Page 54 of Not Part of the Plan
“Wow!” Caleb said in wonder as Niko zipped the bag shut. “You pack good.”
“Lots of practice, kid.”
“Niko?”
“Yeah, bud?”
“Do you think Jax and Joey will have Marshmallow Munchies at their house?”
“What are Marshmallow Munchies?”
The little boy moved in and leaned his tired head against Niko’s arm. “It’s my favorite cereal. I had it one time at a sleepover.”
Niko cleared his throat, and his voice was gravelly when he spoke again. “Yeah, buddy. I think they’ll have Marshmallow Munchies.”
Her throat thick with emotion, Emma moved on to the room Reva had entered and knocked lightly. “Need a hand?”
Reva was sitting on the bed, silent tears tracking down her face. “I’m not sad,” she said quickly, wiping a hand under each eye.
“You’re pissed, and you have every right to be,” Emma said, sitting down next to her. “Be mad at her. It’ll fuel you better than sad ever will. But don’t forget that you still have a life to live, and it’s going to be good. Really good.”
“You think so?” Reva sniffed.
“This is Blue Freaking Moon, Reva. We take care of our own whether you want us to or not. Now, shove your crap in a bag and let’s get your brother home to bed.”
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It was another hour before they had Reva and Caleb settled in at Jax and Joey’s. Waffles was beside himself with excitement over the house guests and couldn’t decide who he wanted to sleep with.
“I can’t believe they’ve been on their own for almost a month,” Niko shook his head as they walked back to Emma’s car in the brewery parking lot.
“That is one determined girl,” Emma agreed, wrapping her arms around herself to keep warm. Noticing, Niko pulled her up against his side, and the heat pumping off of him warmed her immediately.
“Is there an all-night grocery store around here?” he asked.
“In Cleary, about thirty minutes west,” Emma told him. “Why? Are you hungry?”
“I’m gonna go pick up a couple of boxes of Marshmallow Munchies.”
And just like that, she broke. Hard and fast and without any hope of ever recovering her sanity.
“Damn it, Niko!”
She grabbed him by the shirtfront and dragged him down to meet her mouth. Her body, it seemed, had been waiting for this exact moment forever. The heat and pressure of his lips against hers sent magic zinging up her spine as every cell in her body flamed to life.
He caught up quickly, spinning her and pressing her against the door of her SUV. Cold metal at her back and the hot, hard lines of Niko’s body at her front. She felt him harden against her and welcomed it when he leaned into her, grinding hips against hips.
She whimpered against his lips, and he used it to gain access to her mouth. His tongue swept into her like an army invading, and Emma could see the stars brighten behind her closed lids. Closer. She needed to be closer to him. His belt bit into her belly, but it only excited her more.
He skimmed his hands over her shoulders, down her arms to her waist and hips, the silk of her dress begging to be ripped away.
She shoved her fingers into his hair, keeping him on her, and gave up all need for oxygen as she poured herself into the kiss.Swept away.As if her common sense and her carefully laid plans were caught in the unceasing current of a river.
It’s what he was doing to her, what she was allowing to happen.
Her lips bruised themselves against his, finding the pain worth it now that the wait was finally over. She belonged right here, right now, devouring and being devoured under the night spring sky. Nothing but now mattered.
“Baby,” Niko whispered, his breath ragged. “We’ve got to stop, or I’m going to take you right here on the hood of your car.”
