Innocent Next Door (Military Men Book 1) (3 page)

Summer struggled for freedom, and he released her the instant she wriggled. Enough. They couldn’t pretend she was invisible. She was right in front of their eyes. “Are the two mutually exclusive?” she demanded, clicking her fingers.

“Of course not, ma’am,” one of the men said.

She glared and stuck out her hand. “Summer, not ma’am.”

“Jake,” the man replied.

Interesting. His hand was as warm as Nikolai’s but didn’t produce the same tingles. A soft growl came from behind her, and Jake grinned as he liberated her hand.

The other man beside Jake claimed it almost instantly. “Louie. Pleased to meet you, Summer.” Louie’s low drawl held flirtation, and she felt an answering grin gather momentum.

“
Louie
.”

Startled, her gaze snapped to Nikolai. His face bore a feral warning while his tone promised reprisal. Against what she didn’t know, but Louie did and he heeded the caution.

“Shirt,” Nikolai snapped.

Jake and Louie grinned at each other. They did the silent communication thing then Jake shrugged, whipped off his cotton shirt and held it out to her. She stared in confusion. What did they want her to do with it? Wash it?

“Hell.” Nikolai grabbed the garment and thrust it against her chest. “Put it on before we drown in the drool.” A snicker drew his wrath. “What?”

“Nothing,” Jake said.

Nikolai nailed her with a glare. “We’ll go and check Henry’s house. Make sure they’ve gone.”

Summer nodded, and once they moved off, followed them.

“Stay,” Nikolai ordered.

She halted and frowned at the departing men before glancing over her shoulder. Nope, Nikolai didn’t own a dog.

And she didn’t have fur.

She crept down the footpath after the three men, careful where she placed her bare feet. Her body ached in interesting places, but no way was she missing a single bit of this adventure.

Chapter Three

The woman would drive a sane man to drink if she didn’t entice him into bed first. How the hell had he ever thought her unremarkable? Jake and Louie hadn’t missed a trick. He was the one slow on the uptake, which made this babysitting assignment a trickier proposition than his original suppositions. Especially, when he had the urge to run his hands over her breasts and down her body in a one-on-one investigation.

His cock twitched in agreement. He cast a furtive glance over his shoulder and cursed. Jake and Louie stilled.

“Problem?” Louie demanded in an undertone.

Nikolai sighed. “Nothing. You two go ahead. I’ll handle it.”

Jake glanced back, the ever-present humor turning up into a flagrant grin. “The babe?”

“Henry’s niece,” he gritted out. The plan was to look after the girl, not get down and dirty as his cock was so busily ordering.
He was a babysitter
.

Louie smirked. “Whatever.”

They slid away, blending into the darkness without another word while he backtracked to deal with Summer Williams.

“I’m not in the SAS so I don’t have to follow orders.” She folded her arms across her chest, and Nikolai couldn’t help but notice her spectacular curves. The girl obviously ate well—no lettuce leaves for her. She’d look great decked out as a fifties movie star, but naked—
Whoa!

“Button up the shirt,” he ordered, averting his gaze and mentally ordering his body to cool it. Henry’s niece was way out of his league. Too young. Too naïve. And probably a virgin to boot. “You’ll catch a cold.”

“I’m not in the army. I’m not part of your unit.” Her blue eyes shot heavy artillery fire.

“Who said I’m SAS?”

“Uncle Henry.”

Nikolai glided closer, right into her personal space, intimidation on his mind. He sucked in a deep breath while striving for calm. Mistake. Her delicate feminine scent teased him, distracted him.

Flowers.

Woman.

Bad move.

The boys were right. He
was
thinking babe. He struggled with concentration, resisting the urge to shuffle in the manner of a raw recruit. Damn, his jeans were starting to feel like a suit of armor.
Think cold showers
.

“Henry wouldn’t tell you that.” Shit, if he carried on like this for much longer she’d notice his body’s reaction. In a desperate act of self-preservation, Nikolai pictured the gruff, no-nonsense Henry. It didn’t help. He took a hurried step away from temptation.

“My brothers are SAS. I can spot a military man from a hundred feet away.”

She sounded so ferocious she piqued his curiosity. He might be SAS, but he wasn’t contagious. “What’s wrong with the army? Henry’s military.”

“Don’t you mean what’s right with them? Military men are bossy, opinionated, macho, pigheaded, think their way is the sole way, shoot first and ask questions later, scare away boyfriends— Did I mention bossy? All for my own good, of course.”

Nikolai watched her impassioned face and couldn’t prevent a laugh. “Why don’t you save the character assassination for your brothers and Henry? Remember me? The man you ran to for help.” Since she’d made her opinion clear, he’d keep out of her way, apart from the promised weekly check for Henry.

Yeah, he could do that. Better for both of them that way. Besides, Henry wouldn’t appreciate the thoughts running through his head. Hell, any guy who dared to think of his niece like this—if he had one. His jaw flexed. That included Jake and Louie.

Hell, especially Jake and Louie
.

She planted her hands on her hips, dragging his reluctant gaze to her curvy body. “The two men are gone. I want to see the damage then go to bed. I have a busy day tomorrow.”

Disappointment surged through him as quick as machine gun fire. He’d liked the look of her in his bed. The feel of her…hell! Preservation kicked in big time. The girl was young—too young. How many times did he have to tell himself before the facts sank into his thick head? Besides, he’d failed with Laura. He’d lost both her and their baby.

No point making the same mistake twice.

He was committed to his job, and that didn’t leave room for anything else. Once this bum knee mended, he’d be back in the thick of the latest war brewing.

“All right. We’ll check the house then leave you on your own.” He took her arm and guided her down the footpath to Henry’s house.

The front door stood wide open. Nikolai heard Jake and Louie murmuring in low voices near Henry’s study, so he knew it was safe for her to enter.

Nikolai directed her to Henry’s study, which had been ransacked. Books dotted the carpet, ripped from shelves and tossed haphazardly to the floor. Broken glass from picture frames crunched underfoot, and a coffee table and chairs lay at drunken angles, carelessly overturned.

He halted in the doorway. “Your feet are bare. Watch the glass. I need to know if anything is missing.”

“How can I tell with this mess?”

“Thieves usually take portable valuables. Electrical goods. Jewelry. Money. Do the best you can. Take one room at a time.”

She wandered off so he limped over to Jake and Louie, skirting glass and a broken chair. “Point of entry?”

Jake eyed the direction in which Summer had disappeared. “They forced the laundry window.”

Nikolai’s nod was curt. “I doubt Henry keeps anything of military value here, but we can’t dismiss it totally.”

“Nothing obvious missing.” Louie shrugged. “They’ve tossed the study and the bedrooms. Kitchen and dining room are intact. You gonna contact Henry?”

“Nah.” Ribald amusement surfaced at the idea. He could hear Henry’s curses already, and none of the language sounded printable. “I know better than to interrupt a man on his honeymoon. Once he gets back is soon enough.”

Jake righted a chair and straddled it. “You want us to stay?”

The glint in his friend’s eyes made Nikolai sober and edginess seep into his muscles. He straightened to face off with his mate. The attempt at intimidation didn’t shift Jake’s smirk. Finally, he decided to pretend ignorance. “You might as well head off. I doubt they’ll be back tonight.”

Louie leapt in to pick up the gauntlet. “You and the babe be okay on your own? You don’t need chaperones?”

Jake chortled.

Nikolai bared his teeth but there was no amusement involved. “Thanks for coming. Appreciate the help.”

The three men walked to the door together, his two friends still chuckling loud enough to scrape him the wrong way. Never mind that he’d lead the joking if it were one of them in the same position.

“How’s the knee?” Jake asked.

“Better. I start physio next week.”

The phone rang, and all three men froze.

Louie scowled. “Damn funny time for the phone to ring.”

Nikolai headed inside at a jog, ignoring the pain signals traveling from his knee. The ringing ceased.

Louie followed. “Too late. She’s answered it.”

“Summer!” Nikolai hollered.

She appeared at the end of the passage, and he saw her pallor even with the distance between them. When she saw him, she ran toward him. An instant later, he held her trembling body in his arms.

“Who was it?” he asked, already suspecting the answer.

She shivered. “I don’t know. They told me they’d be back.”

Nikolai tightened his hold as if he could stop the shaking by sheer willpower. “Anything else?”

“He told me I wouldn’t have guard dogs all the time.”

Nikolai waved off his hovering mates. “Catch ya tomorrow.”

Louie nodded. “Ring if you need us.”

“I think Nikolai has things under control,” Jake said deadpan.

Stone-faced, Nikolai indicated the door with a jerk of his head. “Good night.”

Summer pulled away from him. “Thanks for the help.”

Jake winked, his pretty face wreathed in a babe-mag smile. “Anytime.”

Nikolai growled, and Louie chuckled without restraint.

Summer glanced at him, her eyes wide and blue. They shimmered in the light, and seeing that, he braced for an emotional outpouring. Hell, he hated weeping females. Laura used to excel at tears on demand. It’d taken him a while to catch on, but experience still hadn’t taught him how to cope with the feminine emotion.

“Where did they get in?” she demanded.

He did a double take. Not a tear in evidence. Instead, fury vibrated through her, rage making her glow with an inner fire. “Laundry window.”

“Would you mind boarding it up while I finish checking the rooms for missing items?”

“No problem.” Bemusement shaded his tone.

Her head dipped in a no-nonsense nod as she headed for the lounge.

A flash of tanned limbs drew his gaze. “What happened to your legs?”

She slowed and glanced down with indifference. “I jumped out my bedroom window. Uncle Henry’s rose garden is below.”

Nikolai swallowed. He was trained to deal with medical emergencies in the field, but it was different, worse somehow, seeing her injured. Angry scratches marred the creamy perfection of her calves. The right leg appeared worse. The scratches went all the way up her thigh, disappearing beneath the flimsy hem of her nightgown. Closer scrutiny showed protruding thorns. “That must hurt. Why didn’t you say something?”

She lifted one shoulder in a shrug. “I’ll live.”

“Where does Henry keep the first-aid kit?”

“You sound like my mother. Stop fussing. I’ll grab the kit when I’ve finished checking the rooms.”

He didn’t know whether to laugh or groan. The lady had enough prickles to rival a rose bush without borrowing from nature. “How are you going to remove the thorns by yourself?”

“I’ll look in the mirror.”

“Wouldn’t it be easier if I did it?”

She eyed him with clear mistrust. “I am
not
letting you look at my butt.”

Her trepidation fed his determination to follow through. “Seen one butt, you’ve seen them all.”

“This is a stupid discussion.” She took three steps into the lounge. “Let yourself out when you’ve finished in the laundry.”

He blinked at her retreating form. It had been a long time since anyone dismissed him that way. “How do you know I wasn’t involved in the break-in?” he asked in a soft voice.

She whirled to glare at him. “That’s not funny.”

“You don’t know me.”

“Is this a lecture? A life lesson? I might come from the country, but I’m not stupid. Uncle Henry trusts you, and that’s good enough for me.” She stormed past the den.

Nikolai stalked her, admiring the feminine roll of hips as she stomped. His gaze drifted to her stiff shoulders and returned to her butt. Nope. Nothing wrong with her curvy figure.

She paused to right a stool, and as she reached for the chrome leg, Jake’s shirt and the nightgown rode up. Nikolai’s breath hissed through his teeth.

“Right, that does it.” He tore his gaze away and fixed it on her indignant expression. “Where’s the first-aid box? Those scratches go all the way up your leg. They’ll get infected if they’re not treated.”

She huffed hard enough to blow a lock of hair from her eyes. “You’re not going to leave without a fight, are you?”

“Nope.”

Stubborn, stubborn man
. “I heard Uncle Henry ask you to watch me. Are you going to boss me around the entire time he’s away? Personally, I think this is an extreme plan to see my naked butt.”

She caught his blink and watched his mouth curve in a sensual grin. Her heart sped up without warning, and her face heated. She wanted to fan her cheeks but kept her hands clenched at her sides. “How old are you?”

“Twenty-nine, almost thirty.”

Good, another black mark to add to the dreaded bossy factor. He was
way
too old for her. The article in
Miranda
magazine suggested a five-year age gap was good, and she agreed. Besides, she didn’t want to tie herself to one man, and the more her family interfered, the more determined she was to have fun and make up for lost time. Clear relief at his advanced age made her chirp, “I’m twenty-two.”

“Is the first-aid stuff in the bathroom?”

Stuck record. Clearly, he wasn’t going to back down. “Yeah, in the bathroom cabinet. I’ll get it.”

“You’ll need to lie down. Your bedroom is the best place.”

No. Definitely not, especially when she pictured her single bed and the lineup of stuffed bears. She imagined Nikolai touching her, gazing at her rear end. She shuddered. That was a big fat no. Dirty laundry covered the floor, still lying where she’d tossed it earlier. Underwear… She shook her head emphatically. “I don’t think so.”