Chapter Ten
Chicago
“What were you thinking?” Michael tossed Natalie’s phone back to her.
Picking it up off the white velvet sofa, she scowled at her pain-in-the-ass oldest brother. “I made it clear I won’t let her get away with killing Tony.” She should have known he would discover the threatening texts she’d been sending Nicole. “Douglas found her and her new number.” She cut her glare over to Douglas who leaned with negligent insolence against the marble fireplace. The traitor had remained silent during Michael’s tirade.
He shrugged with as much unconcern as he’d shown since Michael started laying into her the minute she stepped through the door. “I don’t see the problem with a little harassment. It’s fun to picture her reaction reading them.”
Michael slammed his glass on the bar countertop. He seemed to do that a lot lately. “There’s nothing amusing about those threats. They could result in charges.”
“With our money? Not likely.” If that was the only argument he could come up with, that wouldn’t stop her. The bitch would pay. She would see to it.
“Relax, Michael. Wells lives out in the boonies, from what I can figure of her location. I doubt there’s anyone around who will give a fig about her problems back home. Let sis have her fun.”
Douglas smiled at her, daring her to mention his involvement. Natalie wouldn’t because she needed him, but he should remember she was good at getting revenge. “It’s not fun. It’s retribution.”
“I don’t care what you call it. Stop. Now,” Michael ordered.
“No.” She rose and stormed toward the door, tossing over her shoulder, “Cut my allowance. Hell, fire me if you choose. It won’t stop me. Nothing will.”
Natalie slammed out of the house before she gave in to the tears. She had adored Tony and their special bond. She’d told Nicole over and over she wanted to be there for him, especially during his last weeks. He died in her arms, by her hand, and she didn’t have it in her to let that go.
***
SLADE FAILED TO PERSUADENicole to join them for Sunday dinner, so to distract him from that disappointment, he brought Chace to play with Brandy. And with luck, their antics would distract Lily and Allie from mentioning his outing with Nicole. His mother would appreciate it if Chace wore out her high-energy goldendoodle, but would love as much to hear he’d taken a serious interest in a woman. How serious depended on whether Nicole kept an open mind going forward. At least she’d agreed to think about it when he’d dropped her off.
He took his time driving to Eagle’s Nest, contemplating whether he should even bother, but there it was, that little twinge whenever he considered backing off. She’d taken the first move earlier in extending her apology, an encouraging sign even though she’d turned down his invite. He understood the confusion of their mutual attraction and her reluctance to enter into another full-fledged relationship.
“However,” he stated aloud, glancing at Chace as he parked at his parents’ house. “If I can risk that leap, so can she. It’s not as if she isn’t interested.” Chace barked and pawed the door. “Mind out of the gutter, buddy. Brandy’s been fixed.”
Slade held the door open for him and they went straight into the back yard. Willow came barreling out the dog door when she saw Chace, and he took advantage of their romping to slip inside the house through the slider.
“The dogs are tearing up your yard.” He kissed his mother’s cheek after hanging up his hat and jacket. “They love the cooler weather.” As he’d hoped, Lily and Allie’s attention went from chopping vegetables at the kitchen counter to looking out the window above the sink and laughing.
“I’m glad you brought Chace. Now we won’t need to walk her after dinner. Your brothers and William are watching football.”
The joy his mother reaped from their family Sunday dinners always shone in Andrea’s sparkling green eyes. Whether expressing happiness, disappointment, or displeasure, one look was all it ever took to ensure he and his brothers would yield to her wishes.
“Holler when you want the dogs to settle down before coming inside.”
“They’re fine. Dinner in fifteen.”
Taking advantage of the girls’ continued distraction, he didn’t linger and strode into the den. A small fire crackled in the corner fireplace, the extra warmth adding to the cozy room. William rose from the sofa and handed Slade the opened beer sitting on the bar cart. “Score’s seven to seven, two minutes left in the fourth.”
“Mom won’t hold dinner or allow football during, so one better end it in that time,” he said, opting to take the recliner with a drink holder on the arm.
“How was your ride?”
From the expectation reflected in Reed’s tone, he wasn’t surprised one or both of the girls had told his brothers about the last-minute switch. Since his stepfather’s attention was on the game, Slade leaned forward and lowered his voice. “Please tell me they haven’t mentioned it to Mom.”
Brett grinned but William answered without taking his eyes off the television. “You would still be upstairs getting grilled if they had. Heard tell someone moved in out there at the Studman’s old place.”
“That’s all we told him after we came downstairs. Intercepted! Well, shit. There goes ten bucks.” Brett pulled out his wallet and handed the money to their stepfather as the game ended with a field goal.
“Then keep it that way. I don’t want her planning my wedding during dinner.”
“She’s not that bad. Come on. Let’s eat before the next game starts.”
Thirty minutes later, Slade leaned back in his chair, feeling good. As usual, his mother’s cooking and family relaxed him. That didn’t keep his mind off Nicole or the details she’d revealed about the assault that left her scarred inside and out. Glancing around the table, he could only imagine the difficulty of making those decisions with a loved one. Now he understood what had driven her to leave home and family and why she’d wanted solitude.
Speaking of family – wouldn’t they all love to know how entrenched he’d become in Nicole, and not only with her well-being. He couldn’t recall wanting a woman with such intensity, or one he couldn’t move on from without regrets or stop thinking about, itching to learn more every time he saw her.
Did he love her?
Across from Slade, Reed sat next to Lily, his arm draped over the back of her chair, fingers idly stroking her shoulder as he idly conversed with William on his opposite side. While passing the pork chop platter and vegetable bowls around the table, Brett would take each from Allie with a lingering touch on her hand or wrist. Subtle nuances that were so common now between the couples, even his mother had stopped noticing.
It was too soon to answer his question because he wouldn’t settle for less than what his brothers and mother now shared with their significant others. But he was closer than he’d ever been, and that told him something significant was developing with Nicole.
Allie leaned around Brett to look at him, her blue eyes alit with amusement, and he braced for what he knew she would say.
“How did Nicole like riding with you today?”
Damn.And here he’d believed he would get out of here keeping that tidbit from his mother a little longer.
“Nicole?” Andrea, seated at the head of the table, laid her hand on his forearm with a beaming smile. “Who’s that, dear?”
“Our new neighbor, Nicole Wells, and don’t go making more of it than giving her a riding lesson and showing her around, Mom.”
“Oh! Thank goodness she’s okay and well enough to ride. William and I were so worried when she refused to go to the hospital after that car hit her in the mercantile parking lot. I didn’t know she was the one who bought the Studman place.”
Slade stiffened and went cold inside, recalling with vivid clarity Nicole’s bruised thigh. Anger and concern over her evasive duplicity when he’d ask her about it roiled inside his gut.
“She didn’t mention it. What happened?” he asked, noticing everyone else’s worry.
“Damnedest thing,” William replied with a frown. “Idiot driver came speeding out of one of the rows then down the front of the restaurant and store. You’d think the hounds of hell were hot on his heels. I didn’t take the chance she could move fast enough and was right there. We both landed on the ground, and she favored her leg when she insisted she was fine and walked to her car. She wouldn’t hear of getting checked out though. Seemed uncomfortable with the crowd and attention.”
“She didn’t say a word when we made plans to take her out today. We should go over there tomorrow, Allie.” Lily’s voice reflected her constant compassion for others.
“Excuse me.” Slade had heard enough from William’s account. “Sorry to eat and run. Thanks, Mom, William.” He strode out without another word. None of them would expect further explanation anyway.
Irrational outrage churned inside him as he called to Chace and left through the backyard. It defied common sense to blame himself for not being there to protect Nicole against harm, to compare saving complete strangers using prewarned intel to blasting himself when someone he cared about was hurt when he lacked that prior knowledge. And whether he should or should not be so put out with her for not telling him, he was, and he made no excuses for that, driving to her place.
Stars lit up the night sky by the time he parked in front of her house, his blood still pumping hot enough to fend off the drop in temperature when he strode to the door and rapped loudly.
“Why did you lie to me?” he demanded the minute she opened the door. Shoving past her, he waited only long enough for her to close the door before pinning her against it with one hand braced against the wood, the other cupping her nape, caging her in with his body. “A car damn near ran you down. That. Is. Not. A clumsy mishap.”
Nicole’s surprise at seeing Slade changed to a narrow-eyed glare. “Maybe because it’s none of your business.”
He traced the rapid pulse in her neck with his thumb. If the color suffusing her face stemmed just from anger and her eyes weren’t dilated, her breathing so shallow, he would back off. Instead, he let loose with the dominant urgency to take control, finally daring to give her what she was silently asking for and didn’t realize she needed.
“You are my business, have been ever since you begged me over”—he bent and nipped the tender skin on her neck—“and over.” He slid his lips up to her ear and bit the small lobe, whispering, “And over.” Releasing her, he gazed into her eyes, saw the acceptance she wasn’t quite ready to admit, and snatched her hand. “You should have told me,” he admonished, flinging his jacket and hat off before taking a seat on the three-piece modular sectional.
“What are you doing?”
Her voice hitched as he reached out to loosen her jeans and yanked them down. Tugging her over his lap, he delivered one swat to her cheek, enough for a minimal sting, with luck, enough to entice instead of reject. Pausing, Slade rested a hand on the pink spot. “Yes or no, Nicole.”
“Yes.” Please. Nicole had no choice when she thought about it, jerking when Slade smacked her bare butt again. Either Slade’s commanding concern or the twinging burn soothed the conflicting emotions she’d battled all evening. She returned home earlier hoping out
of sight would put him and the yearnings he also pulled to the forefront out of mind.
No such luck.
A groan escaped her clenched throat with the next spank, this one a little harder, stinging, the heat seeping into muscle. She questioned how she could allow this, lie here and ache for another distracting, hurtful swat. Then it came, landing on the opposite buttock, resulting in a twin response. Instead of adding to the tension plaguing her for one reason or another over this odd relationship she had going with the neighbor, she slowly relaxed under his steadily descending hand.
“This is for lying.”
Slade’s hand came down even harder on the under curve of one cheek, eliciting a soft startled cry and catching her off guard enough to wiggle from the impact. He aimed for the other side next, the tip of one finger grazing her slit, her damp arousal swift, as hot as her butt.
“Slade,” Nicole moaned, her brain going numb, much like her butt when he peppered both cheeks with quick, sharp slaps.
“That’s my girl,” she heard him say through the roaring in her head and coming to terms with the arousing effects of this painful, somewhat mortifying act.
The praise added to the pleasure/pain encompassing her body, her nipples peaking from rubbing back and forth on the sofa, her palms and forehead sweating as she kept her face downward. Thank goodness he had held her legs still pinned under one of his, his free hand a comforting pressure between her shoulders. Then he halted the torment with an abruptness that snagged her already ragged breathing and eased the discomfort of her throbbing backside with slow caresses over the tender skin. A shiver rippled under her skin, one of pleasure and serenity, a feeling that brought a sheen to her eyes.
Nicole’s sudden vulnerability threatened to send her into full-panic mode, but Slade caught her before she could struggle off his lap. Flipping her upright, he wrapped those thick, strong arms around her and held tight, leaving her no option but to bury her face in his shoulder and let the dam burst. She couldn’t say why, and not because her butt hurt, or that the abrasive bare skin contact with his denim-clad thighs brought her to the edge of a humiliating climax.
So awash with the bombardment of conflicting responses to his heavy hand, she barely registered his hand sliding between her legs, his finger finding her clit, or the small tugs on the tender nub until he spoke. “Go over for me, baby.” His lips were soft against her ear, his voice rough. Tingling. Heat producing. She should despise that generic pet name, but instead, relished the way it kept this scene where she needed it, without involving the deeper emotion, teary breakdown threatened.
Tightening her hand in his shirt, Nicole caved to the demanding arousal Slade was so damn good at producing. With her jeans still restricting her thigh spread, she arched into his busy hand, the pressure of his palm against her pubis coupled with deep, clit-abrasive finger thrusts enough to release orgasm. She splintered on a shrill cry, the pleasure just as sweeping, body-encompassing as always, regardless or because of the discomfort she ached with remaining undecided.
He didn’t wait for her head to clear completely before talking again. “It was my last assignment in Afghanistan, and I couldn’t wait to go home and put the killing behind me. I’d carried out seven executions already, regretted the necessity but not the deaths. They were evil, pure and simple, each one. Even the one woman. And I saved countless lives. I figure that saves me when it comes to any moral objectiveness.”
He paused and she held her breath, not needing to hear more but owing him enough to listen to everything.
“I didn’t know until he was dead and turned over. A kid. I later learned he’d been abducted and forced through torture and threats to his family who were in another village. Nine years old; the fucking bastards couldn’t do their own dirty work. Not even a unit’s success of taking them out helped ease the guilt.”
Nicole pushed hard against his snug embrace and looked up at him. “I’m sorry you have to live with that.” Her own experience allowed her to hurt for him.
Slade stood with her in his arms and took long strides to the hall, asking with rough gruffness, “Which room?”
“Second on the right.”
He dropped her on the bed, and they both stripped in haste and silence. Instead of coming together in frenzied need again, they took it slow – hands gliding over perspiration-damp flesh, lips taking turns suckling nipples, teeth sinking into sensitive, nerve-laden spots – stoking the fire until a blazing heat quickened the pace. Slade flipped her over, yanked her to her knees, and powered inside her quivering sheath until the inferno consumed them both. Nicole rolled over with a sigh and fell into a contented sleep, the first in countless months.
***
SLADE AWOKE ALONE THENfound Nicole outside with the dogs, a cup of coffee in one hand, deleting what appeared to be a text with the other. She glanced up at his approach, her cheeks rosy from the chilly air as she stuck the phone in her jacket pocket. He let her speak first, having a pretty good idea what was going on in that head of hers.
“You have to go. The contractors are coming. And Paul.”
He recognized the shield she put up as a defense mechanism against feelings she hadn’t plan for. Welcome to the club, sweetheart. The military taught him when to push forward and when to retreat. It didn’t sit well in this instance to go with the latter, but he won last night’s battle and wouldn’t push his luck when he intended to win the war.
“So I do.” He took the cup from her hand and drank, keeping his eyes on her as he handed it back. Leaning down, he kissed her, quick as he didn’t trust himself to stop there. “I’ll call.” Whistling for Chace, he didn’t give her the option to reply before pivoting and rounding the house to reach the truck.
Checking the time, Slade switched mental gears and drove straight to the barn where the guys were scheduled to work this morning. Normally, he enjoyed interacting with his employees, having developed an easy rapport and friendship with all except the college part-time hires. When he first hired them, he’d hoped one or two would stay on, fill vacancies he had kept open. Now, instead of offering them the full-time positions when they graduated, they would be lucky to hold on to their current employment or get a referral from him.
Chace followed him inside the barn and ran over to Evan for the attention he knew he would get. All four paused in stacking hay bales, Evan bending to rub Chace behind the ears, his dog’s favorite spot.
“None of you are stupid. You’re well aware we have a problem.” Hands on hips, he slid his glower from one to the other. “Enough, Evan. Pay attention, or I’ll dock your final pay for this morning’s time and kick you out now.”
Evan straightened, the fondness he always showed for Chace and the horses changing to the familiar belligerence he saved for him and his brothers. Slade should have recognized that red flag from the beginning, as well as a few other telltale clues, if his suspicions proved true.
“I’m done punishing you for poor behavior and work ethics. You’re not kids. Either you agree to switch your hours to working ten on Saturdays and six on Sunday afternoons, no more weekdays, no weekends off, or you’re fired.”
From the panic and anger on their shocked faces, they weren’t expecting such stern repercussions. Even though they now put in time on weekends, they rotated hours and days, leaving them plenty of time to party and study. Ten-hour days of physical labor were exhausting, even for younger people.
“That’s not fair,” Jeff protested then turned on Evan. “Didn’t you ask them to switch with us for tomorrow?” He pointed to Keith and Riley.
“I may have forgotten.” Evan surprised Slade when he said, “I’ll work alone Saturdays. Let them off.”
Guilt could work wonders, he mused, hearing the change from insolence to sincerity in Evan’s words. But until he got to the truth about the vandalism, he wouldn’t let him off the hook. “Put in your two hours this morning and finish stacking the hay. I’ll let you all know before next weekend.” He hoped the pressure of waiting for his friends’ fate would prompt him to come clean about everything else as he walked out.