Nicole squeezed his hand again, letting him know he didn’t need to defend either of them to his crazy mother. This seemed to calm him slightly. He gestured to the car. “Should we head back to the house now?”
“I am getting a little tired,” his mother admitted, relenting and getting into the car. When the three of them were inside, Erica patted her stomach. “I didn’t realize pornography would make me so hungry. Do you find it works up the appetite, Nicole?”
Nicole smiled back at her. “I don’t really understand the question.”
“She’s very coy, isn’t she?” Erica said.
Red didn’t respond. His eyes narrowed and the color was blooming in his cheeks.
Nicole felt herself getting angry, mostly on his behalf. The more time she spent with Erica, the more she realized what he’d had to deal with his entire life. “I’m not being coy, Erica,” Nicole said, after a moment. “I truly didn’t know what you were asking me.”
“Never mind. I’m so glad we all enjoyed the show. I was certain the two of you would relate to the material, and I’m trying to be more open-minded these days.”
“Enough,” Red said in a low growl.
“What?” His mother looked shocked at his tone.
“I said, enough of that talk.”
She opened her mouth again, but from the look on Red’s face, seemed to reconsider. Instead, she laid her head back and closed her eyes, folding her hands on her lap. “Some people can be so touchy,” she muttered, as the car headed for Connecticut.
***
“I want her gone,” Red said, when the two of them finally had some privacy. They were in the master bedroom, and Red was changing into a pair of dark Armani pants and a white dress shirt.
Nicole was about to go to the master bathroom for a nice shower. But Red was suddenly in the mood to vent, after a sustained uncomfortable silence that he’d maintained the entire ride home. He’d spoken but once or twice, telling his mother where her room was located and helping her with her things.
“Didn’t you say you’re leaving for Germany tomorrow morning anyway?” Nicole reminded him, running a hand through her snarled hair, trying to untangle it a little.
“I don’t want to listen to any more of her little digs. Didn’t you hear her?” he asked, buttoning his shirt. His eyes were blazing.
“I did.”
“And taking us to Venus in Fur as a little snide comment on our sexual proclivities?”
Nicole laughed.
Red stared at her. “You think it’s funny.”
“A little bit. I liked the play, I didn’t care what your mother thought it implied about me.”
“You haven’t dealt with her yet—not really. This is just the beginning,” he fumed, fixing his cuffs. “Once she senses your weakness, she’ll chip at you and chip at you. She never stops, it’s in her nature to pick at other people’s wounds.”
“Then why do you even deal with her?”
“I don’t honestly know anymore,” he said, thinking about it. “I try to limit the contact. Like I said, she’s close with my brother, and I don’t want to strain my relationship with Jeb.”
“Okay, then,” Nicole said, moving closer to him and putting her hands on his arms. “So why make trouble for yourself now? Let’s just get through a few more hours and be done with it.”
Red smiled at her. “What did I do right in a past life to deserve you?”
“Maybe you did something right in the present.”
“Maybe I’m just the luckiest guy in the universe.”
“Damn right.” She grinned. “I need to hop in the shower before dinner.”
Red continued getting ready as Nicole started the water, disrobed, and stepped into the enormous glass encased shower area that was large and steamy and luxurious, with black tiles along the floor and walls.
Closing her eyes, she let the hot water run all over her body, releasing the pent-up stress that had been there since the morning. This life with Red was so confusing, alternating between states of bliss and ecstasy and moments of total fear and anxiety. It was a high-stress, fast-paced world that he lived in, and Nicole was still trying to wrap her mind around it.
Just as she was starting to decompress, she heard the shower door creaking. Startled, her eyes popped open and she spun around, instinctively covering breasts and crotch.
She found Red standing there, completely naked, smiling with glee at her shock. “Did I surprise you?” he asked, stepping into the shower and shutting the glass door behind him.
“You scared me!”
“I couldn’t let you out of my sight so easily,” he said, his voice low and sexy smooth.
“I need to get ready for dinner,” she said, trying to hide her building excitement at Red’s bold nudity. His body was like something a painter would study, a sculptor would take months to mold and carve out of marble. He was so strong, and as he reached out to touch her, every nerve ending danced in anticipation of his skin against hers.
“Dinner can wait,” he said.