Janet Evanovich - Full House

"I'd rather not talk about it."

"Seems like there are a lot of things you'd prefer not to talk about today."

Nick sighed and looked longingly at the pie. "What I'd really prefer is to go home with you and eat this pie in your nice sane house."

He was serious, Billie thought, sensing a hint of tired vulnerability in his voice. She gave him a spontaneous hug. It was the sort of hug you'd give to a teddy bear or a toddler, and it brought a smile to Nick's face. "Don't get any ideas," she said. "I just thought a hug might help."

"It did. I needed a hug."

"You can have the pie, too," she said, handing it to him. "And you can eat it in my house. I might even be able to find some second-rate ice cream to go with it."

Nick gratefully sank into the passenger seat, silently acknowledging that Max was wearing him down, that the hostile parting with Arnie had him concerned, and that Sheridan wasn't making things any easier by making demands on him. When her attempt at seduction hadn't worked, nor her ploy to make him feel guilty, she had resorted to threats. Not that he took her seriously. It was only one of the many devices she used to get what she wanted. Her daddy had taught her well. But Nick was determined not to let it ruin his evening with Billie. The pie and the hug had done it. Somehow, while he was lusting after Billie Pearce's delicious body, she had managed to make him feel less tense, and his troubles less bothersome.

Nick remained quiet on the ride to her house, and, as if sensing his need for silence, Billie didn't press for conversation. She parked the minivan and unlocked her front door, taking pleasure in the faint aroma of apple pie that lingered in the still air of the foyer. She and Nick removed their dusty riding boots and padded in stocking feet to the kitchen. Halfway through the pie they gave up slicing it and ate family-style from the pie plate.

"I didn't have dinner," Nick confessed. "I was afraid Max had booby-trapped the refrigerator."

Billie speared a succulent slice of apple. "You're going to have to do something about Max."

"Yeah." Tomorrow, Nick thought. Tonight he was going to do something about Billie Pearce.

Nick pushed away from the pie and stood. "You know what we need to do now? We need to walk the dog."

A surprised Billie followed after Nick as he took the leash from its wall hanger and hooked it onto Buffy's collar. They stepped out into the steamy Virginia night. The air was thick with the smell of freshly cut grass and roses, and light shone from neighbors' windows, emphasizing the cloying blackness of a moonless sky and unlit street. Once again, they were quiet, but Billie was aware of his every move. She caught him looking at her several times.

"What?" she finally said, wondering if she'd smeared apple pie on her face.

"You're beautiful."

Billie suddenly felt flustered. How long had it been since a man had said those words to her? she wondered. And Nick only had to voice them to make her feel that way. It was an odd feeling, considering she'd spent so many years thinking of herself as simply a wife and mother. What had happened to the woman inside of her, that feminine part of her that had once enjoyed long, hot bubble baths and pretty nightgowns that felt good against her skin? Where had that person gone?

"It's nice of you to walk the dog with me," she said, once Buffy had sniffed several bushes and chosen one to squat beside. "I'm used to doing it by myself."

"I felt the need to do something domestic," Nick said, although he knew he was looking for a reason to hang around. He'd walk the dog all night if he had to.

Billie grinned. "I hope this isn't followed by an overwhelming urge to barbecue chicken. We have a barbecuing curfew here."

Nick waited until they'd entered the house to say anything. He closed the door and gathered Billie to him. "I wasn't thinking of following this with a barbecue. I was thinking of following it with bed."

At first Billie thought she'd misunderstood him. But when she gazed fully into his eyes, she saw that he was serious. "Oh."

He lowered his mouth and kissed her, very thoroughly. His tongue slid between her parted lips as his hands moved to her hips, pulling her close. "I was thinking of making love with you," he murmured. "I've been thinking about it a lot lately."

Billie's mind reeled. This was insanity, she thought. A man didn't just announce he was going to make love to a woman. Or did he? The look on Nick's face was dead serious. And Billie had to confess that she liked being in his arms. She could feel the heat seeping into every part of her, sensitizing breasts that ached to be touched and fingertips that were impatient to explore. Lord, Lord, what was happening to her?

It was simple. She felt like making love with Nicholas Kaharchek tonight.

They looked at one another silently. Billie felt connected to him by something that was too difficult to explain, even to herself. She was reminded again of the deep sense of loss she'd felt at the thought of letting him go. Now that he was truly free to explore their relationship fully, she was equally eager.

They held hands as they climbed the stairs.

"This is nice," Billie said once they reached the second floor, and Nick simply held her.

He chuckled and pulled her into the bathroom. "You think it's nice now, just wait." His voice was low; his eyes dark and filled with erotic promise. He tangled his fingers in her silky hair and kissed her with measured passion. "I want to look at you, and touch you and taste you … all of you."

He reached for the buttons on her blouse and noted his trembling fingers. The buttons were small and bothersome. He fumbled, but his large fingers made hard work of the task.

"Your first time?" Billie asked, sweeping his hands aside and unbuttoning the blouse. She pulled it off, exposing a pink lace bra.

Nick's eyes widened at the sight of her breasts peeking over the lace. "That is definitely not very motherly looking."

She arched one brow. "What did you expect, Kaharchek, a white cotton nursing bra?"

He dispensed with it immediately and tossed it aside, caressing each perfect breast, rubbing his thumbs across her already aroused nipples.

Billie's lips parted in surprise at the unexpected heat that flared low in her belly. She had never reacted so strongly to a man, but her attraction to Nick Kaharchek was so potent that she felt a change in the very air around them.

They simply stared at one another for a moment.

Nick turned the water on in the shower and adjusted the spray. He removed the rest of Billie's clothes, impatient to see her.

"You take my breath away," he said, stripping off his own clothes and joining her in the shower stall, watching the warm water cascade over her breasts and run in rivulets over her skin.

He soaped her slowly, beginning with her shoulders and down the small of her back.

All teasing stopped as he slipped his soapy fingers between her thighs where he delighted in bringing her to orgasm. Billie clung to him until her trembling ceased.

By the time they lay beside one another on her bed, Nick literally ached for her, but he took his time, kissing her slowly, running his tongue across her breasts, down her stomach, and finally to the very center of her. He tongued her slowly, until she shook and pleaded for him to enter her. Nick paused only a moment. "Damn condom."

Billie arched high when he slipped inside of her, panting as the contractions rolled across her and triggered the beginnings of Nick's release. They moved in perfect unison. Nick whispered her name on a gasp before they shuddered in one another's arms.

Afterward, Nick gathered her close, kissing her, caressing her. Billie lay awake long after Nick's even breathing told her he'd drifted off to sleep. They were lovers, she thought in disbelief, tucked beside his warm body. Nick had loved her well and hard, but somehow they had reached a point beyond the physical, a new level of intimacy that she had never experienced. She had borne two children by another man, and she'd thought at the time that she loved him. But it had been nothing like this. Her own husband had never once touched that part of her that Nick had discovered tonight, deep inside her heart, an emotion that defied words.