Lindsay cried too “I missed you too and yes I am doing much better. Nick took wonderful care of me.”
“He better have.” Gabby replied sternly
“I did Mama. You taught me how remember.” Nick said as he came through the door to hug his mama. “I missed you, what is there to eat?”
“Always thinking of food aren’t you Nick?” David said as he came down the stairs. “Hey lil’ sis. You look much better.” He said as he hugged her
“I feel much better. The ribs are still sore.” She replied as she moved to the kitchen to sit down. Sarah sat down beside her after getting her something to drink. “I can’t ride for a least a month. I miss that.” She said sadly
“Get another vehicle like I have, it is a good substitute.” Sarah commented about her four wheel vehicle
“It’s already in the barn.” David replied. “I knew you wouldn’t be able to ride for a while and would still want to get out and do stuff around the ranch.”
“Thanks David.”
Sarah leaned over and whispered “We can have a race.”
“NO!” yelled Dalton, David, Nick, Gabby and Nathan
“Yes.” Lindsay replied “You are on.”
“No.” Nick said pining her to the chair “I spent lots of time getting you this far. You are not racing!”
“But..” she stammered
“NO. Miss Stubborn. Humor me for once! Please!” Nick said with a quick kiss to her lips
“For now, I guess. But when I am better, you are on.” She said to Sarah with a big grin
“Name the day, girlfriend.”
“Oh Lord!, David what have you done?” Dalton and Nick replied at the same time.
“What are you blaming me for? I didn’t do anything. She is the culprit” he said pointing to Sarah
Everyone laughed and sat down to eat dinner as one big family. Lindsay tired easily and decided to call it a night. Nick walked her to her room.
“So, are you going to be okay without me with you?” he asked
“No but yes. I want you to stay but you probably shouldn’t.”
“I will if you don’t think you will sleep.”
“How have I been sleeping?”
“Better, I only have to talk to you sometimes.”
“Will you stay with me tonight and we can talk about it more tomorrow?”
“Yes, I am going to go tell them goodnight and I’ll be back to help you shower.”
“Hurry. I’m going to start the shower while you are gone.”
Nick went back to tell his mama good night and that he was sleeping in Lindsay’s room because she was still having nightmares. “I love you mama!” he said as he kissed her good night
“I love you son. You took good care of my girl.”
“She is my girl now Mama. You can trust me to take care of her.”
“I know.” She said
Lindsay was finishing her shower when Nick returned. He helped her dry off and get into bed then he went to take his own shower. He turned out the light and got into bed with her. “I am glad we are home but we lost our privacy.” He said as he kissed her. “Will you run away with me for the weekend really soon?”
“Yes!”
Chapter 11
Lindsay got better every day. Nick was cleared to go back to work so they couldn’t spend as much time together during the day. Nick would come see her when he could and they would read their emails from Katie and Scott.
“I miss them.” He said one day when they had been home about three weeks.
“Me too.”
“Do you feel up to a ride to the cabin? David doesn’t need me this later this afternoon.”
“Sounds wonderful. I’ll pack us a picnic dinner.”
“I’ll be back about three.”
“Can’t wait.”
He kissed her as he left. Lindsay went to the kitchen to tell Gabby they wouldn’t be there for dinner and started to fix the picnic.
Nick returned for her after work. He had showered and changed and was ready to relax with his girl. Her ribs were almost healed and they had some catching up to do.
They were fairly quiet as they rode to the cabin. He unloaded the basket and took her by the hand into the cabin. He placed the basket on the table and picked her up and carried her to the bedroom.
“Nick, what are you doing?” she asked
“I have missed sleeping with you and other things. I want to be with you. Don’t panic.”
“I’m not, I missed you too. All these weeks I have been injured, I couldn’t hug you tightly or put my arms around you. Now, I can do that much better.” She demonstrated. “See, much much better.”
Nick laid down on the bed and pulled her on top of him. “If it hurts, stop me.” And he encircled her and pulled her lips to his. He teased her lips open and deepened the kiss. She moaned and he jerked back. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to hurt you.”
“No, that wasn’t a moan in pain. That moan was in pleasure, great pleasure.” She said as she lowered her head back to his and went right back to kissing him. They kissed until they broke apart to breathe. “I missed that so much.” Lindsay said
Nick gently rolled her over and he then lay on top. He lowered his head and stole her breath away with his kiss. After several minutes, he rolled away and lay down beside her. “That may hold me for a few minutes before I need another sampling.” He lifted her head and arranged her hair on the pillow. “This hair is like spun gold. I love it long and beautiful like this.” He leaned over and kissed her hungrily. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him closer.
When they broke apart a few minutes later, Nick asked Lindsay a question he had wanted to ask for weeks. “Will you go into the hot tub with me?”
“Now? I didn’t bring my suit.”
“So, I have seen all of you already. And I have a suit here that I can wear to keep us safe.”
“Okay.”
“Trust me. I want to hold you in my arms and teach you some about loving each other. Will you do it?”
She nodded and he smiled. “Will you let me undress you?”
“Yes” she answered breathlessly
I’m going to go start the water and change into my suit, don’t move.
When he returned, Nick moved to the end of the bed and removed her shoes. Thankfully they weren’t her boots. She couldn’t get them on yet. He helped her to stand beside the bed as he stood in front of her.
As he held her eyes with his, he reached for the buttons on her shirt and slowly unbuttoned each one. “I have wanted to do this for weeks. I tried to keep it a little impersonal while you were healing but now it is definitely personal.” He eased the shirt off her shoulders and down her arms. “You have wonderful taste in underclothes babe”
“Thanks, I do like to shop for them. I probably shouldn’t tell you this, but I shopped with you in mind. I would hope that someday you would want to see them.”
“I do want to see them. I want to see all of them, but when we are married, don’t expect them to stay on all that long.” He said as he reached undo the front clasp of her bra. He pulled the sides apart and enjoyed the view he was uncovering.
He reached for the waistband of her jeans and undid the button and lowered the zipper. He pushed the jeans past her hips then he gently seated her on the bed and knelt down to remove the pants. He ran his hands up the outsides of her legs in a glorious caress. He stood in front of her and bent her backwards onto the bed as he kissed her. “Lift your hips sweetheart” he said as he reached for her panties. Finally she was gloriously unwrapped for him.
He picked her up and carried her to the tub. He set her down and climbed in. He reached to help her in and settled her between his legs. She sat a little stiff and away from him.
“It’s okay sweetheart, just relax against me. I have been holding you for weeks; that is all this is.”
“T
his is new to me. I am a little nervous.”
“I know. Just settle back and enjoy the water.”
She sat back and tried to relax. He began to knead her shoulders and kiss her hair. “You feel fabulous lying here in my arms.” He said quietly hoping to relax her. “I loved taking care of you. But this is wonderful too. I can touch you and hold you as I have dreamed.”
“Tell me” she whispered
“I dreamed about this moment. You were lying in my arms in the hot tub. I was kissing your neck.” He said as he moved her hair to kiss her and lick her skin. She moved her head aside to give him better access. “And I moved my hands up to the sides of your breasts like this.” Nick moved his hands to caress the sides of her breasts. Then he worked his hands under her and around to the insides of her breasts and let his wrists drag across her nipples. Lindsay arched back against him in pleasure. “Careful of the ribs babe.”
“Who cares about them. That is the best feeling.”
“This feeling?” he said as he cupped her and caressed his thumbs across her nipples again. She moaned this time. “Yes.”
Nick continued his exploring around her breasts “they like that” he commented as he showed her the extended nipples “soon I take you in my mouth and love them with my tongue.”
Her stomach was his next target for the sensual caressing. He placed his hands gently on her ribs and slid his hands down to her hips and back up to her breasts. Each time he moved slower and lower on her body. “When I lay you out on my bed, I am going to kiss and kick every inch of you. You will move with me because the pleasure is too great to hold in. I love how you feel in my arms.” Nick moved her head to one side so he could capture her lips but that didn’t satisfy him so he rearranged them so she sat facing him.
She could feel his desire for her pressing against her sex so she moved closer and wrapped her legs around him. It was his turn to moan in pleasure. “I can feel you Nick, it feels wonderful.”
“Mmmhumm” he agreed. Nick had started to kiss her shoulders. He sat her back from him and kissed the top of her breasts. When she arched closer to him in pleasure, he opened his mouth over her nipples and lavished them with his tongue.
Lindsay clasped the back of his head to hold him to her. He moved to get the other breast the same treatment. Lindsay’s back was bowed so tense “Nick!”
He lifted his mouth from her breasts and moved it to her mouth. She wrapped her arms around his neck and took his tongue hungrily in her mouth. They were gasping for breath several minutes later as he hugged her close and her head rested on his shoulder.
“We have been in the hot tub too long.” He said as he sat her aside and moved to exit the tub. He helped her out and wrapped her in a luxurious towel that swallowed her. He dried off and then moved to help her. Then he picked her up and carried her back to the bedroom and laid her down on the bed. “I’ll be right back”
Nick went to the closet in the other room and pulled out one of his big shirts. He took it back to her and helped her put it on and then went to get the picnic basket.
She looked adorable sitting on the bed wearing his shirt. “I could look at you like that forever. You look great in my clothes.”
“Can I keep this shirt too?” she said with a loving smile.
“Only if I get the other one back so I can wear it and remember how you looked in it.”
“You got a deal. Besides your smell was wearing off and I need it refreshed again.”
Nick burst out laughing and moved to kiss her “anytime you want to smell me on my clothes, just let me know and I’ll rearrange my schedule for you.”
“Promise?” she asked cheekily
He nodded and kissed her again. They ate their picnic sitting on the bed enjoying each other’s company.
“Nick, your birthday is coming soon, what do you want for a present?”
“You”
“Well, okay but what else?”
“How about a trip to Las Vegas for the weekend?” Nick asked
“Sounds wonderful. I’ll make the arrangements.”
As they finished eating, he re-packed the picnic basket and cleared the bed. He moved to lie down and pulled her on top of him. “You feel so good lying on me” he said as he kissed her deeply. He ran his hands up under her shirt and massaged and caressed her back.
He eased her up so that she sat on him and leaned back on his knees. “You are so gorgeous.” He said as he began to unbutton the shirt. He moved it aside and began to touch her everywhere he could reach. “I can’t wait until we can both be naked and doing this. I can look and touch so much of you this way. When I am inside you like this, I will see us joined and be able to touch your sex until you scream my name and come apart with me.”
Lindsay leaned forward at his urging and he suckled her breasts until she was writhing against him. “I can feel you Nick, pressing against me. You feel so wonderful.”
“So do you.” He said as he stopped his assault on her senses. “but we need to stop before it becomes too dangerous.” He cuddled her close while both of their bodies returned to normal. He gently kissed her and rolled her over so he could get up.
“Unfortunately, we have to get dressed and go home.” He said.
Nick drove them back to the ranch. Lindsay was wearing her new shirt as a cover up. She caressed his neck as he drove. She wasn’t ready to say good night yet so she took his hand and led him to the lounge chairs by the pool. She sat down and he sat between her legs this time.
“Are you ribs healed enough for this, sweetheart?” he asked cautiously moving back
“I’m fine. It is my turn to have you relax against me.” She said pulling him closer until he lay against her chest. “This is fabulous.” She whispered in his ear. “I love your weight on me.” She wrapped her arms loosely around his shoulders and enjoyed being able to touch him freely.
Nick felt her gentle touch and gloried on how it felt. “Lindsay, you could do this forever.”
“My pleasure, I love the freedom to touch you whenever I want. I guess it is sort of silly but I have wanted to have that freedom for months.” She said with a quivering voice as she bent her head forward to hide in his shoulder. “I just wanted to be able to touch you.”
“Sweetheart, that isn’t silly. It is wonderful. Why are you crying?”
She shook her head to indicate she didn’t want to tell him.
“Lindsay, please tell me.” He urged again.
She shook her head again but responded “you will think I am a goofy girl.”
He laughed softly. “You are my goofy girl then, so tell me.” He waited another moment. “Come on tell me.”
She leaned back in the chair and began to talk “There are two reasons. I used to day dream about when I dated someone how nice it would be to hold their hand or wrap my arms around them or lay my head on their shoulders. I like that comfort.”
“And the second reason?”
“Before we had this relationship, I had to try to sort of separate you into two people. I had to have Nick my friend so that I could act semi-normal around you and then Nick the man I loved. I would be hurting from not being with you as the man I loved but I wanted to be able to talk to Nick my friend and have him tell me everything would be okay like you did when I was a kid and I got hurt.” She paused looked to the sky to avoid him then added “I told you it was goofy.”
Nick sat up and turned to face her but she wouldn’t look at him; so he gently pulled her towards him. “Goofy girl, I love you! Those reasons are not goofy. I find comfort when I touch you and when you touch me. I also find pleasure and passion. And the other one, your friend Nick should have kicked the other Nick’s butt and told him to get his head out of the sand and see who you were lots sooner. He would have been so happy he did.”
Lindsay just cried and gave him a watery kiss. “Thank you for liking me when I am goofy.”
&nbs
p; “You are welcome babe…. Now, goofy girl, I liked those hands on me and I want more.” He turned back around and settled between her legs again.
She kissed his head and went back to running her hands over him in loving caresses. “Since tomorrow is Saturday, I plan to spend the day lounging by the pool. How long do you have to work tomorrow?”
“Just for a while in the morning, I’ll be done by lunch time probably. I just have to work with one of the horses for a little while so he can get used to me.”
“Will you swim with me after that?”
“Sure, do you want to go out to dinner and a movie tomorrow night?”
“I’d love too.”
They settled back and enjoyed each other’s company until it was late and they were both sleepy. He walked her to her room and kissed her good night and went reluctantly to his house.
The next morning, Lindsay slept in and then snuck down to watch Nick work. She stayed back away from him so he wouldn’t see her watching him.
Nick was talking to the horse he would start to train in a few days. He spent time with the horses so they could learn who he was and how he would treat them. He talked calmly to them when they pulled on their ropes to escape him. Nick would run his hands along their necks as they came close. “I won’t hurt you.” He crooned to them.
Lindsay had watched Nick do this for several years, he had a gift with horses. People from all over brought him troubled horses so he could re-train them to be rideable. He never mistreated a horse.
Lindsay walked up closer to him but didn’t speak, she just watched him work. The horse was very nervous at first but began to calm down as Nick talked to him and stroked him.
“Hi, sweetheart.” Nick called softly without turning from the horse.
Lindsay startled out of her daze “Are you talking to me or the horse?”
“You, goofy girl.”
“How did you know I was here?”
“My heart senses when you are nearby. It lets me know.”
“Seriously?”
“Oh yeah. I knew you were in the barn before you walked up closer.”
“Guess I can’t sneak up on you then” she replied mischievously
“Nope, wouldn’t work. I’d catch you.”