Intimate Caresses (The Love and Danger Series) (11 page)

“Yes you are, love,” he said as he placed her in the passenger seat of his truck.  “Just relax and I’ll get you some food.  You’ll feel better as soon as a thick, juicy burger soaks up some of that alcohol.”

She
grabbed the seat belt, refusing to let him strap her into the seat.  “I can do that.  I don’t want you touching me.”

“Why not?”

“Because then…” she waved her hands in the air, her fingers fluttering outwards in his general direction.  “Things happen!  It’s not good.”

“You’re right,” he told her when he took the seat belt out of her hands since she wasn’t able to clasp it together.  “It’s incredible.”  And with that, he kissed her into silence. 

She argued about all the reasons they shouldn’t be together the whole way to his house.  Brock simply ignored her and carried her to his back yard where he deposited her into the deck chair next to Hannah before disappearing into the house.  A few minutes later, he came back out with burger patties.  How he’d done that so quickly, she had no idea.  But she and Hannah had barely gotten through the top ten ways to stay out of a man’s bed by the time he was firing up his grill. 

Walker arrived and plunked a bag of chips in each of their laps and Sam handed each lady a large glass of ice water. 

The men had somehow gone to their respective houses and showered, changing back into jeans and clean tee-shirts while Nina and Hannah sat next to each other, munching on chips and drinking down the water.  Sam made sure to keep their water glasses full. 

Twilight created a soft glow while
Nina laughed and chatted with Hannah.  The four men listened, laughing occasionally.  More often, though, they shook their heads at each other as they chatted amongst themselves.  As night fell, they moved inside and were playing poker while Nina and Hannah sat out on the deck, staring up at the stars.

“They’re not that bad,” Hannah finally said, their chatter finally slowing down
as the alcohol burned off in their systems. 

Nina
sighed, fully sober now and grateful for the delicious burger and loads of water so she wouldn’t get sick or have a hangover tomorrow.  “Sam’s a good man.  But…”

Hannah laughed.  “Admit it.  You’ve fallen for Brock.”

“No way,” Nina argued.  “I’m not falling for any guy.  Not after my cheating, lying, disgusting ex-husband.  Once burned, not going to approach the fire again.”

Hannah smiled in the darkness and curled her legs up on the deck chair.  “So who do you think
killed your boss?” she asked.

Nina thought about it for a long moment.  “I’m not sure.  He wasn’t a very nice guy.  And I don’t think he was a really good boss.  He delegated everything so there was a great deal of resentment in the building.”  She considered the various people on the floor.  “If everyone who didn’t like the man were included, there would be a lot of suspects, including me.”

“You’ve been eliminated as a suspect.  Otherwise, Sam would be in big trouble.”

Nina laughed at the woman who was about an inch shorter than she was.  She was cute and bubbly and sweet and wonderful.  And her love for Sam was pretty incredible to watch.  “Sam is a nice guy.”

“Yeah.  So is Brock.”

Nina didn’t respond to that, just continued to look up at the stars and sip her water.  They moved on to less volatile subjects after that and their laughter came back.

A long time later, Sam came to get Hannah, giving Nina a hug as if he were now her big brother.  Walker and Colt did the same and Nina was confused, until she realized they were all leaving.  And she was alone with Brock!

“I need to head out as well,” she said, frantically searching for her
keys while she kept one eye on Brock who was leaning against the kitchen counter, finishing off a beer.

“You’re not going anywhere, Nina.”

Nina ignored him, increasing the pace of her search. Her mind was already shifting back to the previous two nights and what happened whenever Brock touched her.  It was like she lost control, unable to stop him from making love to her until she was crazy with the need to be possessed by him. 

“I’m leaving.  I’m fully sober and I can’t stay here.”

She found her keys and held them up in the air, victoriously.  “Found them!” she exclaimed.

Brock walked over to her and simply plucked them out of her hands.  Before she could protest, he bent lower and kissed her, his mouth taking over anything she might have been trying to say.  And with that, all of her arguments simply flew out of her mind, Brock taking over all available space in her head. 

A long time later, Hannah shifted in her sleep, the feeling of a hard, heavy body finally waking her up.  She looked around and realized that she wasn’t in her own bed. And then all the memories from the previous night came back to her.  Three nights in a row!  She couldn’t believe that she’d fallen into his arms so easily!  The man was diabolical! 

She snuck out of bed, ignoring the exhaustion from three nights of interrupted sleep. Tomorrow…or today…was Saturday.  She could clean her apartment, work on her project and catch up on her sleep. And come up with a plan to avoid Brock for the rest of her life. 

She almost cried at the idea of falling in love with him, too afraid that he would break her heart.  She didn’t want to fall in love with him.  She didn’t want to hope. She’d built up her future in her mind with Steven and he’d destroyed everything she’d hoped and wished for with callous words and heartless actions.  He hadn’t just stolen her work.   He’d destroyed her trust in love. 

She slipped her legs into her shorts and pulled her tee-shirt over her head, not even bothering with her bra, just stuffing it into her purse before grabbing her keys and heading out of Brock’s house. 

When she reached her apartment, she cried as she showered, trying to scrub Brock’s scent off of her skin but it was relentless.  She curled up in a ball, her fluffy pillows surrounding her, wishing she’d never met the guy.  Sipping her coffee, she considered the past three days, worrying that maybe Brock had already stolen her heart.  Had the man slipped under her defenses and crept into her heart while she wasn’t looking?  She took a deep breath and rested her head on a big pillow, wishing there was some way to go back in time.  Falling in love was too scary. 

Nina glared at the phone.  She wasn’t going to answer it.  She knew exactly who was calling her without even looking at the phone number. 

It kept ringing.

No, she told herself firmly and stood up, pacing back and forth behind her desk.  Not going to happen, Brock.

The phone stopped and she breathed a sigh of relief.  Sitting down at her desk once again, she lifted her hands and realized that they were shaking. 

Just because Brock had called her? 

Good grief!  He didn’t even need to be near her and her body started reacting.  How ridiculous is that?  Darn him!  And darn her stupid body that…No!  She didn’t want him!  She’d been there, checked the box and moved on.  No!  She wasn’t going to make that mistake again!  It was dangerous the first
time, no way was she going to risk her heart again.

And then the phone started ringing again.  Snapping it up, she pressed the button, “I’m not talking to you,” she snapped into the phone.

“I’m almost to your apartment, Nina.  Be ready to leave in,” a pause for a moment, “three minutes.”

She hesitated for only a moment before her common sense returned.  “No.  I’m not going anywhere with you.”

His arrogant response was just to laugh softly at her rejection.  “Two and a half minutes, Nina.  Get your shoes on.  Or don’t.  Either way, you’ll look perfect.”

She ignored the warm glow his compliment gave her. 
“Nope.  I’ll be gone by the time you get here.  I’ve already told you, I’m not going anywhere with you.”

“Those are just words, gorgeous,” he came back.  “We both know that you want to come with me.  You have no idea what’s going to happen, but there’s something between us that neither of us understand but we can’t ignore either.”

She took a deep breath and closed her eyes.  “Brock, we can’t do this.  Not again.”

“Just pull on a pair of sneakers or even slippers, whatever you’re comfortable in.  And I’ll be there in ninety seconds, love.”

She opened her mouth to argue with him, to tell him that she wasn’t going to be here when he arrived but he’d already hung up.  She glared at her phone with irritation, but then realized that she was wasting time.  Looking at her leggings and sweatshirt that didn’t even cover her butt, she raced through her apartment, pulling on a pair of sneakers without even bothering with socks.  She looked in her mirror and almost gasped with how pale she looked.  For a few precious moments, she considered putting on a bit of makeup, but then pushed that thought out of her mind and rushed out of her bedroom.  She’d just grabbed her purse and car keys when the knock sounded on her door.  She stared at it for several moments, her heart racing wildly. 

“Open the door, Nina,” Brock’s deep, husky voice called to her through the door.

Nina shook her head, clutching her purse to her chest as terror over seeing Brock again washed over her. 

“Just open the door, love.  It will be okay.”

“No it won’t,” she whispered.

“Yes it will,” he promised her, but how he’d heard her, she didn’t know. 

She opened the door, but only because she didn’t want to cause a scene that her neighbors would see.  She was only trying to be a considerate neighbor, she told herself. 

As soon as she saw him, he literally took her breath away. 

He stepped into her apartment, his eyes watching her reaction carefully.  “Are you okay?” he asked, his hand coming up to gently cup her cheek, his thumb rubbing over her skin tenderly. 

“No.”  She wanted to step backwards, but her feet refused to move.  “I’m definitely not okay.”

He laughed softly, his fingers touching her neck, causing shivers to rise up within her.  “Ready to go?”

She took a deep breath.  “I don’t have any makeup on,” she said, trying to come up with any excuse possible to delay being alone with him. 

He smiled slightly.  “You don’t need any makeup.  You look even more beautiful just like you are.”

Nina’s hand moved up, smoothing down her hair that she’d just pulled into a high pony tail after her shower.  “You’re just being nice.”

He laughed.  “No one has ever accused me of that.”

She took in a deep, shuddering breath.  “I was trying to sneak out before you got here.”

“I know.”  He stepped back and took her hand. “Come on.  We’re going to be late.”

She blinked and pulled her door closed behind her then hurried to keep up as he pulled her down the stairs.  “Where are we going?”

“To my place.”

She dug her heels in with that news.  “I’m definitely not going to your place,” she said stubbornly. 

He turned and looked down at her, taking both of her hands as he led her inexorably down the stairs.  “Trust me.  It’s going to be okay.”

She was already shaking her head.  “I don’t trust you.  And you don’t trust me.”

He smiled slightly.  “Yes I do.”

“You don’t.  You still think I might be a murderer.”

He laughed. “I don’t think you’re a murderer.  I wouldn’t be here if I did.”

“You haven’t gotten the DNA test back.  I might have been the woman having sex with my boss several nights ago.”

He chuckled.  “It wasn’t you.”

She got one of her hands free and was still working on her other one, even though he’d already gotten her out to the curb with the door to
his truck open.  He didn’t let her wiggle away, simply wrapped his arm around her waist, pressing her back against the door of his Jeep.  “Nina, you’re coming with me even if I have to handcuff you into the SUV.  So get in and trust me.”

“I don’t trust you.  I don’t trust anyone.”

One side of his mouth came up with her exclamation.  “You trust me.  And I trust you too.”

“I could be the murderer.”

“You aren’t.”

“You don’t have the DNA back.  You need evidence.”

“I have all the proof I need.”

She blew her bangs upwards, trying to figure out wh
at to do.  “Just get in the truck, Nina.”  He looked down at her, his hands moving up and down her waist.  When she still hesitated, he slipped his fingers underneath the sweatshirt, capturing her gasp of awareness in his mouth as he kissed her.  It was slow and thorough, making her understand that he was going to win this contest of wills.  By the time Brock lifted his head, her arms were wrapped around his neck and she was trembling in his arms. 

“Get in the car, Nina.”

She laid her forehead against his chest, wishing she had the willpower to tell him no.  But the truth was, she couldn’t.  She needed him and felt better in his company than she had in a long, long time.  Not even Steven had made her feel this….wonderful. 

“Fine,” she grudgingly accepted.  “But what are we…” she was about to ask what they were going to do but then stopped herself. 

Looking up at him, she blushed, realizing what he wanted to do.  “We’re not doing that.”  Nina stepped into the truck and slammed the door, ignoring his smirk. 

He’d already moved around to his side of the
truck and slipped inside so he didn’t hear her words.  “What did you say?” when he stepped into the driver’s seat. 

She looked back at him, trying to appear innocent.  “You didn’t answer my question.”

He smiled slightly.  “Think you’re pretty slick, eh?” he asked, but started the vehicle.  Fifteen minutes later, they were pulling into his driveway and Nina’s trembling had reached epic proportions.  When he came around to her door, he lifted her hand to help her out and realized how nervous she really was.  “Hey,” he said softly.  “I just want to watch football with you.  I would have stayed at your place but you don’t have a television.”

She pulled back, stunned by his words. 
“Football?”

“Yep.”
  He almost laughed at her expression.  “Come on,” he said and pulled her hand again, leading her into his house.  “Don’t tell me you don’t like college football.  Everyone loves watching football.”

She shrugged.  “I couldn’t tell you.”

He opened his fridge and pulled out two beers, handing her one.  Nina stared at it, wondering what he expected her to do with it.  Brock simply chuckled, took it back and twisted the top off of the bottle and handed it back to her.  And then laughed again when she stared at it askance. 

“Come on.  I’ll make a fan out of you yet.”

He led her over to the sofa and pulled her down next to him, grabbing the remote control.  He flicked on the unit and instantly, the cozy den area was filled with the sounds of a football game.  The noise was a bit chaotic, but she soon relaxed and stopped worrying. 

“What’s does sixty-three percent mean?” she asked, taking a tentative sip of the beer.  It wasn’t too bad, but she couldn’t imagine
truly enjoying it. 

Brock looked at her and almost laughed out loud with her expression.  “Where do you see that number?”

She pointed her beer towards the bottom of the screen but the statistic disappeared. 

Brock grunted.  “That’s a receiver.  That means he finishes sixty-three percent of the passes thrown to him.”

“A receiver?”

“Someone who runs out and catches the passes.”

Nina nodded, watching the game.  “So that’s a receiver?” she asked when a guy ran out and caught the ball. 

Brock smothered a smile. 
“No, honey.  That’s a tight end.”

Nina stared at the screen, her eyes narrowed as she stared at the players.  “They all look pretty tight to me.”  She leaned back against the cushions. 

Brock looked down at her, wondering what she was talking about.  Looking back at the game, he threw back his head and laughed.  When he finally had his laughter under control, he shook his head.  “A tight end is someone who catches the short passes.  A wide receiver is someone who runs out and for the long passes.”  He thought she was cute when she was trying to figure it all out.  “A tight end can also act as a blocker.”

That confused her even more.  “Why would the guy play two positions?”

“Well…” and he started to explain the game in more detail, realizing that she really was a novice at watching the game.  “You can tell which person plays each position by their numbers.”

“What’s that guy?”

“He’s a running back.”

She blinked and looked at the screen again.  “I thought
you just said it was called a cornerback.”

“A running back is someone on the offense.”

She blew her bangs upward, slumping down.  “I’m guessing a cornerback is someone who runs to the corner to catch the ball?”

Brock grinned and shook his head.  “A cornerback plays defense.  They’re the ones that try and stop the running back from catching the ball.” 

As the statistics came up on the screen, she continued to ask questions, trying to decipher the game and all the various rules, exceptions, players, numbers as well as the back and forth moves. 

To Brock’s credit, he answered every one of her questions with patience and just enough information to answer her question without confusing her.  She nodded throughout his whole explanation, asking questions about each of the plays as they went through.  Nina truly wanted to understand the game, having heard all about it while people in the office discussed the results
each Monday.  She’d never cared enough to listen, but with Brock explaining the game, she understood so much more.  And by the half-time, she’d already finished her first beer.  She was pretty proud of it until she realized that Brock was on his third.  As the game started up again, he handed her another and sat down next to her. 

And what was even better?  By the beginning of the third quarter, she was cheering on the team opposite Brock.  Not that she really cared who
won, she just wanted to tease him.  She was secretly excited when his team won, but she wouldn’t admit it. 

“Okay, now it’s time for dinner,” he said and pulled her up off of the sofa while she was still laughing over her latest slander of his team.  But he didn’t give her enough room to move, lifting her right up and into his arms.  Nor did he give her a chance to shift to the right or left, wrapping his arm around her waist with a small smile.  “Thi
nk you’re going to get away after that kind of harassment unscathed?”

She laughed, still amused by her jibes.  “I’m not afraid of you anymore.”

“What did I do to help you relax?”

She thought about it for a long moment
, about to tell him that she wasn’t relaxed, but it hit her all of a sudden that she was actually relaxed.  Not that she trusted him.  She looked up into his green eyes and swallowed.  Or maybe she did?  She wasn’t sure about that.  She’d have to figure that one out when he wasn’t around her.  Nina laughed, relieved for some odd reason, then turned to smile at him.  “You taught me football,” she explained.  “And yesterday, you made sure I had lots of water and chocolate.”

He moved in closer, looking down into her smiling green eyes.  “And then I took advantage of you.”

She laughed and sidestepped his hands that were trying to pull her against him.  “Not while I was drinking.”