Chapter 173: Raw and Unpolished (1)
Georgia’s POV
I swallowed hard, my pulse racing as I stared at Nick. The words had already slipped out. I couldn’t shove them back into my mouth, no matter how badly I wanted to. We were still so new, and I hadn’t meant to ask him this early. But it was too late.
His lips curved into that devastating smirk that both thrilled and terrified me. "Tell me, Georgia," he murmured, leaning closer with every word, "haven’t my actions already screamed how I feel about you?"
My breath caught. "I—I’m sorry. It was just... a slip of the tongue. I wasn’t planning to ask you that."
"But you did." His voice dropped, low and dangerous to my heart. "Which means, deep down, you were already thinking about it."
I instinctively leaned back, but he followed, closing the space between us like a predator with its prey. His hand slipped to the small of my back, securing me in place.
"J-Just forget I asked," I stammered, trying to push at his chest, but he caught my hand mid-motion.
Instead of letting go, he lifted it gently to his lips and pressed a feather-light kiss against the back of it, his eyes locked onto mine with an intensity that made my whole body burn. "Baby," he whispered, "don’t you feel it?"
"I love you... With every part of me—heart, mind, soul, everything. You might think it’s too soon, but I don’t need years to know what my heart already screams every time I look at you," he uttered sincerely.
My lips parted, but no words came out. Nothing could.
"I tried to hold it in," he admitted, his thumb brushing lazy circles on my back, sending shivers down my spine. "I didn’t want to scare you away. But Georgia..." his voice cracked slightly, "I can’t imagine a life without you anymore. And maybe that does make me sound like some obsessive psycho—because, yeah, I am obsessed with you."
Then he kissed my hand again, slower this time, his eyes never leaving mine.
I couldn’t stop the smile tugging at my lips as I wrapped both arms around his neck. For a moment, his body went rigid, as if I had surprised him, but then he melted into me, his arms circling my waist and pulling me flush against him until I was straddling his lap. My heartbeat thundered against his chest.
I leaned back just enough to cup his face in my trembling hands, my thumbs brushing the sharp lines of his jaw. His eyes burned into mine, waiting, searching.
"No," I whispered, shaking my head with a watery laugh. "I don’t think you’re a psycho for feeling that. Because if you are... then so am I."
His breath hitched, and the way his gaze softened nearly undid me.
"I love you, too, Nick," I confessed, my voice breaking as tears pricked at the corners of my eyes.
"And yes, I’m obsessed with you, too. I’m happy—so damn happy—that you’re in my life. And as crazy as it sounds..." I let out a shaky laugh, "...I’m actually thankful to Nancy for what she did to Raymond, and even for pushing me off that ship. Because in the strangest, most twisted way, it brought me to you."
The words spilled out of me, raw and unpolished, but the moment they left my lips, the weight lifted. My chest tightened in the sweetest ache, my emotions swelling until all I wanted to do was cry from the sheer bliss of finally admitting it.
Nick leaned forward, resting his forehead on my shoulder with a shaky laugh. "Damn... my heart’s beating too fast. I swear, I feel like I’m about to have a heart attack."
I pushed him back gently, wanting to see his face, and my breath caught. His eyes were glistening, heavy with unshed tears.
The sight broke me. A sob tore out of my chest as I threw my arms around him, holding him as tightly as I could while my own tears spilled over.
"Hey, hey," he murmured softly, pulling back just enough to cup my face in his warm hands. His thumb brushed my cheek, tender and careful. "Why are you crying, baby?"
I sniffled, wiping my tears clumsily before blurting, "Because you’re crying, too! If you cry, then I cry!"
He let out a laugh, the kind that cracked in the middle because of the emotions he was holding back. Tilting his head up, he tried blinking the tears away, but I’d already seen them, already felt the truth behind them.
"I’m not sad," he said hoarsely, smiling through the shimmer in his eyes. "I’m just... happy. So fucking happy that I finally found you. The woman who accepts me, who sees me for who I really am.
Even after I told you I’m an illegitimate child and how twisted my family is... you’re still here, still looking at me like I’m worth everything. You didn’t run away."
He swallowed hard, then leaned closer until our foreheads touched again. "Thank you, Georgia. Just... please, don’t break my heart. Because I’m giving it to you—all of it."
My heart ached so beautifully in that moment, I thought it might burst.
But as I shifted comfortably on his lap, there was no denying the hard truth pressing against me. Something else under me was very much alive and demanding attention.
I glanced down, then back up at him with a teasing tilt of my head. "Hmm... looks like your little beast here wants to join in on the drama. Tell me, Captain, what should we do about it?" I asked, letting a playful smirk curl on my lips.
His grin instantly shifted into something darker, more dangerous—wicked, even. He leaned back against the sofa, spreading his arms lazily across the backrest like a king on his throne.
A low shudder ran through him as he murmured, voice husky, "I don’t know, baby... that’s entirely up to you." To punctuate his words, he lifted his hips ever so slightly, pressing closer, making me gasp at the heat of him against me.
I let out a laugh, half playful, half flustered. "Up to me? You say that while you’re already positioning yourself? You’re such a cheater."
His chuckle was deep, sinful, vibrating straight through me. "I told you earlier, didn’t I? You can do whatever you want here. No rules, no limits. You can moan, scream, cry my name all you want, and no one will hear you..." He leaned forward until his lips brushed my ear, his voice dropping to a wicked whisper. "...so, babe, it really is up to you."
My heart hammered, heat racing through my veins. God help me, this man knew exactly how to arouse me with nothing but his words.
*******
Thanks for the Golden Tickets!
maelstrom143
KATHLEEN_COLL