We finished our breakfast in an uncomfortable silence, the only sound being that of a robin chirping on the fence in Nick's backyard. I gazed out the window at the tall birch tree draped over the fence, momentarily wondering how old it was.

I cringed at the occasional scrape of Nick's knife on the plate. He didn't seem to notice. My nerves were shot and the longer I sat there having breakfast with the man I'd cheated on my fiancé with, the worse I felt. I wished do-over buttons were real.

I ate the last few chunks of strawberries on my plate and drank the rest of my water. I'd barely touched my food. All the strawberries were gone but I hadn't touched the eggs and only ate half the waffle. I'd lost my appetite and didn't see it returning any time in the near future.

I pushed my plate away and scooted my chair back, looking around the house as if a neon sign would magically pop up pointing me to the bathroom.

"You done?" Nick asked, setting his fork down.

"I'm not hungry anymore. Do you mind if I use your shower?"

"Not at all. It's the first door on the right heading back to the bedroom. Want me to check on your dress?"

Knowing I'd puked on a satin dress and then it had been thrown in the washing machine by a man whose idea of doing laundry was probably to spray air freshener on everything, I didn't have much hope for that particular outfit.

"Don't worry about it," I said, getting up and heading for the bathroom.

I heard the sink faucet turn on in the kitchen as I made my way back up the stairs. Nick was scraping my leftovers off the plate.

I found the bathroom and locked the door behind me. I stripped down in front of the mirror and was startled to notice all the hickeys Nick had apparently left on my body. They were on my neck, across my chest, there was one on my stomach, my hipbone, and even a couple on my inner thighs.

I laid his clothes on the counter in a messy pile as I slid my panties off. Even with the door locked I still felt extremely exposed, like I was on display and hundreds of people were staring.

I turned the water on, impatiently waiting for it to heat up while I searched through the cabinet under the sink for an unused razor and soap bar. Luckily, I found what I was looking for and hopped in the shower with a washcloth I'd plucked from the towel rack over the toilet.

I tried to relax as I let the hot water cascade over my body. I breathed in the steamy air, trying to imagine I was in a sauna, hoping it would help calm my nerves. I grabbed a handful of Nick's shampoo, which I wasn't thrilled about but would have to settle for, and lathered up my hair. It felt so good to wash my hair, as if the bad memories of the night before were being washed down the drain with the shampoo.

My mind wandered to memories of the previous night and the man who placed so many love bites on my body. I took a deep breath, soaping up the washcloth and slowly running it over my arms, chest and stomach. I fought the moan that threatened to escape my lips as I ran the washcloth over my hipbones and down toward my most sensitive spot. I exhaled slowly, feeling the thin fabric slide over my clit, and continued washing my body, sliding the cloth down my thighs and legs. I washed my face and just as I was about to shave, I heard a knock at the door.

"Carrie?" Nick's voice came from the other side.

I froze. "Yeah?"

"I need to use the bathroom," he said in a strained voice.

"Can you wait a few minutes?" I began scrambling to finish my shower. "I'm almost done!"

"I really can't."

I groaned, setting down the razor and turning the water off. The air was freezing as I stepped out of the shower, reaching for a towel to put around my body. Once I thought my pathetic excuse for a knot was secure, I opened the door to see Nick standing in the hallway, leaning against the doorframe, only now he had a shirt on. I was disappointed I couldn't see his muscular chest anymore.

"Don't you have another bathroom?" I hissed.

I stepped aside for him to enter the room and once he'd passed me, I grabbed his clothes off the counter and went back to the bedroom to change. I removed the towel from my body, laying it on the bed and reached for Nick's shirt just as he walked in the room.

"Oh my God! Seriously?" I shouted, trying and failing to cover my naked body with his shirt.

Nick leaned against the wall chuckling and shaking his head. I stood there, embarrassed half to death as his eyes slowly trailed up and down my body. He took a few steps toward me, causing me to hug his shirt tighter against my chest.

"I thought you might need these," Nick smirked, holding up my red lace panties with his pointer finger. "Unless you'd like me to throw them in the wash too."

"I'd rather you didn't," I snapped, snatching them from his hand and causing half of the shirt I was covering myself with to fall to the side, exposing the left half of my body. I quickly covered back up, feeling my face flush.

"You don't have to be nervous," Nick walked passed me to adjust the blinds. "I already saw everything last night."

I stood there with my back to him, staring down the hall. "I wish I could go back and undo everything that happened last night." But I wasn't so sure my words were true.

"I can imagine," he said, clicking his tongue as he made his way back to me.

I could feel his breath on the back of my neck making me shiver, and the heat of his body behind me bringing a blush to my cheeks. Part of me wanted to turn around and backhand him and the other part wanted to melt into his muscular arms.

I felt the gentle caress of Nick's hand on my lower back. His fingers trailed a slow, soft line parallel to my spine down my back until he reached my ass. His hand stilled for a moment before moving to slide his fingers over my hipbone, stopping at the top of my thigh. His other hand reached around me, grabbing a fistful of the shirt I was clinging to and gently pulling it from my grasp. Nick dropped the shirt in a heap on the floor, leaving me standing in front of him, completely naked.

"You're beautiful," he whispered against my ear as he placed his hands on either side of my ribs and slowly slid them down my sides to my hips.

My breath caught and eyelids threatened to flutter closed. The logical part of my mind was telling me to push him away and run back to Derek, knowing full well what I was letting happen was wrong. But the larger portion of my racing thoughts were echoing a chorus of last night's moans and sighs as I leaned back against Nick's chest while his hands explored my body.

I fought the moans that threatened to escape my lips as his thumbs massaged my inner thighs. I felt my self-control being washed away, one touch at a time.

His lips pressed against my neck and I instinctively tilted my head to the side giving him better access. His fingers danced across my skin as his tongue traced over one of the marks his mouth had left on my body the previous night. I gasped at the feeling of his middle finger sliding between my legs. Nick pulled my body tighter against his and I could feel the growing bulge in his jeans against my ass. My hormones were starting to lose control as his finger circled around my clit. I could feel the dampness rapidly pooling between my legs and Nick was only making it worse.

As I stood there naked with his lips trailing down my neck and his hand between my thighs, all hopes of me pushing him away went out the window. Morals weren't even remotely a concern.

I pushed back against his hips with my ass and he responded by grinding his crotch against me and circling his finger faster around my clit, urging a breathy moan from me. I could tell he was smirking by the curve of his lips on my shoulder.

Halting my heavy pants, his hand stilled between my legs and his mouth left my shoulder as he pulled back and turned me to face him. My prior embarrassment flooded back when I finally looked up at him. Those deep chocolate brown eyes stared into mine making me feel even more exposed than I was, if that was possible.

"How do you feel?" he asked me, licking his bottom lip.

I hesitated, trying to gather my wits. "I-I'm not sure."

Nick nodded in understanding and glanced to the bed briefly. His eyes trailed down my body once again and I suddenly wished I had clothes on. He grabbed my hand and stepped closer to the bed, pausing momentarily as if contemplating his decision before pushing me back on the bed and hovering over me, holding his body about six inches above mine.

The bottom of his gray shirt hung down, tickling my stomach as he looked at me, his gaze flicking from my eyes to my lips and back. Finally, he leaned down to kiss me, resting his body on top of mine. A few soft kisses turned into heated making out. Lost in the moment and the feel of his tongue gliding over my lips, my legs parted, allowing him to grind the rough fabric of his jeans against my clit, making me moan and gasp into his mouth.

Nick's lips felt like velvet against mine. His fingers tangled in my hair and his lower half pressed harder against me. I didn't want to admit it but my God, this man set my world ablaze so effortlessly. I felt like I was floating on plush pillows and I didn't want to leave Cloud Nine anytime soon.

His mouth left mine suddenly and my eyes opened lazily to find him looking down at me through messy bangs. He was even more attractive than I'd thought.

"What are we doing?" he mumbled in almost a whisper.

"I think you were seducing me."

Nick cocked an eyebrow and a slight smirk appeared on his lips. "And you weren't exactly complaining, or pushing me away..."

That was the trigger that brought my common sense back. I pushed him back so I could get up and immediately started throwing the shirt and sweatpants over my body.

"Until now," he chuckled, scratching the back of his neck awkwardly.

"I have a fiancé," I snapped, tying the drawstrings in a messy knot. "I have a fucking fiancé and you're not my fiancé."

"I'm not sure I see the problem." He took a step toward me and I turned to leave the room but his hand caught my arm, preventing me from exiting the uncomfortable situation.

"What?" I glared at him.

"Don't get all snappy with me," he raised his voice just slightly. "I'm sorry shit happened last night and your fiancé is a piece of crap but I think we can work this out. I made you breakfast. I washed your fucking puke dress. I even cleaned off those dagger high heels you were wearing and-"

My palm collided with his cheek making a smacking noise. His hand immediately let go of my arm and raised to his cheek, rubbing his jaw slowly. "Ow."

"I hope it hurt," I glared.

I passed him to grab his phone from the nightstand, searching through his contacts to see if Derek's number might be in there. I'd never bothered to memorize any phone numbers, having relied on a contacts list for so long. Right now I was really regretting that.

"What are you looking for?" Nick asked, snatching the phone from my hands.

"My fiancé's number," I said. I rested my hands on my hips and tapped my foot expectantly.

"I don't have it."

"Then you're gonna take me home," I ordered and crossed my arms over my chest.

He chuckled. "Oh, am I?"

"You are."

Nick pushed passed me, heading down the stairs to the kitchen with me right behind him. He seemed to be ignoring my presence as he fished through the refrigerator for a Ginger Ale. I spotted a Coke beside the can he'd grabbed and caffeine sounded like heaven. I reached in front of him, taking it and popping the top open. Nick cocked an eyebrow, watching me chug half of it in ten seconds. Caffeine was usually the best thing to help me lose a headache and right then, my headache was killer.

"You're reminding me of one of those football players who takes a sip and then pours the whole drink over their head," Nick chuckled.

I leaned against the counter, unamused. "I have a headache. Caffeine helps."

"I see," he nodded. "Come on."

I followed him to the laundry room where he was going to get my dress. "Just leave it," I shook my head. "God knows it didn't survive last night's torture."

"I'm pretty sure most of the torture was just me throwing it in the wash," Nick admitted, sliding his phone into his back pocket as he made his way down the hall to the entryway.

He grabbed his keys from a small oak table across from the front door and fiddled through what looked like about fifteen keys until he found the one he was looking for.

"You ready?" he asked.

"Are you taking me home?" I hoped that was all he had in mind.

He nodded, opening the door and waiting on me to step outside.

I stepped onto the porch and a chilly breeze blew passed me, making me wish I'd dried my still-damp hair. I watched Nick lock the front door and then followed him to a shiny new black Audi.

"Really?" I stared at the car with my eyebrows raised.

"Really," he smirked.

Once inside the car, an awkward silence fell over us and I busied myself with untangling the ends of my hair as Nick backed out of the long driveway. I took in the scenery as we drove away from his house. There were lots of trees everywhere and the houses were spaced pretty far apart. I guessed Nick owned about three acres of land.

As he drove I found myself paying less attention to my tumbleweed hairdo and more attention to how attractive Nick's jawline was. Eventually spying through my peripheral vision turned to stealing glances which became staring at him, watching him drive. I was sure he could feel my eyes on him but he didn't act like he noticed.

We made our way onto the interstate, Nick flooring the accelerator with a small smirk as we climbed the ramp to merge. I found that extremely sexy. Maybe it was just the sound of the car picking up seventy miles an hour that I liked. I wanted that to be it. I didn't want to admit to myself that I thought the way Nick drove was sexy.