by Nikky Kaye
Throwing her to the ground didn’t even make me break a sweat, but being this close to her took my breath away. Stepping back, I scrubbed my hand over my head.
Annie blinked once, twice, like she was waking up. “So what were you doing with my… mail?”
“Wedding invitation.”
Her mouth fell open. “You’re getting married?”
“Hell, no!” I recoiled. “Evie and Dom are.”
“Oh, right.” She looked down at the sidewalk, her fingers fiddling with her scuffed purse. I hadn’t noticed it before, but she was damn lucky I hadn’t accidentally strangled her with the damn thing. Irritation flared in me again at her stupid ninja moves.
I sighed. “Apparently you haven’t RSVPed or something, and Evie’s been calling you? She asked me to hand deliver it, to make sure you’d gotten it, but you weren’t home…” I hadn’t realized how late she worked. Then again, I wasn’t even sure what she did for a living. I asked her.
“I waitress.”
“Not a ninja, then.”
She cracked a smile, which somehow made me feel fucking proud. “No, not a ninja.” Her eyes narrowed as she said, “I talked to Evie earlier. She didn’t say anything about you dropping it off.”
“Well…” I rubbed the back of my neck. “I was supposed to do it a week ago. Maybe two.”
“Two weeks?”
“Three at the most.”
“Shit,” she muttered. “Has it been that long since I talked to her?” she asked herself out loud.
“I guess she thinks you’re avoiding her.”
Her gaze flicked to me. She twisted the strap of her purse nervously. Guilt was written all over her face.
Oh.
“It’s not that I’m avoiding her; I’m just—”
“Busy?” Yeah, I’d heard that one before. I’d even used it in the last couple of weeks.
Annie exhaled. “I hate weddings.” Judging by the look on her face, she equated weddings with something like leprosy, or bars on Saint Patrick’s Day.
“I thought all girls loved weddings. Pretty dresses, catching the bouquet, hot groomsmen…” Again, my mind travelled to a naughty destination.
“Expensive, ugly dresses you only wear once, being humiliated in public for being single, and obnoxious assholes thinking you’re so desperate to get married yourself that you must be an easy lay.” She ticked them off on her fingers.
“Hmmm. Well, at this wedding, I’ll be one of those obnoxious assholes.”
My imagination began working on a mental picture of her in a silky dress. Would she even wear a bra? Her breasts were a perfect handful, but then maybe the material of the dress would rub against her bare nipples and make them stand out…
“I’m not desperate.”
I blinked as she spun away and began walking up the steps—slowly. “Hey, hey, let me help you.”
“Thanks, Jake. I think I got enough help from you, already.” Her voice was flat and fatigued.
I followed her into the building, standing at her back as she opened her little mailbox. Inside was a slightly bent envelope with her name in calligraphy on it. She jumped as I leaned against the vault of mailboxes.
“I didn’t know your last name was Asato, by the way.”
“Asshole,” she muttered under her breath.
“What? Did I pronounce it wrong?”
“No. You didn’t.”
I ignored her eye roll. “What kind of name is that?”
“Japanese. And before you ask—no, I don’t speak the language and I’ve never been there. My father died when I was a baby. And I fucking hate sushi.”
I flinched, as though the bitter acidity in her tone might have pockmarked my skin. Someone had issues.
“What kind of name is Stone?” she mocked.
“It comes from Old Icelandic, and means a bubbling river or stream.”
Annie Asato inhaled sharply and frowned at me with confusion.
“I’m just fucking with you.” I stood up straight, flashing her a wide smile.
The relief on her face was obvious, but she slammed her mailbox shut with a metallic clang and turned her back on me.
Note to self: Annie did not like being made fun of.
The one and only time I’d met Annie, I’d been trying to disengage my heart and hormones from the brief and blazing liaison I’d had with Evie, her best friend.
I wasn’t blind, though.
Any man would have brought her to mind when alone in the shower, with her long dark hair that begged for a fist to wrap around it and tug it back. Her tight little body, and her sassy, sarcastic tongue.
In some ways she was the polar opposite of Evie’s bouncy blonde hair and ripe curves. Evie was like overdosing on marshmallow treats, resulting in a sugar high then regretting it later.
Annie, I suspected, would be like sucking on high quality dark chocolate. The taste would linger.
That was a good thing—and at the moment, that good thing was walking away from me, to her low-rent apartment in her low-rise building.
“Hey, wait!” She didn’t pause in her trudge up the stairs. Her ass bobbed hypnotically in front of my face. If I reached out, I could just… I shook my head. What was I…? Oh, right. “You got a date to the wedding?”
She halted, then gasped when my body collided with hers. I could have moved away. I should have moved away.
I didn’t.
Spinning us around so that we were facing each other on the same step, I repeated the question.
“No, of course I don’t have a date!” she snipped. “I was hoping I could avoid going altogether.”
“No need to be petulant, princess. From what I hear, you’re the maid of honor. You kind of have to show up.”
“Ugh. Fine! I’ll be there.” The pained expression on her face told me she’d rather have a root canal.
“So go with me. I’m the best man.”
Her expression was incredulous.
Unable to deny my curiosity any longer, I reached out and ran my thumb and forefinger down her long, silky hair. Now her expression was inscrutable, but her eyes widened.
“Why should I?” she asked me quietly.
Damn, I’d never had to work this hard to get a date. “Because I’ll make it fun for you. I’ll protect you from the assholes, and I’m a fan-fucking-tastic dancer.”
“I can take care of myself.”
“I’m sure you can. You’re kind of a ballbuster.” I held up a hand as her delicate eyebrows drew together and her lips parted. “In the best kind of way.”
“Ha!” She rolled her eyes. “I haven’t seen a scrotum in two years, much less busted one.”
Could have fooled me. But now I was even more intrigued by this exotic ninja waitress.
“So? The wedding?”
She poked me in the chest. “You know I’m not fucking you in the coat room, right? I refuse to be a cliché.”
My easy grin belied the tightness in my groin. “Too bad. I’d let you bust my balls.”
Chapter Three
Annie
At first I thought the big box that appeared at my front door a week later was from Jacob Stone. After all, it held a slinky gown, high heels, and luxurious lingerie. Maybe it was my bridesmaid dress. Actually, it wasn’t as awful as I worried it would be.
Then I saw the note.
“Roses are red. Violets are blue. I think this would look sexy on you.” –Your secret admirer
Oh my god.
He had been just outside my door. Had it been locked? I sometimes forgot to lock the door when I was home. I must have been home when he delivered it, since it wasn’t there when I got home from work. I’d been sent home early when the whole downtown block was notified of a gas leak.
I found the box when I headed downstairs to check the mail after a shower and an afternoon nap. When I realized that working near open flames during a gas leak might be safer than my own apartment, I got scared. Then I got angry.
Then I
got out the wine.
Three glasses later, my fear had not dissipated. My knee bounced nervously as I sat on a scarred wooden chair at my kitchen table. Wondering what to do. The box mocked me from across the room, where it sat by the front door. It was too bad that it wasn’t from Jake, because everything in it was something I would have chosen myself.
That was the most frightening part. This person knew me. A random creeper was easier to ignore, somehow. I looked around my tiny studio apartment with new eyes.
Maybe the bamboo blinds on my windows didn’t give me enough privacy. Maybe I shouldn’t have let the building maintenance guy come in to fix the leaking trap under my sink. Maybe the previous tenant had left secret cameras installed in the light fixtures. Maybe the guy who’d moved into Evie’s old apartment next door had drilled a hole through the wall and was spying on me.
Maybe I was being a little paranoid.
My anxiety drove me out the door, nonetheless. Walking outside, I felt even more conspicuous. Was my secret admirer watching me? Following me?
Sure, I could run in the sneakers I wore and my baggy sweatshirt and tight leggings wouldn’t get in the way, but I was still a petite woman—who had already demonstrated her lack of ninja skills on Jake the previous week.
Jake.
Now, Jake could hold his own. He could hold me, too.
The dog tags that swung from his neck the first time I’d met him told me that he’d served, so he surely knew how to fight. And if I remembered correctly, he’d had a baby in the stroller that day. He was probably a very protective father to the little girl with blonde curls and an obstinate look. She was freaking adorable. So was the fact that Jake had named his new toy store after her, or so Evie had told me.
She’d also told me that she’d hooked up with Jake, and had a wicked threesome with him and Dominic. At the time, I’d hooted and egged her on. I mean, they were both super hot and super available—why the hell not?
Now, however, I felt uncomfortable allowing myself the fantasy of Jake’s big, hard body sheltering mine. His strong arms could shield me from harm—or they could lift me up while he fucked me against the thin wall of my apartment. I could lean on his ridiculously broad shoulders, or I could feel them under my thighs as he tasted me. I suppressed a small shiver at the mental image.
Was it even appropriate for me to wonder about him, when he’d seen my best friend naked?
Then again, I’d seen Evie naked before, too. And I’d loaned her my underwear. Nothing says BFF like sharing ass floss—which she could borrow forever, as far as I was concerned.
She’d assured me, through blushes and stammers, that it was a one-time thing only. It had been a wild, hedonistic moment that had never repeated itself—nor did she really want it to. She was committed to Dominic Stone, and soon she’d be tied to him for better or for worse.
The sidewalks were filling up with people heading home after work. Was I safer in a crowd, or was my stalker just more easily camouflaged?
I didn’t want to go home. He could be waiting for me there. Or at my favorite coffee shop. Or at the gym. Okay, probably not the gym—since I hadn’t been there in months.
There was only one place I could think of where I would be safe.
I hopped in a cab to Evie and Dom’s castle in the sky. The penthouse downtown was where they spent most of their time, and I hoped Evie’s standing invitation still stood. The welcoming delight in her voice when I called up from the security desk was an arrow of guilt in my chest.
“You’ve been avoiding me!” was the first thing she said when I exited the elevator directly into the apartment.
I tilted my head just in time to avoid a nasty collision as she yanked me into her arms.
“Oof!”
Evie’s warmth and softness made my throat hurt. Had it been that long since I actually hugged somebody?
My friend stepped back, wrinkling her nose. “You’ve been drinking.”
Holding up my thumb and forefinger, I indicated, “Just a little. Stress management.”
“I do yoga for that, now.”
“Good for you.”
“And have lots of sex.” She stuck her tongue out at me.
“Great for you.” I wasn’t jealous, I wasn’t jealous, I wasn’t jealous.
Evie’s sunny mood lightened mine by sheer proximity. The wine hadn’t made me giggle, but now I felt the urge. It was just so damn good to see Evie happy. A miscarriage the previous fall had dimmed her spirits, but Dom really came through for her with every kind of support he could provide. Now it was spring, and Evie had… sprung back.
Like I said, I wasn’t jealous.
She led me into the kitchen, where I hopped onto a stool at the granite-topped island the size of a lifeboat.
“Grilled cheese?”
I pressed my fist to my heart. “Does this mean you forgive me for not being a great friend lately?”
“Not totally,” she said as she dug out a pan. “I’m giving you only one kind of cheese.”
I wasn’t about to complain. Experience reminded me that she made them the right way, with buttered bread and sharp cheddar sliced off the block.
By the time we ate our sandwiches—one of which she delivered to Dom where he was hunkered down in his home office—I’d finished telling her about my secret admirer and my ninja attack on Jake.
“You’re staying here tonight.”
I nodded. It was a statement, not a question. Evie’s assertiveness had definitely grown in the last year. You might even say she’d become a bit bossy, but I felt relief at having someone else take care of me—even if just for a few nights.
The bedroom she put me in was cozy, the pajamas roomy and, much to my surprise, I was out as soon as my head hit the pillow. If they had kids already, I’d suspect that she sprayed the pillowcase with Monster Be Gone.
I hadn’t realized how badly I needed a solid night’s sleep, but I was still groggy when I headed to the kitchen in search of coffee. The long hem of the borrowed pants nearly tripped me as I rounded the corner and found Evie completely without her pajamas. On the kitchen island.
“Fuck me harder!” she cried out.
She wasn’t talking to me.
“Oh my god!” I spun around and clapped my hands over my eyes. Then my ears. Shit, why didn’t I have four hands? “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I didn’t—agh!”
Evie’s muffled, breathy voice came through my hands. “Did you need something?”
“Coffee.” And maybe brain bleach. Or a vibrator.
Even more embarrassing than interrupting such an intimate, carnal scene was the way my own body had immediately begun to react. My skin tingled, and heat stabbed through my middle.
“Do you still want coffee?” Dom sounded more amused than angry.
I took my hands off my ears and put them over my eyes again as I instinctively turned back toward the kitchen. “Yes. No! Fuck, no!”
“Yeah… that’s not something I hear often.” He snickered.
“Apparently.” Go. I needed to… go. “I’ll just go out or something.”
“Is that safe, Annie?” Evie asked.
“Is what safe?”
I never understood the saying “she jumped out of her skin” until Jake’s voice echoed in my ear.
“Agh!” He stood so close behind me that I nearly head-butted him in the chest when I spun around in shock. “What the—?”
“Morning, Annie.” He grinned down at me, then nodded casually over my head at his brother and his… what? Ex? Soon-to-be sister-in-law? “Hey, guys.”
There was no embarrassment in his discovery of the couple’s intimacy, no hesitation in his acceptance of it. The jealousy burning in my chest irritated me, as did his sneaking up on me.
I crossed my arms over my chest, forgetting that my hands were needed for eye and ear protection. “Where did you come from?”
Jake shrugged. “I know the elevator code. And I went to a good ninja school.”
My f
ace grew hot at the memory of jumping on his back. It grew hotter as I imagined jumping on his front. “Uh…”
“Wow,” he murmured, “that’s quite a blush.” I froze in shock as his palm cupped my cheek. His gaze swept over my face and down my neck and chest. “What are you thinking about?”
It was a good thing that my hands were still tucked under my armpits, because they probably would have been shaking.
Every time I saw Jake, my composure was exponentially disturbed. The first time, I ogled him. The second time, I attacked him. The third time, I went up in flames as he simply touched my face. What would happen at our next encounter? Would I survive it?
Did I want to?
“I’ll make you some coffee,” Evie announced, interrupting my quickly derailing train of thought.
“Baby, noooo,” Dom whined.
I heard a quiet grunt and the noise of bare skin skidding across polished stone—probably Evie’s backside as she tried to get off the island.
“No!” I began to turn back to the kitchen, but Jake’s hands went out to my shoulders to still me.
“I don’t think you really want to do that,” he murmured. His palms smoothed up and down my upper arms in a soothing motion. I bristled a little at being treated like an agitated animal, but remained still and facing him.
“I mean—it’s okay. I’ll go down the street or something.” It was a big city. There had to be a Starbucks on every other corner. “I’m sure it’ll be fine, Evie.”
Jake’s caresses stopped, his grip tightening just above my elbows. “What will be fine?”
“Annie has a stalker.”
“Evie!” I closed my eyes, embarrassed. I’d been taking care of myself for a long time. Certainly I could deal with a garden-variety creeper, right?
“What do you mean, a stalker?” Jake’s voice lowered and roughened with each word, until he was practically growling.
“You know—notes, gifts, showing up at her apartment,” my friend explained helpfully.
One of Jake’s hands went to my chin, tilting it up. My eyes flew open; his searching gaze pinned me to the spot. “Is that why you flipped out on me last week? You thought I was…”
