Every time Nikki looked at the clock and saw it was closer to noon, her heart skipped a beat. Part was anticipation and part was nervousness. It seemed cold somehow, to arrange a "tryst" so they could make love.
At a quarter to twelve, she closed out the work on her computer and stood up. "I’m going to lunch now."
Erika’s brows shot up in surprise. Nikki knew it was because she hadn’t gone out for lunch since the other woman had started work. "Anyone I know?"
"Yes." Nikki could feel her cheeks warm. "Are you going to see Greg this afternoon?"
"Yes." It was Erika’s turn to blush.
"Try not to let it go too far before we conclude our business with Hanson, Inc." Nikki wiggled her eyebrows and Erika blushed harder. With a laugh, she walked out to the truck.
Chapter 19
The drive over to Jarrod’s house gave her too much time to think and she started to get nervous again. His Jeep was already parked in the driveway. She parked beside it, locked the truck, and walked toward the front door.
Jarrod opened the front door as she stepped onto the porch. "Hi." He smiled sexily, his eyes lit up when he saw her.
"Hi yourself." Her voice was a little lower than usual. He stepped aside so she could enter the house, closed and locked the front door.
As if he sensed her nervousness, he took one of her hands and brought it up to his lips. "I missed you." His lips touched the back of her hand gently.
"Come here, I want to show you something." If he noticed her reluctance, he pretended otherwise as he led her into the kitchen.
He stopped by the table and pointed at the surface. Curious, she glanced down. On the table lay a picture of a bright pink car drawn by a childish hand. She smiled as she saw the woman behind the wheel; she had long, flame red hair that flowed out the window. At the top of the paper was written in green crayon, To Nikki, Love Briana.
"This is great." A smile spread over her face. "Definitely a bad hair day." She touched the picture with her finger and looked up at Jarrod. "When did she do this?"
"Last night when Erika was here. See." He pointed out the letters on the side of the car. "Erika showed her how to spell ‘Cuda." The perfume and Nikki’s own special scent were going to make him crazy.
"Do I get to keep it?"
"Well, Briana wants to give it to you herself. Can you come over tonight?" Jarrod took a deep breath, as he wondered how long he could go without taking her into his arms and kissing her senseless.
"What’s for dinner?" She cocked her head to one side.
"Meat loaf."
"What’s for dessert?" She wrinkled her nose at him, it reminded him of Briana’s questions that first night at Lainey’s.
"You." He stepped closer so their bodies almost touched. He trailed one finger down her cheek, across her jaw, and up to her lips. His own pulse rate increased as he watched the pulse in her throat speed up.
He traced her lips with his finger until they parted. He lowered his head, then kissed her gently, a mere brush of lips.
She moaned softly at the tease and leaned forward so their bodies touched. Jarrod’s lips still brushed across her lips, chin, and cheeks as soft as a butterfly’s wing.
With a groan of frustration, she wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled his head down. She pressed her body firmly against his and kissed him hard. She ran her tongue over his lips. When he opened his mouth, she slipped her tongue inside.
He growled and, finally, wrapped his arms around her, and rubbed his hips against hers. A soft moan escaped her when she felt the hardness pressed against her stomach; she coaxed his mouth open even further.
Jarrod ran his hands down Nikki’s back and bottom and up her back again. She rubbed her hard nipples across his chest, made him suck in his breath. "I think we need to go upstairs. A kitchen table doesn’t sound exactly comfortable." Nikki’s husky voice vibrated in the still air.
He shuddered and picked her up, wrapped her incredibly long legs around his waist. Her eyes narrowed to mere slits when she felt his erection pressed against her femininity. "That table is looking better by the minute."
With a laugh at her words, he walked up the stairs and into his bedroom. He kissed her hungrily and stripped off her clothes while she did the same for him.
Their loving was fast and furious, and left them both temporarily exhausted. "What time is it?" he asked huskily.
"I don’t know. I don’t wear a watch," she said, too lazy to look around the bedroom for a clock.
"Why is that?"
"They make me break out. I’ve tried a dozen different types and brands, and they all give me a rash."
"Hmm. I hope I never give you a rash. I’d hate like hell for you to be allergic to me." He grinned at her, then craned his head to see the clock on the night stand. "We have enough time for one more if you want."
"Insatiable. You are truly insatiable." She shook her head in mock disgust.
"You don’t tell me no. So what does that make you?" He smiled into her eyes.
"Able to keep up." She grinned saucily and kissed him.
His body hardened again and she moaned as he expanded inside her. "Sit up this time." He pushed her into an upright position. With her lower lip between her teeth, she managed to hold back another moan.
They made love for so long, Jarrod was late to work. Nikki was a little luckier. Erika had already left for her meeting with Greg when she got back to the duplex.
She sat down at her computer, and the grin changed to a grimace when her bottom hit the chair. Her body was definitely sore after all the unaccustomed attention it had received recently. She grinned again at the memory of the pleasurable attention. Maybe she was addicted. Oh well, there were worse things to be addicted to.
She was hard at work when Erika came back from the meeting with Greg. "He loved the final product. I’m supposed to start the purchases right away," she said dreamily, stars danced in her eyes.
"I’m sure he did." Nikki said dryly. Erika glanced at her, a surprised look on her face. "You did an excellent job, I’m sure he agreed with your assessment." She smiled at the younger woman. Reassured, Erika sat at her own computer and stared blankly at the screen.
If he even bothered to look at them. She grinned. Maybe she’d go next time to make sure work actually got done.
They both worked hard until it was time to call it a day. Erika left and Nikki changed into loose shorts and an over-sized T-shirt. The jeans she’d worn all day were a little uncomfortable on her sore bottom. Sore from too much loving in too short of a time when she wasn’t used to it.
She’d just walked out the front door to leave for Jarrod’s when Lainey and Sean drove up. Since she hadn’t seen Lainey since she received the phone call, she stopped at their car.
She leaned down to see Lainey’s face through the window and said, "Lainey, I need to talk to you."
Lainey’s eyes widened in surprise as she looked up at her niece. Nikki opened Lainey’s door. "Let’s go inside."
Sean looked from one woman to the other; he looked confused and more than a little worried. "You’d better come too, Sean," Nikki added softly.
She wouldn’t say another word until they were all seated in the living room. Lainey sat on the couch with Sean beside her, her hand in his. "Have you told Sean about Charlie?" she began.
Lainey’s eyes widened and she nodded slowly.
"Good. I got a call from Amelia yesterday about five o’clock." Lainey’s hand clenched convulsively on Sean’s. "He’s dead." Tears of relief flowed down Lainey’s cheeks.
Nikki told her the whole story and held her for several minutes while they both cried. "Are you going to be okay?" Lainey nodded and brushed her tears away. "I’m late, Lainey. I need to go."
Lainey nodded again and gave her a last hug. Sean stopped her on the way out with a hand on her arm. "Are ya all right, lass?" His worried face looked up into hers.
"I’m fine, Sean, thanks for asking." She smiled warmly at him. She glanc
ed over at Lainey and then back to Sean. "Take good care of her, Sean."
"Don’t worry, lassie, I plan on doin’ just that." He patted her arm and glanced worriedly at the dazed woman on the couch.
"Hold her close and tell her you love her. She’ll be all right." She gave Sean a quick hug. "It worked for me." She ignored his startled expression, said good-bye again, walked out to her truck, and drove off. She pulled the cellular phone out of her purse, it was always with her now, and dialed Jarrod’s number.
The phone rang twice before a childish voice answered, "McKay residence."
Nikki smiled. "Hi, Bri, this is Nikki."
"Hi. You’re late. Daddy said you was ‘posed to be here by now."
"I know, I’m on my way over right now. Tell him I’ll be there in about five minutes. Okay?"
"Okay, ‘bye." Nikki grinned as Briana hung up the phone with a bang.
Jarrod was out the front door and had the truck door open before she could shut the engine off. "Are you okay? I was worried. You’ve never been late before." His dark brown eyes were full of concern.
"I’m fine. Sorry I was late. Lainey and Sean drove up just as I was ready to leave. I needed to tell her about the phone call last night." She smiled up into his worried face.
He sighed in relief. "I’m glad that’s all it was. Is Lainey okay?" He lifted her out of the truck and wrapped his arms around her.
"Yeah, she’d already told Sean the basics. He’s with her now." She leaned into his embrace, and relished the warm, comfortable way he made her feel.
"Nikki, Nikki, you’re finally here." Briana bounced down the steps. "I tol’ Daddy you called, but he was still worried." She reached up a hand for Nikki to hold.
Nikki took the small hand in hers and smiled. "That’s what daddy’s are supposed to do. It’s their job."
"But he’s not your daddy." Her small brow furrowed in puzzlement.
"True. But he’s had so much practice with you he just can’t help himself." The three of them walked into the house, hand in hand.
"I drew you a picture last night. Auntie Erika helped me." Briana looked suddenly shy as she traced the toe of her shoe along the design of the entryway rug.
"You did? Do I get to see it?" Nikki pretended surprise and winked at Jarrod. He smiled back and squeezed her hand.
"Yeah, come on." She practically dragged Nikki into the kitchen. Jarrod released her other hand and followed behind them.
"Here it is." Briana clambered up onto a kitchen chair and proudly showed off her art work.
"Wow. That’s really good." Nikki leaned over to study it closely. "Hmm. The writing is so good, that must be what Auntie Erika helped you with. Right?"
Briana giggled and shook her head vigorously. "Nope. I wrote it all by myself."
Nikki rubbed her chin thoughtfully. "Hmm, well, she must have drawn the car then."
"Nope." She giggled again. "All Auntie Erika did was write your name and the name of your car on a piece of paper. I copied them all by myself. An’ I drew the picture all by myself."
"You did? Wow. I’m impressed. You did a really good job." She looked at the young girl curiously. "Are you sure someone didn’t do this for you?"
"Nope. I did it all by myself," Briana said proudly.
"Well, it’s wonderful. Thank you very much. Do I get to take it home with me?"
"Uh-huh." She nodded vigorously. "Daddy always puts my stuff on the ‘figerator. Are you gonna put yours on the ‘figerator?"
Nikki tipped her head slightly and thought. "No. I don’t think so. You see, your daddy’s always in the kitchen because he has to cook and clean." She gave Jarrod a sly wink. "So he sees your pictures a lot when they’re on the fridge." Jarrod made a face at her.
She paused. "But I don’t cook and clean much, so I’d never see it if I put it there." Thoughtfully she tapped her lip with her finger. "I know! I’ll put it on the wall right by my computer. Then every time I look up I’ll get to see it. How about that?"
Briana’s face, which had started to look crestfallen, broke into a big grin. She stood up on the chair and launched herself into Nikki’s arms. "That’ll be great. Sometimes Daddy takes my stuff to work, too, don’t you, Daddy."
"That’s right." Jarrod grinned.
Nikki looked up from Briana’s prattle and into his eyes. Her eyes widened as she saw the love so obvious in the look he gave her. She mouthed, "I love you," then turned back to Briana.
Jarrod stood motionless as he watched them for a few more minutes before he moved across the kitchen to finish dinner. Nikki looked over at Jarrod standing by the sink and wondered what he was thinking about. If the dreamy expression on his face was anything to go by, it was something good.
She turned back to Briana and her tales of what she did every day at Mrs. Cunningham’s. Mrs. Cunningham was the lady down the street who ran a daycare. When Briana started kindergarten in the fall, she’d still spend the afternoons there until Jarrod picked her up after he got off work.
Nikki shook her head at Briana’s wild stories and wondered if Mrs. Cunningham was tough enough to deal with all those children on a daily basis. There was something to be said for working with computers for a living.
After dinner had been eaten and the kitchen straightened, Briana was bathed and put to bed. Together they went downstairs and sat on the couch to relax. Jarrod drew her into his arms and held her close. It felt so good to be snuggled up against his hard body. She sighed and put her head on his chest.
Jarrod’s voice rumbled from beneath her ear, "So, why do you wince every time you sit down?"
Nikki smiled up at him. "Because I’m sore. I guess we should have started off gradually and worked our way up."
He pulled her head back down to rest on his chest as he grinned. "Probably. It sure was nice though." He felt her smile against his chest. "I’m a little sore, too. That’s why I changed into shorts. They’re looser than jeans."
"Yeah." She smiled up at him. "I’m glad I’m not the only one." She laid her head back on his massive chest and toyed with the few hairs that grew there.
"Nikki." She looked up at him curiously. "Please don’t do that. My body thinks it can go another round, but it really can’t, at least not tonight. Not if I want to be able to walk tomorrow."
With a smile, she snuggled back down onto his chest, and closed her eyes. There was something extremely satisfying about just being in the arms of someone you loved.
They hadn’t meant to drift off to sleep, but the lack of sleep the night before caught up with them. When Nikki finally sat up and looked at the clock on the mantle it was almost midnight.
She shook Jarrod’s shoulder gently. "Honey, wake up. I need to get home."
He stirred and sat up, blinked his eyes blearily. He looked at his watch in surprise. "I guess we fell asleep." He stood and pulled her up with him. "I wish you could stay. I know it wouldn’t be the right thing to do with Briana here, but I’d really like to be able to wake up with you in bed with me."
"I know." She wrapped her arms around his waist and laid her head on his chest. "Me too." With a huge yawn, she burrowed deeper into his arms.
Jarrod smiled at her obvious reluctance to leave, held her close and stroked her hair. She pulled back after a few minutes. "Come on. Walk me to the door or I’ll never get out of here."
He stopped her when she tried to step away. "Hang on a minute. I found one minor thing I’d like changed on the logo. I’ve got it in the den. Come on." With that he took her by the hand and led her to the other room. "I know I’ve got it somewhere." He rummaged through the piles on his desk.
"Ah, here it is." He turned around with a triumphant flourish to find Nikki staring at a small framed picture on one of the bookcase shelves. Her face was chalk-white and her slightly parted lips were almost bloodless. The folder was dropped onto the desk without further thought.
"Honey? What’s wrong?" He turned her around and lifted her chin to meet her eyes. Her green eyes were clo
uded and not quite focused. What was wrong?
"Who is that woman?" Her pale lips barely moved and her voice was barely audible.
"That’s Chloe. Briana’s mother. That’s our wedding picture, such as it was." He was worried. She shouldn’t react like this to a picture of his ex-wife. "Why are you so upset? She’s out of our lives, has been for years." His dark eyes searched hers for a clue as to what was the matter. "I got the picture out because Briana asked what her mother looked like."
Nikki licked her dry lips and finally focused on Jarrod. She started to speak, stopped, took a deep breath and started again. "I’ve seen her before."
Jarrod froze and stared down into her face. "What are you talking about? How could you have ever seen her before. She left town over five years ago and she hasn’t been back since."
"She’s back. I saw her at the gas station when I took Briana from Davies. She had just come out of the women’s rest room and she stared at us as we drove away. I thought she stared because we had definitely caused a scene, but . . ."
The shudder ran through her entire body as the implication hit her fully. "It couldn’t have been a coincidence. Could it? No, it couldn’t be. She had to have been in on the kidnap attempt with Davies. She was going to meet up with them at the gas station." She licked her dry lips again. "What do we do now?" Was Chloe the person she thought had followed her home? All she’d seen was blonde hair. She couldn’t even be sure that she’d really been followed.
"Oh, God. You’re sure?" He searched her eyes thoroughly. "Of course you are. You’ve got a photographic memory and you wouldn’t be white as a sheet if it hadn’t been her." His hands dropped and he started to pace the room, his hands clenched and unclenched in agitation and anger. "What the hell are we supposed to do now? I won’t let that woman get her hands on my daughter ever again."
Nikki shook off her temporary paralysis and reached for the phone. "Captain Edwards needs to know there was an accomplice so he can start to look for her. Whether or not she’s Briana’s mother, it was still a crime to take her like that." She dialed Captain Edward’s phone number from memory.
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