Intimate Caresses (The Love and Danger Series) (10 page)

Nina wasn’t so sure she wanted to hear anything from this man.  “Okay, what will it take for you to stop doing that?” she challenged, turning to face him fully.

Hannah and Sam were already bending low, whispering to each other.  The waitress arrived and set two more martinis down on the table along with two more beers, courtesy of Walker. 

Nina took her
half-filled martini and downed the rest of the drink, then looked back up at Brock.  “Okay, here’s the deal.  I dare you to drink this peppermint martini right now.  If you can’t, you have to walk out of here and leave me alone.”

“And if I drink it?” he challenged, eyeing the martini with complete disdain.

She didn’t answer him, leaving the challenge on the table and the results open.

He grinned and stood up.  “I’m taking your silence to mean that I get what I want.”

Nina’s smile widened, thinking of the blueberry tea he refused to drink the previous night.  She felt pretty safe and knew she would be alone in just a few minutes.

“Deal,” he said and kissed her to seal the agreement.

Nina wasn’t sure what had just happened.  All she knew was that Brock had just kissed her silly and then lifted the full martini glass to his mouth.   With three or four swallows, he downed the entire drink and slapped the empty glass down on the table.  “Dear mother of God!  That is the foulest stuff I’ve ever had to drink, including that blueberry crap you made last night!” he exclaimed and closed his eyes as if he’d just swallowed a poison or something.  Then his eyes opened up and he looked down at her, heat flaring violently in his gaze.  “I win. Come on.”

There was applause all around and Nina looked around to see that Walker, Sam and Colt were laughing hilariously while clapping and even Hannah was chuckling right along with the men. 

But she didn’t have time to figure out what he’d just done because he took her hand and led her out of the bar.  When they were in the fresh air, she started to pull against his grip, stopping him for only a moment.

“What just happened back
there?” she demanded.

Brock stopped and turned around, coming up close to her so he could feel her softness against his
body.  “What happened?  You just challenged me and lost.”  He bent low, kissing her until she was soft and pliant in his arms, her own hands touching his neck and his shoulders. 

He was only vaguely aware of their location and pulled away before things got out of hand.  “Come on,” he said and took her hand, pulling her along towards her apartment. 

“Brock?” she asked, still dazed from his kiss and completely confused.  “You just drank a martini.”

“I know, love,” he said and kissed her so softly, so thoroughly, she thought her legs just might give out on her. 

They were on the next block before she pulled his hand again, stopping him.  “Why?”

“Because you needed to know how determined I was to have you in my arms
again tonight.”

She would have laughed, but he kissed her again, holding her close and showing her just how much he truly did want her. 

Nina thought she might explode with the need that was swelling up inside of her.  Every time Brock touched her, she felt like she was on fire. 

“Where are your keys, love?” he asked even while his teeth nibbled against her neck.

Nina gasped, her body pressing against his. “Why?” she asked, almost sobbing out the question.  He was asking her to think when all she could do was react?  Mean! 

“
Because if you’ll give me your keys, we can be inside your apartment and I can get you naked.”

“Can’t get naked with you
again,” she groaned even while her fingers started unbuttoning his shirt, pulling the cotton out from his jeans. 

Brock would have laughed at her illogical response, but he was in too much pain, needed to be inside of her too desperately.  So instead of asking again, he grabbed her purse and dug through it himself.  When he found the keys, he had to restrain himself from tossing the rest of her purse, contents and all, behind him. 
She was unzipping his jeans and her fluttering fingers were driving him nuts! 

With the door now unlocked, he backed her up and into her apartment, pressing her against the wall and bringin
g her legs up.  Nina didn’t require a second prompting, feeling that crazy surge of need fill her up.  Brock was helping this need along by stripping her blouse off and tossing it somewhere other than on her.  A moment later, her bra was unsnapped and his hands were molding her breasts against his hands.  He teased the nipples to hard peaks even while his mouth kissed her neck, bit her earlobe.  His hips were pressing against her core, making her body throb. 

Nina didn’t have a chance to think or refuse, she was suddenly surrounded by Brock and all of his maleness was driving her higher.  He unsnapped her slacks and pushed them down her legs, then grabbed her thighs to pull her legs back around his waist.  A moment later, he was inside her and she was screaming out with the intense pleasure of his possession.  Then he started moving and Nina’s nails dug into the cotton of his shirt, pressing her body against his as the rhythmic pace picked up.  She didn’t even realize that they were standing in her foyer.  All she knew was that Brock was moving inside of her and a second later, she was splintering apart, moaning as the waves of pleasure crashed over her. 

And then she was melting against him. She wasn’t even sure if he’d found his own release, too drained from her own.  When she felt him move, she tried to release her legs from around his hips but it was a tricky endeavor.  He held her gently until her legs could hold her once more.  But when she only leaned back against the wall, a silly grin on her face, Brock laughed softly and lifted her into his arms, carrying her to her bedroom to start the whole process over again. 

And Nina had no objections this time. 

Brock groaned when he lifted his cell phone to his ear.  “Transom,” he answered, still not fully awake and trying hard not to snap at whoever was interrupting his very satisfying night with the most beautiful woman he ever could have imagined.  Nina was still draped over him and he liked the way her slender weight felt against him, her naked breasts pressed against his chest and her soft breaths tickling his neck.  As a homicide detective, he was pretty sure he couldn’t explain that the person who had interrupted his sleep with this woman was in danger.  Probably wasn’t a good career move.

He half listened, but more of his brain was occupied enjoying the feeling of Nina’s body against his. 

In the end, he understood enough of what the caller was saying to know that he had to get going.  “Fine,” he grumbled and fumbled with the end button.  He almost tossed the phone across the room and rolled over to make love to Nina again, but his brain finally kicked in and he sighed in the darkness, knowing he had to head out and respond to this call. 

Rolling over, he kissed Nina’s cheek.  “I have to go, love,” he said and slowly inched his arm out from under her head.  He hated every moment of it, especially when her soft, tender fingers tightened on his arm as if she didn’t want to let him go.  He smiled, realizing that she might fight him when she was awake, but subconsciously, she
knew that the two of them were meant to be together. 

He extricated himself from her nakedness and moved quietly to the shower.  When he was
dried off, he dressed but took his shoes to the kitchen where he made himself a cup of coffee, then reset the machine so she would have hot coffee in the morning when she woke up. 

With that, he slipped out, making sure that the door locked behind him. 

It took him less than ten minutes to walk back to the bar where he’d met her last night.  It occurred to him that his truck might not be there since Colt had come with him from the station.  But his car was still parked in the lot and he assumed that his partner had gotten home somehow.  Or maybe not, if he’d gone home with the blond at the bar. 

He jumped into his truck, pulling up
to the crime scene just as Colt arrived.  They both looked at each other, resigned to the late night issues that were part of their job. 

Thankfully, it was an easy crime scene with the wife standing to the side, her face beaten and still holding the knife she’d sliced her husband up with.  She was still too shaken up to release the knife and the paramedics had just taken the husband, who had been pronounced dead at the scene, to the morgue. 

It took another hour for Brock and Colt to convince the woman that she was safe enough to release the knife and another hour to go to the hospital.  She’d apparently been there so many times and the doctors had released her to the husband’s care.  It was hard to understand how a doctor could release a victim to the perpetrator’s care, but they sorted it all out and were back at the police station by ten o’clock that morning, filling out the necessary paperwork.  No charges would be filed against the woman.  There was ample evidence that the woman was a victim of domestic abuse.  But she would need a great deal of psychiatric help to get her through this mess. 

As the day progressed, they moved back to the Silverberg murder. 
Brock and Colt continued to interview the workers at Jared’s office and the whole time, Brock had to restrain himself from e-mailing Nina.  There was nothing he wanted to do more than to call her up and take her out to dinner.  A real dinner.  A real date.  One where they had to sit across the table from each other and not touch each other.  Where they had to talk and get to know one another. 

But would they be able to do that?  He doubted it.

“How about a game tonight?” Colt tossed out about three o’clock that afternoon.  They weren’t getting anywhere on the Silverberg case, even after all the interviews. 

Brock thought about it.  A football game might be just the thing to get his mind off of Nina. 
“Sounds good to me.  I need to pick up Nina though.”

Sam laughed as he walked in and sat down. 
“Already done.  Hannah heard about the football game and begged Nina to come with her.  Apparently, Hannah has a hard time watching us play ball.”  He shrugged his broad shoulders.  “No clue why.”

Walker tossed the football across the room.  “So are we going to play or sit around here wondering about the mysteries of the female mind?” he challenged.

Sam caught the ball and tossed it right back.  “We’re playing ball,” he countered and stood up, moving quickly out of the conference room.

Colt and Brock looked back at the white board with all the timelines and pictures,
then accepted that they didn’t have any new leads.  They shrugged their shoulders as well, knowing that they needed a break.  They’d been working for thirteen hours already today and a physical break was a perfect excuse to clear their minds.  Usually something new occurs to one of them when they relaxed with a bit of ball.

Nina pulled on a pair of shorts and a tee-shirt, her fingers hesitating because she knew this was a bad idea.  But Hannah had begged.  Nina didn’t understand it, but it was hard to resist the bubbly brunette.  “I can’t watch these games alone.  It is horrible!” she’d said on the phone an hour ago.  “They are brutal and I can’t understand how any of them walk away from these games
alive.  Please, Nina.  You have to come with me or I can’t guarantee that I’ll keep my lunch down.”

“What’s so crazy about the guys playing football?” she’d asked.

Hannah sighed.  “Let’s just say, I’m bringing a bottle of wine. And that might not be enough.”

Nina had agreed, but even now, she knew it was a bad idea.  But what harm could there be?  Brock would be out on the football field and she’d be on the sidelines drinking wine and talking with Hannah.  She would see him coming and get out of there before he even got close. 

She shuddered at the previous night.  So far, she’d completely underestimated Brock.  For the past two nights, she’d slept in his arms, been taken to heaven over and over with his expertise and then woken up alone.  She vaguely remembered him telling her goodbye.  And she’d been surprised this morning when she’d woken up to the smell of coffee because she was sure that she hadn’t programmed her coffee machine the previous night.  That meant that Brock had set up her machine to run before he’d left.

But there was no way she was going to examine what that meant.  Brock was a fantastic lover, but she wasn’t going to get into a relationship with him.  Steven had been a lousy lover and an even more inconsiderate husband, but he’d taught her that she wasn’t good with relationships.  She trusted the wrong people.  So there was no way she was going to trust Brock.  She’d be crazy to trust a man as good looking and experienced as he was.  He probably had women lining up outside his place and she wasn’t going to be part of the crowd. 

She also understood that, if she wanted to be friends with Hannah, she’d see Brock occasionally.  Brock was a good friend of Hannah’s fiancée, Sam.  So she suspected that Hannah and Brock were a package deal. 

So far, she was losing the resistance game with Brock, but she’d have to learn to say no to him.  It was essential to her mind that she not
fall in love with Brock.  She’d have her heart broken even worse than what Steven had put her through. 

In the end, she really couldn’t ignore Hannah’s plea.  She was a fun woman and her heartfelt request seemed simple enough.

She arrived at the park just as the game was starting.  She parked her car and looked around, almost immediately spotting Brock on the field tossing a football.  She stood still, her eyes caught by his long, muscular legs and the muscles rippling on his shoulders.  Goodness, she thought, he was a masterpiece!

Brock caught her looking just as he captured the football.  They stood staring at each other for a long moment, her mind flashing back to the incredible passion he could incite within her just from his touch.  She shivered at the memo
ries.  Or was that anticipation?

Slam! 

Nina couldn’t believe what she’d just witnessed, her hand covering her mouth and her whole body cringing in reaction.  Brock was no longer holding the ball!  He was on the ground with Sam on top of him, Walker picking up the ball and racing in the opposite direction.  The crazy instant was over and all three men were up and sprinting down the grass after Walker.  Brock was gaining on the other man but wasn’t going to make it in time to stop him from reaching the makeshift goal.  But then Nina gasped in horror as Brock leapt up into the air, throwing himself forward. 

How he landed on top of Walker, Nina couldn’t fathom.  But she was absolutely positive that broken bones would be involved.  A part of her mind was trying to reach for her cell phone, but the majority of her body was transfixed, waiting desperately to see if Brock had even survived.  She couldn’t breathe, couldn’t move.  She told her feet to run to him, but they were stuck in place.  She wasn’t even aware of her hands pulling at her hair, so horrified of what she’d just witnessed. 

And then they all stood up, laughing like idiots. 

A red cup appeared in her line of sight and she looked to her left to see Hannah holding the cup aloft.  “You’ll need this,” she said and took Nina’s arm, guiding her carefully over to the second chair on the sidelines.  “It’s horrible,” she grumbled.  “I’ve had to watch these games by myself for the past two months.  Now that you’re with Brock, I’m so relieved that I’ll have
someone to watch with.  Someone to help me call an ambulance when they really do kill each other.”

Nina was still watching as they dusted themselves off and prepared for the next play.  She was shaking her head, trying to get the energy to stop them from continuing but the ball flew out of Brock’s hands and they were once again racing across the grass, four pairs of arms and legs and extremely large bodies eventually colliding into one another. 

Over and over again, the four of them played out the death defying, bone crushing scene.  She wasn’t even aware of Hannah refilling her plastic cup.  Every time she ran out of wine, she simply tipped her glass and Hannah poured out of the innocuous looking thermos.  By the end of the game, Hannah and Nina were only cringing occasionally while they laughed right along with the guys, snickering as they joked about what play was about to be attempted and placing bets on what would happen, which guy would end up on the top or bottom. 

Two hours into the game
, four sweaty men walked over to where the women were laughing and joking.  They had finished off all the wine that Hannah had brought along for the event and were now enjoying themselves immensely. 

Sam looked down
at Hannah who was giggling beside Nina who was holding her stomach as she too laughed.  “I think we’d better get some food into these ladies before they get sick,” he said with a grin.

Brock smiled, enjoying the way Nina’s face lit up as she laughed. 
“Probably a good idea.  I have burgers at my place.”

“I have beer,” Walker said, then looked down at the two women.  “Not that these little women need anything else except maybe some water.”

Colt laughed along with the women, thinking they were pretty cute.  “I’ll stop off and get chips.”  He smacked Sam on the back.  “That means you’re in charge of dessert, buddy.”

Sam nodded. 
“Got it.  Lots of chocolate.”

The four men laughed and Nina and Hannah looked up through not-so-focused eyes at the men who were now sur
rounding them.  “Chocolate?” both of them echoed with a hopeful expression.

Brock chuckled and pulled Nina
into his arms.  “Burger first,” he cautioned. 

“I’m not going home with you,” she said with as much dignity as she could muster
in her inebriated state. “Hannah explained it and it simply isn’t going to work.”

Sam looked down at his fiancée with love shining through his eyes.  “Certainly works when we do it.”  He looked at Brock and shrugged. 
“Not sure what you’re doing wrong, old man.”

Brock snorted.  “I’m only six months older than you are and I can guarantee that I don’t need tips from an idiot like you.”

Walker and Colt laughed as well, grabbing the chairs and the ladies’ purses since Sam and Brock had their hands full. 

“It isn’t that he doesn’t know how to do it,” Nina piped up, and leaned heavily against Brock.  “He knows quite a few moves.”  She squinted up at him.  “And I’m not sure I like that fact.”

He squeezed her gently as he took her keys, tossing them to Walker who already knew he was going to drive her car over to Brock’s house.  “You weren’t complaining last night.”

She snorted again. “I’m not going home with you.  Every time we’re together, we end up in bed and that’s not good.”

Brock bent lower and picked her up, carrying her to his truck since she was a bit too unsteady on her feet.  “Again, I didn’t hear you complaining last night.”

She wrapped her arms around his neck.  “Oh, I remember doing quite a lot of complaining,” she argued.  “You just didn’t listen to me.”

“In the end, you weren’t complaining,” he clarified. 

Nina didn’t have any argument with that and she laid her head down on his shoulder.  “I’m still not going home with you.”