Chapter 26

Nik feels an unsettling presence hovering over him. He waits, hoping it will fade but it doesn't. He slowly cracks one eye open and is met with the wide eyes of a curvy angel. He sits up, rubbing the sleep from his eyes and stretching. As he stretches, his shirt lifts up just enough to show off that delicious V that trails down past the waistband of his pants. Nik catches her staring and just chuckles.

"What are you doing Jane? It isn't polite to watch people while they sleep or to undress them with your eyes when they are awake."

"I wasn't watching. I was just waiting. I woke up a little while ago and made scrambled eggs and toast. I came up to see if you wanted any, but you looked so peaceful. I didn't want to wake you," Jane sputters, biting her lip to hide her embarrassment.

"Okay, whatever you say. Anyway, I could eat. What time is it?" Nik scratches his chest and smooths his bed head into some kind of presentable style.

"It's almost noon."

"I'm glad you decided to sleep in on at least one of your vacation days. I feel like you haven't been giving yourself enough rest."

"Well, I would probably sleep easier if someone wasn't always trying to undress me in bed. At least I have the decency to do it in my mind." Jane sticks her tongue out and skips out of the room. Nik hates to see her go, but he loves to watch her leave. After storing the memory of her incredible body in his mind, he gets out of bed and jogs to catch up to her.

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After breakfast, or lunch? the two get dressed and head out for day two of tourist-ing. Jane decides that since half of the day is already over, they need to spend the rest of the day getting as much fun in as humanly possible, so they go to Santa Monica Pier. Jane wears a cute little sun dress and sunhat combo. Nik just wears a muscle shirt and jeans.

They spend the whole day riding rides, eating treats, and then riding more rides. Unfortunately, riding a roller coaster after eating a ton of caramel corn is not the brightest idea so they take a break for a short while and stroll down the pier, just taking in the sights and sounds of the ocean. Jane hasn't had this much fun since she was a tween. Nik is just happy to be dragged along and to watch her enjoy herself.

The sun left ages ago, leaving the couple in darkness. Fortunately, the pier lights up like crazy at night. They do one last stroll up and down the pier and are about to head out before Jane realizes they never went on the ferris wheel. So of course, they have to hit that last attraction before their time at the pier comes to a close.

They wait in line until it is their turn to ride. They enter the carriage, each sitting opposite of the other person, knees touching due to lack of space. Jane peers down at all of the people below. They look like specs. Little tiny dots far far away. They reach the top, and the ferris wheel pauses for a few minutes. Jane shivers, goosebumps covering her exposed arms and legs.

"It's kinda chilly up here. But it's so beautiful that freezing my ass off is 100% worth it."

"Can't have you turning into an ice cube on me now can I?" Nik grabs the short female, pulling her onto his lap, wrapping his strong arms around her. He rubs her thighs, trying to help the goosebumps go away. It does the exact opposite. Jane grabs onto his hands to stop them from exciting her further. "What?"

"Can you just hold me?" She begs.

Nik complies, bringing his arms back around her waist, snuggling into her, resting his chin on the nape of her neck. Jane leans back into him, trying to steal as much warmth as she possibly can. It really is an incredible experience, being somewhere so extraordinary with someone you enjoy spending time with. Nik plants a few gentle kisses on her soft skin.

"Nik, we can't. Not up here."

"Can't do what?" He teases, peppering her skin with more pecks. "All I'm doing is kissing."

Jane turns so that she is now straddling his lap, facing him. If personal bubbles existed, theirs would have definitely popped. She tilts his head up so that his eyes are staring directly into hers. Then she leans in. Their lips meet creating a smoldering heat that shoots sparks up and down their bodies. Then there are fireworks.

Literal fireworks. Flying across the sky, giant explosions of color and light. Jane breaks away from their kiss to take them in. She can't remember the last time she casually watched fireworks with anyone. Crackles and booms shake the pier. The juxtaposition of the gorgeous glittery sky and thundering sounds is exhilarating. Nik sees that childish glee that warms his heart. How she has gone through what she has and is able to not only work her ass off to help others but still keep her wonder makes no sense to him but he admires her for it.

He pulls her into another fiery kiss, bringing his hands back down to her thighs. He gives them a gentle squeeze creating fireworks of his own. The heat spreads all over her and pools in her lower stomach. She gasps into his mouth. With the border no longer closed, his tongue darts inside to explore the new territory. He wants to do this, be like this with her forever.

Unfortunately, his phone chimes, signaling that he has received a notification of some kind. He reluctantly breaks the kiss to check. Jane returns her gaze back to the rainbow explosions, just happy to be here with him right now, kissing or not she is still having a lovely time.

A picture covers Nik's phone screen. All the color drains from his face. Beneath the picture is a message that reads:

I guess my first warning wasn't enough for you? What if I leak some of these lovely photos of one of your head researchers to some local magazines? Would your competitors use this information to find her, possibly hurt her, and ruin you? How do you think that would go for her? How might it affect her career? Did she even get that job due to her professional qualifications or were there other qualifications that she has, ones that weren't mentioned in the job listing when she was hired? Either way, since you are Mr. Untouchable, I have to be a bit more creative in order to reach you.

The picture is of Jane and him at the restaurant owned by his grandparents. They are holding hands and chatting away about who knows what. Nik zooms in on her face and then his. They both look genuinely happy in each other's presence. He closes the screen, tucking the handheld device back into his pocket. He isn't going to tell her right now. She is having so much fun. He wants her to have one more peaceful night. One more night where she doesn't think about work or life.

His phone buzzes a second time. He huffs and pulls it back out. There is another message from that unknown number. All it has is a time, date, and location. He puts his phone on silent this time before returning it to his pocket. Once it's nice and tucked away, he wraps his arm back around her waist. The fireworks have finished and their carriage is almost back down to the ground now. Jane attempts to stand from his lap in order to get back into her seat but Nik squeezes her tighter, not wanting to let go just yet.

"Come on Nik. I need to get back into my seat before the ride ends. I don't want to be banned from the Santa Monica Pier Ferris Wheel for eternity because of a safety violation. He sighs and releases her. She quickly hops off his lap and into her seat. He'd buy her a million ferris wheels if it means she would have stayed in his arms for even a moment longer, but she's right.

The pair exit the ride and slowly make their way back to the entrance of the pier, taking time to really see every stall and every light as they pass by. Who knows when they will be able to do something as fun and carefree as this again. They reluctantly leave and head home in a taxi.

Jane cuddles up to Nik who has his arm wrapped around her. He rests his head on top of hers and watches the streets go by. In only a few hours he will have to ruin her peace by breaking the news to her. She is painfully oblivious to how much danger she may be in and it crushes him to know that it's his own fault. Maybe if they'd never met at that club or if the one-night stand ended as it should have, maybe then she'd still be safe.