We spend some more time at the beach and then head back home. Both of us hold the rest of the time in silence, with even our ride back home being quiet. Christopher seems to be keeping himself extremely sober after revealing his accident to me. I know I can't complain about it because I can understand what he must be going through. It should feel strange to me, being aware of the change in Christopher's behavior, but I am trying to keep myself composed because I know he is hurting. And if I get upset with it, then it would mean adding more to his distress, which I completely wouldn't want to happen.

As I reach near my room and turn around, I see Christopher opening the door of his room. He waits for a moment and then looks at me. Oh, god! He looks so sad. I can't look at him being like this. I wish I could just kiss him and tell him that he has nothing to worry about because I am going to be with him and we will surely find a way to get through it together, no matter what happens.

"Goodnight, Cole." He says, faking a small smile on his face but the stretches over his forehead are clearly not helping him in hiding his anxiousness. He then simply turns around to go inside his room without even expecting a reply from me. No...I don't want to go to sleep like this, not letting him know that I am there for him. I don't want to step into my room without telling him that everything is going to be fine and that I am going to help him get through this situation. No...I just can't leave him like this, I have to do something. I want to hug him and console him, but I don't know why I am feeling so nervous about it?

"Christopher?" I call him midway before he could go any further. Wait! Why did I call him? Shut up, Nicole! You know what you want to say.

"I want to stay with you.." I blurt out suddenly and look down. What the hell? Was I intending to say that? Hell no...Then why did I say it? I don't know. Shit! Why do I always make things awkward? I peek at him after a moment, fiddling with my fingers, and see him staring directly at me. Fuck! This is embarrassing!

"You mean in my room?" He asks with his wide eyes looking at me. His voice is hoarse, but it comes out more in a surprised tone. I glance at him and shake my head, nodding nervously. He remains glued to his position for some time with a perplexed expression on his face, and for a second I feel like I have committed the biggest mistake by embarrassing myself before him again, just like many other times I have done before. Fuck! I want this ground to just swallow me up right now.

But then I notice a change in his demeanor, I see a smile slowly curving on his lips, displacing the shock on his face immediately. He moves aside, making space for me and I nod at him smiling. Thank god! I am glad that he agreed, otherwise I would have made a complete fool of myself if he would have rejected my entry. I walk into his room, wasting no time as Christopher follows me in. When I turn around to say something to him, I see him walking past me. I frown as he goes and stands in front of the window on the opposite side, looking out through it.

I know that Christopher isn't in a great mood and the reason behind it is really obvious to me. I know he is sulking, and he wants some time for himself. It is completely fine to be sad when you feel like being, but I just don't feel like leaving him alone. I want to be by his side. All the discussions we had at the beach probably reminded him of the incident and suffering he went through that time. To be honest, the revelation that he made about his past really shocked me, especially about the accident. I understand how difficult it would have been for him to survive a terrible accident, and then wake up from a coma, realizing that he has lost his memory. Having a permanent memory loss is one of the most horrible things that one can experience. I have witnessed the pain burning inside him, reflecting in his eyes, and my chest tightens whenever I watch the gleam in those grey pools sink. I don't know what to do to make him feel better, but I don't want him to go through it all alone because I want to make him believe that I am with him.

However, I can't help my mind from clouding with all those unanswered questions. The thoughts that are constantly torturing me since Christopher told me about his accident. What if the truth that has been presented before Christopher isn't real? What if he has been deceived? What if his life wasn't like this before? What if he has been manipulated by Richard? Oh, god! Why am I overthinking so freaking much? Every fucking thing doesn't have to be the way your brain thinks, Nicole. I sigh and divert my gaze back at Christopher and find him still standing there with his shoulders slumped. Nicole, just fuck everything else and think about Christopher, go and try to make up his mood because you are the one who ruined it in the first place. Right! I need to do something to cheer him up, or at least I should try to lessen his grief.

So stewing over it, I move forward towards him and wrap my hands around his shoulder, hugging him from behind. His body stiffens at first, sensing what I am doing, but then he eventually relaxes under my touch. I press my cheek against his back and tighten my arms around him. He doesn't say anything as he grabs my hand tenderly and kisses my palm. My heart warms up with the tiny gesture he did as I smile. It feels so relaxing to hold him like this, embracing the heat of Christopher's body against mine. I wish he understands what I am trying to make him feel. After a minute, Christopher shifts and turns to face me.

"Thank you, Christopher," I tell him as soon as he looks at me. His beautiful grey eyes stare at me, making it difficult for me to concentrate on anything else but them.

"For what?" He asks, touching my cheek gently, and I wonder how such a calloused hand can feel like a feather on my skin.

"For tonight. For telling me everything. For letting me know you.." I whisper placing my hand over his.

"You don't need to thank me, Cole. In fact, I should be the one thanking you." He shakes his head and affirms.

"Thank you for coming out with me. Thank you for listening to me and bearing with my shit because..."

I raise on my tiptoe before he can say anything more and kiss him. He seems to be surprised at first, but then he puts his arms around my waist, pulling me towards him as he kisses me back. I don't want to hear him giving credits to me or talking about anything else right now because I want to have this moment. I don't want to speak, but I want to convey what I am feeling for him right now through my kiss. I hope he understands that because I can't live without kissing this man now. He is so fucking kissable that I am not being able to resist myself. I slip my tongue into his mouth as my fingers grip his hair. Before I realize I am already unbuttoning his shirt.

Christopher suddenly pulls back when he notices what I am doing and looks at me. "Are you sure, Cole?" He asks hesitantly. I know he wants this as much as I want because his eyes are gleaming with the same craving that I am having for him right now.

"Yes." I breathe, pressing my lips against his neck, not letting him protest.

We soon help each other get rid of our clothes as we get back to kissing each other. It feels impossible for me to detach my lips from his after the conversation I had with him and after knowing everything about the real Christopher. All the night he has been nothing but sweet and gentle to me and above all, the thing that amazed me most was how smoothly he revealed the darkest side of his past to me just because he wants me to trust him. And the reality is, I have already started trusting him because I want to give him a chance; I want us to work. I want us to be together.

I pull back from his lips and travel down his neck, trailing open-mouthed kisses. I smile, gazing at him as I watch him close his eyes in satisfaction. He takes a sharp intake of breath as I use my tongue on his skin, tasting him as he grips my waist harder. Christopher lets out a soft moan as if approving me to be on the right path. I grin looking at him and continue with my way down.

I feel much more confident about doing this now because I finally know how we feel for each other. I move down from his neck to his expansive hard chest, swiveling my tongue over it in a pattern, urging him to throw his head back in pleasure. As I explore his chest with my mouth kissing and licking him, I notice something over the left side of his chest. I recognize that it's the mark of the stitches that I have done over his chest a few days ago when he came back home being hurt. It has grown slightly faint now. How did I miss seeing this yesterday? Maybe I was too nervous and shy last night that I didn't actually notice it.

I look at it and smile, remembering that it was the time when we shared our first kiss. I think about how things were quite different before when I had kissed him first. I scan the upper region of his body and realize that he carries some other marks of injuries over his body too. I know what he does and all this is a part of his profession, getting hurt is a part of his life. And suddenly my heart sinks thinking about anything bad happening to him. Fuck! I don't want to ever entertain that kind of thought in my mind.

I sweep that thought back immediately as I trail my fingers over his now healed wound soothingly and look back at him. I can't deny the fact that they are just making him look a hell lot sexier. I lean forward and press my lips against the mark over his chest gingerly. I go down slowly, trailing my lips down over his abs at a tormenting pace, making him bite his lips harshly. Before I can get further down, Christopher grabs me by my neck and pulls me up to kiss me.

His kiss is possessive and demanding, giving me a hint that he is trying to establish his dominance now. He grips the nape of my neck and pulls my head back to get better access. I whimper when he quickly moves down and covers my right nipple with his mouth. His tongue flickers over it, causing me to moan his name loudly. His hand catches hold of my other breast as he starts teasing it with his fingers, making it difficult for me to keep calm. Fuck! He has surely got some perfection in doing this. Before he does anything else, I push his head back roughly and stare at him with my ragged breathing.

"Please...I need you right now," I plead to him. I know that if Christopher gets started now, then it would be a hell long torture to endeavor and I just don't have the patience to go through it now. I want to feel him inside me and I want it so fucking bad right now.

He nods, looking at me with his hooded eyes, understanding my suffering. He moves to the side of the bed and searches for a condom through the nightstand. I sigh and close my eyes, feeling my heartbeat growing faster with excitement. When I open them, I see him pulling the condom over him. Without wasting any time, I tug at his hand and lead him towards the bed, pulling him with me onto it.

My lips meet his again as he enters me slowly. The moans escaping my lips are consumed by his mouth as he kisses me hard with guiding his length into me. Fuck! This feels so good! Tonight I feel more connected to Christopher, unlike last night because I am aware of Christopher's feelings for me. It's not just the physical connection that we are having through our bodies, but it's also much more on an emotional level. Knowing the fact that Christopher likes me indeed, is making this a more enjoyable experience.

I wrap my legs around his waist as his strokes become faster. I pant heavily as his lips move down, catching my nipple with his teeth as he thrusts his hips wildly into me. My nails dig into his back and I moan loudly when he goes deeper, hitting the sweetest spot of my core and rejoicing every cell in my body. His tongue plays with my nipple as he sucks them and bites teasingly, adding more to my ecstasy. I pull his head back and cover his lips with mine as I jerk my hips forward to match his rhythm.

We soon ride our climax together as his thrusts grow deeper and deeper, making me watch stars twinkling in front of me. With one last thrust, Christopher comes undone. He pulls him out of me and collapses beside me. We stare at the ceiling for some time in the quiet room, listening to our ragged breaths. After a minute, when my eyes begin to close involuntarily, I realize Christopher pulling me. He grabs my waist and pulls me onto him so that I am lying over him now.

"That was awesome..." I mumble softly.

I stare at his chest with my heavy-lidded eyes as he kisses my head and says. "Thank you for trusting me, Cole." He flashes a genuine smile and I am happy that he is much more relaxed now than before.

I return him a smile, kissing his chest, and suddenly I remember something. I hurriedly get off of him and dart to grab his phone from the nightstand. Christopher looks at me with his furrowed brows as I pull his thumb out and unlock his phone.

"What are you doing?" He asks, looking confused.

"Blessing you with your reward. You know, for taking me out on a nice dinner." I dial my number on his phone and save it, showing it to him, and quickly give a call to me so I can have his number too.

"I didn't know you were this easy to impress, I was hoping for a tough chase, Cole." He looks at me and says playfully shaking his head. So Mr. Cocky is back!

I frown, hearing what he said. Cocky bastard! "Fine, I'll delete it then. Better to get it through your tough chase." I pat his cheek as I head to press the delete icon on his phone. But before I can do that Christopher grabs my hands and within a minute he flips us over so I am on the bed and he is on top of me.

"What are you doing?" I stare at him in shock as he grips both my hands, pinning them above my head as he slips out his phone from it.

"You were being an extremely impatient kitten a while ago, not letting me have my time." He states with a mischievous gleam in his eyes, pressing me more onto the mattress.

"Now I can have my time along with my way.." He whispers sexily looking at me.

"And I thought you were actually being gentle?" I clear my throat abruptly and ask.

"That's not my thing, babe. I like it rough." He says with an arrogant smirk and I roll my eyes. "I was just pretending to be considerate so I can get this." He says, jiggling the phone in one hand and holding my arms with the other.

"So you are shamelessly telling me that you were being sweet just to get my number?"

"Yes.." He says throwing his phone on the other end of the bed. And then he brings his fingers back to trail down the side of my body. My skin burns with yearning as his hand travels down the road.

"Not even being subtle enough to defend yourself? Huh?" I breathe, trying to keep my focus on his face, but it's becoming extremely difficult with how devilishly his fingers are working.

"No.." He smirks, squeezing my hips as I writhe under him. Fuck! He would pay for this.

"You bast.." Before I could say it his hand goes down gripping my sensitive bundle of nerves making me forget everything.

                                                               ------------------------------

I wake up feeling groggy as a shiver runs through my spine. Fuck! It feels like I am gonna freeze any moment now. The weather is chilly and the fact that I am feeling it more is because I realize that I am still naked. I blush when I remember how we spent our entire night. Wait! Did we even get to sleep? I guess no...Shit! It's fucking cold! I pull the duvet close to my body and sit up on the bed. I frown when I don't see Christopher with me. It seems like he woke up earlier to me because he isn't on the bed. I scan around the room and still don't spot him anywhere. I guess he would be in the bathroom. I again remind myself of the last night and smile as I make my way out of bed. As I am about to head towards the bathroom, something on the door of Christopher's closet catches my attention.

I walk towards it and find it to be a note.

We are running out of some necessities, heading out to get them. Wouldn't want my Cole to starve, so going to get some things for breakfast. Hopefully, I'll be back before you wake up, baby. Until then, keep dreaming about me.

Your sexy babe

Chris

I smile, looking at the note. The fact that he wrote 'Your sexy babe' makes my heart skip a beat. He is literally going to drive me crazy! I smile and head towards the bathroom to have a nice long shower. I step in front of the mirror and I blush when I see tiny red marks over my chest. Seems like Christopher really had his way last night. What the hell is he doing to me? I am starting to love spending time with him and I am scared about it. What if I am on the wrong path? What if I'll get hurt later? What if Christopher isn't the guy for me? I am scared of being attached to him because I know it's dangerous. But I can't help, being with Christopher is so addictive. I feel like I can't resist myself whenever I am around him and it's driving me nuts. Okay, so I am really losing my sanity now.

Thinking about Christopher, I step out of the bathroom. Suddenly I realize that I have nothing to wear because it's Christopher's room. I have to walk to my room to get something, but instead of doing that, I move towards Christopher's closet having some other thing on my mind. What if I use Christopher's clothes? I can just put his shirt on? It isn't a bad idea, right? Wait! I don't know if he would mind it or not? I guess he wouldn't.

As soon as I open the cupboard, I am hit by a powerful woody scent. Christopher's Closet just smells as manly as he is. I can totally make my home here, I think. I look through his stuff quickly and choose a plain white shirt to wear which looks really comfortable. As I take his shirt out, something gets caught with it and when I try to pull again, it falls onto my feet. I frown and pick it up.

It's a Polaroid picture. Picture of Christopher....with a girl? I am surprised to find something like this in Christopher's closet. I see that in the picture, Christopher is sitting on a couch and a girl is standing behind him. The house in the background doesn't seem familiar to me. What place is this? It seems like the girl is trying to mess his hair to which Christopher is laughing in return. It looks like a recent picture, not much older with a smiley made at the bottom. The girl appears to be around 15 or 16 years old. She has a petite frame, but she looks beautiful with her long wavy blonde hair. Both of them seem to be happy in this picture, with Christopher's face lighting up with a burst of carefree laughter. It feels like a beautiful moment of them together has been captured with this picture. But the actual question is, who is she? How is she related to Christopher? And why didn't Christopher tell me anything about her? Is she Christopher's sister? But he mentioned to me last night that he never had a family. Then how is it possible? Did he lie to me? No...Why would he do that? Maybe I should ask him. But what if he gets angry with me? If he really wanted me to know about her, he would have told me yesterday. Maybe he doesn't want me to know about it? Maybe he wants to keep it a secret? But why?

As I am looking at the picture, the doorbell rings, shaking me out of my thoughts. I put the picture back into the cupboard and sprint to my room to get my shorts before hurrying down to get the door.

I open the door, assuming it to be Christopher, but to my surprise, I realize that it's not him. I glance at the guy standing in front of me. I don't know why, but he looks oddly familiar to me. His handsome, boyish face with that blonde hair reminds me of someone. Someone I have met before. I close my eyes, trying to memorize where I have met him. Have I seen him? Yes, I remember, I have seen him before, but where have I seen him?

"Nicole?" He calls my name and I look at him with a disturbed frown on my face. How the hell he knows my name?

My eyes fall over his face again, and then suddenly it struck me really hard. Shit! He is...he is the guy who helped me to escape from Christopher's a year ago. How could I forget that day? How could I forget him? He was the one who came forward to help me when no one was willing to do it, and because of it only I am here standing before him. If he wouldn't have helped me to run that day, then I wouldn't know if I would have been able to meet Christopher again like this. I am so grateful to him for that. I realize that I didn't get a chance to even offer a proper thanks to him at that time.

"What are you doing here?" He asks me with a totally terrified expression as if he has seen a ghost in front of him. I thought that was my question to ask.

I....I..." I stutter, trying to form a meaningful sentence, but I fail because I am too stunned to find him here. Fuck! What am I supposed to tell him?

"I thought this was Christopher's place.." He frowns and questions me with his eyes growing big with pure astonishment.

"Are you alright, Nicole? How did you get here?" He gazes at me with a baffled expression. Why is he asking so many questions? But the fact that he still remembers my name is really surprising.

"Shit! Did Christopher again...kidnap you?" He asks me with a horrified look on his face as he peeks behind me. I move aside and signal him to come in. I close the door once he gets in and turns around to face him.

"No..." I sigh and answer him. What the hell am I supposed to say?

"Then what is going on?" He appears to be extremely perplexed. His vision then shifts down as he takes in my appearance. After seeing me in Christopher's shirt, his mouth hangs wide open. Shit! I know what he must be thinking. Fuck! This is so fucking awkward. I look down and shift on my feet nervously.

When I look back at him, I see him trying to open his mouth to say something, but before that I interrupt. Come on, Nicole! You have to face this. You have to tell him.

"Wait! I'll tell you everything." I take a deep breath and look at him. "But first, can I know your name?" I ask him, looking embarrassed. I just realized that I didn't even know his name.

"Oh, Yeah..." He smiles at me. "I am Colby Scott." I look at him and nod as I start speaking.

It's a long story, but I try to make it short for him, starting from how Christopher came back into my life. I tell him everything. I don't know if he is going to judge me or not but it is necessary for me to tell him everything because from the expression he had on his face when he saw me I can tell that he was concerned about me. From the very first time I have seen him, he appeared to be a nice guy, and he has already given me an example of it by helping me to escape. He seems like a genuine guy and moreover; he works for Christopher so I can't keep this from him. He would eventually get to know this.

"Wow...I don't know what to say?" He says with a shocked expression on his face as I finish. It seems like he isn't able to believe what I just revealed to him.

"I..I am just speechless. I didn't expect this." He utters looking at me.

"Me neither... It just happened." I answer him, putting a stray strand behind my ear and looking away.

"I've heard that Christopher was living with a girl here...I didn't know it was you.."

I don't know but it feels extremely embarrassing for me to have this conversation right now with him so I try to change the topic. "By the way, I wanted to thank you for helping me a year ago. I couldn't have the opportunity to thank you properly at that time."

"I guess that help wasn't of any use..." He lets out a chuckle and I understand what he is implying.

After a moment I notice his face turning serious as if he just had a realization of something. "Nicole, I forgot to tell you something. I don't know if Christopher has told you about Richard or not but let me tell you that..."

"I know about him..." I cut him off, shaking my head. He glances at my face for a moment and then nods, agreeing to me.

"He was not in the states for quite some time...but now is back. Listen, it's important for you to know..." I gaze at him curiously, but before he could complete his sentence, the main door clicks open and I see Christopher entering with a bag in his hand. He looks at us in confusion. But when Colby turns and Christopher's eyes fall on him, the astound look on his face is replaced with a warm smile.

"Colby? When did you come and what are you doing here?" Christopher asks, placing the bag on the couch.

"My flight landed in the morning, Chris. I came here to meet you."

"It's good to see you, brother," Christopher says as he hugs Colby patting his back.

He then looks at me and says. "This is Nicole. She is living with me.." When he realizes that I am wearing his shirt, it appears like for a second he forgot what he was going to speaking about. His gaze then darts back to Colby as he lets out an awkward laugh, not knowing what to say next.

"It's okay, Christopher. You don't have to justify it. Nicole told me about you guys." Colby laughs, noticing Christopher's embarrassment as he smacks his shoulder.

"She did?"

"Yes...we talked before you came," Colby answers, looking at me.

Christopher studies his face for a minute as he says. "I guess you know her? You were there a year ago when that incident happened."

"Yeah...I remember her. I was there when she made an excuse of being sick and ran away." He cracks it up playfully, making me almost choke.

"Oh, right...You were there too? I always thought of you being a smart man, Colby. I am so fucking amazed. How did she manage to pull the wool over your eyes?" Christopher pulls an amused smile over his face and asks. I immediately avert my gaze towards Colby, imploring him with my eyes not to tell Christopher about that incident. I don't know why, but I feel like Christopher wouldn't like the fact that Colby helped me to escape. I don't know how Christopher would react to this piece of information. I guess he wouldn't mind it now, considering how our relationship has grown. But I still can't rule out the possibility of it ruining their friendship.

"I guess she just did..." Colby trails looking a bit doubtful, but then he eventually understands me.

"Oh sorry, Nicole. I forgot to introduce you to him. He is my friend, Colby. He works with us. He is the one who manages our business in London, he comes in a while when he has some work here." Christopher says and we look back at him. "And unfortunately he is Sophia's cousin too." He chuckles and Colby rolls his eyes. I guess he doesn't like her too.

"Nice to meet you again, Nicole," Colby says turning towards me and I smile, shaking his hand.

"Are you planning to join us for breakfast?" Christopher then asks him.

"No, buddy. Thanks for offering, though. I hope you know Richard is back." He says pursing his lips. "I have to go, I just came here to see you. Meet you at the work, Chris."

Christopher nodes as Colby leaves, giving me a small smile. There was something unusual in his eyes. Wait! Did he want to say something to me?

After Colby's departure, Christopher turns towards me and says. "When did you wake up?"

"Just a while ago?"

"What did you guys talk about?" He looks curious, asking that as we make our way to the kitchen. I grab the bag that Christopher brought from the couch.

"Nothing much...Just how everything happened." I admit with a slight hesitation in my tone. "He was confused to find me living here with you, so I had to explain to him everything. I hope you don't have any problem with it?" I peer slowly at Christopher and ask.

"No, absolutely not." He shrugs and says. "Colby is a good friend. He was going to know about it anyway, so it's not really a problem." I place a pan on the stove and turn to face him as he speaks. "Even though he belongs to Richard's family. He is the nicest one of them. Unlike his cousin and Uncle." Yes, he seems to be a nice guy. I wonder why he chose to be in this business?

"Nicole, there is something that I want to tell you..." Christopher adds slowly as I look at him.

"What is it?"

"I had to dismiss Robert and Michael from their duty here." He states, running his fingers through his hair. "As Colby said, Richard is back in the city, so he has assigned them back at his work site."

"But I promise to appoint them back. Your safety is my priority, Cole." The moment he says that, I realize something. My throat begins to constrict when I remember the note I got at Peter's party. It has completely slipped out of my mind. How did I forget about it? It was a fucking death threat, Nicole. You cannot forget it. I thought that I was safe here because Michael and Robert were there to guard the house. But what Christopher just said is freaking me out terribly. He said they have been removed from here. What would happen now? Am I going to be in danger? Fuck! I haven't even told about that note to Christopher. I don't know if I should tell him?

Seeing the color drain from my face, Christopher asks furrowing his eyebrows. "Nicole? Are you okay?"

"Yeah, it's fine. It's completely fine, Christopher." I shake my head and force a smile on my face to look normal.

He relaxes and flashes a sweet smile. "But you know what the good thing is? We can get more time to ourselves, unlike being guarded by them 24/7." He frowns and looks at me. "Honestly, I don't like them being around. I can take care of you myself." He states rolling his eyes like a kid and I laugh. He is so freaking cute! I don't know why, but whenever I am with Christopher, I feel safe. I forget about all my worries because I believe that he is here to protect me.

He makes his way towards me and puts his arms around me, burying his nose into the crook of my neck. I lean against the counter as he grips my waist.

"You look beautiful in my shirt, Cole. Are you trying to seduce me?" He whispers kissing my neck and I shiver at the light touch of his lips on my skin.

"Why would I do that?" I cough and say.

"You know why would you do that..." He pulls back to look at me with his silvery eyes.

"I thought you were hungry?" I arch an eyebrow at him playfully, making an attempt to distract him by indicating the bag he brought.

But he doesn't shift his gaze to look at what I am pointing to as he keeps staring at me. "Yes, I am hungry....and I am going to have you for my breakfast." He smiles seductively before crashing his lips against mine.

A/N:

Please do vote and comment.

Thank you for reading!

Janny❤