by Raine Miller
She took a deep breath and a big chance. “Then tell me what you want, Nic. Do you want me?”
She hadn’t meant to sound…so needy. But when something hot and dark flashed through his eyes, she acted without thinking. Reaching up, she grabbed his rock-hard biceps. Thick muscle flexed under her fingers.
“What the hell am I supposed to say to that?” He snarled the words into her ear even as his hands fastened onto her waist. “What answer isn’t going to freak you out or piss you off?”
Okay, she had to give him that one. She honestly didn’t know the answer. All she knew was that she wanted to be right where she was, right now. She continued to stare up at him, searching for answers in his eyes.
What did he want?
More importantly, what did she want?
For the third time in less than a month, she had Nic close enough to kiss. And his proximity was melting seven years of ice between them.
And stoking her libido to a point she’d never approached before. The point where she was going to push until she got what she wanted.
He must have seen some hint of her thoughts in her expression because he went from furious to intent in the blink of an eye. She imagined this is what he looked like when he was about to go to war. Focused, battle-ready.
And when he brought his mouth down on hers, the world around them winked out of existence. All that was left was Nic.
The feel of his strong body against hers. The warmth radiating from him.
Without thought, she raised her hands to his hair, slipping her fingers into the soft black waves and holding tight. His hands lifted her closer and pulled her flush against every hard surface of his body.
His chest felt like granite against her breasts and the insistent ridge of his erection pressed against her belly.
She wanted to wrap her legs around his waist and rub her clit against the tip until she came. Just the thought made her shudder with desire.
As if he’d read her mind, he groaned and sank into their kiss with a hunger that threatened to overwhelm her.
His kiss sucked the breath out of her, made her light-headed and filled her with a huge need only he could ease. His anger still simmered beneath that need but she refused to let it affect her. Instead, she mounted her own attack, softening and opening her lips to entice him in. When he groaned and slid his tongue into her mouth, she sucked on it.
His taste made her want to melt right there. God, she never wanted him to stop. She only wanted more.
Dimly, she heard the rush of Friday traffic. She vaguely recognized that they were standing in the doorway, visible to anyone who walked or drove by. And she didn’t care. Her mother could walk by at the moment and Annie wouldn’t even notice. Or care.
The only thing she cared about right now was Nic. How he made her feel and how much she wanted him to never stop. How much she’d been waiting for him to kiss her again. It didn’t matter that he hadn’t wanted to. It only mattered that he kissed her like he was starved for her.
She felt his heart thudding against her breasts, tender and full and aching with need. She felt his erection pressing against her mound, where she was achy and wet. And when she shifted against him, trying to get closer, he wrapped his arms even more tightly around her and took her off her feet.
Yes. Please. More.
The loud honk of a passing taxi finally broke through the haze. Nic lifted his head, eyes slitted and glittering dangerously. That look sent shivers down her back. And between her legs.
With a rough sigh, he let her slide down his body, the contact setting off flashes of heat in her pussy. Taking a deep breath, she regained her footing but he didn’t seem in any hurry to let her go.
He let his hands rest on her hips for several long seconds before he turned to close and lock the door behind them. Then he grabbed her hand and led her back into the building. He didn’t stop until they were in his office. He sat her in the chair across from his desk then walked around to pull open a drawer in the filing cabinet.
When he lifted a bottle and two shot glasses and gave her a raised eyebrow, she nodded. Pouring two shots of Jack Daniels, he slid one across the desk to her. She didn’t flinch as the whiskey burned its way down her throat.
Nic polished off his and sighed, then sat on the edge of the desk directly in front of her. “We have a problem.”
A problem? Why was this a problem?
Damn it, she needed a little time to pull herself together. Needed just a little time to get her brain working again before she tackled this “problem” he claimed they had.
She stiffened her back and forced herself to look him straight in the eyes. “And what problem would that be?”
Something flashed through his eyes. Anger? Frustration?
Join the club, buddy.
“Do I really have to spell it out?”
She raised her eyebrows and gave him a haughty look sure to piss him off. A pissed-off Nic was familiar territory. The man who’d just kissed her like he needed her to breathe was a complete stranger.
Confusion threatened to bring down walls she’d been building for years. Walls she’d needed to protect her heart against him. Walls in danger of crumbling right now.
“Yes, I think you’d better.”
He crossed his arms over his broad chest.
“Tell me about your boyfriend.”
Oh. That problem.
Her mouth pulled into a small grimace. “There is no boyfriend. We parted ways last week.” She flashed a tight smile but didn’t break eye contact. “He wasn’t the kind of man I needed in my life.”
Nic’s eyes narrowed but she noticed that his hands had clenched into fists. “And what kind of man is that?”
You. It’s always been you. How do you not know that?
Her chin went up. “One who wants me for me and not what my family name and connections in society can do for him.”
Nic fell silent but the tic of a muscle in his jaw mesmerized her. “You’re right. He’s definitely not the man you need.”
“Tell me, Nic…what type of man do I need?”
She pushed him, couldn’t help herself. She wanted to see what he’d do and how far he’d let her go before he retreated. He always retreated.
And when he didn’t say anything right away, she steeled herself against the hurt—
“I think you need a man who wants to throw you up against a wall, put his hand under your skirt and see how wet you are just from his kiss.”
Her heart stuttered and her breath froze in her chest. The image of him doing just that sent a rush of heat straight to her pussy.
“Then he needs to strip off your clothes, wrap your legs around his waist and fuck you until you pass out.”
Her mouth hung open for several seconds before she remembered to breathe. She didn’t even try to calm her pounding heart. “Nic…”
He pushed away from the desk with a sinuous motion that made her hitch in another breath as he planted his hands on the arm rests on either side of her and leaned down until their faces were only inches apart.
“So tell me, Annie, what kind of man do you think you need?”
He’d issued a challenge. And she hated to back away from a challenge. Especially from this man.
She took a deep breath. “Someone who’s not afraid of showing how much he wants me.” She paused, wondering if she had it in herself to push him even farther, then decided she’d waited long enough. “I’ve wanted you for years. You have to know that.”
There, that got a response. Shock made his eyes widen for a brief second before he schooled his expression. But either he couldn’t or didn’t want to hide the heat. Then he reached out to feather his fingers over her lips, making her shiver with hunger.
“Then we really do have a problem.”
“Why is that a problem? Either you want me or you don’t. It’s fairly simple, Nic.”
Nic snorted. “Nothing is ever simple with you or me, babe. Never has been. Jesus, Annie, you kno
w me. I’ve got a bad temper, a foul mouth and I fly off the handle at the slightest provocation. I’m closer to forty than I am to thirty. And you’re not even out of your twenties. You don’t need me.”
Stubborn man. “How do you know what I need, Dominic? You’ve spent the last seven years ignoring me. How could you possibly know what I need?”
He drew himself up to his full height, towering over her. “I could say the same about you. You don’t really know me.”
She let her lips curl smile. “I know more than you think. I know you want me. You’re not that good at hiding your feelings.”
With a sigh, Nic rubbed his chin, his beard rasping against his skin, making her shiver. “Annie—”
“Don’t.” She broke in before he could finish what probably wouldn’t be something she wanted to hear. “Just don’t. If you want to forget this happened, then…fine. You don’t need to let me down easy. I’m not a child. But don’t presume to tell me I don’t know you or know what I want.”
Holding his gaze, she forced herself to rise from the chair and stand in front of him, close enough to hear him swallow.
“I know what I want. And I’m stubborn enough to get my way. You know that.”
His lips gave a reluctant twitch. “Hell. I’ve known that since the day I met you.” Then his expression darkened. “But I was already grown and you were still a kid. You’re not a kid anymore, but there’s a lot you don’t know about me.”
Stupid, stupid man. She wanted to hit him, lay him out flat with a right cross for being so damn stubborn. Didn’t matter that it was one of the things she admired about him. He didn’t quit until he found whatever it was he was looking for. But that stubbornness wasn’t as attractive when he used it against her.
“I think you’d be surprised, Nic.”
Then she figured, what the hell. She’d warned him. Now she was going to show him.
She took the last step to close the distance between them. She had him trapped against the desk and he had nowhere to run.
Not that he looked like he wanted to run. She thought he might actually look…excited. And ready.
Since she knew what to expect now, or at least what to brace herself for, she was ready for the clawing need that swamped her the second their lips touched.
She couldn’t help the slight moan as she tasted him or the way her fingers dug into his shoulders so he couldn’t get away.
What she didn’t expect was his immediate surrender.
His arms went around her waist, pulling her between his legs until she felt his erection pressing against her mound again. Much more of that and she’d embarrass herself by rubbing against him until she came.
Then his head tilted to the side to slant his mouth over hers and he kissed her even deeper.
Her head reeled with the knowledge that he wanted her. He couldn’t deny it, not with the way he kissed her like he wanted to devour her.
But she also knew he wasn’t going to give in without a fight.
And she was kind of looking forward to that.
She pulled back, gratified when his hands tightened on her hips before he finally released her.
“Maybe I know more about you than you think,” she said. “And you’re not old.”
She turned, picked up her stuff and walked out the door.
***
“Is everything okay, Nic? You look…worried about something.”
Stifling a sigh, Nic knew better than to avoid a direct question from his mom. She was way too sharp.
As he picked up his fork and twirled spaghetti, he shook his head. “Not worried. Just some stuff on my mind. Got a call from Tiffany Jones about her slimy husband. Said he’d called and talked to the little girl, told her he was gonna take her to live with him, that her mom was no good, stuff like that. Traced the call to a phone booth in Baltimore. That’s where I figured he was. I’m heading down tomorrow.”
Which gave him a perfectly legitimate excuse to get the hell out of Dodge, at least for a day. And no one could accuse him of hiding. He was working.
After Annie had left him feeling like she’d smashed a crowbar over his head this afternoon, he’d recovered enough to know he had to clear out his cases so he could concentrate on his caller. He’d been chasing this client’s deadbeat husband for a couple months now and the guy had just presented himself on a platter.
“Is this the guy who beat his wife then tried to say her nonexistent boyfriend did it?” His dad’s low rumble came from the other side of the table.
“Yeah. He’s a real scumsucker. I don’t know what Tiff ever saw in him.”
“Well, there’s no accounting for taste.” Grace sighed. “Just look at poor Annie. That girl’s been having such a hard time lately. You know she dumped her last boyfriend.”
It took a huge effort not to show a reaction. Yeah, he knew she’d dumped the guy, but he’d bet his mom knew a whole lot more. Not that he wanted to know, damn it, but if his mom wanted to offer…which she probably wouldn’t.
For too many years, Nic hadn’t wanted to hear about Annie’s misadventures in dating. He’d always managed to turn his mom’s interest in another direction, and she’d finally taken the hint. Of course, now that he actually wanted to know—which he didn’t want to examine too closely—she probably wouldn’t say a word.
To his surprise, his mom wasn’t finished. “Another one who just wanted her for her family connections. It’s such a shame.”
His dad grunted in response and Nic flashed him a look. But his dad only had eyes for Grace.
“I’ve been thinking,” his mom continued. “About John. Your cousin Ray’s son. He’s only a couple years older than Annie and I think he’s such a sweetheart. I think he and Annie would hit it off, don’t you?”
Nic took that last statement like a punch to the solar plexus. He sucked in a deep breath before he could stop himself. His mom didn’t seem to notice, though, as his dad answered with a noncommittal hum.
Sweet Jesus, he didn’t need this right now.
“She’s had rotten luck with men lately.” Grace waved her fork in Frank’s general direction, patently ignoring Nic. “These last couple guys, though… They really have me worried. It’s like she’s getting desperate. My god, the girl’s only twenty-seven and she keeps talking about her clock-ticking. Like she’s running out of time.”
Shit. Did she really think that? His hand fell to the table with a little more force than he’d intended and Grace slid him an apologetic look.
“Sorry, honey. I went off on a tangent there. So you’re leaving tomorrow? How long will you be gone?”
“Couple days,” he muttered then concentrated on shoveling food in his mouth so his mom wouldn’t ask him any more questions. Luckily, his parents started talking about one of her cases, leaving him to think.
So Annie had been having guy troubles for a while now.
And here he’d been pawing her, adding to her problems, making a complete ass of himself. Putting her in danger.
But, God, it’d felt so fucking right to kiss her. She fit perfectly in his arms. And she responded to his every touch.
He couldn’t stop thinking about those kisses. About the way she fit against him. The feel of her breasts pressed against his chest. Jesus, he wanted to strip her naked and throw her on his bed.
And she’d practically handed herself to him on a platter today.
He knew exactly how he felt about her. Had for years. But he hadn’t been able to say the words. At eighteen, she’d still been too young.
Then he’d been shot and he’d considered telling her then. Had let himself think about the possibility that they could be together. He’d learned an awfully hard lesson about how fleeting life was.
But when he’d gotten stateside, she’d never come to visit him. She’d come home with Janey from college and he’d waited for her to show up, prayed she would without him having to ask for her.
But she never had. He’d told himself to respect her obvious i
ndifference and he’d stayed away.
Now… Hell, he didn’t have a clue. She’d thrown him for a loop tonight.
Tomorrow he had a deadbeat to track down.
But after that…
Keeping her close might be the only way to keep her safe.
CHAPTER 6
Friday afternoon, Nic picked up a wrench, determined to get this nut to cry uncle.
The garage was closed for the rest of the day. Mags and her father-in-law, Nic’s Uncle John, owned the business and they always closed early on Fridays.
He and Toni had the garage to themselves. Usually they spent Sundays working on the vintage Indian motorcycle Nino had bought only weeks before he’d died. But last Sunday Nic had still been in Baltimore searching for Tiff Jones’s scumbag ex-husband who had somehow managed to elude him. Because he couldn’t keep his mind on the job.
And just a few minutes ago, he’d scraped his knuckles open trying to get this nut off. Because he couldn’t stop thinking about Annie and those kisses. He’d been thinking about that all week while, once again, he evaded her.
“Hand me that socket wrench, kid.”
Toni popped up from the other side of the bike, where she’d been changing the spark plugs. She’d inherited Nino’s aptitude for motors. Nino had been as good, if not better, than Nic with anything mechanical. If it broke, they could fix it.
“Here ya go.” Toni handed it over the seat with a flourish worthy of an emergency-room nurse. “Didn’t you get that free yet?”
His lips twitched at the mock disdain in her voice. “You just worry about getting those plugs in, kid. Hey, how was the dance?”
Silence descended. All Nic could hear was AC/DC singing about shaking all night long from the boombox on the counter along the wall.
Finally, he heard her sigh. “It was okay. I don’t think I’ll go to another one, though.”
Nic hesitated before speaking, knowing from experience he was entering dangerous teenage-girl territory. “Oh yeah? That bad, huh?”
Getting up on his knees so he could see over the bike, he slipped Toni a look and noticed a faint blush on her cheeks.
“No. I mean, it was fun dancing with my friends, but…” She shrugged again and didn’t finish.