Death, Taxes, and Hot Pink Leg Warmers (17 page)

I had no idea how far Nick would want to take things today. Heck, I wasn’t sure myself. As much as I wanted him, it could be fun to savor each step rather than rush into full physical intimacy. Besides, there was that stupid no-nooky term to think about. It had been a ridiculous agreement in retrospect, and of course it wasn’t legally binding. But my personal integrity meant a lot to me. I wasn’t sure how I’d feel about myself if I made love to Nick before the agreement expired on November 28.

I headed to the fridge and grabbed a cold bottle of beer for Nick, pouring myself a tall glass of fruity wine. When I returned I found Nick on the couch and a small, gift-wrapped box on the coffee table. I barely managed to hold back the squeal welling up in me. I gestured to the box. “What’s that?”

A mischievous gleam played in Nick’s eyes as he took the beer from me. “Just a little something I thought you might like. After all, it would be unmannerly for me to accept those fishing gloves without giving you a gift in return.”

While he took a slug from the bottle, I snatched the box off the table and tore through the wrap like an eager child. Inside was a red velvet box. I opened it to find a pair of ruby drop earrings.

The squeal refused to be contained any longer.
Squeeeee!
“Nick! They’re gorgeous!”

He smiled, set his beer down, and held out his hand. “Let me put them on you.”

I handed the box to Nick and reached up to my ears, yanking out the silver hoops I’d put on this morning. I lifted my hair out of the way.

Nick fished one of the earrings out of the box and stood in front of me. Gazing into my eyes, he reached out with his empty hand and caressed my cheek. “Anyone ever tell you how pretty you are?”

His touch and his words were so unexpectedly tender and sweet my heart feel squeezed and happy tears welled in my eyes.

He slid one earring on, then the other, his fingers warm on my skin. “They look beautiful on you,” he said softly. “I knew they would.”

I rushed over to the mirror that hung above the table in my foyer and turned my head side to side, admiring the sparkle of the gems. They must have cost Nick a small fortune.

He stepped up behind me and our gazes met in the mirror.

When he wrapped his arms around me from behind, I gave him a big smile. “Thanks so much, Nick.”

“It’s nothing.”

It
wasn’t
nothing. Just like it wasn’t nothing the time he’d come over and held me all night after I’d been shot at. Just like it wasn’t nothing when he’d ripped the bars off the windows of a pawnshop to save my life after I’d been whacked with that damn baseball bat. Just like it wasn’t nothing when he’d set aside his masculine pride and waited for me to sort through my confused feelings about him and Brett.

I closed my eyes and melted back into Nick, enjoying the feel of his strong, warm arms around me, his rock-hard chest behind me, his solid heartbeat against my back.

I’d never felt so completely content.

chapter nineteen

Eviction Notice

I could’ve stayed in Nick’s arms forever if not for my cat jumping onto the table and butting my hand with her head, demanding to be petted.

I opened my eyes and stroked Annie’s back while eyeing Nick’s reflection. The earrings got me thinking of another piece of jewelry he’d bought for a woman, the engagement ring he’d given to Natalie, his former fiancée with whom he’d recently reconnected when she appeared as a match for him on an online dating site. “What happened with you and Natalie?”

He groaned and dropped his face onto my shoulder. “You really want to know? Now?”

“Yeah.” Part of me was simply curious, but part of me wanted to know where things went wrong with the two of them so I could better know what Nick wanted, or didn’t want, in a relationship.

“It’s ugly,” he said.

“Breakup stories usually are.”

He released me, retrieved his beer from the coffee table, and plopped back down on the couch. “Natalie teaches second grade. She’s good at it, too. Keeps the little buggers in line with all kinds of rules and routines. Problem was, she couldn’t turn it off when we were together.”

Many spouses had the same complaint about law enforcement personnel. Brett had found my preoccupation with my job annoying on occasion, and he’d freaked out when I’d once pulled my gun on a reporter named Trish LeGrande who’d been checking his mail and watering his plants while he was away. I thought she was an intruder, and my training had kicked in. Frankly, I’d considered the whole thing Brett’s fault since he’d failed to tell me the woman had a key to his house. But no sense dredging that up again, huh?

Nick took a swig from the bottle before continuing. “At first I thought it was cute. Natalie would say things like ‘Wipe your feet when you come in the door’ or ‘Keep an eye on the clock so you won’t be late.’ She cooked for me, ironed my dress shirts, that kind of thing. It was nice to have someone looking after me.”

I supposed I could understand. As capable and independent as I considered myself, I had to admit that one of the things I’d liked about Brett was that he often pampered me, cooking dinner on his grill, bringing me lattes when I slept in.

Nick looked down, putting a hand on the back of his neck. “After a while, all that doting and henpecking became too much. I tried to talk to her about it but she told me I was being pigheaded and refused to meet me halfway. The final straw was when she made dinner one night and told me that if I wanted to fool around afterward I’d have to eat all my green beans.”

What? “You’ve gotta be kidding me!” Hell, I’d forgo food entirely and starve myself if it meant making love to Nick. I’d be like a mouse in a laboratory experiment, repeatedly pushing the orgasm button again and again until I keeled over dead. “What did you do?”

He offered a sheepish shrug. “I ate everything on my plate but the beans, told her it was over, and left.”

Whoa. That
was
ugly.

“She threw the plate at me as I went out the door. Shattered her grandmother’s good china.”

The two of us simply looked at one another for a moment or two.

Finally, I stepped toward him. “I’d never make you eat your green beans.”

His lip curled up in that chipped-tooth smile. “For you, Tara, I’d eat all the green beans in the world.”

My insides turned to goo.

Oh, God.
I was falling fast and hard and headlong for this guy. It was exciting and scary at the same time. I’d never felt so simultaneously strong and vulnerable, so euphoric yet so terrified, so sure yet so out of control.

I faced Nick, standing directly over him now. His eyes traveled from my face to my breasts and back to my face again, his eyes asking questions I could answer only with yes.

His look alone ignited an unrelenting throb of need in me. Putting my hands on his shoulders, I knelt on the couch, one leg on either side of his thighs, straddling him. He gazed at me, desire burning in his eyes as I slowly lowered myself onto his lap.

At the instant of contact, I moaned involuntarily and Nick grabbed me so tightly it was as if he were trying to absorb me into himself. If we could go this crazy for each other fully dressed, I could only imagine how wonderful it would be to get naked with him.

The sounds of cheering came from the television. I knew the crowd was responding to the play on the football field, but it felt as if the cosmos were rooting for Nick and me, encouraging us to put some points on our scoreboard.

Nick’s breaths came more rapidly, his chest pressing harder against mine with each intake of air. My nipples strained against my lace bra, begging to be freed, to be touched. I wrapped my arms around his neck and he tucked his face under my chin, forcing my head back, the touch of his lips warm and wild as he kissed my tender throat. He ran his hands into the hair on either side of my face, his fingers entangled in my black curls, his mouth claiming mine now, taking no prisoners.

His kisses became deeper, more demanding. I arched my back and pressed my upper body even harder against him, willing the barrier of clothing between us to magically dissolve. He ran his hands down my sides, grabbing my thighs and pressing me down as he lifted his groin, grinding himself hard against me. He repeated the motion and my body responded as if it had a will of its own, pushing back against him with every bit of energy I could muster.

Already I felt a climax beginning to coil inside me. I’d never had such a quick and intense response to a man before. But Nick made it so easy.

He ran his hands up and over my hips to the waistband of my sweater. His fingers inched underneath the fabric and touched the sensitive skin of my abdomen. Thanks to the rigorous workouts with Lu, my abs were the firmest they’d ever been. I hoped Nick would be pleased with what he found.

He cupped my hipbones, running his thumbs over my stomach. He eased a little higher, his thumbs brushing over the bottom of my rib cage now. He worked his way still higher until his thumbs brushed the bottom of my sensitive breasts in a thrilling torture.

His mouth moved to my neck again as his hands slid under my bra and found my breasts, fully engulfing them in their warmth and roughness. I emitted an involuntary cry of both pleasure and release.

How long had I waited for Nick to touch me like this? It seemed like an eternity.

Just as Nick’s hands slid around to my back to unhook my bra, a key sounded in my front door lock.

A jolt of adrenaline surged through me. “It’s Alicia!” I hissed. Instinctively, I shoved Nick’s hands down and out of my sweater and swung my leg over his lap so that I was sitting beside him on the couch.

Nick groaned. “Her timing sucks.” He grabbed a sofa pillow and positioned it over his lap to hide his arousal.

Alicia came through the door with plastic bags in her hands. I supposed I shouldn’t be too angry at her. She did live here, after all, and she’d bought groceries. Nevertheless I considered evicting her on the spot.

“Hey, you two,” she said, her eyes cutting to the TV where an instant replay showed the Cowboys’ quarterback running the ball forty yards for a touchdown. “What’s the score?”

“Zero to zero,” I snapped.

Alicia squinted at the screen. “The TV says seven to fourteen.”

I shot her a look, and her eyes grew wide with realization. She grimaced and mouthed the word “sorry.”

“What are you doing home so early?” I asked.

“Daniel had a brief to write,” she said, a slight edge to her voice.

Daniel was busting his ass to make partner. Unfortunately, the more time he gave to the law firm, the less he had for his fiancée.

I stood and lifted my hair. “Check out the earrings Nick gave me.”

Alicia squealed nearly as loudly as I had and scurried over to take a closer look. “Oh, my God! They’re stunning!”

Nick and I both beamed.

The moment had been ruined, but there would be more to come. Nick and I helped Alicia carry the groceries inside. When we finished, we decided to head out to the mattress store.

A salesman cornered us the second we walked in. “What size are you looking for?” he asked. “Full? Queen? King?”

“Definitely king,” Nick said.

“This way.” The man turned and set off for the section of the store that housed the larger beds.

Nick bent down to whisper in my ear. “We’ll need lots of room to roll around.”

I quivered with anticipation.

Nick and I lay down on each of the king-sized beds, turning from our backs to our sides, taking them for a test drive. We both preferred the same model, one that was soft but supportive.

“This is the one,” Nick told the salesman.

Nick paid for his order and arranged for the bed to be delivered on the Saturday after Thanksgiving, when he’d be moving into his new place.

I could hardly wait.

Nick drove me home and we said good-bye on my porch.

He gave me a kiss and murmured against my lips. “Only thirteen more days until I give you the best sex of your life.”

I put my hands on his chest, leaned back, and offered him a coy smile. “Pretty sure of yourself, aren’t you?”

He dipped his head in agreement. “You might want to prepare yourself, do some stretches and endurance training. Take some vitamins. Load up on carbs.”

“Oh, yeah? Well, back at ya.”

He reached out and grabbed a curl, letting it spring back into place before running a finger down my cheek. He cupped my chin and I closed my eyes, leaning into his hand, enjoying his warm touch. After a moment, I stepped back.

With a loud sigh, he headed to his truck and drove off.

chapter twenty

It’s a Numbers Game

That evening, I logged on to my laptop, inserted the thumb drive I’d used to download the Guys & Dolls expense account files, and began to look through the invoices.

I reviewed the bills for Stillwater Spirits first. According to the dates, the business invoiced on a twice-monthly basis. In the box for the delivery charge was the word
WAIVED
. Every invoice showed a combination of discounts, rebates, and returns that together added up to six thousand dollars on average. The price adjustments seemed unusually high given that the initial price of the liquor was generally in the eight- to ten-thousand-dollar range. Liquor was known to have a high markup, but it seemed Stillwater Spirits was being awfully generous with Mr. Geils. After all, the man owned only one nightclub. It’s not like he owned a large restaurant chain that placed huge orders.

When I finished with Stillwater Spirits, I pulled up the invoices for Michelson’s Meat and Seafood. Nothing on the face of the invoices immediately caught my eye, but I had no idea how much steak, chicken, and seafood the customers consumed. Were the quantities reasonable? And how could I know whether the complete order was actually being delivered? Maybe they shipped less than the amount reflected on the invoice, with the excess representing a charge for the drugs. The fact that Geils handed the payment to the meat supplier himself rather than leaving it up to Merle had my suspicions revved up. Then again, maybe it was just another way for Don Geils to keep control of the club’s cash.