Red (11 page)
Chapter 15
For the second day in a row, I woke up with a hangover that would’ve made Bacchus proud. And
that
wine-swilling reprobate could tie one on.
that
wine-swilling reprobate could tie one on.
I rolled out of bed and promptly plopped onto the floor with a loud thud, which rattled the glass on my nightstand as well as the throbbing brain in my skull. I winced, glad Gran wasn’t there to hear the aftereffects of my ill-advised overindulgence. Then I caught the unmistakable aroma of bacon in the air. I frowned in spite of my stomach growling in eager anticipation. Gran was gone. She couldn’t be downstairs cooking breakfast. Which meant—
My eyes went wide. “Oh, my God.”
I struggled to my feet, still a little off balance, and lunged for the doorknob. Fortunately, before throwing open the door and racing downstairs, I happened to look down and noticed that I was completely naked. Nude. Sans clothing.
As my synapses began to fire, I tried to put two and two together. Unfortunately, the answer to the equation was all a little fuzzy. The last thing I remember was Nate pulling the covers over me and
maybe
kissing my hair. I rubbed my eyes, trying to banish the last vestiges of inebriation, but there was nothing else. Zip. No other memories of anything after that point. How the hell could I possibly not remember sleeping with someone that hot, for crying out loud? It seemed unfair on a cosmic level.
maybe
kissing my hair. I rubbed my eyes, trying to banish the last vestiges of inebriation, but there was nothing else. Zip. No other memories of anything after that point. How the hell could I possibly not remember sleeping with someone that hot, for crying out loud? It seemed unfair on a cosmic level.
The sound of pans clacking together downstairs reminded me that sooner or later I was going to have to face Nate even though I had no frigging idea what I was going to say. Should I pretend to remember what happened and say something about how nice it was but we worked together and yadda yadda blah blah blah? Or should I just cop to the fact I didn’t remember a thing and hope he didn’t take it personally?
Or maybe I should just pretend like nothing happened and see if he said anything first. Yeah. I liked that plan.
Coward,
I chastised, pulling my bathrobe from the back of my door and slipping it on before creeping guiltily down the stairs.
I chastised, pulling my bathrobe from the back of my door and slipping it on before creeping guiltily down the stairs.
The surprisingly welcome fragrances of breakfast grew stronger as I approached, making my mouth water in anticipation. And if that hadn’t done it, the sight I came upon in the kitchen certainly would have done the trick.
Nate was standing at the stove with his back to me. His
bare
back. As I had noticed in the past, his shoulders were strong and broad, but my imagination hadn’t done him justice. His was by far the most incredible male physique I’d ever seen. He made the chiseled beauty of Achilles and sculpted perfection of Vlad look like rough drafts of the masterpiece.
bare
back. As I had noticed in the past, his shoulders were strong and broad, but my imagination hadn’t done him justice. His was by far the most incredible male physique I’d ever seen. He made the chiseled beauty of Achilles and sculpted perfection of Vlad look like rough drafts of the masterpiece.
As I watched him in stunned silence, he moved with a kind of mesmerizingly sinewy grace, his lean muscles bulging and rippling in a carefully choreographed dance. Adding to the breathtaking beauty of his movements were the black flames I’d noticed on his neck and scalp. I was surprised to find they didn’t end there but, in fact, started there, fanning out across his shoulders to engulf his biceps, then dancing down his back in intricate designs, licking his skin with fiery sensuality. I had never seen anything so sexy.
Unable to resist the pull of my libido’s curiosity, I drifted forward and reached out, compelled to touch him and feel the heat of those flames. The instant my fingertips met his skin, Nate’s muscles flinched and his hands stilled. As he slowly turned to face me, my fingers traced the flames around to where they seared his well-defined pectorals and taut belly.
“So incredible,” I murmured as my hand drifted lower, determined to discover where the fire ended.
Nate caught my hand in his before I could follow the designs where they disappeared below his waistband. Suddenly realizing what I was doing, I jumped back and snatched my hand away, flushing fiercely.
“God, I’m sorry!” I gasped, averting my gaze. “I just . . .”
I didn’t even know how to finish the thought.
I just want to explore every inch of your amazing body . . . with my tongue
seemed a bit too forward.
I just want to explore every inch of your amazing body . . . with my tongue
seemed a bit too forward.
“Don’t worry about it,” Nate said, striding over to the dining room table and grabbing up the shirt hanging over the back of a chair. He shrugged into it, covering up the flames and breaking their spell over me.
“They’re beautiful,” I said, trying to say something appropriate. “Where did you have them done?”
“They’re not tattoos,” he muttered.
I arched my brows, more curious than ever. “What are they?”
Nate kept his gaze averted. “Penance.”
“For what?” I asked before I could stop myself. Realizing how intrusive I was being, I said quickly, “I’m sorry—it’s none of my business.”
We stood in silence for several minutes while Nate finished dishing out breakfast. Then he set my plate down in front of what was becoming my customary bar stool. “Here you go.”
I had climbed onto the bar stool and picked up my fork before I noticed he wasn’t joining me. “Aren’t you going to eat anything?”
Nate shook his head. “No, I should probably go.” He glanced at the plate he’d fixed for himself, then picked it up and started to toss the contents down the sink.
The wonderfully fluffy mouthful of eggs suddenly tasted like ashes. “I wish you wouldn’t,” I blurted, irritated at the edge of distress that bled into my voice.
He paused at my words, then brought the plate over to me and set it down next to the one I was currently devouring. “You’re right,” he muttered. “No sense in it going to waste.”
My hand darted out, grasping his as he started to back away. “Nate—”
For the first time that morning, his eyes met mine and the emotion I saw wrecked me. He was hurting, agonizing over something. But the moment I caught this tiny glimpse of his inner turmoil, his gaze went dull black again, blocking me from what he was hiding deep in his soul.
“I don’t want you to go,” I told him, realizing just how true it was. “Will you at least sit here with me?”
Nate hesitated but then came around and sat down with me while I polished off my plate. He didn’t say a word, didn’t even look at me, but having him there was enough. At some point, I shoved his plate back at him and he obediently picked up his fork.
“Thanks for breakfast,” I said. “Again.”
“You were in pretty bad shape last night,” he said, finally speaking to me again. “I figured you needed someone to look after you.”
“That doesn’t usually happen,” I assured him. I fiddled with the edges of the napkin, folding and unfolding the fabric into a bastardized version of origami. “I think everything just got to me a little more than I realized.”
“Then you ran into Nicky Blue.”
My head snapped up at this. “Yeah, I did,” I said slowly. “And he seemed to know you and I were working together. How’d that happen?”
Nate picked up our plates and took them to the sink. “We go back a long way.”
I frowned. “You and Nicky?”
“Long story.” Nate quickly buttoned his shirt—damn the luck—and tucked it into his pants.
I leaned back in my chair and scooted his toward him with my bare foot. “I’ve got time.”
Nate glanced down at his watch. “Not really,” he retorted. “We need to get moving. We still have to talk to Hamelin’s assistant, Halloran, and the Charmings, and track down Wolf. And I want to see what Trish found from the evidence they gathered at Gran’s studio.”
I nodded. “Yep, we’ve got a busy day ahead of us.” I crossed my arms stubbornly. “But I’m not going anywhere until you tell me how you know Nicky.”
Nate let out an impatient huff, then smoothed his hands through his hair. “I came to collect him once.”
I don’t know if I slid out of my chair or was jolted from it. “What?”
“Long time ago,” Nate said, buttoning his cuffs.
I shook my head, trying to figure out when this would have been. Maybe it was after Nicky and I had split up—maybe even while he’d been over in Italy. I only knew of one time that Nicky had been close to death, and I’d been there for that one.
One of Halloran’s toughs had shot Nicky over a soured business deal, and Nicky lay bleeding in my arms there in the dark alley until help arrived. I have to admit, I’d been worried there for a while—terrified, really. Of all the guys I’d been with since Seth, Nicky was the only one I’d say I’d been in love with. That’s why I’d broken things off after the shooting. I’d already been through loving a guy with all my heart only to lose him. Seeing Nicky there bleeding to death with a gunshot wound to his chest was almost more than I could take. I felt like my heart was bleeding out in time with his.
Even in my grief and panic, if Nate had come for Nicky that night, I would have seen him. I mean, I guess I would have. I hadn’t met Nate yet at that point—he wouldn’t come over until a few years later. Still, I think I’d remember Death dropping by for a visit.
“So what happened?” I probed. “Why didn’t you take him?”
Nate glanced at me, then busied himself looking for his shoes. “I changed my mind.”
“Why?”
“Red, every now and then, there’s a case that gets to me,” he explained. “Something about it will make me want to give the person a second chance, spare him this time, reroll the dice, so to speak.”
“And Nicky’s dice?” I asked, suddenly nervous for my old friend and former flame.
Nate straightened from his search and finally looked at me. “He’s got a very long life ahead of him—as far as I know.”
I let out a relieved breath. “He’s a really good guy, you know.”
Nate gave me a short nod. “Yeah, I know. We’ve gotten to be pretty good friends since then.”
My brows went up again at this. “And?”
Nate gave me a grin. “And he’s one hell of a poker player. I’m down about five G’s to him right now.”
I laughed, suddenly feeling the tension lifting from the air surrounding us. “He won’t call it in. Not if you’re a friend.”
“That’s why I keep playing. And losing.”
I stared at Nate for a long moment, glad we seemed to be falling back into the easy camaraderie we’d once enjoyed. So, in the spirit of totally ruining a wonderful moment, I said, “So, uh, about last night . . . Did we . . .”
Nate blinked at me. “You don’t remember?”
I coughed, stalling for time as I debated how to answer. “Uh . . .”
Nate’s laughter burst from him and he gave me a wink. “No, we didn’t. You passed out after I covered you up. I made sure you were okay, then slept in the guest room across the hall.”
I laughed a little, trying to hide my mixture of relief and disappointment. “So how’d I end up completely naked?”
Now it was Nate’s turn to be surprised. He shrugged. “You got me. I suppose you stripped down while you were sleeping.” A broad smile slowly curved his lips. “I guess I should have hung around your room a little longer.”
“You’re an ass,” I teased, taking a swing at his arm as he tried to dart away.
He laughed, rubbing at his upper arm where I’d slugged him. “Ah, but you love me.”
I tossed a crooked smile over my shoulder as I headed out of the kitchen. “I
love
your scrambled eggs,” I corrected. When I heard him chuckle, I paused and turned around just a little, suddenly feeling nervous. “But I have to admit, I do kinda like having you around.”
love
your scrambled eggs,” I corrected. When I heard him chuckle, I paused and turned around just a little, suddenly feeling nervous. “But I have to admit, I do kinda like having you around.”
“Good thing,” Nate said, strolling toward me. He leaned a shoulder against the door frame, slouching in such a casual way that his face was alarmingly close to mine.
“Why’s that?” I managed to ask, my voice sounding annoyingly breathless.
Nate dipped his head a little lower, and for a moment, I forgot to breathe. But then he gave me a chuck on the chin and offered me that wide, cocky smirk of his. “Because you’re taking so long to get ready, I’ll be here forever.”
My immediate impulse was to punch him in the gut, but if there’s one thing I’ve learned over the years, it’s that there’s more than one way to make a guy ache.
“Well,” I said, arching a single brow, “guess I’d better take a shower.” As I strolled to the stairs, I made sure to swing my hips just enough to catch his interest. I could feel his eyes on me, the heat from his gaze, making my bathrobe insufferably warm.
Well, only one way to fix that ...
I untied the belt as I sidled up the stairs, letting first one side and then the other glide through my fingers. Obediently, my robe gaped open, flowing out behind me as I ascended. Checking my progress, I glanced behind me just as the material slid from my shoulders and pooled at my elbows, and was gratified to see Nate’s startled expression. He blinked up at me and swallowed hard enough I could hear it. I didn’t bother hiding my satisfied smile.
Men. They’re so predictable.
Finally reaching the top of the stairs, I prepared for my final assault. And let my arms fall. The bathrobe followed. Nate probably caught little more than a glimpse of my completely nude backside before I turned the corner to go down the hall, but it was enough. I heard his sharp intake of breath and, although I can’t be certain, I’m pretty sure I heard his jaw hit the floor.
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