Love Thy Neighbor (5 page)

“Okay, I’m gonna lift you up higher. You ready?”

“Uh-huh.” She could barely speak and suddenly yelped when she felt his chin and mouth pressed right up against her crotch. He let out a deep breath as a shiver ran through her body.

“This isn’t working,” he said as he slowly lowered her down his body. His fingers closed in on her rib cage; his thumbs skimmed the underside of her breasts.

She thought he hadn’t noticed that his hands had lightly brushed against her nipples until she slid down the rest of the way and felt the bulge in his jeans. Was he turned on, too? Her panties were sopping wet as she melted into the heat pouring off his body. When her feet finally touched the floor, his hands were still on her hips, hers resting on his shoulders, and she was pressed up against him with her heart hammering.

Surely this was just a physical reaction. Her body was on autopilot, and judging by his growing hard-on pressing into her thigh, so was his.

For what felt like an eternity they stared into each other’s eyes, and Nikki had no idea what he was thinking. The intensity of his gaze was too much, and finally she broke away.

“Okay then.” Dallas rubbed a hand over jaw. “What if we try hoisting you up by your foot?”

“My foot?”

He dropped down to one knee and laced his fingers together, making a cradle for her running shoe. “Step right here.” He gestured toward his hands.

She gingerly stepped into his hands and placed her fingertips on his shoulder.

“Now hold on to me and I’m going to slowly stand up. You ready?”

“Ready. I think.” She was still trembling from their last attempt.

As he began to lift her up, he gave off a subtle groan. She was so heavy, she was afraid she was going to give him a hernia. He groaned again, his breath riding along her leg from her knee, up her inner thigh. Nikki was dying, straining to stay focused as she reached with her fingertips and finally tripped the top of the trapdoor. “Got—got it.”

She managed to leverage herself up against the opening and nudge it aside. She pushed herself up farther still and felt her limbs slither up the length of his arms until she was standing up. Luckily the top of their car was only about two feet from the next higher floor.

“Okay, I can get up to the next floor,” she called down to him. “Just sit tight and I’ll go get help.”

“You promise you won’t leave me here all night, right?” He looked up at her and smiled.

“Oh, I promise.”

Nikki’s legs were wobbly as she made it from the elevator shaft to the floor. She wasn’t taking chances with the passenger elevator and opted for the stairwell, racing down to the basement level, where she found the handyman working on a pipe. She told him about the freight elevator, and when he couldn’t fix it, he telephoned the fire department. Twenty minutes later, Dallas was freed from captivity.

They were still laughing about the whole incident while walking back to their respective apartments. As they turned the corner, Nikki came to an abrupt halt.

“Oh, no.”

Dallas stopped, too. “What is it? What’s wrong?”

Standing outside her doorway was Matthew. Her heart leaped into her throat. His hair was longer, and she was pretty sure he’d lost a bit of weight, too. He still looked great to her, and all she could think was that she was sweaty and dirty and gross from her run, followed by her elevator escape.

“Matthew? What are you doing here?”

“Gail said you stopped by my office earlier. I wanted to make sure everything was okay.”

“How did you know where I’m living?”

“I had to practically bribe Jenna into giving me your new address,” he said, keeping his eyes on Dallas the whole time he spoke. “So, ah, is everything okay?”

“Oh—oh, yeah. Right.”
Shit, how was she going to explain this one?
“I, ah, I found one of your T-shirts when I was unpacking and wanted to return it to you. That’s all. I should have left it with Gail, but…”

Matthew eyed her and then Dallas.

“Oh, sorry. Matthew, this is Troy Dallas. Dallas, this is Matthew.”

Dallas extended his hand, which dwarfed Matthew’s. She caught Dallas giving her a look that said,
Him? This is the guy?

Poor Matthew. Nikki had always thought he was tall, but Dallas towered over him. And Matthew was handsome in a boyish way that she loved, but c’mon, Dallas was raw sex. There was no comparison between the two. But at least Matthew was wearing a nice suit and her favorite tie, the lavender paisley one she’d picked out for him one day, just because. He did always dress nicely, and she liked to think she had something to do with that.

The three of them paused awkwardly outside her apartment door.

“I should probably get going,” Dallas said finally.

“Remind me never to take the freight elevator again,” she said with a nervous laugh.

“You got it. But hey, if I had to get stuck in the lift, I’m glad it was with you.” Dallas winked before turning to Matthew. “Good meeting you, mate.”

Matthew grunted. “Yeah, man. See ya.” Matthew stared at Dallas’s door after he’d gone inside and closed it. “So that’s your neighbor?” he asked.

“Oh, yeah.” Nikki pulled her key from her jogging shorts pocket. Should she invite him in? She so wanted to. “He’s a nice guy,” she said, just to have something to fill the silence.

“Yeah,” Matthew said, sounding unconvinced.

“Do you, ah, do you want to come in and see my new place?” She held her breath, waiting for his answer.

“Sure.”

She fiddled with the key, trying to fit it in the lock as her mind raced ahead.
Has he finally come to his senses about us?
“It’s really small,” she said. “But I’m getting used to it. It’s, you know, really small.” She was nervous. It was like this was their first date or something.

Matthew stepped inside and unbuttoned his suit jacket, resting his hands on his hips as he surveyed the place. “It is a little on the small side, but it’s still nice.”

“Thanks.”

“Leave it to you to already have the place unpacked.”

She smiled, though she wasn’t sure if he meant this as a compliment or as a dig about her being what he’d once called
so anal
.

“So how long have you been hanging out with Texas over there?”

“Dallas. His name’s Dallas.”

“So how long have you been hanging out with
Dallas
?”

“I just met him. We got stuck in the freight elevator together.”

“So I gathered.”

Nikki went over to the closet and pulled open the doors. “There’s lots of storage room in here. See?”

“This guy lives right across the hall from you?” Matthew stood with his hands on his hips, staring in the direction of the door.

“And the kitchen’s really nice. Don’t you think? Granite countertops. Stainless steel appliances.”

“I’d be careful around him if I were you,” Matthew said.

Nikki leaned over to open the drapes, even though she didn’t have much of a view. “What? Why?”

“I saw the way he looked at you.”

“Oh, don’t be ridiculous,” she said, loving the fact that Matthew was acting all proprietary toward her. In some way he must still think of her as his woman.

“That guy’s a player,” he said. “He just wants in your pants.”

“I highly doubt that. He’s a fashion photographer. He’s got gorgeous models coming in and out of his apartment all day.”

“Well, I saw the way he looked at you, so be careful. That’s all. Just saying.”

“Do you, ah, do you want a drink?”

He looked at his watch. “Maybe a quick one, then I have to head out.”

“Okay. No pressure.” Her hands were shaking as she took down the wineglasses. This was the first time the two of them had sat down and had a conversation since their split. Maybe this was the start of them reconnecting. God, she hoped so.

Nikki stepped out of the kitchen with two glasses of Cabernet. Matthew was already on the couch and as she handed him his wine, she hesitated over where to sit before finally landing on the ottoman in front of him. She used to be so comfortable with this man, and now she was a bundle of nerves, and completely self-conscious.

“How’s work?” she asked.

“Crazy as usual.” He took a taste of wine. “So what were you doing in the freight elevator with that guy, anyway?”

She was about to swallow a sip and his words nearly made her choke on it.

“You okay?”

She nodded, still coughing as she held up her hand to assure him. “Just went down the wrong pipe,” she squeaked out.

“So, are you still planning on going to Ned and Lori’s wedding?” he asked.

“Yeah. Of course.” Nikki recovered and sat up a little straighter, her heart pulsing, her eyes tearing. Ned and Lori were two of their closest friends. Their wedding was that Saturday night, and Nikki was hoping against hope that Matthew would ask her to go with him. “Why? Are you still going?” she asked hesitantly, holding her breath.

“Yeah.” He nodded, took another sip of wine, and set his glass down. “So, um, I wanted to let you know that I’m going, too, and—”

“Well, maybe we should go—”

“And I want you to know that I’m bringing someone with me.”

Nikki gasped. “What? Who?”

“No one you know. It’s nothing, really.”

“Who is she?” A cloud of confusion gathered around her. “When did you start seeing someone?”

“I don’t know if I’m really
seeing
her,” he said. “It’s no big deal. She’s someone I work with.”

Nikki grew clammy. Her gut churned with a bitter bile.

“I wanted to let you know so you weren’t surprised. That’s all.”

“Oh.” She swallowed past the lump in throat. “That’s all.”

“Well,” he said, standing up, “I should really be going. I’ll see you Saturday night.”

Chapter Five

Dallas stood inside his loft with his back to the door, thinking about Nikki out in the hallway with the ex-fiancé. He couldn’t believe
that
was the guy who broke her heart. Dallas wanted to break the bloke’s head for hurting that sweet woman. Didn’t he know that women like that—women who were beautiful and sensitive and smart—were rare? Didn’t he get that not all women were as caring and honest as she was? Didn’t he understand how easy she was to talk to?

Nikki even got Dallas to open up, and that never happened. He told her things he never talked about. With anyone. But Nikki wasn’t like the other girls who babbled on too much and got so needy that he’d head for the hills. She had so much going for her. He couldn’t see why she was so hung up on her ex. That wanker should have been grateful that someone like Nikki Norris would give him the time of day.

There was a moment in that elevator when he had her in his arms, when all he wanted was to take those long, sleek legs of hers and wrap them about his waist. He could have so easily lost himself in her soft skin, in her shiny hair. Her perfect breasts were practically in his face when he lifted her up. He could have leaned forward less than an inch and he would have been right there, where he wanted to be. He hadn’t meant to cop a feel when he lowered her back down, but man did that feel nice. His cock throbbed at the memory of it. Damn, if she got him hard when he was hoisting her out of a stuck lift, he could only imagine what she could do to him if she was actually trying to turn him on.

The musky sweet smell of sweat coming off her body from her run was enough to drive him wild. When he lifted her, he could smell the scent of her sex, too, and it was intoxicating. He shook his head and locked his door. What the hell was it about that woman that was getting to him so?

Just as well she had her boyfriend back. Bad idea to start up with his neighbor, anyway. If things didn’t work out—and he knew he didn’t have the best track record when it came to relationships—they’d both be facing a lot of uncomfortable comings and goings. Besides, clearly she still wasn’t over her ex-fiancé, and Dallas didn’t like being second best. It wasn’t a position he was accustomed to.

But she was gorgeous. He loved the way her long dark hair swept over her shoulders. And her eyes, damn, they drank in everything around her. Hands down, the woman had the most kissable lips he’d ever seen. When they were sitting in the elevator, he couldn’t take his eyes off her mouth.

He went to the fridge and reached for a beer, letting the cool burst of air wash over him. He was hot for that girl across the hall, no doubt about that. The first time he saw her he thought she was adorable. He recalled their meeting in the hallway, the mix-up with their parcels. But the next time, when she was all dressed up and wearing those high heels, he just—

Fuck, man. Stop it.
He swigged his beer.
She’s got a boyfriend or a fiancé or whatever. She’s probably shagging him over there right now.
He took another swig of beer. A longer one this time.

The phone rang. He saw it was his brother calling from L.A. He knew what it was about—the same thing he’d been calling about for the past week. Dallas wasn’t interested in anything having to do with his mother. She walked out of his life years ago, and he in turn had buried his feelings for her long before they put her in the ground. He let the call roll into voicemail.

He glanced around his loft. Everything was still set up from the shoot the day before. The white backdrop covered the far wall. Light stands were still up, diffusers lying about along with the reflectors and umbrellas they’d been using. Technically they should have been shooting straight through—especially if they wanted this project in the can by the end of July. But the client had questioned the wardrobe they originally wanted to shoot, and that put him and his crew and all the models on hold. It was frustrating, but it was the nature of the business. Hurry up and wait.

He leaned against the counter, because with all that shit piled everywhere, he had no place to sit. It was his idea when he bought the place to have his home double as his photography studio, but on days like this he would have loved a private space designated for himself.

He should really ask Nikki to decorate his place. She could probably use the work, and God knows he could use the help. Plus, it’d be fun having her around, and it would give him a chance to get to know her better, to spend more time with her, to…
Shit, stop torturing yourself, man.
She’s still into her ex.