Megan slid away from temptation and adjusted the front of her clothes to make sure all body parts were back in her clothes where they belonged. “If it helps your ego any, you’re the only man I’ve ever liked to kiss and I’ve kissed my share of very excited and desperate Marines. No one ever affected me the way you do. We share the same problem about not understanding why.”

  Nicolas eased back into his seat. He wanted to pull her into his lap and kiss her until his tension eased, and then he would spank her for getting him wound up. He also wanted to take her home and to his bed. The plain truth was—he wanted Megan anyway he could get her. He wanted Megan Lynx just as much now as he had all those years ago.

  “You don’t bore me—you charm me. And you’re the only woman I’ve ever really liked.”

  They had another one of those crazy long moments. It was either a few seconds or a million years. It was hard to tell. Something sizzled inside her brain as she stared at him.

  “Well, this is some serious shit, isn’t it? Now I may be too distracted by the chemistry between us to be of any good use in protecting you,” Megan admitted. “All I can think about is doing more of what we just did.”

  Nicolas cleared his throat, fought his strange urge to fist pump, and finally tried to match her honesty. “I can think of a few hundred ways to help you become less distracted. Come home with me and we can discuss which ones you’d like to try.”

  Megan grinned in the dark rapidly falling around them like a cloak. “Quite the offer, Dr. North. Not exactly a date, but dangerously close.”

  Nicolas snorted. “If you want to date. . .we can do that too. . .eventually. First, I have to tame the kissing urge or we won’t be safe out in public.”

  “I’ll give the situation between us some thought and let you know what I think we need to do about it. Usually I don’t get the hots for a guy while on a mission. This is a first for me,” she said, scooting to climb out of the car before she changed her mind.

  His angry words stopped her.

  “I’m not just ‘some guy’ or your mission. I’m a guy who has wanted you for a long time, so sorry to be your exception. On second thought—no, I’m the hell not sorry at all. So Semper Fi, Ms. Marine. You need to prepare yourself for the consequences of making me feel this way about you. We will be dealing with this soon.”

  “A pissy geek is not attractive. . .and being sarcastic is not your style. Now I’m sorry to be leaving you horny and in the lurch tonight, but if I wanted you to bite my ass over my doubts, I’d ask for it. I need some time to think this through before we do something stupid we’ll both regret. I want to be your friend, not just your next Tiffani with an ‘i’ woman. Neither one of us are an easy lay.”

  Nicolas snorted and to torture them both, he adjusted himself in his pants while she watched. He was happy when she didn’t look away.

  “Sometimes you sound so much like a guy it makes me wonder what the hell is wrong with me for liking you so much. At the same time, it’s going to be hard as hell to sleep tonight while I’m waiting on your damn decision. You will never—ever—be like any other woman to me. Tiffani with ‘i’ should have banked those bucks she spent. It didn’t make me want her, but I’ll be inside you the instant you finally say yes,” Nicolas whispered.

  “Fine. Maybe I think like a guy, and maybe that guy part of me is a commitment-phobe. As for the rest—once a Marine, always a Marine—so if you like me, you’ll have to accept that. I won’t apologize for who I am now, or what kind of woman I’ve grown up to be, but you need to know I’m still the same species as Tiffani.”

  Megan sighed and shook her head. Why was it so damn important to her that he not be mad?

  “Tiffani and I both dressed to impress the awesome smelling, very sexy ‘Nico’ tonight. I’m just financially luckier than she was in her efforts. The eyeliner and lipstick barely set me back ten bucks. David paid for the cleavage outfit. Nothing in my closet comes close to this and I probably wouldn’t have bothered if I hadn’t had to try to interrogate the dweebs. Now go take a cold shower and relieve yourself until I figure things out. I’ll call you in the morning after I’ve reported to David.”

  Heart racing over his personal admission and hers, Megan shook her head at the angry tension now strung tight between them. Her teasing confessions had gotten her more of a physical reaction out of Nicolas than she bargained for. His anger over her not caving to the desire between them had raised her hackles right back though.

  Nicolas was looking at her now like a man on the edge of making a bad decision or two. As an MP, she had learned to recognize the signs.

  She climbed from the car and hurried up the sidewalk while she still could.

  Chapter 5

  “Do you think one of the stepbrothers is the stalker?”

  Megan let a sigh escape slowly and shook her head at her brother’s question. “Not really. Neither of his stepbrothers strike me as having what it takes. They’re too busy trying to emulate his life to want Nicolas dead. Taking him out would be like taking out their role model. It would serve no purpose.”

  “What about his stepfather?” David demanded. “I’ve never met the man.”

  Shrugging, Megan shook her head again. “The man is creepy, but since when is that a crime? He disappeared immediately after dinner, so I didn’t get a chance to talk to him much. I suggest you put a discreet tail on him to see where he keeps sneaking off to. Maybe take some photos for proof because his mother is invested in appearances.”

  “I always thought his mother was okay.”

  Megan shrugged. “His mother is okay—just not very discerning. She’d rather her son spend time with someone beautiful and rich, than someone he might actually want to hear talk to him. The whole point of the dinner was her trying to hook Nicolas up with a woman she approves of as wife material.”

  “Yeah—she’s been trying to fix him up for years. It’s never worked and Nicolas has gotten a lot better at telling her to butt out of his personal life,” David said.

  Megan nodded, feeling happy at the news. “Something about the stepfather was off, but I could be reacting to how coldly he treated his sugar momma wife whose ass he should be kissing daily. Honestly, there was nothing much likeable about the man. I don’t know what Nicolas’s mother was thinking.”

  David nodded. “People are strange and motivations are even stranger. So the parade is in two days. Are you ready?”

  Her little groan of frustration was audible in the room.

  “What? What’s wrong? Talk to me,” David ordered.

  “Nothing’s wrong, but is it too late to get Crystal to ride the float with Nicolas? I looked at her shooting scores. They were decent.” Megan blushed when her brother’s eyebrow shot up. “Don’t start asking questions until you answer the one I asked first.”

  David narrowed his eyes. “Yes, it’s too late, Megan. Crystal can’t do it. In fact, she’s out of town. I sent her to Tennessee on an assignment because she was pouting about you and Nicolas. What’s the problem you’re dancing around?”

  Megan released a long, slow breath as she tried to find a plausible reason she could offer, preferably one which didn’t betray the reality of her and Nicolas. “I’m having second thoughts about whether or not I’m the right person to guard him. Something of concern has come up between us.”

  Laughing, David leaned back in his chair. “Something of concern has come up between you? Like what? Let me guess—you two finally decided to deal with the attraction between you.”

  “Well, shit. Did Nicolas talk to you about us?” she demanded, blushing hard under her brother’s gaze.

  David laughed at her red face and her worry. “Talk about you? No. Not a word. Are you kidding? Nicolas never talks about women. In fact, he never talks about anything much unless you pry an opinion out of him. He was raised to be polite to a fault. However, since you’ve come home, he’s never stopped talking about you. So what’s the deal?”

  “There is no deal. We just have to work some things out. There’s a distracting tension when we’re in the same place together.”

  “Megan, quit dancing around the truth. I saw the nature of his interest the day he hugged you. In all the years I’ve known him, I’ve never seen the man hug a woman before, much less latch on to one like she was a life raft. Being your brother, I should probably be pissed my best friend and sister have the hots for each other. I thought Crystal was the only woman with a crush on Nicolas.”

  “Fuck you—and it’s none of your business what’s going on,” Megan said sharply, rubbing a hand over her face at her show of temper. She opened her mouth to apologize, but snapped it shut when she noticed David was grinning at her. “Look—I can’t explain this to you. I doubt Nicolas could either. Some old history just sort of erupted between us when we saw each other again. The bottom line is I think way too much about kissing him when he’s near me. I’m only admitting my weakness to you because his freaking life is at stake and I can’t afford to be distracted.”

  “Well, they say knowing the problem is half the battle. Maybe your awareness will keep you on your toes. Or maybe you’re overreacting, Megan. Will you still shoot any bastard who shoots at Nicolas?” David asked.

  Megan smacked her forehead and held out her hand. “Of course I will. That’s a stupid question to even ask. I’d blow the guy’s nuts off without thinking twice, but my attraction takes my attention off potential targets. I don’t want to take any chances. This is his life we’re talking about here.”

  David rubbed his jaw. “Your crush on him is just as funny and awkward as I imagined it would be when it happened. It’s not fair that I don’t have time to laugh over how uncomfortable you are about it. You know I saw this coming years ago, but I figured it would take you two a lot longer to move on the attraction. Would this be a good time to confess I bought you that sexy red suit to wear because I thought seeing you in it might prompt Nicolas into finally making his move? I know he’s waited years to find his nerve. Every time you were around, he couldn’t take his eyes off you.”

  Megan slapped her hands on the arms of her chair. “You will pay for making me wear that sleazy outfit, David. You will pay big. Nicolas does not need prompting with me—any kind of prompting—so never talk to him about it. And stay the hell out of my dating life. Not that Nicolas and I are dating—damn it—you know what I mean.”

  “Yes, I do. Which is its own kind of miracle, since you’re so shaken up over this. You know I used to try and fix Nicolas up with women occasionally. My matchmaking never worked any better than his mother’s. Since his father died, I haven’t talked him into more than going to dinner now and then. He’s always had a thing for you though. He never talked about it, but I knew. I didn’t tell you because. . .well because you joined the Marines. . .and I figured leaving us meant you didn’t like him back the same way he liked you. Then while you were gone, it was a moot point. I guess it’s not so moot any more.”

  “No. It’s not moot. So what can I do about my concerns?” Megan asked.

  David shrugged. He bit the inside of his lip to keep from laughing. He didn’t for one minute think Megan would let herself be too distracted by anything to do her job. His sister was far too serious to shirk her duty simply because her hormones were bothering her.

  “Like you said—his life is at stake—but among my team you’re the best shot and have the sharpest eye. I guess my advice for you is to settle things as best you can for now and try to get your mind back in the game where it belongs. It would take too long to recruit a new female guard and run all the checks on her. You’re going to have to be on the float with him.”

  Megan sat quietly for a few moments, then finally nodded. Okay. If it had to be her, it would be her. But she couldn’t do it while she was so distracted. Even a stalker with poor aim would catch her off-guard if Nicolas decided to flirt with her.

  That meant she had exactly two days to level things out between them.

  There was only one action she could reasonably take to make sure the tension between them got resolved.

  ***

  Her text message had been cryptic and he’d stood at his window too long thinking about what it meant to have time to change clothes. When the doorbell rang, he was still in the sweats he’d worked out in. Chest bare of the sweaty shirt he’d discarded already, he walked to the door to let Megan inside.

  He opened it and found her dressed as casually as he was. Her bottom curves were encased in loose sweats. The blue lace of her bra was visible under the fitted white top she’d donned over them, but he restrained himself from commenting on what he could see. His gaze had a hard time reaching her face, but when it finally did, he noticed hers hadn’t managed to get as far as his eyes either. It made the last hour in his building’s gym worth the effort he put in. He grinned at catching her staring at his chest.

  “See anything you like?” he asked, trying to sound snarky and uncaring. Frustration helped his cause. He was tired of cold showers and dreams of her. He wanted to do something about the awareness dancing between them every time they were together.

  Snark left when she lifted her head. Megan’s dazed expression was full of lust for him, and it took his breath away. She cleared her throat just as he opened his mouth to apologize.

  “Yes. I like what I see, and I see a man I’ve always liked. You have some nice pecs—for a geek.”

  Sighing over her backhanded compliments, Nicolas sighed, stepped back, and motioned her in. “I see we’re still trading insults. So why are you here? Did you come to torture me again?”

  Matching his frustrated sigh, Megan shook her head. Her stomach fluttered in nervous concern, but her decision was made. She wasn’t backing down.

  “I guess it depends on whether or not you consider sleeping with me to be torture. I think having sex is the only way we’re going to be able to deal with our hormonal reaction to each other.”

  His heart sped up at her words, but he was tired of being tormented. “What about all the ‘Dr. North’ lectures about not being sure and needing time to think about it?”

  Megan dropped her head and stared at the sandals she wore. She had gotten a stupid pedicure and had her toes painted red—mostly just to see what Nicolas would say when he saw them. He hadn’t even noticed. And she didn’t know why that disappointed her. Kendra would pee laughing if she knew.

  “Is that some sort of geek fantasy you’ve always harbored? I guess I can call you ‘Dr. North’ if you want. Any other requests?”

  Nicolas reached out and tipped her chin up until they were nearly eye to eye. “Stop teasing and tell me what’s really going on in that mind of yours. If I touch you again, you know what’s going to happen between us, don’t you?”

  She nodded against his fingers. “Yes. In fact, I’m counting on it in the worst way.”

  “Okay then. I need a shower first,” Nicolas said as matter-of-factly as possible.

  Stepping closer, he bent his head to swipe a kiss before he left to take care of it. Her hands gripping his arms kept him from leaving.

  “Don’t be so dumb. You don’t need a shower. You smell great. That cologne you wear is a damn good investment. Will you fucking kiss me for real before I implode here? Kissing you again is all I can think about.”

  His last civilized thought was he’d probably always instantly obey her when she swore at him in such a fierce way.

  When their mouths were fused again, he wondered if Megan had any idea she had a habit of whimpering the whole time they were frenching. It was the most arousing thing any woman had ever done with him.

  And he also wondered if she was aware of how she wrapped herself around him like an anaconda trying to make sure he stayed close.

  Chapter 6

  His breathing was shallow when he broke contact with her mouth long enough to actually take in a full breath. It was an effort to keep his mouth off hers for even a few seconds. He took the dazed expression Megan now wore as permission to pull off her top. The action revealed the sexy light blue lace bra hiding under it. He loved being right, and he loved the dichotomy of his cussing, hard-ass tomboy wearing lace.

  “Don’t you own anything pink? Blue is for boys,” he whispered, as he tried to pull her close enough to kiss again.

  “Screw you, St. Nick. Blue is my favorite color, but okay. . .I’ll play your game.”

  Reaching behind her, Megan unsnapped her bra. Slipping it off, she took a small step back and held the scrap of dangling lace out to him. She prayed Nicolas couldn’t hear her heart beating hard with the stark fear threatening to paralyze her.

  “Here. If blue is for boys, you can have it. It’s obvious by what’s happening below your waist that you’re a boy.”

  “Fuck, Megan. I wasn’t ready for. . .I’m not. . .damn it. You drive me crazy. Do you have any idea what you do to me?”

  Moving past the bra in her outstretched hand, Nicolas cupped her full breasts in both of his. She shook at the contact and the blue lace bra fell from her fingers to the floor. A second later, those same fingers dug painfully into his arms. His face heated with the urge to wallow in her passionate reaction to what he was doing to her.

  His erection throbbed painfully, so he pressed it against her for relief. Since he wasn’t much taller than her, they lined up nearly perfectly. Her answering groan did the same short-circuiting thing to his brain as it had in the car.

  Once again, his every thought became centered on intensifying her pleasure to be with him. Where other women barely made an impression, Megan Lynx was an obsession. Tonight he was walking a very delicate edge. His sexy tomboy was tough, but the last thing he wanted was to be crude or rough the first time they were together. He hoped the innate passion between them didn’t cause him to lose control.

  “I’ve been wanting you to do that exact move for a long. . .long. . .very long time,” Megan whispered. “Your hands feel so good on me. I used to dream about them. . .and this. . .and us together. Sometimes I’d have an orgasm just imagining what it would be like having sex with you.”

 

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