The Fighter's Block (13 page)

She started to unbutton her shirt, slowly. One button, she rubbed against him… Two buttons, she turned around to pressed her ass against his crotch… Three buttons, she faced him again and opened her shirt all the way.

He sucked in his breath to admire a sexy lace bodice that pushed her boobs up nicely. The shirt dropped to the floor and he wanted to grab her. She gave him a warning look before he caught himself and pressed his hands against the wall again. He almost wished he had something to restrain him, just in case she was serious about playing hardball.

Speaking of balls… God, his were aching.

She looked at him through sultry eyes bene
ath thick lashes and gave him a seductive
smile. He had on his normal attire of athletic clothing. She toyed with the band of his Nike pants, sliding her fingers inside, closer…closer…closer…

She sunk down to her knees and his heart began another cage fight. She looked up and gave him another wickedly sexy smile but…she started to take off his shoes.

“You are evil,” he murmured, exhaling a breath of air. He hoped it would relieve the ache between his legs but it didn’t.

She only smiled again and continued to remove his socks, tossing them wherever they landed behind her. She rose to her tiptoes and placed her lips against his jaw. “I wouldn’t be mocking the mouth that’s going to eat you,” she whispered.

He wanted to laugh out loud but he was way too aroused. It came out as a pathetic plea for whatever she was going to do to him.

She lowered herself to her knees again, but this time she really did get into his pants. She could hear his shaky breathing as she slid her lips around his very enlarged
penis
, and she went to work until his breathing
turned into
audible moans, mingled with her name. Her tongue teased and tickled softly in between harder p
lay, and s
he sucked the tip of him
while she gave
his balls
attention
with
her fingers.

He wanted to
die of happiness at that moment
. She stood with another smile and asked, “Still think I’m evil?”

“Fuck, no. You’re the most angelic creature I’ve ever had. I could just…”

“Just what?” she purred, lifting an eyebrow
.

Oh God, she was perfect. I am really fucking losing it
, he thought.

When she realized he was too pained to speak she grabbed the edge of his shirt and lifted it over his head. His hands weren’t on the wall anymore and he didn’t want to return them
again
.

“You may…put your hands on my ass,” she told him kindly.

He eagerly did what she said but also pulled her against him. She raised her eyebrows to warn him and he said, “Sorry. Please don’t hold it against me.”

“
You’re
holding it against you,” she told him.

He was too out of his mind to get it at first but then he smiled. “My head is so fucked up right now. Give me some slack.”

“Oh, I am,” she said as she pressed her mouth against his
shoulder
. She kissed
him slowly
, and although his hands were moving against her cheeks,
squeezing
and kneading
passionately
,
she let him get away with it. She brought her lips to his neck and kissed until she traveled along his jaw line to the edge of his mouth. She stayed there, just at the corner of his mouth, and it drove him crazy.

“You are now free to do whatever you—”

He picked her up and made it to the bed in one swift motion, dropping her gently with him over her. She couldn’t help but giggle when he ripped—literally—her panties off of her and was inside within seconds.

“My God, Van,” she teased.

“I want you so bad,” growled softly, kissing her mouth with melting passion. “What the hell do you do to me?”

Hmm, she could
think of a few things, but now she was focused on the
incredible things
he was doing
to
her
,
beginning with his mouth between her legs. He made her climax twice before his dick even got started
, and when he was finally inside her, the eye contact they made the entire time was more erotic than anything either of them had ever experienced
.

“There’s a guy down here with a box of Da
ni’s things,” Eddie said
to Van over the phone.
“He wants
to talk to her, too.”

He’d been eating dessert later that evening with Dani while they watched TV, but
Van jumped up from the couch and headed for the door.

Dani was startled
and she
popped
up as well. “What’s the matter? Where are you going?”

“Downstairs,” Van replied shortly, and he was already out the door.

She
ran to the hallway after him. “Van! What’s going on?”

He turned around and said, “Just stay
t
here, okay?”

When he continued for the stairs,
s
he
followed
after him. “No, I won’t!
Not until you tell me what’s going on!”

He
stopped and took a deep breath. He was letting his emotions get the
better of him
and he knew he should apologize. He returned to her in the hallway and took her face in his hands. “I’m sor
ry.
”

“Just tell me what’s going on. What was the phone call?”

He sighed and said, “Someone’s downstairs wanting to see you. He’s got a box of your things.”

“Brian?”

“
Eddie
didn’t say it was, which means Brian probably sent someone else
.”

“Andy,”
she
concluded.

“Yeah, that was my guess.”

Dani sighed and shook her head. But after a moment she said, “Andy’s really
not
that bad, Van. I actually kind of feel sorry for him. He does a lot of Brian’s bidding.”

“Which is why he’s downstairs
and why I’m going to go talk to him.”

“Talk?”

“Yes, talk.”

She sighed again. “Fine, but I’m coming too.”

“No, you’re not.”

“Van, this is my business. It’s
my
problem. I’d like to hear what he has to say.”

“
This guy is not going to use stupid t
actics just to see you. It doesn’t matter that
he’s do
ing it through his brother;
he’s just trying to see
what will work
. If
he can use
Andy
to
get you downstairs, who knows
how
he
’s going to use that to his advantage
next time
. Could you just trust me on this?” Van pulled her close to him and whispered, “Please, Dani. Just trust me?”

She
couldn’t resist his gentle plea
and eventually
nodded against him. “Okay. I’ll be in the apartment.”

He kissed the
side
of her
face
. “
Good
. I’ll be up soon. Do me a favor and holler at Paul or Cody if they’re home? Just have one of them meet me down there. Or Q
or Scotty
… I don’t care
.”

She nodded again and he disappeared through the door to the stairwell.
             
             

Andy was nervous. His brother h
ad sent him into a death trap—
the pussycat sent to confront the big dogs
. After what seemed like way too long, a guy appeared from the stairwell. It scared him; he was waiting for the
ding of the elevator to startle him instead
.

Andy recognized Van
from that day with the
laptop
, and as Van eyed him with daunting eyes, Andy did his best to muster some courage.

“Uh, I’m Andy,” he said. “Uh, you probably remember that, though. I brought a box of Dani’s things; things that she left at Brian’s.”

Van glanced at the box sitting on the floor as Eddie stepped out of the office to observe everything.

“Is Brian outside?” Van asked.

Andy was a little surprised by the question. “Uh, what?”

“Is Brian outside
?” he repeated slowly. “Did he bring you over here?”

“Uh…”

“Where is he?” Van said, walking toward the front doors.

“No. I mean no he didn’t bring me here. He just told me where to take the box.”

Van returned to him in the lobby. “And?”

“And what? What do you want from me?” he said, starting to feel panic in his chest. Especially when another guy came out of the stairwell, looking just as
menacing
as the guy in front of him.

Van stood very close to Andy
and in a low voice said, “Brian is not going to have anything to do with Dani, do you understand? And all of these little ploys he’s attempting to get her to talk to him had better stop. Are you hearing me? Because I want you to pass that along to your brother.”

Andy waited to make sure he was done and nodded his head
, not about to dispute a single thing with this guy. But he did ask, “Uh, a
nd what’s your name again? So I can pass
along the message properly.
”

Van pulled back just slightly, looking him over. So Brian didn’t even
know his name, huh? Was that what
this was all about? To find out
who
Dani was staying with?

“Look, Andy,” Van finally said,
squeezing his
shoulder with a tiny smirk.
“Dani has a lot of friends here, okay? This really isn’t a place
you want to be.
If he comes by here again, or he comes up with any other stupid trick to see her, things are
gonna
get complicated
.
Tell him to stay away, all right? It’ll be better for everyone.”

He picked up the box and left Andy in
the lobby as
Cody followed him into the stairwell.

Chapter Seven

Brian sat in the dark in silence. Andy had been there to deliver the
results
of his trip to the Jefferson Apartments, and when Brian wouldn’t say anything further, his brother quietly slipped out the door.

After a half an hour, Brian stood and walked over to the desk. He pulled out a few photos that he’d tossed in the drawer and looked them over. They were pictures of Dani; modeling pictures that he’d
stolen
from her before she cleared out her things.

He sat down on the couch again and flipped on a lamp to look
them over
. Yes, Dani’s parents were pretty talented—and wealthy—and Dani had done some amazing jobs over the years. She’d been in tons of magazines, catalogues, and commercials…even
on
billboard
s
.
She’d
modeled in France, Italy, and LA…
She’d worked with top names since she was three years old.
She could
go even further, and as soon as this little rebellion of hers was over, he would reunite her with her parents in New York, and all
will
be well.

He
thought over what Andy had told him. He
hadn’t decided what to do about being threatened by her poser bodyguard, but now that Andy had described him, Brian was positive she was living with the guy. It made him furious. That little prick broke his goddamn hand, and then smugly sauntered into
his
apartment with Dani
like he owned her. Brian wasn’t going to stand for it, and if he wasn’t able to find out his name yet or which apartment he lived in, then he would just resort to finding the guy’s truck
. Once he got a plate number, Andy could find out all the information Brian needed…

Van was tired. He’d
been
awake
the past
thirty-two
hours due to an apartment fire downtown, and by the time he headed home
on a
Friday
evening
, he was so ready to spend the
weekend with
his girlfriend
.