Fire on Ice

Part 24

Nora POV

The next morning I wake up the most comfortable I've ever woken up. I open my eyes and see Nikolas facing me, asleep. His face looks calm and peaceful, not scowling like he usually is. His hair is ruffled, probably from the amount of times I pulled at it last night. I look back at his tattoo and the roses. There is obviously a deep meaning behind the design and it raises more questions about his past. My fingers trace it lightly so as to not wake him up. The detail is so intricate and purposeful; it really is a beautiful tattoo. My other hand finds his hair and I brush my fingers through the soft strands. After a few moments he stirs and says, "That feels really good." I stop in surprise and he chuckles, "I say it feels good and you stop?"

I slap his chest, "Shut up." He opens his eyes and looks at me for a second. When he doesn't say anything for a while I ask, "What?"

"Nothing, you're just beautiful." I feel my face heating up and I shove my face into the pillow. He entangles his hands in my hair and uses it to gently move me to face him.

"What? Am I not allowed to say something nice?"

"No, because you're you. You're not nice."

"Well, I'm sure the five orgasms I gave you last night would disagree." I drop my jaw in shock and say, "Nikolas!" Without saying anything, he kisses me deeply and I sigh. His lips are soft and firm against mine, and even though it feels really good, a nagging thought creeps through me. Nikolas pulls away, "What?"

"What do you mean?"

"I can tell you're thinking about something. What is it?" I look away for a second because I'm not sure how to say this.

"I'm just wondering when this will end." He frowns, "When what will end?"

"This, us. You being nice, us getting along. Every time it's happened before, it's ended. So I'm wondering when this will." Nikolas sighs and drags one hand over his face.

He pauses for a second before speaking, "I'm not ready for a full relationship with dates and flowers and meeting the parents. I can't do that." I start to get up from the bed, but he grabs my wrists to keep me in place, "But I do know that whatever I'm feeling for you is real, and I want to act on it. I didn't know how to act on it before, and honestly I still don't. You mean something to me Nora, and I don't want to be just your skating partner, when I know that you feel something for me like I do for you," he takes another deep breath, "so I guess I'm asking you to be okay with this. I'm asking for you to not have high expectations because I know I can't meet them, and I'm asking you to be okay with what I can give you."

I take a second to process everything he said. I don't know what we're doing, but I'm tired of overthinking and overcomplicating everything. Right now, I think we're in a good place, and it would be best to just stay here. Eventually we'll have to talk about it and see if we can move forward, but that's eventually, not now. Now, we can just live in the moment. I realize I haven't said anything for a minute so I kiss him and say, "Don't worry, I never had high expectations in the first place."

Nikolas laughs and rolls his eyes before his arms snake around me and drag me to him. "You and your attitude. I'm going to have to fix that."

"That's what you said last night, guess you didn't do a very good job." I'm goading him and I know it, but playful Nikolas is the best Nikolas. A loud slap comes and I can feel a stinging sensation on my ass.

"Nikolas! Did you just smack me?" He flips us over so I'm under him and he's hovering over me.

"You said it yourself, I didn't do a very good job last night. I'm just righting my wrongs." He says in a mocking tone. A fake scowl that covers my face quickly disappears when Nikolas slams his lips to mine. I kiss him back with equal intensity and his fingers find my soaking core.