "I know you're this really practical person – with solid footing on terra firma - but for one night I want to cover you in grand romantic gestures – overwhelm you with adoration so that you never - ever - question whether you are or you can be loved."

She buried her face in the crook of his neck and breathed in his woodsy scent. "I must have done something very right in my life to have been given you."

"We have a lifetime to explore that" he said quietly.

Nathalie lifted her head and took his lips in her own. Sweeping her tongue into his mouth, she tangled with his - tasting him, joining him. She ran her hands over his chest and shoulders, never tiring of the strength in his body. Relcutantly letting go of his lips, she dipped her head towards his neck. Each kiss on his soft skin more languid than the next. He tilted his head granting her more access while his hands burrowed under her sweater. Her skin was warm and her muscles rippled under his fingers. He moaned softly as her tongue worked the sensitive skin just under his ear. Her hands moved to his buttons, making quick work of them. She pushed his shirt from his shoulders and let it fall away to the floor. Her hands wandered over his skin as though discovering him for the first time. Suddenly gathering her in his arms, he carried her across the room and laid her down in front of the fireplace. He pulled her sweater over her head and tossed it behind him. Burying his head in the valley between her breasts he nipped at her lightly. Reaching behind her, he flicked her bra clasp open, freeing her breasts from their confines. Despite the heat from the fireplace, her nipples pebbled and hardened almost immediately. Nathalie sighed and pushing her hips from the floor, ground against his increasingly more evident arousal. Undoing her jeans, Nikolas pulled them from her legs before running his hands along her lean, strong inner thighs. He traced the outline of her sex through her g-string.

"I missed you, you know" he said softly as his fingers ran figure 8 patterns between her legs.

Her legs parted from his touch and she looked at him through hooded eyes."I missed you too."

"I can feel that" he said, pushing her panties to the side, slipping a finger inside her. She pushed her hips into his hands, urging him to take more. Slipping a second finger inside, he lowered his lips to her breasts and lavished them in kisses. Running her hands through his hair, she lifted a leg and wrapped it around his hip. She whimpered when he removed his fingers but he seized her lips as he removed her underwear. He made his way down the length of her body, his lips leaving a trail of wet, hot kisses. Closing her eyes, Nathalie arched up from the carpet, her body warmed by the fire and Nikolas' attention. She gasped as he licked and sucked at her sensitive nub.

"Oh god Nik" she moaned. He smiled against her skin as his fingers teased her engorged folds. Her hips undulated against him in a silent plea for more attention. He kissed her sex, letting his tongue dive in to her slick channel. Her head flopped from side to side as he tasted her - slowly and patiently. His own need was making itself well known to him but he ignored it as he continued his ministrations. Her walls clenched and opened against first his tongue and then his fingers. "Nik" she pleaded.

"What?" he smiled through hazy eyes at her.

"I want to feel you inside me"

"Not yet baby" he said huskily. "First I want you to come for me."

Spurned on by his voice, her hands went to her breasts, palming them, her fingers pulling on her sensitive nipples. He watched her for a moment - her eyes closed and her head thrown back in the throes of pleasure. He returned to her sex, licking and nipping at her as her hips bucked. His hand stroked the curve of her belly, setting her body alight with a multitude of sensations. Flicking her clit into his mouth, he sucked on it greedily as her orgasm washed over her and she cried out his name. He continued unrelentingly until she was spent. Moving beside her, he stroked her skin as her breathing steadied. He covered her face and neck with tiny staccatto kisses. "I love you so much" he whispered.

"Mmm" she said, stretching her arms over head. "I love you too." Her hand moved to his arousal and she stroked it slowly through his pants. "Don't you think we should do something about that?"

"If you want to" he said huskily, pushing himself further into her hands.

Nathalie unzipped his pants and reaching inside, took hold of his hard on. He inhaled sharply as her hand closed around him. "I love how hard you get for me" she said rolling on to her side. She stroked him as she assaulted his chest with her lips. He twitched in her hand as she worked his length first slowly and then more quickly. She pushed him on to his back and pulled his pants from him, tossing them to the pile of clothing behind them. Straddling him, she lowered herself gasping as he filled her still sensitive body. Her hands wandered over his chest and torso as her lips left trail after trail in their wake; he shuddered as her hips moved against his. Sitting up, he gripped her hips pulling her in closer to him they rocked back and forth; their mouths passionately enjoined. She traced the outline of his face as they moved closer to their climaxes. She pressed her breasts against him, eliciting a hiss in response. Nikolas buried his face in the crook of her neck as his body twitched and trembled before he came hard inside her. Nathalie's entire being shook as she came for a second time. Collapsing back on to the carpet, he pulled her into his arms and kissed the top of her head. She dropped a kiss over his heart in return. "My wife to be" he murmured sleepily.

She snuggled in against him, closing her eyes, with her head resting on his chest. "Mmm - husband-to-be." Her eyes flew open as the word 'husband' left her mouth and a cold sweat trickled down her back. Husband. She looked down at the ring on her finger and the way the it sparkled in the amber glow from the fire. She was going to get married - again. And she was pregnant. Closing her eyes, she took several deep breaths trying to quell the panic rising in her chest.

"How is Grace?" he asked as he stroked her hair. He had felt her stiffen in his arms and wondered what had run through her head to cause it.

"She's good - we had a good day today. She'll be discharged in a couple of weeks."

"'Anything else happen while I was gone?"

She paused for just a beat. "Not really - it was pretty quiet. My parents are up to their old tricks but let's not sully tonight with them, okay?"

"Sure" They rolled on to their sides, facing the fire. Nikolas pulled a blanket from the couch behind him and draped it over them. Their legs found each, tangling in each other. He nuzzled the back of her neck as she melted into him. "Everything okay with you?"

"Yeah" she whispered, rubbing her tummy absently. "I'm so glad you're home."

"Me too" he said. He swallowed his disappointment at the knowledge she was lying or at the very least witholding from him. Some time over the next few days he would ask her. He would ask her about the mysterious photo that appeared on his cell phone - the one of her kissing a man in a bar. But not tonight - tonight he wanted only to think about how she was going to be his wife.