41| heartbeats

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for ninspov ❤ thank you for the continued support :')

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for ninspovthank you for the continued support :')

| Chapter 41 |

| heartbeats |


"This is some greeting," Nick chuckled softly into Bree's hair, burying his nose further into those dark blonde locks and running his fingers through them lazily.

He felt her arms tighten impossibly around him one last time, before she pulled away, her face leaving its newfound home in the crook of his neck. And then Bree titled her head back to meet his eyes -- but she didn't make any move to remove her hands from around him, only shifting her arm slung over his neck to wrap around his waist instead, joining her other hand and intertwining her fingers at the small of his back.

"Are you okay?" She asked him quietly, staring right into his eyes, her concerned gaze burning into his relieved one.

"I am now," he told her honestly. Because he was, he really was. Nick thought he'd always be okay, come hell or high water, as long as it was Bree he had by his side.

A small, but heavy, sigh fell past Bree's slightly parted lips and she let her face lean into him, her forehead resting against his shoulder now. "Good," she mumbled into the sleeve of his tank top, her breath blowing across the skin that wasn't concealed by the dark grey material. "That's good."

Nick hesitated, just for a moment, stepping into unfamiliar and terrifying territory, and then, placing a firm hand against Bree's back to keep her in place, he leaned forward and pushed the door close with his free arm.

He slipped down his hand, letting it rest against the small of her back now. "I was doing some thinking," he said in a low voice, shifting his mouth so that his lips were grazing the shell of her ear.

"I like the sound of that," Bree's words were audible, despite his shoulder muffling them.

Nick's lips curved into a smile against her ear, and he used his free hand to run down the length of her hair, over her shoulder, down her arm, following it all the way to where she had it rested around his waist. He tugged on her hand, and she complied by loosening her hold so that he could thread their fingers together.

"And now that I've been doing some thinking," he murmured, pulling her with him as his feet moved backwards slowly, "I also want to do some talking."

Bree lifted her head from his shoulder and shot him a sly smile, her eyes shining. "Just talking, Nick?" Her voice clenched his gut, sending a flare of heat to places he didn't want to be thinking about.

"Oh, we'll have time for the nonverbal bits later," he promised in a soft voice, the tender smile on his face completely contrasting with the heat of his words.

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