It was like patting your head and rubbing your stomach at the same time. And when he added his thumb to my clit, I was gone. My thighs started shaking on either side of his head. His tongue and digits moved more determinedly. The force of my approaching climax almost scared me, I’d never felt one so powerful before.
I even tried to push him away at one point because there was so much sensation.
Of course, he wasn’t having that.
It felt like my mind was splintering into pieces. I didn’t know how to control the eruption that was coming, didn’t know if I even wanted to.
“Blyad’! Nico!”
My back bowed off the ground as I crashed into my orgasm at deadly speeds. His groans matched my screams as both carried on the chilly night breeze. Everything below my waist seized in rapture for about three seconds before the dam burst wide open and the world turned inside out.
The earth didn’t just tilt on its axis.
It tipped the fuck over and fell off its axis.
Despite feeling boneless, I somehow managed to prop myself back up on my elbows. Nico rested his forehead against my inner thigh, reminding me of how I’d done the same thing the night in the booze bunker.
Our roles had reversed.
Was this just him returning the favor? Or was there more going on that he wasn’t telling me? He’d looked…nearly demented…when he’d stepped into the pool. I dared say if anyone had come between the two of us in that moment, he would have snapped their neck without blinking.
His body slid off mine and dipped below the edge of the pool. I sat up straight to watch him sink beneath the clear blue water, totally submerged. His hair floated above his head, his arms motionless in front of him.
My mind instantly conjured up an image of him as a merman—shirtless, hair down to his shoulders, deceptively charming smile capturing the attention of lovesick sea-faring maidens everywhere.
Aquaman could kiss my arse.
When he surfaced, he shoved his hair off his face, slicking it back. His sodden white shirt was molded to the ridges of his shoulders and chest, highlighting the broadness of his form. So much masculinity. Water droplets fell from his eyelashes and short beard, sluicing down his pectorals—
The water around him was tinged with red.
“You’re hurt!” My eyes widened with horror at the giant bandage I finally noticed poking through a huge hole in his shirt. “Are you okay? What happened?”
I tried gently reaching for the injury, but he wrapped his brawny arms around me instead and dragged me into the water.
“Are you mad?” I screeched, wriggling in his hold. “Nico, put me down. You’re bleeding, for God’s sake. You’re going to hurt yourself worse.”
“Let me hold you, Lexi.”
I stopped struggling, not sure I’d heard him correctly.
He sighed. “Just…let me have you in my arms for a minute.”
When he sounded that bloody lost, I was willing to give him as many minutes as he needed.
And frankly, I needed to be held as much as he needed to hold.
He guided my legs to wrap around his waist. Mindful of his shoulder, I carefully slipped my arms around his neck. I desperately wanted to inspect his injury, but I sensed he wasn’t going to let me until he was ready to allow it.
Before, I felt boneless.
Now, I felt weightless.
Though I suspected it wasn’t just because of the water. In Nico’s arms, held up by his support and strength, I felt less burdened. Something told me he could bear any weight I placed on his shoulders. He could carry all of it.
“Will you please tell me?” I whispered. “I need to know.”
He lowered us further into the water and drifted backward. “Raphael Esposito is MIA.”
I reared back on reflex, but his hands were there to stop me, keeping me close. “He escaped?”
“Or was kidnapped. That’s what it looked like. Five men ambushed the van that was transporting him to the courthouse. They shot all the guards and took Esposito with them, claiming he had debts to pay before they killed him.”
“Do you have any idea who the men were?”
He grunted. “We have some theories, but nothing concrete. His son, Stefano, owed the Niners money before he was killed. Could have been them trying to pump Raphael for the money before killing him out of revenge. But the Niners have been pretty quiet ever since the shooting at the summit meeting. I’m having a hard time believing they would go to this extreme.”