Here's another chapter for you lovely people for getting this book past 30K reads so quickly! I have one request though. Make sure to comment as you read. It makes me see what exactly you enjoy in comparison to just a big summary at the end only leading to telling me to update (even though I just did).

Episode 27: Training Wheels

Boredom.

Emily had never felt the full brunt of it before until today.

After she had eaten breakfast, the actress on semi-break found herself lost and not knowing what to do with her freetime. At first, she had lounged about and decided to catch up on the t.v. show she was behind in. But then she realized she had actually finished the entire seasons and had forgotten. The shock of her crazy binge watching abilities wore off and she felt terribly lonely on the living room couch as Nanny Kim left for grocery shopping.

Emily tapped her fingers against the phone in her hand. It had a dull rhythm which reflected her emotions.

She suddenly wondered if Nicholas was on his break at work, or if he had any spare time at all to entertain her.

No! The strict part of her conscience scolded instantaneously. You will not be a clingy woman who can't survive a second without her man.

But was it even right of her to call him 'hers', as if he belonged to her?

Sure, he had hinted at their union as something of high priority, but she couldn't shake the thoughts of it being a responsibility instead.

Nicholas had made it clear, over and over again, that he wanted whatever they had to work.

But sometimes certain toxic musings often had her walking down a different road. One in which she had become a liability for him. Someone he had been tied to and was ultimately forced to care for. Entertaining the thought that Nicholas wasn't doing all he was because he truly wanted to was scary.

It trampled on her self esteem, pushing her to feel unwanted.

Usually she was a self-asserted woman but the vagueness between the both of them needed to be cleared.

Sure, he was wealthy and handsome, but this union would become meaningless without his commitment and love. And the real cause of her potential heart failure was that she didn't even know if he was planning on loving her. At all.

Of course, she didn't expect him to reach that point in this relationship after three months because everyone loved at a different pace.

But, he should at least be more verbose with the thought of wanting to get there.

She was fearful that his attraction for her was strictly physical.

It was bad of her to think so lowly of him, but she couldn't help it.

All of his desires for her had been provoked by lust in the past and the need to escalate the heights of their skinship showed that.

Though, she had to admit there were a few times he seemed genuinely amused by her little quirks.

But that had also only been amusement!

Emily wanted something more complex, ardent and marginal of a forever.

Was she being greedy for wanting more?

More than what she was already being spoiled with?

She felt that way.

It was eating her alive to be honest.

She never wanted to reach the point where she felt unsatisfied by Nicholas - never thought that it was possible - however, her heart was hungry. She wasn't full on what was being dished out to her.

Emily wanted a full course meal, not an appetizer.

She doubted any woman in their right mind wouldn't want that from a man they're interested in.

Bottom line, Emily didn't love Nicholas.

At least not yet.

But she needed assurance that if she jumped off that cliff, he'd be there to catch her.

She didn't want to continue to drown whilst she was in his presence.

It wasn't fair.

He was still riding with his training wheels on in this marriage.

She needed for him to take the suckers off like a big boy and come at her with full speed.

Would you be able to handle that?

Emily's mouth set into a thin line as her shoulders stiffened at the thought.

She castigated herself for her pressuring fantasies of what she wanted from Nicholas.

At one point, the helpless woman even began to zone out.

It would have been more ideal for her to make the two days off from filming worth while, but here she was, moping about like it was the end of the world. To make matters worse, she was missing a man that probably saw her as nothing more than an onus to him.

Her eyes reddened with signs of tears.

Just as she was about to surrender to her self-decapricating thoughts, Emily heard the front door open and slam.

She wiped at the corners of her eyes, not wanting Nanny Kim to see her in a vulnerable state.

To her surprise, it was somebody else that had made an appearance.

Nicholas stood by the door with his boots discarded to the side. Wearing his blue, ripped jeans, his chest was covered by a considerably thin shirt and his feet were mouthwateringly naked, and he was staring at her. His private-joke smile was etched onto his beautiful face and his eyes were a coffee-coloured brown, like the first time they met. In his hands, he held multiple bags - like he had just gone grocery shopping. Only that he hadn't. Ms. Kim had.

He ambled with athletic grace to the kitchen before Emily could so much as offer to lend him a hand.

The sexy man returned not long after with a bowl of strawberries.

He was gazing intently at her as he offered her them. Holding up a plump ripe strawberry, he extended his hand through the air.

"Eat," he encouraged, his tongue caressing the front of his palate as he enunciated the last letter.

Emily tried to move toward him, but she tethered, held back by an invisible force around her legs, holding her down on the couch.

Let me go, she cursed.

"Come, eat," he cajoled once more, smiling his delicious crooked smile.

"You're not at work." Was all she managed to get out.

Nicholas lifted a teasing eyebrow at her.

"And you're not eating."

She blinked.

"I'm not hungry."

Nicholas was motionless, his eyes expressing a myriad of emotions.

This sight of him was one she had longed for and she began to wonder if that was it - was she imagining this?

Amongst the kaleidoscope of browns in his eyes, agitation was evident, prominent even.

Oh no - what's wrong? She thought concerned.

Agitated or not, he was still beyond beautiful. How could he look so... arresting? It was such a pleasure for her to sit there and take in the sheer sight of him.

She felt blessed to be able to.

"Not hungry? Okay...what have you had for lunch then?" He sat beside her, and his whole demeanor changed.

From tension to complacency to something else - a look that called directly to her internal seductress. One of pure, unadulterated and sensual carnality, brown eyes blazing.

Her mouth went dry and desire bloomed inside her body...whoa.

Okay, what the hell was that?

"Emily." Nicholas snapped her out of the daydreaming.

"Hmmh?"

"I asked what you had for lunch."

She looked at him, her mind finally catching on as she tried to hide her guilty expression.

"Uh..."

As expected. She hasn't had a thing to eat.

"Say 'ah'."

"What?"

The strawberry between his long fingers caressed her lips as she looked at him wide eyed.

"Ahhh..." He coaxed softly, as if he was talking to a baby.

Emily's mouth parted as she kept the intense gaze he had her locked in.

Nicholas never took his eyes off her lips as they wrapped around the red fruit and took it in swiftly.

She chewed on it for a few seconds before her eyes flew open in delight at the taste.

She licked her lips as she moaned, "Yummy."

He cleared his throat.

"Do you wish to have some more?"

Emily nodded eagerly, amusing him for a nanosecond, but he stiffened at her intake of the other strawberries.

He felt like a monk enduring some kind of purity test as he watched.

And he was failing this test.

Miserably, at that.

The way her pink lips wrapped around the small fruit, sucked and then she would make the most pleasured sounds...

His eyes hooded and took a darker shade. With dilated pupils, he proceeded to watch her.

Did she not know that a man could only take so much?

"I thought you went to work. Why are you here..." Emily's eyes found his casual attire. "Dressed down like this?"

Nicholas' lips twitched.

"I went to visit a friend of mine early this morning who had returned to New York."

"Oh."

"Yes." He said as a confirmation to nothing in particular.

"Male or female?"

"Why?"

Emily shrugged.

"Would it cause some sort of reaction if I say that it was a female?"

Her teeth ground against each other as she pretended to be unaffected by what he said.

"No."

"Mhmm...good." He mused, almost not believing her firm one-worded statement.

"So, you don't have work?"

She decided switching the topic would be in both of their interests.

"Technically, I do. However, I decided to take my days off that were long overdue. You don't mind if I keep you company for the rest of these two days, do you?"

Would she mind? Emily yelled in her head. Hell no, she wouldn't!

Her cheeks were growing numb with the smile that had broken out on her face.

"You're staying home?"

"Yes."

"For two days?"

Nicholas nodded.

"With me?"

"Emily, I already told you 'yes' for heaven's sake. What else do you want me to do, legitimize it with my signature stamp?"

She raised her eyebrows at him, liking the idea of it.

Nicholas shook his head.

"No."

"But Nick-"

"No, Emily. This is ridiculous-"

She straddled him quickly, cutting off his stern words that ended up lodged in his throat. With her legs on either side of him, Nicholas was defenseless against her.

"Please." She pleaded as she jutted out her bottom lip at him.

"You sure know how to disarm a man, sweetheart." His eyes grew even darker with his words.

Emily looked straight into his eyes, innocently batting her eyelashes.

"Me? I would never do such a thing, Mr. King!"

Nicholas' chest vibrated as he chuckled at her feigned clueless appearance.

With the short skirt she was wearing, it was growing harder to play along.

His hand traveled up to the side of her face as he grasped the ponytail resting behind her back into a fist. Emily gasped as she glanced up into his dangerously dark eyes.

"You're playing with fire, Mrs. King."

She swallowed at the warning.

Somehow, it didn't make her feel as frightened as she ought to have been with him tugging at her hair.

The woman's scalp stung, but all over her body burned fervently because of a totally different reason.

"I like fire," She bit the bait, as she began to pant heavily. "It's scientifically proven to be one of the most transient beauties from nature."

Nicholas tilted his head at her.

"Oh, is that so?"

"Yes. For a man of your caliber, it's quite alarming that you haven't at least acknowledged this fact."

"More alarming than how coy you're being right now?"

She flushed.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"You have a tendency not to." He noted, rolling his eyes at her.

"Nicholas..." She drawled as his large hands ascended to rest on her hips. Biting her lips, she looked down at him as a thought hit her.

She realized, as he gripped her firmly against, that this position was not as advantageous to her like she thought it would be.

Emily might have been on top, hovering over him, but Nicholas' aura and his hold on her pushed him to top her from the bottom.

With her legs still open to him, she was hyperaware of the fact that she wasn't wearing a safety shorts under her skirt.

That meant he could feel everything.

"Yes, baby?"

Emily's eyes flew up in suprise at the endearing word.

Of all the others, he chose the one that made her most weak in the knees.

A thousand butterflies stretched their wings and fluttered erratically in her stomach.

Their eyes met - a hue of light and awoken hazel to a darkened brown - which mixed and produced something destructive.

She was trying to convey her desire through her eyes which lingered on his plump lips.

Kiss me.

Kiss me.

Kiss me!

Getting the memo, he wrapped his arms around her, and then was pulling her to him, hard and fast, gripping the ponytail once again to tilt her head up.

Just like that, he began kissing her like his life depended on it.

Oh my god, she thought as a million different sensations flooded her.

Nicholas dragged the hair tie painfully out of her hair, but Emily didn't care.

She was desperate.

Their lips had met with a primal speed as well, and it resonated from within his chest just how much he appreciated that.

He wanted her, for whatever reason a Greek god like him would, and at this point in time, she never felt so desired and coveted.

It was dark, sensational and alarming - all at the same time.

Emily kissed him back with equal fervor regardless of that, her fingers twisting and fisting in his soft hair.

Their tongues entwined, passion and ardor erupting between them.

He tasted divine, hot, sexy, and his scent was all body-wash and him...very Nicholas.

It was so damn arousing.

Emily found herself beginning to grind against the front of his jeans.

This was when the bubble that held them both popped abruptly, and Nicholas pulled away from the kiss breathlessly.

He wiped at his lips as he looked at her, his pupils blown and warning.

"Don't do that."

She didn't know what had gotten into her, maybe it was how hot and bothered she felt, but Emily didn't listen.

Her hips rolled against him once more and he groaned, eyes turning heavenward.

She trailed kisses against his neck and nipped at a certain spot, making him release a string of curse words.

Normally, she'd scold him for his dirty mouth but for some reason today, she wanted to encourage it.

"Emily-"

"Yes, Nick?"

Her voice was seductive and he gritted his teeth at the sound. His sanity was hanging on by a thin string. On the verge of snapping, Nicholas grasped her tightly, not enough to hurt her but to cease her admissions of pleasure.

She looked at him, her eyes wild.

"Stop it." He hissed at her.

Emily licked her already moist lips as she racked her brain for a response to his request.

"Why?"

"What?"

"Why do you want me to stop? Frankly, I don't want to stop...and I know you don't too. So why are you telling me to stop? Why do you always have to stop? It's upsetting, Nicholas! You get me all riled up and then you just leave me in the cold to fend for myself! Do you think I can continue to have patience with this insufferable habit of yours? Do you think I can bring myself there after you leave me like this? Or do you get off at the thought that I want you so desperately it hurts?"

Nicholas sat there, shellshocked by her rapid confessions.

Why was it that she always spoke the truth so fluently?

Not to mention how she tends to have a knack for leaving him completely stunned in the process.

"Emily..."

"Ugh! Forget it!" She erupted at the look of pity on his face.

Emily pushed herself off him by bracing her hands on his broad shoulders, however he was quick to latch his own around her wrist to stop her.

"Wait."

"What is it now, Nicholas?" She couldn't help but snap.

If he wasn't going to help sate this hunger she was feeling for him, then why was he stopping her?

If it was any other time, Emily would have felt embarrassment for her outbursts, but she didn't care.

It had to be said.

He needed to know he was torturing her when he did stuff like that.

Nicholas grasped her wrist tightly, looking quite tortured himself.

"Do you mean it?"

"What?" Emily asked, the hostility and frustration still laced in her tone.

"That you want me."

The shock was outstanding in his features and she couldn't understand why.

Why was a gorgeous man like him taken aback by the fact that she wanted him in every which way?

"I've never been more certain." She professed earnestly, and he felt his stomach tighten at how beautiful she looked while saying that.

"Okay."

"Okay?" She looked at him quizzically.

Nicholas' eyes narrowed at her.

Emily felt a warm pool of lust settle in her stomach. She clenched her hands in a fist at the lascivious look he flashed her way, all the while smirking menacingly.

She had a bad feeling about this.

"I surrender. I'll make sure to take care of you this time around. Because trust me, I won't be holding back. Brace yourself, baby. And don't forget you're the one who asked for this."

Oh shit, Emily thought in panic and slight anxiety.

There went those training wheels she had been complaining about.

They disintegrated with just a few words from Nicholas and a look that could melt the polar ice caps.

Emily gulped at the realization that she was screwed.

***

A/N:

Cliffhanger.

You can petition to kill me for it right here.

But bare in mind you won't have any more chapters if you do.

Mwahahaha!