by Raine Miller
“I’m sorry,” she repeated. “I just don’t think we’re right for each other. You’re a nice man, Brad, but we would never—”
“Is there someone else?” There was a hard edge to his tone now, one that raised the hair on her neck. It smacked of possession. She’d heard that tone in another man’s voice, and she refused to let anyone hurt her like that again.
She straightened, sliding her hand into the hidden pocket on her purse where she kept her Mace. “No, there’s no one else.”
At least, no one I’ll admit to.
Brad was stumped. Annie could see it in his eyes. Then he appeared to come to a conclusion. “Andrea, you must know how I feel about you.”
Actually, she did, but she wasn’t about to tell him she knew he was using her. Polite young women didn’t do that. Of course, polite young women didn’t allow men to kiss them without an explanation. Like Nic had.
And polite young women certainly didn’t think about letting certain men strip them naked, spread them out on a desk and make love to them hard and fast.
Damn, this was all Nic’s fault.
“You must know,” he continued, “I planned on spending the rest of my life with you.”
Yeah, living off my trust fund and cashing in on my family name.
She dismantled her grimace in mid-formation.
“I don’t think that would be the best thing for either of us.” She dredged up a bittersweet smile. “I think it’s smart to end it now, before either one of us gets emotionally involved.”
She could see that last dig find its mark. He gave her one last searching glance before nodding curtly and turning on his heel.
She watched him walk away, looking like he’d had a stick shoved straight up his spine.
***
This was becoming a bad habit, Nic realized as he sat outside Annie’s house, waiting for her to get home.
He really needed to find a hobby.
He’d lost every hand of poker tonight, alerting his cousins to the fact that something was up. They didn’t pry but he’d called it a night at ten-thirty, pleading exhaustion.
He hadn’t gone home, though. He wouldn’t have been able to fall asleep. He would have lain there, thinking about Annie, about that kiss. Which is what he’d been doing all night, anyway.
Out of habit, he swept the street, looking for anything out of the ordinary. Nothing.
But his inner radar blipped. Someone was watching him. He could feel it. Maybe it was a homeowner. He’d been sitting here for at least a half hour. He twisted his wrist to read his watch—eleven o’clock.
Or maybe it was his caller.
All day, he’d racked his brain for suspects, but the call hadn’t given him much to go on. And that’s what had him worked up.
Give him any kind of machinery and he could make it work, no matter what the problem. Give him a straightforward kidnapping, a stalking—hell, even a good old-fashioned robbery and he could nail the guy.
Give him an indistinct threat and it blew his concentration all to hell. Especially if the threat was against his loved ones.
Nic was smart enough to know his own failings. He didn’t have his mom’s ability to extrapolate theories from whispered innuendos or his brother’s genius with chemicals and computers. And he didn’t have his sister’s intuitive ability to read people.
Luckily, he took after his father—a bulldog who sank his teeth into a problem until he shook out the answers.
Anyone who dared threaten the DeMarcos was in for a shitload of trouble.
But this was Nic’s problem and he’d deal with it.
A car passed and stopped at the curb in front of Annie’s house, making him slouch even farther into his seat.
Annie and the guy he’d met earlier tonight got out of the car. Nic forced himself not to jump out of his Jeep and rip the guy’s arm away from her shoulders.
When they stopped at the door, Nic knew he should leave now. He did not want to watch that guy walk into her home. And not come back out.
Biceps tensed and his hands curled into fists around the steering wheel. God damn, he didn’t need this. But he couldn’t look away.
When Annie turned to face the guy, Nic forced himself to watch, to torture himself for the kiss he’d stolen earlier.
Then relief stole over him like the rush of adrenaline when Annie and Brad remained on the porch. Talking.
Even from here, Nic could tell it wasn’t a good talk. They both stood stiff and unmoving. Then Brad stalked back to his car and peeled away in his silver Infiniti as Annie turned to face the front door of her townhouse.
The next thing he knew he stood at the bottom of the few steps that led to her small porch just as she pushed open the door.
“Annie.”
A tight ball of anticipation curled in his gut when she gasped and turned at the sound of his voice.
Eyes wide, she had a bottle of Mace in her hand, ready to shoot.
“Oh, my god. Dominic. What are you doing here?”
Good question.
“You okay?”
She dropped her gaze and lowered the Mace. “I’m fine.”
But he could tell she wasn’t.
Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea. Maybe she was right to ignore that kiss. Annie didn’t want him and hadn’t for some time. He was kidding himself if he thought her response to his kiss meant something. He should just turn around and—
Yeah, right. “We need to talk.”
She shook her head and one long golden tendril escaped the knot at her nape to curl onto her shoulder.
“It’s late and I’m tir—”
“This won’t take long.”
She swallowed loud enough for him to hear over the muted din coming from the carnival atmosphere of Friday night on South Street, one block over.
“Fine.”
With practiced fingers, she disengaged the security system Nic himself had supervised. Not that she knew that. She thought his dad had taken care of it.
He followed her down the entrance hall, past the stairs that led to the second floor and into the living room. She’d left a small light burning in the corner, the lamp’s stained glass shade casting a warm glow. She turned in the middle of the room to face him, almost as if she was facing a firing squad.
“What do you want, Dominic?”
He wanted her. He’d never stopped wanting her. He wondered what she’d do if he just came out and said it.
But he couldn’t have her. Not now that he was in danger. And definitely not now that he’d put her in danger.
Maybe later…
“I figure we need to talk about that kiss.”
Which was better than having to tell her he’d put her in danger. Although it wasn’t fair of him to keep that from her.
She crossed her arms under her breasts and stuck out her chin. “Why?”
Swallowing a sigh, he met her belligerent stare head on. “I need to apologize.”
There. That got a response. Her eyes narrowed and he could’ve sworn hurt passed through the glass-green depths before she wiped it away.
“Fine.” There was no emotion in her voice. “Anything else?”
That was it? Just fine?
“Yeah.” Anger started to heat his blood, made his stomach tighten. “Tell me why you liked it?”
Her mouth dropped open before she could stop it.
“You arrogant bastard,” she hissed. “Of all the things you could— Get out.” She pointed toward the door. “Right now. Damn you, Dominic, get out now before I…”
Her hands trembled but he knew it wasn’t from fear.
And, holy hell, he wanted to kiss her again and this time he wouldn’t stop until he’d stripped her bare and had his mouth. On her breasts, between her legs.
“Before you what?” he taunted.
He couldn’t seem to stop. Her eyes turned the most brilliant shade of emerald when she was angry and right now she was pissed as hell.
Or, at least he t
hought she was. Until he saw the sheen of tears in her eyes.
Shit. Foul on the play.
He’d never been able to handle female tears. They made him want to fix whatever was wrong and the only things he could fix were mechanical.
“Oh, hell, Annie. I am sorry.” He pulled his handkerchief out of his back pocket and waved it in her direction. She grabbed it with deadly force.
“Don’t. Don’t you dare say that again.” She shook the cloth at him, then dabbed at her eyes. When she was done, she threw the thing back at him. “There’s nothing to apologize for, you big jerk. Just forget it and everything will go back to normal.”
He snorted. “There’s been no normal in my life for a long time. Not since you came to work at the office.”
She stiffened even more. “Well, forgive me for ruining your life— No, wait. You know what? This isn’t my fault, Dominic. Not at all. But it’s over. I know you regret kissing me. I know it won’t happen again.” She deliberately looked at the clock on the wall. “It’s late. You need to go.”
Now she looked him straight in the eyes. And what he saw there made him mentally dig in his heels. Something didn’t fit.
“I didn’t say I didn’t like it, Annie.” He forced himself to relax back against the wall. “I’m just sorry I frightened you.”
Her mouth tightened. “You don’t frighten me, Dominic. It would take a lot more than your pathetic kiss to scare me.”
His eyes brows rose. “Pathetic, huh? Now that just seems like a challenge. If it was so pathetic, why were you shaking?”
She drew in an outraged gasp. “You are the most conceited…the most arrogant… Ooh, damn you, Dominic.” Eyes blazing, she pointed to the door with a shaking finger. “Get out. Now.”
No way in hell. Things were just getting interesting.
“Now hold on.” He spoke slowly, drawing out his words as if he were talking to a child, which was sure to piss her off even more. Exactly what he wanted. “What’s got your panties in a twist?”
Her eyes narrowed to slices of green glass. “I refuse to do this with you, Nic. I’m not going to get into a war of words with you.”
“I’m not talking about words here, Annie. I’m talking about that kiss tonight.”
He closed the distance between them, got right in her face, curious to see if she’d blink. Move away. Hit him.
She stood her ground, drawing her back into a rigid line, and he knew he’d made a tactical error. Because the heat in her eyes, the darkness of the room and the mess of emotions between them started to drag him under, back to that place where he had to touch her, no matter what.
Her lids flickered for the briefest second. “There’s no need to talk about that. I want you to go. Now. Please.”
It was that last word that got to him. Stifling his own feelings, he noticed the paleness of her skin, the slight tremble of her fingers as she clasped them together in front of her.
He couldn’t stop from raising one finger to trail down her cold cheek. “What’s wrong?”
She gave an almost vicious shake of her head and more hair escaped from the knot. Turning away from him, she reached up to draw the few pins from her hair. He watched it spill over her shoulders and midway down her back. He clenched his hands into fists as he fought the overwhelming urge to sink his fingers in that golden silk.
“Did that guy do something? Damn it, Annie. Are you okay?”
She laughed with no amusement. “I’m fine, Dominic. I’m really not in the mood to talk tonight. I would appreciate if you would leave.”
“No way—”
The doorbell rang, and the relief on her face was almost laughable.
Who the hell would be stopping by this late at night?
“You should go.” She gestured for him to precede her, but when he refused to move, she stormed by him with murder in her eyes. He could practically feel it coming off her in waves. He held his ground, admiring the view as she walked away.
He heard her stop at the door and pause. Then she released a huge sigh as she opened the door.
“Janey. Come on in.”
“Hey. I saw your light go on and I know Brad’s probably here, but I wanted to ask you to water my plants while I’m gone. Mal and I are going to Pittsburgh for a case and it may take a week or two— Hey, Nic. What are you doing here?”
His baby sister gaped at him, her blue eyes round and shocked. For about three seconds. Then she traded it for an expression for which he’d learned to have a healthy respect—curiosity.
“He dropped off a file I needed from the office.” Annie whipped him a look and spoke before he could say anything. “He was just leaving, weren’t you?”
Her tone indicated he didn’t have a choice. And from the look in her eyes, she’d nearly reached her breaking point. He didn’t want to make it worse.
“Yeah, I am.” He caught Annie’s gaze, more sure of herself now that she had reinforcements. “I’ll talk to you Monday. Janey, be careful. If you need anything, I can be in Pittsburgh in a couple of hours. I’ll see you when you get back.”
He walked out.
***
Annie turned away from Janey’s searching gaze, her blue eyes so like her brother’s, heading for the kitchen.
“It’s going to be a half-gallon night, so if you’re not looking to put on five pounds, say so now.”
Janey’s chuckle followed her down the hall to the kitchen. “That bad, huh?”
Annie reached the fridge and practically tore the door off the freezer. “You have no idea.”
Retrieving two spoons from the drawer, Janey dragged a stool out from under the island and sat, handing one spoon to Annie. “Go on. Spill.”
“Your brother kissed me and I broke up with Brad.”
Janey’s mouth literally dropped open. It would have been funny in any other situation. Now, Annie could only echo the astonishment.
“What?”
“You need me to say it again?” Annie shoved a heaping spoonful of Cherry Garcia in her mouth and let the ice cream give her a brain freeze.
“Nic kissed you?”
“Yeah.”
“He kissed you?”
Annie lifted a brow. “Don’t forget the other half of that equation.”
Janey waved her spoon with one hand and tossed her long, dark braid over her shoulder. “I’m not surprised about Brad. Nic kissed you. What happened?”
If Janey didn’t stop saying it, Annie was going to have to hurt her best friend. She shouldn’t have opened her big mouth. But now Janey knew too much for her to wiggle out of a full explanation.
“Yeah, but I think I might have goaded him into it.”
Janey put her spoon down and turned to the fridge. “This definitely calls for chocolate syrup. How did you goad Nic into kissing you?”
Might as well spill it all. Janey had a gift for reading people. Maybe she could help Annie sort out her overwrought feelings.
“The other night, he met two guys at the office after hours. I was there catching up on some work before I went to practice with Colin.”
A frown made furrows between Janey’s blue eyes. “What two guys?”
“Scary monsters, if you ask me.” Annie shuddered.
“Did they have an appointment?”
She shook her head. “They weren’t in the book. I’m sure Nic didn’t want anyone to know he was meeting them, and I can see why. Maybe they were just old friends from his days in the military. They both reeked Armed Forces, if you know what I mean.”
“Yeah, I know what you mean.” Janey’s expression turned thoughtful. “Nic never meets his Army buddies at the office. I think he doesn’t want to be reminded of Nino.”
Annie hadn’t known the DeMarcos’ cousin very well. Mainly she remembered his wicked sense of humor and handsome smile. He’d been killed in Afghanistan and Nic had been critically injured trying to save him. After Nic had recovered, he’d left the military and joined the family firm.
“Then
maybe it had something to do with a case,” Janey said. “You know he takes anything with even a hint of danger in it. He’s a complete adrenaline junkie.”
“And his skull’s as thick as a rock.”
Janey didn’t defend Nic as she normally did. She worried her bottom lip between her teeth. “So what happened?”
Annie shook her head, furious that she’d let him get to her. “He was taunting me, like he always does. And last night, I’d had enough. I walked over to him and brushed my lips against his. Not really a kiss, just… Oh, I don’t know. But it shut him up.”
The start of a smile curled the corners of Janey’s lips. “No wonder. How can you not know how badly Nic wants you?”
It was Annie’s turn for her mouth to drop open. “Are you crazy? There’s no way.” Not after all this time. But, oh god, she wanted him to…
Janey shrugged. “I know my brother. He wants you. He just doesn’t want to admit it. And you’re not the easiest person to get along with, either, you know. Some men are intimidated by you.”
With good reason and a lot of practice.
“Nic has no fear,” Annie scoffed. “And if he did, he certainly wouldn’t be afraid of me.”
Janey just smirked. “Don’t be too sure of that.”
CHAPTER 5
“… I need you to get me that brief from the State Department. And track down Gen. Terry Anton for me, please. That blasted man will not return my phone calls. He knows I hate that, and he’s doing it to rile me.”
Wednesday morning, his mother’s voice drifted down the hallway from Annie’s office to Nic, who’d just let himself in the back door.
“I’ve discovered the key to getting anyone in the Pentagon to call you back is a little schmoozing,” Annie said. “It’s amazing how eager they are to talk when you tell them how interesting they are. I’ll put him through as soon as I reach him. Anything else, Grace?”
His mother’s laugh echoed through the quiet first floor. “You’ve learned quickly. No, that should do it. Oh, wait. Did you get the tickets?”
“Yep. Have them right here. My treat.”
“Oh, no.” His mother sounded like Annie had just said she was going to be out after curfew. “You can’t do that. I insist we pay for them this year.”