Naked Vengeance

by Sophia Rae

“It’s kind of tacky to mess around with a married man,” Nick accused.

  “Yes, it is,” Eve agreed as she rested her hands on her hips. “If you’re trying to insinuate I have a thing for Grady, you couldn’t be further from the truth.”

  “Really.” Nick shoved off the wall and took two steps to close the space between them. “You always talk to him in private, and your face lit up a second ago, right before you said you couldn’t wait. Do you think now that you’ve got some fucks under your belt, you can move on to someone else? I suppose married men would be more of a challenge.”

  Her fist connected with his jaw before she even realized it. Her whole body shook with anger as Nick looked back at her, and she didn’t feel the slightest bit sorry for hitting him.

  “Cocky, arrogant bastard.”

  “That’s the second time you’ve done that,” he stated.

  Yeah, not to mention the second time she’d felt like her fingers broke the instant they came in contact with his hard jaw. She wiggled them at her side to make sure they still worked.

  “Consider yourself lucky,” she told him. “You’ve deserved a lot more than two. Now, if you’re done condemning me for things you have no idea about, you can get your ass back downstairs. I don’t want to see you again until we leave for the club.”

  “I won’t apologize for my comment,” he told her. “Especially since you didn’t bother denying it.”

  Eve lifted her heavy hair off her neck and held it up with one hand. “Grady will be coming down here in a couple of days. When he gets here, you can go.”

  It pleased her immensely when Nick’s face hardened. Without a word, he turned and went back downstairs.

  Even with the air conditioner on high, heat filled the room. Eve dropped her hair back down and stripped off her tank and boxers. She flopped onto the bed, belly down, and let the cool air calm her.

  Fighting must arouse her, because if he hadn’t turned and left, she would’ve taken him again. His words had only hurt for a moment before she realized he’d said them out of jealousy.

  Eve turned her face into the rumpled comforter and laughed. Nick Shaffer had a jealous streak. Could it get any sweeter? She doubted Nick had ever had to worry about his status with a woman before.

  More than likely all he’d ever had to do was throw his signature smile their way and rip off his shirt to reveal an impressive set of pecs.

  Eve hated the fact that she’d fallen into the category of easy women. True she’d waited twenty-eight years to give into desire, but when it came to Nick, she’d definitely been easy.

  Easy or not, she’d managed to make Nick jealous.

  Maybe she would just bask in this feeling a little longer before she told him she really worked for Grady. She couldn’t wait to see the look on his face when he realized what a jerk he’d been.

  On the downside, he’d be really pissed. She knew Nick well enough now to know he didn’t like being left in the shadows.

  Oh well, if he got mad and left, she would survive. She wouldn’t like it, she admitted only to herself, but she would survive. Keeping Nick happy was not her top priority… Actually, it wasn’t a priority at all.

  First, she had to find a killer.

  Chapter Eight

  Roman couldn’t wait for his meeting with the beautiful, sexy Eve Morgan. He hated being played for a fool. But he found himself admiring her for seeking revenge; after all, she’d focused the past year of her life on hunting him down. The obsession flattered him.

  It would be so sweet to finally have her in his home where she could dance for him. Privately. He hated going into the club when he wanted someone new. The stale cigarette smoke, the pathetic—usually married—men that sat around waving dollars at the women. Not that he cared about their marital status. So long as they brought in the bills, he was thrilled.

  Yes, men who had to pay to see a woman naked weren’t a pretty sight, but he would make sacrifices in his life for what he wanted.

  And he wanted Eve Morgan.

  Despite the fact she was a fed and he’d killed her father, Roman just had to have her. He would make her his in every sense of the word before he decided what to do with her.

  Selling, of course, was an option, but he almost hated to share such a work of human art. The money he could get from her would be tremendous, but he had time to decide.

  Someone had tried to kill her… Someone Roman still hadn’t found.

  Roman leaned back in his leather office chair and looked out onto the grounds through the small, round window. He couldn’t wait to see Nick. When they came face to face at the meeting, Nick would know for sure who had been behind this whole operation.

  Even as young children, Roman hadn’t been known for his bright mind, Nick had. Nobody had thought Roman would amount to anything in his life—well he’d certainly showed them. He had his own employees who would kill at his command if necessary, he had women at his beck and call, and more money than Bill Gates and Oprah combined.

  But there was one thing his life lacked. Well, maybe not lacked, but something that needed to be seen to as soon as possible for Roman to be able to get on with his life without having to look over his shoulder.

  Roman had to kill his brother. No henchmen would be given the order. This was personal, and Roman intended to handle the situation personally.

  Meddling little prick always had girlfriends in high school, always the jock, always so fucking perfect. Well, now they were adults and Roman wasn’t the geeky stepbrother anymore.

  Nick had always been a smart man, Roman would fess up to that, so Nick should have figured out by now who killed Eve’s father and who had been calling her.

  Such fun, such an enjoyment. Roman hated to see this game come to an end. He truly delighted in the fact he’d tormented his brother and his girlfriend.

  Over the years, Roman had kept tabs on his younger stepbrother. He’d known when Nick had enlisted in the Marines, known when he joined the police force and dropped out, and even known when the bastard had a woman in his life. Actually, he had women. Seems Roman and Nick did have one thing in common—it took more than one woman at a time to keep them satisfied.

  Roman smiled. He couldn’t wait to see Nick at the meeting. There wasn’t a shred of doubt that Nick wouldn’t allow Eve to attend all alone.

  Tomorrow. He would finally see his beloved big brother after all these years.

  And kill him.

  ***

  Nick glanced at his watch one more time. They were going to be late.

  “Eve!”

  He rested a booted foot on the bottom step and draped an arm over the rail. What could the woman be doing? She never ran late. How hard could it be to get ready for work at a strip club? The men didn’t care what her hair or make-up looked like.

  She had tits and legs. What more did she need?

  “Eve,” he yelled again.

  After another minute, she appeared at the landing. “What?”

  “Are you coming or not?”

  “I called off tonight,” she said.

  Nick took in the sight of her blue boxers and skin-hugging gray tank. Did the woman only lounge in men’s underwear? And why the hell did he find this cotton ensemble more erotic than the red leather?

  The little patch of skin just above her waistband gave him a jolt for a second. Damn. He really wished this woman didn’t have such power over him. A power he seriously doubted she knew about.

  “You could’ve told me earlier,” he snapped.

  Eve shrugged. “Well, I’m telling you now.”

  “Whatever,” he said. “Why aren’t you going in? Aren’t you the one who was so adamant about not missing any work in case something happened at the club?”

  She started down the steps. Fingers trailed lightly over the wooden banister. Her slow descent appeared graceful. The picture she made reminded him of old movies where the beautiful young woman made her entrance onto the first floor, wearing a sweeping skirt with a tight, fitted
bodice.

  Eve looked every bit as delicate and lovely, even in her state of dress with her hair piled haphazardly atop her head.

  Nick nearly laughed at himself. First of all, what the hell had come over him that he’d thought about Eve in such a poetic way? Second of all, since their first few meetings, he had come to think of her as delicate…even vulnerable.

  She’d kick his ass if she knew where his thoughts had wandered.

  “If you must know,” she said as she stopped on the step with his foot. “I’m nervous.”

  That was a word he’d never expected to come from her mouth. “You’re nervous? About tomorrow?”

  She nodded and crossed her arms just under her breasts, causing them to lift above the scoop neck. His eyes had a mind of their own and he couldn’t help that they wanted to stare at the soft swell of skin that threatened to spill out of the tank.

  “You have a problem with those wandering eyes,” she said.

  “It’s not a problem for me,” he threw back. “I kind of like it.”

  Eve cocked her head and sighed. That deep breath only did more marvelous things to her tits.

  “Well,” she said in a low, seductive voice. “I’m off all night and since you’re staring, you might as well take what you want.”

  Nick’s hand tightened on the rail. “What makes you think I want you?”

  A sinful grin spread across her face. Her eyes glistened. “You’re a man, aren’t you? Don’t you all want the same thing?”

  “No,” he answered. From the look on her face, he’d not surprised only himself with the reply. “I mean, yes, we do love sex, but that’s not all we think about.”

  She sank down onto the step and hugged her knees. Her pale green eyes looked up at him in question. Not only did they hold questions, they held answers as well.

  Answers Nick wasn’t sure his heart or his mind were ready to hear.

  “Eve.” He took a seat himself on the bottom step. “I know you won’t talk about what happened, but I want you to know there are guys out there who truly care about women’s feelings. Not all guys are assholes.”

  “Are you saying you’re one of the good guys?”

  Nick couldn’t help the laugh that escaped him. “No, I’m not saying that, but I am saying I don’t use women for sex.”

  She raised a brow. “You’re saying you’ve never had sex with a woman just for the sake of having sex?”

  “I have had meaningless sex, but the lack of feelings was mutual.”

  The question still remained in her eyes… It didn’t have to be said aloud.

  “What we’ve done,” he began, choosing his words carefully. “I wouldn’t consider it meaningless—”

  “It’s okay.” Eve’s hand came up and she shook her head. “I don’t need to be babied about this, Nick. I’m a grown woman. You don’t have to explain what’s going on here and you don’t have to worry. I haven’t picked out our monogrammed towels.”

  The playful tone she used, along with her dimpled smile, put him at ease. Not that he wouldn’t mind getting to know Eve better—in bed and out—but right now that was just not a luxury they had.

  “So, about that proposition you were offering,” he said as he trailed his fingers up her smooth shin.

  She reached for him at the same time a thunderous jolt shook the house and blew out the living room window.

  “Get down!” he yelled, shoving her down the last few steps and onto the floor. “Crawl on your stomach away from the door. Get on the other side of this staircase.”

  He assumed she followed his orders. He didn’t have time to look as he crouched low himself and made his way to his black bag. Shards of glass were everywhere—on the couch, the coffee table, the floor, on top of his bag. He lifted one end of the duffle, sending the broken pieces clattering to the floor.

  Once he dug out his gun, he crouched back to the airy hole where the window had been only seconds before. A strong scent of smoke filtered into the house. Nick kept his back against the outside wall, eyes on Eve. She lay on her stomach, safely tucked on the other side of the staircase. Her hard eyes were locked onto his.

  The soft sound of crackling and popping filled Nick’s stomach with dread. He peered through the opening, only to see his car on fire.

  “Damn it!”

  “What is it?” Eve asked as she came up to her elbows.

  “My fucking car exploded,” he fumed. “Stay in here. I’ll be right back.”

  “Don’t go out there,” she cried. “If someone is there, that’s what they want you to do.”

  Nick jerked back to look at her again. “You’re right, but I still need to see what’s going on.”

  “Well, I’m going with you.”

  Eve came to her feet, but still remained somewhat crouched. As she started for the steps, he stopped her.

  “Like hell. You’re going to keep your little ass inside and I’ll go see what the hell is going on.”

  Like lightning, she ran up the steps, emerging seconds later with a gun in her hand. The same one she’d pulled on him in her apartment. God, that seemed like a lifetime ago.

  “Put that down before you accidentally shoot me,” he scolded her. “If there is someone out there, do you think I’m going to let you have a face off with them?”

  “Fine,” she conceded. “Go on out there and be Mr. Big-Bad-Bodyguard. If someone out there doesn’t shoot you, I will when you get back in, for acting like I’m incapable of taking care of myself.”

  Nick shook his head and scowled. “I don’t have time for this.”

  “You know I’ll just follow you out, so you might as well go on and quit wasting time.”

  After giving her one last what he hoped was an intimidating look, he eased the front door open and aimed his gun outside.

  No sign of anything, except the burning car and blackened grass surrounding it.

  “Stay here,” Nick said to Eve as she stepped behind him. “I’m going to take a quick look around the house. If you hear or see anything, get your ass back inside and don’t try to be a hero.”

  She held her gun in one hand and gave him a mock salute with the other. “Yes, sir.”

  Worry and fear had his emotions too tied up at the moment for there to be any room for anger. The fact that someone had blown up his car, and could very likely be waiting for an ambush, kept his mind off Eve and on their safety.

  Each corner of the house he came to, Nick feared he’d see his brother on the other side. Fortunately, nobody waited.

  When he finished his search, Eve stood on the porch, her back against the doorframe. “See anything?” she asked.

  Nick shook his head. “No. I’m going to go back around and look closer. I want to see if there are any footprints in the dirt or flattened grass outside any of the windows. I can’t imagine somebody planted a bomb and didn’t look inside.”

  Eve’s eyes widened. He could only imagine her thoughts. Whoever had been here had more than likely seen them. Together.

  “Don’t think about that now,” he ordered.

  He didn’t stand around to discuss the possibility further. It was a dreaded thought he wanted to forget himself.

  Had someone seen the way he’d taken her like an animal that first time? Had they seen how damn sexy Eve had looked in the red leather? Had they watched her come from the shower wrapped only in a short, thin white towel?

  Sick prick.

  Now that he’d set his blood pressure soaring, Nick looked over every speck of dirt, every blade of grass that surrounded the house. For a mission he’d hoped would be quick and easy, he couldn’t have taken a more frustrating, fucked-up job if he’d written the damn script.

  ***

  Another hotel room, another day, same old scenario.

  Eve dumped her bag on the bed closest to the air conditioner. After some local feds had come out to the not-so-safe house, they’d poked around a bit, taken some pictures, hauled off Nick’s car for inspection and given them a ride
to a hotel about twenty minutes outside Charleston.

  When the lock to the hotel room door clicked into place, Eve spun around. Nick dropped his bag in the entryway, went into the bathroom and slammed the door.

  Well, she thought, at least he’d showed some emotion. He hadn’t said a word to her since she’d been standing on the porch trying to digest the fact someone had probably watched them.

  He hadn’t told her if he’d seen anything when he’d taken his walk around the house, hadn’t asked her opinion on what they should do next, hadn’t even gotten near her until they were in the car with a local agent, and even then he’d sat in the front seat.

  Because he’d been such a jerk since his precious car blew up, Eve had taken it upon herself to call Grady, who’d informed her he’d be there by morning.

  Then, while Nick had been talking with some local Feds, she’d taken her own walk around the house. To anybody watching her, she’d just looked like a woman trying to clear her head after a near-death explosion. In actuality, Eve had been looking for clues herself.

  Eerily enough, there had been areas around the back of the house where the grass lay flat. Other than that, she didn’t see any signs of an unwanted visitor. Could have been a deer or a dog, but she highly doubted any animal would leave sneaker-sized imprints.

  Then again, Eve had never been an optimist.

  Weary and frustrated, Eve shoved her bag to the foot of her bed and fell face down in the middle of it, her feet dangling over the edge toward Nick’s own bed. When she heard the bathroom door open, she didn’t move. If he wanted to pout and be left alone, fine. The last thing she needed was to console a man over the loss of a piece of tin.

  “You hungry?” he asked gruffly.

  “No.”

  “What have you eaten today?”

  His denim-clad leg brushed against hers. She didn’t have to feel him to know he stood at the edge of her bed peering down.

  “Coffee.”

  “That’s why you’re too skinny,” he snapped. “I’m going to get us something.”

  Eve rolled onto her side. Rested her head in her hand. “I said I wasn’t hungry. If you want to go out and get something, then go. I’m sick of seeing you sulk anyway.”