by Anne Rainey
Merrick shoved his hands into his jean pockets. “Probably same as you. I wanted to take one last look at the Cooper account.”
Nick laughed. That was one of the things he admired about Merrick Vaughn. He worked as hard as anyone else. Just because he was the owner and CEO of Vaughn Business Solutions didn’t mean he was willing to leave the day-to-day running of the business to his employees.
“Yep, same reason I’m here. I wanted to be fresh on Monday.”
“I tried calling you last night, got voicemail instead. Were you out with a woman?”
Nick shrugged. “I took Lacey to a movie. She was feeling down about Evan.”
Merrick’s face turned hard. “Yeah, I heard. What a dick. I’d like to kick his damned teeth in, personally. But that would only piss off Lacey.”
Nick leaned against the wall next to the elevator and fiddled with his keys. He still hated to think about Evan and Lacey together. It set him on edge.
“My thoughts exactly. It put a dent in your sister’s self-esteem a little,” Nick admitted.
Merrick stared at him for a long minute, as if weighing his next words very carefully. “She told you that?”
Nick nodded, unsure about Merrick’s subdued attitude. He was always easy going with him, but this particular conversation made Nick increasingly aware that Merrick was about to say something he wasn’t going to like.
“Yeah. I think it messed with her quite a bit because she thought Christy was her friend.”
“Makes sense,” Merrick said. In a quieter tone he asked, “So, what time did you get home last night?”
Nick quirked a brow at Merrick and posed a question of his own, “You keeping tabs?”
Merrick’s eyes narrowed and his jaw firmed. “What you do with your time is your business, but what you do with my sister is my business.”
Did Merrick know how completely archaic that sounded? Then again, if he had a sister he would probably be the same way, whether she was grown woman or not. However, Merrick should know Lacey wasn’t a weakling in need of saving.
“She’s all grown up, Merrick. She can take care of herself, don’t you think?”
“No. I don’t.” Merrick stepped closer until they were eye to eye. “The rules change where Lacey’s concerned. She’s not just some woman. She’s my baby sister. She’s Blade’s baby sister.”
Merrick just had to bring up the eldest and most forbidding of the Vaughn brothers. Shit. Nick hadn’t considered the two Vaughn men breathing down his neck when he’d embarked on his “Seduce Lacey” campaign.
Nick shoved a hand through his hair and tried to be as honest as possible without revealing too much. “I care about her, damn it. I’d never do anything to hurt her. I give you my word.”
Merrick stood there for another minute, a blazing intensity in his eyes as he silently sized him up. Finally he nodded, and even smiled before stating. “Good enough for me.”
Nick started to breathe again. It would surely put a crimp in his relationship with Lacey if he was forced into a brawl with one—or both—of her brothers.
“But, it may not be good enough for Blade,” Merrick said. “He’s a little more old-fashioned than I am. As far as he’s concerned, Lacey is made of fine crystal and should be treated accordingly. He’s not a man you want as an enemy. He’s already called Evan and put the fear of God into him. Think about that before you do anything stupid, like make Lacey sad. Or worse, make Lacey sad in front of Blade.”
Nick was six-foot two and two hundred pounds of adult male muscle. He could take down most any man.
Compelled to come to his own defense, as well as Lacey’s, he stated, “Thanks for the advice, but you both need to remember Lacey is a woman with a mind of her own. If she wants something, no amount of intimidation will stop her. And you also need to keep in mind that while I do respect Lacey’s family, what goes on between us is private business. No one else’s.”
Merrick nodded. “I can understand that. But you’d be wise not to hurt her.”
Thank God, Merrick looked like he was leaving. Nick was fast running out of things to say. In all his dating experience, he’d never once been forced to deal with over-protective brothers. It was bizarre, to say the least.
They agreed to meet later at Merrick’s house for a game of basketball then parted ways. Nick pushed the elevator button again. The doors opened and he stepped inside. As they closed again, sealing him in and the rest of the world out, he turned his thoughts inward.
It was funny to hear Merrick talk of Lacey as if she were a schoolgirl. He’d never had a sister, only one brother, and they weren’t all that close. Jonathon was a good guy, a hard worker and only two years his junior, but they weren’t raised like the Vaughn family.
In the Stone household, life was quiet and dull. There were no big family get-togethers, and he could count on one hand the amount of times he’d received a hug from either of his parents. After he’d graduated from high school, it was a given that he’d go to college. That’s when his life had really begun. He’d proven he could make it on his own, be his own man.
He loved his family, but the cold, sterile life they led wasn’t for him. Nick was the black sheep, simply because he wanted a family who would welcome him home from work with a kiss and a smile. He wanted kids. He wanted to go on family vacations. He wanted to celebrate everything from a good grade to his child’s college graduation. Because of his views, Nick rarely spoke to or saw his family. They found him peculiar. Which was appropriate, since he’d always seen them in the same light.
When the elevator stopped, he stepped out and went to his office. His last thought before setting his mind to business was how perfect it’d be if he had all those things with Lacey. For the first time since he’d started seeing her as more than a friend, Nick felt like maybe, just maybe that dream wasn’t so implausible anymore.
Chapter Four
“Nick, as in your best friend, Nick?” Patty asked incredulously.
“The very same,” Lacey answered as she finished off her second glass of diet cola and dug into her salad.
Her friends Patty Baronette and Mary Riser both stared at her as if she’d lost her mind.
“Well, what did you tell him?” Mary asked, looking completely shocked by the idea that any man would suggest sex lessons.
“I told him I needed time to think about it.” Lacey dropped that bomb then dug back into her salad.
Patty laughed while Mary glanced around, as if afraid someone might hear their sinful conversation. “I can’t believe you’re even considering his offer,” Mary said, as if she were sixty instead of twenty-three.
“I think I’m going to accept.” There, take that, Lacey thought. She was so damn tired of Mary’s self-righteous attitude. It grated on her last nerve. She always looked at her as if she was some dirty little tramp. As if she needed to personally stitch a scarlet A across Lacey’s sweater to warn unsuspecting men. Why Lacey stayed friends with her was a mystery. She supposed it was partly because Mary had been part of their little group right from the beginning. And while she did get annoying at times, she still had some redeeming qualities, all of which Lacey was having a hard time remembering at the moment.
“Well, I for one am all for it,” Patty stated. “Hell, Nick is one delicious-looking man. If I wasn’t already so in love with Ralph and Nick had offered to give me sex lessons, you can bet your britches I’d jump on the offer. No pun intended, of course.”
Mary turned beet red, and Lacey chuckled. Patty laughed, too, and finally Mary offered a slight snicker.
Lacey looked at her watch and sobered when she saw the time. In thirty minutes she would need to give Nick her answer. “Oh God, what if this screws everything up? I couldn’t live with it, you guys. He’s been there for me through so much, and I just don’t know what I’d do without him.”
Mary looked at her with thoughtful eyes. “You know, he has been there for you, and you’ve been there for him. Has it ever occurred to eithe
r of you that maybe you guys are already halfway to being a couple?”
Lacey dropped her fork. Patty swung her gaze toward Mary then back to Lacey. No way could she prevent the heat from searing her cheeks.
“You are way off there, Mary. We’re just friends. Nick is just doing me a favor, there’s nothing more to it. I know it.”
Mary shrugged, but Patty frowned. “If it were me, I’d want that confirmed.”
“What do you mean?”
“Lay it all on the table. Make him tell you he’s only helping you before you slip between the sheets.”
Lacey nodded vehemently. “Yeah, good idea.”
“And don’t go into this thing thinking he’s only doing you a favor, hon,” Patty continued. “If he’s offering up his…services, you can bet he’s thought about this before. Probably more than once.”
Lacey licked her lips nervously, willing the waiter to bring her another diet cola—her version of liquid courage. “He said as much.”
Patty and Mary both leaned close. Patty asked, “Come again?”
Lacey tried to act nonchalant, as if they were talking about the weather, clothes, books, anything but sex with Nick Stone. It wasn’t an easy sham to pull off.
“He said he wanted me. That he wasn’t just doing me a favor, because he wants me naked, in bed, and all his.”
“Damn. That’s hot,” Patty groaned, as she began to fan her face. “That’s just so damn hot.”
Mary started fidgeting, as if the conversation was making her a little bit warm too. Hmm, maybe Mary wasn’t quite the goody-goody she always acted.
“Well, I’m not sure how this thing will play out, but I do need work on my…bedroom skills, or else Evan wouldn’t have bothered with Christy.”
Patty waved the words away. “That’s just crap. Evan was a weasel, and you deserve better. Period.”
“Evan was always eyeing Christy. I never did much care for her. She seemed to enjoy the way he stared at her. If she were a true friend, she would have told him to go suck an egg.” Mary’s words in her defense surprised Lacey.
Wow. That was the thing about Mary. Just when Lacey thought she had her friend figured out, she went and mixed it up again.
The three of them had met at the gym. Both women had come in looking to shed a few pounds and they’d hit it off. They weren’t clients of hers personally. Neither of the women made the kind of money that would afford them a personal trainer. Even though Lacey had offered them both a personal discount, they still declined, stating they were too lazy for that kind of commitment. Two years had gone by and they were still close friends.
While she knew a great deal about Patty’s life, she knew very little about Mary’s. Patty worked at a local grocery store and was happily engaged to a wonderful man. They wanted to get married in the fall and start right away on having kids. Mary lived alone. She worked as a Chiropractic Assistant, and from what Lacey could see she didn’t date much. She’d often tried to get her to open up, come out of her shell, but it never seemed to work. Mary had been raised in an extremely strict household, with sickeningly rigid parents. She never offered any other information. She supposed, given the way Mary grew up, she should cut her some slack, but sometimes her I’m-better-than-you attitude wore on Lacey’s nerves. Depressing background or not.
Lacey’s diet cola finally arrived. “Oh, bless you.” She told the waiter. The guy gave her a wide smile and sauntered off. She sucked it down, glad to have at least that much to get her through the rest of the day. She had a feeling she’d need to stay alert and ready. Nick could be seriously persistent and extremely cunning when it came to a woman he wanted. She’d seen him in action with other women and she still wasn’t sure if the shiver running up her spine now was from fear or excitement.
“Damn, woman, are you trying to kill me?”
“What’s the matter, Nick? Am I too much woman for you?”
“Not a chance, baby. You and I are a perfect fit.” His voice dropped an octave as he leaned toward her to whisper, “You’ll soon see just how perfect.”
“Nick,” Lacey groused, “focus, damn it.”
They’d been working out for only half an hour and she was having the hardest time keeping his mind off her and on their exercise routine. Now, as they did crunches side by side, he kept looking over at her, groaning and saying completely inappropriate things. It obliterated her concentration, and she was growing increasingly warm. Unfortunately, the burn had nothing to do with their workout and everything to do with Nick.
“Oh believe me, I’m totally focused.”
“Nick,” she said in warning.
He placed his palm to her lower abs. The movement thrust Lacey back into her dream as she remembered him doing the very same thing while they made love. She dropped down onto the floor and looked at him. “What are you doing?”
“You promised an answer for me. I’ve yet to receive one.”
“Will you let me finish working out first?”
“I don’t think I can stand the suspense. Please, I need to know if you’re willing to let me help you get over this silly fear you have of being an inadequate lover.”
“Yes!” Lacey blurted.
“Yes?” Nick’s voice sounded harsh, as if raked over hot coals.
“Yes. I want you to…instruct me,” she explained, her stomach clenching tight.
“Fuck, Lacey.”
Nick’s hand began to massage her stomach, and she nearly forgot where they were. She quickly put her palm over his, stopping his actions. “We’re in a gym full of people here.”
Nick looked around them then back at her, a cocky grin on his handsome face. “Everyone else is in the main area, baby. We’re all alone back here in your little private workout room.”
“We need to finish exercising. Don’t we?” All of a sudden, she wasn’t so sure. His hand had drifted downward and it cupped her mound through her black workout shorts.
“We’ll get a workout, don’t worry. For now, I just want to touch you. May I?”
“Yes,” she said breathlessly. “I suppose that wouldn’t be too bad.”
The carnal expression that spread across Nick’s face wasn’t at all reassuring. The little lopsided tilt to his sensual lips gave her body an inner jolt, which went clear to her toes. Nick was so clever in his movements, too, and Lacey had the feeling he would be the most adept man when it came to foreplay. As his mouth skimmed below her ear, touching a particularly sensitive spot, she became aware of one other thing. She really didn’t want to think too much about how he’d come by such expertise. Enjoy and learn, she reminded herself. This was only the first in many such moments. Once Nick was through with her, Lacey would have the confidence to get any man she wanted.
Which was exactly why they were doing this.
If that were the case then why was she so easily imagining Nick making love to her, as opposed to what he would really be doing, which was teaching her? Helping her get over some insecurities. Lovemaking didn’t have anything to do with it.
That was a given.
Her thoughts scattered to the farthest corners of the earth as Nick’s fingers found their way beneath her shorts. “Damn, I can’t believe I’m touching lace.”
“I’m wearing cotton,” she mumbled.
“Mmm, yes you are.”
Then his fingers moved past her panties as he stroked the curls of her mound. It was such a forbidden thing for Lacey, making out in her place of business. She always left her feminine side outside the gym. Here she was a personal trainer. She helped men and women alike learn to live a healthy lifestyle. Only now, all she saw was Nick. All she felt was his overheated skin, his breath against her neck. All she smelled was the potent mixture of sweat and man and desire. She was more aroused than she’d ever been, and he hadn’t done a single thing but touch.
“Nick, please,” Lacey found herself pleading.
Nick leaned over her until he was staring directly into her half-closed eyes and growled, “Plea
se what, baby?” He skimmed his thumb over her clitoris and asked teasingly, “Please do this?”
She wanted to speak, really she did, but his touch was electric. Lacey was a marionette, and only Nick had the power to make her come alive.
Then his finger dipped between her nether lips and she lost control. She pushed into his hand, seeking more, wanting him so deep he could never find his way free again.
“You like that, don’t you?” he whispered against her lips as he kissed her. “Would you like two fingers even more?”
Lacey nodded, beyond caring where she was, beyond caring about her own name even.
“No. Tell me you want two fingers inside this hot little cunt. Give it to me, baby.”
“Yes, Nick, two. And please don’t stop.”
’His smile fluttered against her cheek. She felt his triumph. It radiated off him in masculine waves. Any other time and she’d be tossing out a sarcastic, witty reply to such arrogance. Not this time. All she wanted was Nick and the things only he could make her feel.
Intense, hot, eager. She’d never been like that with a man. Yet, a few touches, a few strokes from Nick and she was on fire, ready to hand him her body on a silver platter. It was frightening and exciting at once.
He stroked her inner flesh, all the while flicking back and forth over her clit. With no warning, her body rocketed out of control. Nick was right there, drinking in her moans of pleasure. With his mouth against hers, he masked her wild sounds and gave her the climax of a lifetime.
A few heavy breaths later, Nick slowly pulled his wet fingers from between her legs. He brought them to his mouth and slid both between his lips. He kept his gaze locked with hers as he fed off her juices, swallowing every drop.
“Remember the time, right after you and Dick broke up, we were sitting on your living room couch and you were laughing over the way Dick used to want to turn the lights off every time you two made love?”
