His To Keep (18 page)

After another few seconds, she nodded. And her blush deepened as she looked down and remembered that she was half naked on his lap.

As gently as he could he eased her t-shirt back over head, even though he wanted to keep her naked.

“I’ve got a couple of cases to clear this week.” He started to talk, more to keep her mind occupied but also to put his thoughts in order. “And I promised your girl at the center I’d teach her self-defense. I’d like to start that tomorrow.”

Annie nodded and began to inch backward. He caught her before she could get away, lifting her to reposition her on sideways on his lap. With his arms around her, he actually felt calm descend.

And when she leaned back and let her head rest against his shoulder, he realized he’d been an idiot for the past nine years.

“I usually spend a few hours at the center Saturday morning. Then I was going to practice but I want to rest my hip.”

“And I’m going to have to skip Toni’s soccer game. I don’t want this whackjob getting any ideas.”

She paused but he could sense she had something else to say. “So what do we do now?”

“Now, we’re just gonna sit here and see if the Phillies can’t manage to win one this season.”

* * * * *

Around four a.m. Nic’s eyes opened.

He registered the fact that he wasn’t in his own bed right before his brain spit back all of yesterday’s events.

Yet, his anger over the asshole taking his life into his hands by threatening him couldn’t completely dispel the lust.

Because he knew Annie slept in the next room.

He’d carried her up to bed at ten-thirty. She’d fallen asleep in his arms around ten but the game hadn’t been over yet—

Oh hell. He’d told himself no more lies. He hadn’t taken her up when she’d fallen asleep because he hadn’t wanted to let her go.

By six a.m., he had his laptop open on the kitchen table and had gotten a lead on Tiffany Jones’s ex. That bastard needed to be neutralized but so far had evaded Nic, which royally pissed him off. He wasn’t sure if the guy was just that good or if his own head hadn’t been in the job.

And that was unacceptable.

This lead required another trip to Baltimore. He’d have to leave Annie with his brother for the day. There was no one he trusted more. He’d take her along but she’d be too damn distracting.

He also had gone through a case that’d come from his dad. A local couple, friends of his parents, had a runaway teenage son. The kid had a drug habit and they were worried the boy would wind up dead on the streets.

He’d been planning to interview some of the kids’ friends today, see if he could dig up a lead. Come to think of it, maybe he’d ask Karen for a few places to look when he saw her at the shelter today.

Around seven-thirty, he heard movement upstairs. He reached over and flicked on the coffee pot he’d set up earlier. Then he turned on the oven to bake the banana-nut muffins he’d made from a mix he found in the cupboard.

By the time Annie arrived in the kitchen, the muffins were on the table and he had a cup of coffee.

Dressed in worn jeans and a loose-fitting, button-down shirt, she didn’t seem to be limping, so hopefully she didn’t have any lasting damage from last night’s fall. She’d tied her hair back in a simple ponytail and wore sneakers. Now she looked like she’d fit right in at the shelter.

She smiled at him when she entered the room but her eyes were wary. Still, she let them travel up and down his body. He wore jeans and a cotton shirt, as well, but where he’d left his shirt tails hang out, hers were tucked in neatly. Her cuffs were buttoned and his were folded back and pushed up.  At least he’d shaved.

“Good morning.” She waved in his general direction. “Thanks for starting the coffee. I need it this morning.”

“How’s the hip?”

She flashed a relieved smile in his direction as she stood at the sink. “Better. I don’t think I’ll have any problems with it.” She sat across from him at the table and took one of the muffins from the basket. “Wow, you baked, too. Maybe I should keep you around more often.”

He stamped down the impulse to grab her and take the good morning kiss he wanted. Then again… He leaned forward and planted one on her lips. Fast and hard and hot. When he pulled back, he pushed back the smile forming at the dazed look on her face. “Found the mix in the cupboard. You need to eat something more than that twiggy cereal I saw.”

She shrugged, blinking, then took a bite of muffin, nearly making him salivate when her tongue peaked out to catch the crumbs on her bottom lip. “Sometimes I do. I guess you didn’t see the Pop Tarts next to the cereal, huh?”

He gave a slight chuckle. “Yeah, I did, but I wasn’t going to mention it.”

She gave him a wide-eyed look. “Why not, when we’re discussing such innocuous things like muffins and cereal?”

Looked like Annie was back to her regular self this morning. He liked her much better this way and deliberately changed the subject.

“I figure we’ll leave when you’re done eating and head over to the shelter. Don’t want to disappoint Karen.”

Her expression softened at the girl’s name. “Thank you for that. I was really worried about her but she seems taken with you. Of course, you have a way with females of any age, don’t you?”

He snorted. “Yeah, I’m a real heartbreaker.”

Idiot was more like it. He’d never had any problems attracting women but he’d never found one he wanted to see every morning and every night. Except for her.

But he’d be damned if he’d let her know just how much he’d allowed his attraction to her to rule his life—

Annie stood, walked over to him and removed the coffee cup from his hand. Then she shocked the hell out of him by sitting in his lap, arms around his neck, staring straight into his eyes.

“You broke mine at nineteen and we spent the past seven years being pissed off about it. I don’t want to do that anymore.”

His breath froze in his lungs as she stared at him with such intensity. He didn’t want to move and break the connection.

And when she leaned forward and kissed him, he didn’t take over and devour her, holding back those primal instincts. Instead, he let her kiss him, let her lips move over his, sweet and slow.

When she pulled back and opened her eyes, he brought both hands up to cup her face in his. “You’re determined to drive me nuts, aren’t you?”

Her lips tilted up just a bit. “Consider it payback.”

Yeah, payback was a bitch.

Before he knew what she was doing, she slid off his lap and grabbed another muffin. “Come on, let’s get to the shelter.”

* * * * *

Annie stood in the hallway just outside the doorway to the workout room in building’s basement.

Nic and Karen had been down here for the past hour and, while she’d tried to keep her mind on the paperwork that had to be done, she’d finally given up the fight and come down to watch.

She’d nearly swallowed her tongue at her first sight of Nic in black sweatpants and a tight white t-shirt, barefoot and his hair tied back in a short ponytail at his nape. He had a body that should be declared illegal, it was so toned. Broad shoulders, defined chest and abs, thin hips and, oh baby, firm thighs. She had a thing for Nic’s thighs.

Shaking off thoughts of running her fingers along those perfect muscles, she let herself simply enjoy his movements as he took Karen through what looked like a typical street fight.

He taught her how to fall, how to block punches, how to break various holds. He never talked down to her, didn’t patronize her. He didn’t cut her any slack, either.

And Karen showed no weakness. Not even when Nic dropped her on her butt for what had to be the fifth time in a row.

“You’re still giving away your next move with your body language,” he said. “Don’t even think about throwing that punch until the last second. It has to be instinctive.”

Karen nodded, dark braid swinging down her back, face set in determination. When she threw her punch this time, Nic blocked it, but nodded.

“Good. Now let’s work on those kicks.”

With a sigh, she tore herself away and headed back upstairs to call Colin. She told him how she was feeling but didn’t let him ask too many questions. She answered even less. But she knew she’d only gained a short reprieve.

Then she called her mom, since she hadn’t talked to her all week. Beatrice was surprisingly maternal for a change, asking about the competition and her job. She didn’t tell her mom about her hip or her current roommate. Beatrice tended to go berserk at the mention of a hangnail. Fallout from her dad’s death.

“And if you’re not busy tonight, Andrea, I’d like you to drop by. There’s someone I want you to meet.”

“Oh, I—”

“A distant cousin of mine from England is visiting the states for a few weeks and I’ve invited her to dinner tonight with her son. I know it’s short notice but Vanessa only called yesterday. Her schedule opened up and I wasn’t able to reach you yesterday and you didn’t return my phone call.”

Annie stifled a groan. Her mother had just requested a command performance and thrown a load of guilt on top of if. She didn’t need this now.

“Actually, Mom, I have plans for tonight.”

Beatrice paused and the guilt practically oozed over the phone line. “Well, I can certainly understand not wanting to break a commitment. If it’s a date, why don’t you ask the man to meet you at the house, so at least you could put in an appearance?”

Annie’s shoulders got heavier with each word. There was absolutely no way out, short of flat-out lying. With a muffled sigh, she resigned herself to an ibuprofen-laden night.

“I’m sure I could stop for a while, Mom, if you don’t mind an extra guest. Around seven okay?”

“That’s fine.” Beatrice paused and Annie was sure something else was forthcoming. So she was pleasantly shocked when her mother said, “Thank you, dear. I’ll see you tonight.”

Annie hung up the phone with a weight on her heart. Did it really take so little to make her mother happy?

With a sigh, Annie crossed her arms on her desk and rested her forehead on them. Her entire world seemed to be shifting on its foundations and she didn’t know where it was safe to stand at the moment.

She would have to take Nic to her mother’s. She didn’t think he’d let her go alone. And, quite honestly, she didn’t want to go without him. After last night…

After last night, she wanted to spend every waking moment with him.

But if she subjected him to her mother for more than a few minutes, Nic might want to strangle her later. A few hours in her mother’s company and Annie wanted to strangle herself.

It wasn’t that she didn’t love her mom. She did. It’s just that Beatrice Reed was…difficult. Cold and judgmental yet clingy and needy. A combination to try a saint’s patience.

And Annie was no saint.

She’d have to tell Nic and there was no anticipating what his response would be. She had no doubt he could handle her mother but she didn’t want him to have to.

First things first, though. She needed to finish this paperwork or she would have more of a problem with the city council than she already did. They wanted to revoke the license for the shelter. Well, not the whole council, just a few vocal members.

They were concerned that the teens were a safety risk to the neighborhood. Unfortunately, they had the clout to be dangerous.