Chapter 7 Six

Lauren was having trouble sleeping. Her mind was in a whirlwind of thoughts. She shoved the blankets aside and stood. The clock on the nightstand told her it was midnight. The entire cabin was still and quiet but a sliver of light was shone through the one-inch gap from the bottom of the door and floor. So many thoughts ran through her mind as she walked over to the door and opened it. No sounds could be heard throughout the cabin and a light was on in the living room.

Lauren walked into the living room quietly and saw Nik fast asleep on the couch with the guitar propped against his chest. It was impossible not to smile at what she saw. She felt so tempted to return to her room to get her cell phone so she could take a photo. Her mind immediately went to the nondisclosure agreement. After taking a deep breath, she crossed the living room and went into the kitchen. She grabbed a glass of water and drank it.

She looked over at Nik who was really sound asleep and knew she couldn't really leave him like that. Lauren went back into her bedroom and grabbed a spare blanket. She began to cover him from foot to his waist and stopped only because his guitar was in the way. Placing a hand on the guitar she began to pull it away but in his sleep, he stopped her with a hand on hers.

"No," he murmured.

Lauren whispered, "its okay," as she again tried to pull the guitar from his chest.

He let out a small, soft moan. "Lauren?"

Her gaze was riveted on him as she stared in astonishment. He said her name in a way that pierced her heart. She couldn't believe he was dreaming about her or someone else with the same name. But there were those dreams with the same song he was writing. He said her name while still sleeping. He cupped his hands around her back as she started to pull away from him. It was impossible for Lauren to remain far from him as she gazed up at his sleeping face. When he was sleeping, he seemed so peaceful and.. okay, she had to admit it, so damn cute.

It was only then that she gently lifted the guitar from his chest and he let go of it. Continuing to moan softly, his hand still cupped the back of her head. The sexiness of his soft moan caused her heart to constrict as she listened to it. Her gaze was fixed on the tattoo on his chest. The picture wasn't that big and looked like a skyscraper with her band's logo, "The Empire." In fact, it was no bigger than her hand. Even though, she wasn't a fan of tattoos but it looked sexy on him.

Lauren placed the guitar on the floor next to the couch. She reached down to pull the blanket over his chest then paused when she saw that his brown eyes were open. She could swear that he smiled gently up at her but he was still in the throes of sleep.

He breathed her name, "Lauren." He moved his fingers through the back of her head.

As she stared down at him, Lauren held her breath. It was impossible for her to look away from those deep-brown eyes of his. Nik cupped her face with his hands as he stared up at her. When Lauren lowered her face and pressed his lips to hers, her breath caught in her throat. The touch of his soft lips made her lips tingle, and a heat began to form in her heart. While their kiss was short and sweet, she pulled away, causing him to groan. She placed her hands over his and pulled them away from her face as his eyes remained closed.

The move away wasn't exactly what she wanted, but it had to be done. Lauren stood and backed away from the couch. The man did not wake up, and she realized she had been holding her breath too long. After spinning around, she rushed out of the living room. She eased the door closed behind her and pressed against her. Touching her lips with trembling fingers, she shook her head. The kiss was still tingling in her lips, and there was a warm feel throughout her body.

~ * ~

Nik stretched when he awoke the next morning. His body was still sore but not as bad a few days ago. He paused in mid-stretch when he realized that he was covered with a blanket and the guitar was on the floor beside the couch. "What the hell?" He asked, confused. Instantly he knew that he couldn't have done it since this was the spare blanket in the bedroom Lauren was using.

His words to an empty room were, "Shit, she must have seen me sleeping." He said to the empty room. He looked at the clock and realized it was already late in the morning. It was evident she had already woken up from the aroma of fresh coffee in the kitchen. The moment he pushed the blanket aside and sat up, he was struck by an image.

Nik kissed her.

Her soft hair and her soft lips were still fresh in his memory. The memory made his heart race. Could it have been a memory? It was a dream, wasn't it? He glanced over his shoulder into the kitchen. There was no sign of her. When Nik saw movement outside the large-door sized windows from the kitchen, he yanked the blanket off the couch and walked to his bedroom. Lauren was standing on the deck. He continued on into his bedroom as his heart began to pound against his chest.

Nik changed his clothes and put his shoes on before leaving the bedroom and entering the living room. The coffee maker was the focal point of Lauren's attention in the kitchen.

"It will be ready in a minute," she told him as she brewed fresh coffee in the machine.

Nik nodded even though she couldn't see it. "Okay," he said. As much as he was tempted, he decided not to ask her about the kiss. Even though she covered him in a blanket, he wanted to believe it was a dream.

"I'll make breakfast," this time, Lauren did look up at him. "I can cook." He told her. "It was one of the things my mother taught not just me but my sister to."

"I'm not complaining," she said, giving him a slight smile. "The barbecue we had the other night is still fresh in my mind."

Those words pleased him. The coffee was done and Nik pulled a skillet from the cupboard.

"Nothing for me but thanks. I had something earlier." She told him. While he was making pikelets, Lauren took her coffee out onto the deck.

Interested in what she was doing on the deck since what he found was not a surprise. For a couple of minutes, he stood there watching her. He stood there and watched her for a couple of minutes. Lauren moved so fast..he couldn't describe it. Her moves were almost like a dance that was also somewhat deadly at the same time. She was so deeply focused on her work. When she did a flying kick in the air and landed on her feet, he cringed. He turned back to the skillet in time to flip the pikelet.

He turned off the flame under the skillet when the doorbell rang, and went to answer it. Peering through the peephole, he wasn't surprised to see who it was. Sienna.

She walked in after he flung open the door. "G'day, to you brother." She said to him as she brushed past him.

She walked around Nik and toward the kitchen as he shut the door behind her. "Don't you have classes today?"

"Yeah. I just didn't want to go today." She noticed something on the deck. As she turned around to face her brother, her jaw dropped. "Is that the Air Force woman who saved your behind from the crash?" Her hands were raised in excitement. "How?"

Nik rolled his eyes as he shrugged. "I am just as surprised as you are."

Suddenly, Sienna leaped. Her head tilted as she watched her on the deck as she said, "You have to introduce me to her." She lifted a finger and pointed at Lauren. "Is she practicing martial arts out there?"

Nik smiled as he nodded. He turned his attention to her. "Yes, she is." He crossed his arms and waited for her answer. "Well, I'll wait until she finishes before going out." He asked. "Do you need time to explain why you're not in class today?"

His sister's eyes grew dimmer as she turned away from him. "Are you making pikelets?" As she began to walk away from him, he reached out and grabbed her arm, stopping her from leaving without answering the question.

"Honestly, Nik?" Sienna asked when he spun her around to face him.

"Why don't you want to answer the question? The past month, you've been acting strangely." Nik watched her intently. Nik watched her intently. He then concluded that she might act in such a way for one of two reasons. There had to have been something weird going on that night. "Does it have anything to do with the crash?"

Sienna shook her head. "No."

As he continued to watch her, Nik ran a hand against the stubble on the side of his jaw. "Does it have anything to do with Aria?"

Her head whipped up as she glared at him.

The guess was correct. "What happened between the two of you? The two of you have been best of friends for years." Nik stepped around her then turned to face her. Putting something else into perspective, he remembered that they used to give each other certain looks. There are certain touches that only lovers know about. "What happened? Did she break up with you or did you break up with her?" The look on her face told him that Aria broke up with her. His arms were open to her as she embraced him and wept.

~ * ~

That was how Lauren found them when she walked back into the house a couple of minutes later. Nik and his sister were sitting on the couch and Nik was comforting her. Lauren stood in the kitchen for a minute and watched them. It was such a tender moment even for a man who screamed into a mic for a living. One thing she does know that even though he is in a rock band he is still a human being with real emotions.

Before she looked away, she tilted her head to one side.

"Feeling better," Nik had asked Sienna.

Sienna stopped Lauren as she walked into the living room and headed for her bedroom.

"Thank you so much for saving my brother," Sienna said.

Lauren smiled at her without knowing what she should say. Unexpectedly, the younger woman hugged her and pulled her into her arms. Again, Lauren was stunned by the unexpected move, but slowly she hugged her back. Lauren looked over the woman's shoulder at Nik, who sat speechless on the couch. Yet his eyes were filled with tenderness.

When Lauren pulled away from the other woman, she told her, "I was just doing my job."

Sienna smiled at Nik as she looked at him. "I know. As much as his family needs him, the entire world needs him too." Sienna wiped her eyes and dashed to the bathroom. Sienna wiped her eyes before she darted to the bathroom.

The other woman disappeared into the bathroom as Lauren watched. Her ears picked up Nik rising from the couch. Behind her, she could feel the heat of his body. She was still feeling the effects of her kiss from the previous night.

"Right now, she is very emotional. Her girlfriend broke up with her," Nik informed her.

"Oh," Lauren mumbled. "Is there anything that I can do?" She turned around to face him, but only bumped into his chest. When heat began to spread throughout her body, she stepped back.

Nik shook his head. "It is impossible for anyone to do anything. A part of her is hurting. It was unexpected since they had been together for several years."

Nik approached her more closely. He wanted to feel the heat of her once more. Then he remembered what she's capable of. She knows how to kill a person in a hundred different ways. Bugger it. Then he took a step away from her.

"Okay," she replied, turning to enter her bedroom.

Nik was about to knock on Lauren's door when the bathroom door opened and Sienna walked back into the living room.

"I'm fine," Sienna said with a wave of her hand.

Nik watched her carefully before asking, "What will you do now, Sienna?"

"What do you mean by that?"

As Nik shoved his hands deep into his pockets, he adjusted his stance. "I mean, when are you planning on going back to the big smoke? The drive back to Auckland is eight hours and you have classes in the morning."

Sienna walked away from him. She told him, "It might not be worth going back there."

As Nik stared at his sister once more, he shifted his stance. "Look, Sienna. I know you have a lot of classes with Aria. It's just something you have to deal with."

Sienna spun around to glare at him. Nik knew instantly that was the wrong thing to say to his sister. "That's not what it is. Three months ago, she broke up with me. I am dealing with that. The hardest part is watching her with another person."

As Nik was about to say something, the doorbell rang again. He wasn't expecting anyone else as he turned to answer it. Grumbling, he flung open the door. There was a woman standing there that he did not know, so he expected that she was here for Lauren.

"Hi," she said. "Lauren here?" She smiled widely up at him.

"Just a moment." Nik went to Lauren's door and knocked. She opened the door to him. 'someone is here for you," He said and jerked his finger at the door. He told her and jerked his finger at the door.

Lauren glanced out and saw Emily standing there talking to Sienna. She stepped around Nik and approached Emily. "Emily, what are you doing here?"

Emily stood on her toes and looked at the man standing behind her friend while she said, "I had time off and thought I'd come see you. I see you have company." Her gaze returned to Lauren.

"He's the other renter," Lauren explained before taking Emily's hand and guiding her through the house and onto the deck.

The moment they were alone on the deck, Emily said, "What a coincidence. The man you saved is right here in the same cabin that you're renting for the next two weeks." Emily said with a slight knowing hint.

Emily took one of the chairs as Lauren settled into the other. "Nothing has happened."

"Yet."

"What brings you here?" Lauren asked as she leaned forward in the chair.

"No reason. I have a couple of days off, so I came here." Emily looked at the two people in the living room. "Who's the chick?"

Lauren looked into the living room. "Nik's sister, Sienna. Why you ask?"

As Emily turned back to Lauren, she smiled and said, "No reason."

"Who was that?" " Sienna asked when she was alone with her brother.

Nik shrugged. "I don't know." Nik leaned his shoulder against the wall. "You're evading the question."

Through the window, Sienna watched Lauren and the other woman. "What question?"

"Sienna," Nik said in a tone that made it clear she was in trouble. He was wondering what caught his sister's attention and it dawned on him. She had a small crush on Lauren's friend. He turned his attention to the two women. He noticed Emily did as well and he wondered if Lauren knew about it.

"Nik," Sienna replied.

Nik said in a stern voice, "You're going to have to go back to school someday."

"I know that." Sienna gulped and shifted her feet. "I didn't think it would happen so fast."

Nik glanced away. He knew that feeling damn well. It had been years since he had been through it before. There were times when he thought his heart would never heal after the betrayal he'd experienced. His best friend had betrayed him with the woman he thought he'd spend his life with. The band had not yet taken off when this happened. After the band has taken off for a few months, Crystal wanted him back.

Nik walked away after saying no. She felt as if she was rescuing him from the cold by getting him in touch with Lauren.

Now, with Lauren, it felt as if she was getting him out of the cold. Her presence made him feel alive like never before. There was something about her that made him want to live again.

"How about you, Nik? What is going on between you and the lady from the Air Force?"

Nik whipped his head to face her. "There is nothing going on between us."

"Oh, come on, big brother. I am not as dumb as you think I am. I've seen the way the two looked at each other just now, and I could see how closely you are looking at each other. Both of your eyes could not be taken off one another. And it got so hot in this room that from the heat the two of you were giving off."

Nik glanced at her. "What the fuck are you talking about, Sheila?"

"Oh, please, Nik. Anyone can see how much the two of you want each other." She spun around and left him with his mouth hanging open. She paused and turned to him. "Before I forget, Olivia's family said thank you for the generous gift and it will help with the therapy costs but you didn't have to send them anything."

Nik watched as his sister stepped out onto the deck with the other women. There was another ring at the door that morning. "Come on in!" He called out to whoever it was.

"Hey, Nik," Ethan stepped into the living room and closed the door behind him.

Nik returned the greeting, "Ethan. What brings you all the way out here?"

"I lost another one."

Nik didn't look at the guitarist. "Another maid?" This time he turned to the other man. "What is going on with your house, man?"

Ethan shrugged. "I'm not sure. I need to find out as soon as possible." He paused before continuing, "The maid service is about to turn me off."

"It better be soon, even though there are other maid services in Auckland."

Taking a seat on the couch, Ethan shrugged and sat down. "How is the writing going? Levi liked what you did with his song."

Nik settled down in a chair opposite from him. Handing the guitar player the notepad, he took it out of his pocket. "What is Rhylie up to this week?"

"Resting from what I could tell. He seemed to be pretty much out of it. His therapist suggested he speak with someone about what he had experienced."

Nik nodded. "I believe we all should. It wouldn't hurt for us to get some kind of therapy."

Ethan leaned back on the couch. "What happened that day? All I can remember was the turbulence. Then nothing until I woke up in the hospital."

"Same as me. That's all I remember as well." Nik cupped his hands and brought them up to his mouth. "The NTSB said there was turbulence at the time, as well as some kind of malfunction of the aircraft."

After a moment of silence, Ethan spoke. "I was told the same thing as well. I know we aren't to blame, and neither were the pilots or service we used."

Nike said, "I'm aware of it." For so many years, they had flown on the same service and with the same flight plan without incident.

Ethan paused on a page as he flipped through the notebook. After reading what was written, he looked up at Nik. "Are you still working on that song?"

Nik nodded.

"The lyrics are good."

In response, Nike said, "I know. I'm trying to get the music right. This song has the potential to be a major hit. In addition to the one Levi wrote."

Ethan nodded in agreement.