It was a perfect moment. One of the few in my life up to that point. I wish I could’ve frozen that moment in time, kept it from ever moving on, but eventually I heaved a sigh of my own and lifted my head.
“Nicky,” I whispered, not sure what I planned to say next. I think I honestly just wanted to hear his name on my lips. But when I caught a glimpse of his dark frown, I knew our moment was over.
“I need to go out for a while,” he announced suddenly, gathering up the dishes and carrying them to the sink. “Will you be okay here by yourself?”
“Where are you going?” I replied, ignoring his question.
He shrugged evasively. “Just out. I have some things to take care of.”
The edge of his voice told me what he had in mind. “You’re going hunting,” I guessed. “You’re going out looking for Dracula.”
He glanced my way and I could tell he was about to lie to me, deny what he was planning, but he must’ve thought better of it. “Yeah. But the first thing I want to do is pay a visit to Happy Endings and find out how the hell Aloysius knew to take off from Halloran’s before the Agency showed up.”
“Maybe it was just a coincidence,” I suggested.
“Maybe,” Nicky agreed. “But I plan to ask him anyway. And I don’t plan on asking nicely.”
I hopped down from the bar. “Then I’m going with you.”
“No way,” he shot back. “You’re staying here where it’s safe.”
“You have no idea if it’s safer here than anywhere else,” I countered. “I was attacked in my apartment—up until then, I’d thought it was pretty safe, too.”
“This is different,” he mumbled, rinsing out our mugs. “You have no idea what I’ve seen when hunting.”
“Don’t I?” I said, coming over to stand at his elbow. “You don’t think I’ve seen some pretty freaky shit over the years?”
“It’s not open for discussion,” he insisted, his tone leaving no room for argument. Too bad I wasn’t listening.
“This is my job, Nicky,” I reminded him. “I’m supposed to help bring down the bad guys. You don’t think the crime scenes I visit have the potential for danger? It’s what I’m trained to deal with. If anyone should be staying at home, it’s you! You need to stay out of it and leave things to the professionals.”
At this his eyes went wide. “The professionals? Because you guys are doing such a bang-up job bringing Drac down?”
I pressed my lips together, trying to bite back my angry retort.
I counted to five as he went around me to grab his jacket, then
said between clenched teeth, “You are going to get yourself killed.”
“I’m not the one I’m worried about getting killed!” he retorted, his voice so loud it echoed in the enormous kitchen. “I’m not letting you come with me. It’s too dangerous!”
I slapped my hands on my hips. “You can’t be serious!”
“Serious as a heart attack.” He shrugged into his jacket. “You’re staying here and that’s final.”
“Goddamn it!” I yelled, slamming my palm down on the counter. “Stop treating me like a child!”
He jerked back a little at my accusation. “What the hell are you talking about? I’m not treating you like a child.”
“The hell you aren’t!” I stomped toward him, hands back on my hips. “What with the whole crush thing in the car. Crush, Nicky? I’m not a little schoolgirl who has crushes, okay? And you’re always ‘doll’ this and ‘honey’ that! Then there’s the tugging on my ringlets. I know they look ridiculous, okay?” My hands were flailing around now in frustration. “I know I look like a naive little girl because of the freaking ringlets, but I’m a grown woman, Nicky. In case you hadn’t noticed, I have boobs and everything. Oh, and by the way—they’re really nice ones!”
My chest was heaving from my angry—and somewhat incoherent—outburst as I stared at him, waiting for him to respond. But he just returned my gaze, his expression blank. Then his lips twitched at the corners and his eyes twinkled. “I’ve noticed,” he said finally.
I frowned. “What have you noticed?”
He sauntered toward me, his lips curving into a full-blown grin now. When his body was just inches from mine, he slipped his arm around me and pulled me closer. “I’ve noticed you’re a grown woman,” he said, his voice low. His gaze flicked down to my chest, which was heaving now for another reason. “That you’re all woman.”
“Yeah?” I managed to choke out. “In spite of my ringlets?”
“I like your ringlets.”
“You do?”
He nodded and dipped his head until his lips were near my ear. “But you’re still not going with me.” He chuckled and abruptly released me, no doubt planning to leave me all gaspy and breathless, but two could play this game.
Before he could walk away, my hand shot out and I grabbed the front of his shirt, jerking him back to me. His eyes went wide as I leaned into him, pressing my body into his. “Nicky,” I whispered, my mouth close to his. God, it was torture not to lean all the way in and steal the searing kiss that was smoldering in the air between us. But that wasn’t part of the game. “You need me.”
His powerful body shuddered a little as he swallowed hard and ground out, “Yeah?”
“Mmm-hmm,” I replied as I slid my hand into the pocket of his jeans, eliciting a hissed curse from him. “You just don’t realize how badly.”
His voice was shot to hell when he said, “Oh, I think I know, doll.”
“Good.” My fingers closed around his car keys and jerked them out of his pocket at the same moment I pushed him away and snatched my coat off the back of the bar stool. “It’s settled then. I’m going with you.”
I slung my coat over my shoulder and sashayed from the kitchen, swinging my hips in triumph. And when I cast a glance over my shoulder, I watched Nicky’s dumbfounded look change into one of bemusement and then amusement as that smile I adored broke over his face.
“Holy hell,” he chuckled, shaking his head. “I guess you are.”
Chapter Ten
As we stood in the shadowy parking lot of the deserted office building across from Happy Endings, I turned up the collar of my jacket, unable to shake the feeling we were being watched. Nicky must’ve felt it, too, because I saw him scan the darkness with his sharp gaze, searching for any indication of who might be lurking in the shadows. But apparently satisfied that we weren’t in any immediate danger, he opened the back of the Escalade and lifted away the spare tire cover in the floor to reveal a veritable arsenal.
“What do you want?” he asked, stowing a pair of wicked-looking knives in a holster he’d slipped on over his T-shirt. He loaded a fresh magazine into his Glock, then tucked it in the back of his pants. He pegged me with an expectant look as he slipped back into his leather jacket. “See anything you like?”
Aside from those sexy biceps and rockin’ pecs?
I forced myself to focus. “You want me to carry a gun?”
He shrugged. “Gun, knife . . . makes no difference to me. But if you’re going, you’re going armed.”