His To Keep

by Stephanie Julian

  He and Janey had left her place across from Annie’s about twenty minutes ago. Mal had stopped at the car but Nic had shaken him off. Mal had taken the hint and made sure Janey didn’t notice him.

  Neither did Annie as she took off down the street. He followed her through the city up to Broad Street, where she pulled into a spot on the curb then ran across the street.

  He gritted his teeth as she nearly got picked off by passing taxi then darted into a building down the block from the Academy of Music.

  Looking up, he realized why she was here. Dance studio on the second floor.

  Curiosity got him out the car and into the building. He spent way too long at the bottom of the stairs, arguing with himself over whether he should go up. He knew he wouldn’t be able to resist.

  Silently, he took the stairs, searching for hidden dangers in every corner.

  No one in the entry. The whole place appeared to be deserted except for one studio at the front of the building. Music streamed through the open door to the studio, something with a Latin beat.

  He knew he should stay out here, out of sight. But then he wouldn’t be able to see her.

  And he wanted to see her.

  Footsteps coming up the stairs caught him off guard and he turned to find an older guy coming up the stairs. He wore an expensive suit, carried a leather briefcase and had a phone in his hand.

  The guy stopped when he saw Nic, checking him out, probably wondering if he should call for help.

  Then the guy walked straight toward him. “I’m guessing you would be the infamous Dominic DeMarco. It’s nice to finally meet you.”

  The guy walked straight toward him, hand out, as if Nic was supposed to know who he was. Obviously, this guy recognized him, which put Nic at a disadvantage.

  Nic took the guy’s hand for a firm shake, not ready to confirm or deny his identity. “And you would be?”

  “Sean Minns.”

  The name rang a bell but Nic couldn’t put his finger on why right away.

  “And you’re here…?”

  Sean smiled, the crows feet at the corners of his eyes crinkling. The guy had to be in his fifties. “For the same reason you are, I’m assuming. To watch Annie and Colin.”

  So her dance partner’s name was Colin. Good to know. “And you are?”

  Sean’s smile got wide. “Colin’s partner. And I mean life partner, not dance. Two left feet, I’m afraid. Why don’t we go over to the observation room? We can watch them from there and not distract them. One-way glass. You look amazingly like your father, but I’m guessing you hear that a lot.”

  Following Sean to a door to the left of the studio, Nic finally connected the name. “You defended Briggs. My parents said you gave the closing argument of your career and saved Briggs’ life.”

  Sean didn’t bother to turn on a light in the observation room. Enough light came through the tinted glass to allow them to see. They settled into plastic seats in the front row and Nic got his first glimpse of Annie. He barely heard Sean continue the conversation.

  Jesus, she was beautiful. Dressed much as she had been that night at the office with Bill and Bert, she wore a black leotard, a sheer wrap-around skirt and heeled shoes. Her sweater tonight, though, was emerald green and matched her eyes.

  “So you’re a private investigator.” Sean’s statement registered and Nic drew his attention away from Annie to look at Sean, who was watching Annie and Colin stretch on the other side of the glass. “You and Annie work for your family’s business, yes?”

  “Yeah, my parents started it after they retired from the service. My brother and sister and I work there now.”

  Sean’s gray gaze caught his and Nic found himself subjected to an intense scrutiny. “Annie enjoys it there.”

  “She’s doing a good job.”

  Sean nodded. “She’d be pleased to hear it. What about you, Nic? It must be tough working in an office surrounded by family while the woman you love is right under your nose.”

  Nic returned Sean’s stare, but where another guy might have backed down, this man merely smiled.

  “Won’t work on me, son. Sorry. Scarier men than you have tried to intimidate me and, frankly, it only made me cranky.”

  Nic felt a reluctant grin forming. “Yeah, well, you don’t know unless you try. And, for the record, she’s not in love with me.”

  “Good tactic, shifting the focus, but you didn’t deny my supposition.”

  “Somehow I don’t think you meant it as a supposition.”

  Sean nodded. “And you would be right, of course. So tell me, what are you doing here? Annie looks frazzled and that doesn’t happen often. Usually only when she talks about you.”

  Oh, yeah? “I’ve got a situation, something I dragged Annie into.” He shifted his gaze to follow her with Colin then couldn’t look away from her graceful beauty, even as he continued to speak. “If anyone tries to get to her, they’ll have to kill me first.”

  Sean didn’t say anything more, and Nic let himself get caught up in the motion of the couple on the floor. They were perfectly matched and they made what he and Annie had done earlier today at the garage look like toddlers learning to walk.

  Nic had seen ballroom dancing before, but it’d been years ago. He vaguely remembered his mother taking him to some competition in … Hell, he couldn’t remember. France, maybe, or Australia. His parents had been on assignment and Mom had needed to attend some function. But Jimmy had been sick and Mom insisted Dad stay with him.

  He must have been about nine because that was when his parents had told him what they really did for a living. And Janey hadn’t come along yet.

  He remembered now they’d been somewhere tropical because Jimmy never could take the heat. He always caught some bug whenever they were in the tropics.

  Anyway, he’d loved being out with his mom. He knew now she never would’ve taken him anywhere near a dangerous assignment, but back then he’d thought it the epitome of cool that she’d taken him with her on assignment that night, even though he’d been so damn bored with the dancing.

  He wasn’t bored now.

  Annie’s dancing lit a fire deep in his gut, something he could only associate with the feeling he’d had when she’d bared herself to him earlier today.

  The dancing didn’t have the stiffness he remembered from his youth, but maybe that had more to do with who was dancing.

  What the hell was he going to do with her? This afternoon, he’d let himself get carried away. But six freakin’ years of foreplay would make any man nuts.

  “You know,” Sean said, “it might help both of you if you told her you love her.”

  Nic didn’t bother to deny it. “I don’t think it’ll help the situation.” Then he turned to look at Sean. “But since you seem to know Annie pretty well, I’m sure you already knew that.”

  Sean simply lifted his eyebrows.

  Nic decided on another tactic. “So how long have you been seeing Colin?”

  Sean’s grin turned bittersweet. “Three years. Could have been five but I wasn’t as smart back then. Take my advice, don’t screw around. I’m a few months from fifty-three. Colin’s thirty-two. When we met, I thought he was too young. And even though I was out of the closet… Jesus, he looked young. And I was more concerned with appearances back then. But it only takes one good scare to put the fear of time in you.”

  Sean now had his full attention. “What happened?”

  The older man sighed. “A former partner was diagnosed with HIV. I’m clean but the specter of the disease clouded my entire life. It took me a few years to agree to a first date with Colin. Fear is a good motivator. But it also makes a pretty crappy bed partner.”

  Nic followed Sean’s gaze back onto the dance floor, where Colin was about to drop Annie on her ass.

  He was halfway to his feet before Sean grabbed his arm. “It’s part of the routine. They can’t see you but if you call out loudly enough, they will hear you. If you startle them, she could be hurt.
”

  He froze, but when Annie lost her grip on Colin’s hand and land hard on her hip on the floor, he was already halfway to the door.

  “Damn it, I can’t believe I screwed that up.”

  “Jesus, Annie. Are you okay? I’m sorry, I couldn’t hang on—”

  “Not your fault, Colin.” She stayed on the floor, trying not to wince. “Totally mine. It’s not the first time I’ve fallen on my ass. Won’t the last—”

  “Annie. Are you okay?”

  Nic’s voice wrenched her head around as pain, hot and sharp, began to work its way through her entire body. Followed, embarrassingly enough, by tears.

  She opened her mouth to speak but shock stole any words she might have come up with.

  What was he doing here? How long had he been here? And why did he look like someone had just punched him in the gut?

  Kneeling at her side, he’d put his hands on her shoulders, holding her in place. Before she knew what she was doing, she’d lifted her hand to his face, stroking the scruff that surrounded his tightly drawn lips.

  “Damn it, Annie, lie still.” Nic grabbed her hand and pressed a kiss to the palm that almost made her forget the pain. “Don’t move. Is it broken?”

  “Christ, you haven’t flubbed that in years.” Colin’s voice sounded as shaky she felt. “What the hell happened?”

  Nic’s hand tightened on hers and she knew he was about to flay Colin to the bone with his tongue. Catching and holding Nic’s gaze, she willed him to silence, even while she grimaced as the pain started to radiate up her spine.

  “Just that. I flubbed it. Nic, give me a hand up.”

  Nic put his free hand on her shoulder. “Just stay down for a minute. Are you sure you’re okay? You went down pretty hard.”

  “Not the first time. And it won’t be the last. I’ve got to get up and move or it’s going to hurt worse.”

  Without releasing her, Nic helped her to her feet, watching her every movement like a hawk.

  Colin stood as well, his gaze shifting from her to Nic. She’d told Colin a very tiny bit of what had happened today and he’d barraged her with questions, to which she’d had no answers. It was too damn complicated and she really hadn’t wanted to think about it. Or Nic.

  And now, here he was.

  “What are you doing here? Did something happen?”

  Had he gotten another call threatening her?

  “Nothing happened.”

  “Then why are you here?”

  “I told you I was gonna make sure you were okay.”

  So he was following her?

  On her feet, she released Nic’s hand and shook out her leg, trying to get a feel for the injury. Probably just a bruise, but she needed to get home and soak in a hot bath. Then she’d put some ice on it and take two ibuprofens. Pain shot up her leg when she tried to rest any weight on her hip. Maybe she’d take three.

  Okay. This was not a problem. She’d be good as new in a couple of days.

  The competition’s at the end of next week.

  Tears began to build again but she refused to let anyone see them. They wouldn’t help, even though they’d feel great right about now. And she didn’t want to cry in front of Nic.

  “Come on, Annie,” Nic said as if he’d read her mind. “I’ll take you home.”

  Home. Alone with Nic. Would he help her undress? Would he put her into the tub?

  Would he get into the tub with her if she asked him to wash her back?

  The pain shooting from her hip wasn’t enough to dull the heat of arousal spiking through her body.

  Don’t let your imagination get the better of you.

  It did take her mind off her hip, though.

  She wanted to tell him no. Wanted to walk out of here on her own and go cry in a tub of hot water. It’d been that kind of day.

  And yet…she didn’t want to go home alone. How pitiful was that?

  “What about my car?”

  “I’ll drive it. We’ll leave my truck here.”

  Saying goodbye to Colin and Sean, she promised to call them tomorrow. She limped out of the studio and was standing at the top of the steps. That descent was going to hurt like a bitch—

  “Nic! Put me down.”

  He’d swept her off her feet and into his arms. She’d protested before she’d thought about it but now, held against his chest, she knew if he put her down, she actually would cry.

  Luckily for her ego, he ignored her.

  “Annie,” he whispered in her ear, low enough that she could barely hear him, “Just— Give me a break. Just for a few minutes.”

  Pressed against the hard wall of his chest, Annie draped her arms around his neck and dropped her head on this shoulder. She felt his chest move as he inhaled, felt his breath whisper by her cheek. Then she closed her eyes and let him take her home.

  *

  Nic ordered pizza while she took her bath.

  He made no move to accompany her into the bathroom after he carried her upstairs and set her on her bed. He met her eyes for one brief, burning second then he walked out.

  The bath felt like heaven, loosening aching muscles. She lay in the Jacuzzi tub until the water cooled. Maybe she’d be a coward and plead exhaustion, but her grumbling stomach killed that idea. She needed to eat.

  So she dressed in a pair of black yoga pants, a loose, pale green t-shirt and a thin sweater tied at her wais then forced herself to head downstairs.

  Nic was closing the door, two pizzas in hand when she reached the first floor. His gaze smoldered but between one blink and the next it was gone as he nodded toward the kitchen.

  “I got one with everything and one plain. Let me put these in the kitchen and I’ll come back for you.”

  “I can walk. The bath helped. I just need to take some ibuprofen and get some ice on it.”

  She followed him into the kitchen and headed for the sink, but he grabbed her shoulder, stopping her. “Sit down. I’ll get what you need.”

  Would he really give her what she needed? Did he even know what she needed? Didn’t he understand that all she wanted was him?

  With a sigh, she sat and watched him go through her kitchen. He seemed to know exactly where everything was located, from the paper plates and napkins in the drawer next to the sink to the ibuprofen in the cabinet by the fridge.

  Of course, Nic was a private investigator. He’d probably cased her home while she was in the tub.

  When he’d gotten everything they needed and set it on the table, he sat across from her with a beer in his hand.

  Nic asked her about the competition as they ate, innocuous questions designed to keep an awkward silence from falling. She could have asked him why he’d followed her to the dance studio but she knew the answer.

  The question she should be asking was what did they do now.

  She wasn’t sure she wanted the answer.

  When she was finished, Nic would have carried her out to the couch in the living room but she waved him off. He watched her with a set jaw as she took an ice pack from the freezer and hobbled off to the living room to lay on the couch with the ice on her hip.

  A few minutes later, Nic followed.

  “So. I think I should stay here tonight.”

  Nic’s voice held no inflection, his gaze steady on hers as he sat on the chair directly across from her.

  She was tempted to simply agree. It’d been a long day. She was tired, sore and at the end of her rope.

  She didn’t want to have to deal with this now but she knew Nic wouldn’t give up until he’d won.

  But if he stayed, she wanted more from him than he might be willing to give.

  And that might break her heart once and for all, having him so close and still out of reach.

  Then again, maybe the enforced closeness could work to her advantage.

  She shifted on the couch, noting the pain in her hip had already receded to a faint throb due to the ice and the ibuprofen. “I may be persuaded to allow you to stay the night
. But I want something in return.”

  His gaze narrowed, cautious. Good. He deserved to be a little off balance. “And what’s that?”

  “A little honesty.”

  “Are you sure that’s what you want? It might be more than you’re ready to hear.”

  True. But she was sick of waiting.

  “Do you want me?”

  He didn’t answer right away, his gaze locked on hers. “I’ve wanted you since you were eighteen. I felt like scum.”

  Yes, she could see how he would feel that way. Just the fact that he’d admitted it made her flush from head to toe.

  “And there was no way I was going to do anything about it,” he continued. “A few years after Nino died, yeah, I thought about Mags. But nothing ever happened. She knew I had feelings for someone else. One night when I was so drunk I couldn’t see straight, I told her about you. I was thirty and looking at the rest of my life. You were twenty-one and just starting yours, starting to date seriously—”

  “I never dated anyone seriously.” She couldn’t bring herself to say she’d never wanted to date anyone but him.

  He closed his eyes, expression tightening. “Christ, you think I don’t know that? You went through men like water. It drove me nuts. And it started right after you kissed me in college.” He shook his head. “You don’t know how badly I wanted you then, how much it hurt to walk away. It’s been hell having you in the office, every single day, close enough to touch and so damn antagonistic I knew you still had feelings for me.

  “You don’t need me, Annie. You, of all people, know my faults. I’m judgmental and unwilling to bend. Sometimes I act before I think things through.”

  He paused and she thought maybe it was her turn but he continued before she could formulate the right response, looking straight into her eyes again.

  “You’re so damn beautiful, you mess with my head.”

  Her breath caught and she couldn’t swallow past the knot in her throat. The heat in his eyes slayed her.

  He wanted her. He’d admitted it.

  And she wasn’t about to let him find another excuse to push her away.