Void (38 page)

God, she was devastatingly beautiful. My heart leaped, my chest seized, and my dick twitched just like it did every time she was in my presence. I missed her. Needed her. So I couldn’t wait any longer and decided to see her at the café. I needed to let her know that I
knew
.

“You saw the news report?” I asked as I gestured toward the TV. The café was quiet with only a few people inside, yet I almost felt the need to whisper. It was as if I raised my voice, she would disappear.

“I did earlier this afternoon.”

She broke out of her momentarily frozen state of shock by seeing me and bent down to sweep up the trash she had dropped when she turned around and saw me.

“I wanted to come by and tell you thank you.”

“For what?” She asked as she stood up, flipping her blonde ponytail over her shoulder and walking over to empty the dust pan into one of the trash cans.

“For the warning.”

“Oh. Well, I just wanted to give you a heads up.”

She began to walk away from me and I reached for her, closing my hand around her wrist. I could feel the frantic beat of her heart through her pulse point and it mirrored my own. The skin of my fingers burned where they touched her and it was unlike any fire you could possibly imagine. There was still a connection—a definite spark between us, and I wasn’t about to let this slip away.

Was I angry with her for stealing the script pads from me? Hell yes. Not because she actually stole them, but the reason why she stole them. Cardinelli had threatened her with something and she was forced to take them. She never would have done it on her own. I knew she loved me. I saw it in her eyes every time she looked at me. Just like the way I see it now.

I gave her wrist a gentle tug and pulled her closer to me to where we were nearly sharing the same breath. I let go of her wrist and reached up to cup her face in my hands assertively, but with a gentle touch. I needed her to understand and
feel
what I was about to tell her. There would be no wondering of her eyes, only focus on me. I wouldn’t have it any other way.

“Nicola, I
know
what you did, and I forgive you.”

I leaned in and placed a firm, but gentle kiss on her lips, and then released her before turning around and walking out of the café doors.

I know what you did, and I forgive you.

Andris’s words echoed in my mind as I watched him walk away. My feet felt cemented to the floor and my body heavy as the weight of his words came bearing down on me. You always hear about those cliché moments when someone has an epiphany, or the “light bulb” moment when their brain finally goes “aha!” and suddenly everything seems clear.

Well, those nine words from his mouth were my “aha” moment. I had concentrated on the fact that Andris had lied to me about Link for the last week, that I was too angry to actually see it from his side. When I took the script pad from his desk drawer, I did it to protect us. Mainly him, but me as well. If Andris were charged with drug trafficking, I could lose him. Families would be torn when it got out that I was an escort. Did I care in the beginning about all of that? No. Did I now?

Absolutely.

I became a new person the day Andris showed up on my doorstep. My mind was finally able to let go of the darkness inside and allow humanity in.

Andris did what he did to protect something too. His heart. Could I stay mad at the man I loved (yes, I still loved him) when he was only doing the same thing I did?

I made a mad dash out through the café doors, nearly trampling over Letta in the process. The cold air hit me in the face as I ran outside, looking down the sidewalk. I didn’t have a jacket on and I was freezing, but I didn’t want him to get away.

“Took you long enough,” he said, pushing off a wall behind me and approaching me. The smile on his face ignited my insides as he came to stand in front of me. He ran his hands along my arms and chill bumps formed, not only from the cold, but from his touch.

“Excuse me?” I asked, arching my brow at him, “How in the hell did you even know I would come after you?”

He laughed and his head tilted back in the process. He reached for the scarf around his neck and secured it over mine and I was enveloped in the scent of him. I inhaled deeply, praying he didn’t see me do it.

“I didn’t know. I just hoped. I can’t do this anymore, Nicola. I can’t go on and keep pretending that I can live my life without you. I can’t keep faking my way through my days only to rush home and beg my mind and body to fall asleep so I can finally be with you in my dreams. I’ll do anything you want me to, to fix this. To fix us. I need you.”

“How did you know it was me? I mean, how did you know I took the script pad?” I asked, lowering my voice slightly just in case there were wandering ears.

“You are the only one I have ever trusted enough to leave alone in my office. Then when you came to the clinic and warned me, I knew something was up. I didn’t piece it all together until the police showed me the forged prescriptions and I realized mine were missing.”

“Oh.”

“Nicola, what you did was stupid, idiotic, and downright dangerous. If you were in trouble with Cardinelli, you should have told me. You should have let me take care of it.”

“He was going to expose your involvement with the agency as well as with him. Not only would that affect you, the clinic, your employees, and me, but Lexie and the agency as well. I couldn’t let him do that. I’m a pretty tough cookie. I was handling him.”

“Promise me, next time you decide to go toe to toe with a crime boss, you tell me first?”

I laughed.

“Sure thing,” I replied as I saluted him.

“Now, there’s one more thing we need to discuss.

“What would that be?”

“Us. How we are going to move on from all of this shit between us.”

I brought my ice-cold finger up to my lips, pretending to contemplate what he was saying.

“I think that can be arranged. I was so angry with you for lying to me, Andris. I want honesty. I want to know you completely. The good and the bad. And also if you don’t mind sharing me.”

“What? Hell no. There is no fucking way I am sharing you with anyone.” He said sternly and with resonation in his voice.

“Not even with Link?”

He smiled.

“Maybe with Link. I hear you have a small crush on him.” He said as he pulled me into his arms and enfolded me in his warmth. I breathed a sigh of relief and it felt as if my heart began to beat normally again.

“I love you, and he is a
part
of you.”

I tried to move out of his arms, but they only tightened around me more.

“Where do you think you are going?”

“Inside to get warm. My pussy lips are freezing together out here!”

He laughed and it was beautiful. Just like him. Just like us. We were beautiful together.

“I know of a much faster way to get you warm.”

He kissed me fiercely on the lips and grabbed my hand and we took off in a sprint towards his car.

It’s hot in here.

Too hot.

My body was smoldering and my legs trembled from where they were bound open. Luxurious silk was intricately entwined around my ankles and wrists.

I never grew tired of this. I never felt the flames of my desire diminish even the slightest bit with Andris. If anything, those flames only grew more and more until I was a racing inferno out of control.

It’s amazing how within a span of a year, I went from nothing into someone who now enjoys life. I smile. I laugh. And I still get pleasure.

Only now it is from one (sometimes two) men only. Andris lets Link come out to play every so often, and I love it when he does.

Just like now, as I lie naked and completely exposed to him. I could feel his warm breath dance over my clit, enough to let me know he was there, yet not nearly enough to swell the ache that grew by the minute.

“Say it and I’ll let you cum.”

I smiled from behind my blindfold. He had been playing this game with me for several long minutes now. As much as I was enjoying the torture he was going through, the torture he was putting me through was nearly unbearable.

His strong hands massaged my thighs as he leaned in and took one, long luxurious swipe up my center and paused on my clit before he pulled back again.

“You don’t fight fair,” I said as my breathing increased. I felt like a rubber band that was being stretched to the max. All it would take would be a release of his fingers or tongue to send me spiraling through the air.

“I never promised to fight fair. I only promised to give you an orgasm every day for the rest of your life, but you have to say it first.”

“Fine! Yes. I will marry you!”

“That’s my girl,” I felt his smile through his lips on my pussy. Andris’s lips assaulted my cunt to the point I was coming in only a matter of seconds. And when he unbound me and removed my blindfold, we stared straight into each other’s eyes as we made love.

They say love can move mountains. That it can power through all things. It is one of the strongest feelings in the world. It can help you overcome obstacles and it can heal. Love saved me from out of a darkness no one should ever have to experience. Love helped Andris overcome his own demons. Love brought us together. Even though I still had a hard time processing and understanding certain feelings, there was one thing I definitely knew. I was no longer VOID. I was now FILLED.