Naked Vengeance

by Sophia Rae

  Eve swallowed and took a deep breath. “That might be, but it doesn’t change the fact you’re hurt because you were with me.”

  He turned her to face him, his hands came up to frame her face. “If I didn’t want to be here, I wouldn’t be.”

  All the willpower Eve had built up against this potent man vanished. Did she really think she could resist him for much longer?

  Nick pulled her face toward his as he captured her mouth. Eve opened for him, welcoming him in. Her arms slid up his bare chest and around his neck.

  She molded her body against his, needing to feel more of his strength. The kiss wasn’t as hard and fast as their first one. She hadn’t known Nick’s lips could be tender, passionate. Whether fast or tender, the man knew how to make a woman weak in the knees.

  Nick roamed one hand down her body, reaching around to grab her ass. He fisted his other hand in her hair and pulled her head back just a touch—their lips barely apart.

  “I want you,” he said against her mouth. “Tell me you want this.”

  Eve could only nod as she reached down to take off the T-shirt she’d put on over her tank and boxers. She tossed it to the side before he pulled her back into his warm embrace. Solid, safe, protective embrace.

  Her nipples rubbed against the soft material of her tank and just that thin barrier proved to be too much. She wanted skin to skin. Heat to heat.

  Nick’s rough hands roamed up under her shirt, cupping her breasts so tenderly, Eve thought she might die from want. Shivers and nerves ran the course of her body, bumping into each other. She’d never felt such an intoxicating sensation.

  She grabbed his shoulders and pulled him back down for another invigorating kiss. Her tongue swept through his mouth, tasting him. He matched her urgency with a need of his own and Eve knew this was it.

  Nick would be her first lover.

  The eager hands that tormented her breasts slid out from her shirt. In a second he had her enveloped into his strong arms as he slowed the kiss, taking time to nip at her full lips.

  Was foreplay always this frustrating? Couldn’t they just get on with it? Didn’t his body ache just as much as hers?

  As Nick kissed his way down her throat, Eve arched her back to allow him all the access he wanted. He dipped his tongue beneath the scoop of her tank, teasing her just enough to have her moaning…and nearly begging.

  When her cell phone rang, they froze.

  Nick’s head snapped up, his gaze locking with hers. “You better get that. It could be important.”

  More important than losing your virginity in some dingy no-tell motel? More important than finally having someone give a damn about your feelings and needs? More important than realizing there is indeed a life out there for someone like her?

  He loosened his grip on her and Eve felt a chill come over her body as she dug through her bag. If it wasn’t Grady saying he’d caught the killer and the slimy bastard was already on death row, she really didn’t give a damn right now.

  She flipped the cell open. “Hello.”

  “I hope your boyfriend’s all right.”

  All the heat in her body turned to ice as Eve turned to look at Nick. “He’s not my boyfriend.”

  “That’s good to know. I don’t like to share.”

  “What do you want?” she asked.

  “You, Eve. I’ve wanted you for some time now. But don’t worry, our time is coming sooner than you think.”

  Eve snapped her phone shut and slammed it down on the bed. “Fuck!”

  “What did he say?” Nick asked.

  “He wanted to know if you were okay. He called you my boyfriend.”

  Eve paced the room. Between the phone call and what could have been the best moment of her life being ruined, Eve felt like screaming. Did this ongoing nightmare have a damn ending? She’d had more than enough of playing games, she wanted justice and she wanted it now.

  “He said he didn’t like sharing and that our time together was coming sooner than I think.”

  When she spun back to face Nick, his eyes showed no sign of the passion he’d had only moments ago. “I’m calling Grady. We’re going somewhere safer.”

  “I think we should get some sleep before we do anything,” she suggested. “We’re both running on adrenaline and I have to work tonight.”

  “Of course,” Nick exploded as he threw his arms in the air. “We don’t want to quit stripping. What does it matter if someone wants you dead? As long as Joe Schmo gets his thrills for the night.”

  “Nick.” Eve kept her voice low, trying to keep this situation under control. “These calls have to be related to my father’s death. They didn’t start until I began snooping on my own. It may be the killer himself calling. I’ve come too far to quit now. If I don’t find out who it is, I’ll be looking over my shoulder all my life because he knows who I am. Do you think he’ll stop coming after me if I quit the club?”

  Nick grabbed the gauze and tape from the floor and began to bandage himself. Eve took a step forward, but stopped cold when his hard eyes came up.

  “Don’t,” he barked. “Get all our stuff back in the car. I’ll call Grady from the road.”

  Eve hesitated. She hadn’t heard Nick that angry before. How could a man go from so loving and tender one minute to furious and hateful the next?

  When she had all their bags gathered, she went out the door and slammed it behind her. Perhaps fate had jumped in at precisely the right time.

  Sleeping with Nick would’ve been the biggest mistake of her life.

  Chapter Five

  Allison cried like she’d never cried before as she lay across her king-sized canopy bed. Wails of torment flooded out of her until finally her door opened a crack.

  “Ms. Myers,” the guard called. “You okay?”

  She answered in a sob, pleased when she heard him tell the other guard he’d be right back. With a soft click, the door shut behind him and his footsteps carried him to the edge of her bed.

  “Are you hurt?” he asked.

  Thank God. It was the young guard—she hoped that meant the naïve guard. This could work… It had to.

  Allison lifted her head as forced tears continued to pour down her face. “I’m not hurt,” she sniffled.

  “Do you want me to get Mr. Burke?”

  “No.”

  “Is there anything I can do?”

  The concern in his voice gave Allison hope—something she hadn’t had for some time. “I just want to go home.”

  “I’m sorry, ma’am. I can’t help you.”

  “I know,” she sighed, lifting her head to look at the young man again. “It’s just that today is my sister’s birthday and I wanted to talk to her.”

  The fair-haired adolescent dipped his hands into the pockets of his khaki pants. “I don’t think that’s possible.”

  “No, you’re right,” she agreed. “I just wish I could call her and tell her happy birthday.”

  Junior bit on his bottom lip and Allison almost felt sorry for using him. Almost.

  “Maybe if you give me her number, I could call for you,” he suggested hesitantly.

  Allison sprang up off the bed. A little dramatic, but this was all an act anyway. “Would you really?”

  “I can’t do it until my shift is over, because Mr. Burke would kill me.”

  She knew that wasn’t just a figure of speech. Roman would kill this boy if he found out. It was a chance Allison had to take—selfish or not.

  “I would be grateful if you would do that.”

  Allison went over to her nightstand and pulled out a piece of paper and pen. She jotted a number down and passed it to the nervous boy.

  Just for extra incentive, she reached up and kissed him on the cheek. “Thanks.”

  A faint blush crept up his neck and covered his face. “Yes, ma’am.”

  He spun from the room and walked out. Allison prayed her plan would work. If Roman found out, he would not only kill Junior, he’d kill her without thi
nking twice.

  ***

  “Tell me how you know Grady so well,” Eve said as she slipped off her shoes and pulled her feet up into the passenger seat.

  They’d been driving in silence for an hour now. After Nick had called Grady and explained the stabbing and the latest phone call, Grady gave them directions to a safe house not far outside of Charleston.

  Eve couldn’t handle the dark, quiet car another minute. If she thought the sexual tension had been bad before, it was a hell of a lot worse now. She could still feel his hands on her aching nipples. She could taste him when she licked her lips. She could feel his body beneath her fingertips.

  “We were in the Marines together,” Nick told her. “We became best friends during that time. He got out before me, but we never lost contact. After he got out, he joined the FBI.”

  Eve turned to study his profile. It still amazed her how a hard, stone-like face could have the power to soften into something more caring, more loving. Perhaps the emotion she’d seen earlier hadn’t been real on his end.

  “What did you do after you left the Marines?”

  His eyes never wavered. Every now and then, he would glance into the rearview mirror. Eve could’ve told him they weren’t being followed, but then he would ask more questions that she just couldn’t answer.

  “I went into law enforcement. When that got too monotonous, I opened my own security company. I don’t like taking orders very well.”

  “I never noticed.”

  A slight grin appeared, then vanished just as fast. “Smartass.”

  Eve adjusted the air vent so it blew over her shoulder. “Do you work alone now?”

  “Yeah. I guess I’m what some would label a loner. If I work by myself, I don’t have to worry about anybody else’s screw ups.”

  “Do you have any family?”

  Nick glanced at her, then back to the road. “Nosy this morning, aren’t we? Why the sudden interest in my personal life? It’s not like we’re dating.”

  Eve shrugged, ignoring the hurt. “Just trying to pass the time. Forget it.”

  When he sighed, she looked out the side window at the two-lane country road they’d been on for a while now. The safe house shouldn’t be too much farther. Then maybe she could put some distance between them. A nice walk by herself would do her some good, or maybe even a long, relaxing bath.

  “My mom and dad live in Texas,” he finally said. “I’m an only child.”

  “You don’t have to talk to me, Nick. I can tell you’d rather not, so I’ll just sit here and not ask anymore questions. When you want to kiss me again, I’ll just remind you we’re not dating.”

  “I don’t always date people I kiss,” he muttered. “I don’t know why you have to pout.”

  Eve looked over, giving him a cold, dead stare. “Do I look like I’m pouting?”

  “You look pissed.”

  Eve turned her gaze back out the window, ignoring his accuracy. A few steamy kisses and some fondling didn’t give her access into his life. Unfortunately, she hadn’t played a game like this. She’d never gotten that intimate with a man before. She made the mistake in assuming they could talk about something other than the case.

  She didn’t need a slap in the face to realize that if they had slept together, Nick wouldn’t have given her another thought once they’d finished this job. She would just be another warm body in what she was sure had to be a long line of women he’d left behind. It was just as well, though. Distractions like Nick Shaffer would definitely hinder her plans.

  When a man looked like him, he could have any woman he wanted—which just drove the point home that he liked being alone. Eve knew she had some naivety in the relationship department, but it still bothered her that her feelings were becoming too real and too deep for this unworthy man.

  They pulled into a long, dusty lane. Large, leafy green trees canopied the road, almost forming a tunnel up to the safe house. After about a half a mile, they found the small beige cottage nestled into the woods.

  An empty porch stretched across the front, only a few overgrown shrubs outlined the house and a small dormer jutted out of the second story. It looked abandoned. Perfect.

  “Cozy,” Eve said dryly.

  Nick eyed her. “It’s better than that roach-infested place you just had us at.”

  “I never saw a roach,” Eve countered as she opened the car door. “Pop the trunk.”

  When the trunk lid flew up, Eve grabbed their bags as Nick went to the base of the steps to look for the key Grady assured him would be hidden.

  “Maybe someone hasn’t had time to bring it and hide it,” Nick thought aloud.

  “If Grady said it’ll be here, then it’s here.” Eve sat the luggage on the steps and squatted beside the second shrub from the left. “He said it would be buried behind this bush.”

  When her fingers separated the dirt, she felt a cool metal key. She rose with it in hand and smiled. “He always comes through.”

  “You sound as if you know him pretty well. I take it he’s come through for you in the past?”

  Was that jealousy she heard in his voice? Well, that wouldn’t that be fun to build upon.

  “Better than most,” she commented as she picked up the bags.

  “I can carry my own damn bag,” he grumbled.

  Eve tossed his duffle onto the broken sidewalk in front of the steps. “Fine.”

  She unlocked the door and stepped inside to an open floorplan. Wonderful. No matter if she sat in the kitchen or the living room, she would have to look at Nick.

  The small staircase to her left, she assumed, led to the bedrooms. Just as she put her foot on the bottom step, Nick stopped her.

  “Where are you going?”

  She looked over her shoulder. “Looks like up.”

  “Don’t be such a smartass,” he growled. “It’ll be hotter than hell up there. You might as well stay down here and rest on the couch.”

  Eve turned and continued up the steps. “I’d rather sweat up there than sit down here with you.”

  Like the first floor, the second floor was wide open—with only one bedroom. Eve looked around and cringed. No bathroom. That meant if she had to pee, she had to go downstairs.

  “Are you fucking kidding me?” she mumbled.

  If Nick wanted to take the bed, Eve would sleep on the couch. Hell, she’d sleep in the bathtub before she got in that bed with him.

  She tossed her stuff on the floor and went over to turn the window unit on the highest, coolest setting. Once she had the vents aimed straight for the bed, she pulled her T-shirt off and threw on a bra so she wasn’t completely naked. Until the room got to a reasonable temperature, she would rest in her bra and her denim cut-offs.

  Eve sat on the edge of the full-sized bed and toed off her tennis shoes, letting them clunk onto the hardwood floor. The thin pillow provided little comfort, but she crossed her arms behind her head, waiting for the cool air to flow over her body.

  An image of Nick stretched out on the sofa downstairs filled her mind. Had he taken off his shirt, too? If she snuck down to take a peek, would she see him looking as frustrated as she was? Would the stark white bandage against his golden skin make him look more like a hero?

  Stupid, she scolded herself. Nick wasn’t giving her another thought—more than likely he’d already fallen asleep, with his shirt on, dreaming about voluptuous women who would obey his every sexual demand…with no questions regarding his personal life.

  Just as sleep claimed her, Eve thought of the way Nick chose to stick by her side until the killer was caught. Maybe he wasn’t so bad after all.

  ***

  Nick stood at the base of the steps for a good ten minutes, arguing with himself on whether or not to go upstairs and see what the hell had gotten Eve so worked up. He knew the conversation, or lack thereof, in the car had angered her, but he couldn’t get close to someone again.

  Damn it, he should have never taken their relationship to such an intense l
evel. What had he been thinking? They didn’t have a relationship. He had a hard-on that wouldn’t quit and she’d had stars in her eyes when she’d looked at him back at the hotel.

  But since the phone call that threw cold water on their heavy-duty make-out session and him giving her the cold shoulder, Eve had been different. How could he blame her? The woman wanted to find the man who had killed her father. Unfortunately, she could get herself killed in the process.

  And to put the icing on this fucked-up cake, his stepbrother was more than likely the evil bastard behind this whole mess.

  Nick knew he owed her an apology for being so distant, but he feared if he went upstairs, he wouldn’t be able to keep his hands off her. He really tried not to let her affect him, but the woman had turned into a juxtaposition of sweet innocence and a kick-ass attitude. When she’d cleaned his knife wound, her hands weren’t as steady as she probably would’ve liked. She’d chewed on her bottom lip as worry had drawn her brows together.

  But the moment she’d looked up into his eyes, the signs were all over her face. Flushed cheeks, wide eyes, moist lips from her pink tongue. She wanted him as much as he wanted her. But something scared her.

  He hadn’t seen the woman back down from anything, so why should a little intimacy frighten her? Had she been in a bad relationship? Perhaps she’d never had a good bed partner. Under different circumstances he would be more than happy to show her a good time in the sack.

  A momentary lapse of judgment had clouded his mind when he’d all but attacked her. This woman had been Roger’s daughter. Roger, the man he hadn’t protected. The man who’d trusted him. The man he’d ultimately failed.

  Nick cursed himself for the lack of respect he’d showed to his old friend and his daughter. Eve might be every man’s wet dream, but that’s where she would have to stay. In his dreams.

  Giving in to the inevitable, Nick mounted the stairs. He had to get the guilt off his chest and tell her he was sorry for being a prick, then he could come back down and get some shut-eye before they figured out what to do next.