by Raine Miller
“Earth to Annie.” Colin’s voice intruded on her thoughts. “Come in, space cadet. You zoned out on me there for a few minutes.”
She realized they’d stopped, and her mouth twisted. “Sorry. I was thinking.”
“About Nic?”
“Yeah.”
With a dramatic sigh, Colin released her from the dancer’s hold to run a hand through expertly trimmed blond bangs that made him much too handsome for his job as a city assistant district attorney.
“Come on, then. Take a break and tell me all about it. I have to admit I’m curious. Since you started working for the DeMarcos, all you ever talk about is Nic, Nic, Nic.”
Annie paused mid-stride on her way to the water cooler then hurried after him. She took a swallow of water from the paper cup he handed her in an attempt to regain some equilibrium before she answered. “I do not.”
Colin emitted a soft snort then took a drink. “You do realize you haven’t mentioned Brad once tonight. When you two started dating, I thought he might be the one. Then you took the job with the DeMarcos and now all you talk about is Nic. If I wasn’t afraid you’d bite my head off, I’d say you want him.”
She froze for a second before pulling a face. “Don’t even say that.” She turned to throw the empty cup in the wastebasket, quickly schooling her expression. “That man has been the bane of my existence since I was twelve. And for years, he wasn’t even around all that much because he was in the Army. But whenever he’d have leave, he’d come home and torment Janey and me.”
Colin sat on one of the benches lining the outskirts of the parquet dance floor and motioned for her to sit next to him. She did, resting her head on his shoulder as his arm came around her shoulders to draw her closer.
“You had a wicked crush on the guy back then, didn’t you?”
“Oh God, yes.”
Damn, where was her composure tonight? Probably back at the office with Nic. Still, it felt good to talk about it.
“When I was twelve, he was the epitome of cool.” A small smile curved her lips, one she didn’t try to quell. “He was an Army Ranger, so he had really short hair. He wears it long now, to his shoulders. And he always had a tan, because he spent so much time outdoors. When I was sixteen, I thought the sun rose and set on him. When I was nineteen, I tried to seduce him.”
“He didn’t take you up on your offer, huh?”
She sighed, her humiliation that day still enough to make her blush.
“Ding, ding, ding. You win the prize. He’d come to surprise Janey at college. She was in the library and, since we were roommates, he found me. We had no idea he was coming. He loved to surprise her. And she was always so happy to see him.”
She had been, too. When she’d opened the door, she remembered he’d smiled at her, probably because she’d looked dumbstruck. Even back then, he’d barely ever smiled.
“Anyway,” she continued, “we were alone in the dorm room, and I decided I was tired of waiting for him to kiss me. I figured hell would freeze over first.”
Actually, she wasn’t even sure he liked her but she was nineteen and in college and thought the world was hers for the taking. And that Nic would eventually be hers.
“He’s nine years older than me, and I thought I was in love. He came in, we sat down. We actually had a conversation, like adults. I don’t even know about what anymore. But I remember he seemed so tired. And I wanted to kiss him.”
She sighed, seeing every detail in her mind’s eye. “So I got up and walked over to him. He didn’t say anything, but he tensed like he thought I might hit him. I remember looking at his hands and his knuckles had turned white. Then I bent over and kissed him, flat out on the lips. I was only nineteen. What did I know about kissing back then, right?
“When I pulled away, he looked like I’d shot him. He just sat there for what felt like forever. Then he said, ‘Stick to boys your own age, little girl. You don’t know what you’re asking for.’ He got up and walked out.”
She felt the blush burn under her skin. “He made sure we were never alone after that. But since Janey and I were practically inseparable, it wasn’t like I could avoid him. I was so humiliated. I couldn’t look him in the eyes for months.”
Colin whistled low and soft. “Sounds like you had it bad for the guy.”
“I did. But that kiss brought me to my senses.”
Riiiight.
Damn it, she hated when she couldn’t even fool herself. She still felt such an overwhelming sense of loss when she thought about that day.
Trying to shake it off, she sipped the rest of her water and shrugged. “He didn’t want me. So I gave up. Now, he deliberately rubs me the wrong way any time he can. The only thing I feel for him now is indifference.”
She forced herself to look Colin straight in the eyes but knew he wasn’t having any of it.
He snorted. “Yeah, right. Tell me you wouldn’t jump him if he gave you the chance.”
In a heartbeat.
She shook her head, unsure if she was trying to convince herself or Colin. “Absolutely not. Anyway, he’s been untouchable since he left the army. The man lives for work. He never dates, at least not that Janey knows about. Besides, I’m seeing Brad.” She frowned when Colin rolled his eyes. “What? Don’t you like Brad?”
“Honey, if the man played for my team, I’d like him a hell of a lot. And I’m not so sure he doesn’t. But just the fact that you think he’s The One worries me.”
Frowning, she glared at Colin. “Why? Brad’s a great guy. He’s considerate, thoughtful and he treats me like a queen. He’s got a great job and a great body—”
“And you would know this from first-hand experience?” Colin’s voice dripped with undisguised doubt.
She roasted him with her eyes and gave him her best ice-queen stare. “Just because I don’t jump into bed with every—”
“Honey, you don’t jump into bed with any of them.” Tom held up one hand when she would have interrupted him. “None of them even come close to that sanctified fortress you call a home, do they? None of them measure up to your rigid—” He broke off, eyes widening in understanding. “Ah.”
She frowned, really not liking his gloating expression. “‘Ah’ what?”
“They don’t measure up to him.”
Ice shot through her veins. No, absolutely not. That definitely was not it. “You’re wrong. Nic has nothing to do with why I don’t sleep around.” A shudder rippled through her at the crude words. “I have to trust a man to sleep with him and those are few and far between.”
Colin just stared back at her. “Do you ever think maybe you’re looking in the wrong places?”
Absolutely. “Every time another one breaks my heart. I guess I just never learn.”
CHAPTER 2
Nic hunched in the front seat of his Audi, baseball cap pulled low on his brow, gaze focused on the windows of her townhouse from his parking space halfway down Bainbridge Street.
It was nearly midnight. Where the hell was she? Would she even come home tonight?
With a rough sigh, he reached for the travel mug that only left his car to be refilled and, occasionally, to be washed. Tonight it held hot coffee from a shop on South Street, sweetened with five packs of sugar. Just the way he liked it.
Annie could do with a little sweetening. Maybe he’d suggest she add some sugar to the one cup of black coffee she had at the office every morning. She’d probably tell him to stick his head in his ass. Only, she wouldn’t say ass. She’d find a more socially acceptable term that would still tell him exactly where to put his head.
Sighing, he checked the rearview for what had to be the thousandth time. If she didn’t get home soon, he’d knock on his sister Janey’s door, across the street from Annie’s. He didn’t want to disturb her, but he couldn’t trust his instincts where Annie was concerned.
What the hell was she doing out this late? Had something happened to her?
That damn call had made him paranoid. Talking to the Idiot Twins h
adn’t helped.
But he couldn’t take a chance. Not with Annie. He didn’t take chances with his family. And while she might not consider him part of hers, she was definitely included in his.
After she’d left the office tonight, dressed in her tight little leotard, he’d ripped Bill and Bert new assholes. They hadn’t deserved it. Hell, he’d called them for help. He’d asked them to stop by because he’d wanted to ask them a few questions about some mutual acquaintances.
But whenever Annie was around, his brain short-circuited somewhere between reality and fantasy. Having her so close these past six weeks since she’d started working for his family’s business had made him crazy. He needed to get a grip before he made a fool of himself.
“Like you haven’t already,” he muttered.
God damn, he’d barely been able to resist grabbing her and kissing her until he couldn’t breathe anymore. Or until she’d pushed him away.
And if she hadn’t…
Hell, if she hadn’t, he might’ve dragged her up the stairs, stripped her naked and thrown her on his bed. Then he would’ve done what he’d wanted to do for seven years. He would’ve fucked her until he couldn’t get it up anymore.
Shit. It was still early. He should head down to the waterfront, hit a club, find a willing woman. Ease some of this frustration.
But he knew from experience it wouldn’t help for long. Yes, he’d scratch that itch but the itch always came back. The second he saw her.
He was thirty-six. He shouldn’t be out picking up women. He should be looking for a good woman to marry. Settle down. Have kids.
Yeah, like that’s gonna happen.
He had work, he had his family, and he had Toni and Mags to look after like he’d promised Nino. That would be enough. Should be enough.
But here he sat, waiting to make sure Annie got home safe. He was one pathetic son-of-a-b–
A taxi flashed by and stopped in front of her house. The door opened and long legs slid out of the backseat.
What he wouldn’t give to have those legs wrapped around his waist while he sank deep.
He closed his eyes and, by the time he opened them, Annie was at her door. Alone.
He watched her open and close the front door, watched lights flash on then off in the first floor. Then another light appeared on the second.
He stared at the glow until if blinked off, a good forty-five minutes later. Then he left.
***
“Annie, I need three copies of this report, and I need one sent to the Pentagon.”
Jimmy DeMarco stuck his head through her office doorway Friday morning and grinned at her, waving a sheaf of papers.
She couldn’t help but return his easy smile.
“Sure, just put it here.” She patted a corner of her desk. “I’ll get right to it.”
“Thanks, hon.” He laid the papers on her desk then leaned a hip against the edge. “I appreciate it. You’ve been a real help around here. You stepped right in and took charge. Gotta love that in a woman.”
She grinned up at him. Jimmy was pure charm. He might resemble a slacker, with his worn jeans and geeky t-shirts but the guy had an I.Q. near 200.
While his dark hair came from his Italian father, the rest was pure Irish from his mother. His face was composed of sharply tilted angles in his cheekbones and nose, and a full mouth that almost always held a smile. Handsome guy. Easy-going and sweet and funny.
Why couldn’t she have fallen for this DeMarco all those years ago?
“You’re a flirt, Jimmy,” she scolded lightly, giving the papers a quick look. Whatever the report was, it was in numerical code. She’d gotten real good at using her numbered keypad in the past six weeks.
“Yeah, but I’m good at it.” He wiggled his up-tilted brows at her. “So, how do you like working for this bunch of weirdos?”
“You’re not weird. You’re just a little…eccentric.”
Expect for Nic, of course. He was simply rude and pedestrian.
“Yeah, that’s a good word. Eccentric.” Jimmy flopped into one of the two chairs in front of her desk. “I like that. So do you like it here?”
Nodding, she leaned back in her chair. “I love it here.” Then she couldn’t help herself. “Except for your brother, of course.”
Jimmy’s smile returned. “You two still at it, huh? You know, if he’s giving you a hard time, I could take him out for you. He’s not the only one in this family who knows how to fight.”
“Yeah, but you can’t land a punch to save your life, little brother.”
Annie stiffened as her gaze flew to the doorway, where Nic leaned against the jamb, completely at ease. Damn him. He’d snuck up on her again.
How the hell did he manage to do that?
And why did he have to look so damn…lickable while he did it? She actually had a visual image of her licking her way up his naked, ripped torso—
A blush tried to flare in her cheeks and she tried like hell to keep it from showing.
Jimmy chuckled. “No, but I got some neat toys in the basement that would take care of you in about five seconds flat. How ’bout a little needle, big brother?”
Nic’s expression never changed. “You’d have to catch me first, Jimmy, and believe me, you wouldn’t.”
A needle, huh? Something the great Nic DeMarco was afraid of. She knew he didn’t like small spaces after he’d been trapped in an elevator during an earthquake. But that seemed so logical, given the circumstances. This was purely illogical. And she pounced on it with all the glee of a cat on a mouse.
“I didn’t think you had any weaknesses.” She blinked up at him. “Except, of course, that huge ego you carry around all the time. That must get really tiresome.”
Jimmy choked on a laugh, but Nic didn’t flinch, his midnight blue gaze landing on her with the weight of a bulldozer. She refused to give him the satisfaction of blinking first and dug out a smile for him.
He stared at her for several long seconds before he started moving toward her. She had the ridiculous urge to back up but she held her ground. When he was inches from her desk, he leaned down and put both hands on the top.
She couldn’t look away. Didn’t want to look away. Shock that he’d come so close now held her immobile.
God, what she wouldn’t give for him to lean down and kiss her. Really kiss her. Not like that poor excuse she’d given him last night.
No, she wanted him to kiss her like he couldn’t breathe without her, like he wanted to rip her clothes off and lay her out on the desk.
His eyes narrowed, as if he’d read her mind. “You know what, sweetheart. I’ve got broad shoulders. And I never get tired…of anything.”
Her mouth dropped open as he turned away, presenting her with a great view of those broad shoulders and his gorgeous ass, which she couldn’t help but want to get her hands on. Her lungs contracted as if she’d been sucker-punched.
Damn him. Damn him, damn him, damn him.
“Jimmy.” His tone had a sharp edge that made her suck in a breath. “I need to go over something with you. Downstairs.”
Jimmy hesitated before answering, his gaze narrowing as he looked between her and Nic. “Sure. Give me a minute. I’ll be right there.”
Nic nodded as he kept walking until he disappeared. He didn’t look at her again.
She released the breath she realized she’d been holding.
When she blinked, she saw Jimmy staring at her with a wry smile. “You know, I’ve been wondering about something, but I think I got the answer to my question without having to ask. Talk to you later, hon.”
Jimmy untangled himself from the chair, walked over and brushed his fingers along her jaw. Then he left.
And she grabbed the stapler off her desk and threw it across the room, where it bounced harmlessly off the couch.
***
Jimmy sat in a high-backed steel chair amid the controlled chaos of his basement domain, looking at Nic expectantly.
“So, you gonna
tell me what’s got you all dark and menacing-looking? I haven’t seen you like this since someone tried to blow up your plane. You were pretty pissed after that. You look worse today.”
Nic’s brows lifted before he could hide his response. He shouldn’t have been surprised. He’d always had to work harder to hide his emotions around his siblings, especially Jimmy.
He took a deep breath and cut to the chase. “Got a phone call earlier today. I need you to trace it. I don’t want Mom and Dad involved.”
Jimmy chuckled. “What, you think the ’rents couldn’t handle your nasty past coming back to bite you?”
Nic didn’t bother to hide his bitter smile. “Yeah, something like that.”
Ignoring Jimmy’s narrowed gaze, he pulled his cell from the inside pocket of his leather jacket. Late April in Philadelphia was bitter this year. Matched his mood. Reluctantly, he called up the call log and held it out to his brother, handling it as gently as he would a live grenade. And maybe it was, in a figurative sense.
Fear tasted like acid in the back of his throat. He really didn’t want to involve Jimmy in this, but he knew his brother would keep this secret.
It’d only been six months since their father had had angioplasty to open two arteries. And, though Frank had tried to keep it a secret, Nic had discovered what his father had kept from his brother and sister—that he may need open-heart surgery to treat another artery. The doctor had told Frank to take it easy, cut back on the stress. Dad wasn’t taking new cases, and Mom was cutting back on hers, which was why they’d hired Mal Laughlin. It looked as if his parents finally were going to ease into retirement.
But Frank and Grace, both former military intelligence and CIA agents, were still connected on all levels. If Nic had taken this to any of his friends still in the military, it would’ve gotten back to them somehow.
Jimmy caught Nic’s gaze for just a second before he took the phone and started tapping the screen.
“Blocked number.” He jotted down something on a pad on his desk. “I’ll trace it for you but you know Janey or Mal would be better at this. Why’re you giving this to me?”
“Because I don’t want Janey involved in this and I don’t want Mal to have to lie to her. Can you trace it?”