Again, without meaning to, he had stumbled into painful territory. Nikki remained silent, no doubt picking up on his mental confusion. Each time he told her something about his dad, he couldn’t escape the subtext. His dad wasn’t his dad.
Jaw clenched, he came to a conclusion. He was tired of rehashing the same fruitless fact. For the rest of the day, he planned on enjoying Nikki’s company and forgetting why they had met in the first place.
As he backed carefully out of the garage and swung around on the driveway, she frowned. “What kind of seventeen-year-old kid can buy a car like this?”
Pierce grinned as he pulled out onto the highway and picked up speed. “First of all, you have to understand that the engine had been ruined by someone putting a foreign substance into the gas tank. And secondly, the guy selling it didn’t know what he had.”
“So you took advantage of him.”
Pierce shrugged. “I was a minor. He was a grown adult. I figured he ought to know better.”
“And your parents allowed this?”
“Not exactly. I took money out of my college account without asking.”
She half turned in her seat, a hand to the side of her head as the wind whipped her sunshine hair. “Oh, my gosh. I would have killed you.”
He chuckled, this memory a lighthearted one. “They nearly did. Dad tried to return the car, but that was a no-go. The seller was adamant. So as punishment, I wasn’t allowed to touch my new toy for an entire six months. And I had to make straight A’s on my next report card.”
“That shouldn’t have been too hard. You seem like a pretty smart guy.”
“I had undiagnosed ADHD. School was torture.”
“But you told me you even have a master’s degree.”
“Only because my parents pushed and prodded me all along the way. Tutors, bribery and lots of TLC. I was damned lucky.”
“Yes, you were.”
Even an obtuse man couldn’t have missed the irony in her voice. Pierce took the entrance ramp to Skyline Drive, north of the Blue Ridge Parkway, and settled into a safe speed. Given his druthers, he’d have pushed the car to its limits, but despite a few self-destructive tendencies in his adolescence, he now had a healthy respect for the laws of the land.
He glanced at his passenger. “We’ve talked way too much about me,” he said, pulling his sunglasses from the visor as the late-evening sun threatened to blind him around one curve and another. “What about you? Where did you grow up?”
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw her wrap the thin mohair afghan more tightly around her shoulders. “Nowhere you’ve ever heard of—a tiny town in the Midwest. That’s why I love these mountains so much.”
“Do you still have family back there?”
“No.”
His was a perfectly normal question. But between Nikki’s body language and the tone of her voice, he got the message. Not up for discussion. On the one hand, he could choose to be irritated, because she knew so much about him and he knew next to nothing about her. But the fact that he had asked her to delve into his past gave her carte blanche to poke and prod. He had no reason or right to cross-examine her, particularly when it was so clear that she did not want to share.
Instead of allowing the uncomfortable moment to ruin the evening, he chose to brush it off. Hopefully, she would learn to trust him enough to share her secrets. She’d claimed that secrets were deadly. He wasn’t so sure. Sometimes he was convinced that ignorance was bliss. And in his case, that adage might be truer than he wanted to admit.
* * *
Nikki was in heaven. The wind in her hair, the sun on her face. A fascinatingly complex, delightfully sexy man at her side. He wasn’t her man. He was simply a man. But even lawyers didn’t have to quibble over every nonessential detail. Today she was free. A woman without a job. That thought should have scared her, and it had on more than one sleepless night when she was contemplating how best to shape the next decade of her life. Did she really want to be a junior partner in a high-powered D.C. firm? Did she want the pressure, the scrutiny of being the new kid on the block?
The offer from her former professor was flattering, really flattering. And she had given it serious thought. It wasn’t as if she would be walking away from a significant other in Charlottesville. She had many friends, but no one special in her life. No one who would be devastated if she left.
So why couldn’t she commit? Pick up the phone and make the call. Why was it necessary to create a false deadline of six weeks? Was she really going to be any more equipped to make a decision then than now?
Closing out all of her cases and giving herself time for personal reflection had seemed like a good idea on paper. But truth be told, she probably would have been going nuts after a few days with nothing to do. Pierce’s crisis couldn’t have come at a better time. By throwing herself wholeheartedly into his problems, she could avoid her own.
His case was personal to her. So much of what he was experiencing hit her at a gut level. She knew the agony of not knowing, and she wanted to help. Spending time with him would be no hardship. His wit and banter were entertaining, and even if she had no plans to act on it, the sexual tension between the two of them was impossible to miss.
Again, she was flattered. But a more unlikely couple would be hard to find. Nikki liked her novels and her research tomes and her case files and her cozy condo. Nothing made her happier than to prowl through a bookstore or a library for hours at a time. Pierce enjoyed the challenge of man versus nature. He was a physically perfect specimen, a guy in his element when he was in the elements. Her inward joke made her smile.
Pierce probably enjoyed camping. She shuddered at the thought. Her idea of the perfect accommodations was a Hampton Inn with free breakfast. If she was lucky, she and Pierce would be so busy cracking the code of his messed-up lineage that they wouldn’t have time for him to “help her unwind.”
Thanks, but no thanks. She was as relaxed as she wanted or needed to be. Testing her physical prowess, even under the tutelage of a natural athlete, had all the appeal of a root canal without anesthesia.
She wasn’t stupid. Anyone could see that Pierce was conflicted. Part of him knew he had to uncover the truth. But another part of him was inclined to grab any diversion, even if it meant teaching an uptight lawyer how to kick back. It would be up to Nikki to keep the investigation on track. If she let Pierce mold the agenda, they might end up doing something really dumb. Like fooling around and pretending it was more than it was.
Pierce needed to concentrate on what was important, and hormones were seldom important, in her opinion. He was dealing with some tough stuff, with more to come. Her own situation might be of some help to him later…when he was able process all of this. But for now, she saw no need to unburden her soul. The less said, the better.
The sun was touching the treetops when Pierce eased off the road into a parking area for one of the magnificent overlooks. In the distance, the valley sprawled like a sunbaked beauty, Charlottesville itself appearing peaceful and somnolent.
Pierce came around and opened her door. “Think you can walk?”
“I know I can.” She got out and followed him to a lone picnic table situated to take advantage of the view.
Pierce patted the top. “Let’s sit.”
She joined him, for the first time feeling self-conscious about her appearance. She typically used her formal work clothing to induce clients to trust her and to make an unspoken statement about her educational achievements. Here, with Pierce, she looked more like someone’s summer girlfriend. He, on the other hand, seemed confident and capable no matter what he wore.
As a man in his prime, he exuded a palpable masculinity that made a woman feel weak, especially at the end of a long, stressful day. Nikki had felt helpless too many times in her life. So if Pierce made her want to lean on him
, he was definitely the wrong man to moon over.
When the silence between them grew too lengthy for comfort, she made herself interrupt the intimacy that seemed to bind them in a cocoon. “It’s so beautiful.” Humidity was high today, and the air, though by no means as bad as it had been earlier in the day, was still oppressive at this hour.
“You’ve been up here before, though. Right?”
“Of course. But it’s been a while. I have a hard time with the concept of relaxation.”
“Were you one of those kids who had to be perfect to please your parents?”
“No.” He kept dancing around the issue, but so far he hadn’t pressed for an explanation of her roots. “But I’m pretty hard on myself…or I have been in the past. Part of this six-week hiatus is self-examination. I may reinvent myself.”
Pierce touched her briefly on the knee. “I kinda like you the way you are,” he said laconically.
They were both staring straight ahead, aligned hip to hip and shoulder to shoulder, but not touching. The back of her neck was damp with sweat. Pierce radiated warmth. The smell of his clothing and aftershave was all male. Deliciously, tantalizingly male.
She clasped her hands in her lap. Sometimes these overlooks were crowded with tourists. But it was late in the day, and she and Pierce were all alone. That fact made her nervous. Not because of him, but because of her. A woman who could put aside a perfectly good job to play hooky for six weeks was obviously deranged. Capable of anything.
“Do you have a girlfriend?” The words popped out of her mouth without warning. When she gasped and pressed a hand over her lips, Pierce chuckled. He leaned back on his hands, the position straining the seams of his shirt. He was a big guy.
“Not at the moment,” he said, his grin broad. Her question clearly pleased him. “Are you asking as my lawyer?”
“Of course,” she huffed. “Why else would I want to know?”
“Maybe because you want me to kiss you.”
“I do not.” She glanced at the clear sky above to make sure no renegade lightning bolts had her in their sights.
“Do, too.”
She jumped to her feet, forgetting about her injured toe. “Ouch.” Pain spiked up her foot, but it was more of a dull ache now.
Pierce unfolded his big frame to stand beside her. He scooped her into his arms. “I want to kiss you, too,” he said, the words husky and low. Goose bumps skittered up and down her arms as a ribbon of arousal tickled her spine. “Put your arms around my neck.”
“I can walk,” she insisted, hearing the steady thump of his heartbeat beneath her cheek. She curled one arm as he asked, but left the other free to feel the heat of his chest beneath her hand.
“But you don’t need to when I’m here.” His head lowered, his mouth hovering over hers. Leaning his butt against the picnic table for support, he found her lips with his, brushing them with a butterfly caress that made her squirm. The gentle kiss was torture when what she wanted was so shockingly not gentle.
He held her comfortably, but not so tightly that she couldn’t have wriggled out of his hold if she had so chosen. “Kiss me again.” Her bossy side took over.
His lips quirked. “I thought you didn’t want me to kiss you.”
“Don’t gloat,” she grumbled. “It’s not attractive.”
“But you are,” he whispered. “Very attractive. Damned beautiful, in fact.”
Since she didn’t know what to say to that, she closed her eyes as his lips drifted from her brow to her eyelids to her nose, and finally, to her mouth.
“I think I must be dreaming,” he groaned.
She couldn’t help the little whimper that escaped her parted lips. The kiss was chaste, almost sweet…at least until her tongue darted out to toy with his. Pierce’s body shook, and he muttered something under his breath before he grabbed her up, devouring her as if he hadn’t kissed a woman in years. He was good, damned good. They went at each other, desperate, hungry. Incredulous, on her part. God knew what on his. Maybe this was how he initiated each new relationship.
“Stop.” Somewhere, somehow, she summoned the presence of mind to call a halt before they both were arrested for indecent exposure. Pierce had begun unbuttoning her blouse, but he froze instantly at her ragged command. Breathing hard, he set her none too gently on the picnic table and stepped back to wipe his mouth with the back of his hand.
“I didn’t start it.”
His blunt, though implied, accusation made her laugh when she would have sworn that laughter was the furthest thing from her mind. “I never said you did. But I’d prefer not to appear before a judge as the accused. Five more minutes and we’d both have been—”
“In flagrante delicto?”
“Look at you and your legal terms.”
“I learned that one in junior high…the summer my next-door neighbor began swiping his dad’s adult-magazine collection.”
She held up a hand. “Say no more. I’m not sure about the statute of limitations on that one.”
Pierce crossed his arms over his chest, his feet planted shoulder width apart. “I think we’ve strayed from the subject at hand.” He looked like a man ready for a good argument.
Lucky for her, arguing came as naturally as breathing. “There was no subject,” she said calmly. “Just two people enjoying the view.”
His gaze dropped deliberately to her chest. “Plenty to enjoy.”
She felt her nipples bead into tight, achy nubs. The sensation was so acutely uncomfortable, she bit her lip. When Pierce got that look in his eyes, she could swear she was the sexiest woman on the planet. Since she had no script for such a scenario, she was winging it. And that made her nervous. Part of being a good lawyer involved preparation, preparation, preparation. Never getting caught unawares.
This thing with Pierce had caught her at a vulnerable time. Already emotionally off balance because of her career flux, she had not been ready to handle an acute case of sexual attraction.
And though she was pretty sure the feeling was mutual, Pierce wasn’t exactly the picture of a man who was enjoying himself.
She pulled her knees up to her chest and linked her arms around them. “I can explain what just happened. It’s really very simple.”
Six
Pierce was frustrated. Hard and hurting. He knew Nikki had been right to call a halt to their very public fooling around. But that didn’t mean he had to like it. “Do tell,” he said. “I’m all ears.”
Nikki, for once looking the tiniest bit mussed, managed a placating smile. “You’re upset. And for a man, the easiest way to take your mind off your problems is to have sex.”
“I haven’t had sex,” he pointed out with what he thought was monumental patience, considering the fact that he was a few breathless seconds away from pushing her down on that table and having his way with her.
Color warmed her cheeks. “I’d like to go home, please. We can talk more tomorrow. After a good night’s sleep.”
Pierce ground his jaw. “I’m not interested in talking.”
She sighed. “I’m supposed to be helping you with a problem, not flirting.”
“I’m pretty sure what we just did was a few degrees beyond flirting. And I don’t need you telling me how to run my life.”
“You hired me, remember?” A tiny frown wrinkle between her brows indicated that she was annoyed. Well, that was fine, because he was none too happy with her, either.
“Get in the car,” he said. “I think the moment is lost, anyway.”
The drive back to the city was completed in silence. He drove ten miles above the speed limit all the way, almost wishing he could get pulled over and have an altercation with a cop…anything to defuse the restless energy pinballing in his veins.
Nikki sat, spine straight, in the passenger sea
t, staring out through the windshield. She had given up on trying to protect her hair—the wind whipped it in a hundred directions, giving her the look of a winsome biker chick ready to hit the road for parts unknown.
He had a feeling that such a summation was entirely fiction on his part. Nicola Parrish was an uptight, play-by-the-rules ballbuster. There was nothing spontaneous or fun about her.
Even as he told himself that, he knew he was lying. He was just in a bad mood because she’d been the sensible one. And to be honest, he was also uneasy when he acknowledged the fact that she had taken him to the edge at warp speed. Like a hormonal sixteen-year-old kid, he had been blind and deaf to everything but the demands of his body.
That admission sobered him. “I’m sorry,” he said gruffly.
She shot him a look. “For what?”
“For being grumpy. You were right to stop me.”
“I stopped us,” she pointed out with a prissy tone that made him mad all over again. “You don’t get to take all the credit for animalistic madness.”
“God, you’re aggravating.” And so cute and sexy he could gobble her up with a spoon. He moved restlessly in the driver’s seat. “I want to ask you a question, and I want the truth when you answer.”
Her head swung around so fast she probably suffered whiplash. In the split second he glanced at her face, he saw alarm. “What question?”
“Those hospital records were basically a waste of time and money, right? We learned nothing.”
Nikki looked away, giving him a vantage point of her classic profile with its perfect nose and slightly pointed chin. “Yes. That’s true. But from a legal point of view, we had to start somewhere. I think the next move is up to you. This great-aunt you mentioned. Is she still alive?”
“Yes. She lives in a nursing home in Richmond. My mom visits Aunt Trudie once a month…or at least she did until Dad became so ill. I’m ashamed to say it, but my father and I haven’t seen Trudie in several years. She’s ninety-two. As far as I know, her mind is as sharp as it ever was.”
A Wolff at Heart Page 5
