Pissed off he could handle. Damn but he admired her backbone.
Her smile nearly cracked her lips with the strain. “Thank you for such a kind offer but I really have to be going.”
“Yeah, you need to be in early tomorrow.” Nic couldn’t help himself. “Can’t be late again like today, sweetheart.”
His taunt had exactly the effect he’d intended. Her eyes widened as her fear evaporated in the face of his challenge.
“Actually, I’m meeting someone in about…” She lifted a graceful arm to peer at the diamond-studded watch on her wrist, “twenty minutes. I wouldn’t want to keep him waiting.”
He frowned. Janey had told him Annie was dating some attorney who worked in an old family firm in Society Hill. Someone more suited to her.
Not your problem, buddy. Keep your mouth shut.
Yeah, right. “Especially not little rich boys with lots of money, hmm?”
Her lips curled just the slightest bit at the corners. “Especially those. They don’t get as cranky as old men when they don’t get their way.”
Nic didn’t know whether to laugh or strangle her.
Before he could do either, Bill took his life in his hands.
“Oh, honey, I think you know ole Dominic here pretty damn well. Seems he hasn’t changed much since the last time we saw him.”
He knew he should take offence to that but Annie had started walking toward him. And he couldn’t see or hear anything but her.
His breath froze in his lungs, his body tensed at just the thought that she was coming closer.
She was so fucking dangerous to his health but, Jesus, she was stunning. Had been ever since she’d turned eighteen and grown into that long, lean body.
He hadn’t allowed himself to touch her then.
Now, she’d rip out his eyes if he tried.
“I’ll just say goodnight then.”
Stopping mere inches away, she barely had to tilt her head back to look him in the eyes. With those heels, she was only a couple of inches shorter than he was. She never dropped his gaze and he didn’t have a clue what she was up to when she leaned forward.
“Sleep on this, Dominic.”
Before he could move, she stretched up on her toes and whispered her lips across his.
It was the lightest touch, lasting only a second, but he swore his lips burned from the heat of hers. And his blood bubbled.
Then she walked away, leaving him with a hissing roar in his ears.
Holy hell. She’d kissed him.
Annie hadn’t voluntarily touched him in at least seven years. Definitely not since she’d grown into the poised woman who ran this office so efficiently, almost better than his sister had.
A long, low whistle from Bert drew him back to reality and he clenched his hands at his sides, willing away the sense of disorientation. Damn it. It should take a hell of a lot more than a kiss from a woman to make his head spin.
Vaguely, Nic heard the front door close with more force than normal.
She’d kissed him.
And the desire he’d kept in check for years began to bubble through his blood, hot as lava.
He wasn’t going to spank her. He didn’t trust himself to touch her because if he started, he didn’t think he could let her go.
No, he was going to scare the hell out of her so she wouldn’t come near him again.
But first…
He narrowed his gaze on the men in front of him. Bert and Bill got quiet so fast, it would have been comical if he’d been in a laughing mood.
“Now,” he said. “We have business.”
* * * * *
“That man is a menace to society. He makes me furious.”
Annie quelled the impulse to stomp her foot in frustration, settling instead for tossing her hair over her shoulders as she held out her arms to her partner. “He just pushes and pushes and pushes until I break. He’s a Neanderthal.”
“Is this going to make sense soon? Or are you going to rant all night?”
Colin Travers smirked at her, laughter in his blue eyes as he swept her into a rumba. Perfectly matched for size, they danced together as if they’d been made for each other but Annie couldn’t concentrate on the music throbbing through the open space. She couldn’t find her rhythm because her head still reeled from that kiss.
Well, you couldn’t really call it a kiss. More like an almost-kiss. She hadn’t even meant to touch him. She’d only meant to tease him, show him what he was missing and what he’d never have.
Well, that backfired.
Why the hell had she done it? For the past seven years, she hadn’t laid so much as a finger on him.
Tonight … God, tonight she might have done something irrevocable.
Not that Nic cared, of course. He hadn’t felt a thing, she was sure.
“I am not ranting.” She sniffed. “Well, maybe a little. Ooh, he made me so angry.”
And that was dangerous. Anger meant he was getting to her and that was not an option. Never again.
Colin changed direction and did a spot turn into a samba. “Are you going to tell me why you’re so angry?”
No way would she say anything about that kiss. “He met some friends at the office tonight.” She sniffed as they did a forward progressive walk. “Some very distasteful friends.”
Colin’s left brow rose as they continued around the empty floor. The Broad Street dance studio was deserted by nine on Wednesday nights, so they could practice in solitude.
“You mean women.”
Her teeth set with a click. “That wouldn’t have bothered me.” Liar. She spun on her toe and lay back. “No, these were two men who should be relegated to a prison somewhere in the future. They reminded me of guys from that movie you made me watch. You know, the one with Kurt Russell.”
“Escape From New York.”
“Yes.” She shook her hair back as he lifted her out of the dip. “They gave me the most incredible creeps.”
They’d stared at her like she’d been a meal spread out for their benefit and they were going to enjoy every last crumb.
But they hadn’t scared her. Not with Nic there. She knew Nic would never let anything happen to her.
And Nic didn’t scare her either. She refused to consider what she did feel for him—
Colin gave her the signal for a dip and she quickly positioned her feet before she fell.
“Jeez, Colin, are you trying to drop me on my ass tonight?”
Colin brought her upright and released her, giving her the look she knew so well. “You’re making it pretty easy tonight, doll.”
She bit back a response because, damn it, he was right. She was the one with the problem. One wrong move and she could injure them both and they couldn’t afford that, not so close to the competition. “Sorry.” She shook her head. “I’m sorry, my mind’s not on this tonight. I’m just so furious with him.”
“I think I got that the first time.” Colin grinned, taking her in his arms again and leading her effortlessly across the floor in a series of intricate footwork. “You know, I don’t think I’ve ever seen you this worked up over a guy.” He slowed to a waltz and stared at her until she looked away. “As a matter of fact, I’ve never seen you expend this much energy on anyone. What does this guy look like, anyway? You’ve never told me.”
Like a Roman God.
She bit back the words before they escaped, but Nic was one of the most handsome men she’d ever met.
Broad, handsome features and intense navy-blue eyes that burned when he was angry, as he’d been tonight. The faint scars on his forehead and cheek only added to his appeal. Raven-black hair curled as it reached his shoulders. She wondered if it was as soft as she remembered. The mustache and beard framing his lush mouth had rasped against her skin, seductively rough.
For seven years, she’d gone out of her way to avoid him. Tonight, she’d walked up to him and brushed her lips against his.
She hadn’t meant to stay so late, but when she’d taken over as office manager of DeMarco Investigations, she’d committed to doing the best job she could. She wouldn’t let the DeMarcos down.
“Earth to Annie.” Colin’s voice intruded on her thoughts. “Come in, space cadet. You zoned out on me there for a few minutes.”
She realized they’d stopped, and her mouth twisted. “Sorry. I was thinking.”
“About Nic?”
“Yeah.”
Colin released her from the dancer’s hold to run a hand through expertly trimmed blond bangs that made him much too handsome for his job as a city assistant district attorney.
“Come on, then.” He sighed theatrically. “Take a break and tell me all about it. I have to admit I’m curious. Since you started working for the DeMarcos, all you ever talk about is Nic, Nic, Nic.”
Annie paused mid-stride on her way to the water cooler then hurried after him. She took a swallow of water from the paper cup he handed her in an attempt to regain some equilibrium before she answered. “I do not.”
Colin emitted a soft snort then took a drink. “You do realize you haven’t mentioned Brad once tonight. When you two started dating, I thought he might be the one. Then you took the job with the DeMarcos and now all you talk about is Nic. If I wasn’t afraid you’d bite my head off, I’d tell you I think you want him.”
She froze for a second before pulling a face. “Don’t even say that.” She turned to throw the empty cup in the wastebasket, quickly schooling her expression into lines of disdain. “That man has been the bane of my existence since I was twelve. And for years, he wasn’t even around all that much because he was in the Army. But whenever he’d have leave, he’d come home and torment Janey and me.”
Colin sat on one of the benches lining the outskirts of the parquet dance floor and motioned for her to sit next to him. She did, resting her head on his shoulder as his arm came around her shoulders to draw her closer.
“You had a wicked crush on the guy back then, didn’t you?”
“Oh God, yes.”
Damn, where was her composure tonight? Probably back at the office with Nic. Still, it felt good to talk about it.
“When I was twelve, he was the epitome of cool.” A small smile curved her lips, one she didn’t try to quell. “He was an Army Ranger, so he had really short hair. He wears it long now, to his shoulders. And he always had a tan, because he spent so much time outdoors. When I was sixteen, I thought the sun rose and set on him. When I was nineteen, I tried to seduce him.”
“He didn’t take you up on your offer, huh?”
She sighed, her humiliation that day still enough to make her blush.
“You would be right. He’d come to visit Janey at college. She was in the library and, since we were roommates, he found me. We had no idea he was coming. He never gave Janey any warning.”
She remembered he’d smiled at her surprise. He barely ever smiled anymore. “Anyway, we were alone in the dorm room, and I decided I was tired of waiting for him to kiss me. I figured hell would freeze over first.
“He’s nine years older than me, and I thought I was in love. We were talking, like adults, I don’t even know about what anymore. But I remember he seemed so tired. And I wanted to kiss him.” She sighed, seeing every detail in her mind’s eye. “So I got up and walked over to him. He didn’t say anything, but he tensed like he thought I might hit him. I remember looking at his hands and his knuckles had turned white. Then I bent over and kissed him, flat out on the lips. I was only nineteen. What did I know about kissing back then, right?