Love me if you dare (16 page)

Nicolas gave an elaborate sigh and
zipped his weekend bag closed.

“Woman, how can it be a surprise if I
tell you where we are going?  Pack as if you are staying at home.  We are going
to relax.  Remember to take those three triangles you call a bikini.  Now go …
I want to be on the road in ten minutes.”

He turned her around and pushed her
towards her room, pinching her bum as she walked away, laughing at her
indignant screech.   

“Oh, and honey,” he walked up to her,
hugged her and drawled wickedly in her ear, “leave your bras at home!”  He
laughed again at the red flush spreading over her cheeks.

They drove north and no matter how
hard she tried, he refused to tell her where they were heading.  “You will
realize soon enough,” was all he gave her.

It was one of the best road trips she
has ever been on.  They chatted, sparred, debated and laughed.  Oh, how they laughed.
Nicolas could not get enough of her natural laughter, so pure, so full of
enjoyment and he exulted in her happiness.

Eventually she realized they were
heading towards Thabazimbi, where Nicolas’s parents owned a game farm within
the National Park.  She turned to him excitedly.

“Nico!  We are going to visit your
parents?  Oh, that is wonderful! Thank you! Thank you, thank you.” She leaned
over and kissed him repeatedly on the cheek as she thanked him

He smiled at her pleasure, relieved
that she was excited about seeing them.  They always loved and spoiled her. She
used to spend many of her school and varsity breaks there.  She loved taking
some of the guests on game drives, and even bred some of their horses for them
during one summers break. He only understood why she always insisted to visit
them on breaks, after the confrontation with Shona the other night.  It was her
haven, where love was given unconditionally.

He winced as he remembered his
father’s anger the night of her twenty first.  He has never seen his father so
angry or so disappointed at him.  Disappointed, because he allowed Alexander
and Shona to chase her away and because he himself believed everything so
easily and readily.

“Oh no! Nicolas, your fiend!  How
could you!”

He frowned at her distress.

“What?”

“You told me to leave my bras at
home,” she wailed and he burst out laughing so hard he had to concentrate to
keep the car on the road.

She slapped him on his shoulder.  “It
is not funny!”

“You really left them at home?”

“Yes!  I thought we were going
somewhere where we will be alone!  That’s what you made me believe!”

“Aahh … honey!  It does my heart so
well that you actually obey me … hey!  Careful!” he laughed when she slapped
him again.  “Don’t want to cause an accident, now you do?”

“You really think this is funny!  What
am I going to do!”  Nicolas could not stop smiling. 

“Honey, stop worrying.”  He looked
down at her breasts and frowned.  “I see you didn’t leave all of them at home.”
She tsk’ed her tongue at him irritably.

“Five days, Nicolas!  Five days, I
can’t wear the same bra for five days!”  He dropped his hand to her thigh and
caressed her leg softly.

“If you really insist on denying me
the sight of those beautiful breasts unbound for the weekend, I will wash your
bra for you every night.” 

The thought of his large hands gently
washing her lacy bra every night send heat churning straight to her groin and
she moaned.  His eyes caught hers and he grinned salaciously at her, noticing
the desire flashing in her eyes.

“After, I licked and pulled it off
your breasts with my teeth, of course.” 

Keeping his eyes on the road, he
lifted his hand and softly caressed over her breasts, feeling his groin tighten
when her nipples immediately shriveled into tight nubs.

“You do realize of course, that we
will not be sharing a room for the next six nights?” she gasped as her passions
ignited.

“Like hell we won’t … Oh, shit!”

“Nicolas!”

“Sorry.  Damned if I didn’t even think
about that.  Moms would have a fit. I forgot how old fashioned she is. No …
they will just have to understand.  There is no way I will be able to survive
for six nights without you in my arms!”  He growled and she laughed, amazed at
his white knuckles as he gripped the steering wheel tighter.

She dropped her hand to his leg and
caressed his thigh, slowly circling closer to his arousal she noticed were
pressing against his pants.  His breath caught when her fingers closed around
his arousal and started stroking up and down the length of it.  He ground his
teeth and his foot lifted from the fuel pedal, reducing their speed so he could
enjoy her torment and not kill them in the process!

“I think you better start preparing
yourself, honey.  You know Moms thinks of me as the daughter she’s never had. 
There is no way she would allow that!” 

He growled as he acknowledged the
truth of that.  Her caresses became harder, faster and he grabbed her hand in
his to draw it away from his groin.

“Have mercy, woman!  You have me as
hard as a rock and at the same time telling me there is no way of I am going to
bury myself in your heat tonight!"

“Nico …!”  She mewled as her panties
were immediately flooded in anticipation and need.

“Good!  I’d hate to be the only one
suffering!”

The
minute Nicolas brought the car to a stop Samantha jumped out and ran towards
his parents who were already descending the patio stairs.  He swallowed hard at
the big lump in his throat when she hurled herself in his mother’s arms and
they hugged fiercely.  He got out of the car and walked slowly towards the
three people hugging and crying, his father embracing both the woman in his
arms.

When
he reached them he circled his arms around all of them and the Forrester’s
engulfed Samantha in warmth and love and she cried even harder.  Nicolas
groaned and pulled her away from his mother who was also crying, to tenderly
wipe the tears from her cheeks.  He shook his head, realizing he was wasting
his time, as the more he wiped away, more replaced it.

“Honey,
enough already!  The dams on the farm are overflowing as it is!” 

She
slapped him on his arm, but smiled blindingly at his parents and he could only
stare at the enchanting picture in front of him.

“Honey,
Nicolas?  You called her honey?”  His mother enquired with a quiver in her
voice.  He groaned inwardly, but knew she would not have let it slip her by. 
His eyebrow lifted at her questioningly as he pulled Samantha close to his
side, his arm around her waist.

“So
I did.”  He leaned down and kissed her softly on her temple and smiled at his
parents.  “Do you have a problem with it, Moms?” 

His
mother noticed the slight flush on Samantha’s cheeks, but also how comfortably
and easily she leaned into her son, locking her arm around his waist the moment
he pulled her closer.  Her eyes shone with love through the last of her
glittering tears and Camilla Forrester’s smile broadened as her eye caught her
husband’s.  She hugged him close when she noticed his eyes also filling with
moisture.

“No
… no, we definitely do not have a problem with it!  As a matter of fact, we are
delighted!”

Owen
cleared his throat, blinked the tears back and gruffly ordered them inside. 
“Well, let’s go round to the back.  I am glad you arrived early enough so you
could get the fire going, son.  It’s time we put those soft city hands of yours
to work.”

Nicolas
objected loudly and they followed his parents through the house to the
entertainment area at the back of the house; the two of them ribbing each other
all the way there.

Camilla
showed Samantha to her room much later in the evening.  She pulled open the
windows and smiled at her.  “I know you always like the fresh air at night.”

Samantha
smiled warmly at her.  “You know me so well Moms.  Thank you for the lovely
evening.  I can’t remember when last I laughed so much and felt so relaxed.”   
She watched as Camilla folded the duvet to the bottom of the bed and fluffed
the cushions. 

“There! 
I am so happy you and Nicolas found each other.  Owen and I have always said
you two belong together.”  She walked closer to Samantha and gave her a quick
hug.  “It’s wonderful to see you two so much in love.  What’s the matter?”  She
frowned at Samantha noticing the closed look shadowing her eyes.  She smiled
wearily at Nicolas’s mother.

“Don’t
you love him?”

“Of
course I do!  And I have told him so a few times already, but he doesn’t love
me.  He only wants me.”  She flushed when she remembered it was his mother she
was talking to.  “And maybe he is only trying to make up for what happened all
those years ago…”

“Samantha,
darling, I am sure you are mistaken.  He might not have said the words and I
know my son, so believe me, it is in every look he gives you, the way he holds
you, the way he watches you and how he is aware of every little movement you
make.”

She
smiled wanly, wanting desperately to believe Camilla, but having felt unloved
for the most part of her life, doubt overshadowed everything she said.

After
a quick shower, and dressed in a slightly more conservative shorts and t-shirt
pajamas than usual, which she packed on a whim to tease Nicolas with, she
slipped between the sheets and fell back on the pillows.  She switched off the
lamp and waited until her eyes adjusted to the dark so she could enjoy the
black of the night, glittering with stars that were visible through the open window.

Just
as she slumbered off, the door opened and Nicolas’s large shape slipped through
and closed the door softly. He padded to the bed and his teeth flashed white in
the dark when he noticed her still awake.

“What
are you doing here?”

“Do
you really need me to answer that question, love?”  He whispered back taking
his clothes off and pulled the sheet from her grasp to fling it over the duvet
at the bottom of the bed.

“Hmmm
… even granny pj’s make you look sexy, but I much prefer …” She gasped when he
grabbed her shorts and pulled it smoothly down her legs and threw it on the
ground.  “You completely …” He tugged the t-shirt over her head, ignoring her
struggles and complaints. “Naked in my arms!”

He
loomed over her and immediately settled between her legs, growling hungrily
when he pushed against her warmth.  She moaned when he lowered his chest and
rubbed it against her nipples.

“Nico
… you are crazy!  We can’t!  Your parents are just down the hallway. They will
hear us!”  But a soft mewl echoed directly thereafter as he pushed his full
arousal slowly home, all the way to the hilt.

His
eyes burned into hers in the moonlit room. “I have been in pain since you set
out to seduce me in the car.  So it is your own fault!  Let’s see if you can
make love noiselessly …” 

“Nico,
no stop … ooohhh.” A low moan escaped her as his lips closed over her nipple
and he suckled hard and deep, at the same time plunging slowly in and out of
her, his body trembling at the strain to maintain a slow and steady rhythm.

It
went well for a while, but her moans increased in intensity and loudness, until
eventually he was forced to deny him the taste of her sweet breasts and closed
his mouth over hers to keep the noise down.  He stopped moving to allow her to
calm down and he winced at the strain of staying still inside her heated walls
that were quivering sweetly around his hardness.

He
lifted his head and caressed her cheeks, smiling down at her, her beauty
radiant in the moonlight.  Her hands caressed down his back over his strong arms
and she returned his smile, giggling softly.

“Shhh
…” but the enjoyment in the girly giggle was so contagious he laughed softly. 
“Samantha!  Stop … we’re going to wake them!”

“I’m
sorry,” she gasped between her giggles, “but it is so funny!  We are both
grown-ups, and here we are scared of your parents!”  And she erupted in a fit
of giggles, which caused him to growl and press deeper into her as her whole
body shook and her walls tightened around him with it.

A
knock on the door put an end to her merriment and they both froze in shock.

“Samantha
is everything okay?”

Samantha
had her hands pressed over her mouth and her eyes were as big as saucers and
Nicolas had to press his face into the pillow next to her as his laughter
erupted.  She slapped him on his back.

“Yes.
Moms!  I am … sorry I woke you!  It’s your silly … son … making jokes on the
phone!” 

She
gasped and pinched him under his arm when his muffled laughter intensified in
her ear and he ground his shaft deeper inside her.

“Well,
tell him not to keep you up.  You need your rest.  Sleep well, darling.”

“You
… too, Moms.” 

Nicolas
gasped for breath and swallowed his laughter at the searing look in Samantha’s
eyes.  His head lowered and he kissed her hard and deep, whilst his fingers
closed over her clit, stroking and pinching softly and, as he plunged into her
with deep hard thrusts, harder.  She shattered immediately around him, the
tightening ripples around his shaft pushed him over the edge directly
thereafter and when the heat off his orgasm shot inside her, her own
intensified twofold and she struggled to breathe.

Nicolas
kept kissing her, but soft and tender, until their bodies became lax and
replete.  He settled next to her and pulled her in his arms, hugging her tight.

“Now,
I’ll be able to sleep. What have you done to me?  You have become a drug in my
system!  I need this every day; I crave you all the time!”

Samantha
smiled sadly against his chest.  He just strengthened her believe that for him
it was all about desire and fulfillment of his need.  Love played no role in
his feelings for her!

They
spend most of the next day in the field.  Owen showed them all the new camps
and chalets that were added recently; their last stop the stables, where
Samantha used to spend a lot of time when she was younger and her eyes misted
over at the memories.

It
took a lot of cajoling to get Samantha back in the Jeep away from the two
little foals that were born a week ago.  On the way back to the farmhouse her
excitement knew no bounds.

“Really,
Nico!  I am serious!  We should be involved with the breeding this year!  We
need the speed of Stargazer and the stamina of … what’s that black warhorse you
favor called?”

“Thor.” 
She was silent for so long he glanced back at her where she leaned forward
between the two front seats.

“You’re
kidding!”  Why Thor?”

He
shook his head and laughed at her.  “I did not name the horse, honey.  I just
like to ride him.”

“Oh
… yes of course!  Well, if we can combine his stamina with Stargazer’s speed,
we will have a top breeding horse!”

“And
how do you propose to do that? Mesh two sperm cells of each and artificially
inseminate a merry?”

“Don’t
be silly, Nicolas!  Hey wait!  Why not!  Pops, what do you think?”

Nicolas
smiled and shook his head.  She had called them Moms and Pops from the first
day she met them, when he brought the DuPonts’ to meet his family a few months
after he bought shares and became Alexander’s partner.

He
listened to half an ear to their heated discussion while his mind wandered to
the telephone call he had early this morning.  He believed Desmond Harris
really regretted his participation years ago and wanted to make amends, so he
decided to use him to set up Elaine and Wieldman.

He
deliberately took Samantha away from the offices; he needed Elaine to have free
rein and access to step in the trap he had set for them.  If she was there, she
would have picked up on the project and demanded to know why she was not
involved in a project with so much operational resources.  He had not even told
her that Elaine was back at Global, and hopefully before he had to, Elaine
would have taken and ran with the bait.

Later,
after dinner they enjoyed the cool evening air, each lazing in the deep and
comfortable patio chairs that Owen designed and made himself.  Samantha already
bribed him to make some for their place as well.  His heart nearly exploded
when she said that … their place!

Samantha
smiled up at him when he rose to assist Camilla with clearing away the glasses
and dessert plates that were on the patio table. Resting her head on the back
of the chair she gazed dreamily at the starts in the black sky.  She started
and nearly jumped up when Moms suddenly shouted close behind her.

“Nicolas,
wait!”  Her eyes widened, watching an angry Nicolas thundering towards her. He
stopped in front of her glaring at her with spitting eyes.

“So,
now I don’t love you!” He shouted at her and she glanced worriedly towards
Camilla hovering in the door.

“Nico
… calm …”

“Don’t
tell me to calm down!  Of course I bloody love you!  How can you not know
that!” he bellowed even louder.

“Because
you never bloody told me!” she shouted back at him.

“I
sure as hell showed you how much I love you!  Or are you going to claim you
didn’t notice that either!  Damn!”  He swung around and stormed back inside the
house, flinging the question at Owen over his shoulder.  “Where are the safe’s
keys, Dad?”

Owen
smiled so broadly he nearly forgot to answer his annoyed son, glaring at him
when he didn’t answer immediately.  “Same place it has always been, son.”

Samantha
pressed her hand over her beating heart, glancing worriedly at Camilla and
Owen.  “Moms, Pops, what is …?”

“It’s
okay, darling.  He was just surprised is all.  I hope you don’t mind me telli
…”

Nicolas
returning interrupted her and he loomed over Samantha, his eyes like burning
orbs of silver fire.  He took a deep breath, went down on his knees next to her
and grasped her hands in his, his gaze holding hers captive.

“I
wanted to wait until after we have settled the Wieldman issue, but if this is
what you need to believe and trust in me …” 

He
pulled a small blue velvet box out of his pocket and she gasped when the light
glittered on the diamonds as he pulled the ring out. He took her hand and
slowly pushed the ring on her finger, causing her to gulp in recognition.  It
was the same ring she fitted on her finger in awe the day Alexander and he took
her to choose the diamond earrings he bought for her for her twenty first
birthday.  She fell in love with it there and then, and it looked as gorgeous
on her finger as it did then.