CHASING TROUBLE

Her eyes held his for the blink of a moment before she turned her back to him and turned the light out. Struggling to breathe, Nicholas held his son’s wrists to steady him as he merrily bounced away on his chest and watched his happy, babbling face in the starlight.

“Nick,” Caroline’s sleepy voice broke quietly through the darkness. “We’ll talk more about your suggestion tomorrow. Okay?”

__________

Never in his life had Nicholas woken with such a weight pressing on his chest. But this was a good weight.

An excellent weight. He opened his eyes and found his son straddling his neck, his face hovering over his with the look of an archaeologist examining an important find. The sun had risen but Nicholas was quite sure it was earlier than he’d woken since his own childhood.

Grinning, he lifted Charlie into the air and sat up, shushing him as he went so he didn’t wake Caroline, who was curled up like a hedgehog under the sheets beside him. He stared at the curls poking out and felt his heart catch. On the verge of leaning over and capturing one of those curls, he was prevented by a miniature finger being inserted up his nose.

He held onto his laughter until he’d closed the nursery door. His amusement soon turned to head-scratching as he tasked himself with cleaning and changing his son’s nappy and pajamas. Just as he was debating whether or not to wake the nanny, a sleepy Caroline entered the room, smothering a yawn. Even with her hair shooting up in all directions and puffy eyed, she looked beautiful, and Nicholas felt an immediate stab of longing pierce him.Copyright Nôv/el/Dra/ma.Org.

He’d hardly slept himself. While his son and son’s mother had slept deeply with him on the huge emperor-sized bed, he’d been alert to every move they’d both made, the few lulls into sleep filled with vivid dreams that had merged into reality when he’d opened his eyes. He watched as she stood beside him at the changing table, pressing kisses on the face of their naked son, who was making bicycle motions with his legs.

“Why didn’t you wake me?” she asked.

“When did you last sleep in?” he challenged.

“What’s sleeping in?”

“See?” He gave her his sternest look. “Go back to bed. I’ve got this.”

Ignoring his directive, she tickled their son’s belly. “You’re changing him?”

“Obviously.”

“If it’s that obvious, where’s his clean clothes?”

He hadn’t thought of that. From the look on her face, she knew it too. She smiled. “I’ll get some for you. Shall I get you a clean nappy too?”

He hadn’t thought about that either. He had a lot to learn. From the look on Caroline’s face she was happy and willing to teach him. He just had to hope she was happy and willing to teach him as his wife.

____________

The first full day in Nicholas’ house passed slowly for Caroline. Spent lazing around the pool with the nanny and Frank, who later left during the day, it gave her plenty of thinking time. All her thoughts were wrapped around Nicholas… The lovemaking they’d shared. That was something she didn’t so much think about but shimmered in her veins as a constant reminder. Her pride wanted to be angry that his seduction had been planned but she’d waited for him on that balcony. She’d wanted it as much as he had and from the ache in her pelvis, she knew that if he came to her room tonight, she would open the door to him without hesitation.

Making love had been a physical act she’d abandoned herself to without fear of losing her heart.

Terrifyingly, she had slept more soundly with him sharing her bed than she had since the day he’d walked away from her. Today was the first morning since his return that she hadn’t woken with panicked ice stabbing her heart. She genuinely didn’t know what to do for the best. Could she really deny her son the opportunity to have the blessed childhood she’d had for the sake of her pride? And could she deny Nicholas that experience?

Didn’t he deserve the chance to be a real father, to share in all the joys of watching their baby reach all those important milestones and all the day-to-day joys she took for granted? The joy of beaming early morning smiles? The joy of feeding him something that wasn’t immediately spat out? The joy of baths and getting drenched by manically kicking legs con-necting to water?

She had to wait until mid-afternoon before the opportunity came to ask Nicholas the questions that had been steadily forming in her jumbled mind as the day had gone on.

The nanny had taken Charlie to the nursery for his nap. Nicholas joined her on the terrace, a smile on his gorgeous face and two glasses of fruity cocktails in his hands.

“Here,” he said, handing her one. “Don’t worry, it’s not too strong.”

The strings of her heart were plucked again. How well he was getting to know her as a mother, anticipating her thoughts and worries. There was something incredible in how he could make the separation of her as a mother and her as a woman and cater for the needs of both. More incredible still that it had taken his return for her needs as a woman to be reawakened. He’d roused so many buried feelings and impulses. Feelings and impulses he’d been the one to bring to life in the first place…

“Thank you,” she murmured. This was the first time they’d been alone together all day and, from the safety of her shades, she let her greedy eyes soak in the glory of his body, only a pair of brief black swim shorts covering any flesh. She’d always loved his body. Its muscular leanness. The olive hue of his skin. The dark hair that covered his chest and made a tapering line down to his groin. The snake hips. The tight buttocks. The long, toned legs. The whole package.

From the smirk on his face and the way he brushed his fingers against hers as he released the cocktail glass, Nicholas knew exactly what she was doing. She didn’t care that she’d been caught ogling him. After the night they’d shared, she was beyond denying her desire for him. It was too late for denial. Much too late.