Chapter l283

Chapter 0283

The ferocity of Nichola s’s protection of me gave me more comfort that it probably should have. I certainly didn’t want Nicholas to kill anyone, but knowing that he would go to any limits in order to keep me safe helped me feel truly cared for.

Still, I decided to move beyond that topic, for fear the anger would root in him and cause him to seek out vengeance for me.

“Susie wasn’t at breakfast,” I said. “I’m worried about her, so I’m going to check on her. Would you like to join me?”

Nicholas softened somewhat at the subject change. “Susie’s okay. She probably just wants to

rest.”

“She won’t mind me checking on her.”

“I think you probably shouldn’t,” Nicholas said.

“Why not?”

He pressed his l*ps hard together and would not answer.

Odd. Was he hiding something?

“I’m worried. I’ll only stay a minute,” I said. “When I see she’s okay, then I’ll leave.”

I understood Susie liked her alone time, especially after events where she was forced to be so social. So I knew she might not want me to stay for a long time. But surely she wouldn’t mind. me checking on her. After all, she often did the same for me.

Nicholas didn’t argue further, so I continued walking down the hallway towards Susie’s room. Nicholas fell in step beside me.

At Susie’s door, I knocked lightly. I waited a moment, but there was no reply.

Did she leave? I should check.

Slowly, I turned the kn ob and pushed open the door.

Susie was indeed in her room, and she wasn’t alone.

Mark had his arms around Susie’s waist, with her pulled tightly against him. Susie’s own arms were wrapped around Mark’s shoulders.

Their l*ps were connected in a passionate, deep k*ss. Both were so caught up in it, they didn’t seem to notice me at the door. Not even Mark, who was usually the most observant.

For a moment, I’m stunned speechless. I knew they had been flirting and that they cared

+15 BONUS

progressed this far.

Mark began to unzip Susie’s dress.

Nicholas placed a hand on my shoulder and guided me from the room. He gently shut the door behind us.

I couldn’t stop from blushing at what I had just seen. They were going to…!

A small bit of joy filled me. Good for them, for finding happiness with each other. For stealing precious moments to bind their affection.

Yet, bitterly, I also felt jealous. I hated this side of me. It wasn’t fair to anyone.

My last ‘intimate’ encounter had been a moment stolen by Terry.

“You were right,” I said to Nicholas in the hallway. “Susie is fine. More than fine, actually. But indisposed.”

“I imagined,” Nicholas said. “Mark was… upset when he saw the footage of Terry and Susie.” Fresh guilt washed through me. I shouldn’t feel jealous. Susie had a terrible night too. She hadn’t been chained to a bed, but she still had to endure Terry’s relentless flirtations and S**ual harassment.

At least she had Mark to help her sort through it now.

Nicholas watched me. He must have seen the change in my mood. “Are you okay?”

I shook my head no. “Terry stole many things from me. It could have been worse, I know that. But… I feel like so many things are tainted now.”

I wrapped my arms around myself. Nicholas stepped closer. I leaned into his warmth.

“Which things?”

“Being n*ked. Being tied up.” I didn’t hate the thought of surrendering control, but it could only be with a man of my own choosing, one I trusted about all others. A man like Nicholas. The last was the hardest to say. “Being k*ssed.”

“Piper,” Nicholas said, claiming my attention. Looking at him, I returned to the here and now, no longer chained up in that torture room in Terry’s mansion.

Nicholas lifted his hand near my cheek, hovering just over my skin. But he didn’t touch me. After everything I’d been through, he was likely waiting for consent.

He didn’t have to. He was the man I implicitly trusted.

I covered the back of his hand with my own, and brought his palm to my cheek.

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“When you are ready,” he said, voice soft, “I will replace each and every memory and desire he tainted in you with a brand new, much more pleasant one. And I will do so happily.”

I turned into his hand and placed a k*ss onto his palm.

“Any desire?” I asked him.

“Yes.” No hesitation.

My heart melted a little. My affection for this man seemed immeasurable, growing all the

time.

“I wouldn’t mind a k*ss?” I asked.

He smiled as he stepped closer. Keeping one hand on my cheek, he moved his free arm around my waist.

“I’m glad to help.” He leaned down and pressed his l*ps to mine.

The range of Nichola s’s k*sses could go from soft, barely there butterfly, to an all- encompassing plunge of teeth and tongue. This was somewhere in the middle.

He moved slowly, as if giving me time to pull away, but still licked lightly at the seam of my l*ps as if asking for entrance. I granted it, and he dipped his tongue into my mouth. Even then, he only traced along my own with a tender caress.

Not demanding. Not insistent. More a simple I’m here, you’re here, and we’re both enjoying

this.

I hummed into his mouth, and he swallowed all of my noises. His hand moved down to my jaw, coaxing my face upward more. I moved however he guided, lost in the sensation of his soft l*ps and tongue, or his hard chest against me, and the hand pressing against my lower back, just above my tailbone.

Time lost all its meaning. We could have k*ssed for a minute or an hour. I didn’t know, though it would never be enough.

I wanted to stay here, like this, until the rest of the world came crashing down. Even then, I’d just continue to hold on, to give and to take with this man who wanted me to feel safe with

him.

Eventually, he had to break the k*ss apart to breathe. We didn’t separate far. Our noses. brushed and then we pressed our foreheads together.

“Nick…” I whispered. I didn’t know what I wanted to say, but I had to say something, to convey to him just a hint of what I was actually feeling in that moment. I was overwhelmed. with gratitude and affection. His k*ss had helped wash away some of the stain Terry had left on my soul.

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He seemed to understand and squeezed me around the waist just a bit tighter. His thumb brushed gentle streaks back and forth across my cheek.

Someone cleared their throat behind us, and we both jumped apart like we had been burned. How could I forget that we were right in the middle of the hallway! Anyone could have walked by!

Fortunately, this time, the person who had caught us was Julian, who had already previously found us in a compromising position. At that time, he had teased us relentlessly.

This time, he seemed much less enthused. His usual smirk was entirely missing.

He frowned deeply in Nichola s’s direction.

“Why would you confront our parents without me?”