“I can’t get it off my mind, either,” Kelly whispered.
His gaze came to hers again, and he decided it was a good time to stay quiet until she clarified that. This was a case where he could definitely insert his foot into his mouth.
“Closet sex,” she added.
Ah, so they were thinking the same thing. Not good. It would have been nice for at least one of them not to be ruled by this six-hundred-pound gorilla of an attraction.
“I’m giving you an out,” she said.
Nick blinked. “A what?”
“An out. I don’t want you to feel that this has to change anything. For the good or the bad. We can consider it just a lapse. That’s all.”
It seemed a little more than a lapse, but Nick kept that to himself.
“I don’t do that sort of thing,” Kelly continued. “My life is usually pretty routine.” She paused. “Well, it was until I found out about the baby switch.”
He made a sound of agreement. “And that brought me into your life.”
She waited a moment. “Are you trying to figure out if that’s a good or bad thing?”
“Definitely good.” But then, he groaned. “But not good for you. Because of me, your life is in danger.”
“No. My life’s in danger because of Eric.” She walked closer, took her hands from her pockets. She reached out, but then obviously had second thoughts. “Touching you is probably not a good idea.”
But that didn’t stop Nick.
He pulled her into his arms. The embrace didn’t feel sexual. It felt far more intimate than that, and despite his insistence that intimacy or sex was not an option, Nick still felt that kick.
That need for more.
But there was a knock at the door, and Kelly pulled away from him. The look in her eyes told him that she was dreading more bad news.
“Yes?” Nick called out.
“It’s me—Cooper.”
Nick didn’t know which he felt most—surprise or anger. It was probably an even mix of both.
Cooper didn’t wait for an invitation to enter. He opened the door and stepped inside. His clothes were rumpled, and he hadn’t shaved.
Nick didn’t let down his guard over Cooper’s disheveled appearance. He took Kelly by the arm and pulled her behind him. He also drew his gun.
Cooper eyed the gun before his stunned eyes met Nick’s. “You think that’s necessary?”
“I don’t know if I can trust you. Where the hell have you been?”
Cooper sighed heavily, and wearily scrubbed his hand over his bald head. “You probably aren’t going to believe this, but someone kidnapped me. For the past twenty-four hours, I’ve been locked in the trunk of my car while it was parked on Crenshaw Bluff.”
“Crenshaw Bluff,” Nick repeated, hoping he sounded as skeptical as he felt. “What were you doing there?”
“I got a call from someone who claimed he was Eric’s chauffeur. He said he had some info about his boss that I might want. So I drove all the way out there, got out of my car and the next thing I know, someone used a stun gun on me. When I came to, I was locked in the truck of my car, and the escape lever had been disabled so I couldn’t get out. Thankfully, eventually some hikers heard me yelling and got me out.”
Nick weighed each word carefully and stared at the man that he’d once trusted with his life. “Why would someone do this to you?”
But Nick already knew the answer. Maybe Eric wanted Cooper out of the way so he could orchestrate that attack in the solarium. That scenario certainly smacked of Eric.
“You don’t believe me,” Cooper said. And then his attention landed on Kelly. “Are you responsible for this? Have you turned him against me?”
“No, she hasn’t,” Nick insisted. But he might as well have been talking to the wind because he could see the venom in Cooper’s eyes.
“It might be a good idea for you to take some vacation time,” Nick suggested. “It’ll give you a chance to recover from your ordeal.”
“I don’t need to recover. And I don’t need a damn vacation. I need you to believe me.”
Nick shook his head. “I don’t have time to sort through what happened. And I can’t blindly trust you anymore because someone tried to kill us—again. What I need is for you to leave. Temporarily. And when I’ve worked out some things, we’ll talk.”
“I don’t care what you say,” Cooper grumbled. “She’s to blame for this. Can’t you see it, Nick? Ever since she came here, your life has been a living hell. My advice? Take your son and leave before it’s too late.”
“Which son?” Nick questioned. “The one I raised or the one I fathered? Because I love them both equally. And that’s why you’re leaving. Because I don’t know if I can trust you to be around them.” Nick paused a heartbeat. “Please don’t make me escort you off the property.”
It hurt Nick to say that. Cooper and he had been together for nearly seven years. But he wasn’t about to put Cooper’s feelings above Kelly and the babies’ safety.
“I’ll leave,” Cooper assured him. “But I thought you’d like to know that I finally dug up some info on the baby swap.”
“I’m listening,” Nick assured him.
“Meredith knew she was dying, and she paid one of the doctors at the birthing center to switch your son with the next infant boy to be born. It just happened to be Kelly’s son.”
Nick wasn’t surprised. He understood Meredith’s reasons for doing what she did, but that swap had created a totally new set of problems.
Cooper didn’t issue any veiled threats. Nor did he aim any more of that venom at Kelly. He simply shook his head, turned and walked out.
“I’m sorry,” Kelly said.
“For what?”
“For coming between the two of you.”
“You didn’t. If Cooper’s innocent, we’ll work it out like I said. But if he’s guilty, then I don’t want him anywhere around you or our…sons.”
The corner of her mouth lifted into a very brief smile. “You know, I feel the same way about Joseph and William. I love them both equally.”
Yes. He didn’t doubt that. But he did wonder how they were going to work out raising the children, when it was obvious they both wanted to be full-time parents. Later, maybe Nick could devote some time to figuring out that particular issue.
But that couldn’t happen now.
The phone rang again. First, Nick went to the door and locked it. He didn’t want Cooper to rethink his semi-civil exit and return for round two. Then he returned to his desk and looked down at his caller ID.
It was Eric.
Kelly joined him, side by side, and she too glanced at the screen. “He must have decided whether or not he’s going to come.”
Nick wasn’t counting on it. His brother loved to play games, and Eric might have sensed that this was the ultimate game.
Nick pressed the speakerphone function. “Well?” he greeted.
“Satan is probably wearing a parka right now because hell is freezing over as we speak,” Eric commented.
“And why is that?” Nick asked.
“Because I accept your
heartfelt
invitation to attend Marcus’s party.”
The sarcasm dripped from Eric’s voice. But the sarcasm wasn’t all Nick heard. He also heard the eagerness. Eric must have fought hard not to jump at the invitation right away. Oh, yeah. He wanted Marcus dead and figured this was the opportunity to do it.
Kelly pulled in her breath, and Nick glanced at her to see how she was handling this. No sarcasm or eagerness for her. Just fear and concern. Nick totally understood that.
“What time is this shindig?” Eric asked.
“Tomorrow night. Eight o’clock. Don’t expect to stay long, because your particular invitation is only for a quick toast and an equally quick exit.”
Eric chuckled. “Trust me, I don’t want to spend much time there, either. Marcus and I just need to get a few things straight.” He paused. No more chuckling. “Oh, and Nick, if this is some kind of trick, you’ll pay for it in the worst way possible.”
“The same applies to you,” Nick countered. He hoped he sounded calm and confident because he certainly didn’t feel those things.
He stabbed the end call button.
Things were really in motion now. He was responsible for that. Nick only hoped that he could survive so he could keep Kelly, William and Joseph alive.
Nick rifled through his desk drawer and came up with the number he was looking for.
“Who are you calling?” Kelly asked as he pressed in the numbers.
“The unit director at the Justice Department. Gideon Tate.” Nick had met the man only briefly, but Nick had had him thoroughly investigated. For what it was worth, Gideon seemed as trustworthy as possible.
He put this call on speakerphone, as well. That way, Kelly could hear what he intended to do.
“The party is on schedule,” Nick informed Gideon. “My brother just accepted the invitation.”
“Well done. I wasn’t sure you could pull it off.”
Nick glanced at Kelly who lifted her eyebrow. “Neither was I.” He paused. “I’m obviously concerned about safety.”
“Of course you are. I’ll assign six agents to this. Their sole mission will be to keep Marcus Durham, you and the other members of your household safe. If possible, we want to arrest Eric once we’ve established intent to commit murder. We’d like that to happen before any weapons are fired. Just in case, though, both Marcus Durham and you will wear Kevlar bulletproof vests, and you’ll both be armed.”
“Good. I want three of those agents assigned to keep Kelly Manning and the two infant boys safe. But I do have another demand. I don’t want Todd or Paula anywhere near the ranch until this situation with Eric is resolved.”
That caused Kelly to lift another eyebrow. Nick touched her arm to reassure her that he knew what he was doing.
“What happened to make you feel this way?” Gideon asked.
“The shooting at my ranch for one thing. I don’t know if I can trust Paula and Todd any longer. I’m worried that Eric might have gotten to one or both of them.”
“There’s no evidence of that.” And Gideon didn’t hesitate, either.
“That’s not enough. Evidence can be hidden, and I don’t want to take any unnecessary risks. Right now Paula and Todd are definite risks as far as I’m concerned.”
“All right,” the director said hesitantly. “I’ll assign a new team. One that I’ll personally handpick. But you do know there are no guarantees. If Eric can get to Paula and Todd, he can get to anyone.”
Yes. Nick was fully aware of that. And that’s why he had to play his own deadly game. A double cross, of sorts. Because although he didn’t trust Paula, Todd, Cooper or Denny, he didn’t trust Gideon, either. Not after the continued attempts to kill them.
That meant, for better or worse, Kelly and he were on their own.
Kelly sipped her sparkling Italian white wine. Though it was her favorite, it didn’t help her relax. Neither had the expensive-smelling bubble bath Nick had left in her suite. But then, it was going to take a lot more than a bath and a glass of wine to ease the tension that throbbed in her temples and back. It would likely be there until this blasted party had run its course.
Giving up on the bath, she set her glass aside, stepped from the massive whirlpool tub, dried off and put on her robe. Someone on Nick’s staff had retrieved it from her house. She hugged the soft yellow terry cloth to her body, sighed and finally sank down into the chair by the vanity. There was a monitor there, and Kelly flipped through the various camera angles until she located Nick.
He was in the nursery “reading” to the boys.
Nick had one baby nestled in the crook of each of his arms. Both Joseph and William were sound asleep, but Nick continued to sit there and read to them. He was obviously enjoying fatherhood. Which, of course, immediately brought to mind the next question: Would he continue to enjoy it?
And she was back to the one thing she didn’t want to think about tonight. The party. Yet, it was the very thing she couldn’t get off her mind. Eric could be arrested and put in jail. Maybe that would end the threats.
And maybe Eric would just continue his reign of terror from behind bars. Even a life sentence in a maximum security prison might not even slow him down.
Of course, the party could make things worse. If Eric caught onto the fact that it was a setup, he might storm out and escalate his threats. But then, things couldn’t get much more escalated than having shots fired at them.
Movement on the screen grabbed her attention. Somehow, Nick managed to get to his feet. Without waking either child, he placed them in their respective cribs and covered them with blankets. Both boys got kisses on the foreheads.
Kelly couldn’t help but smile.
And dream.
At the moment it was one heck of a pipe dream, but she let herself imagine what it would be like to witness a scene like that every night. Nick and she raising their sons. Without the threat of Eric. With nothing but time for them to work out where all of this was going.
But personal stuff seemed trivial compared to death threats and murder attempts, and Kelly longed for the day when she might have the opportunity to figure out if Nick and she might take this relationship farther than French kisses and closet sex.
There was a knock at the door, and Kelly automatically glanced at the monitor screen. Nick was no longer in the nursery, so she figured he might be the one at her bathroom door.
“Come in,” she offered.
The door opened, and there he was. He wasn’t smiling exactly, but he looked content. And rather rumpled. His hair was a little disheveled, and he had a hot-desperado, five-o’clock-shadow thing going on. Just looking at him caused the heat to roll through her.
Of course, thinking about him had the same effect.
“Is that pear on your shirt?” she asked, forcing herself not to think of the heat.
Nick glanced down at the smeared stain on his white shirt. “Yep. Feeding both boys at the same time is a messy, challenging experience.”
“You can’t fool me—” because she needed something to do with her hands, she got up and retrieved her wine “—you enjoyed every minute of it.”
Now, he smiled. “I did.” But the smile soon faded.
And Kelly knew why.
“You’re worried about tomorrow night,” she told him.
“You, too.”
She nodded. “Hard not to worry when the stakes are this high.”
He didn’t agree. Instead, Nick motioned toward the door. “I asked the cook to serve our dinner in my office in about an hour. I hope you don’t mind.”
“I don’t. There are fewer windows in your office than the dining room.” And that was no doubt the reason he’d arranged it that way. Ditto for insisting that all the drapes be closed and that everyone stay away from the windows and exterior doors.
“Esther heard you mention that you love lasagna,” Nick continued. “So she’s making that and another of your favorites—key lime pie.”
Oh, no. Kelly hoped this wasn’t going where she thought it might be going. “My favorite wine. A heavenly bath. Lasagna and key lime pie. Suddenly, I don’t like the sound of all of it. Is this your way of saying this is our last night together?”
“No. I just wanted to do something special for you.”
She wanted to believe him. Did she ever. But she couldn’t. Nick was obviously preparing for the worst.
But she immediately revised that thought when he walked toward her. He didn’t pause. He didn’t say anything. He simply reached out, put her wineglass aside, hooked his arm around her waist and dragged her to him. Just like that, she was against him.
And then he kissed her.
The kiss came so quickly that it took her a moment to register his intentions. This wasn’t a kiss of comfort. Not a last kiss, either. It was a kiss that was meant to lead to one thing and one thing only.
Sex.
Kelly didn’t resist. Because after several seconds of Nick’s clever kissing, she was surprised she hadn’t thought of this sooner.
She wanted him. He obviously wanted her. Their sons were sound asleep in the nursery. And even though there was danger somewhere waiting for them, the danger wasn’t here inside the bathroom with them. For a few precious moments, Nick and she could be together.
Even if they shouldn’t be.
But Kelly refused to think of that now. Heck, she refused to think about anything except the kiss.
Of course, Nick didn’t let it stay just a kiss. He deepened it, fast. Perhaps because he was responding to the urgency already building inside him.
Nick slipped his hand inside her bathrobe and cupped her breast. He broke the kiss only long enough so that he could wet his fingers in his mouth. Then he slid those slippery-wet fingers over her left nipple.
Kelly lost her breath.
“If you’re going to stop, this is your chance to do it now,” Nick mumbled, a split second before he kissed her neck.
“We’re not stopping.”
That was obviously Nick’s green light because he pushed her robe from her shoulders. It fell to the floor, and they soon followed it.
She was naked.
Nick wasn’t.
Kelly fumbled with buttons and his zipper, and then she fumbled again with his boxer briefs. It didn’t help that he continued to kiss her during the maddeningly long process. Those kisses not only fueled the flames, they nearly pushed her over the edge.
Once she had him naked and on top of her, it was Nick’s turn to fumble. He had to stop the kisses while he retrieved the condom and put it on. Each second seemed like an eternity.
She watched his face as he entered her, though it was next to impossible to see because her vision blurred. Still, Kelly forced herself to focus. She wanted to see him. To remember every last detail.
In case…
But soon cataloging memories was no longer possible. With each deep stroke inside her, the tension built, and her body pinpointed on only one thing.
Nick.
With each stroke her pulse pounded. Her breath raced. She was on fire. And there was no way this kind of fire could last long. So when she could take no more, she slid her arms around him and pulled him close.
And surrendered.
Nick whispered something. Her name, she realized.
With a deep masculine sound rumbling in his throat, he buried his face against her neck and let her take him over the edge.
Moments later they lay there, trying to catch their breaths. And Kelly let the dreamy feel of pleasure slip over her. Her body was sated.
Her mind, however, wasn’t.
She had no plans to regret making love with Nick. But she should probably offer him another out. After all, this was no different than it had been in the panic room closet.
But it felt different.
It felt like more. Much, much more. Like something that scared the daylights out of her.
Heaven forbid—it felt like love.
N
ICK FORCED HIMSELF
to get up from the bathroom floor. He scooped a naked Kelly into his arms and took her to her bed.
Where he should have taken her
before
they had sex.
When he walked into her bathroom and saw her standing there, he knew that nothing would stop him from hauling her off to bed. Unfortunately, he hadn’t even made it that far. First, a closet wall. Now, the bathroom floor. He had no idea why he couldn’t resist Kelly long enough to give her some foreplay and a comfortable mattress.
His body encouraged him to try again just so he could get it right.
But now wasn’t the time for more sex. It was the time for him to get some things straight mentally.
“Are you okay?” she whispered.
He glanced at her, tried to smile, but when that failed he kissed her instead. It worked. She made a wistful sigh and snuggled against him. They lay there, basking in the afterglow of great sex.
While he thought about how he could keep Kelly alive.
With Paula and Todd banned from the ranch, he felt marginally safer. He would also instruct his new security crew to keep an eye out for Denny and Cooper. While he was at it, he’d add Rosalinda McMillan’s name to his ever-growing list. He didn’t want those five people anywhere near Kelly and their sons.
Of course, that left him with a huge problem.
He would have new agents who would be under-cover throughout the ranch. And he’d have a new security staff. In other words, he wasn’t sure he could trust them any more than he could trust the others. Simply put, anyone could be guilty of trying to kill them. And that still left Eric. Even though Nick had as good as dismissed his brother as being the actual shooter, that wasn’t a good approach to take.
Because Eric might be the sole person responsible.
There might be only one hired gun and a greedy, ruthless man who wanted to protect his inheritance by killing the competition.
“You’re thinking too hard,” she commented.
No way. That was impossible in this situation, and he needed to consider it from all angles.
“If something goes wrong tomorrow night,” Nick responded. “There’s a suitcase in the closet in the panic room. In it there’s plenty of cash, the access codes to a Swiss bank account, airline tickets and fake passports for Greta, Joseph, William and you.”
Snuggling time was obviously over. Kelly turned on her side, propped herself up on her elbow and stared at him. Correction—she
glared
at him.
“Excuse me?” she asked.
She’d heard him all right, but she was obviously objecting to his backup plan. Tough. But Nick wasn’t budging. “If something goes wrong, you’ll need to leave the country. It wouldn’t be safe for you to stay here with Eric around.”
“And where exactly is your fake passport and plane ticket?”
Nick chose his words carefully. “I’d join you later. After things settle down.”
She stared at him. “Just what are you planning to do at the party?”
“Stop Eric.” That was the truth.
Kelly latched on to his face with both hands and turned his head to force eye contact. “Tomorrow night you won’t do anything stupid. You won’t take any unnecessary chances, will you?”
“No.”
“Swear it,” she insisted.
“I swear. I won’t take any unnecessary chances.”
And this time it wasn’t a lie. He’d take chances all right, but they would be necessary. He had to do whatever it took to stop Eric. If things at the party began to fall apart, if it looked as if Eric would be able to just walk about Scot-free, then Nick would have to do something.
It probably wouldn’t take much. Eric would already be primed and ready for battle. Nick would be, too. He knew how to push Eric’s buttons, and that’s exactly what he would do. It would likely escalate to a gunfight, and at the end of it, Nick knew he had to be the winner.
He just had to be.
If not, then he would condemn Kelly to a life of living hell running from Eric.
Nick was prepared to die to make sure that didn’t happen.