Games We Play (25 page)

She held on to fists full of his blazer in her hands and cried into his shoulder. He stroked her back and offered up all of himself for her to lean on without a word, without rushing her. It was minutes later when her hands smoothed out and let go of his blazer, laying flat on his chest. The steady beating of his heart helped ground her emotions.
“I love my sister and I respect that she wanted to be buried here because it was her home but it isn’t mine. I want to go home.” Sasha said as she glanced one more time at Caro’s grave.

Last night when Wayne, Gage, Noah, and Pete booked their return flight to W
ashington Sasha declined being
part of the purchase.

Gage asked. “You want to stay a little longer?”

Sasha took Nick’s hand as the team sat around her hotel room. “Pete told me to take some time off and I want to drive back home instead of fly. I can’t do too much driving with my arm in this cast so I’m taking Nick to help me.”

Wayne removed his glasses and gave her the who-are-you-kidding look. “Just to drive? I took a road trip with my wife a few years ago when we were just dating, do you want to know the purpose of that trip? We had sex in every state we drove through.”

Sasha wasn’t opposed to that idea but it wasn’t a
part of her reasoning. She couldn’t very well tell the rest of the guys about Nick’s fear of flying. “Yes, that’s exactly my plan.”

After the service she said her goodbyes to the guys and they continued on to the airport. Now it was her and Nick’s turn to make their way out of Maple Oaks and it couldn’t happen any faster.

“I would’ve sucked it up and boarded the plane.” Nick said now.

“I know but I like this idea better. I’m not ready to jump back into work or sit around my apartment alone either. I’ve never been on a rode trip before.”

“Me either.”

“Good, we can experience it together.”

As they left Texas Nick took her phone and shut it down. The trip was their first vacation together and he didn’t want her trying to check in at the office or getting breadcrumbs from Gage either about the new recruits or cases.

It would take them a week to drive from Texas to Washington DC. They stopped in very state and did a little sight seeing and eating; Sasha wanted to taste something special to every area. They also tried out Wayne’s idea and had sex in very single stop they made. The trip allowed her to escape reality and that was the best medicine she could think of to help cope with Carolyn’s murder.

It was on the third day of their road trip that Sasha told Nicholas she loved him back. Lying together in bed she held his hand and noted how nicely they fit together. She was reminded of Gage saying how she and Nick complimented each other and she was finally seeing it. She fit with Nick better than she had with any other human being in the plant, they were in the same business, their sense of humor was right on track, and she wasn’t scared to let herself feel with him. He saw her through one of the worst times of her life and still wanted her, still loved her.

She turned on her side and looked down at his face. His eyes were cl
osed, his thick
lashes fanning his cheeks before he opened his dark blue eyes to look at her. It never failed, every time he looked at her with that intense look her heart sped up and she was at his mercy completely with her body and soul.

“What is it?” he whispered the words while his arm tightened around her back.

“You have the most beautiful eyes and I love you.” It wasn’t nearly as hard as she thought it would be to say the words. Maybe because she knew with no more doubt that he loved her back.

He kissed her and if they hadn’t already been naked clothes would’ve started flying off.

Sasha was excited as they drove through the familiar settings of Washington.

Nick asked. “My place first or yours?” he had done most of the driving for the trip and it was a task she gladly let him take on. What girl didn’t like being chauffeured around?

“I’ve never been to your apartment.”

“Mine first then but it’s not much of an apartment.”

“It can’t be any worse than mine. I swear I can fit the thing into my purse but at the same time less space is less cleaning.”

“No cleaning or cooking, hmm maybe we should rethink this relationship.”

Sasha pinched him on the shoulder. “Smart ass. I know how to do them, I just don’t like to and I’m honest about it. No woman likes to clean or cook and if they say differently they are lying their heads off.” 

When they arrived at Nick’s place Sasha was a bit shell shocked. When he said it wasn’t much of an apartment he didn’t mean small, he meant much bigger. A two story humongous house bigger. “Come on, let me show you around.” Nick left his bags in the car for later and took her hand. He pulled out his keys and found he didn’t need them because the front door was unlocked.

“Do we need to kick some butt?” Sasha had her gun close at all times.

“No, there’s only one person who shows up when I’m out of town.” Nick’s smile was nervous as he pulled her along. “Mom?”

Sas
ha tensed. Mom? Oh this wasn’t
part of the plan. Nick had mentioned meeting his parents several times now but she thought she’d have
more time to prepare and dress
up or something. She was wearing a yellow Georgia tourist shirt and her hair was a wavy mess tied at the base of her neck.  Not to mention all the wounds still across her arms and face. She was sure she looked like a million bucks.

Nick wasn’t wrong, his mom was there. She stepped out of the kitchen drying her hands on a dish towel. “Your freezer was a mess.” Her eyes, the same shade as her son’s, brightened when she noticed there was company. “Who do we have here?”

“Mom, this is Sasha. Sasha this is my mom Belinda.” Nick laid his hand on her back, his usual way now to remind her he was there on her side.

“Hi, Mrs. McBain. I’ve heard a lot about you.” She held out her hand.

“Oh no, no honey. I do hugs.” Mama McBain wasn’t shy at all to wrap Sasha up tight in her arms. “Nicholas has been telling me about you since you started working together and now I can finally put a face to the name. Are you hungry? I was dropping off some dinner from last night and a pie I know will just sit around. Do you like pie, Sasha?”

“I’m not a health nut like Nick. I eat everything.”

“Oh thank god.” Belinda held onto her arm and together they walked into the kitchen.

Nick sighed behind them. “I’m not a health nut.”

All it took was a slice of homemade apple pie and all Sasha’s nerves were gone. It felt like she and Belinda had known each other for years as they spoke easily about the road trip and tonight’s family dinner Nick was forbidden from missing.

Sasha asked after Belinda left, “Is everyone at this family dinner?”

“Pretty much unless they’re stuck at work. It’s not a big deal.”

“Maybe a month from now it won’t be but you only make a first impression once and I already have a few strikes against me. I need to get home and find something that takes away from the stitches still in my forehead and the black eye.” Sasha knew it was a long shot, short of showing up naked nothing was going to blind the McBain family from noticing her face.

“You’re worrying for nothing. My family will love you.” His words fell on deaf ears as she marched down to the car. “Wait for me, you’re going to need some help.”

Chapter 33

Back at her apartment there were a lot of outfits Nick liked except Sasha vetoed all of them. “I want to be myself and all these dresses were to play Maggie.” She was frustrated as she stood in her bedroom with piles of clothes all over the bed and some even on the floor. Over the last hour she had looked at every item of clothing she had after first piling on some make up to try and conceal the worst of her black eye.

“It doesn’t mean you can make it your own. You look good in all this stuff and it doesn’t take away you’re still a tough girl. I know you want to make a good impression but there’s no one in my family you have to impress. I love you, they’ll love you.”

“I doubt it’s that simple but thank you for trying.” Sasha gave him a lackluster smile. “I’m driving myself crazy.”

“You’re driving me crazy too. Why don’t you close your eyes and grab the first thing you can?”

“Leave it up to fate?”

“It’s better than what we’ve been doing this last hour.”

“I guess.” With a shrug of her shoulders Sasha closed her eyes and decided what the heck it was worth a try.

“Spin around a couple of times so you don’t subconsciously pick something in the order you remembered seeing it.”

“Don’t try rearranging things either. I saw you eyeing that black dress.”

Nick chuckled and confessed, “I do love that dress.”

Wasting no more time she spun around two times and reached for the first thing her hand touched on the bed. Her hand grabbed a purple skirt and in the spirit of trying not to going insane over an outfit Sasha stuck with it and grabbed a matching button down top that would also conceal most of her cast. “Huh, you do have good ideas after all.” Words she wouldn’t be caught saying just a month ago.

Nick reached for the sash of her robe and opened it, his hands moving up the sides of her waist.  “I’m going to let that slide and be the mature on
e
here.”

“Yeah or be the horny teenager. I can get dressed with
out
any help.” Over the last week he had been helping her with buttons and zippers.

The robe fell to her ankles. “The skirt’s zipper is in the back, you do need my help.” He stood and kissed her before she could try to say something else like the fact they were going to be late if she didn’t hurry up and finally get dressed.

With a sigh of defeat she kissed him back and realized it wasn’t a battle she wanted to win anyway. Kissing Nick was steadily becoming one of her favorite pastimes.

Somehow as only Nick could
,
during the kiss he pulled the shirt on over her arms and did up half the buttons.

“You’re smooth.”

Nick’s kiss moved down her throat and over her chest. “You’re welcome.”

They made it out of her apartment and in the car with enough time to get to his parent’s house with a minute to spare. As long as they weren’t late and Sasha didn’t have to suffer the embarrassment of his family suspecting why, everything was great.

Pulling into the driveway of the McBain family home Sasha saw something she used to dream about after her parents died; a big house with laughter and relatives pouring in and out of the front door. Every face she saw looked happy and loved. A surge of sadness gripped her heart at the reminder of all the ways her family had been robbed to share such moments.

Nick held her hand and didn’t let go.

Through the foyer and in the living room she met his youngest sister and brother, both in their early twenties. Mr. McBain was also with them seated in front of the TV.

“Your mother told me you were back in town and bringing this poor girl to suffer an evening with these knucklehead children.”

Nick’s youngest sister Josslyn exclaimed, “Hey!”

“I love you pumpkin.” Mr. McBain took Nick and Sasha’s arm and moved them away from the group into the kitchen where his wife was cooking with another one of Nick’s sisters, the infamous Emily who couldn’t cook even a can of corn. 

Belinda was quick with her big hugs. “You made it!”

Emily asked after introductions were made, “Can I ask what happened?” she motioned to Sasha’s cast and black eye the conceal
er
was doing a bad job at hiding.

“Um,” Sasha thought about a hundred different lies she could tell but in the end there wasn’t a reason to lie, not
here not now. It was after all
part of her job and the suffering was hers to share how she chose. “I was kidnapped by a serial killer and we got into a pretty bad fight.”

Emily paled at the mention of violence. “Wow. What happened to the other guy?”

Nick answered, “He’s in prison. What are you doing in the kitchen? Aren’t you scared something might explode, mom?”

Emily groaned. “One can of corn and I’m never going to live it down. I missed you too Nick.” The siblings smiled at each other to show there wasn’t even a hint of seriousness behind their banter.

It wasn’t until everyone was seated around the table for twelve the questions came for Sasha. The McBain’s were interested in everything about her. She answered again truthfully’ her parents had been killed in a car accident, her sister was killed by the same serial killer to break her arm, she moved to Washington several years ago, she always wanted to be apart of the FBI, and yes she loved Nicholas.

Belinda smiled over her cup of soda. “I want you to hold onto this one, son. She has good taste and likes to eat.”

“I’m trying, ma.”

By the end of the night Sasha felt like a fool for ever being scared to face his family, they truly were the loveliest bunch of people she’s ever met. It was almost sickening except for the fact no one had put on an act, this was the real deal between them and they all welcomed her with open arms. Mrs. McBain’s cooking also helped ease her nerves, the woman was a God in the kitchen and before calling it a night Sasha had two bags filled with leftovers to take home.