Hearts & Diamonds (6 page)

He was easily the best lover she’d ever had, an intoxicating mixture of gentle and rough. She had never been as wet or turned on than under his tender…almost reverent attention to her sensitive flesh. He knew exactly what to do to take complete control of her body and give her the most pleasure.

With the dishes loaded in the dishwasher, she headed to the bathroom and stripped out of her dress. Her nipples were
still
hard. She ran a finger over one tight bud and sucked in a deep breath.

Two.

She had achieved two orgasms with Quin. His passionate words and wicked warm tongue all over her body was such a stark contrast to the man she had just said goodnight to. She turned on the water, adjusted the heat to her liking before stepping under the ultra warm stream.

It was so easy for him to pull back from her…
too
easy.

Nia closed her eyes, enjoying the rivulets of water racing over her curves. She had seen the look of…of…
longing
in his eyes before he had gone. Whether he wanted to acknowledge what transpired between them or not, there was no mistaking the wild emotion she had witnessed. Sighing, she grabbed her loofah and poured on liquid soap.

Why hadn’t he said something more than he had before leaving
?

She started lathering up her body as a million possible answers raced through her mind. Why hadn’t
she
? Because she hadn’t known
what
to say…except for the one word Quin had said seconds after coming.

Increíble.

Nia smiled, remembering the deep husky tone of his voice when he had uttered the word. “Damn right.”

Quin watched his partner drive away from their rendezvous spot before grabbing the folder on the passenger seat. Another elaborate jewellery heist had taken place fifty miles away. He flipped the folder open and studied the grainy photographs of Scott and two other unidentifiable men. This time one of the men had killed the female employee working late for the holidays.

It could’ve been Nia.

Quin cursed. The thought made him crazy and bothered him at the same time. Thinking about the case or the people involved in the case in anything other than a professional capacity was reckless. Reckless equalled careless.

He ran a hand through his hair and got a whiff of Nia’s sweet scent embedded in his sweater. His dick instantly stiffened as flashbacks of her soft cries of delight replayed in his mind. God, she tasted better than he’d imagined, felt better wrapped around his cock than he’d dared dream. He wanted her again. Next time he’d take her from behind or offer her the ride of a lifetime while he fondled her br—

“Fuck!” With less finesse than usual, he backed out of the parking lot and accelerated towards the freeway.

Scott’s crew had got away with over a quarter million dollars worth of diamonds…again and he was fantasising about all the different ways he could make Nia come. And come she had. Twice. The knowledge did all kinds of wild things to his male ego.

He flipped on the stereo and blasted the music. He needed some kind of distraction to keep his mine off Nia Sanders.

Fat chance.

His swollen dick refused to take note of his steely determination to remain focused. He shifted the rigid muscle in a more comfortable position in his jeans. What he really needed was a hot shower and some sleep. He’d get neither if he went back to stakeout Nia’s place. The odds of the robbers coming after her now seemed slim, slimmer by each passing hour, but it was still a possibility. Her missing wallet bothered him. The jewel thieves knew where she lived. There was a chance they’d want to tie up any loose ends.

Quin gripped the wheel as he crossed two lanes of traffic. There was no need for him to go back. She would be safe with the squad car keeping an eye on her place.

Call her.

The reasonable statement mocked how complicated his thoughts were about her. He had seen the flash of disappoint in Nia’s eyes when he’d told her he had to leave. Hell, he had practically bolted out of there, grateful Tan had called him away. The intense need to take Nia, professionalism be damned, was a first. Everything about her incited lust, from her cutesy slippers to her delectable body. She had curves for days, the sexiest lips and an infectious laugh.

Woman came and went in his life much faster than the cases he solved. He preferred it that way, kept him at the top of his game. No distractions.

The vibrating cell in his pocket interrupted his thoughts. He slowed down to peek at the display and saw a text message waiting for him from Nia.

What was this feeling of joy rushing through him?

Quin groaned as he hit the button to retrieve the text. Five words fuelled his fever,
Hope you enjoyed the pie.

“
Querido Dios.
”

Distractions be damned.

He had to have Nia Sanders again.

Nia woke the next morning feeling tender aches all over her body. She yawned as she stretched, still tired. Her dreams had kept her tossing and turning all night long, hot, naughty dreams involving Quin. Had he thought of her last night? His three word response to her text had made sure she would think of nothing else,
but
him.

Tastes like more
…

He had to know his ambiguous message would evoke images of him between her legs, tasting and licking her slick wet folds with his devilish tongue. She shivered beneath her warm sheets, wishing he were there with her right now to put out the slow burn of desire building within her. She wanted more. More of him.

At least work would provide the distraction needed to get him off her mind. She skipped breakfast after showering and dressing and headed to work. If everything went smoothly today, Fletcher’s would reopen tomorrow. Sales would need to be phenomenal to recoup their losses due to the robbery and Donovan wanted the store to open earlier and close an hour later to ensure just that.

It’s going to be a long day
, Nia thought as she walked into the store, surprised to see the glass showcases replaced and the bloodstained carpet gone. It almost looked like no robbery had taken place until she gazed upon the office door still riddled with bullet holes. She stared at the mottled wood, a physical reminder of how close she’d come to being killed and how Quin had saved her life.

“Don’t worry that’s going to be fixed this afternoon.”

She jumped, turning to face the storeowner. “That’s good news.”

Donovan nodded his gaze moving around the showroom. “I’ve got even better news…we’ve got the go ahead to reopen tomorrow.”

“Terrific! There’s still hope to meet our sales goal.”

“I’m not worried. If we fall short, we’ll have a storewide sale that’ll bring people in. You should know, I’ve sent over one of our security guards from the
Schaumburg
store and I want you to hire a new one as soon as possible.”

“What about Roger?” She hated the thought of her old friend losing his job on top of everything else.

“When he’s ready to come back, his job will be here. Roger has been a loyal employee.” Donovan sighed. “I hope the feds catch these bastards, but I intend to take every security precaution I can for Fletcher stores in the future.” He stuffed his hand into his suit pocket, took out a gleaming gold pocket watch and flicked it open. “Now,” he looked up at her. “I’m taking off. I know you can handle anything else that may come up.”

Nia nodded. “Of course, enjoy the holiday with your family.”

“Will do and you do the same.”

She was glad to see him go even though they had a good working relationship. He trusted her to do her job and she appreciated the latitude she had to run the store as she saw fit. The store telephone rang and she raced towards the back office to answer the call.

She was greeted by a frazzled customer concerned about a special diamond ring to be delivered to the store tomorrow. After reassuring the man Fletcher’s would indeed be open, she hung up and spent the rest of the morning catching up on paperwork and other tasks while trying not to think about Quin.

The contractor came around noon filling the showroom with the noise of power tools and hammering, as she took care of last minute details in preparation for tomorrow. She showed Owen, the new security guard, around the store. He didn’t have Roger’s warm personality, but he exuded confidence and professionalism. When the contractor was done a new reinforced door was in place and no physical evidence remained to suggest the chaotic state the place had been in only a few days before.

“Ms. Sanders?”

“Yes, Owen?” She glanced up from her paperwork.

“There’s an Agent Tan here to see you.”

“Can you send her in here?”

“Sure thing.”

Owen left the room in a purposeful stride, leaving her to wonder what the agent wanted. Nia offered a small smile as the woman entered the office.

“Hello, Ms. Sanders.”

“Hello, Agent Tan. How can I help you?”

“I decided to come by to see how things were shaping up here and see if there was any new information you wanted to share.”

“I told Quin everything I know about Tess and Scott last night.” Nia felt heat rush to her cheeks. She hadn’t meant to share he’d been over on some very
unofficial
business.

Just dinner and sex!

Nia resisted the urge to fidget under the agent’s bland stare.

“He told me Tess called,” she said with no indication she cared about her omission. “You should know we’re going to put a tap on your phone in case it happens again.” She pointed to the new door. “Bulletproof?”

“That’s what the contractor said.”

“Only one way to find out.”

Nia inhaled sharply as Agent Tan placed her hand on her gun.

The other woman chuckled upon seeing her shocked expression. “Just a joke.”

Hilarious.

“Are there any leads you can share with me?”

“We’re fairly certain they’ve left
Chicago
. Agent Rios is working on another lead now. He should be getting back into the city soon.” She looked at Nia, her dark brown eyes running over her face.

Just the mention of Quin’s name sent her heart rate through the roof. She wanted to ask where he was, but bit the inside of her lip instead as she stood. “Would you like some water?” She turned towards the water cooler as she blushed. Her innocent question instantly reminded her of the spilled water on Quin’s jeans, the evidence of his erection outlined clearly in the wet material.

“No, thanks, I have to get going.”

Nia took a sip and smiled. “Merry Christmas.”

Agent Tan scoffed. “I don’t do Christmas.”

“Oh, well, happy holidays then.”

“Sure.”

Nia cursed as the agent took her leave. She couldn’t figure that lady out. Why hadn’t she said ‘happy holidays’ to start with? She always did on the floor. Her stomach rumbled, a reminder of missing dinner.

And Quin.

So, he was out of town, too busy with work, too committed to his job to call her. What did she expect after one night of hot sex? Maybe he considered it a one-night stand. The sobering thought depressed her. She didn’t want to believe last night would be the only moment she’d share with him.

The laptop powered down as she considered calling or texting him. She soon dismissed the idea. Since when had she ever chased after a man? With a dejected sigh, she pulled on her coat and packed up her stuff to leave.

The showroom was unnaturally quiet after all the hustle and bustle of the day and Nia was glad to see Owen waiting by the door. After saying good night to him, she set the alarm, locked the store and hustled to her car.

Traffic was mild and soon she was pulling into her driveway. More snow had fallen since the morning and Nia was grateful her neighbour had snow-ploughed her walkway. She still needed to shovel her steps.

That’s for another day.

She climbed up the snow-packed steps to her home and wished for a split second she had a dog, cat…anything to greet her as she walked through the door. The jewellery ring had moved on, but a part of her didn’t feel safe. How could she when Scott and the rest of the jewel robbers were still out there somewhere? When they knew where she lived?

The living room light was on, thanks to an automatic timer, but she still went through every room to systematically turn on all the rest. She flicked on the stereo and merry holiday tunes poured out of the stereo. Christmas was four days away but she felt anything but festive. She picked up her phone and listened to voicemail from her older brother, reminding her to call him. Nia smiled as she listened to his playful message. Getting together with her two older brothers and their dad was the highlight of the year. Her mother always made them come together for the holidays, but that changed after her death. Her father had remarried, much to everyone’s surprise. His new wife was warm and Nia genuinely liked her, but she missed the closeness of their family.

She pushed a button on the phone and the second message played, sounding like someone waiting on the line. After listening to the odd crackling silence twice, she was unable to shake the feeling whomever had left the empty voicemail had not dialled the wrong number. Caller ID revealed nothing more than a private number. Nia stared at the phone wishing she could forget Tess’s voice, so cold and calculating the other night. It was still hard to believe the woman she had hired and considered a friend was a cold-blooded thief.

Stop being so jumpy.

She shimmied out of her skirt, pulled off her sweater and bra, tossed them on her bed before reaching for her
Naughty or Nice
long-sleeved nightshirt. The soft familiar cotton clung to her curves, drawing attention to her breasts with the glitter lettering running over the top of them. She stuffed her bare feet into her mouse slippers and grabbed her cell.

No new messages.

Of course, hadn’t she checked the damn thing twenty minutes ago?

Frustrated, she padded back into the kitchen with her cell in tow to warm up some soup. Her gaze drifted to the remaining wrapped slices of apple pie and her resolve weakened. She reached for her phone to dial Quin’s number.

Quin was tired and irritated after back-to-back flights to
Miami
,
Florida
. The lead he had been searching for proved to be a dead end and to make matters worse he couldn’t get Nia off of his mind. All day long he had thought about her warm smile, that sexy body and the smell and taste of her skin beneath his lips. He loved beautiful women, loved
loving
beautiful women but this was something else. Something he couldn’t control or ignore.