Wanted

Chapter 10

His lips were so soft, and he tasted like mint. I moved my hands to his jaw, feeling the subtle beard he had. He kept the kiss light and sweet. I felt him smile against my lips, which made me smile.

"Thank you." I whispered to him.

"Mmhmm. I've been wanting to do that for so long." he said, but his voice seemed lower.

"Nick, promise me something." I said against his cheek as he kissed my jaw.

"Anything, Rylie."

"When all this is over, take me to the beach." I said as I ran my hands down his arms.

He leaned back slightly to look at me. He was smiling and I seemed to get lost in the warmth within his eyes. "That's easy enough." He said.

I heard Seth's voice and laughter just outside the door. Nick slowly lifted himself off of me, and helped me to my feet, just as Seth and Austin walked back into the room.

"What else are we doing today?" Austin asked as he walked over to the bench and sat down, sipping his coffee.

Nick cleared his throat, "I um... I think that's all for today. If everyone is feeling ok in the morning maybe we can come back and do some strength training, and boxing."

"Sounds good. I'm hungry, let's get home so we can eat!" Austin said as he stood up and grabbed his bag.

I could feel Seth looking at me as he stood next to me. "Forgive me if I'm wrong, Rylie, but are you blushing?" he said quietly so only I heard.

I quickly turned and looked at him, and he was just smiling at me with a knowing look. "Shut up, Seth." I said as I picked up my sweater and pulled it on. Nick unzipped his bag, and handed me a water before zipping it back up, and throwing it over his shoulder. "Thank you."

Nick laced his fingers between mine as we walked to the car. Nick crawled into the third row with me again. Once everyone was in, he pulled me into his chest and leaned back slightly. The whole way home, I laid back on him and his arm was around my waist.

When we got home, Nick and I went into my room. He set down his bag as I went into the bathroom and started running the water for a bath.

"Hey, Rylie?"

"Yeah?" I said as I walked back into the bedroom.

"Put this in your bath water. It will help so you don't get sore." He said handing me a packet of epsom salts that were rosemary and mint scented. I looked up at him with a small smile.

"How did you know I liked rosemary and mint?" I asked him as I stepped closer.

He was quiet for a minute while he just looked at me with a smirk. He stepped into me and wrapped his right arm around my waist, while his left hand went to my cheek. Leaning in close enough to kiss me, he said, "Because I'm learning you, Rylie." He ran his nose over my cheek as he moved closer to my ear. "You have always smelled like rosemary and mint... and I love it." My breathing had picked up again as my eyes rolled closed at his words. I realized I was tightly gripping his hoodie when he said, "Don't let the tub overflow." My eyes shot open as I turned and ran into the bathroom to find the tub only half full.

"Nick!" I yelled out. I just heard him laughing. "Rude." I said as I walked back into the bedroom to grab clothes.

"Yeah, but it was still funny." He said as he pulled his hoodie off and threw it into his dirty laundry basket. I just stood there, holding my clothes trying to look at him without making it obvious.

"Rylie...."

"Hu?"

"The water is still running." He said casually.