“Then please don’t say it should have been you. Please.”
Gently, he cupped her face in his hands and dropped his mouth over hers, hard. It took a huge effort on his part to push away those memories, those feelings. But he did because he couldn’t live with them. Not when she was so close and he was so damn glad to be alive.
Shaking his head, he stole another kiss then released her and sat back on the couch. She remained standing, staring at him with those gorgeous green eyes filled with emotion.
“Come on, Annie, let’s—”
“Do you miss being a soldier?”
He sighed. “Yeah, I miss it.”
“That’s why you take the firm’s most dangerous jobs, for the rush.”
He frowned at her.
“My dad…he lived for that rush.” She took her seat at the end of the sofa again, avoiding his gaze. “He was into extreme sports before they called them that. White-water rafting down uncharted rivers, treasure hunts in South American jungles filled with guerilla soldiers. He died looking for that next thrill.”
Now she stared straight into his eyes. “I’m not sorry you’re not a Ranger anymore.” Then she smiled. “So, what do you need me to do?”
It took him a few seconds to assimilate what she’d said. End of discussion. She’d given him an out. As for what he needed …
He took a deep breath, felt the release of tension with it. “I want to look up a few things on the Internet and since I don’t feel like typing, I figure you can do that.”
Her husky laughter spilled out. “You can’t type and you’re too damn stubborn to learn.”
“I’m too damn old to learn.”
“You are not old, Dominic.” Her smile turned sinful, making his chest constrict. “You’re…experienced.”
“Oh yeah?” His gaze narrowed. “Then what does that make you?”
She batted her lashes. “Grateful?”
His body tightened in response to her flirting, letting go of the tension, the guilt. He tossed the papers he’d just picked up back on the table, never taking his eyes off of her. “How grateful?”
Shrugging, she moved closer, her arm brushing against his leg as she reached for the laptop. He was pretty sure it wasn’t accidental. “How grateful do you want me to be?”
Hell, he was really rusty at flirting. It’d been a long time since he’d had a lasting relationship with a woman. Previous relationships had been mostly about mutual satisfaction, not happily ever after. This one…
After taking the laptop out of her hands and putting it back on the table, he reached for her, lifting her until she straddled his lap, then letting her sink into him, arms around his neck, eyes soft and mellow.
“To hell with grateful.” His voice sounded raw. “I’m gonna make you beg.”
* * * * *
Annie didn’t think she’d be able to sit on her sofa again without thinking about Nic.
Pulling her shirt back over her head, she watched him do the same and mourned the loss of gorgeous scenery. She’d never realized how satisfying quick sex could be. Of course, she’d never had it with Nic, which probably made all the difference in the world.
No, not probably. It did.
“Hey.”
Nic’s low voice drew her gaze from his chest to his eyes. She saw a question there, one she took care of by grabbing his chin and planting a solid kiss on his lips, the erotic rasp of his whiskers against her skin sending shivers down her already sensitized skin.
“Hey, yourself.”
That teased a grin out of him, quickly replaced by a frown. Jesus, the man was exasperating. Devastatingly sexy one second, all too grim the next.
“Annie—”
“Nic, I’m fine.” Well, as fine as she could be when she still couldn’t catch her breath after a ten-minute lovemaking session that might possibly have been better than the one before. “What happened to the work you needed to do?”
His eyebrows lifted. “I got waylaid.”
Her toes curled and her scalp actually tingled at his expression. She was toast. Take her out of the oven because she was done.
She’d been in love with this man for a decade. She’d dreamed about just this scenario but she’d never thought it possible. Now… Now, she had the whisker burn to prove it was.
She smiled at him, careful not to let too much of her emotions show. “What do you want me to do?”
The man didn’t even smile and she felt giddy from the look in his eyes. “I think we better save that for later. I really do want to get some work done.”
Annie had never been a flirt. She had too much money and her name was too well known to have it be just flirting. With Nic, it came naturally. But he’d actually asked for her help and there was no way she’d pass up the opportunity to prove herself to him.
So she backed off. “Okay.” She picked up the laptop. “Tell me what you want to look for.”
Three hours later, Annie flexed her aching fingers and watched Nic toss the financial records of an abusive ex-husband onto the coffee table.
“I actually think we may be on to something, Annie. This creep’s been a thorn in my side for two months and I don’t like being outsmarted by a guy who beats his wife. Thanks. I don’t think I would’ve been able to navigate through that mess.”
Annie felt a happy grin try to break out, but she refused to let this man think she could be so easily won over by a small compliment. “You’re welcome. I’m just glad I could help, seeing as how you’re technologically challenged and all.”
Nic stood, grabbed his second beer bottle and her glass from the table and headed toward the kitchen.
“Nah, not challenged, just smart. I knew you could do it faster.”
A few clicks shut down the laptop then she followed him into the kitchen, where he was putting her glass in the dishwasher. “So, basically you’re lazy.”
He turned, devastating half grin on his lips, knowing she was kidding. “I just know when to let someone else do things for me.”
She huffed. “Which is never.”
He stood and leaned back against the counter as she stopped a few feet away from him. “Yeah, it’s true I don’t like to let others do for me when I can do just as well for myself.”
“Everyone needs someone sometime, Nic.”
She could tell from the look on his face he didn’t believe that.
“I like to handle things myself.”
With lightning-fast moves, he reached out to grab her by the hips and pull her against him. As if he thought she wouldn’t come willing.
When he had her body aligned with his, he threaded his fingers through her hair and looked into her eyes with a gaze hot enough to melt chocolate. Then he smiled and her insides started to combust.
“You want to watch a movie or do you mind if I watch the game?”
He was doing this deliberately. She knew it, but she couldn’t help but be fascinated by his every move.
“I guess I could handle a game.”
As long as he was there beside her, she didn’t care what he watched. Her eyes would be on him.
* * * * *
Nic felt Annie start to fall asleep.
The warm weight of her body relaxed more fully against his side as they sat on the couch watching the Phillies lose another one. They’d talked about nothing important for the past hour. She’d seemed almost afraid to bring up anything in case she set him off. And frankly, he didn’t know what he was supposed to think about.
With a barely audible sigh, Annie went out completely and he let himself stare at her.
God, she was gorgeous. Threading his fingers through her silky hair, he wished it was as easy to sort through the confusing tangle of his emotions.
He still found it difficult to believe she was his. But here she was, in his arms, after they’d made love. Twice. And after her mother had given him her approval, something he’d never expected, had never even thought he’d need. Somehow, hearing her say it had made it even more imperative that he not screw this up.
And he couldn’t help thinking he would. But right now, Annie needed him to keep her safe more than she needed him to love her. Which, he did. And there was no way he’d tell her that until this was over.
He’d thought his heart would give out when she’d said the words to him. For years, the only things of value in his life had been work and family. His parents needed him, especially lately with his father’s health problems. His sister and brother needed him, if only to be their older brother. Mags and Toni needed him. His clients needed him. It’d been enough.
Annie hadn’t needed him. At least, she’d never known she’d needed him.
It’d been for his own benefit that he’d told off her former, womanizing employer two years ago. She thought his father had handled it. At the time, she would have bitten his head off if she’d known.
But he had to keep her safe. He wouldn’t be able to live with himself if anything happened to her on his watch. So that meant he needed to find whoever was screwing with his life and endangering those he loved.
Careful not to wake her, he maneuvered her until her head rested on his thigh and he could reach Jimmy’s report. He tried to find something, anything in the limited information Jimmy had been able to dig up about the call that might point him in any direction.
But he caught himself watching Annie more than studying the report.
Asleep, she looked so young, much younger than she really was. He remembered her at nineteen, finally coming into her own at college, nervous but determined to kiss him.
He’d always admired her courage and gotten a kick out her quick wit and dry humor. Still did.
It’d been heaven and hell when she’d come to work for the agency. The young woman had grown into a polished professional who had stepped into their office and taken over a difficult job.
So what happened now?
Hell if he knew. They couldn’t go public. There was a madman out there threatening her because of him.
Maybe he’d made a mistake by staying at her home but he wasn’t going to second-guess his decisions now.
If anyone tried to get at Annie—or anyone other member of his family, for that matter—they’d have to kill him first.
Shooting a glance at the clock, he realized it was close to midnight and the day was starting to catch up. And, if he was honest with himself, he wanted to put Annie in bed and curl around her.
Easing off the couch, he picked her up and carried her upstairs. Laying her on the bed, he peeled off her soft pants and shirt and tucked her under the sheets. When he returned from the bathroom in a pair of boxers, he crawled under the covers, pulled her into the curve of his body, her back to his front, and felt every muscle in his body relax.
* * * * *
Nic came awake slowly, conscious only of a feminine body pressed against his and his throbbing erection fueled by Annie’s warm hand.
He didn’t struggle to full consciousness, simply let awareness wash over him in waves, spurred on by the teasing kisses she laid across his chest. She stopped to graze one nipple with her teeth then made her way back to do the same to the other. Her fingers trailed from his soft sac to the sensitive tip, nails dragging hard enough to torment but not painful.
Arousal surged, and he drew in a deep breath, letting her sweet scent surround him, pushing him that much closer to full awareness. Still, he kept his eyes closed and let his body absorb every sensation.