“Nah, he’s got a hard head. He’ll be fine,” Dillon said. “I’m more worried about you. I thought you’d grown out of the asthma attacks.”
“Dillon, for the last time, I’m fine. If or when I’m not feeling well, I’ll take myself off to the doctor. I don’t need my family treating me like a baby. Nikolai, look what fell out of the book when the spine broke. I didn’t think of breaking the binding.”
“We’ve got more important things to worry about than a damn book,” Dillon said.
“Summer is in—”
Summer placed a hand on Nikolai’s shoulder and squeezed hard. “I’ll tell them since it was my fault. I’ve got myself in a spot of trouble—”
“Why didn’t you call us instead of him?” Josh climbed to his feet and rubbed his head. “We’re family.”
“She came to me,” Nikolai snapped.
Summer drew in a sharp breath, and warmth tugged at her heartstrings. Maybe there was hope for this particular big, bad SAS man, if he thought of them as a unit. She pulled a face. No, not a unit. That smacked of army and military. Team? No. Perhaps couple. Shying from the idea, even though it made her warm and tingly inside, she unfolded the tightly wadded up paper.
Marina, berth C49, Seraphina.
Summer frowned. That was it?
“What trouble?” Dillon demanded.
“This is an address for a marina. Weird. Why hide it in a book? Why not email or phone?”
“Summer, what trouble?” Dillon thundered.
She bit her lip. “I met a man and—”
Dillon sliced a black glower in Nikolai’s direction. “Him?”
“Will you let me finish? Five minutes tops. Then you can do your shouting. More impact that way.”
“Mum was too lenient with you,” Josh said. “Should have paddled your backside.”
“Nope,” she said. “The only one who gets to do that is Nikolai. Do you want me to tell you or not?”
“Continue,” Nikolai said, a dangerous glint in his eyes. “About the clotheshorse. Not the other. We’ll discuss that later.”
Summer brightened. “Tonight?”
“Enough,” Dillon snapped.
Summer bit back the building grin. Her big brother looked distinctly uncomfortable, but he was playing dumb. She made a mental note to use the ploy as a distraction again.
“Yeah,” Josh sniggered. “I’m thinking this discussion doesn’t have much to do with punishment.”
“I met Dare Martin, and we went out together a few times. When I started getting serious about Nikolai, I tried to break it off with Dare. It was strange,” she mused. “He’s not stupid but he acted thick as a plank of wood when I tried to end things. He asked me out for dinner.”
“You didn’t tell me that,” Nikolai said.
“He knew I used to visit the same bookshop he patronized, and when he asked me to pick up a package of books for him now and then, I didn’t think anything of it. But one night, I opened his package of books. The title was a duplicate of the first one I received by mistake. That’s how we met,” she added. “I thought it was strange so I found another copy and exchanged them. Then the owner of the bookshop was found murdered. The police are calling it a robbery gone wrong. I think it had something to do with me exchanging the books. Dare wanted this message.”
Josh groaned long and theatrically. “Jeez, Summer. Why didn’t you just go and stick your hand into the lion’s mouth?”
Irritation bloomed without warning. “Shut up, or I’ll give you a matching lump on the other side of your thick head. I agree it wasn’t the wisest course of action, but it’s too late now. I need help, not ‘I told you so’.”
“Why didn’t you control her?” Dillon growled at Nikolai.
“Excuse me?” Nikolai straightened. “We are talking about Summer.”
Dillon glanced at his sister and shrugged. “Point taken. So, what do we do now?”
“I’ve already spoken to the police,” Nikolai said, tugging the paper from her hand. “Jake’s brother is a cop. I’ll take the book and the paper to him. My guess is that his communication is being monitored and this is a way to get information under the radar.”
Dillon nodded.
Josh grunted his approval.
“What are we talking about? Drugs?” Summer scowled. As usual, they were treating her like a child, patting her on the head and expecting her to go along with their plans. Her mouth tightened to a mutinous line. “I’ll go to the police with you. They’ll want to talk to me.”
Nikolai frowned at her. “No, it’s too dangerous.”
Dillon and Josh repeated their nods and grunts of endorsement.
Summer huffed and went back to her packing. Ignoring the big, bad SAS men, she picked up the green foil packets and tossed them into her overnight bag. She crammed in her clothes and stomped down the hall to the bathroom to collect her toiletries.
Somehow, without saying a word, Dillon and Josh had gotten to Nikolai, and he was backing off. She wanted to curse. She wanted to screech. Instead, she did nothing and concentrated on packing.
“Good,” Dillon said. “I’m glad you’re packing. You can come with us.”
Summer stilled. “Where?”
“We’ll go to Uncle Henry’s for tonight and back to Eketahuna tomorrow. You should be safe there.”
“What about my job? If I leave, I won’t get my certificate.”
“You can do it another time,” Dillon said.
Summer sucked in a deep breath, ready to hurl a curse or two. Her job was important. She might not make world-altering decisions or save lives like them, but she made people happy. She glanced at Nikolai, half expecting him to protest, but the stupid man didn’t utter a word. Fine. Now she knew where she stood in his list of priorities.
* * * * *
Prison must feel like this.
Her two brothers hovered her while she watered Uncle Henry’s rose garden. They tensed at the purr and rumble of each car and made a nuisance of themselves until she wanted to scream. Frustration simmered as she turned off the water and rolled up the hose on Uncle Henry’s special stand.
“I don’t think you should see Nikolai again,” Dillon said without warning.
Even though she’d expected this, her brother’s words still riled her, stoking her slow-burning anger. “It’s none of your business. I wouldn’t think of telling you not to go out with Suzie Daniels when you’re at home on leave, even though she’s a gossip and jumps into bed with Tom McPherson the minute you leave town. Nope, wouldn’t even consider telling you that.” She turned her back on her oldest brother and came face-to-face with Josh’s smirk.
“Help me out here,” Dillon snapped. “You tell her since she won’t listen to me.”
The humor dropped from Josh, leaving an image of what he must look like in soldier mode. “Dillon’s right. There are things you don’t know about Tarei. Go home and date one of the boys there. I’m sure you’re not lacking for offers.”
“You’re treating me like a defenseless child. None of you will tell me what happened with the police and the note. I’m tired of it. I am an adult. You can’t stop me dating Nikolai.” Rant done, she stormed inside, sensing rather than hearing her brothers follow. They weren’t the only ones in trouble. Nikolai wasn’t talking either.
“His wife and kid died,” Dillon said in a hard voice. “After that, he wasn’t the same. That’s what I heard. On his last mission, one of his men got hit. Tarei left him to die.”
Summer yanked open the fridge and pulled out a bottle of wine.
“I’ll do it,” Josh said, coming up behind her and trying to take possession of the wine.
“The top is a screw-cap. I can open it without your help. I’m sick of you all trying to run my life.” Tears stung her eyes, and her voice took on a choked, thick quality. Her brothers exchanged a look of masculine panic. Give them a man with a gun and they knew what to do, but a woman in tears put a spoke in their he-man bravado. What did she have
to do to convince them she didn’t need looking after?
The phone rang, and Dillon went to answer.
“I’ll get it. I can manage that without interference.” She grabbed the phone on the eighth ring, after her brother stepped away, hands raised in surrender. “Yes?” she said, her narrowed eyes still on her brothers. As soon as she got the chance, she intended to confront Nikolai. “Hello?” she repeated impatiently.
“Girly, we know you have the book,” a gruff voice said.
She put the phone on speaker. “What book? Is this the bookshop where I special ordered? The Pen and Quill?”
“Don’t play dumb, girly. We want that book.”
Her brothers closed in on her, one standing either side in silent protection. In this instant, it felt good to have them on her team, offering moral support. Ironic. “Who is this?” A healthy dose of fear rose and she struggled to keep her voice even. They’d already killed once to get their hands on the book.
“Do you recognize the voice?” Josh whispered.
Summer shook her head.
“Put the book in the mailbox, and it will be collected with no questions asked.”
“But I don’t have—”
“Do it or else.” The phone slammed down, the anger behind the crash raising a rash of gooseflesh on her arms and legs.
“He wants the book.” Summer stared at her brothers. “What do I do?”
Dillon and Josh exchanged a glance before stepping away to huddle.
“Still trying to exclude me? Fine.” She stomped from the kitchen and slammed into her bedroom. The room shuddered at the force of her anger. A small bottle of perfume, balancing precariously on the edge of her dresser, toppled to the floor. Of course, she hadn’t put the lid on properly and it parted company from the bottle. The perfume gushed onto the carpet before she could grab it. The perfume’s floral notes tickled her nose and a sneeze erupted. Probably time to tidy her messy room.
She sorted dirty laundry into a pile and consigned clean clothes to drawers and the wardrobe. Instantly, the room looked better. She peered out the window at Nikolai’s house. Before she’d even formulated the thought, she was sliding the window up. At least this time her jeans offered better protection against Uncle Henry’s rose bushes.
She slithered over the windowsill and dropped into the garden below. In the hour before darkness, the scent of roses filled the air along with the moist, damp soil. She felt another sneeze building, and knew she needed to move fast before her brothers came to investigate.
Her shirt caught and a part of a rose bush shot underneath to tear the tender skin at the small of her back. Wincing, she extricated herself then frantically grabbed her nose. Too late. The sneeze escaped. A feeble one, but a noise nonetheless. She froze, waiting for a stampede of brothers. When nothing happed, she sighed in relief and crept across the open section of lawn before cautiously opening the gate and letting herself into Nikolai’s property.
The faint sound of an approaching car hurried her along. Summer hustled across the deck, dodging the broken board as she headed for Nikolai’s bedroom window.
A smile flickered across her face when she saw it was open, the net curtain dancing in the soft breeze. She slipped inside.
Chapter Seventeen
Someone tackled her. Nikolai, she thought with relief as she identified his soap and distinctive masculine scent. His hand curled around her breast before she could speak.
“Why, Mr. Tarei, I do believe you have a boob fetish.”
“Only for yours,” he whispered, his hand shaping and testing the weight of her breast. He nuzzled the soft skin at the base of her neck and scraped his teeth across, taking a tiny nip. “God, I missed you.” He tugged the cotton fabric of her shirt to expose more skin and pressed a kiss to her collarbone before reaching to flick on a lamp.
She gave a breathless laugh, surprised by his admission.
“If you’re pregnant we’re getting married,” he said in a tight voice.
It was as if he made the offer under duress and both his words and tone stung. “I never asked you to marry me. I don’t want marriage.” Not if I’m ordered.
Was it too much to expect a declaration of love? They were good together, if only he’d quit worrying about the age difference and his past.
“You’re right not to want marriage with me.”
The hollow defeat in his voice made her want to protest. “Are we talking about your wife? Or the man Dillon says you left?”
Nikolai froze, his expression going hard. “You believe him?”
“No, I don’t. I know you. You would do everything you could to save a friend.” A strand of tension released in her when she uttered the confident words because she believed them with every particle of her being. Nikolai was a hero.
“Thanks.” The tautness left him, his warrior’s face relaxing. “My wife—”
“Sounds to me as if she was selfish—thinking of herself and her own needs, instead of considering you as well.”
He met her gaze with honesty. “She was young, and I was away a lot of the time. It was hard for her.”
“Stop right there.” She placed her palm on his sternum. “Don’t draw parallels. I have a job, friends, interests. I am not selfish and self-absorbed like your wife.”
“No, but you’re reckless. You leap without thinking. Do your brothers know you’ve left the house?”
“No,” she whispered, guilt surfacing to replace her former anger. His accusation stung. “I’d better ring them. But I’m not going back. I want to stay with you and…talk.”
A chuckled rumbled against her hand. “Is talk a euphemism for sex?”
“Could be, if you play your cards right. Can I use your phone?”
Something that could have been approval glinted in his brown eyes as he tossed her his phone. Suddenly breathless, her hand shook when she dialed Uncle Henry’s number.
“Dillon, it’s me.” Summer held the phone away from her ear and waited for her brother to stop shouting. When silence ensued, she put the phone back next to her ear.
“I am next door with Nikolai. No. You don’t need to come and get me. I’m perfectly safe. And to be doubly sure, we’ll use condoms.” She paused. “I love you too, Dillon,” she said sweetly. “Seriously though, we have Nikolai’s cell phone. If we have any problems, we will call you.”
“Sounded as if that went well.” He leaned against his pillows, his gaze skimming her face and settling on her lips.
“Oh, yeah. I’ve noticed a mention of sex diverts the yelling.”
“What about if I were to mention sex?”
“I’d say ‘excellent idea’.” She stroked his cheek, tested the dark stubble on his jaw and dallied to trace his lips with her finger. Nikolai opened his mouth and took her finger inside, closing his lips and surrounding her with warmth. A tingle sprang to life in her breasts. She imagined his mouth drawing on her nipples instead of her finger and the tingle intensified to a pulse. Juices moistened her lace panties, making her squirm. “And I’d say when will we get to the action—”
Nikolai tugged the fabric clinging to her hips. “You’re the one wearing clothes.”
Summer bent up to brush a teasing kiss on his mouth and climbed off the bed. Her heart zinged at his teasing. She really liked him in this mood. “You provide the music, and I’ll strip.”
Nikolai flicked on a radio. In dulcet tones, the female announcer read out the news. “Music,” he said, his brows rising in a silent dare.
Summer smiled, blew him a kiss and wriggled her hips in a suggestive bump. His eyes rounded slightly but zeroed in on her swaying hips and breasts. Huh! Didn’t take much to snare a male’s attention. She waggled her boobs, the heavy globes swaying beneath her cotton shirt. Then she reached under the fabric and flicked her bra open, spilling her breasts free from the lacy bit of nothing. Deft fingers separated button from buttonhole until her shirt gaped, giving Nikolai peek-a-boo glances of the curves of her breasts and the occasional
flash of nipple.
His intent gaze warmed her until her body hummed. She ambled a little closer, and a rumble of approval sounded. A slow grin bloomed on his face, stoking her wavering courage. This stripper routine was harder than it seemed. Her hands fluttered to the dome snap on her jeans. With a brief prayer for gracefulness, she wriggled from the denim, only to hit a snag.
“Forgotten something, sweetheart?” Laughter echoed in his voice, bringing a wave of flustered color to her cheeks.
Hot damn. Her shoes. Back to stripper school for her. She struggled like an ungainly stork while she dealt with the laces on her shoes. Finally free, she sucked in a deep breath and rolled her shoulders to flash her breasts. Yep, that got his attention. She strutted the length of the room, prancing like a show pony.
“Is that it?” A devilish grin twisted his lips. “All I’ve seen is a flash of tits. Can’t see much else because of that baggy thing you’re wearing.” He made a tsk-tsking sound and shook his head in mock disappointment.
At least she hoped it was mockery. It would be terrible to send him to sleep when she was starting to get off on this stripping number. “I obviously need training. Perhaps I could get a job in a topless bar. There were ads in the Herald the other day.”
Nikolai sat up so quickly a pillow flew to the floor. Brown eyes narrowed while his smile vanished. “I don’t think so. I’m not having my wife pedaling flesh in a bar.”
His wife. Presumptuous of him. He needed to control that character flaw, especially if he expected her to fight her reckless nature. Summer peeled back her shirt, baring her boobs. She peeked at Nikolai to gauge the effect. Mission accomplished. Definite interest and distraction from the marriage topic.
She was not marrying him, and that was final.
Suddenly tired of games, she flung off her shirt and let it drop to the carpet. She pushed her panties down her legs and kicked them aside to strike a pose. “Interested?”
His eyes darkened with sensual heat. “Come here.”
She strolled to the bed, making sure she put an extra wiggle in her walk. Her breasts swayed, the sparks of desire igniting within her. No longer unhurried, she launched herself at him, trusting him to catch her.
Innocent Next Door (Military Men Book 1) Page 18