Page 16 of Nick

Her senses were overloaded almost to the point of being drunk. It was a revelation to be touched in such a way, a stunning discovery to feel that sexually aware.

Their hands and lips were everywhere. His kisses stole her breath until she inhaled, filling her nostrils with a burning odour.

She stopped kissing him and began to pull away. He murmured unhappily.

With a curse, she pushed him back.

Nick stared at her with his head cocked, his eyes swimming with confusion as she looked for the oven mitt. She was filled with such a hazy, heady feeling that she had completely forgotten she had things in the oven.

She opened the oven and looked at the burned food as thick grey smoke filled the kitchen with an acrid scent.

Her shoulders slumped as she bit her lip and looked at Nick. “I’m sorry. I was only trying to help, but I broke a glass, burned your food, and made a mess.

She worried that Nick was angry with her when he stayed silent for so long. Then she heard a noise.

Expecting anger, she lifted her head to apologise again but stopped when she saw him.

His hand was desperately pressed over his mouth as his shoulders heaved. Muffled laughter erupted. She stared at him, and within moments, guffaws were escaping him.

She stood there, her mouth hanging open. Nick laughed as she slammed the oven door shut, the smell of burned food filling the air. Reaching up, she opened the window above the sink. She placed the food in the bin. Slowly, she removed the mitt and laced her fingers together.

He was still laughing as he leaned against the countertop. She had at least achieved something with her clumsy actions since he didn’t seem to be as devastated now.

Harper relaxed when he smiled at her. “This was just what I needed,” he said.

She wasn’t sure whether he meant the accident, the kiss, or laughter. In this case, it might have been all three.

“I am glad to see you laughing,” she said.

He straightened and cupped her face. Rather than the same kiss as before, he bent down and placed a tentative, sweet, lingering kiss on her upturned lips. Her eyes fluttered, her heart pounding just as hard as it had just moments before when he had given her a punishing kiss.

“Always be there to cheer me up!” he told her, beaming with happiness.

While she could still see the sadness in his eyes, she was grateful it wasn’t consuming him. “How’s Karen doing?”

He pulled her across to the table, where she sat on one of the chairs while Nick poured whiskey into a glass, pouring for them both. “She’s fine,” he said, “holding it together for Sylva.”

Most of the time, she would say no, but tonight, she would be his drinking companion. As the two of them clinked their glasses, she managed to swallow without shuddering at the taste.

He replied, “She feels just as bad as I do, but not for the same reasons.”

“No one will think it was your fault,” she reassured him.

“Perhaps not, but I do. Each of these teams was handpicked by me and personally vetted before being invited to Moon. Is there any way I am not responsible?”

“Are they absolutely sure? When Perdy broke Drake out of his prison cell, it was because he was imprisoned without us knowing the whole story? Like the fact that he was trying to save her from further humiliation and pain.” She hoped something similar was happening here as well, though Nick’s hard glare at the glass made her doubt it.

“And now another human is betraying you,” he muttered. “There is no indication that the person is being extorted or coerced. On the contrary, as far as I can tell, they seem to be willingly contacting and giving information to this individual, and that is what I find difficult to accept,” he said, slamming his glass down.

It was unacceptable that they would betray him like this. Despicable even.

“Nick! You have given them everything, every opportunity,” she burst out, angry for him. “And if they can’t see that and are willing to sell you out, at least you will know now, and we can deal with it.” Possibly violently, she thought, flexing her hands.

When he filled up her glasses, she accepted another drink from him.

Nick rubbed the glass across his head. “I wish that were some comfort, but all I can think about is how they look me in the eye every single day and spit on my good faith and Moon’s generosity.” His voice was roughened by alcohol and anger.

A sigh escaped her lips as she linked her unoccupied hands with his. “When we lived in cages, I thought that if even one person showed an ounce of kindness, we might let our guard down and trust them. Even though it was hard, you almost wished someone would be nice to you, to promise you freedom.

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