Chapter 9 Eight

Grabbing Lauren's hand, Nik led her into the cabin. They stood inside the kitchen, close. "We should wait until they all leave," Lauren suggested. Nik leaned close to her and rested his forehead on hers with his eyes closed. He'd been dreaming about her for weeks.

"I'll wait however long it takes," he whispered as he kissed her one more time before leaving her in the kitchen before he would take her right there on the kitchen floor. He was sure that his sister would not want to see him in a position like that. No, he would wait until she's ready no matter how long it would take.

Although Nik sat on his bed, his body still wanted some much-needed relief. In the room, except for a soft glow reflecting between the blinds covering the window, it was pitch black. He tucked his arms under his head. He heard someone's mobile ringing.

Several minutes later, he heard a commotion in the living room. After slipping out of bed he went to see what was going on out of sheer curiosity. His bedroom glowed brightly as bright light filled the room and a helicopter roared over the cabin as he opened the door. Nik flung open the door. Sienna was crying as she was hugging Emily. Lauren was the one who approached him. "Emily got a call and has to leave right now. There's an emergency in Kahurangi National Park. There are some children missing on a campout with a group because of the sudden storm earlier."

As Nik waited, he nodded. He wondered for a moment if Lauren had to leave, and then noticed she was still wearing jeans and a long-sleeved shirt while Emily was dressed in her uniform. It was as if she was watching something very far away as her face exhibited some sort of look of concentration.

Emily told Sienna, "I have to go."

Sienna nodded and stepped back. Lauren averted her gaze as well as Nik to give Emily some privacy as she kissed Sienna goodbye.

While Emily was walking out the front door, Sienna told her, "Be careful." Sienna was able to see Emily being lifted into the helicopter and taken away.

In Nik's mind, he wondered if this was the way things would be for his sister for the rest of the year. He also wondered if this was how it was going to be like for him when Lauren has to leave on some mission.

Ethan emerged from the bedroom wearing a pair of dark-purple boxer shorts with a very sleepy expression on his face. "What the fuck is going on?" He mumbled.

"Emily had to leave all of a sudden. She was picked up on a helicopter," Nik told him.

"Keep it down. I need some sleep," As Ethan walked back into the bedroom, he yawned as he shut the door behind him.

"Are you going to be alright?" Nik asked his sister who was crying softly.

After wiping her eyes and nodding, Sienna wiped her brow. "I'll be fine. It will take some time to get used to this, right?"

In response, Lauren reached out an arm and grabbed the young woman by the shoulders. "Come on," Lauren said as she escorted her to the living room bed. "Let me tell you something about the lieutenant."

"Let me tell you a little bit about the lieutenant." Then he wondered how his sister was going to be. He lay back down on his bed with his arms tucked under his head. It was the middle of the night and he was tired. It had been a long day.

The following morning Lauren woke. Two things she noticed was one she wasn't in her own bed. Two, she wasn't alone. After turning her head, she found Sienna curled up on the other side of the bed, fast asleep. She eased out of the bed and stood. One after one glance around the cabin, it was clear she was the only one awake. After entering the kitchen, Lauren glanced out the window. Based on what she could find, the storm caused little damage. Her coffee was just being brewed when she stepped outside in broad daylight.

She leaned back against the railing as she stepped back onto the deck. The memory of the kiss she had shared with Nik flooded her mind. She felt her entire body becoming warm, and a particular part of her body becoming damp. She turned around to gaze out toward the mountains behind the cabin.

The moment he stepped outside on the deck, she felt his presence. "Good morning," he said to her then kissed her deeply.

Lauren returned his kiss with such passion. She muttered, "Good morning to you." Between kisses. She touched his chest with her hand. "We should stop right now. I think one of them is awake."

As he stepped away from her, Nik growled. Lauren wondered what was up with all of the growling but didn't ask because a moment later Ethan stepped out onto the deck with a cup of coffee in his hand.

"Who wants to get bangers this morning?" Ethan asked as soon as he stepped onto the deck.

Nik replied, "Sounds good to me," Nik answered.

Lauren still did not understand what they were talking about, so she went straight to her room and changed into sweats and running shoes. Taking Ethan with him into the kitchen, Nik stepped inside with a smile and said, "With some mashed potatoes too."

As she looked from Ethan to Nik and back to Ethan, Lauren had no idea what they were talking about. Her hair was pulled into a ponytail. It was still early in the morning and they were making breakfast in the kitchen. Sienna was starting to wake up.

She yelled, "I'm going for a run," before leaving through the front door. Having just stepped off the driveway, her feet took off jogging. The man is a damn great kisser, Lauren thought as she rounded the bend during her job. Her lips tingled and her body grew just thinking about those tender kisses that morning.

I can get used to getting those kisses every morning. What about the nights? Images of the two them being in the throes of passion filled her mind. Wow. The single word whispered through her mind. She had read enough romance novels what to expect but never really had the experience.

Lauren paused in mid-jog to look back at the cabin over her shoulder. "What is it he sees then in me the man could have any woman he wanted, like a supermodel, but why me?" Lauren kicked a pebble with her hands on her hips as she pondered. Her jog continued as she added, "I am just an average looking woman and an Air Force captain."

"What is going on between you and the lady?" Ethan asked Nik as he fried some sausages in a pan.

"Nothing yet," Nik said, looking over his shoulder as Sienna pushed the bed back into the couch. He looked over his shoulder at Sienna. "You hungry, sis?"

Sienna picked up the cushions from the floor and paused. "Starving."

Nik moved the sausages around in the pan. "I don't think she should be driving. Not in the condition she's in at the moment."

"Is that a hint that you want me to drive her to Auckland?"

"That is what it is," Nik said as he turned off the burner. "Mash?"

Ethan shook his head no. "I'll do with it."

Ethan turned his attention to the front door. "I'll hook her car to the SUV after breakfast. How long does she go for her runs?"

Nik shrugged again. "I don't know." His attention was also turned to the front door. He knew that she's able to take care of herself but couldn't help but to worry about her.

Sienna stepped into the kitchen. "Smells good," she muttered.

"Ethan will drive you back to Auckland. He will hook up your car to his SUV so that you don't have to worry about getting it home."

Sienna nodded. "That's fine with me." She knew that she was not physically fit to drive especially after the storm last night. "When do you want to leave?" She asked Ethan.

Ethan replied, "After we eat."

After gathering her things, Sienna returned to the kitchen. She ate quietly as the two guys talked about the upcoming concert and the plane crash, but her thoughts were on Emily.

"So Lleyton refunded all the concert tickets for the rest of the year?" Ethan asked.

"He did. Also all the news outlets were told no interviews. But I am going to leave that up to all of you. If you want, go ahead. I can't stop you and neither can Lleyton." Nik informed him.

Ethan nodded. "I am interested in doing the benefit concert for children. That one is really important to all of us."

Sienna added, "It's important to me as well."

On the table, Nik drummed his fingers. "We'll vote on it when I get back to Auckland in a couple of weeks." He looked over at the clock and noted the time. Lauren was supposed to have returned from her jog, but she hasn't. His jaw clenched tightly as he stared at the front door.

"Nik?" Sienna asked getting her brother's attention.

Nik swung his attention to his sister.

"Are you going to say anything to the oldies?" Sienna asked, her concern was apparent in her question.

Nik shook his head. "I'll leave the decision to you. You will have to do this on your own. I'll be there if you want me to." He took her hand and squeezed gently.

A smile spread across her face as she hugged him. That was when Lauren returned from her jog. Nik let go of Lauren, poured a cup of coffee, and handed it to her. He then held out a small plate of bangers, which she also took. She was a little puzzled, but she thought she might be able to get used to it.

"Thank you," Lauren muttered then placed the items on the table before she settled in a chair.

"Thank you," Sienna said as she leaned across the table toward Lauren.

Lauren gave her a puzzled look. "For?" She asked before taking a bite. Lauren nodded her head. "This is good." She pointed at the sausages on her plate. Nik grinned before stepping out of the kitchen.

"Let's go get Sienna's car hooked up."

Sienna settled in a chair at the table opposite of Lauren. "For introducing me to Emily."

"I don't think I have anything to do with it. I think it was fate that brought the two of you together. Not me, but your welcome." Lauren said before taking another bite of the sausage.

Ethan stood by the front door when he yelled, "Rattle your dags, Nik!"

"Give me a nek minnit," Nik replied from his bedroom.

Lauren looked at Sienna and smiled warmly. "Do they do this all the time?"

Sienna nodded. "The band is as close as brothers can be and yes, they do it all the time. You'll get use to it." Sienna finished eating her bangers and coffee.

Sienna tucked a fist under her chin. "Promise me that you won't hurt my brother."

Lauren choked on a piece of sausage. "Wha-what?" She dabbed a piece of paper towel against her lips.

"He was hurt before, a few years ago. Whenever you're around he-he seems like he just woke up from a bad dream. He lights up. Anyone can see it."

Lauren had no idea what to say. "The last thing I want to do is to hurt anyone. I am only here for a vacation. I am not looking for any relationship of any type." Lauren told her. She wondered who she was trying to convince herself or Sienna. "I promise that I will try my hardest not to hurt him."

Nik helped Ethan hook Sienna's car to his SUV as his sister. Lauren was in the living room going through her martial arts kata's. Nik stood in the driveway as Ethan and his sister pulled away before he walked back into the house. They were alone in the cabin once again. He smiled briefly as he remembered the way he walked onto the deck to wish her a good morning.

His full-lipped mouth claimed hers; his muscled arms enfolded her, imprisoning her against the hard, heated length of his body. Instinctively she opened her mouth beneath the brutal pressure of his lips. It was a mistake. His hot tongue invaded; Lauren's senses exploded. Her arms raised of their own accord to wrap themselves around the thick warm column of his neck as molten heat flooded through her. His hands slid down to cup her rounded bottom.

Nik wanted her so badly at that moment if she hadn't stopped him. He turned to enter the cabin just as she turned to him. Her arm was outstretched with her palm upward. There was a look on her face that she clearly wanted him as much as he wanted her. He walked toward her and cupped her face as he held her gaze with his. His gleaming scrutiny clung to her face, holding her eyes captive as he released his grip on her head.

Slowly his hand wandered over her body until it closed over her breast. The warmth and strength of his hold burned through the fabric of her thin gown shooting a jolt of electricity through her. Lauren closed her eyes, biting her lip to stifle a whimper as her nipple tightened almost painfully against his cupped palm. When Nik found it with his fingers, her entire body quaked. Sensation deserted her limbs, catapulting into the area he caressed. Had she not had her arms locked so firmly around his neck, she would have fallen. Abruptly, he loosened his embrace. For one mind-numbing instant she thought he was once again going to abandon her. But then he lifted her, carrying her toward his bedroom.

Nik's face above hers was taut, the planes hard and resolute as his eyes glittered down at her with feverish intensity. Her own eyes felt dazed, the lids heavy with passion. Reaching the bed, he sat her on its edge and with a single, expert movement pulled the tunic over her head, discarding it carelessly on the floor. His eyes devoured her and, self-consciously, Lauren covered herself. "No." The word was a harsh whisper as he crouched before her, nudging her hands aside.

"Let me look at you." Her flesh tingled, the nipples of her swollen breasts contracting even more, as his gaze raked her body from head to toe and back again, hesitating briefly at the soft triangle of burnished gold curls nestled at the junction of her thighs. "You are very beautiful." Bracing his hands on either side of her, he leaned forward capturing the waistband of his pants as he undid the clasps and slid them from his narrow hips. She saw his manhood jutting, enormous and pulsing and thick.

His lips were overpowering her senses. She felt him lift her legs to lay her fully upon the bed, and then he was beside her. His large warm hand closed over her breast, weighing its softness as his thumb rubbed the taut nipple. Sensation shot through her and she arched her body off the bed, her hands blindly clutching at his shoulders.

Lauren wanted to feel his body next to hers. But he resisted her attempt to pull him closer as he murmured something she didn't understand. His mouth replaced his hand at her breast, closing over the turgid tip, tugging at the tiny crest as he raked the sensitive nub with his tongue. His hand trailed slowly down her body, stopping briefly to torment her navel before stroking the insides of her thighs, stoking the hot coals of desire, igniting a raging blaze. She cried out, lifting her hips, pressing against his palm in supplication. Lifting his head from her breast to look into her passion-dazed face with smoldering eyes, he smiled a lingering, satisfied smile that sent the blood racing through her veins.

"Soon," Nik promised and lowered his mouth to tease her other breast, in the same instant pressing one finger slightly into the moist crevice between her thighs.

"Nik!" Lauren was unable to suppress her cry of desperation and longing. She wanted him. Now! Her hands trailed down the silken hair of his warm chest to the waist of his trousers. Perhaps he needed more encouragement. Her shaking fingers fumbled with the unfamiliar buckle clasp. And then his hand was there, stopping her. She moaned in frustration. But in the next instant he rose and then, before she had time to blink, he was back on the bed nudging her knees apart to kneel between them.

Unconsciously, she lifted her hips in anticipation and invitation. But he merely leaned forward, his sex pressing against her, his smooth chest tormenting the sensitized tips of her breasts, as he kissed her. Then, slowly, with torturous precision he trailed a path of fire down her body with his lips and tongue, pausing to wrest exquisite penance from each of her throbbing breasts before kissing her navel. Lauren writhed beneath him, flustered by the soft mewling sounds that escaped her throat each time she struggled to control her frantic breathing.

With sudden shock, she felt his warm breath tracking lower. She stiffened. Her thighs tensed as she made a futile attempt to close them. Nobody had ever kissed her there! And then she forgot modesty as his moist, scalding tongue worked a slow, insidious assault on her reason. Her body arched off the bed as she clutched frantically at his shoulders.

"Please Nik, now!"

He lifted his head. His lips curved in that infuriatingly sexy smile that sustained the elevated temperature of her blood, and he began to trace kisses back up her convulsing body. He paused at her breasts, tugging the crests, each in turn, into his hot, tormenting mouth until she almost sobbed with the frenzy of her need. Then he entered her. Huge and hard and scorching hot, he filled her. She cried out, her hands clutching at the smooth, hot flesh of his back as a starburst of impressions burst behind her eyelids. Waves of sensation impacted, carrying her away on their surging crests, each higher than the last until she felt she could reach out and touch the stars. She tasted the tangy salt of her body on his lips as he kissed her, absorbing her cries with his mouth.

Panting with exhaustion, she opened her eyes to look at the man who had so thoroughly thrown her senses into chaos. She thought that her surprise and wonder must have shown in her eyes, for he smiled slightly with satisfaction. Then, with a groan, he pressed into her and she realized that he was still solid and swollen within her. Despite her enervation, she felt a flutter of response. He raised himself off of her, supporting his weight on his forearms as he withdrew from her body and lowered his head to excite her breasts with lips and teeth and tongue. And then, he pressed forward, slowly, so slowly, squeezing back inside.

God, he felt good! He continued the lingering, tender torment until Lauren raised her hips in spontaneous anticipation of each erotic thrust of his pelvis. His cadential movements stoked the fever in her blood until she clutched at him, pulling him down to her as she sought anchorage in the storm of passion that raged through her. And this time when she cried out as the surging waves swept her away, he was there with her, his hoarse shout echoing hers.