Chapter 8
She watched as
he held her tightly in his arms while sharing a tender kiss under the shade of
the palm trees. Anyone could see how strong their love was, how much he
loved her.
Rachel
wondered how she was going to be able to break down that barrier. She
needed money fast and Nick's savings were hardly enough now, especially since
his bitchy family took back most of his assets. Luckily, she took enough
cash to buy herself a nice apartment here in beautiful
"I'm so
glad you're here," Kristin coddled his cheek, "I missed you."
"I missed
you too," Kevin replied and leaned his forehead against hers, "I need
you so much right now Kristin..."
"I
know. We'll get through this together okay?"
Rachel
smirked. Puh-leeze! Why don't they
just gag me now?! She had to admit though, it was really going to be
hard capture the
And she never
failed.
***
"I think
I hurt his feelings Caroline," Katarina sighed and
took a sip of her hot chocolate, "I didn't mean to..."
Caroline
nodded. "And he hasn't spoken to you since."
"Not at
all...he just glares at me...but he doesn't know..." she trailed
off.
"He
doesn't know what dear?"
Katarina put down her mug and stared at the fireplace for a long moment before
speaking again. "When I was 16, I met this guy and I totally fell in
love with him...he was handsome, sweet...absolutely perfect."
"Sounds
like it."
"But he
wasn't at all...I learned that soon enough." She shivered as she
recalled those painful memories again. "He...he wanted to have sex
with me...and I refused."
"That's
good. A woman should be chaste until she marries."
"He
obviously didn't think so," Katarina replied
bitterly, "and he..." she paused, unsure if she should tell her.
"He what,
dear?"
"He tried
to rape me."
"Why that
louse!!"
Tears flooded
her eyes. "It was so horrible Caroline...he came so close..."
Caroline
wrapped her in her arms, hugging her tightly. "I'm so sorry
dear. I didn't mean to bring back those terrible memories."
"It's
okay. My therapist told me it was best to talk about my ordeal if I
needed to..." She took a deep breath. "I've basically
moved past it, but I still fear the closeness of any guy. I can't tell
you how many guys I've pushed away because of that... Most of them only
see a pretty girl who they could score with."
"Then
they are brutes, Rina. They are animals."
"And when
Nick came so close to me, that's what I kept remembering. I wasn't scared
of him..."
Caroline pulled
away and patted her hand. "I understand."
"Yes, I
know you do, but Nick doesn't."
"Rina, did you want...did you want him to kiss you?"
She looked
away for a second but then locked eyes with her. "I think I
did."
***
Nick looked up
at the full moon, completely lost in thought. So much had been on his
mind for the past few days that he felt like he was going crazy. He
wanted to go home. He wanted to die. He wanted Katarina.
Wait.
Forget the
last one. He didn't want her. Not at all. Nick sighed and
closed his eyes. He could deny it all he wanted. That didn't stop
the fact that she was constantly on his mind, torturing him because she could
never be his. He wasn't stupid enough to believe that a girl like her
would want to spend the rest of her life with a guy like him. HE didn't
even like himself, so why would anyone else?
"Hi."
Nick
stiffened. Damn. He didn't turn around.
"Hi." He grew wary when she was suddenly standing beside him,
also looking up at the glowing moon. What could she possibly want now?
"It's
kind of cool out here isn't it?"
"I
guess."
"Do you
want to come inside and help Caroline and I make cookies?"
"Not
really."
She
sighed. "Nick, I--"
"Look,
I'm not in the mood to talk to anyone okay? So could you just leave me alone?"
"Why are
you so mean?!"
"I have
my reasons!"
She crossed
her arms. "Why don't you tell me?"
"I don't
feel like it."
"Fine!
Stay out here then!"
"I
will!"
She stormed
back into the house and he slammed his fist on the side of the
house. Dammit! Dammit! Dammit! Why
does she always have to get to me?!
Suddenly, he
heard the door open and he turned around to see Katarina
stomping toward him. Before he could blurt out a single word, she grabbed
him from the back of his neck, pulled him lower and planted a rough kiss on his
cheek.
"There!
Is that what you wanted?! Well, there you go, you big...you
big...OX!!" She ran back into the house and slammed the door shut.
Nick blinked
in disbelief, unable to grasp what had just happened. She kissed me?! A
slow smile crept onto his face. She kissed me! He had no
idea how long it had been since he felt this...human. He raised his hand
to his cheek and lightly ran his fingers on the tingling spot where her lips
had been. Suddenly, he frowned. Wait a minute...
She called
me an ox?!?!
***
Katarina sat on her bed, wide awake, her cheeks still burning from her
indiscretion hours ago. She put her head in her hands. Oh
God! I've never been so embarrassed in my entire life! How could I
have done that? I must've been out of my--
"Are you
out of your mind?!" his voice hissed all of a sudden, and her head whipped
up, scared half to death. She groaned. "Would you quit
sneaking up on me like that?!"
"Do I
look like an ox to you?!"
"I kissed
you in the most humiliating moment of my life and you're worried about the ox
comment?!"
He sighed and
sat down at the end of her bed. "You didn't have to..."
"Well, I
hate it when people are angry with me."
"I
wasn't--"
"Don't
lie to me Nick. I wasn't born yesterday okay?"
He crossed his
arms. "All right. So maybe I was."
"Look
Nick...I didn't mean to..." she paused, wanting to find the right words
without revealing too much about feelings toward him, "if you thought I
was hesitant about...well, you know...it wasn't because of you."
"Then...you
did want to..."
She
flushed. "I didn't say that either."
"Oh."
A little surge
of relief ran through her as she realized that he was disappointed. Maybe
Nickolas Carter wasn't as cold as he thought he was. He got up and moved
to her bed side. She studied his face, suddenly curious about that
leather patch. She wanted so badly to see what was underneath...
"I'm
sorry," he said softly, "for being a jerk earlier."
"That's
okay," she began to play with her hair, "umm, can I ask you
something?"
"...I
guess."
"Why do
you...why do you wear that patch on your face."
He sucked in
his breath. "I can't tell you."
"Why
not?"
"Because.
Just drop it...please."
She
sighed. "Fine." Maybe someday he'll open up to her, she
hoped. Until then, she just had to be very patient.
"I'd
better go. You need to rest."
"So do
you."
"Yeah...I
guess I do too."
"Goodnight
Nick." She gazed at him longingly as he made his way toward the
door. Then he turned around and went back toward her.
"What?" she whispered.
He leaned down
and place a gentle kiss on her cheek. Immediately, she felt her face grow
extremely hot. Oh wow...
"Goodnight...Rina."
***
"She
what?!" Kris exclaimed.
"Rina's staying in
"So?
Her home is here!"
"She'll
be back eventually Kris," she frowned, "why are you making such a big
deal out of this."
Shit.
Don't blow it now Kris. He cleared his throat and moved the phone to his
other ear. "I'm just...I'm just upset because I know how much you
miss her when she's away. I hate seeing you sad."
"Aww.
Don't worry about me honey. I'll be fine."
Good for
you,
he thought snidely. Damn Kat! He knew exactly why she chose
to stay in
"Honey,
where is she staying at?"
"To be
honest I don't have a clue, but I trust her enough to know what she's..."
Kris didn't
hear the rest of his fiancée's words. Good for nothing!!! How
the hell am I going to find her now?!
"Kris?
Are you still there?"
"Sure
baby. I was just thinking about our wedding day and how I can't wait to
see you in your beautiful gown."
"And I
can't wait to be your wife. I love you so much Kris."
"I love
you too Billie."
When he
finally said goodbye to his pathetic girlfriend, he began to pace back and
forth in his room. You're not going to escape from me Kat...I'm going
to find you...
And you'll
regret ever having said no to me...
***
