Naked Vengeance

by Sophia Rae

  Nick’s brows drew in. “Sulk? Why the hell do you think I’m sulking?”

  “You tell me,” she said as she came to her feet, causing him to back up. “You haven’t said a damn word to me in hours, you hardly looked in my direction, and now you look like you want to throttle me. I suppose it is my fault your car blew up, seeing as how this sick bastard is after me, but that gives you no right to be a rude ass about it. It was you who insisted on protecting me in the first place.”

  “Are you finished now?”

  Eve merely crossed her arms—it was either that or deck him to wipe that smirk off his face.

  “First of all,” he began. “I don’t give a fuck about that car. Okay, well, maybe I do, but it’s not important now. I can buy another one whenever I want. If you really think I’m sulking, it’s because of you.”

  “Me?” she exclaimed. “You’re blaming your bad mood on me?”

  Nick grabbed her by the arms and shook her. “You’re damn right I am. Don’t you get it? That explosion was too close. What if we’d been on the couch or in front of the window, or God forbid, sitting in the car? That bomb went off under the passenger seat, just like in your car. You could be dead!”

  Even though his fingers dug into her arm, Eve knew his actions were out of sheer terror. The look in his eyes she’d mistaken for pouting had in fact been fear.

  For her.

  Her body relaxed under his touch. The slightest touch of a smile formed on her lips.

  “You’re scared,” she said.

  “Damn right I am. How would that look on a resume if I lost a client?”

  Eve shook her head. “You can make jokes all you want, but you’re scared because you care about me more than you want to.”

  Nick’s eyes held hers for a time, then looked off to the side. He released her and stepped back. “Maybe. Maybe I’m just concerned where I’ll find another car like the one I had. It was a babe magnet.”

  The urge to reach out to him came on so strong, Eve couldn’t stop herself. Just a few fingertips against his bare arm had him looking back at her.

  “Babe magnet, huh?”

  He shrugged. “Got you, didn’t I?”

  Eve couldn’t help the flutter in her chest. “Do you have me?”

  The uncertainty on Nick’s face made her smile. “I don’t want anything to happen to you. I can’t explain what I feel when it comes to your safety, but I know I can’t let anything happen to you. Guess that makes me pussy-whipped.”

  “Caring for me is nothing to be embarrassed about,” she told him. “I wouldn’t want anything to happen to you, either.”

  “I’m not embarrassed,” he snapped. “Don’t put words in my mouth.”

  Trying to keep the situation as calm as possible, Eve dropped her hand from his arm and laced her fingers together. “Fine. Tell me the words you want me to hear then.”

  Nick ran a hand through his hair, let out a frustrated sigh. “I just got freaked out a little when the what-ifs started going through my head. Even though the threats keep coming and the level of danger increases each minute, I still thought we’d be safe where we were.”

  “But…” she prompted when he stopped and simply stared.

  “I can’t figure out how this bastard knows everywhere we’ve been,” Nick said. “It’s like he’s got a tracking device planted on me. Or you.”

  Eve’s blood ran cold at the realization. “You think somebody is tracking us?”

  He shook his head. “I don’t know how. All we have are these two bags, you have another bag you use for a purse and God knows what else. I don’t have the car anymore, so I wouldn’t think the device would’ve been on that, or he wouldn’t have blown it up. Other than our cell phones, we don’t have anything else.”

  “Maybe we should look through our stuff just to make sure it hasn’t been tampered with,” she suggested.

  Nick stepped out of her way when she reached around him to grab her duffle. She dumped all her belongings onto the bed.

  It looked like a Frederick’s of Hollywood catalog had thrown up its latest fall fashions. Some denim shorts, cotton tanks, silky thongs and boxers tumbled out as well. Nick got a hard-on just looking at her skimpy wardrobe.

  “I don’t know where anything would be hidden in these,” Nick said, picking up a white sheer bra with nipple slits. “Let me look through my bag.”

  After he retrieved his bag by the door, he too, dumped his belongings onto her bed. Black T-shirts, jeans, whitey tighties, another gun and some ammo.

  He searched through the box of bullets, finding nothing. They each turned their bags inside out, examining each tooth of the zippers, each stitched seam, but in the end nothing looked suspicious.

  Nick stood back with his hands on his hips. “Let me see your cell phone.”

  Eve pulled it from the pocket of her jean shorts, watched as he popped the back off. A determined look came over his face as he examined the insides of the phone.

  “Son of a bitch,” he mumbled. “I thought for sure there would be a tracking device. How the hell do they keep finding us?”

  “I understand all the other places, but the safe house? I don’t get it.”

  Nick ran a hand through his hair. The sinking feeling in his gut told him he and Eve were in deeper than either of them had anticipated.

  “What do you want to do?”

  Nick took a minute, trying to determine the best course of action. “We’re getting the hell out of here. Now. Can you fit through that window?”

  Eve glanced over. “Probably. You think someone will have followed us here?”

  Nick nodded.

  “You want them to think we’re still here?” she asked.

  “You sure you’re not a cop?”

  The questions struck her guilt chord even though his tone was playful. “Not a cop,” she assured him…just an FBI agent who’s currently on suspension for not following orders and by putting herself in danger by trying to track down a killer.

  “We should call Grady and let him know we’re on the move,” Nick said. “I won’t risk discussing our whereabouts over the phone, though.”

  Eve went into the bathroom, messed up some towels, pulled the shower curtain back halfway and moved the coffee pot out into the bedroom area. When Nick gave her a skeptical look, she merely shrugged.

  “Do you want this to look real or not?” she asked.

  “Let’s go. It’s fine.”

  “Where do you suggest we go?”

  Nick dialed Grady’s number and held the cell to his ear. “Well, right now we need to go find a bus or a cab or something.”

  Eve barely listened to Nick’s short, vague conversation with Grady. Their next step plagued her mind now. Tomorrow was her meeting with this Roman guy and she had a hunch he’d been the master manipulator behind it all. The murder of her father, the missing women from the club, the exploding cars, the phone calls, the letters, and the possibility of being stalked by more than one psychopath. Roman obviously had a lot of men working in his sick and twisted operation.

  Nick snapped his cell shut as she eased out the window. After Nick’s long, broad frame squeezed through the slot, he joined her in the back alley. Thankfully they were alone.

  Muggy, sticky air enveloped her. She needed a good, long shower. Maybe even a shower with Nick. Just to get her mind off things for a while.

  A long while, she amended. Nick’s amazing body and talented hands could do things to her mind that made her forget her own name. That’s what she needed right now. A distraction.

  “So where to now?” Eve looked up and down the street.

  “We’re going to go to the hotel a few blocks down,” he told her as he turned to head in that direction. “I figure when they realize we’re not in the room they think we’re in, they’ll probably look elsewhere. That’s why I think we should stay around here. I didn’t tell Grady, but it’s best if we don’t stay in one place too long.”

  The plan made perfect sens
e and if Eve hadn’t been too busy thinking about water sluicing off Nick’s perfect pecs, she would have thought of it as well. Good thing Nick had his priorities in order.

  “Besides,” he went on to say, “I don’t want to run the risk of getting on a bus or in a cab. We need to stay low until tomorrow morning for your meeting.”

  The meeting. Each passing second brought them closer to the inevitable.

  “I’m going to need some things,” Eve told him as he held the door open to yet another hotel.

  “Like what?”

  “A razor, some deodorant, make-up, an outfit.” She counted the items off on her hand. “Since all my stuff is in the safe house, and I can’t very well go wearing what I’ve got on.”

  Nick nodded. “Fine, I’ll get us a room, get you settled, and go back out to get your stuff.”

  They paid for the room in cash—dwindling her stock pile down to near nothing.

  “Do you have any cash?” she asked as they entered their room.

  Not as bad as the others, still just as small. Two full-sized beds, a TV, a small desk with phone.

  “Some. Why?”

  Eve sank down onto the farthest bed. “Because I’m about out and you’re going to have to buy my stuff, unless you want to risk using a credit card. I won’t make anymore cash until tonight.”

  Nick sighed, still standing near the doorway. “Fine. Write down exactly what you need. Sizes, colors. As for the make-up, be specific as possible. I don’t know shit about that stuff.”

  Eve leaned onto her side and opened the drawer of the small table beside her bed. A complimentary pad and pen were tucked inside. She tried to be specific enough, but in reality, she didn’t care. What she really wanted wasn’t at all possible at the moment.

  Her job back, her father’s death avenged. And Nick.

  The first two wishes went hand in hand. Once she accomplished one, the other would fall into place.

  As for wanting Nick, that seemed to pretty much be a twenty-four/seven want.

  No, make that a need. Needing Nick fell into the same category as air, food, water, sleep. Of course, she would forego any of the last three for passion-filled sex.

  “You’re not writing,” he scolded.

  She jerked her gaze back up to find that he’d moved closer to the bed. So close, in fact, his denim-covered legs were within an inch of her bare ones. She really wished she weren’t so turned on by the fact this potent man would be picking out her underwear. It would be interesting to see what he came up with.

  “Is something wrong?” he asked as he leaned down and braced a hand beside her on the bed.

  She tore off the top sheet of paper and jotted down her sizes. “Here,” she passed the page to him. “I don’t care about colors and all that, just so it fits.”

  “What the hell do I know about your taste in clothing?” he demanded.

  God, why couldn’t he just take the damn list and get out? She needed some space. No, she amended, she needed him, but since that would be a bad idea right now, she opted for privacy.

  Until she could tell him about her FBI status, she didn’t feel right about having sex with him. True, they didn’t have a “relationship”, but sex was still new to her and still something she valued.

  “You’re a guy,” she replied as she flipped her corkscrew curls over her shoulder. “You know what you like to see women wearing. Pick out something you think I’d look good in.”

  Mysterious eyes roamed over her heated body. “Well, if that’s the case, then I don’t need to get anything… That’s how I think you look the best.”

  Eve rolled her eyes, trying to keep her emotions somewhat in control. “Please, don’t try flattery to get me on my back again. If you want sex, just say so. There’s no need for bullshit.”

  Nick’s face hardened. “I don’t have to flatter you, Eve. All I have to do is touch you.”

  One hand remained beside her on the bed, the other came up to her knee. The soft, feather touch of his fingertips trailed up her thigh to the frayed edges of her shorts.

  “I bet if I dipped my finger under your shorts, I’d find your panties damp,” he whispered. “You’re ready, aren’t you?”

  Eve tilted her chin, trying her damnedest not to squirm under his touch. “What if I am wet? That doesn’t mean I have to do anything about it. I’ve been horny plenty over the years. I don’t need you to satisfy me.”

  Nick took hold of her shoulders, pushed her back on the bed and came up onto the bed to straddle her. He stayed up on his knees, but his strong legs kept hers locked in place.

  “Maybe you don’t need me to satisfy you.” His Southern accent washed over her. “I don’t need you to satisfy me, either, but I’m sure as hell not going to let you self-entertain when I’m rock hard and ready. Don’t put up such a badass front when you want this just as much as I do.”

  “Fine,” she conceded. “I do want it. I want it so bad I can’t think straight right now. I hate that you make me feel so reckless and out of control of my own body. Does that make you happy?”

  His mouth twitched. “Actually, I love the fact that I’ve been the only man to make you feel that way.”

  “I didn’t say you were the only man,” she countered.

  Nick leaned down within a breath of her face, placing a hand on either side of her head. “But I’m the only man you’ve let yourself go with. If you were so reckless before me, I wouldn’t have been your first.”

  Even if a reply had been on the tip of her tongue, she didn’t have a chance to argue with him. His lips connected with hers. The gentle, light touch of his warm mouth made her squirm beneath him. She wanted more.

  The need to feel his skin against hers was so great, Eve bunched the bottom of his T-shirt in her hands and pulled up. He broke the kiss only for a split second as he grabbed the shirt himself and flung it to the floor.

  Finally. Eve ran her hands up his muscular torso, taking her time when she reached his nipples. He groaned into her mouth, but still didn’t increase the speed or intensity.

  Eve gave him a slight shove. Perplexed, Nick sat up and stared down.

  “What’s wrong?” he asked in a husky voice.

  “Everything,” she cried. “You’re going too slow, and we’ve still got too many clothes on.”

  “Oh, well, if that’s all,” he replied with a cocky grin.

  He brought his feet to the floor and stood up, taking her hands and pulling her with him. As he unbuttoned his jeans and jerked them off, along with his tight, white briefs, Eve went to work on her clothing.

  “Better?” he asked once they were naked.

  “I don’t want you to be gentle,” she whispered as she stepped closer to him. “It’s been a really bad day and I want to forget, even if it’s only for a little while.”

  When his strong arms encircled her waist, she fell against his chest. “That I can do.”

  The kiss he gave her now demanded everything she had in her and even more. He gripped one hand on her bare ass; the other snaked up her spine to fist in her hair. His thick erection on her belly made her that much more excited. The size of him still amazed her. The fact that he wanted her that much astonished her.

  “I want you to watch what I can do to you,” he murmured against her lips. “I want you to see how passionate you are.”

  She heard what he said, but the words didn’t quite register. Still holding onto her, Nick began to move toward the end of the bed—he took her with him, for she had no control over her legs right now.

  Nick pulled back from her, settling his hands on the dip in her waist. “Sit on the bed.”

  The second she sank onto the bed, he fell to his knees. Her image filled the large mirror over the chest of drawers. She’d never thought of herself as a wanton woman before, but the image she made proved otherwise.

  Perky nipples, flushed skin, recently ravished lips, heavy eyelids. Her eyes drifted down to the top of Nick’s head as he positioned himself between her legs. H
is hands slid up her inner thigh as he blew his hot breath onto her moist center.

  “Spread for me,” he said. “And keep your eyes in the mirror. It’s the most erotic picture I’ve ever seen. Watch yourself come, Eve.”

  Eve leaned back on her hands, opened wide for easy access and drew her eyes back up to focus on herself. When his finger slid up to separate her slick folds, her eyes drifted shut, but only for a second. Now she watched herself as the pleasure grew.

  She bit her lip as her hips started to pump. Nick slid his tongue up the length of her while his thumbs peeled her lips back.

  “Nick,” she pleaded, eyes still locked onto the mirror. “Faster. I need more.”

  The next thing she knew, his finger slid into her, his mouth covered her clit and he sucked gently. Now the wild woman in the mirror who convulsed and moaned didn’t resemble anybody she knew. Her full tits bounced with each jerk. The spasms took over her body as Nick shoved a second finger inside, prolonging the climax.

  Tremors faded to euphoria. Still, her eyes remained in the mirror. Her chest rose and fell rapidly, her skin not only flushed, but also glossy from the sheen.

  Nick continued to savor her, taking his time with his tongue and fingers. The tingling sensation only added to the enjoyment of his soft touch.

  “Wait,” she said on a breath.

  Nick looked up at her, she down to him. Their eyes held for a second, but it was long enough for Eve to feel it.

  No. No. No. She would not let him get to her like this. The sneaky bastard had somehow gotten to her, making her fall in love with him. She was a grown woman, she had control over her emotions and she would not allow this. The only relationship she wanted or needed involved strictly physical activity.

  “Is something wrong?” he asked.

  With her heart pounding out of control—thanks to the amazing orgasm and the smack in the face from the damn love fairy—Eve shook her head. “No, but I want to do something for you.”

  The smile she used to despise, but now adored, spread wide. “Like what?”

  Eve shrugged. “What do you feel like? I want to make you feel as good as I do.”