He was a bit taken aback by the direct question and the sudden change of topic, and sought to clarify before he answered. The revelation that they’d been set up still had him reeling a bit. “Um…philosophically? Physically? I’m not quite sure what it is you’re asking.”
She smiled and dropped her gaze to her lap with pinkened cheeks. “I meant, here. Your family’s out east, your friends. Indianapolis just seems like an odd choice.”
He blew out a breath, relieved that her question was so simple to answer. “I like it here. I moved here to go to college, and it kinda grew on me. I still go back to the old neighborhood to visit, but this is home to me.”
Nahia finished her martini and tossed her hair back from her shoulder. “I get that. I guess being from here, I can’t imagine doing it voluntarily. Where’d you go to school?”
“BS and MS from IUPUI. I think the reason I tacked on the extra three years was because I liked the first four so much.”
When she laughed at his lame joke, he knew that even if the romantic aspect of this relationship didn’t work out, he would keep her in his life. “I went there for a business degree. I keep toying with the idea of getting my MBA, but I haven’t made up my mind yet one way or the other.” Before he could ask her why not, her eyes suddenly brightened and she reached for her purse. “I have something for you, I just remembered!”
“Okay?” He was still fairly dumbfounded at the conversational turns she took, like she was on two wheels and racing motocross.
After pulling a small tablet from her purse, she turned it on and moved her chair so that they were, again, shoulder to shoulder. He liked how that turned out last time, so he was hopeful.
She set it on the table between them, quickly opening applications. “Yeah, I went through the stuff from the other night. Thought you might be interested in my findings.”
“Oh, hell yes.” The weirdness of the other night was definitely worth getting to meet her, but her findings would count as a bonus. It was the scientist in him.
Nahia snickered at his quick agreement and pulled up several pictures, going through and explaining what was in them, the lighting and other pertinent scientific stuff. Nico didn’t care though, because the first one he saw from their sojourn to the kitchen with the strange footsteps and creepy feelings, had an image he was sure would be burned into his soul. Full-bodied if you didn’t count the legs, a man, middle-aged, white, in a dress shirt of some kind, and a baleful glare straight into the camera. If he’d seen it anywhere else, if he hadn’t been there, he would have never believed… “Holy Christ. Are you serious?”
She nodded vigorously. “Oh yeah, and there is more, so much more.” She proceeded to run through video of an inexplicable mist that walked in front of the camera accompanied by footsteps, more pictures, and finally the audio.
“I know you’re here. I can feel you, and I’m assuming you can feel me, too. I’d like to talk to you.” The earnestness in her voice always got to him. He remembered being confused by the way she spoke as if she’d actually expected a response. From the dead.
“Don’t…want…to talk.”
Nico’s jaw fell open as their waiter reappeared with their entrees. Nahia and her chair moved quickly back to their spot across the small table from him as they received their food. The devilish grin she wore was vexing. “The dead talk like William Shatner?”
His question caught her as she was sipping her drink, and it appeared to be a fight to keep all the contents in her head. She wiped her mouth daintily on the napkin from her lap and gave him an evil look that had him laughing outright. After she composed herself, she grabbed her fork. “Damn, you were almost wearing that.”
He, too, dug into his plate. “Totally worth it to see the look on your face.”
“Brat.”
The conversation became sparse as they enjoyed their dinner of cheese, marinara, and pasta as far as the eye could see. If Nico was trying to sweep her off her feet, Nahia thought he could definitely do worse.
“You know,” she gestured toward the building behind them with a forkful of cannelloni, “Ianucci’s is rumored to be haunted.”
He snorted and cut into his chicken without looking up at her. “Do tell.”
She shrugged, waiting until she was done chewing to respond. “I don’t know the whole story, but apparently the upstairs is haunted by a male spirit. I heard it from another paranormal researcher.”
Nico chuckled and took a sip of his drink. “That makes sense, actually. Mr. I. put his whole heart into this place, so it stands to reason it would be a good place for his soul, too.”
And there it was again, the easy acceptance and understanding that set him apart from most people. This was not a part of her life that she shared with everyone. She wasn’t comfortable telling them about the things she’s seen and heard, and being on the receiving end of the questions and looks they gave her. Yet, with him, he didn’t look at her like she was some kind of carnival freak, she was just another person, and damn, but she could get used to that.
When the waiter returned with an offer of dessert, they both declined, and really, she was so full, blinking was a chore. They argued over the bill, but she let Nico win, since he did ask to take her out, and when they walked to the car, she stretched, feeling the lethargy of a truly great meal.
“So what now?” When he raised an eyebrow, she shrugged. “I mean, it’s kinda late for a movie.”
The slow grin that spread across his face warmed her in spite of the summer night. “I got a plan.” He opened the door for her put her in the car before running around to the driver’s side.
“Do I get to know the plan?” she asked as he turned on the engine. The radio came on playing Frankie Valli’s Can’t Take My Eyes Off Of You.
His grin only grew. “Not yet. You’ll get it soon enough.”
She would have questioned him further, but they were out in traffic and suddenly singing along to the song at the top of their lungs with the windows down. It was something silly, something she normally did by herself, but it was great to share that with him. They rolled through downtown, the lights making the whole world glitter as he ducked onto a side street off Senate and they were suddenly in the parking lot of a hotel. Modern architecture, at least a block long and maybe three stories, it advertised that each room was its own suite.
“Um… I hate to be picky…” she started. The date was going well, but…a hotel seemed a bit…hasty. Not that she was necessarily opposed, but one kiss wasn’t exactly… Her train of thought was interrupted by his snickering. “Yes?”
He got out of the car, still laughing, and came around to the passenger side. “Yeah, we’re just using their parking lot. But I do have to admit, I like where your head’s at.”
Nahia’s cheeks caught fire with a blush that left her lightheaded. She opened her mouth to refute his assertion, tried a couple times, finally settling on walking next to him in silence with his hand on the small of her back as he directed her to a set of concrete stairs. He chuckled the whole time.
The bottom of the stairs opened to the Canal, the jewel of downtown. A little waterway full of fountains and bridges, it started up by the medical school north of 10th Street, and then went all the way down past the NCAA headquarters to run along the White River. She’d been there more than once, for the Diabetes Walk, the St. Patrick’s Day parade, and sometimes just to clear her mind and be out in the sunshine, but she had to admit, it was a different animal at night.
During the day, the bridge, her favorite but he had no way of knowing that, was a beautiful homage to one of the many footbridges in Venice, a place she’d never been, but definitely planned to see. Concrete steps and wrought iron sides, it had grayed in the weather, and ivy was staking a claim as it wound from the west side of the base up to almost the middle of the arch, but it was gorgeous nonetheless. Not to mention the two fountains on either side of the courtyards at the base of each footing.
The spectacular view in the d
aytime gave way to a resolutely romantic view at night. Lights in the fountain and underneath the bridge made the water of the canal sparkle, the ivy became dark and mysterious, and the sound of the waterfall lent to an atmosphere of cozy solitude, like they were the only two people there.
“You like?” he asked as he nudged her out of her stunned state.
“It’s gorgeous. I don’t think I’ve ever been out here at night. It’s amazing.” She wandered over to the fountain near them, enjoying the peaceful sound of the water falling and the glitter of the partially oxidized pennies at the bottom of the turbulent water.
She heard him approach from behind her on the flagstone, so his hand brushing hers as they watched the fountain wasn’t startling. What was, was how well her hand fit in his, fingers linked together, palms pressed to one another. His warmth flowed into her, leaving her with a feeling of peacefulness and safety she didn’t question, and didn’t even want to.
He tugged her hand to get her attention, a mysterious smile hovering on his lips. “C’mere, I got something to show you.” They walked together to the bridge and were on the third step when he stopped and faced her. “You trust me?”
“I…guess so?” She didn’t mean to sound unsure, but it was an odd question given their location, and more than a little concerning.
His quiet laughter greeted her answer. “Okay. Then close your eyes.”
She narrowed her eyes, watching him as close as she could without a microscope and a federal warrant. He merely smiled and waited until she complied. Nahia felt him move closer to her, changing the hand he held hers with while placing the other on her waist. He completely surrounded her, and she had to admit she liked it.
When they got to the apex of the bridge, he stopped and turned her around without saying anything.
“If I get wet, you will not be able to run fast enough,” she warned him as he guided her hands to the wrought iron railing. It wasn’t that she honestly expected him to toss her from the top of the bridge into the water, but she was covering all her bases.
The heat of him at her back sent a tiny thrill through her that she tried to stifle, especially when he put a hand on her waist barely below the hem of her shirt, a touch that was casually intimate and breathtaking all at once. She gasped at the light touch of the fingers of his other hand brushing her neck as he moved her hair to bare it. That was nothing compared to the feel of his breath on her neck as he spoke.
“Surprise.”
Nahia opened her eyes to see the moon in her full splendor peeking out from behind the top of Regions Tower, the tallest structure in the city. It was flanked on either side by the other skyscrapers that rose like turrets on a keep, forming a solid demarcation between the physical and the celestial. The earth and the sky. The buildings were studded with lights from various offices with their employees still hard at work, a pale imitation of the stars that the city lights all but obliterated, but it would do in a pinch.
“I come out here some nights,” he whispered, his lips barely brushing the shell of her ear, “when I need to be reminded that there is beauty in this world.” He then nuzzled the spot behind her ear, inhaling deeply before sighing happily and pressing the tiniest of kisses to the juncture of her neck and shoulder.
Nahia didn’t bother to hide the effect his touch had on her that time. The skyline was incredible, but paled mightily in comparison to the man with her, kissing his way up her neck and rendering her speechless.
She turned to face him, winding her arms around his neck as she pulled him down to kiss her. He touched her face, always amazed at how soft she was and wondering if she was that soft all over, tilting her chin up for a better angle as she offered him her lips.
Nico wound his fingers in her hair as their tongues teased and tangled, loving both its silkiness and its possessiveness as the strands curled around his fingers attempting to keep him in place as Nahia pressed closer against him. The hand he’d kept at her waist slid up, easily bypassing the bottom of her flowy black shirt and he felt her whole body surge against him as he spread his hand over the unbearably supple skin of her lower back.
His body reacted predictably, the feel of her against him sizzling through his nerves at lightning speed, and he did his damnedest to devour her with his kiss. When they parted, it was only for a moment of sweet oxygen before he sealed his mouth over hers again. Her taste robbed him of anything but a desire for more. More kisses, touches, and sighs, it was all he could do to keep them both upright and clothed since they were, in fact, in the middle of a public foot bridge in the middle of downtown.
He pulled back, resting his forehead against hers, his lungs burning and he could not be moved to care.
“I don’t suppose you live in one of those apartments,” she remarked around the tiny gasps that were making him nuts. She inclined her head toward the apartments behind her and beyond them on the other side of the bridge.
He shook his head and brushed the hairs back from her face that had been picked up and blown by a sudden light breeze. The moon was now bright and full, though her light showed the silhouettes of the heavy clouds that would eventually overtake her. “Your place?”
“10th and New Jersey,” she answered instantly. Her eyes glittered in the moonlight and she shook her head to release her hair to the breeze with a contented smile on her face.
It was close, closer by several miles than his place, but before he started down that road, he had to know she was on the same page. “I don’t want you to think… It wasn’t my intention to…that is, I didn’t bring you out here to…” Every sentence he started was completely wrong, attesting to the blood and subsequent oxygen going other places in his body than his brain.
“Seduce me?” Her grin blossomed into the one he’d seen at dinner, a cross between amusement and devilish glee. “Fine. I didn’t want to have to do this, but you leave me no choice.”
Nahia pulled him down for a too brief kiss, her hand wandering from his neck down to his chest. He held his breath as her hand drifted lower and lower until it settled at his belt, hooking into the belt loop where his badge normally rode. She looked so serious as she followed the path of her hand’s caress with her eyes, until they, too, stopped at his belt. “Do what?” He was barely breathing, the idea of being with her overloading his brain.
“If you take me home,” she started, tugging gently with each word. Her eyes suddenly shifted to his, ensnaring him in their mysterious depths. “I can seduce you.”
He blinked at her, not able to form a cogent response, but he didn’t need to be told twice. They were off the bridge and heading back to the car at almost double time. Even in a rush, he still opened the door for her, more a curse than a benefit as she paused to pull him into another kiss as she raked her fingernails gently down his chest before she took her seat. She was going to be the death of him. If he needed any more proof, that did it.
The ride to Nahia’s house was completed with a speed that should have set records, and Nico’s hand on her knee. Not moving, just warming her through the denim, she lay her hand over his, gently running her nails up and down the sensitive skin of his inner wrist. They didn’t speak for the whole journey.
She actually appreciated the relative quiet, save the faint strains of music from the radio, because it gave her a chance to think. She wasn’t going to change her mind, nor was she unduly influenced by the fact that their date had ended in the parking lot of a nice hotel, but she wanted to work through her reasons in her mind so there weren’t any questions when she woke up the next day.
Maybe it was the moonlight, maybe it was the kiss on the bridge, hell, maybe it was the pasta, but the connection to him she felt was real and she wanted to explore it. Right now, and hopefully without clothing. The trepidation she’d felt after dinner was gone, evaporated in the face of the blistering heat between them. Maybe it was just a physical attraction, but everything about them, from the first encounter until now, felt different than anything else she’d experience
d.
He stopped in her designated parking space behind her building. It was a spot off a tiny street lined by a bunch of cars. No one really knew the postage stamp-sized lot existed unless they lived there, since the ground floor of the front of the building was a yoga studio and a relatively funky thrift store/café.
The engine died, leaving them in somewhat anxious silence. Nico turned to her, his hand on her knee moving only to lace with her fingers. “Um… Will your car be okay? I mean, we could—”
His voice died at her slow grin. “My car will be fine.” She reached over and pulled the keys from the ignition, depositing them gently on his knee. “I don’t plan on going anywhere else tonight.”
Nico watched her in the dark confines of the car, his eyes moving over her like a silent caress before he got out of the car and came over to open her door. They didn’t speak until she led him up two flights of stairs.
“Third floor walk-up? Damn, I feel like I’m back home.” He didn’t even sound winded.
She laughed, but didn’t comment, since it was taking all her concentration to get her keys in the lock. He never left her side, and she could feel his heat and presence at her back as she finally gained entry to her place.
Nahia didn’t even get a chance to hit the lights or hang up her keys, because as soon as the door closed and locked, he was there, in front of her, hands braced on either side of her head. He nuzzled her nose and softly brushed his lips back and forth over hers as her belongings slipped unnoticed to the floor of the entryway. She raised her hand to his neck to play in his soft black hair as he deepened the kiss inch by infinitesimal inch.
His hand moved from the door to her shoulder before gliding down to her waist to toy with the hem of her shirt. Her moan at the feel of his fingertips on the skin of her waist, their heat not stopping at her back this time, but lazily trailing up until he cupped her breast.
Nico swallowed her moan with his insistent kiss, their tongues dancing as his thumb skated back and forth across the stiff peak of her nipple. When they broke for air, he immediately began to kiss and nibble down her jaw to the sensitive spot just below her ear. His shaky, labored breathing matched her own, and the feel of his stubble scraping against her delicate skin made her knees weak.
Dead and Disorderly (Behind the Blue Line Series Book 2) Page 6