Branded

by Cindy Stark

  * * *

  Xander had done a fairly good job furnishing his home, Nicole thought as she entered the large, rock structure. Blues and greens contrasted with dark, walnut wood furnishings and seemed to bring in the outside colors of the sky, river and trees, leaving the house with a tranquil, dreamy quality. Her surroundings coaxed a sigh from deep within, and her stress level dropped another notch.

  He tugged Stormy’s leash from her hand and removed it from her dog’s collar, allowing Stormy free access to his place which she immediately took advantage of. Her dog danced around, sniffing the carpet before she dashed down the hall.

  Xander gestured with a nod of his head, indicating Nicole should let her dog be and follow him.

  The sizable kitchen was impressive. A dark wooden table and matching cabinets combined with several lush potted ferns gave a woodsy feel to the spotless room. “Your kitchen is cleaner than mine.” She gave a little chuckle, but made a mental note that if she ever decided to invite him to her place, she needed to do some deep cleaning first.

  “I have a lady who comes in once a week to tidy up.” He slid her jacket from her shoulders and draped it across the back of a white leather bar stool, leaving her very aware of exactly how tall he was, and giving her another delicious whiff of his earthy cologne.

  “A cleaning lady? Now, I’m really jealous.”

  He gave her an indulgent smile as he removed his overcoat and slung it across another bar stool. “Don’t be. It’s a tradeoff for putting in too many hours at the office. As I was building my career, I always worried about money. About the same point I started to have enough money, time became the hot commodity.”

  She watched with fascination as he shrugged out of his suit coat and slipped the tie from around his neck.

  His fingers deftly unbuttoned his cuffs as he spoke. “Can I get you a glass of wine before I change out of these clothes?”

  An appreciative sigh for the fine sight in front of her was halfway out of her lungs before she changed it to an embarrassed cough. “That would be nice.”

  “Red or white?” An interested smile tilted his lips.

  She matched his expression. “White, please.” There was a definite undercurrent passing between them that was impossible to ignore. It was much too early to determine if it was anything other than a spark, but the flash of energy she experienced was addicting.

  Earlier, when he’d approached her at the coffee shop, she’d been certain she couldn’t possibly be interested in someone while her life raged out of control. Now, she wasn’t so sure.

  He removed a bottle from the fridge and poured her a glass of wine. After setting the bottle on the counter, he reached up and undid the first button on his shirt. She was sure he hadn’t meant anything by it, probably didn’t realize how removing his tie, undoing his buttons affected her, but his casual moves sent her mind in motion. She tried to hold her gaze to his face, but failed and couldn’t resist peeking at what he’d uncovered.

  “If you’re okay for a few minutes, I’ll be right back.”

  She nodded, not exactly meeting his gaze as she picked up her wine glass and sipped. As he headed out of the room, she eyed him from head to toe. Nice. Very nice.

  Wow. Life could sure throw some curve balls. One minute she was being questioned by the police. Next she was sitting in Xander’s house, and her legal issues were definitely not the first thing on her mind. Perhaps she should have her head examined.

  When he returned a few minutes later with Stormy trotting after him, it was as though he’d morphed into a different person. Gone was the button-down shirt and sexy tie. His professional clothes had been replaced by jeans and a tight-fitting gray t-shirt that outlined his chest and an oh-so-very-nice set of biceps. She probably stared longer than was acceptable, but she was quite fine blaming her behavior on the wine she’d consumed.

  She’d downed the contents of her glass while she’d been lost in thoughts of him and of the disaster hanging over her head. While she didn’t use alcohol as a way to hide from life, she had to admit she was feeling a whole lot better.

  “Change of plans,” he said, refilling her wine glass and filling his. He extended a hand toward her.

  She took his offering and stood, feeling the tiniest bit wobbly. “Oh?”

  He guided her to a back door that led from the kitchen to a shady garden patio outside. Stormy dashed between them, and began her investigation of his yard. The trees and his house blocked most of the wind, leaving a mild breeze to swirl a few dead leaves on the bricks. “I hope you’ll forgive me. I decided not to cook. Instead, I ordered pasta from a little Italian restaurant down the street.”

  “Oh, I see. Bait-and-switch.”

  He dragged two wrought-iron chairs with leaf-patterned cushions away from a ring of chairs that circled a fire pit and placed them next to a table, indicating she should sit. “How do you mean?” He claimed the seat next to her, keeping his golden tiger eyes trained on her.

  She took a sip of wine before placing her glass on the table. “You bring me here under the guise of a home-cooked meal. Once I’m settled, you pull the old bait-and-switch routine.” If he didn’t stop looking at her like that, she was positive she’d melt.

  “Trust me. When you taste Mama Maria’s linguini with chicken piccata, you won’t know the difference. Besides, can you blame me for wanting to focus more on you than cooking? I’d much rather be staring into your beautiful green eyes than garlic cloves and pasta.”

  A feeling of lighthearted happiness bubbled inside until it spilled onto her lips. “A deceiver and a charmer. I imagine a lot of women would fall for that one.”

  His eyes zeroed in on hers. “Would you?”

  She inhaled, trying to keep her concentration. “I don’t know. I guess we’ll see.”

  “I guess we will.” He watched her over the top of the rim of his glass as he took a sip of wine.

  Her heart stuttered before dashing into overdrive. She knew he was flirting, knew these were probably pick-up lines he’d used on many unsuspecting women before, but she didn’t care. His words, the sexy way he spoke, left her feeling more alive than she had in a long time. “Thank you.”

  He arched his brows. “For what?”

  “For inviting me here. For letting me escape into your haven of solitude. For flirting with me so outrageously so I can forget my problems for a while.”

  He snorted then. “What? You think I’m doing this for you?” A spark of attraction flared in his eyes. “Believe me. Having you here is purely selfish on my part.”

  Another smile lit on her lips as a pleasant warmth spread through her body. “I don’t even know what to say to that.”

  “You don’t have to say anything. Just sit there and let me pamper you a while. You need it.”

  Chapter Seven

  Xander closed his front door after generously tipping the delivery driver from Mama Maria’s. The tantalizing scent of garlic filled the air as he moved from his foyer to the kitchen. He gathered plates and utensils, before glancing out his back door to the woman who occupied a seat on his patio.

  Now that Nicole had agreed to see him, it seemed as though she’d dropped her shield. He’d been prepared to do whatever it took to win her over, but flirting with her, making small talk had come far easier than he’d expected. He only hoped he wasn’t overdoing it. His whole line about not cooking so he could look into her eyes was a little over the top, but she hadn’t seemed to mind. In truth, as he’d been changing his clothes, he’d realized if he were to cook a decent meal, he’d have to be focused on what he was doing as opposed to trying to read her expressions and learning when she might be telling the truth and might be lying.

  Then again, she did have beautiful eyes. Spending hours trying to figure her out wouldn’t be a hardship.

  In all actuality, he’d really scored when he’d picked up this assignment. Christian’s last job led him to pal around with a drug dealer who’d lost most of his teeth and had numerous sca
rs on his face from abusing drugs.

  Xander set the food containers on a tray with the plates and napkins and headed outside. Nicole glanced up as he joined her, the corners of her eyes turning up as she smiled. To describe her as beautiful had been an understatement.

  She stood and helped distribute plates and utensils as he opened the containers. “That smells wonderful,” she said, as she moved closer and peeked over his shoulder to see what each container held.

  The smallest brush of her breast caressed his arm, and suddenly every nerve inside him stood at attention. He shifted, moving out of her way, and handed a container to her. “Here, you can put the noodles on our plates if you’d like.” He needed to keep his focus on her crime and what her father had done to his.

  She took the plastic bowl and busied herself doing as he asked with no clue as to the kind of affect she had on him. Maybe working with a drug dealer had been the easier job after all.

  When they both had their plates and were settled again, he began his subtle interrogation. “Have you always lived in the Portland area?”

  She shrugged, not meeting his eyes. “I moved a lot when I was younger, but I’ve been in the area since my high school days.” She looked up at him and smiled. “How about you?”

  “I’ve been in Portland since college. Graduated from Portland State.”

  “I went to Pacific Northwest.”

  “The art school?”

  She twisted linguini on her fork and nodded. “I always wanted to be a graphic designer.”

  “How did you end up working for First Freedom then, especially in their finance area?”

  She rolled her eyes and shrugged. “They called me. Or a headhunter-type person did. Someone called, saying they’d gotten my information from the college alumni department, and they wanted someone who could be an administrative assistant slash graphic designer. It paid more than I was making at the time, so I said yes. In the end, they really didn’t have me do any graphic designing, just answering phones and mostly being a gopher for everyone in the department.” A sad expression crossed her face. “And now I don’t even have that.”

  If Xander didn’t know better, he’d feel sorry for the green-eyed witch. She certainly had the poor waif routine down well. “This must be impossibly tough for you.” Especially getting busted.

  She steeled her expression and sighed. “The tough part is going to be when I try to make a rent payment with no job.”

  He nodded, studying her, looking for any chink in her armor. There had to be something.

  He kept the conversation to small talk while they finished their meal, keeping her wineglass refilled and easing her into a nice relaxed state, but now it was time to dig a little deeper. “You mentioned you don’t have family to support you. Just an aunt.” He piled dishes and empty containers onto the tray. “Where is the rest of your family? Your parents?”

  She eyed him directly. “They’re both dead.”

  He already knew that, but the way she spoke, like she was warning him not to delve into that subject intrigued him. “What happened to them, if you don’t mind me asking?” He was never one to heed a warning.

  A quick flash of pain, real or fake, crossed her face. “It’s a long, not very happy story that I prefer not to think about.” She glanced at her watch. “Besides, I’ve taken enough of your time. I should go.”

  He’d hit a raw nerve, no doubt. She started to stand, and Stormy jumped to her feet, prepared to follow her. Xander placed a hand over Nicole’s. “Do you have to go now? I’m happy to drive you whenever you’re ready, but I’d really like it if you’d stay a while longer. This house can get pretty lonely at times.”

  She seemed to consider his request and then the tension left her shoulders. “I understand. My place can be kind of empty sometimes, too. Stormy helps.” She reached down and scratched her dog’s ear. “Maybe you should think about getting a dog? They’re great company, and it’s nice to have someone waiting for you at home.”

  The affection she had for her pup was genuine, that much he could tell. “Maybe I will.” He’d actually considered the idea off and on during the past year. “Maybe you could help me pick one out.”

  Her eyes brightened. “I’d love to. There’s a pet store not far from here that lets the local shelters bring in puppies on Saturdays to help find them homes. Have you thought about what breed you’d like to get? If you work long hours, you’ll want one that’s okay being left alone for long periods.” She glanced toward his back door. “Might want to consider getting a doggie door, too, so it won’t have accidents.”

  He couldn’t help but grin. She might be a multi-million dollar thief, but she definitely had a soft spot for animals. “I’d love a dog like Stormy. Australian Shepherd, right?”

  “That’s right.” She seemed impressed with his knowledge of canine breeds, which was a point in his favor. The more she liked him, the more likely she’d divulge information. “She’s a very good dog.” Stormy seemed to recognize that she was the subject of the conversation and barked as though to join in. Nicole rubbed her coat as Stormy’s tail thumped against the side of Nicole’s chair.

  “Tomorrow is Saturday.” Now that he’d found an in, he intended to exploit it. “Would you want to go then?”

  “Only if you’re not afraid to be seen with me in public. Might want to think about that after what happened at the coffee shop.”

  He caught her gaze and held it. “People don’t scare me.”

  She snorted. “I wish I could say the same. There’s at least one person out there who terrifies me.”

  He nodded, not knowing what else to say. If she’d been telling the truth, he would have been frightened for her. “I’m going to talk to my friend. Have him do some investigating.”

  “Who is he? Why is it you think he can help when the police haven’t been able to?”

  “He’s a former cop.” Or at least Sam would be at some point in the future. “He knows people. People who can look into things without being questioned.”

  She nodded, but didn’t seem completely convinced. “I suppose it’s worth a shot. At this point, I’ll take all the help I can get. Please make sure he keeps things above board, though. I don’t need any more trouble.”

  “Besides, if the police have you as a prime suspect, they might not be considering other avenues.”

  Her brows drew together in a frown. “That’s what my aunt said, too.”

  “Sounds like she’s a smart woman.”

  A wistful smile turned her lips. “She’s the best thing that ever happened to me. I hope this whole disaster I’ve become embroiled in doesn’t affect her too much.”

  “You said she’s been sick?”

  “She was in a serious car accident eight months ago. Broke both legs, and her recovery has been slow. She’s the strongest lady I’ve ever met, but she doesn’t need to be worrying about me.”

  A sliver of sympathy shot through him for the woman who’d raised the beauty sitting next to him. If she was an innocent bystander, then Nicole’s crimes were all the more heinous.

  A strong breeze rounded the side of his house sending the trees into a crazy dance, forcing them to drop more red and yellow leaves. He raised his gaze skyward, confirming the early evening light had been smothered by dark clouds.

  Nicole widened her eyes. “I think the storm is finally coming in.” A few splatters of rain punctuated her words.

  “I think you’re right. Perhaps we should move this party indoors.” He stood and picked up the tray.

  She followed suit, grabbing their glasses and rousing Stormy from her slumber at Nicole’s feet. “Thank you, Xander, but it’s time for me to go. I’ve drank more wine than I should have, and I’m sure you’re tired of hearing about my woes.”

  Damn it. “Are you sure?”

  The warm smile that tilted her lips, reached out to him, and he had to shield his heart. “I should go. I promised my aunt I’d call her, and it’s getting late.”

&nbs
p; “I’d be willing to brave another trip to the coffee shop and get you a latte.”

  “You’re definitely a man used to getting his way, aren’t you?”

  Was he? Her statement momentarily caught him off guard. “At least tell me I’ve charmed you enough for you to agree to go puppy shopping with me tomorrow. It is Saturday, and I’m sure cute, little puppies will do a much better job than me of keeping you distracted.”

  She seemed to consider his request and then nodded. “I’d love to.”

  * * *

  The windshield wipers moved back and forth, filling the quiet car with swishing sounds as Xander drove her home. Nicole supposed he was as lost in his thoughts as she was in hers.

  She was surprised how much their date had distracted her from the relentless nervous chatter she’d been burdened with since the questioning. Even when they’d talked about the theft, things hadn’t seemed quite so bad. Maybe having someone to talk with had helped more than she’d realized.

  He’d been the perfect date, attractive, attentive and enjoyable. She wasn’t so sure about his friend that he thought might help her. Having a complete stranger rooting around on her behalf seemed kind of shady, but she was certain whoever had really committed the crime was using every bit of arsenal available to stay undetected.

  “How do you suppose the person who really did steal the money was able to get into First Freedom’s building without being noticed? They have a video of me entering the building. Wouldn’t the real thief be on the video, too?”

  Xander shifted his gaze to her face for a quick moment before he refocused on the wet streets. “I would think so. Maybe that’s something my friend can look into.”

  She nodded. It couldn’t hurt to have several people viewing the video. “Do you think whoever did it worked there? It could be someone I know.”

  He turned the steering wheel as they reached an intersection near her home, his jacket rubbing against the leather seats of his car. “It does sound like an inside job. Do you know what kind of security they have besides cameras?”