Protective Custody

by Debra Webb

  “We need to talk.”

  Instinctively Nicole rolled to the other side of the bed, out of his reach. She jumped to her feet and immediately regretted both moves. The insistent throb inside her skull erupted with a vengeance, threatening her unsteady legs. Not quite a concussion, the doctor had said she would be fine. She had been very lucky to only be close enough for the force of the blast to knock her to the ground. Nicole squeezed her eyes shut and focused on blocking out the pain. There was too much to be done. No time to waste. She had to reschedule her flight. She had a witness to relocate and protect. And she couldn’t trust the regular channels to handle it. Someone wanted her and her witness dead. How had the bastard tracked her to Chicago? She had been so careful. No mistakes! No one knew her location.

  No, that wasn’t true, Nicole realized grimly, because he had found her. And he would find her again. She needed her things. Did she dare go back to the hotel and get the few items she had brought with her? She would need a change of clothes.

  Clothes.

  Nicole stared down at herself. The shimmering glow of moonlight from a nearby window confirmed her sudden realization. Her clothes were gone. She wore nothing but her skimpy, lacy bra and matching blue panties.

  “Where the hell are my clothes?” Nicole looked up to find Ian towering over her, his tall, dark frame almost lost in the shadows. Something, some emotion flitted across his features too quickly for Nicole to analyze, and then that mask of iron control fell back into place.

  “I thought you would be more comfortable like this.” His gaze moved slowly over her. “I sent your clothes to be cleaned,” he added in that maddeningly calm way of his.

  That tone. That controlling, no-arguments-tolerated tone. He had no intention of working with her, yet he had taken charge of the game strategy. She was no different than one of his fugitives. He would handle the situation until he could wash his hands of her. That was his way. Ian Michaels always did the right thing. He never deviated from the straight and narrow—never failed.

  Except once.

  And then he had turned his back on her as if nothing had happened between them. As if what they had shared hadn’t mattered in the final scheme of things. He hadn’t given her the benefit of the doubt. Hadn’t waited around for her to explain. Ian had simply walked away. From her. From everything.

  Because she had betrayed him. The fact that she had only been doing her job was of no consequence—even if she had been able to tell him the truth. Nothing she could have said or done would have altered his opinion of her. If the man were capable of emotion he might display some sort of reaction. Anger, pain, remorse, something. Nicole almost laughed out loud. But this was Ian Michaels. She glowered at him. He didn’t allow himself to feel. Hadn’t she learned that three years ago? Hadn’t she learned anything at all?

  “Where are my clothes?” she repeated with all the force she could marshal. She should have known better than to come to him. Why would he care if she lived or died? And how could she blame him?

  “I’ve already answered that question.”

  “This was a mistake. I shouldn’t have wasted my time.” Nicole attempted to brush past him only to be halted by his half step to the right.

  “You need to tell me what’s going on, Nicole,” he argued quietly.

  “Get out of my way, Michaels.” Nicole darted to his left. Ian moved more quickly, effectively blocking her once more.

  His unreadable gaze locked on hers. A hint of a smile curled his irritatingly full lips. “You have no clothes, no transportation, no money. How do you propose to leave?”

  He had her clothes and her bag. Another rush of anger flooded Nicole. She stood before him exposed, emotionally as well as physically. She glared into his handsome face, his perfectly controlled emotions angering her all the more. She manufactured a caustic smile of her own. “Don’t sweat it, Michaels. I’m sure I can get a ride.” Nicole ran the fingers of both hands through her hair, allowing the long strands to drift down over her shoulders. “In fact,” she added tartly, ignoring the protest of her sore muscles, “if push comes to shove, I feel certain I can earn myself some fast cash.” Not that she would ever resort to what she was suggesting, but he didn’t have to know that, and if it hit the mark… “You don’t need to worry about me at all. I can take care of myself.”

  Nicole knew she would not soon forget the collection of emotions that danced across his handsome face. But it was anger that ultimately took center stage and held his features captive. The uncharacteristic outward display fascinated her for about two seconds then trepidation kicked in. Before she could take a step back, he grabbed her by both arms.

  “You will do exactly as I say, Nicole.” Those long, tanned fingers tightened to the precise point just short of pain. That silvery gaze darkened as he pulled her closer to him. “The issue is not up for debate.”

  Nicole met his intense glare with lead in her own. “Then you’d better be prepared to stick to me like glue. To watch every move I make,” she warned. “The first time you turn your back I’m out of here. I’ve had the same training as you, Michaels, and we both know I’m very good at my job.”

  Loaded silence followed that summation. A muscle flexed rhythmically in his chiseled jaw. Heat mushroomed between their almost-touching bodies. Nicole’s heart pounded so hard she felt sure Ian could hear it threatening to burst from her chest. To her utter frustration, her gaze drifted to his lips. She licked her own, her mind immediately conjuring up his taste.

  “Look at me,” he demanded softly, the sound of his voice wreaking havoc with her senses.

  Nicole’s breath caught when her gaze connected with his once more. Desire, hot and fierce, burned in his eyes. She blinked. That one thing was all they had ever truly shared—overwhelming attraction, soul-shattering desire. The kind that diminished all else. “What do you want from me?” she demanded. Nicole searched his eyes for an answer beyond the heat and memory that connected them body and soul.

  “When that car exploded and I couldn’t see you, I thought…” He released her arms only to gently cup her face in his hands. His thumb glided across her cheek, sending shivers down her spine. The breath of his reluctant sigh whispered across her lips. “I thought I’d lost you.”

  Nicole steeled herself against what she wanted to feel. Just words. That’s all they were. She couldn’t trust Ian with her heart any more than she could trust her life to the bastard who was trying to kill her. She understood Ian’s probable motivation—revenge. Would he take this opportunity to do to her what she had done to him three years ago? If he only knew…

  Ruthlessly squashing the tiny spark of hope his words elicited, Nicole encircled his wrists with trembling fingers and attempted to remove his hands from her face.

  Ian swallowed…hard, the play of muscle beneath tanned skin doing strange things to her stomach. “I can’t lose you again,” he murmured.

  “You never had me,” she assured him with forced contempt.

  He laughed softly and raised one dark brow in mock speculation. “I can recall having you at least four times, Nicole.” That eclectic accent he had gained from growing up in half a dozen European countries thickened as his voice lowered to a more seductive level. His fingers slid around her neck and urged her closer still, his thumbs working a sensuous kind of magic. “I remember every detail of every moment we spent together. Each time we made love proved more intense than the last. Don’t try to tell me you’ve forgotten.”

  He pressed a silky kiss to her cheek, Nicole shivered as much from his words as from his kiss. “Stop,” she whispered hoarsely.

  He stopped but didn’t pull away. His lips remained only a hairbreadth from her skin. “You want me to stop?”

  “Yes,” she lied. Nicole didn’t have to look to know he smiled, she felt it. Electricity crackled between their heated bodies.

  “And if I refuse?”

  Nicole closed her eyes and released a shuddering breath. She shouldn’t have come to him. D
id she really expect to be able to spend five minutes with the man and not want him? Only a few hours ago she had eluded death for the third time in less than two weeks. And right now all she could think about was how it would feel to make love with Ian again. To have him touch her in that slow, thorough manner of his. To have him whisper sweet things to her in that lightly accented voice. To make him believe that she hadn’t meant to hurt him three years ago—that she had only been doing her job.

  What if she had died today?

  Nicole blinked. She would never have had the opportunity to make things right with Ian. She lifted her gaze to his, watched the renewed desire turn those silvery depths to a deeper, gunmetal gray. One last night. They could have one last night together and then she would disappear from his life forever. She would face whatever the future held for her…alone. If death awaited, Nicole decided she would just have her taste of heaven now.

  She moistened her lips and smiled up at him. “Well,” she said languorously as she began to slowly unbutton his shirt. “I suppose that leaves me with no choice.” Nicole slid her hands inside and over his muscled chest, the feel of that sculpted terrain making her weak with want. How she had missed him. No man would ever be able to make her feel the way Ian had. Would this thing between them still be as it once was—even after what she had done to him? Nicole cleared her mind. She didn’t want to think…she wanted to feel. To touch…to forget.

  He remained absolutely still as she plunged her fingers into his long, dark hair and pulled his head down to hers. She nipped his lower lip with her teeth, then traced that sexy cleft in his chin with her tongue. He moved then. His hands slid over her shoulders and down her back, caressing, arousing her naked flesh. And then his mouth captured hers.

  His kiss was slow, thorough, tantalizing, with a kind of erotic finesse only Ian possessed. Her heart thudding with anticipation, Nicole watched the intent expression on his face as he deepened the kiss. Then her eyes closed with the ecstasy she could no longer deny. Desire burst inside her like shattering glass, sending tiny shards of heat throughout her. Her head no longer hurt, her muscles no longer complained of their bruising. All conscious thought vanished. Ian’s masterful hands squeezed her bottom, then pulled her against his thick arousal. Nicole shuddered with the need now gripping every fiber of her being.

  She wanted his bare skin against hers—now. Nicole jerked his shirt open, scattering the remaining buttons across the lush carpet. She reveled in the feel of his strong back as she slid the material down, then pressed her body to his. Smooth and hot. His skin singed hers as their bodies melded. Ian groaned his approval deep in his throat, the sound urging Nicole’s own frenzied desire. She tugged his shirt from his slacks, then slowly peeled it off his body.

  He lifted her against him and she instinctively wrapped her legs around his lean waist. His mouth continued to torture hers, his tongue delving inside, tasting, tempting, then retreating. That slow in-and-out pace foreshadowing what she knew would come. Her legs tightened around him, pressing the moist heat between her thighs more firmly into his hardened length. This was what she had fantasized about a thousand times in the last three years.

  Ian carried her to the bed and lowered her gently onto the tangled sheets. His body aligned over hers, he looked down at her, those amazing gray eyes analyzing her too closely. Nicole struggled to read the emotions cluttering his face. Sadness, maybe, or pain…almost. Had he missed her half as much as she had missed him? Did he want her as she wanted him?

  “You do have a choice,” he said softly.

  Nicole tried one last time to decipher that distant look in his eyes, but to no avail. “I know,” she whispered, then smiled. “I choose this.” She unbuttoned his fly, then lowered the zipper. His eyes closed on a tortured groan as she eased his slacks and briefs over his hips, then caressed him intimately. Her own need suddenly careened out of control. Instinctively her body arched against his, the resulting friction making her cry out with want. One solid yank was all it took for Ian to relieve her of the tiny, strappy panties.

  And then he was inside her, filling her, turning her world upside down. Their movements turned frantic, out of control. His powerful thrusts propelled Nicole closer and closer to the climax that had begun the moment he touched her. Ian kissed her again, hard and fast. He murmured desperate words in a language she didn’t understand. She gripped his broad shoulders, trying to hold on longer…to make it last. But she couldn’t, one more thrust and she tumbled over the edge. Heat and light and pleasure cascaded over her, swirled inside her. Ian followed close behind, driving into her one last time.

  His taut body relaxed, his forehead rested against hers, their ragged breathing the only sound in the room. “You should rest now.” He brushed a soft kiss across her lips. “I’ll keep you safe.”

  Nicole nodded, suddenly feeling totally exhausted all over again. “I trust you, Ian,” she murmured, her gaze holding his. “I trust you with my life.”

  “Sleep, Nicole,” he insisted gently. “I’ll be right here when you wake up.”

  IAN PARTED the blinds and checked the parking area outside his town house once more. Still no sign of Martinez. He paused to listen for Nicole. The sound of water spraying in the shower continued. Good. He wanted her occupied until after Martinez arrived.

  He had spent the entire night watching Nicole sleep, memorizing each delicate feature of her sweet face. She was as beautiful as ever. Her body slender and feminine, yet toned and amazingly strong. Ian swallowed back the emotions he knew he should not feel. Merely touching Nicole aroused him to the point of insanity. The sudden image of water sluicing over all that satiny skin made his groin tighten. He closed his eyes against the memory of her scent, her taste. Nicole did things to him…made him feel things he could not begin to describe. Ian sighed and shook his head slowly from side to side. This could not be.

  He was a fool.

  His foolishness had cost a life once before, he refused to risk a repeat of that mistake. Ian plowed his fingers through his hair and crossed the room once more, silently cursing his compunction every step of the way. He had paced this room for the past ten minutes.

  Guilt gnawed at him for feigning sleep when Nicole had awakened this morning. She had kissed him tenderly on the cheek, then slipped quietly into the bathroom to shower. And what had he done? He had immediately called Martinez and hastily dressed. Nicole would not be happy when he informed her of his plan. But her displeasure was of no consequence in the matter. Ian understood what had to be done. He knew no more now regarding her case than he had known yesterday when she had left Victoria’s office. But he did know with complete certainty that he could not stay objective where Nicole was concerned. And her survival depended on the kind of objectivity and focus he lost all sight of in her presence.

  The moment he had set eyes on her in Victoria’s office, Ian had experienced a sense of rage unparalleled by anything he had ever known before. She was the last person on the planet he would have helped do anything. Or so he’d thought. When that car had exploded, and he hadn’t been sure if she were dead or alive, the truth had hit him like a bullet between the eyes. He still had deep feelings for Nicole. The past changed nothing. He couldn’t bear the thought of losing her forever.

  But, after last night, Ian realized that he could not determine the threat to her safety with her so close. It was true three years ago and it was still true today: when he was with Nicole, he could not maintain the necessary focus required to perform his mission. Taking that kind of risk was out of the question. She would simply have to go into hiding with Martinez while Ian did what had to be done.

  The issue was closed in his opinion. Nicole would do exactly as he instructed. He set his jaw determinedly.

  Or else.

  The anticipated knock came just as Ian turned to retrace his path across the room. He repositioned the Glock tucked into his waistband at the small of his back, then made his way to the door. He breathed a sigh of relief when he checked the
peephole and found Martinez on the other side. Finally. Ian opened the door only wide enough for Martinez to enter, and quickly closed it behind him.

  “Thanks for coming on short notice.”

  “No problem, man.” Martinez, the Colby Agency’s newest investigator, scanned the room. “Nice place.”

  Ian nodded. He wasn’t accustomed to having visitors in his home, but there was no getting around it this time. The spray of water in the other room stopped. Ian glanced in the direction of the bedroom door, Nicole would appear at any moment. He was out of time. Without preamble, he related the details of her case as he knew them to Martinez.

  “Good morning.”

  At the sound of Nicole’s voice Ian turned slowly to face her. He did not relish the next few minutes. “Good morning,” he returned with a tight smile. An unfamiliar sensation squeezed his chest at how vulnerable she looked in an old pair of his sweats, her long blond hair still damp from her shower.

  Her gaze darted from Ian to the other man, then narrowed with suspicion. “I didn’t know you had company,” she said stiffly.

  Ian glanced at the man standing beside him. “This is Ric Martinez.” Ian leveled his gaze on Nicole and steeled himself for her fury. “He will be keeping you company at one of our safe houses until the investigation is over.”

  Pain, then anger stole across her features. She gave a jerky nod. “I see.”

  Ian took the four steps that separated them. “It would be a conflict of interest for us to work together,” he explained quietly.

  Nicole lifted her defiant chin and glared at him. “Whose interest, yours or mine?”

  Irritation flared. “It would be in both our best interests for you to cooperate with Martinez.” He matched her insolent expression. “And that’s what you’re going to do.”

  She shoved a handful of hair behind her ear, the fight-or-flight urge already evident in her posture. “Last time I checked this was still a free country.”

  Ian snagged her arm when she would have pushed past him. “If the story you told Victoria is true, then walking away from our help would be a serious mistake. Someone has tried to kill you three times already, Nicole. You’re not leaving alone.”