The Grayce Walters Romantic Suspense Series

by Jacki Delecki

  “It’s going to be okay.” His large hands soothed her, gliding up and down her back.

  She stood still, unable to move. No one had held her with such tenderness. No words would come out of her mouth.

  Talley leaned into the side of her leg, as if also trying to offer comfort.

  He bent over, his face close to hers. His intense focus warmed her. “Did something happen with Maddy?”

  She swallowed hard past the aching knot in her throat. “The boss…” The words came out forced and breathless.

  He searched her face. “Something happened to Dr. Walters?”

  Hollie had kept it together until Nick arrived. Now she couldn’t stop the rush of tears that dripped down her cheeks. “She was in a car accident last night.” The words filled the silence with stark emotion.

  She felt his body clench against her as he squeezed her tighter.

  “She has a concussion, but James reassured me that she will be okay. Nothing to worry about.”

  Pressed against his hot body, she didn’t want him to let her go. “Is she in the hospital?”

  His quiet self-control steadied her. “She came home early this morning.”

  He tucked a curl behind her ear. “She must be okay if they sent her home, right?”

  She wasn’t sure if it was because of his composed voice or his quiet strength, but her panic eased. She could almost breathe normally.

  “I’ll take you over to see her if you’d like. I’m sure seeing her in person will help.”

  The empty black void of terror was receding. She reminded herself that she was safe, and her boss was safe. Nothing terrible was going to happen to her. Her whole body shuddered in relief.

  He tightened his arms around her. “You okay, honey?”

  She tried to make herself push away but instead stood still, reveling in his unwavering composure, his slow, measured breathing against her chest. She inhaled his masculine scent of pine and musk. She needed to pull it together, but being held by Nick Welby changed the entire messed-up, whack day. The tender, safe embrace of Nick Welby could become an addictive habit.

  Hollie pushed out of Nick’s arms when she heard the office door open. Davis, the boss’ jacked boyfriend, strode into the office. He looked like hell. His blue oxford shirt, his gray slacks, and thick, black hair were rumpled. His eyes were dull and bloodshot.

  Talley, who had been sleeping in front of the desk, sat up. Hollie rushed past Nick to get to Davis. “Is something wrong? Is she worse?”

  Davis was tense, his muscles clenched under his wrinkled clothing. “She is fine. And is going to stay fine, if I’ve anything to say about it.”

  Hollie stared at the agitated male, all pumped up with angry adrenaline. He looked primed for a fight, not overcome with worry.

  Davis inspected Nick as if he might take him on.

  Hollie stepped in front of Nick to protect him from Davis and his seething, black mood.

  Nick chuckled and pulled Hollie to his side. “You don’t have to protect me, but it’s very sweet.

  “I’m Nick Welby.” Nick offered his right hand while keeping Hollie pinned against him.

  “You’re the military guy, right?” Davis inspected Nick’s shredded body and then shook his hand. “You’ll do fine.”

  “Davis, what is going on? You’re crazy intense even for you… You’re being all—” Hollie shut her mouth abruptly when Davis’ dark brows flattened.

  “Someone tampered with Grayce’s brakes. Her car accident was no accident.”

  A combustible mix of fear and rage shot through her. She pulled away from Nick. “What the f?” She reverted to her unnerving habit of cracking her knuckles. “Who would want to hurt Dr. Walters? She is the gentlest woman on the planet.”

  Davis had again gone all dark and brooding. He paced in the tiny anteroom. His angry, tense strides raised the emotional chaos firing through her.

  “I’m not sure yet, but I’ve got to believe this had something to do with the missing women. She’s gotten too close.”

  Nick pulled Hollie against him. “I can help.”

  Davis turned and inspected Nick again. “Grayce has told me that you’re spending a lot of time in the office…” Davis stopped whatever he was about to say and looked at her. “Working with Hollie on the Internet angle, right? And since you’re here, can you keep an eye on Grayce when I can’t be here? She’ll also have Mitzi with her.”

  Hollie bristled at being overlooked. Didn’t she count in Davis’ plan? Hollie wasn’t about to be left out. She had grown up taking on men who preyed on innocents who were weaker. “I can guard the boss. Remember my aikido.”

  Davis’ lips curved into a half smile. The little hairs on her neck prickled at his amusement. She pushed away from Nick’s side. “Listen, Davis, I can handle myself in a fight.”

  “I’m sure you can.” Davis shrugged his shoulders. “You can help Nick.”

  “Help Nick!” Fury raced through her body. She might have to take down Davis, although he was one big sucker.

  “You and Nick work it out. I’ve got to get back to Grayce.”

  Hollie didn’t like the slippery way Davis handled her involvement. But, what the F…, what did he know of her abilities or street fighting? He was raised in a fancy-schmantzy house like his aunt’s.

  Talley, as if understanding all the drama was over, lay on her side and went back to sleep.

  Davis headed toward the door. “Hollie’s got all my numbers. I’ll be in touch.” He paused with his hand on the doorknob. “Watch your back. I don’t like the feeling I’m getting about this perp.”

  Chapter Eleven

  Nick was pissed. He tried to give Davis a break, but not when it came to dissing Hollie. Davis was wired because his woman had been threatened. Nick would be as unreasonable if anyone had injured Hollie. He needed to rein in those terminator feelings. Right now, he had to deal with one red-hot, worried woman whose feelings had been hurt.

  He understood how Hollie rolled. With her feet parted, her cute chin thrust forward, she was ready to kick ass. Her fighting-mad stance wasn’t fooling him, although she was doing a darn good job of hiding her hurt and fear. She was battle ready, and he was the only man left standing.

  “Hollie.”

  She spun around as if ready to lash out. “What?”

  If she could focus her fire on him…sexually. Maybe they’d get to that later—a man could hope. He refrained from smiling, knowing she might decide to grind him into mincemeat.

  “You know I’ll do whatever it takes to keep Dr. Walters safe.” It’d be foolhardy to add, “And I plan to keep you safe, too,” since he could possibly get hurt. Obviously Hollie didn’t buy the idea of a man’s protection. He guessed that was because she had never had the protection and love of a man worthy of her.

  “You’re upset,” he said calmly.

  “Really? You guess? I’m supposed to let some macho man protect her?”

  He inched his way closer to her. He couldn’t touch her yet. “You can’t take that stuff about Davis seriously. He was all revved up, doing his caveman shit because the woman he loves was threatened.”

  Hollie cracked her knuckles. “He doesn’t even know you, but he looked at all your ripped muscles and thought you’d be better than I was in taking care of the boss.”

  He inched a little closer. He was approaching touching range. “Honey, that’s a guy thing—men sizing each other up.”

  She snorted. And he wanted to kiss her. How crazy was that? “Dr. Walters must have told him about my training.”

  Obviously stressed from this morning’s news of the car accident, she hadn’t taken the usual time with her appearance. Her hair was in a crooked ponytail, she had applied no makeup, her lips were pale, and she had on a white girly T-shirt with a cow and squirrel. She looked young and sweet, and all he wanted to do was take her in his arms and hold her, take away all her hurt.

  He shrugged his shoulders, trying to appear nonchalant. “I was goi
ng to be here to work with you on the chat rooms, so no big deal, right?”

  Her almond-shaped eyes got flinty. “Sure, whatever.” She started to walk around him to get to the desk.

  He grasped her arms. He felt her smooth, soft skin underneath her T-shirt. “Talk to me. I want us to work as a team. We’ve been doing great working on the chat rooms, haven’t we?” He couldn’t resist running his hands up her arms. And she didn’t bolt away. “We can guard Dr. Walters together.”

  Her lashes lifted, treating him to the sight of her confused dark eyes. “How?” Her voice was breathless, and it took all his self-control not to kiss her. That would start fireworks, but not the ones he was hoping for.

  “You tell me. You know Dr. Walters’ schedule. You can coordinate when you or Davis aren’t going to be available, and I can fill in.”

  Her pinched eyebrows and her puckered lips said she wasn’t believing it. He wanted to run his thumb along her disgruntled forehead and full, pouty lips.

  With Hollie this close, her scent filling his head, he spoke with more ease than he was feeling. “You do agree our focus has to be on the chat rooms to find Maddy since it’s the way to keep Dr. Walters safe.”

  “But who would want to harm the boss?” Her voice was low and pleading, like a small child trying to understand the unfair workings of the world. “She heals animals.”

  He pulled her closer and tucked the errant curl that had fallen out of her ponytail. “I don’t know, but you and I are going to do our best to find them. Okay?”

  She looked up at him, her dark eyes velvety with emotion. “Okay.”

  He soothed the pulse on her pale throat with his knuckles.

  Her pink lips parted in a shallow breath, and immediately he was lost.

  “Honey, don’t hurt me.”

  She looked up at him stunned. And he bent to kiss her. He touched his lips against hers, allowing her to pull away. She had startled when he’d first touched her, but now she stood still, waiting, not exactly reciprocating but not trying to emasculate him.

  He pulled her tight against him. And pressed harder against her softness to open up to him. She was still. Frozen. Not kissing him back, as if she didn’t know what to do, but not withdrawing. She kept her lips on his and let him explore her lips with his tongue. Realizing Hollie might not be the experienced woman he had assumed, he pulled himself back from immersing his tongue into her hot, wet mouth.

  Instead, he kissed her gently, savoring her sweet taste, making promises with his mouth to cherish her. With her soft breasts crushed against him, he could feel every small breath and gasp. She’d had a rough day, and he wouldn’t take advantage of her vulnerability. She was all about control. He’d never hurt or embarrass her.

  He pulled back from her lips and placed little kisses on her closed eyes, then along her jaw, and finally on her pert nose.

  “We’re a good team, aren’t we?” He rubbed his thumb against her swollen lips and righted her lopsided ponytail.

  Hollie’s eyes had softened; her warrior posture had faded.

  She looked so unsure of herself. It swelled his heart with tenderness. But Hollie wouldn’t like any softness to show.

  “Is there anything else you need to do here?”

  She looked so befuddled that he couldn’t resist giving her one last gentle kiss on her warm lips.

  She leaned against him, and it took all his control not to kiss her the way he had fantasized—his tongue thrusting in and out, imitating his deepest desires. Instead, he rubbed her back, resisting the urge to grab her tight tush and press her against his erection.

  He lessened his hold on her and continued to run his hands back and forth, and then he stroked her ponytail. Soothing her, he’d definitely gotten her mind off Davis, although he tortured himself in the process.

  “Honey, why don’t we go to Milsteads? I bet you skipped breakfast.”

  He waited, and then pushed her chin up with his fist. “Did you eat breakfast?”

  She shook her head. The color on her face and neck receded as she gained control of herself.

  He watched her recover and waited for the tongue-lashing, but she surprised him.

  “I am hungry. I was in a total rush this morning to get to the office.”

  He didn’t plan to give up the ground he had gained in penetrating her defenses, in allowing him in her space. He brushed her arms. “Why don’t you get your laptop? We’ll work at Milsteads after we’ve eaten.

  Chapter Twelve

  Hollie had settled into her usual table in Milsteads Coffee Shop. Everything was familiar—same randy dudes and Eric working as barista. Familiar, but nothing was the same. Had she been transported to an alien world? Had she time-travelled into someone else’s life?

  Nick’s muscular thigh was pressed against hers. She could feel his warmth through her blue jeans and smell his scent of pine and musk.

  She pretended to be engaged in the drivel of the morons on the website, but her heart, head, and world were spinning. From underneath her eyelashes, she kept gazing at his strong profile, trying to comprehend how her resistance to all men had been magically melted away by Nick Welby.

  She peeked at the way his snowy-white T-shirt hugged his broad chest and his sky-blue eyes darted back and forth on the screen. He was bent over his computer, and his thick fingers moved rapidly over the keyboard, but every so often, he would lean over and rub her neck or playfully pull on her ponytail.

  Hollie Thomas playing cozy with a stud muffin—none of her friends would believe it. Why would they? She didn’t. And she didn’t believe how much she liked Nick touching her.

  “Have you seen this player Pony Poo Poo?”

  Lost in her reveries, she startled when Nick leaned into her and turned his computer to show her an avatar of a unicorn shooting rainbows out of its butt.

  “My sisters wouldn’t like their childhood pals being mocked. They were really into their Little Ponies. Did you play with Little Ponies? Comb their tails? It was kind of crazy that my sisters, who had real horses to groom and comb, still enjoyed the dolls.”

  “I never got into the ponies. I played outside a lot.” She didn’t mention she’d done it to avoid her parents’ customers.

  “You must have been such a cute little girl.” He stared at her face. “I’m trying to imagine you in pigtails.”

  There was a time when her mother would braid her hair with ribbons, but that was before the meth. Hollie didn’t want to think or talk about her childhood. “It might be time to hack into the forums and identify Earthbro by his user ID.”

  That got Nick off her whack childhood. His posture got all tight and stiff, and he shifted his leg away from hers. Although she missed the heat and pressure, she refused to edge closer to him.

  He turned and faced her. “You have those skills?”

  “Yeah.” She shrugged. “Don’t you?”

  He shook his head. “No. I’m a proficient gamer but not a hacker.”

  Of course, he wouldn’t do anything dishonorable like hacking. He was a soldier. He believed in law and order and respect for the flag.

  He lowered his voice. “You’re amazing.”

  She was more than taken aback. She had assumed he’d be ready to report her to the FBI. Not that she had ever done anything that criminal.

  The way he smiled at her, his eyes light with admiration, sent sensations of ice and heat over every inch of her skin. He leaned closer, about to kiss her. Without a will to resist, she inched closer.

  “My, my. What do we have here?”

  Hollie startled at the sound of James’ voice. “Oh, my God. James!” She jumped up out of the chair and into his arms. He grabbed her by the shoulders and held her tightly. He whispered into her ear, “How are you holding up, runt?”

  James, the boss’ best friend, and she had become very close over the past year. He was outrageous and, like Hollie, hid all of his more sensitive feelings behind sarcasm and cynicism. But unlike Hollie, James was sophisticate
d and definitely dramatic. Without either subtlety or sophistication, she was hard grit and filled with a heap of anger.

  She now savored the comfort of her friend. Snuggling closer, she whispered back, “Is she really okay? You’re not lying to me, are you?”

  “Lie to you? When you’d come after me and kick my ass…”

  Hollie snorted.

  He pulled on her ponytail. “Remember, we’re working on your social graces. No snorting or cracking your knuckles.”

  “What the f—”

  “And no four-letter words. Grayce is fine. A headache, that’s it. And she needs to rest.”

  Not realizing how enormous the strain of the day had been until she had James’ reassurances, she let out a big sigh. She turned in James’ arms to look for Nick.

  “We’re being rude.” James released her and put his arm around her shoulder, anchoring him next to her side as he studied every inch of Nick’s hard, sculpted body.

  “And you…must be Nick. Hollie, darling, you’ve been holding out on me. Why didn’t you tell me that Nick—”

  Hollie stomped on James’ foot before he could say something outrageously sexual and blatantly offensive.

  Nick’s face was strained, his eyebrows had drawn into an angry line, and his jaw was clenched tight. Oh, shit. Talley was standing at attention next to Nick, obviously responding to Nick’s high-alert death threat. How could she communicate that James was gay and more like a brother than a love interest?

  She pulled away from James’ side and touched Nick’s arm. “Nick, this is James. I’ve told you about him. He’s the boss’ best friend, remember?”

  James ran his hand through his dark, perfectly coiffed hair. “You and Grayce sure like the serious, brooding types. He’s not going to injure me, is he?”

  Nick shifted his weight and, without any humor, said, “He’s thinking about it.”

  Hollie now rolled her eyes and patted Nick on his chest. “Nick wouldn’t hurt anyone. He’s a gentle guy.”

  James laughed. “Darlin’, I think you just insulted Nick. I’m not the possessive type, but I’ve a feeling Nick might be.”