Love & Loss

Chapter 9

Nico's POV:

I absent-mindedly picked at my half-eaten lamb chop with my fork, my head resting on my fist.

Dinner had come a lot quicker than expected, much to my disappointment.

Well, our disappointment.

It took a good moment for Khloe and me to separate ourselves and regain enough composure for us to join my family for dinner without causing any suspicions.

But that didn't mean that I could so easily just stop dwelling on it, it meant quite the opposite really.

Khloe's sudden boldness was really starting to become a problem.

Not a problem in the negative sense, it was very far from that, but a problem in the sense where it was so interestingly strange coming from her that I couldn't stop thinking about it.

I never would have thought that she would be the kind to actually ask for what she wanted, she always seemed like the type that would just sit by and wait until I initiated something.

Not that I was complaining. God, I wasn't complaining one bit.

Her straight-forwardness sparked something within me, like it was giving me a purpose to fulfill her wants whenever I kissed or touched her.

"Nicolas."

She reacted to me in a way that was difficult to explain.

It was like pleasing her was second nature to me. Like I already knew what she liked and what she wanted.

I learned a lot about her in during that time with all of the reactions she gave me.

Feeling her body tense against her will when I traced that certain spot on her collarbone with my tongue, and that spot just below her jaw.

Hearing every timid noise that spilled from her mouth, encouraging me more than anything.

"Nicolas."

Tasting her lips, feeling every little movement she made when I would make one.

"Nicolas!"

Feeling the warmth of her hands and fingertips through my shirt when she gained enough courage to touch and explore parts of my own body.

Courage... that was another thing she possessed that was very interesting to try to figure out.

"I think he goes by 'Nico' now, dad."

"What? Why?"

"I dunno. He's gone by 'Nico' for about 30 years now."

Despite her boldness, she was still a shy girl.

No matter how confidently she asked for my affection, once she got it, her timid nature would slowly return.

But, I found out how to work with it, whether it was purring to calm her down, or shifting my movements to get her to focus on something else.

"Well that's stupid."

"Honey..."

"What? We named him Nicolas so why the hell couldn't he go by 'Nick' or something."

"He used to go by 'Nick' right after we left, but then changed it."

It seemed to work. Especially when she almost completely shied away after her reaction to me grabbing her thighs.

I hardly registered the fact that my hand had tightened around my fork, or the rather harsh exhale that left my mouth.

I thanked many experiences prior in my life that strengthened my self-control that moment.