Hot For Nick

by Hot for Nick (lit)

  He chuckled and moved his hips against hers, then pulled her leg over his waist. “Hell with that. I’m the only wolf in this scene.”

  She laughed with delirious happiness, drenched with the sweet honey of being in her true love’s arms and feeling him open her as if he had the key to her soul.

  * * * *

  The hours slipped by, silent little thieves of life and happiness. Shelby opened her eyes to the startling fact the sun had set and she hadn't touched her hair with a brush. What the hell? Her lover didn't seem to notice her hair that tumbled over the pillows in a frizzy gnarled mess.

  "What are you thinking, beautiful woman?"

  She turned onto her side to press against his warmth. "Just how much…how much I want to make love to you."

  "Well, hey." He brushed his palm over her cheek and his fingers combed at her hair. "I think I'm up for it."

  She smiled into his eyes and pushed him onto his back. "Nick, you're a glutton for punishment."

  "I just can't get enough of you, that’s all."

  She loved the way his gaze followed her in hot admiration while she got to her feet and stood over him. Catching her ankles, he laughed over a grunt when she plopped onto his legs.

  "Hey, take it easy, baby. You almost removed my balls."

  "Let me check." She moved back on his thighs to peer at his lengthening penis and full sac. "Oh, sweetie, your balls are still nice and fat." She pressed her fingers to his full sack. "I'm going to make you a happy man, Mister Fisherman."

  “I don’t think it could be any better, but you can give it a try.”

  The sound of his deep, sexy laugh and his relaxed way of lounging back with his hands clasped behind his head to smile at her, gave Shelby a huge measure of happiness.

  She lifted her arms over her head to stretch, slowly rocking against his erect penis and flouncing her hair about her shoulders. Her fingers teased his thighs, moving slowly to his belly. She gripped his ridged cock in her fingers, and stroked the velvety head with her fingertips and smiled into his midnight gaze.

  She laughed deep in her throat when his stomach muscles jumped spasmodically under her exploring. She wanted to share the erotic pleasure that burned inside her.

  Sliding down his legs, she nuzzled his balls, flicked her tongue out to taste him. Hard as steel, his dick laid tight against his belly, his cock jerking as she took him in her mouth to nibble and lick his hot length.

  He groaned and bucked against her, reaching down to grasp her shoulders. He quickly put her on her back.

  "I want to be inside you again, Shel, giving you every inch I’ve got. Coming with you is all I want."

  She opened her arms and hugged him hard, kissing his lips with loving tenderness.

  Afterwards, Nick left the bed to fetch things for her. He returned to the bedroom with a basin of warm soapy water and towels. She accepted his care, reaching out to stroke his member with a familiar touch.

  He put the towels aside and lay down beside her, squeezing her breasts and kissing her stomach. “Unbelievable, but it gets better every time.”

  She sighed, knowing it would come to an end tomorrow. She fully expected to have a mini heart attack for fear he would want to end it before morning. For a few hours she had forgotten all the pain of yesterday.

  She shut the door on everything ugly and stayed in her nest of pillows. Right now, she would steal every drop of happiness this night offered.

  Nick got out of bed and playfully threw the quilt over her face. "You take it easy until I get back."

  "Back?" She slapped the quilt away. "Where are you going?" Had she sounded like a stupid, scheming woman? Why not? That described her perfectly.

  "Listen, I need fuel.” He touched his stomach. “Sex is great, but it won't fill my belly."

  She laughed with relief, waving her hand in a nonchalant motion. "Fine. I'll be here when you get back."

  "I'm counting on that." He knotted a sheet about his hips and sauntered off to the kitchen.

  She dozed until he returned, carrying a tray.

  "Sinful stuff for a sinfully wicked woman."

  The scent of warm chocolate and sweet, ripe strawberries made her sit up, licking her lips hungrily. "Nick, you wonderful man. Where's my champagne?"

  He stepped out of the room, but returned in seconds, holding out a chilled bottle of Chardonnay and two fluted glasses.

  "Time to celebrate the best sex ever." He uncorked the wine and filled the glasses, handing her the first one. "I'm trying to get you loaded."

  She laughed at the irony of his comment, the needless effort to gain access to her body. "Whatever for? I'm easy." Yes, so damned easy for him. And now she had a headache. She closed her eyes and rubbed her forehead. Nothing unusual, a frequent annoyance after an especially powerful climax.

  He tipped his glass up and took a long drink, eyeing her over the rim. "What's wrong? The wine too warm?"

  "The wine is wonderful. Just maybe a little headache coming."

  "These juicy plump fruits will ease your tension." He dipped a fat berry in the warm chocolate and drew it over her lips.

  She bit into the succulent fruit, and then dipped her finger in the fragrant chocolate before sliding it into his mouth. While she wiped his lips with her thumb, he dipped a berry in the sweet coating before dabbing it to her nipple, and then sucked it clean. His seduction ceased after finding her trying to hide a frown with her hand. He touched her forehead.

  "I'll get that aspirin." He patted her stomach and started to leave.

  "Nick. In my handbag." She added hesitantly, "In my bathroom."

  A whisper of worry touched her heart. But, what could there be to worry about? She knew the answer the moment he came back into the bedroom, sensing his mood change before he spoke.

  "Shel." His voice flicked out like a whip, cutting her ear with its frigid tone.

  "Nick?"

  He went to the bed and handed her several aspirin and a glass of water. She met his steady gaze and then almost choked when he held his hand out to her, palm up.

  Taking the moment of reprieve to swallow her aspirin, Shelby set the water glass on the night stand, then moved the tray of goodies off the bed and smoothed the pillow case before meeting him in verbal war.

  "New kind of birth control, Shel?" Sarcasm etched his words and disgust flared in his eyes.

  She glanced at the tan square he held and inhaled roughly. "No. It's a square bandage, just like the one on my belly."

  He tore the patch of soft plastic from her skin and threw it behind him. "At least you didn't bother to lie about this."

  She took hot exception to his superior attitude. "Don't talk down to me as if you're something special."

  "Special, my tired ass." He caught her wrists and pulled her from the bed. "I thought you to be damned special, once. What happened to you, Shel? Why would you pull a dirty trick like this? I don't want bastards."

  "I wanted sex, you arrogant clod." She yanked her hands free and scooped up a handful of strawberries. “You wouldn’t have to worry about child support because you’d never know.”

  He glared down at her, hands clenched at his side. "Now, what's that supposed to mean? God damn it."

  She flung the berries at him and screamed in heart breaking disappointment.

  "Go to hell, Nick. I made a mistake today, but that wasn't the worst of the lot."

  His brow furrowed and he held his hands out to her before she ran past him to her bathroom. His final word on the subject was a clench-jawed, "Son of a bitch."

  Down the hall in her bathroom, Shelby crumpled to the floor, clutching her stomach and weeping scalding tears of disappointment. Her overdue period had started and she hated the crimson that heralded its triumphant return. Bitter tears of failure burnt her cheeks and scarred her emotions. At the moment, she didn’t want to take her next breath. She couldn’t even get pregnant.

  Chapter 12

  This wasn't like Shelby, running off to sob in the bathroom.
The real Shelby would have laughed in his face and shook her ass at him. Damn. What kind of woman thing had hit her now? One thing for sure, he wasn't going to sleep tonight. Not with her throwing things against the wall and being in the vicinity of the kitchen knives.

  Nick leaned against her bedroom door and pressed his forehead to the cool walnut panel for a time. He couldn't stand being shut out of whatever she felt or did. But, he knew her signals—this one said all men stay away.

  The slamming of drawers and closet doors spoke clearly of her mood. He walked away from her door, knowing it wouldn’t be wise to invade her space.

  At five the next morning, Shelby emerged from her hiding place to grace him with a scalding glare.

  "I have done a lot of thinking, Nick." She threw something in his direction. The keys bounced and skittered off behind him. "I won't need those anymore. And, I don't give a damn what you do with this place."

  She flung her makeup kit towards the entry door. Nick saw her nose testing the air for the scent of coffee. He picked her kit up and smiled at her.

  “I’ve been waiting for you to get up. Coffee’s ready and the vans loaded.” The look she gave him would have stunned an elephant with its powerful stab of disgust.

  “I'll get coffee in Kansas City.” She walked a few steps back in the direction of her room, but whirled on him. “Did you have the decency to throw all that garbage you brought here out to the birds?”

  “Yes, ma'am.” Nick had seen Shelby angry before, but never so completely iced over. “Yes, I tossed everything and the kitchen is clean. The windows are down and all the doors are locked. I'm ready.”

  He shook his head when she gave him a sarcastic glance and headed back to her bathroom.

  Thirty minutes later, they pulled onto the highway and leaving the painful episode behind. Much to his chagrin at every rest stop Shelby refused his repeated offers of food and drink. She went so far as to demand separate tables while they ate lunch in a crowded steak house. Nick wanted to hide under his table while she carried on a conversation with her waitress and they both glared his way. The woman treated him like a hired driver, not speaking to him or looking directly at him. While she pretended to sleep, he could feel her damning gaze burn his skin through her dark sunglasses.

  During the final rest stop, Nick began to worry about Shelby and her frequent extensive restroom visits. Thinking she had been gone too long, he went to find her, shrinking from six foot three to ground level when he found her sobbing outside the women's restroom door.

  She sobbed, burying her face in her hands and shivering even though the temperature soared.

  “My God, Shel.” He tried to pull her into his arms, but she turned her shoulder to ward him off. “This isn't about what happened at the cottage, is it?" He stroked her hair, ignoring her freezing stare. He could swear she had hissed at him.

  She pressed a hand full of tissue to her red nose and answered between sobs. “Go away. I don't want to look at you. And don't flatter yourself. This has nothing to do with you.”

  “Then, why—?”

  “I don't want to hear your voice.”

  She cut him off and hurried to the van, slamming the door hard enough to make people look for the source of the sonic boom.

  * * * *

  After what had been the longest, most grueling trip of his life, Nick drove into Shelby's parking garage, wondering what to say to her next. He parked the van behind a car sitting in the space where her little Jag usually sat. At last, a reason to break the long cold silence.

  “Where's your car?”

  “Not that it's any of your concern, but that is my car. At least for several weeks while mine is being repaired."

  He gave her a look of shocked disbelief. “Hell, woman. Where did you take your car? Those few scratches shouldn't take more than a couple days to iron out."

  “Scratches? The trunk is pleated and the bumper is gone along with my rear window." She harrumphed on her last word.

  “What did I miss here? When I last saw your car, there were only a few scratches on it. What else happened?”

  “Oh, nothing. A car rammed me.”

  His hackles stood up and his heart galloped. “All that damage from one bump?” He took her arm and moved her toward the elevator. “Come over here and tell me about it.”

  Her soft brows arched prettily over a look of impatience. “Okay.” Her voice held contempt for his ignorance. “A car followed me for a while one night and then rammed the rear of my car a couple times. He quit when a police officer came along."

  Nick’s blood coursed through his veins on a rampage. Some son-of-a-bitch had tried to hurt his woman. He wouldn’t stand for it. “Talk to me, damn it.” He gripped her upper arm, paying no heed to her attempts to get away. “Did you know the driver?”

  She straightened her slumping shoulders and took on a regal appearance with nothing more than her inner fire. She huffed with indignation. “Know him? Why would you say something so crazy? Of course I didn’t know him.”

  He stared at the woman who stirred his emotions with a pitchfork and set fire to his soul with her little ways of black magic and Jezebel tricks. He was beside himself with worry and scared to death she would be hurt. God, he loved her so damned much and she acted so damned indifferent. He could only guess at the danger she might be in. Damn it to hell. She had to take the situation seriously.

  “Listen to me, lady.” Nick squeezed her arm to emphasize his meaning. “The kinds of people you’ve been dealing with aren’t impressed with the fact you’re a damned good-looking woman. What happened? Did you back out on a deal? Ask too much money for the plans?”

  The pulse in her temple pounded when she met his hard gaze and her lashes glistened with tears. Nick wanted to cry too, to make everything in the world disappear but Shelby. Her voice broke when she spoke to him.

  “Nick. Stop yelling at me. He could have killed me.”

  “That’s why I’m yelling. I’m worried about you, Shel.” He took several deep breaths and watched the lights on the elevator panel. The doors opened and he tried to reason with her. “Let’s go to the cops and get this guy picked up.”

  She shook her head and walked into the elevator, trying to block his way inside. “There’s no word to describe how much I detest you right now.”

  He knew she told the truth. He just couldn’t figure out why she had turned on him so completely and without warning. He didn’t know her at all. Made no difference to him. He loved the hellcat and would protect her if possible.

  “Don’t pull that betrayed woman crap. I’m serious. You’re in trouble.”

  “Horse’s ass.”

  “I’m going in the apartment with you.”

  “Over my dead body.”

  “That’s what I’m trying to prevent.”

  The ride up was replete with icy stares and his attempt to avoid being frozen solid by one of her frigid glares. She slapped his hand when he pulled her away from the apartment door and unlocked it for her. He made a thorough search of the quiet apartment before going to the living room where she stood looking at him with a sarcastic smile.

  “Wait a second, Nick. I’ll get my revolver.”

  “This isn’t funny, Shel. You’re getting in too deep to act like a spoiled brat. I’m making a report if you won’t.”

  She threw her sunglasses at him and clenched her hands. “Don’t meddle in my life. Don’t you dare.”

  “I care about you.”

  “That’s a laugh.” She turned away from him. “Oh, just get out.”

  “Do you want your bags brought up?”

  “Dump them in the lobby. Alfred will bring them up.”

  “Maybe.” Nick opened the door. “Last time I looked, he was checking his lipstick.”

  “The door’s open.” She gestured toward him. “There’s nothing to keep you here.”

  * * * *

  Two weeks had passed since he had seen Shelby, two weeks of sheer hell. He knew she turned her c
ar around and left the site if she spotted his car. In the back of his mind, he had the suspicion Matt gave her a call to let her know if he had left.

  Hell, he must be losing his mind, worrying about seeing her. He didn't need to have the woman make his life any more miserable. As long as the project stayed on schedule going up like it should, it didn't matter. But the time quickly approached that they had to meet for a run through of the place. He could wait.

  Nick had just stepped out of the shower when the phone rang. He stood dripping on the carpet. "Damn it, Savage. You pick the worst times to call." He knotted the towel over his hips. "What is it?"

  "I have some news, Nick."

  "News?" Nick took the phone into the steamy bathroom. "This had better be good.”

  "I won't ask what's been going on with you." Savage obviously shuffled papers while he talked. "One of my paralegals waded through a ton of files and came up with a building permit. It states the parties intention to build on the site you found.”

  "Forget my mood, Savage." Nick dropped the towel and leaned on the vanity. "Who is this bastard and how soon am I going to kill him?" He bristled while Savage laughed.

  "That’s the rub. The guy died in a car accident three weeks ago. Car jacking or something like that. How's that for irony?"

  "Irony. Yeah.” The ugly sound of a submarine’s dive alert horn went off in his brain. Red flags waved in a field of waist high weeds and rusting steel beams. Car jacking. He dragged in a rough breath. "He just saved me from doing some serious time in Leavenworth."

  Nick didn't want to drag Shelby into the spotlight. He would handle this alone and no one would be the wiser. He quizzed Savage. "Any idea who’d want to kill the guy?"

  "Well, there's one more thing." Savage tapped the mouthpiece after Nick's lengthy silence. "Nick, you still there?"

  "Still here and waiting." Nick glanced down at the wet footprints on the bathmat. "Come on, Savage. Spill. I'm standing here buck naked."

  "Okay. The deceased guy applied for the permit, but it seems he got it for someone else. So far, we can't determine who that second person is."