Spice Box: Sixteen Steamy Stories

by Raine Miller

  He knew he should stay out here, out of sight. But if he did, he wouldn’t be able to see her.

  And he wanted to see her.

  Footsteps coming up the stairs caught him off guard and he turned to find an older man climbing the stairs. Dressed in an expensive suit, he carried a leather briefcase and had a phone against his ear.

  The man stopped when he saw Nic, checking him out from head to toe, probably wondering if he should call for help.

  Then the guy put his phone away and walked straight toward him. “I’m guessing you would be the infamous Dominic DeMarco. It’s nice to finally meet you.”

  Taken off guard, Nic froze as the guy walked straight toward him, hand out. Nic had never met him but this guy obviously recognized him, which put Nic at a disadvantage.

  Nic took the guy’s hand for a firm shake, not ready to confirm or deny his identity. “And you would be?”

  “Sean Minns.”

  The name rang a bell but Nic couldn’t put his finger on why right away.

  “And you’re here…?”

  Sean smiled, the crows feet at the corners of his eyes crinkling. The guy was probably in his fifties although he looked younger. “For the same reason you are, I’m assuming. To watch Annie and Colin.”

  So her dance partner’s name was Colin. Good to know. “And you are?”

  Sean’s smile got wide. “Colin’s partner. And I mean life partner, not dance. Two left feet, I’m afraid. Why don’t we go over to the observation room? We can watch from there and not distract them. One-way glass. You look amazingly like your father, but I’m guessing you hear that a lot.”

  Following Sean to a door to the left of the studio, Nic finally connected the name. “You defended Daniel Briggs. My parents said you gave the closing argument of your career and saved Briggs’ life.”

  “Coming from your parents, that’s a high compliment.” Sean didn’t bother with lights in the observation room. Enough light came through the tinted glass to allow them to see. As they settled into plastic seats in the front row, Nic got his first glimpse of Annie. And barely heard Sean continue the conversation.

  Jesus, she was beautiful. Dressed much as she had been that night at the office with Bill and Bert, she wore a black leotard, a sheer wrap-around skirt and heeled shoes. Her sweater tonight was emerald green and matched her eyes.

  “So you’re a private investigator.” Sean’s statement broke through Nic’s haze, drawing his attention away from Annie and back to Sean, who watched the couple on the other side of the glass stretch at the bar along the wall. “You and Annie work for your family’s business, yes?”

  “Yeah, my parents started it after they retired from the service. My brother and sister and I work there now.”

  Sean’s gray gaze caught his and Nic found himself subjected to an intense scrutiny. “Annie enjoys it there.”

  “She’s doing a good job.”

  Sean nodded. “She’d be pleased to hear it. What about you, Nic? It must be tough working in an office surrounded by family while the woman you love is right under your nose.”

  Nic’s gaze narrowed but, where another guy might have backed down, Sean merely smiled.

  “Won’t work on me, son. Sorry. Scarier men than you have tried to intimidate me and, frankly, it only made me cranky.”

  Nic felt a reluctant grin forming. “Yeah, well, you don’t know unless you try. And, for the record, she’s not in love with me.”

  “Good tactic, shifting the focus, but you didn’t deny my supposition.”

  “Somehow I don’t think you meant it as a supposition.”

  Sean nodded. “And you would be right, of course. So tell me, what are you doing here? Annie looks frazzled and that doesn’t happen often. Usually only when she talks about you.”

  Oh, yeah? “I’ve got a situation, something I dragged Annie into.” He shifted his gaze to follow her with Colin then couldn’t look away. So beautiful. So graceful. “If anyone tries to get to her, they’ll have to kill me first.”

  Sean didn’t respond and Nic let himself get caught up in the motion of the couple on the floor. They were perfectly matched and they made what he and Annie had done earlier today at the garage look like toddlers learning to walk.

  Nic had seen ballroom dancing before, but it’d been years ago. He vaguely remembered his mother taking him to some competition in … Hell, he couldn’t remember. France, maybe, or Australia. His parents had been on assignment and Mom had needed to attend some function. But Jimmy had been sick and Mom insisted Dad stay with him.

  He must’ve been about nine because that was when his parents had told him what they really did for a living. And Janey hadn’t come along yet.

  Must have been Australia. In summer. Jimmy never could take the heat. He always caught some bug whenever they were in the tropics.

  Anyway, he’d loved being out with his mom. He knew now she never would’ve taken him anywhere near a dangerous assignment, but back then he’d thought it the epitome of cool that she’d taken him with her on assignment, even though he’d been so damn bored with the dancing.

  He wasn’t bored now.

  Annie’s dancing lit a fire deep in his gut, something he could only associate with the feeling he’d had when they’d kissed earlier today. The dancing didn’t have the stiffness he remembered from his youth, but maybe that had more to do with who was dancing.

  What the hell was he going to do with her? This afternoon, he’d let himself get carried away. But six freakin’ years of foreplay would make any man nuts.

  “You know,” Sean said, “it might help both of you if you told her you love her.”

  Nic didn’t bother to deny it. “I don’t think it’ll help the situation.” Then he turned to look at Sean. “But since you seem to know Annie pretty well, I’m sure you already knew that.”

  Sean simply lifted his eyebrows.

  Nic decided on another tactic. “So how long have you been seeing Colin?”

  Sean’s grin turned bittersweet. “Three years. Should’ve been five but I wasn’t as smart back then. Take my advice. Don’t screw around. I’m a few months shy of fifty-three. Colin’s thirty-two. When we met, I thought he was too young. And even though I was out of the closet… Jesus, he looked young. And I was more concerned with appearances back then. But it only takes one good scare to put the fear of time in you.”

  Sean now had his full attention. “What happened?”

  The older man sighed. “A former partner was diagnosed with HIV. I’m clean but the specter of the disease clouded my entire life. It took me a few years to agree to a first date with Colin. Fear is a good motivator. But it also makes a pretty crappy bed partner.”

  Nic followed Sean’s gaze back onto the dance floor, where Colin was about to drop Annie on her ass.

  He was halfway to his feet before Sean grabbed his arm. “It’s part of the routine. They can’t see you but if you call out loudly enough, they’ll hear you. If you startle them, she could be hurt.”

  He froze, but when Annie lost her grip on Colin’s hand and land hard on her hip on the floor, he was already halfway to the door.

  “Damn it, I can’t believe I screwed that up.”

  “Jesus, Annie. Are you okay? I’m sorry, I couldn’t hang on—”

  “Not your fault, Colin.” She stayed on the floor, trying not to wince. “Totally mine. It’s not the first time I’ve fallen on my ass. Won’t be the last—”

  “Annie. Are you okay?”

  Nic’s voice wrenched her head around as pain, hot and sharp, began to work its way through her entire body. Followed, embarrassingly enough, by tears.

  She opened her mouth to speak but shock stole any words she might have come up with.

  What was he doing here? How long had he been here? And why did he look like someone had just punched him in the gut?

  Kneeling at her side, he’d put his hands on her shoulders, holding her in place. Before she knew what she was doing, she lifted her hand to
his face, stroking the whiskers that surrounded his tightly drawn lips.

  “Damn it, Annie, lie still.” Nic grabbed her hand and pressed a kiss to the palm that almost made her forget the pain. “Don’t move. Is anything broken?”

  “Christ, you haven’t flubbed that in years.” Colin’s voice sounded as shaky she felt. “What the hell happened?”

  Nic’s hand tightened on hers and she knew he was about to flay Colin to the bone with his tongue. Catching and holding Nic’s gaze, she willed him to silence, even while she grimaced as the pain started to radiate up her spine.

  “Just that. I flubbed it. Nic, give me a hand up.”

  Nic put his free hand on her shoulder. “Stay down for a minute. Are you sure you’re okay? You went down pretty hard.”

  “Not the first time. Won’t be the last. I’ve got to get up and move or it’s going to hurt worse.”

  Without releasing her, Nic helped her to her feet, watching her every movement like a hawk.

  Colin stood as well, his gaze shifting from her to Nic. She’d told Colin a very tiny bit of what had happened today and he’d barraged her with questions, to which she’d had no answers. It was too damn complicated and she really hadn’t wanted to think about it. Or Nic.

  And now, here he was.

  “What are you doing here?” she asked, still rubbing her hip. “Did something happen?”

  Had he gotten another call threatening her?

  He shook his head. “Nothing happened.”

  Her gaze narrowed. “Then why are you here?”

  “I told you I was gonna make sure you were okay.”

  So he was following her?

  Now standing, she released Nic’s hand and shook out her leg, trying to get a feel for the injury. Probably just a bruise, but she needed to get home and soak in a hot bath. Then she’d put some ice on it and take two ibuprofen. Pain shot up her leg when she tried to rest any weight on her hip. Maybe she’d take three ibuprofen.

  Okay. This was not a problem. She’d be good as new in a couple of days.

  The competition’s at the end of next week. What if this interferes?

  Tears began to build again but she refused to let anyone see them. They wouldn’t help, even though they’d feel great right about now. And she didn’t want to cry in front of Nic.

  “Come on, Annie,” Nic held out his hand. “I’ll take you home.”

  Damn the man. Could he read her mind? But that’s exactly where she wanted to be. Home. Alone with Nic.

  Would he help her undress? Would he put her into the tub?

  Would he get into the tub with her if she asked him to wash her back? The pain shooting from her hip wasn’t enough to dull the heat of arousal spiking through her body.

  Don’t let your imagination get the better of you.

  It did take her mind off her hip, though.

  She should tell him no. Should walk out of here on her own and go cry in a tub of hot water with a glass of wine. It’d been that kind of day.

  And yet…she didn’t want to go home alone. How pitiful was that?

  “What about my car?”

  “I’ll drive it. We’ll leave my truck here.”

  Sounded so simple, didn’t it?

  Just say yes.

  “Okay.”

  Seconds later, she was saying goodbye to Colin and Sean with a promise to call them tomorrow. Limping out of the studio, she stood at the top of the steps. That descent was going to hurt like a bitch—

  “Nic! Put me down.”

  He’d swept her off her feet and into his arms. She’d protested before she’d thought about it but now, held against his chest, she knew if he put her down, she actually would cry.

  Luckily for her ego, he ignored her.

  “Annie.” He whispered in her ear, low enough that she could barely hear him. “Just— Give me a break. For a few minutes.”

  Pressed against the hard wall of his chest, Annie draped her arms around his neck and dropped her head on this shoulder. She felt his chest move as he inhaled, felt his breath whisper by her cheek. Then she closed her eyes and let him take her home.

  ***

  Nic ordered pizza while she took her bath.

  He made no move to accompany her into the bathroom after he carried her upstairs and set her on her bed. He met her eyes for one brief, burning second then he walked out.

  The bath felt like heaven, loosening aching muscles. She lay in the Jacuzzi tub until the water cooled. Maybe she’d be a coward and plead exhaustion, but her grumbling stomach killed that idea. She needed food.

  Dressed in a pair of black yoga pants, a loose, pale green t-shirt and a thin sweater tied at her waist, she headed downstairs.

  Nic was closing the door, two pizzas in hand when she reached the first floor. His gaze smoldered but, between one blink and the next, it was gone as he nodded toward the kitchen.

  “I got one with everything and one plain. Let me put these in the kitchen and I’ll come back for you.”

  “I can walk. The bath helped. I just need to take some ibuprofen and get some ice on it.”

  She followed him into the kitchen and headed for the sink, but he grabbed her shoulder, stopping her. “Sit down. I’ll get what you need.”

  Would he really give her what she needed? Did he even know what she needed? Didn’t he understand that all she wanted was him?

  With a sigh, she sat and watched him go through her kitchen. He seemed to know exactly where everything was located, from the paper plates and napkins in the drawer next to the sink to the ibuprofen in the cabinet by the fridge.

  Of course, Nic was a private investigator. He’d probably cased her home while she was in the tub.

  When he’d gotten everything they needed and set it on the table, he sat across from her with a beer in his hand.

  Nic asked her about the competition as they ate, innocuous questions designed to keep an awkward silence at bay. She could have asked him why he’d followed her to the dance studio but she knew the answer.

  The question she should be asking was what did they do now. She wasn’t sure she wanted the answer.

  When she finished, Nic would have carried her out to the couch in the living room but she waved him off. Even though she wanted to be back in his arms. He was messing with her head and she couldn’t let him. They still had way too many unanswered questions between them to use sex as a distraction.

  But wouldn’t that be wonderful?

  Nic watched her with a set jaw as she took an ice pack from the freezer and hobbled off to the living room to lay on the couch with the ice on her hip.

  A few minutes later, Nic followed.

  “So. I think I should stay here tonight.”

  Nic’s voice held no inflection, his gaze steady on hers as he sat on the chair directly across from her.

  She was tempted to simply agree. It’d been a long day. She was tired, sore and at the end of her rope.

  She didn’t want to have to deal with this now but she knew Nic wouldn’t give up until he’d won. But if he stayed, she wanted more from him than he might be willing to give.

  And that might break her heart once and for all, having him so close and still out of reach.

  Then again, maybe the enforced closeness could work to her advantage.

  She shifted on the couch, noting the pain in her hip had already receded to a faint throb due to the ice and the ibuprofen. “I may be persuaded to allow you to stay the night. But I want something in return.”

  His gaze narrowed, cautious. Good. He deserved to be a little off balance. “And what’s that?”

  “A little honesty.”

  He leaned back into the cushions, his expression inscrutable. “Are you sure that’s what you want? It might be more than you’re ready to hear.”

  True. But she was sick of waiting.

  “Do you want me?”

  He didn’t answer right away, his gaze locked on hers. “I’ve wanted you since you were eighteen. I felt like the scum
of the earth.”

  Yes, she could see how he would feel that way. Just the fact that he’d admitted it made her flush from head to toe.

  “But there was no way I was gonna do anything about it,” he continued. “A few years after Nino died, yeah, I thought about asking out Mags. But nothing ever happened. She knew I had feelings for someone else. One night when I was so drunk I couldn’t see straight, I told her about you. I was thirty and looking at the rest of my life. You were twenty-one and just starting yours, starting to date seriously—”

  “I never dated anyone seriously.” She couldn’t bring herself to say she’d never wanted to date anyone but him.

  He closed his eyes, expression tightening. “Christ, you think I don’t know that? You went through men like water. It drove me nuts. And it started right after you kissed me in college.” He shook his head. “You don’t know how badly I wanted you then, how much it hurt to walk away. It’s been hell having you in the office, every single day, close enough to touch and so damn antagonistic. I knew you still had feelings for me but you don’t need me, Annie. You, of all people, know my faults. I’m judgmental and unwilling to bend. Sometimes I act before I think things through.”

  He paused and she thought maybe it was her turn but he continued before she could formulate the right response, looking straight into her eyes again.

  “You’re so damn beautiful, you mess with my head.”

  Her breath caught and she couldn’t swallow past the knot in her throat. The heat in his eyes slayed her.

  He wanted her. He’d admitted it.

  She wanted to shout in triumph. And she wasn’t about to let him find another excuse to push her away.

  Rising from the couch, thankful her hip didn’t twinge much, she closed the few feet between them.

  Nic sat still, waiting. She’d almost expected him to evade her when she sat next to him. Instead he watched her every movement with that steady gaze.

  “Annie—”

  “Nic, don’t think. Just shut up and kiss me.”

  Leaning forward, she pressed her mouth against his.

  Firm and warm, his lips yielded to hers almost immediately, allowed her entrance as her fingers slid into his hair to keep him from getting away.