His To Keep (10 page)

“Nothing.” He turned to face her, leaning back on the edge of his desk, arms crossed on his chest. “It’s not your concern. Just drop it.”

She drew in a sharp breath. Not her concern. A not-so-subtle reminder he still considered her an outsider.

Her jaw locked in place and her eyes burned with imminent tears, which she refused to ever let him see.

“You’re right.” She forced a brittle smile. “No problem. I’m so glad you finally told me how you really feel.”

Turning on her heel, Annie strode down the hall before she could say the vicious words springing to her tongue, knowing she was hurt and would regret them later. She reached for her coat on the stand by the door and snagged it, uncaring that the stand wobbled drunkenly, nearly clipping her head.

Would she never learn?

The roar in her ears intensified as she grabbed the front door, ready to make her escape. She opened the door—and found herself spun around to face Nic, his fingers holding her firmly by the forearms.

“You don’t have a clue, do you?” he ground out. “How the hell could you possibly not know what I think about you?”

She wanted to kick him in the shins to get him to let go but wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of losing her temper. “You made yourself perfectly clear that I have no business being here. I think that tells me a lot.”

Annie felt her words tumble over one another, tangling on her tongue. She could barely breathe, trying to hold in the tears. She decided to take the offensive.

“Don’t worry. I get it. I’ll make sure to stay out of your way.”

She stopped with a startled gasp when she saw the molten heat in his eyes.

“Goddamn it, Annie.” His voice sounded like boots on gravel. “What the hell do you want from me? You want me to stay away? Fine. I’ll keep my distance. You want me to kiss you? That’s fine, too, because damn it, I can’t stop thinking about it. Just make up your damn mind because I can’t read it!”

Stunned, she blinked up at a Nic she’d never seen before. He never raised his voice to her. Not ever. It was almost as if he didn’t care enough to get that worked up.

Now, though, his expression was somewhere between anger and misery and his tone was furious.

She took a deep breath and a big chance. “Tell me what you want, Nic. Do you want me?”

She hadn’t meant to sound…so needy. But when something hot and dark flashed through his eyes, she acted without thinking, grabbing onto him and sinking her fingers into his rock-hard biceps. Thick muscle flexed under her fingers.

“What the hell am I supposed to say to that? What answer isn’t going to freak you out or piss you off?” He snarled the words into her ear even as his hands fastened on her waist.

Okay, she had to give him that one. And she didn’t know the answer to his questions. She continued to stare up at him, searching for answers in his eyes.

What did he want?

More importantly, what did she want?

For the third time in less than a month, she had Nic close enough to kiss. And his proximity was melting eight years of battle.

He must have seen something in her face because he went from furious to intent in the blink of an eye. She imagined this is what he looked like when he was about to go to war. Focused, battle-ready.

And when he brought his mouth down to cover hers, she felt like a grenade detonated in her stomach.

Without thought, she raised her hands to his hair, slipping her fingers into the soft black waves and holding tight. With the motion, she forced him to release her arms, and his hands arrowed straight to her hips, lifting her closer, pulling her flush against his body.

That’s when he sank into her with a hunger that threatened to overwhelm her. His kiss sucked the breath out of her, but she refused to give in to the anger she felt simmering beneath his need. Instead, she mounted her own attack, softening and opening her lips to entice him in. When he groaned and slid his tongue into her mouth, she sucked on it.

Dimly, she heard the rush of Friday traffic. They stood in the doorway, visible to anyone who walked or drove by. She didn’t care. Her mother could walk by at the moment and she wouldn’t even notice.

The only thing she cared about right now was Nic. She remembered the taste of him and knew she’d been waiting for him to kiss her again. It didn’t matter that he hadn’t wanted to. It only mattered that he was.

He kissed her like he was starved for her. His heart thudded against her chest, her feet dangling inches above the ground as he held her in his arms.

It wasn’t until a passing taxi honked in front of the building that Nic seemed to realize where they were. He drew back, his eyes slitted and dangerous looking.

He slid her down his body, the contact setting off flashes of desire in her belly and lower, until she stood on her own feet. He didn’t seem in any hurry to let her go.

Then he grabbed her hands, which had fallen to his forearms, and led her into the building. He pulled her along to his office, where he sat her in the chair across from his desk then walked around to pull open a drawer.

When he lifted a bottle and two shot glasses at her, she nodded then downed the shot he slid across the desk to her. She didn’t flinch as the tequila burned its way down her throat.

Nic polished off his and sighed, then sat on the edge of the desk, facing her. “We have a problem.”

She wasn’t about to agree but now came the part she dreaded. The talking.

She cleared her throat and looked him straight in the eyes. “I understand why you might think that, but why can’t this simply be what it is?”

Something flashed through his eyes, some flicker of doubt. Or hope. She wasn’t sure which.

“And what do you think this is?”

She took a deep breath. “Desire. Need. Chemistry.  What do you want me to say, Nic?” She hesitated then forced the words out of her mouth. “I’ve wanted you for years. You had to know that.”

There, that got a response. Shock, awe and desire passed over his expression before he wiped it clean. But he didn’t say anything. Instead, he reached out to feather his fingers over her lips, drawing tingles to the surface.

“Then we really do have a problem.”

She had no clue what he was thinking, couldn’t see beyond the heat in his eyes.

“Tell me about your boyfriend.”

Oh. That problem. She shook her head and his hand fell away. “There is no boyfriend. We, ah, parted ways last week.” She flashed a tight smile but didn’t break eye contact. “He wasn’t the kind of man I needed in my life.”

Nic snorted. “And you think I am? Jesus, Annie, you know me. I’ve got a bad temper, a foul mouth and I fly off the handle. I’m closer to forty than I’ll ever be to thirty again. And you’re not even out of your twenties. You don’t need me.”

She continued to stare, and now she was sure she saw something other than anger in his eyes. She saw want.

“How do you know what I need, Dominic? You’ve spent the last seven years ignoring me. How could you possibly know what I need?”

He shook his head. “I could say the same about you.” He watched her carefully, but she refused to show any weakness. “You don’t really know me.”

“I know enough.”

With a sigh, Nic rubbed his chin, his beard rasping and making him her shiver. “Annie—”

She broke in before he could finish what probably wouldn’t be something she wanted to hear. “Don’t. Just don’t. If you want to forget this happened, then…fine. You don’t need to take me out for a drink to let me down easy. But don’t tell me I don’t know you or know what I want.”

Holding his gaze, she forced herself to rise from the chair and stand in front of him, close enough to hear him swallow.

“I know what I want. And I’m stubborn enough to get my way. You know that.”

His lips gave a reluctant twitch. “Hell. I’ve known that since the day I met you.” Then his expression cleared again. “But I was already grown and you were still a kid. You’re not a kid anymore, but I’m still too old for you.”

Stupid, stupid man. She wanted to hit him, lay him out flat with a right cross for being so damn steadfast. Didn’t matter that it was one of the things she lo— admired about him. He was stubborn as all hell. But it wasn’t so attractive when he used it against her.

Time to retreat for the night. She didn’t want to go, not really, but he looked intractable and she needed to think about this some more. Without the distraction he presented.

“I’m not a child, Dominic. And you’re not old. I’ll leave you to your secrets. For now.”

She rose, picked up her stuff and walked out the door.

* * * * *

“Is everything okay, Nic? You look…worried about something.”

Stifling a sigh, Nic knew better than to avoid a direct question. His mom was too sharp.

He picked up his fork and twirled spaghetti as he shook his head.

“Not worried,” he said between bites. “Just some stuff on my mind. Got a call from Tiffany Jones about her snake of a husband. Said he’d called and talked to the little girl, told her he was gonna take her to live with him, that her mom was no good, stuff like that. Traced the call to a phone booth in Baltimore. It’s where I figured he’d be, so I’m heading down tomorrow.”

After Annie had left him feeling like she’d smashed a crowbar over his head this afternoon, he’d recovered enough to know he had to clear out his cases so he could concentrate on his caller. He’d been chasing Tiffany’s deadbeat husband for a couple months now and the guy had just presented himself on a platter.

“Is this the guy who beat his wife then tried to say her nonexistent boyfriend did it?” His dad’s low rumble came from the other side of the table.

“Yeah. He’s a real scumsucker. I don’t know what Tiff ever saw in him.”

“Well, there’s no accounting for taste.” Grace sighed. “Just look at poor Annie. That girl’s been having such a hard time lately. You know she dumped her last boyfriend.”

It took a huge effort not to show a reaction. Yeah, he knew she’d dumped the guy, but he’d bet she’d told his mom a whole lot more. Not that he wanted to know, damn it, but if his mom wanted to offer…which she probably wouldn’t. For too many years, Nic hadn’t wanted to hear about Annie’s misadventures in dating. He’d always managed to turn his mom’s interest in another direction, and she’d finally taken the hint.

Of course, now that he actually wanted to know—which he didn’t want to examine too closely—she probably wouldn’t say a word.

To his surprise, Grace wasn’t finished. “Another one who just wanted her for her family connections. It’s such a shame.”

His dad grunted in response and Nic flashed him a look. But his dad only had eyes for his mother.

“I’ve been thinking,” she continued. “About John. Your cousin Ray’s son. He’s only a couple years older than Annie and I’ve always thought he was such a sweetheart. I think he and Annie would hit it off, don’t you?”

Nic took that last statement like a punch to the solar plexus. He sucked in a deep breath before he could stop himself. His mom didn’t seem to notice, though, as his dad answered with a noncommittal hmm.

Sweet Jesus, he didn’t need this right now.

“She’s had rotten luck with men lately.” Grace waved her fork in Frank’s general direction, patently ignoring Nic. “These last couple of guys, though, they really had me worried. It’s almost like she’s getting desperate. My god, the girl’s only twenty-seven and she keeps talking about her clock-ticking. Like she’s running out of time.”