Solving For Nic (16 page)

“I kind of hate you right now,” Jen grumbled.

“I’ll be back in New Orleans by the end of the week.”

“Okay, you’ve convinced me,” Jen assured her. “Now, as soon as we hang up you can start trying to convince yourself.”

“I kind of hate you back.”

“I’ll have pancakes waiting for you when you get back.”

“I’ll be fine.”

“If he hurts you, Mac and Stefan won’t get a chance to kill him. They won’t be able to find his body, Lizzie. I mean it.”

“Jen, I swear, I know what I’m doing. I will still need those pancakes, but this will all be fine. Trust me.”

Jen groaned. “Now I’m really worried.”

It was the perfect day to spend on the water. Big fluffy clouds floated across the bright blue sky and reflected in the calm clear water. The sun was warm but the air was cool. On the deck of Nic’s fishing trawler, Lizzie relaxed in a lounge chair and tried not to think about anything.

“You okay?” He handed her a travel mug of coffee.

She nodded, forcing a smile.

“Lizzie—” he sat on the edge of the lounger, “—don’t make the mistake of thinking you’re the only one who can’t feel the ground under your feet.”

He kissed her forehead, then levered up to go do whatever it was he needed to do to get the boat ready to go. She watched him, no longer faking a smile but determined she was not going to read more into this than there was but Nic didn’t make it easy.

By midmorning, she was torturing him. She’d stripped down to her bikini and was rubbing sunscreen on all the skin the bikini left bare. Which was most of her. Nic had been free to get his gear together, bait his hooks, and drop his lines. He’d been fishing for several uninterrupted hours when the scrape of a lounge chair startled him. He glanced over his shoulder to find her adjusting the chair to maximize the sun. Her back was to him as she scooted the chair around. She bent over and Nic’s body turned to steel while his brain shut off.

There was a hard tug on his line and he ignored it. Her bikini stretched across those perfect curves and had Nic choking on his own breath trying to get oxygen into his lungs.

She straightened, and turned to grin at him. She knew he was watching her. “Want to do my back?”

She waved the bottle of sunscreen at him. She was teasing him and the way she smiled, her face lit up like Christmas, made him smile back at her. He shrugged helplessly. He wanted to spread sunscreen on more than her back. Instead he held up his hands. “I’ve had my hands in all this bait.”

Her smile went away as she shuddered. “I’m good. I don’t need any help.”

He grinned and went back to his lines. When it got too quiet, he was about to go look for her when she stepped out of the cabin holding two bottles of water. She closed the distance between them, the shells and charm on the sarong clinking together.

Nic looked down at her feet and his throat went dry. His eyes fixed on the silver rings on several of her toes and the cherry red toenail polish. He had the strangest urge to pull those rings off one by one with his teeth.

She dangled a bottled water in front of him. He took it, grateful for something cold.

He swallowed most of the water in one gulp and when he could speak without sounding like he had sandpaper in his throat, he asked, “Getting ready for lunch?”

She took a sip of her water and replaced the cap. “No, I’m good. Unless you’re hungry.”

“The kitchen’s fully stocked. I’m sure you can find something you can eat.”

“Oh.” She sounded nervous. “I’m in charge of lunch?”

“Should I be worried?”

“Probably. Jen doesn’t allow me in the kitchen anymore. She tried to teach me to cook but I think I take too long getting things ready. She gave me cookie dough once and it took me ten minutes to get all the slices right.”

“You sliced cookie dough?”

“The premade kind. In the tube.”

“Oh.” Nic stifled a laugh. He could see her concentrating on getting all the slices the same.

“If one slice is larger than the other, one will get done faster so not all the cookies will reach peak yumminess.”

“That would be bad,” he agreed, charmed again when color dusted her cheeks.

“I shouldn’t have told you.”

This time he shrugged. “I prefer cannoli to cookies.”

Her bright smile almost blocked out the sun. “Oh really? I have a great recipe for cannoli.”

“I can’t wait to hear it.”

She nodded. “Yeah, you drive down to Carrollton Avenue and stop in at Brocato’s. They come out perfect every time.”

Nic shook his head in disbelief as he watched her walk away. How could she be so cute and sexy at the same time?

Nervous, Lizzie stared at the kitchenette like she would an army of advancing battle robots. She didn’t have a chance but she had to try. The boat’s galley was more compact than the kitchen at his house, so it should have been less intimidating. She hadn’t been kidding about being hopeless earlier. Jen had given up trying to teach her anything a long time ago.

“What would Jen do?” Lizzie asked out loud as she opened the refrigerator. “Oh…” She almost passed out in relief when she found it full of elaborate platters of gourmet cheeses and fruits. Lunch was going to be a snap.

Lizzie couldn’t cook but she could set a mean table. Later, she had a table for two set up under the canvas canopy. She’d found fresh basil and lemons and made a centerpiece. She wanted to photograph it so she could pin it or send it to Jen. She groaned and realized she’d left her phone on Nic’s charger and forgotten all about it.

“This looks good and those lemons are perfectly sliced.”

She laughed, pushed him away playfully. He pulled her chair out for her. “Such a gentleman.”

They drank a light red wine and ate crackers with cheese and fruit. The canvas canopy blocked out the sun but nothing could stop the cool, clean ocean air. The water was calm and there was no one for miles.

“This is wonderful.” Lizzie sighed. “How can you stand to leave this place?”

“I hate to leave this place. It’s the one place I have to myself.”

“Except for now,” she reminded him.

“Yes, but see how useful you are.” He waved at the empty plates between them. “This gourmet feast you prepared was delicious.”

“Did it earn me a place in your crew?” She grinned.

He plucked a strawberry out of a bowl of mixed berries and held it up for her. She leaned across the small table and opened her mouth. The berry was cold and crisp and juice ran down her chin as she bit down.

When she licked the juice away with her tongue, she almost laughed at the pained expression on his face. “Delicious,” she admitted.

“I think I can definitely find a place for you on my crew.”

“Oh, then I’ll need a uniform.”

“Come here.” He pushed back from the table.

She took her time standing and moving toward him. She loved the way his eyes skimmed all over her. She stopped in front of him, standing between his legs staring down at him. His hands went to her waist before sliding up her bare rib cage. She loved the feel of his hands there and the way his thumbs swept over her abdomen.

“You won’t need a uniform.”

She smiled and caught her breath as his thumbs moved to tease her nipples. They beaded into hard points and the pressure of his thumbs made them ache. She grabbed a strawberry to distract him and held it for him. She watched him bite down on the strawberry with strong white teeth, then ducked down and traced the trickle of juice at the corner of his mouth with her tongue.

He tugged her forward. She lost her balance and fell into his lap as he swallowed the strawberry. He kissed her. Wine, strawberries and Nic was more than Lizzie could take.

“You are delicious.”

She stretched. Light-headed, she settled down against his shoulder and gave into the weight pulling at her eyelids. “I think I had too much wine.”

His index finger pressed against her lower lip. “Thank you for lunch.”

Another first for her. She smiled, kissing the tip of his finger. She was having all kinds of first times with Nic. The wine, the rocking of the boat, and the heat from Nic’s body were all too much and she lost the battle with her eyelids and fell asleep before she knew it.

A splash roused Lizzie from the catnap she was dosing in and out of. Another splash had her up and looking around. She spotted a neat pile of clothes by the stern. She leaned over the side of the boat and found him in the ocean treading water.

“Are you crazy?”

He wiped the water off his face. “I needed to cool off. Come in.”

Lizzie shivered, the sun was already starting to set and the water was darker. “There are creatures. Jellyfish, seaweed. I don’t do oceans, Nic. I like the beach.”

“Some mermaid you are,” he teased, swimming back toward the boat.

“Mermaid? What makes you think I'm a mermaid?”

“Your hair,” he told her. “Definitely mermaid hair.”

Lizzie grinned then a second later dove into the warm water.

“What about the creatures?” he asked as she surfaced next to him.

She shrugged. “Mermaid. Remember?”

She splashed him in the face then pushed away from him, enjoying the warm sea water on her skin. They played in the water for a while, laughing and splashing and kissing until Nic dragged them both back to the boat before they drowned because they couldn’t stop touching each other.

He levered onto the swimming platform, then pulled her next to him.

“You want to stay out here tonight or go back in?”

“Stay on the boat?”

He nodded. “Cabin’s comfortable.”

“You think that's a good idea? You may not be safe. Mermaids can be dangerous.” He might not be safe anyway. Her hands wanted to smooth away the water droplets clinging to the fine hairs on his chest. She'd never realized how sexy chest hair could be. She wanted to rub her whole body all over him.

“I’ll take my chances. You don't scare me, mermaid or not.”

A second later, Lizzie got her wish as crisp hairs met soft skin and a bonfire blew up between them. She pulled her mouth away this time, and ran a sizzling line of open-mouthed kisses along his jaw, down his throat until she was tracing the lines of his pectoral with her tongue. He was delicious. He tasted like the ocean and Lizzie wanted to taste all of him.

He stopped her when her mouth trailed down. She was about to trace his navel with her tongue when he flipped her to her back on the swimming platform and blocked out the afternoon sun.

“My turn.”

“It’s always your turn.”

His slow sexy smile held her in thrall as he moved over her, droplets of ocean sliding from his hair to her skin.

“Tell me where you want me to kiss you next.” His voice was at least two octaves lower this time. It redefined sexy. “Lizzie,” he warned, drawing her name out and smiling at the same time he tried to sound dire.

She pretended to think, rolling her eyes around as if it were a hard decision. When one dark eyebrow lifted, she tapped her cheek, turning it to him. “Here.”

“Good choice.” He pressed a gentle kiss against her cheek. “My turn to pick.”

She choked back a shriek when he pushed one black triangle of her bikini top aside then closed his mouth over one aching breast. His tongue teased her ruthlessly, but not for long enough. Then he made a move for her other one and she tried to wrench away from him. “My turn.”

His tongue flicked out in one quick circle. “No, matching set counts as one.”

She giggled then yelped as he teased her other nipple until she wasn't sure if she was laughing or crying or trying to breathe. His teeth nipped at her and a slight edge of pain sliced through her. Her eyes flew open and she found him studying her reaction.

“You like that, don't you?” His voice was hoarse. He rolled her tight bud between his finger and thumb as he watched her closely, not letting her break eye contact. Her lips parted as another arrow darted through her. “Don't you?” He increased the pressure.

“Yes.” The husky tone of her voice called something dangerous out of him. He straightened and pulled her to her feet. “Nic, what’s wrong?” Concern shook her.

He crushed her against his chest. “I’m not inside you, that’s what’s wrong.”