by Caryn Carter
"Before I forget, my security guy is over at your house. He's done some preliminary work, but there are still a few things I need to discuss with you before he actually begins."
He sounded less optimistic than he had last night. Her spirits drooped. "Is there a problem?"
"No, not really. Certainly nothing that can't be resolved." She heard the sound of a buzzer, he asked her to wait, and his voice came back muffled. "It's my man at your house. He needs some parts numbers. I'll let you know more tonight. Just don't worry. There's absolutely nothing that can't be taken care of. I'm an expert. Trust me."
She hung up the phone with his words echoing in her brain. Trust him? It was herself she didn't trust. Every promise she'd made since Kevin had smashed her world to bits came rushing back. Memories of how easily she'd been fooled into thinking that what she and Kevin had was special. That she'd been special to him.
Nick Fuller had a way of making her feel the same way. Special. He said he liked the way she looked. That she was good enough to eat. Even if he didn't really mean what he said, it had been nice of him to tell her so. She hadn't had a compliment like that from a man for a long time. She hadn't wanted one from a man for a long time.
Every instinct warned her she'd be playing with fire if she got involved with Nick Fuller. He could burn her bad. She knew she shouldn't allow herself to even entertain such a thought, but it was already too late. He was determined to keep her out of harm's way.
She wondered if he had any idea that the greatest danger he'd have to protect her from was himself.
* * * *
Nick ended his phone conversation with Bella and knew he was in deep trouble when he was immediately struck by a sharp attack of guilt.
She was nothing like he'd imagined her to be. Soft, instead of hard. Gentle, instead of rough. Trusting, instead of suspicious. He felt like crap. Even his years on the force hadn't prepared him for this kind of criminal.
Criminal? Is that what he really thought she was? He reminded himself that everything pointed in that direction. That he'd set his moral compass in her direction the day Vince had approached him with the opportunity to bring closure to Debbie's death by catching Kevin red-handed.
Could Nick be that far off course? No, goddammit, he wasn't. He was just having a severe case of the hots for Arabella Quinn. If he wasn't careful he could find himself seduced by his own seduction of her. And that would be damn dangerous.
He went into the outer office to get the special delivery envelope Inez, his secretary, had told him over the intercom had arrived. The envelope that was the contrived call he'd lied to Bella about. He tossed the envelope on his desk unopened, walked back to the outer office and told Inez not to expect him back before mid-afternoon.
Somewhere between the beginning and the end of his conversation with Bella, he'd decided he didn't want to wait until that night to see her again, and he knew just the excuse he'd use to show up at her office, unexpectedly.
Thirty minutes later, a bag of Chinese take-out in his hand, he opened the door to the Let Yourself Go Travel Agency.
They saw each other at the same instant.
She stopped writing, her pencil poised in mid-air.
He almost lost his stride, but pride, and the need to impress her, drove him forward.
He didn't have to worry about whether or not he'd done the right thing. Her broadening smile as he approached, told him he'd made a good decision. That he'd scored more points with her. Releasing a short burst of pent up air, he set the white paper bag in the center of her desk.
"Ten bucks to a dollar says you haven't had lunch yet."
Color rose in her cheeks and her smile turned into a sheepish grin.
He grinned back, proud of himself for having been right on the money. "Fifty bucks to a dollar says you had no intention of eating lunch at all."
Her color deepened. She gave him a you-already-know-me-too-well look and reached for the bag as she rose.
"The lunch room's in back," she said, and nodded for him to follow. She looked over her shoulder to be certain he was behind her. She needn't have worried. He had no intention of leaving before she finished every last grain of shrimp fried rice.
* * * *
The lunchroom was small, with only enough room for a sink, a small refrigerator, a counter top microwave, and a table that accommodated three chairs.
Bella ushered Nick to the outer chair that afforded the most leg room and went to the cabinet above the sink, took down paper plates and plastic utensils and set them on the table. The napkins were already there, neatly stacked in a brushed silver napkin holder.
By the time she finished setting the table, Nick had the three containers of food, packets of soy sauce, sweet and sour sauce, and hot yellow mustard dumped out onto the table.
"I'm assuming you're joining me," Bella announced as she set a plate in front of him. She reached for the containers, opened them, put them in the microwave, set the timer and turned back to Nick.
"I thought you'd never ask." He shrugged out of his jacket and folded it across one of the empty chairs.
She opened the refrigerator. "Coke, Diet Coke or Sprite?"
"Anything but diet."
She took out one Diet Coke and one regular and set them on the table. The microwave dinged and she took the food out and set that down next to the drinks.
All the while she moved, she felt Nick's gaze moving with her, caressing her, heating her.
Gratefully, she sank down in the chair closest to the door. An easy escape route? No. Just the closest chair since she wasn't sure how much longer her legs would support her.
Nick began dishing out food onto their plates. He gave her an ample portion but nothing near what he took for himself. She surmised he was being careful not to load her plate up so she wouldn't have an excuse not to finish everything he put on it.
"This was very sweet of you," she said, watching him as he shoveled a forkful of rice into his mouth.
He chewed and swallowed, took a gulp of Coke and looked at her.
"I wasn't thinking of doing something 'sweet' when I decided to bring you lunch," he said. "The plain truth is, I wanted to see you, and I didn't want to wait until tonight."
At just that moment, Steve stuck his head in the doorway. He nodded at Nick, then announced to Bella that he was going to lunch and would stop at the Post Office and the bank while he was out. Bella nodded in approval, quickly averting her eyes so Steve couldn't see how relieved she was that she and Nick would be undisturbed for a while. Marjorie would be on phone duty and unlikely to enter the lunchroom.
Bella cut a bite-size portion of egg roll, taking her time to douse it with soy sauce and mustard. The morsel was on its way to her mouth when Nick's knee pressed against her thigh. Was it accidental? Should she shift in her chair? Or sit perfectly still and pretend she hadn't noticed?
When his knee moved against her thigh again, there was no doubt it was intentional, and she looked up to find him looking at her, his dark, brooding eyes alive with desire. He hooked her gaze with his. He needn't have worried. She couldn't have looked away even if she'd wanted to.
Heat from Nick's body crawled under her skin. Wet need settled between her thighs. Maybe she should feel some small amount of embarrassment at the response of her body, but she didn't.
Instead, when Nick took her hand in his and began stroking her fingers with his thumb, his eyes sending an unmistakable message of need across the narrow table, she curled her hand into his and felt every beat of her heart in the tips of her fingers.
The phone in the outer office rang, breaking the spell between them long enough for Bella to slip her hand from his. She knew she'd never be able to hide the way her fingers trembled if she reached for her fork, so she hid her hands in her lap.
Praying silently that her voice wouldn't crack, she picked up the conversation that had been interrupted by Steve's earlier appearance. "Regardless of your reason for coming, it was still very sweet of you to b
ring lunch." She thought she'd managed to come across at least like she wasn't falling apart.
Then he reached over and brushed a wisp of hair from her forehead, and she wasn't sure of anything except that she wanted him. She wanted him desperately.
His hand fell away from her hair, grazed her cheek, and finally came to rest on the table in front of him.
"Bella?"
She looked up.
"Am I moving too fast for you?"
A shaky, strangled laughed slipped from her. "Like a runaway train."
"I can slow down."
She dipped her head, certain he'd understand the message.
He pointed to the fork on her plate. "You still have a lot of food left, and if you don't hurry, it's going to be too cold to enjoy." As if to give example, he scooped up a forkful of rice and emptied it into his mouth. He was on his second forkful before her hand was steady enough to lift her fork again.
She could still feel his knee pressed against her thigh, frazzling all her nerve endings, the deepening throb between her legs a constant reminder of the lust between them. And it was lust. There was no need to cloak it as a more laudable emotion.
He moved closer and she repositioned her leg so her thigh pressed against his.
They ate in silence for a while, then Nick suddenly pushed back from the table and stood. "I'd better let you get back to work."
She rose, reached for his jacket and handed it to him. "I'll walk you out." They'd strung out the meal and their game of thigh-to-thigh as long as possible, and even though she didn't want it to end just yet, she knew it had to.
Nick glanced at the table, then back at her, a broad smile on his face.
"You cleaned your plate, Bella."
So she had. And she hadn't even cared.
When he leaned over, brushed his lips lightly across her cheek and she turned her head to touch his lips with hers, she didn't care about that either.
Thankfully, he didn't prolong the kiss any longer than she would have been able to stand without throwing her arms around his neck and belying her request for a slower pace.
"I can see myself out," he said, moving toward the door. "You'll probably want to stay here a few minutes and tidy up. Especially since I've been a terrible guest and didn't clean up after myself."
She smiled. "You're excused. This time."
He leaned down, bypassed her mouth again, touched his lips to her forehead, then slid them to her ear and whispered, "I'll be waiting for your call."
She hung inside the lunchroom as long as possible, reluctant to leave the presence he'd left behind, the smell of his aftershave, the chair that was still warm from his body, the spicy, mustardy taste of his mouth on hers.
The thought that she might be getting in way over her head pricked her conscience with a warning that even if he took it slow, it would still be way, way too fast for her to handle. She was still a novice at this game of seduction and her female instincts told her he was far from an amateur.
He was experienced, a man of the world. A heart-stopping, breathtaking man of the world. A man she wanted.
She'd already made up her mind to have him if he offered her half the chance. She wondered if that chance would come tonight. If it did, would she still have the courage to take it, then?
Chapter Six
Nick's plan was to head straight to his office after lunch with Bella, but at the last minute he detoured in the direction of her house. There were a few things he wanted to see for himself.
He unclipped his cell phone from his waist and hit the stored number for Phil's pager. Phil answered on the second ring. He was just finishing lunch at a restaurant a couple of miles from Bella's house. Nick asked him to wait so he could pick up the key from him.
It was almost two o'clock by the time Nick pulled into Bella's double car driveway, killed the engine, and sat for a few moments taking in the surroundings.
The upscale neighborhood consisted of sprawling one and two story brick homes, manicured lawns and neatly landscaped flowerbeds. Bella's house was one of just a few that didn't have a child's bike, a skateboard or other toys scattered from the driveway to the front door.
Wondering what had made her choose a suburban neighborhood over a maintenance free apartment, Nick unlocked the door and stepped inside, totally unprepared for the assault on his senses as Bella's distinctive scent ambushed him--a heady mixture of lilac, vanilla, and another spicy sweetness he couldn't identify.
He shook his head to clear away the aroma so distinctively Bella's before making his way through the kitchen, a hall bath, a bedroom, then another bedroom converted to a home office. He stopped outside the one remaining room and took another deep breath before he stepped into what could only be Bella's bedroom.
Her presence was overpowering here, and closing his eyes, he imagined he could feel her in his arms, feel her soft curves pressing into his cock that had grown from flaccid to rock hard in the half-second it took for him to blink. The ache in his groin brought a silent moan to his lips and he pressed the heel of his hand against the erection that had bypassed pleasure and gone straight to pain.
For the first time since he made the decision to come here, he questioned the wisdom of his actions. Being with Bella in public was difficult enough, but standing here in the midst of her most personal space was a violation of the rule he'd made to remain detached and objective.
Refusing to heed the warning of his inner voice, he crossed the room, threw open the closet door and plunged his hands into the folds of the garments that had caressed Bella's body. Lifting handfuls of fabric to his face, he buried his nose deep in the folds and inhaled the smell of her until the scent spiraled through his body and brought him, unbelievably, to the edge of climax.
Shaking from the aftershock of such a powerful assault on his senses, Nick clamped his lips together, leaned against the doorframe and forced himself to take several deep breaths until his libido settled down. This was a new experience for him, this all-consuming need for a woman. His senses reeling, he left the room, briefly reconsidered the evaluation he had come to do and decided against it.
Uttering every curse he knew, Nick angrily closed the front door behind him and hurried to his car. He had already formulated a plan for the work that needed to be done. It made no sense to torture himself by remaining in an environment that was unbearably, perilously seductive to his senses and his sanity.
True, unlike the red brick house quickly receding behind him, the place he had in mind to take Bella would hold lingering memories long after she was gone. Still, it was the best place he knew of to ensure he could work without interruption.
Nick reminded himself as he merged with the Interstate traffic, that he still had the rest of the afternoon and evening to get his rampant sexual urges under control. Once that was accomplished, he would be in fit condition to convince Bella to go with the plan that sounded way out in left field even to him.
* * * *
"There's something different about you," Franny told Bella Monday evening, after they had settled themselves on the hard plastic chairs in the hospital's third floor waiting area.
The doctor and one of the nurses were in their mother's room examining her and Bella and Franny had been asked to step outside until they were finished.
Bella looked up. "Different? In what way?"
"Oh, I don't know. You seem preoccupied. Distracted. I noticed it shortly after you got here. You keep checking your watch every few minutes."
"I'm just worried about Mom."
Franny eyed Bella suspiciously. "Are you sure it's just that? I know you're worried about Mom, but for some reason I have the feeling it's more than that. Is everything all right at the agency?"
"Everything's fine at the agency. In fact, business has picked up a lot the past month or so." She hesitated, debating whether or not she should tell Franny about the security system. There was no sense giving her something else to worry about. On the other hand, she might be relieved at the
news.
"I am having a security system installed at the house, though. I've been meaning to do it since Max died. I'm in negotiations over it and I do have to speak with the owner of the company later tonight." Every word she'd said was true. She'd just left out the personal part, which was none of her sister's business anyway.
"Are you worried about Kevin trying to contact you once he's out?"
Bella got up and walked to the window, peering outside at the parking lot that was always a beehive of activity. "I'm anxious about it, yes."
"Is that the reason for the security system?"
"Partly."
Bella went back to her chair and sat. Several obviously distraught people joined them in the small waiting area and immediately engaged in a family conference. Franny furrowed her brows, picked up a magazine and began thumbing through it, the possibility of further conversation with Bella postponed for the time being.
Bella looked up just as the nurse that had been attending the doctor in their mother's room signaled to her from the doorway. She rose, tapped Franny on the shoulder and they hurried back to their mother's room.
The result of the test was pretty much what Bella had expected. Her mother needed surgery and it would be scheduled as soon as possible, probably within the next couple of days.
Her mother took the news well. She seemed relieved. Franny, on the other hand, showed visible signs of distress and for a second Bella considered canceling her plans to meet Nick in order to stay behind and comfort her. She could make Franny see that now that the doctor's knew what was wrong, the problem would be corrected, and their mother would be all the better for it.
She gave the decision to stay with Franny serious thought, but knew even as she did, that she wasn't going to miss the opportunity to see Nick that night. Her sister was a grown woman who'd made it through worse things than an operation that could only improve the quality of her mother's life.