Silver Shield Security Box Set

by Dee Bridgnorth

  She did not want to stop kissing him. Kissing Nico was an experience. He broke the kiss and she whimpered in protest, before she felt his lips trail down to her neck. He groaned against her skin and she shivered.

  “You are so sweet,” he murmured before returning to her lips once again.

  Tamika was becoming desperate. She needed more. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders and moaned when she felt the tips of her nipples brush against his hard chest. She wasn’t aware of shifting, but suddenly, she was lifted off the floor and she felt his erection settle between her thighs. She almost sobbed in relief as she wrapped her legs around his waist.

  Nico’s hands settled around her backside and he pulled her closer. Tamika felt her back hit a wall as she ground herself against him. Somewhere at the back of her head, she tried to bring herself back from the edge of insanity. She knew things were going too far, too fast, but she was overcome by a passion-filled haze. She wanted this man with a desperation that shook her. When she felt his mouth on the sensitive part of her neck again, she moaned deep and long in her throat. She could feel herself on the verge of an orgasm and she could do nothing to hold it back.

  She panted as she rode his erection. Needing to crest more than she needed to breathe. Nico pressed her against the wall, drew back and then ground his erection against her heat. They both groaned as sparks of pleasure burst through their veins. It was too much.

  “More…” She moaned as she rode him. “I need more…” He cupped her breast through her clothes and Tamika bucked against him. When he pinched her sensitive nipple, she stiffened as she felt a wave of pleasure sweep over her.

  “Oh shit! I can’t… I can’t…” She stiffened as the orgasm rocked her with an intensity that took her unawares. He took her mouth in his and swallowed the scream that was ripped out of her.

  As she came down from her high, she heard him swear as he ground into her, then he jerked once, twice, and went still.

  They were still holding onto each other as sanity slowly returned. Tamika still had her arms around him while Nico had his hands on her butt.

  What the hell had she done? She gingerly lowered her legs to the floor. Nico held on to her until both her feet were safely on the floor, then he let go and stepped back.

  She looked into his eyes and saw that he was as shell-shocked as she was. This was a fuck-up beyond all repair. And she couldn’t even blame him for it. He had given her fair warning, a chance to retreat. But like an idiot, she just had to go kiss him.

  With a groan, she walked to the bed and sank down, her face buried in her palms.

  She thought about Emily’s warning; military speak for saying she shouldn’t get emotional or personal stuff mixed up with the mission. And what had she done? She’d gone and done exactly the opposite.

  But Lord, the man sure could kiss. Damn. She could just imagine how skilled he would be with his tongue…No, Tamika, damn it! She was not supposed to be thinking about what he could do with his tongue. She was supposed to think about how this could not repeat itself again. Not ever.

  She had to find a way to fix this, and quickly.

  Chapter Eight

  Nico stood staring at the wall. He ran his hand over his head with a muttered curse. He hadn’t felt this embarrassed since he was a kid. He could feel the warm stickiness of his semen in his pants. He couldn’t believe that he’d lost control like that. From a kiss. He turned his head to the side and saw her sitting on the bed. Her entire posture spoke of dejection.

  He walked slowly to the bed and sat down beside her.

  “What’s going through your mind?” He had to know. Yes, things had gotten out of hand pretty quickly, but one kiss hadn’t been and still wasn’t enough. He wanted more of this woman. Next time, he would apply more finesse. And there was going to be next time.

  “Tamika?” he prompted when she didn’t say anything.

  She groaned, but didn’t lift her head.

  “Tammy…”

  She raised her head then and glared at him. Then she sighed and looked away.

  “This cannot happen again. Ever,” she said.

  Right. “What exactly?” he asked just to be sure.

  “This thing between us, I have no idea what it is, but it can’t happen again. No more kissing. Or anything else.”

  He stared at her without saying anything. He thought back to the fire that had raged between them; hell, just thinking about it, and he was growing hard again. Now that he knew just how incredible she tasted, there was no going back. If she thought that they could work closely together without giving in to the passion between them, she was in denial.

  “Nico, why aren’t you saying anything? I’m serious!”

  And she was. She really was determined to pretend that there was nothing between them. Well, Nico wasn’t having it. He couldn’t remember the last time he was so overcome with passion that he’d stopped thinking straight. Hell, he’d stopped thinking at all. It had never happened to him before, at least, not since he became an adult.

  Her tongue darted out to moisten her lips. His gaze shifted to that action and he felt blood rush southward. Yeah, there was no way in hell he was letting this go or pretending that it didn’t happen. But if she needed to hear that in order to relax, then sure. Whatever.

  “Okay,” he said with a nod.

  She glanced at him with suspicion in her eyes. He tried to keep his expression as bland as possible. After a few minutes, she must have made up her mind that he meant it because she nodded also.

  “Now if you don’t mind, I need some time alone.”

  Nico met her gaze and held it. “I don’t regret kissing you, Tamika,” he said slowly so she didn’t misunderstand him. “I regret that we let things go too fast too soon, but kissing you and watching you come, damn. That was the sexiest thing I’ve ever experienced.”

  He leaned forward and kissed her. It wasn’t a tentative kiss. It was brief, but thorough. Then he withdrew. He wasn’t going to wait around for her to slug him in the face. With a wink, he stood up and walked out of her room, leaving her with her mouth gaping.

  Once he was outside her room, Nico shut the door then leaned against the wall. He shut his eyes and did his best to bring his manhood under control. It was hard. He wanted nothing better than to repeat what had just transpired in that room, but with fewer clothes. He wanted to take his time to savor the decidedly sexy body he’d just held in his arms. He couldn’t believe he’d held the delectable ass, and it was far more delectable than he’d suspected.

  And his thoughts were doing nothing to bring his raging member under control. If anything, his balls had tightened and he’d grown harder. Damn. This called for a cold shower. Thankfully, his bedroom was down the hall from hers. He hobbled the few steps to his door, thankful that his brother had taken the boat to the mainland.

  An hour and several cold showers later, he walked out of his room to the living room. He glanced at his watch, it was a little past six p.m. He had instructed them to serve dinner for seven p.m. He had his strategy in place. He just needed to see if Ms. White would show up for dinner. She didn’t strike him as one to avoid her problems. She was more than capable of grabbing him by the balls if she needed him to comply. But he could be wrong about her. He hoped to hell that he wasn’t wrong about her.

  He’d thought of going the romance route. Candlelit dinner for two out on the terrace, mood music and oysters. He was willing to pull out all the stops for this woman. No, he couldn’t explain why, except that he could feel in his bones that sex with her would be off the charts. Plus, they had a couple of days alone on a romantic island, there was no reason why they could not spend that time getting this thing out of their systems.

  Nico was restless. He picked up a magazine and plopped it back on the coffee table. Then he walked to the French windows and gazed out. The sun was setting and the reflection on the water was really nice. Stunning, actually, but he wasn’t really seeing it. He tucked his hands in the pockets o
f his pants.

  He’d had it all figured out. But his instincts had warned him to play it down. If she thought he was pursuing that line of action and coming on to her, she would freak out or shut down. He couldn’t have either. So he was playing it cool. If he wanted that sexy body in his bed, or her bed, he wasn’t picky, he would have to be subtle about it. They were still having dinner on the terrace, the view was fantastic and the breeze was great. But he’d scrapped the other plans.

  Dinner was going to be a casual affair. His plan was to keep things light and gradually work on bringing down her inhibitions. Now, all he needed was for her to show up. He had already sent word through the housekeeper to inform her about the time for dinner.

  Mrs. Flores, the housekeeper, was one of the three domestic staff he had here and they all stayed in the staff housing, away from the house. Whenever he came to this piece of earth he called his, he usually liked to be left alone.

  Mrs. Flores walked into the living room, “Everything is set, Mr. Ortega,” she said.

  She was a widow whose kids had grown and left home. Most were married with kids themselves and she took time off whenever any of her children gave birth. Since he was here only a few times a year and he had no trouble looking after himself, it worked for both of them.

  He turned to see her straightening the magazine he’d just dropped on the coffee table. “You don’t have to do that all the time,” he said.

  She shot him a scolding look, “If I don’t do it, everything will go to the dogs, you know.”

  He shook his head and shrugged. “You can have the night off. We’ll clean up after ourselves.”

  “Okay. Buenas noches,” she said.

  “Goodnight, Mrs. Flores.” When she paused and didn’t leave, he turned to her. “What is it?”

  “I like her. She’s got buena onda.” He raised an eyebrow in surprise. “Thanks?”

  She lifted her chin in defiance. “What? I have eyes, I see things. This one is good people.” With that she marched out.

  Nico shook his head in amusement. From the first time he’d hired her, the woman seemed to think he was one of her long lost children. She had adopted him and even though she generally stayed in the background, she had no problem telling him what was on her mind.

  He thought about what she’d said and had to agree that she was right. Tamika did have Buena onda…good vibes. She was a good person beneath that tough ass exterior. And she was hot. Such fire beneath the surface…Goddamn! He was getting hard again. This would not do at all.

  He felt the atmosphere change and looked up to find her standing by the door. Just like it had been at that restaurant back in Florida, he had a keen awareness of the woman. It had confused him before when he’d thought she was Chicha. Now, he embraced it.

  “Hi,” he said casually. “You look great.”

  And she did. She was wearing a nice sundress that stopped just above her knee, showcasing a great pair of legs. The top had a halter neck, leaving her shoulders bare. He remembered the taste of her skin and how soft and velvety it felt.

  “I’ll pay for everything I’ve used,” she said stiffly.

  Nico shrugged. “They belong to Masha, my younger sister. She wouldn’t mind, trust me.”

  He saw something akin to relief in her eyes, but he couldn’t be sure. Still, he met her gaze and said sincerely, “I’ve never brought anyone here, except family.”

  She held his gaze and something passed between them. She looked away after a moment.

  “I’m hungry. Where’s the grub? Since I’m mooching off you, might as well get as much as I can while I’m at it.”

  He hid a smile. So she hadn’t forgiven him for that comment. With a gesture of his hands, he led the way through the dining room, to the terrace where a table had been set with two places.

  “Well, you did promise to make it worth my while, so I guess I can live with that,” he said as he pulled her chair back and she sat.

  “When did I make that promise?” she asked, looking up at him with a frown.

  Nico leaned down and almost regretted it. Her scent filled his senses and he wanted nothing more than to close the gap between them and nuzzle her delicious neck.

  She seemed to have sensed what he was thinking because she stiffened and tried to lean away. With a careless wink, Nico straightened up, gently pushed in her chair and walked over stiffly to his seat. He was going to have to do something about this erection that wouldn’t go away. Although, he had no idea what he could do.

  “Hope you like seafood?” he asked, gesturing to the delicious spread of scallops with side dishes of rice, Caesar salad and fruits.

  “It’s my favorite,” she said with one of her not-quite-there smiles.

  He knew, of course, because he’d made sure Mrs. Flores asked her before preparing the meal. He wasn’t sure if she was allergic, and if there was one thing Nico didn’t do, he didn’t make such errors. So he’d taken care of the basics.

  After dishing the food into their plates, Nico picked up his fork then watched as Tamika took a bite from hers. She froze for a second, then closed her eyes and sighed.

  “This is just wonderful,” she murmured, then placed another forkful into her mouth with her eyes still shut. “Mmm…” she moaned softly.

  Watching her was one of the most erotic moments Nico had ever experienced. He shifted uncomfortably in his seat as his already tight pants got even tighter. Emily whatshername was wrong. Tamika was even more sensual than Chicha. Her sensuality was subtle, not blatant at all, but it seeped into your blood stream when you weren’t looking and hooked you. He was getting hooked.

  As they ate their meal, Nico kept the conversation light. He told her amusing stories about his years growing up and how his siblings always tried to get one over their mother. He talked about his business and all the blunders they made at the beginning.

  She was stiff at first, but gradually relaxed enough to enjoy the conversation and share little tidbits about herself. She still didn’t laugh, but she smiled. Seeing the smile and knowing that he’d put it on her face was a heady feeling indeed.

  “So why did you join the army?” he asked her.

  They had finally moved from the scallops to the dessert. It was a glazed mango mousse cake. Mrs. Flores had certainly outdone herself.

  “I needed some structure in my life and the army offered it,” she said with a shrug.

  Nico was curious. “Structure?”

  She hesitated then shrugged. “My grandma died when I was sixteen. I went a little wild, but I graduated. There was no way I could afford college, so I signed up.”

  “What of your parents? Where they okay with that?” He knew his question was personal, but he couldn’t help it. He wanted, needed to know as much of this woman as possible. She intrigued him.

  “I didn’t know my father, and my mother left me with abuela, my grandmother, when I was three or four. I haven’t seen her since.” She took a spoon of the glazed mango mousse and sighed. “This is really delicious and I wish I hadn’t stuffed myself so much with the scallops.”

  “Eat as much as you want to, there’s a gym here,” Nico said absently. His mind was still fixed on what she’d just told him. “So, who did you live with after your grandmother passed?” He wanted to know.

  She gave him a funny look. “No one. I got a job and the landlord was willing to look the other way as long as I met my rent. I got by for a couple of years and then I enlisted.”

  “Hmmm. You really should take some more of this,” he said, gesturing to the dessert.

  He could not figure her out. He knew the life she was talking about; he had lived that life. And he also knew that there was a lot she’d left out. It seemed there was more to Ms. Delectable than met the eye.

  “Oh, I wish I could, but I really can’t.” She leaned back and patted her stomach with a small smile.

  “You’ve had too much?”

  “I sure have.”

  “Pity.”

&nb
sp; “Hmm...” She looked out to the ocean. Even though the sun had set, the entire place was well lit and she could see the shoreline, where the waves hit the beach. It really was a nice view.

  “What are you thinking now?”

  “I’m just wondering; why do you have a different last name than your brother?”

  Chapter Nine

  Nico picked up his glass of wine and stared at the contents. “You would really like to know?” he asked.

  Tamika stared at him. She’d been curious about this, but she’d also debated the wisdom of asking him. Nico was not above using her curiosity to his advantage. The food and wine had mellowed her, so she’d decided to take the risk. Now, catching the calculating gleam in his eyes, she wasn’t so sure.

  “Yes, I would like to know,” she heard herself say.

  “There’s a condition.” He turned his gaze on her.

  She should have seen this coming. She half rolled her eyes. “Okay, I’ll bite. What’s the condition?”

  If his condition was a suggestion, even a mere hint, that they should pick off where they’d left off, she would have to show him where he could shove it. The sad part was she could still taste him on her lips from earlier; the encounter had left her confused. But she was serious about not repeating the kiss anymore. It didn’t matter if that was all she’d been able to think about all evening. That was beside the point.

  “Why were you so mad at Rusty?”

  The question took her unawares. She was surprised that he hadn’t made any move to come on to her in any way. Was she the only one who had been so affected by whatever it was that had happened back there? No. She had felt how badly he’d been affected and if she wasn’t mistaken, he had also come right there in his pants. But it had been so long for her and well, maybe this was the norm for him so he didn’t see it as a huge deal.