Nora

"Nora, tell us about your hotshot boyfriend!" Kara hollered. "I mean damn girl. You landed yourself a piece of meat."

I chuckled. "Back off Stone. He's mine."

"Oh I'm back for sure." She giggled. "I saw the pictures of you two online and you look absolutely adorbs. No, you look smexy. Hot mama sexy daddy types. So is it true he has the stamina of a horse?"

I spluttered my drink.

"Oops, was that too forward? Sorry." She winced. "I just want to know. You're dating someone after such a long time and I just want to know what it's like."

"I dated someone just before him, Kara." I pointed out.

"That Jordan? Oh I'm talking about men, not assholes."

Lydia gave her a high five as Scarlet and Eve burst out laughing. I had to give her a point, she was correct. Her smug smile said it all. I was out for a girl's night, much to Nico's dismay who'd wanted to keep me up all night with his insatiable hunger. But I'd already put this back a lot of times, and I missed my friends.

"So, what's he like? Too bossy? I mean a man like him deserves to be bossy."

"He's...demanding. Possessive. Powerful. Wild." I felt my cheeks redden. "But he's got a caring side as well. He doesn't show that often."

"Of course he doesn't." Scarlet muttered. "Enough about boys, I'm gonna dance. Come on!"

We cheered and downed a shot, strutting over to the dance floor. The music made me feel sexy, so I didn't mind moving my hips to the beats, lifting up my hands and letting them fall into my hair. A girly squeak interrupted my motions and I burst out laughing when I saw Lydia and Kara grooving on each other.

"I'm gonna grab a drink." I shouted over the music after a while. I got no response in return, my friends were too busy.

Just when I sat on a bar stool, I felt the seat behind me shift and the shadow of a person. I turned around, looking at the guy who was already looking at me. "Two shots for the beautiful lady." He called out to the bartender.

I raised an eyebrow in return.

He shrugged. His eyes were green, mouth crooked, face amused. "No one says no to free drinks."

I opened my mouth to tell him I was already getting free drinks. This was my boyfriend's club. But I saw the silhouette of a man standing behind me. He beat me to it. "Miss Kinsley?"

I turned around. "Yes?"

The man looked at the guy sitting beside me. "I'm gonna have to request you to move."

"Excuse me?" He raised an eyebrow. "I'm quite comfortable here."

"I insist." The man pressed on. He was dressed in a two piece suit, a blue tooth device stuck to his left ear. His face showed business, no fun, no amusement. He was rigid in his spot, his posture stiff.

"Who are you, dude? I said I didn't want to move. Do you know him?" The guy turned to me.

"No." I said. But I had an idea. This was Nicolas. I knew it was his doing. Why else would he want me to go to a club he owned. He wanted to keep an eye on me.

"Could you leave us alone?" The guy asked.

"Uh, I-I think I should go?" I said unsure, getting up. If Nicolas was worried I was going to cheat on him with a random guy, we were going to have some pretty serious issues. If he couldn't trust me, this won't work.

"Where is he?" I asked the man. "And what's your name?"

"My name's Jacob." He said. "Mr Reid is at his penthouse."

"Did he ask you to step forward only when guys approach me? Or is there something else as well?"

Jacob maintained a straight face while answering. "There's a list."

"Of course there is." I muttered under my breath. I turned around, suddenly not feeling the best. I wondered if that was how our relationship was going to be. I didn't have a problem with him backing guys off me. But there was a certain way of doing it. I needed him to trust me.

"Lyds?" I halted the movements of my best friend. She gave me a lopsided grin. "I need to go. Do you want me to drop you home or will you catch a ride with Kara?"

"I don't wanna go there." She slurred. "Doesn't feel home."

My heart clenched. "I will kill him."

Her eyes brightened. "Really? But, no. Don't."

"I'll talk to him, alright? This has been going on for too long. We'll figure out what's wrong and we'll deal with it. You always have me." I murmured to her.

"I love you, babe." She giggled. "Go. Shoo!"

I gave her one last look. Kara looked at me from the corner of her eye and motioned me to not worry. I nodded, turning around and taking off. Nicolas and I had some serious shit to talk about.

~~

I punched in the code for his penthouse, my heels clicking against the marble of his floor. I found him sprawled on the couch, his arms on either side of the headrest, powerful legs resting on the table. His hair was messy, loose hanging boxers the only piece of clothing on his body. I felt my hormones kicking in, but I scolded myself. Talk before sex.

"Nora?" His face didn't show surprise. He had been expecting me.

"I'm not going to tolerate this shit." I seethed out. "Being possessive is one thing but stalking me and keeping an eye on me all the fucking time is not done."

"You are my girlfriend, Nora." He replied, calmly. "I protect what's mine."

"I can handle myself. I don't need your employees to back off every guy who approaches me."

"There were more than one?" He asked suddenly.

I gasped in astonishment. "That is not the point! The point is you can't keep doing stuff like that. You have to trust me- "

"I trust you." He said without a beat. "This isn't about trust."

"What the fuck is it about then? Because if you trust me you should know I'm not cheating on you. I wasn't even going to talk to that guy. I was about to tell him I had a boyfriend-"

"Look," He put a hand on his face. "I just- I have my reasons, okay? I'm trying to give you space because I know you don't like being crowded but that's not who I am. I'm trying, Nora. But that'll take time. You need to be patient with me. I do trust you and I'm doing my best to respect your boundaries but there are some things that I need."

"Why?" I asked, softening my voice when I felt him pull away from me. "Tell me why?"

He dropped his head in his hands, his shoulders shaking slightly. If it had been someone else I would've thought they were crying. But he wasn't. He was shaking because this was a conversation he didn't want to have. I walked towards him, grabbing his head and pulling it away to make him look at me. He looked the most vulnerable he'd ever looked since I'd known him. My heart clenched, "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." His voice was above a whisper.

I cupped his face as I sat down with my legs on either side of his thighs. His hands wrapped around my waist and he buried his face in my neck. "I'm sorry."

"Nicolas," I whispered. "Listen to me. You don't have to say sorry for every single thing. You have to talk to me. You're the one who said we need to tell each other the simplest of things. Don't apologise, talk to me."

"I don't know how to." He said. "I don't- I don't know how to do this, Nora. I'm afraid I'll fuck this up and then you'll leave and I won't be able to do anything about it. I'm being cautious because I don't want you to go."

"I'm not running away, okay?" I traced his cheekbone. "You protect what's yours, and I protect what's mine. Tell me what's bothering you."

He took a deep breath, tightening his hold against me. "I don't want you to find this out from someone else. But I don't- know how you'll react and-"

"I'm not leaving." I repeated.

"I've been engaged before."

I blinked. My hand fell down from his cheek in surprise. His face turned into a small frown. He lifted my hand and placed it back on his cheek. "You promised-"

"To who? When? How come no one knows?" I asked, my voice sounding foreign to my ears.

"It was a while back. We didn't want to go public because that ruins things. That was why I was so careful with you about the media. They ruin everything."

"Did they ruin your relationship?" I asked softly. "Is that why-"

"She ruined the relationship." He murmured. "The media was just a catalyst."

"Who was it?"

"Sydney." He looked down.

"You were engaged to Sydney Sparks?" I repeated in shock. "Wha-but, h-wow. I don't know what to say. I didn't even know you both were that serious."

"I proposed to her on a private ship." He continued. "It was an impulsive decision. We'd been going out for a few months and I felt it was the right time. She said yes."

"What happened?"

"The media got to her. They printed stories about me and other girls and she didn't like it. I tried convincing her to not listen but she started believing them. She slept with the nearest guy she could find to get back at me."

I gasped in shock, suddenly seeing red. "I'll kill her."

His arms tightened. "I hadn't even looked at another girl after her, let alone sleep with someone. I asked her to trust me but she trusted the media more. When she cheated I just...snapped."

"Anyone would have." I said, recalling the moment when I saw Jordan with someone else. "It wasn't your fault."

"I was in a very bad place after that." He said, searching in my face for something. "Not because she cheated on me, but because I'd been cheated on. It made me feel I wasn't worth it."

"You are." I whispered. "So much."

"Then I met you." He continued. "The first sight was enough to make me crave more. By the second and the third I knew I wanted you more than anything. And after I'd had you I thought my desire would vanish. But it didn't. It increased."

He closed his eyes when I ran a finger through his hair.

"And you crave me. You show me you want me just like I want you. The insatiable hunger that you have in your eyes every time I fill you up, as if you can't get enough, as if you don't want to stop, I like it, Nora. You want to be with me all the time regardless of the sex. I like it very much. Because it makes me feel wanted. It makes me feel I am worth it."

"You are." I repeated. "I'll never stop wanting you. She lost you, Nico. It's her loss because she had such an amazing person in her life and now she doesn't."

"I used to think I didn't need anyone else because I had her. But I would've met you sooner or later. I would have wanted you, would've needed you."

I bent down as he tucked my hair behind my ear, pressing my lips to his. There was a spark inside me, something that had never happened before. I felt a connection with him I hadn't felt ever before. I was falling for Nicolas. Hard and fast. Deep and powerful.

"Everyone has an addiction, Nora." He murmured against my lips. "Mine happens to be you."

*

Ahhhh Theo James my baby I love FourTris! I'm on the verge of finishing the 5th season of Lucifer and I'm so sad because I don't want it to end. Ohh by the way, do y'all know when The Kissing Booth 3 releases? I'm freaking dying here.

Anyway, please do vote, comment and share if you like the story so far.