Heart of a Warrior (9 page)

“Nic, stop!” She pushed against him. Nic sat up and looked at her. His eyes were impossibly dark, lashes long and thick, as they focused on her face, her lips, even her nose.

“What’s wrong? I thought you were enjoying it. I sure was.” Nic reached for her again.

“No, I mean, yes, I was enjoying it, but you’re going to want to go further, and I’m not prepared to do that.” She stood and straightened her clothes.

“All right. Maybe later.” He looked confused and that just pissed her off.

“You don’t get it, do you? There was a reason I was taken by that vampire, Nic. I’m a virgin. And I plan on being one for a long time, or at least until there’s a ring on this finger.” She stood there, holding up the ring finger on her left hand in a parody of the one-fingered salute. “Sex is not casual for me. It means a lot more to me, obviously, than it does to you.”

Fiona stomped to the middle of the room, grabbed her duffel bag, and glared at him.

“Sorry, Fiona. My mistake. I won’t let it happen again.” Nic slid to the edge of the bed and stood.

“Perhaps staying with you is a bad idea, Nic.” Fiona bit her lip. “I’ll get a hotel room.”

Nic ran his hand through his hair and let out a big breath. “No, don’t do that. I promise I’ll keep my hands to myself.” He held his hands out and then shoved them in the back pockets of his jeans.

Fiona looked into his eyes. He seemed truly contrite. Time to trust. He’d kept his word so far.

“All right.” She held out the duffel bag to him as a peace offering. Slinging it over his shoulder, he cocked his head at her.

“Is there anything else you need?”

“Do you think I’ll need to bring my own weapons?”

“You have weapons?” Nic’s surprise made Fiona snort.

She led the way down the hall to a room, opened the door, and flicked on the light.

“What do you think I should bring?” She wore that same smirk on her face as she leaned against the open door.

Nic looked around the large room. It spanned the entire width of the house. Thick, gray mats covered the center of the floor in a makeshift workout area. The long back wall was covered with ceiling-to-floor mirrors.

At least a few dozen swords hung on the other three walls. Several display cases held more swords and knives. Scabbards hung from silken and leather straps. There were two titanium crossbows and two fine, old archery bows with their quivers hung below each of them. A bundle of bamboo staffs leaned in one corner.

His lips pursed in an appreciative whistle.

“Have mercy!” He grinned at her and she grinned back. “Well, you’re good with a sword. Bring one.”

“I’m the best.” She walked over, took her favorite sword in its back-scabbard off the wall, and slung it over her shoulder.

“How about some lunch?” Fiona, wearing fresh clothes after another long shower, sat on the couch petting Cho as he perched on her leg.

“What did you have in mind?” Nic eyed her. While they were safe from the vampires during the day, it left a lot of unoccupied time. Nic could think of many ways to spend that time, and all of them involving him and Fiona naked.

“Do you like Chinese? I know a great little place in town.” Fiona smiled. “Or do you plan on us just sitting here looking at each other all day?”

“Okay, Chinese.” He sighed.

“You coming, Cho?” Fiona tapped the lizard on his back.

“I love Chinese.”

“Lead on, oh fearless leader.” Nic bowed toward the door as Cho skittered up Fiona’s body to her shoulder, and they left.

At the restaurant, Nic parked in the lot, straddling the Jag across two spots so no one could dent it.

“I hate when people do that. Take two spots so their precious cars don’t get scratched.” Fiona gave him a searing look.

“Right. Say that when you’re driving a Jag,” he tossed back at her.

“Guys, let’s eat. I’m starved.”

“You can’t go in, Cho.”

“What?”

“There is a big sign on the door that says, No shirt, No shoes, No lizards.”

“He says no lizards, Fiona.”

“Cho, get in my purse and stay down.”

“Bless you, beautiful woman.”

He climbed in and burrowed down.

“I like her, Nic. You, not so much.”

“Shut up, Cho.”

— • —

During lunch, Fiona fed Cho scraps of food from her plate as he nestled in her purse on the seat of the booth. Nic stopped grumbling after the appetizer. He’d wanted to be alone with Fiona, but at least the lizard behaved himself. Now, over soup, Nic filled her in on his mission to eradicate all vampires, which he called “actors” so he could speak more freely in case they were overheard.

“So, you get a message from this group, and then ‘slam, bam, thank you ma’am,’ it’s over?” Fiona popped a pot sticker in her mouth.

“Yeah, something like that.” He stayed vague.

“But
how
do they know?” She seemed to be hung up on that point.

“They just do.” He wished she’d get off that subject. Explaining something he wasn’t exactly sure about would only make him sound dumb, and he’d had to fight the image of being a dumb muscleman for a long time. Carrying around his BS in civil engineering to show everyone he had brains wasn’t easy or convenient.

“Right, I got it. You’d have to kill me.” She tried to keep the smirk out of her voice, but the twist of her lips gave her away.

The waiter returned with several platters of food. The pungent aromas of twice-cooked pork, Hunan chicken, and pork fried rice wafted over the table.

“So, how’d you get so good with a sword?” Nic passed Fiona the fried rice.

“Years of practice. I got interested in the martial arts when I was about twelve. I started taking classes and never stopped. I have black belts in a few styles.” She placed a mound of rice on her plate.

“Want to work out when we get home?” As soon as he said the word “home,” he wanted to take it back. He watched for her reaction, but it didn’t seem to bother her.

“Sure. Sounds like fun. Hope you’re not a sore loser.”

“Hope you don’t mind getting your beautiful ass kicked,” he shot back.

“Can I watch? This should be fun.”

“Sure, Cho. That way, you can remind him how he got beat by a guurrrll.” Her voice taunted Nic.

“That was my plan.”

“Promise me you’ll never let him live it down, Cho.”

Nic rolled his eyes. “Overconfident, are we?”

“It’s all about skill. Not size.”

Nic paid the bill. Fiona didn’t even offer to pay, and in a way, he liked that. It was somewhat old-fashioned, but then, with what she’d said about sex and saving it, she would be. Fiona stuffed the last egg roll into a napkin and shoved it in her purse.

“Thanks. Did I ever tell you you’re my hero?”

“I figured you might want something for the ride home or for later.” She smiled down into her purse.

“You’re spoiling him, you know that.” Nic shook his head.

“No, she’s just treating me right, for once.”

“Cho, I found that receipt last night. I could ship you back.”

“Just try it, Nic. I’ll get Fiona to whip your ass.”

Nic grumbled all the way to the car.

“My own lizard turns on me just for a little food.”

“Lizards are notoriously fickle, Nic. Didn’t you know that?”

— • —

“Best two out of three falls.” Nic stood opposite her and bowed. Both went on guard. They circled each other, looking for an opening. He was big, but Fiona had beaten big men before. Perhaps nobody as big as Nic, but they had still been big. She watched him and looked for vulnerabilities. So far, he didn’t seem to have any.

God, how could he be so perfect?

She wore a pair of her workout pants and a tank top. He was in sweats, bare-chested. It was difficult for her to concentrate while watching his broad, smooth, muscular chest and those strong arms. His small, dark nipples tempted her with thoughts she usually saved for her dreams, and she kept flashing to earlier when Nic kissed her.

She never saw him break. He took her to the ground in one smooth move. Her breath exploded out of her lungs as she slammed into the mats.

Nic pinned her. He covered her body with his, and he held her wrists in his hands. A cocky grin looked down into her face as he lowered his mouth just inches from hers. She could feel her heart beating against his chest. Somehow, his body’s weight didn’t crush her, but felt…so damn good.

Taking his spoils, he kissed her. His lips played over hers and then pulled away. His dark eyes glittered as he looked deeply into hers.

“That’s one.” He stood and extended his hand to help her up.

Knocking it away, she got to her feet and rubbed her hip. “There won’t be a two, Nic.”

Furious with herself, she narrowed her eyes. Nic had been watching, waiting to see if he had affected her. He’d taken his shirt off to distract her. It had worked, damn it. Her eyes had glazed over like a Christmas ham, and he’d taken his shot. Okay, she was onto him now. His next throw would be harder to make.

They bowed again, went into their stances, and began circling each other.

Two could play that game. She was going to wipe that damn cocky grin off his face. Like so many others, he’d underestimated what she’d do to win.

Fiona pulled her tank top over her head and tossed it to the side. Nic startled. His mouth dropped open, and his eyes widened in surprise as they focused on her bare breasts.

Fiona was on him before he could start drooling. She grabbed his hand, and using an aikido hold, she had him in her control. As she guided him across her body using only a firm grip on his thumb, Fiona knocked his legs out from under him, and he hit the mat on his stomach with a grunt. She landed on top of his back with his arm pinned behind him and pressed her naked breasts against his bare back.

Looking into his face, one side pressed into the mat, she opened her mouth and slowly laved her tongue from his jaw up to his cheek. The stubble of his beard resisted the smooth motion of her slick tongue.

She glided her hand over his skin, feeling his muscles. She had to stop herself before she did more to him.

“That’s one.” She bit his ear. Then she sat up and smirked at him.

Nic rolled over, not bothering to hide the bulging erection in his pants. Her nipples stood hard and pebbled, telling him she was aroused also.

“Do we have to go to two?” Nic pulled her to him, flipped her onto her back, and rolled on top of her.

“Shit, Nic, I didn’t want this to happen, but you just get me so hot and bothered.”

He slid his hands up her stomach, discovered her breasts, and raked his thumbs over her hard points, sending pleasure streaking from them straight to her core. Her walls crumbled under his weight, that hungry look in his eyes, and the way his lips made her body react.

“I can’t begin to tell you what you do to me, have done to me, from the first moment I saw you,” he growled. Massaging her breast, he pushed it upward toward his mouth. He made circles around her sensitive areola with the tip of his tongue.

Wildfire spread through her, from her nipple outward. She’d never felt intensity like this before. The level of arousal was beyond what little she’d known the few times she’d experimented with sex. Kiss here. Feel this. Touch here. Feel that. Mostly, feel nothing.

Experiments, that’s what those times had been. This was no lab experiment; she knew that much. This was the real thing. This she couldn’t look at clinically because her eyes were crossed.

When Nic touched her, desire filled her, and every nerve in her body exploded.

“I know it sounds stupid, but I’m really not this kind of girl.” Fiona tried to stop herself. The fall was inevitable. It would just be a matter of when and where. Too soon, her brain screamed, he only wants your body.

“I want you, Fiona.” Nic confirmed her thoughts. He slid his lips to her other breast, and another crack in her wall appeared.

But do you love me?
Three stupid, little words and they meant everything to her, just to hear them from a man.

Nic wasn’t that kind of guy. Definitely not the I-love-you, marry-me type. He was a loner. Used to having what he wanted, whom he wanted, when he wanted.

Well, you can’t always get what you want. The tune played in her head, like some personal theme song. Maybe you can get something close. Just once? Trying to convince her brain that it was right to settle, she failed miserably.

“Stop, Nic. I can’t do this. I’m so sorry.” She pushed him off. After crawling over to her tank top, she jerked it on inside out.

Nic sat up. In an angry swipe, he ran his hand through his dark hair, brushing back the tousled locks that had fallen over his face.

“Stop playing games with me, Fiona! You tell me you’re this big virgin. Then you come on as if you really want it. You get me all hard and aching, and then you leave me wanting!” He stood, glaring at her.

“I’m sorry you don’t understand. Sorry that you’re disappointed I won’t fuck you!” she yelled back at him. “I’m sure you always get what you want with all the other women you rescue!” She tossed her head and her hip. “But I’m not like that. I don’t give it away. I’m not a whore!” Hot, salty tears spilled from her eyes and down her cheeks. She dashed them from her face with her fists and stalked from the room.

From down the hall, her door slammed.

•

He threw a roundhouse kick at the nearby hanging punching bag in frustration, sending it swinging.

“Now you’ve done it.”

“I didn’t do anything. I didn’t even get a chance.”

“Go to her.”

“What?”

“Apologize, Nic.”

“Me? She should apologize to me.”

“Really. Are you crying?”

Nic let the breath out of his lungs in a slow, calming exhale, and then walked down the hallway and knocked on Fiona’s door.