One Lucky Vampire

Thirteen

“Joey?” Nicole said uncertainly as she spotted the man fuming outside of the guest bathroom. After Jake’s brief interruption, she’d dressed quickly, put her hair up in a ponytail and rushed out to find him, only to find her brother instead. “What are you doing here?”

Joey jerked around to peer at her. “There you are!”

Her eyebrows rose at his tone, and the way he rushed to her side. Grabbing her arm, he started to pull her across the room toward the stairs.

“Come on. I’m getting you out of this madhouse,” he said determinedly.

“What?” she asked on a startled laugh. “What are you talking about? What madhouse?”

“Nicole.” Joey paused and turned to face her with exasperation. “You missed our lunch without warning or even a courtesy call, which is completely unlike you. And then when I repeatedly call to speak to you, I get some woman and then these strange men answering and telling me you’re ill and couldn’t make it and don’t want to see me. Finally, I’ve had enough and come out here to check on you and you have two mob goons downstairs and your supposed cook/housekeeper is coming out of your bedroom as naked as the day he was born. Something weird is going on here. You need looking after and I’m taking you to our hotel until I sort it all out.”

Nicole stared at her brother weakly as his words poured over her. In all the excitement the last few days, she’d quite forgotten about her lunch with Joey. In fact, she’d forgotten all about him, and his being in town, and . . . well, just everything.

Or someone had helped her forget, she thought suddenly, but let that go. If Dante and Tomasso had blocked her brother from her memory, she knew exactly why they’d done it . . . and she understood. But she couldn’t explain it to Joey. He was a bit of a blabbermouth. Nicole didn’t think there was a secret the man had ever actually kept.

She also couldn’t explain Jake’s coming out of her bedroom buck naked. Or she didn’t want to, so Nicole settled on the one thing she could say in response to his long diatribe and assured him, “Dante and Tomasso are not mob goons.”

Apparently, it was the wrong approach to take. Joey’s mouth dropped open, snapped closed, and then he reached for his phone. “I’m calling Mom.”

“Joey,” she said on a sigh. “There’s no need for that. Look, just come have a cup of coffee and—” Nicole paused abruptly and peered around her brother toward Jake when the bathroom door opened and he came out. He wore baggy gray jogging pants and a T-shirt that was pretty tight. He also had bed-head and a day’s worth of growth on his face . . . and damn, but didn’t he look fine, Nicole thought, her knees going weak and mouth actually salivating as Jake met her glance.

In the next moment, he had crossed the room toward her like a moth to flame, and—completely ignoring, or oblivious to Joey’s presence—slid his arms around her and drew her against his chest as he laid one hell of a hot, wet kiss on her lips. Nicole was on the verge of wrapping her legs around the man and climbing him like a telephone pole when he broke the kiss and eased back to peer down at her.

It was only then that Nicole became aware of her brother’s protesting squawks.

“What the hell? Stop that! Get your hands off my sister! Nicole! Get away from him! I’m dialing Mom now!”

Nicole grimaced apologetically at Jake, then swiveled her head to peer at her brother. “I’m fine, Joey. There’s no need to call Mom.”

Joey glared at her, phone at the ready and breathing heavily. He then stepped closer and hissed by her ear, “We need to talk. Something isn’t right here. I want you to come with Melly and me. You can stay at our hotel with us until we get this straightened out.”

“Melly?” Nicole asked, glancing around. “Is she here?”

Even as she asked the question, Nicole spotted the beautiful redhead standing by the couch. It wasn’t hard to believe she was a model, Melly was gorgeous; large exotic eyes, a straight nose, full, pouty lips, flowing red hair and stick thin. The woman looked like she was born to walk the runways of Europe and grace magazine covers.

Nicole was suddenly very aware that she was dressed like a bum, completely makeup free, and that her hair was a damp mess stuffed into a ponytail. Damn, she thought, life could be so unfair at times. Pushing that thought away, she produced a perfectly sincere smile and crossed the room to greet the woman her brother loved.

“Hello, Melly. It’s so nice to meet you,” she said, taking the woman’s cold hand in her own and shaking it warmly.

“It’s Melanie,” the woman said, with a cool smile as she retrieved her hand. “Only Joey calls me Melly.”

“Oh.” Nicole smiled uncertainly, glanced toward the men and then turned to head for the kitchen. “I’ll put coffee on.”

“I don’t drink coffee,” Melly announced. “It ages you prematurely.”

“Well then I’ll put water on for tea,” Nicole said, moving a little more quickly.

“Tea is as bad as coffee,” Melly announced as if she should know that and added, “Just hot water with lemon for me.”

“Right,” Nicole said through her teeth as she escaped into the kitchen.

She only realized that Jake had followed her when he said, “I’ll make the coffee and put the kettle on. You go visit with your brother and Melly.”

Nicole grimaced. “I’ll just get out some of that cake I saw in the refrigerator earlier.”

“Cake?” Jake asked with surprise.

“Mmm-hmm. I think Marguerite bought it while she was here.” Grinning, she added, “She has a sweet tooth.”

“What kind of cake is it?” Jake asked with interest, moving over to peer into the fridge over her shoulder. “And why the hell didn’t I see it when I was making our snack?”

“It’s double chocolate,” Nicole answered, pulling out a large carton of orange juice, another of milk, and a couple of creamers to reveal the covered cake at the back of the refrigerator. “Because I hid it so the boys wouldn’t gobble it down. They have a tendency to inhale everything.”

“Yeah, they do. They were always like that,” Jake commented, stepping back to get out of the way as she pulled the cake out and turned to set it on the counter.

Nicole started to take the lid off, and then paused and frowned. “I suppose if she won’t drink coffee, Melly probably doesn’t eat sweets either.”

“Yeah, she does,” Jake assured her absently, his attention on the cake. “She plans to puke it back up afterward.”

“What?” Nicole turned to him with surprise.

“I read her mind,” he explained, glancing to her and then smiled crookedly and added, “She doesn’t know you’re serving chocolate cake, of course. But when you said you were putting on coffee, she hoped you would serve a sweet too. She’s starved, wants to gorge on two or three pieces, and then slip away to the bathroom and purge it to avoid the calories.”

“Geez,” Nicole muttered, peering at the cake. It seemed a terrible waste to feed it to Melly just to have her puke it up afterward. “Maybe I won’t put it out.”

“Good. Save it for later. We can watch a movie and eat cake,” Jake said with a grin.

Nicole smiled faintly, but then her expression turned serious and she said, “Please don’t read Joey and Melly while they’re here, Jake. It’s kind of rude.”

His grin died slowly and he nodded. “You’re right. I hated it when my mother and the others read me. I shouldn’t do it. I’ll try not to.”

“Thank you,” she murmured, reaching out to place a hand on his chest to balance herself as she leaned up to press a kiss to his cheek. At least, she meant to kiss his cheek, but he turned his head at the last moment so that her lips landed on his.

“Is that chocolate cake?” Joey said behind them just as their lips brushed across each other’s.

It was probably a good thing, Nicole admitted as she turned to smile and nod at her brother. The way Jake affected her, she very well might have tried to climb him right here in the kitchen.

“Good,” Joey said grimly. “Chocolate is Melly’s favorite.”

“Oh, that’s nice,” Nicole murmured with a sigh. It looked like she was serving it after all. Forcing a smile, she suggested, “Go sit down and relax, Joey. We’ll be out in just a minute with coffee and cake . . . and water and lemon,” she added quickly when he frowned. Truly, it had just slipped her mind.

“You’re right. We shouldn’t leave Melly alone. It’s rude,” Joey said with forced cheer. “Besides, you should get to know her. She’s going to be your sister-in-law someday.”

“Oh—” Nicole glanced to Jake.

“Jake will bring out the coffee and cake when it’s ready,” Joey added grimly and then arched an eyebrow and added, “That’s what he’s here for, isn’t it?”

Annoyance slid through Nicole at the comment. Jake was more than just a cook/housekeeper to her now, but she wasn’t sure just what that more included yet. However, Dante and Tomasso’s talk had convinced her to give this . . . whatever this was, a chance.

“Then he can come back in the kitchen and cook or clean or whatever while we visit,” Joey added firmly and Nicole felt herself stiffen.

“Actually, then he can visit with us so that you can get to know him,” she said sharply, and then mimicked him, adding, “You never know, he might be your brother-in-law some day.”

The minute the words were out of her mouth, Nicole wanted to pull them back in. Jake had stiffened behind her, and Joey looked horrified, but no more than herself. She’d said them out of anger . . . but they were too much. She’d agreed to give Jake a chance, not accept him as a life mate. She wasn’t ready for—

“Go visit with your brother,” Jake said quietly, his hand landing on her shoulder and squeezing gently before he urged her forward. “I’ll bring everything out when it’s ready.”

When Nicole glanced over her shoulder to him uncertainly, he smiled reassuringly and nodded her on. Letting her breath out on a sigh, Nicole followed when her brother turned sharply and strode out of the kitchen.

Melly was lounging on the couch, and lounging was the only description; she looked like she was posing for an ad for some exotic tropical resort. Nicole smiled at the girl, but before she could say anything, Joey caught her arm and pulled her close.

“What’s going on, Nicole?” he asked in a low, worried voice. “When I arrived just a couple days ago, Jake had just started on as your cook/housekeeper and you hardly knew him. Now he might be my new brother-in-law? What’s going on? Has he drugged you? Hypnotized you? Are they holding you hostage and forcing you to say this stuff?”

Nicole sighed and shook her head. “I didn’t mean that, Joey. I was just annoyed that you were treating him so badly.”

“He was naked and coming out of your room,” he pointed out grimly. “You aren’t the type to sleep with someone you barely know. And they haven’t been letting me speak to you. Something isn’t right here, and I’m worried. Please tell me what’s going on. I’m your big brother. I want to help you.”

Nicole relaxed and gave him a hug. “And I appreciate that. Thank you.” Pulling back she added, “But really, everything’s fine.” When he didn’t look convinced, she added, “There are some weird things going on, and Jake, Dante and Tomasso are trying to help me.”

“And Jake’s coming out of your room naked?” he asked.

Nicole opened her mouth, closed it, and then shook her head, aware that she was blushing. She also couldn’t help noticing that he hadn’t asked what weird things were going on . . . which she found a bit weird.

“You are sleeping with him,” Jake accused with amazement.

“Look, this is—really, I—we’re being rude to Melly,” she said desperately.

“Nicki, this isn’t good. You haven’t fully got over Rodolfo. I don’t want to see you hurt again,” Joey said quietly.

Nicole shook her head. She really didn’t want to get hurt again either, but after getting over her humiliation at knowing that Dante and Tomasso were the ones who had put her and Jake to bed after they’d passed out in the shower, Nicole had sought the men out and asked them to tell her about life mates. They’d said that life mates were made for each other. That Jake would never cheat on her, never hurt her, and never abuse her because he couldn’t risk losing her. That losing her could very well mean losing his sanity and humanity and going rogue. She didn’t understand how that could be the case, but those promises were tempting and—

“Nicki?” Joey said with a frown. “I really—”

“We’re being rude to Melly,” Nicole interrupted, and this time followed it up by moving away and settling on the couch to offer the other woman a smile. She didn’t want to discuss this with Joey. She didn’t want to think about it at all. She was giving Jake a chance and that was that. The only other thing she could do was pray that Dante and Tomasso were right, everything would work out, and she wouldn’t get hurt again.

“Well,” she said with forced cheer, smiling at Melly. “Joey tells me you’re a model, Melanie.”

“Yes.”

Nicole hesitated, but when she didn’t add anything else, said, “That must be exciting?”

“Yes.”

Again, the girl didn’t follow up with any experiences or how it was exciting. She didn’t seem to grasp the concept of a conversation. Person A spoke and then person B responded . . . with more than a flat “yes.” Or she just couldn’t be bothered, Nicole supposed, and glanced to her brother for help.

That was a mistake. Rather than help get his girlfriend talking, he went right back to the conversation they’d been having, and hissed, “I’m worried about you.”

“I’m fine, Joey, really,” she assured him with a touch of exasperation. He was like a dog with a bone.

“But they said you were sick when I called,” Joey said with a frown. “Were you? Or were they just not letting me talk to you? If they’re making you do something you don’t want, or are here against your wishes, Nicki, we can leave now and—”

“No, no,” Nicole assured him quickly. “It’s nothing like that. They—I—” She blew her breath out on a sigh. Either she told him that Dante and Tomasso and whoever the woman was who’d answered one of his calls had lied, which would just freak him out further, or she lied to him now. As much as she hated to do it, her lying now seemed the best option to calm him down. Joey was already freaked out and suspicious, unreasonably so and she had to wonder what Dante or Tomasso had said or done to cause it.

“I’m fine now, but I wasn’t . . . myself the last few days.” Nicole smiled as she finished that, proud of herself. She hadn’t had to lie, after all. She really hadn’t been fully herself while Marguerite, Dante and Tomasso had been playing with her head.

Joey frowned. “Well, what was wrong? Was it the flu, or what?”

“Oh, just some—” she waved vaguely, and finished, “thing. I’m fine now though.”

“And these men who are here?” Joey asked.

“You know who Jake is, and Dante and Tomasso are his cousins. They’re visiting from out of town. Jake was very sick for several days and they came to make sure he was all right.”

“He was sick too?” Joey asked with surprise.

“He was very sick,” she assured him.

“With what?” Joey asked suspiciously.

“He had a bad reaction to the chemicals in the hot tub,” she said, and then frowned and murmured, “Which reminds me, I need to get someone in to empty, clean, and refill it.”

“I’m bored.”

Nicole glanced to Melly with a start at that announcement.

“I want to leave,” she added, and Nicole was sure her jaw dropped to the floor. The woman made the announcement like she was some royal princess and expected everyone to start jumping to please her . . . which Joey did. Much to Nicole’s amazement, her sometimes selfish and annoying brother was immediately on his feet, and moving to take her hand to help her up.

“Okay, we’ll go, baby,” he said soothingly.

Nicole stood uncertainly, eyes wide. “But Jake is making coffee and—”

“I don’t drink coffee,” Melly reminded her.

“Well, he’s boiling water for you,” Nicole said grimly.

“I don’t care. I want to leave.” Melly said simply and then turned to Joey and demanded imperiously, “Take me shopping, Joey.”

“Of course,” he said quickly, taking her arm to usher her to the stairs. “I’ll buy you something shiny and pretty.”

“And expensive. It should be expensive to make up for this,” Melly informed him.

“Of course,” Joey assured her.

Nicole stared after them with amazement as the couple descended the stairs out of sight. She couldn’t believe what she’d just seen and heard. Good God—

“She must give one hell of a blow job.”

Nicole jumped and turned at that dry comment from Jake. He stood behind her, hands on hips, a disgusted look on his face. Eyes wide with amazement, Nicole asked, “What?”

He shrugged, his mouth twisting. “Well, it’s true. She must be beyond amazing in bed for Joey to put up with that crap. She’s a bitch and he grovels and panders to her like a peasant in the presence of a queen.”

“Yes,” Nicole agreed on a sigh, glancing out the large front window as Joey ushered Melly to his car in the driveway. “She’s perfectly horrid.”

“Hmm.” Jake nodded, watching the couple as well. They both simply stood there, silently watching until Joey had Melly in the car, got in himself, and backed out of the driveway. As the car drove out of sight along the road, Jake announced, “The coffee should be done and the cake is sliced up. Want some?”

“Oh yeah,” Nicole said with feeling, turning to lead the way into the kitchen.

“I cut four slices,” he commented. “I thought slices rather than bringing the cake out would help prevent Melly from eating three or four slices to purge.”

“I guess we’ll just have to have two slices each,” Nicole said, brightening somewhat. Chocolate always helped, and she suspected it would take two slices to help rid her of the bad taste in her mouth. She couldn’t believe Joey was with that horrible woman. Melly was rude, and arrogant and—Really, Nicole couldn’t think of a single nice thing to say about the woman . . . except, “She’s beautiful.”

“She would be if she kept her mouth shut,” Jake responded dryly as he fetched two cups and began to pour coffee. Then he added, “Actually, no that’s not true. She’d have to stop thinking too. I was trying not to listen, but could hear her thoughts plain as day and not one of them was pleasant. What she actually said was the cream of the crop. That was just selfish stuff. The rest was nasty, critical crap.”

Nicole tore her gaze away from the four plates with cake on them that sat on a tray on the kitchen counter, and peered at Jake curiously. “You were trying not to listen? You make it sound like her thoughts are a radio playing. Don’t you have to actually read people’s thoughts?”

“Sometimes,” he said with a shrug. “It’s different with different people. It’s—” He stopped, frowning as he carried the coffees to the table. Nicole suspected he was trying to figure out how to explain it and waited patiently. As she did, she picked up two of the plates, grabbed a couple of forks and followed Jake. They were seated and fixing their coffees with cream and sugar before he continued.

“Okay, close your eyes and imagine you’re in a room full of people. At an art show maybe, a big art show and everyone is standing around talking,” he said.

Nicole took her spoon out of her coffee, set it on the edge of her plate and closed her eyes. The scene he suggested immediately sprang up in her mind. A room full of people, drinks in hand, circulating, talking, laughing . . .

“Now, hear their voices. Some are louder than others, right? I mean you can stand in the middle of the room and while most of the talking is just an indistinguishable murmur, you can catch bits of conversation from others more clearly. There’s a sudden burst of laughter to your right. Someone to your left is saying in a high, distressed voice, “Oh my God, I can’t believe he did that to me.” Behind you a sharp angry voice is saying, “What a bitch.” Someone else is telling a joke in a too-loud voice that’s clear as a bell above the rabble and so on.”

“Okay,” Nicole murmured when he fell silent. She could picture the whole scene pretty clearly, and imagine the conversations.

“Well, that’s what it’s like for me with people’s thoughts,” he explained. “Most of the time, when I’m out in public, there’s a constant buzz of people’s thoughts and to actually hear a specific person’s thoughts I have to focus on them, block out everything else and concentrate on what they are thinking. That’s reading them.”

Nicole nodded slowly.

“But,” he added, “There are other people out there, who think more loudly than others, or whose thoughts are sharp and distinguishable from the general rabble. For them you actually have to try to block their thoughts, but it’s like plugging your ears when someone’s shouting at you, it usually still gets through.”

“And Melly is a shouter with her thoughts?” Nicole asked, finding this information fascinating.

Jake grimaced and nodded. “Her thoughts are deafening. I couldn’t even hear the murmur of Joey’s thoughts with hers screaming at me.”

Nicole picked up her coffee and took a sip, thinking about what he’d said and then she frowned. “It sounds . . . noisy,” she finished, but wasn’t satisfied with the word. “I mean, you’re saying that not only do you hear actual sounds when you’re out in the world—and all of them since you say your hearing is superior—but there’s also the constant hum of people’s thoughts?”

“Unless I’m alone,” Jake said, and then added, “Or alone with you.”

Right, he couldn’t read her, she thought.

“That’s one of the reasons why a life mate is so special,” he said quietly. “To avoid the constant barrage of sound and thoughts, an unmated immortal has to isolate themselves and too much isolation can lead to an immortal going rogue. But an immortal with a life mate can find peace while still enjoying their company. They don’t have to isolate themselves, and the peace they find with that life mate recharges their batteries and allows them to better handle being out in the noisy world. A life mate is soothing.”

“I see,” Nicole whispered, and she did. She now understood how a life mate would be special. But she grinned suddenly and teased, “So I’m kind of like a tranquilizer for you.”

Jake blinked with surprise, whether at the suggestion or because he was surprised to find it true, she didn’t know. But then his eyes began to glow and he admitted, “Kind of. But more a cross between a tranquilizer and Viagra.”

Nicole felt her face flush. It wasn’t with embarrassment. She recognized that silver glow in his eyes. The more passion he experienced, the stronger the silver was in his eyes. She didn’t know why that was, but was aware of it and knew his thoughts had shifted to more carnal matters. And that knowledge had her own thoughts heading in that direction as well. Her body was beginning to tingle, her nipples were hardening, and the familiar dampness was growing between her legs.

Damn, all he had to do was look at her and she got wet . . . like some upside-down version of Pavlov’s dogs, Nicole thought.

“The chocolate cake is good,” Jake said suddenly.

Blinking, Nicole glanced down at her cake. She hadn’t even tried it yet.

“But you taste better,” Jake added.

Nicole stilled, and then slowly raised her head to peer at him. Oh yeah, his eyes were on fire now . . . and so was she. How the hell did that happen so fast? No kissing, touching, nothing. Just a couple words and she was ready to go.

Jake picked up his plate and coffee and carried them to the island, then returned to stand beside her. Nicole tipped her head back, expecting him to kiss her, but instead he caught her chair and turned it so she faced him. He then scooped her up and set her on the table where his cake had been moments ago.

“These have to go,” Jake announced, reaching for the button of her jeans. “You should wear skirts and dresses,” he added conversationally as he slid the button free and started on the zipper. “It would make things much easier.”

“I’ll have to buy some,” Nicole said breathlessly as he slid the zipper down.

Jake woke up slumped at the kitchen table, his head in Nicole’s lap, exactly where he’d been when he’d passed out. Damn, this life-mate sex was intense, he thought, sitting up and giving his head a shake to try to wake up fully. Pounding and the sound of some power tool caught his attention, and he glanced toward the kitchen door, but the sound seemed to be coming from the main floor.

Wondering what was going on, he started to stand, but then paused as his gaze fell on Nicole again. She was flat on her back on the tabletop, bare from the waist down and legs spread, knees on either side of him and dead to the world. Despite having just woken up from a post-coital fainting spell, the sight was tempting. Although, it hadn’t really been coitus, he supposed. Maybe he should move on to that now, Jake thought, his hands sliding up her legs of their own accord.

A smile curved his lips and he began to harden when Nicole shifted on the tabletop and murmured sleepily in response to his touch. The idea of waking her with kisses, pulling her to the edge of the table and sliding into her warm welcoming body grew in his head, and Jake’s erection grew with it. Damn, even when unconscious and drooling, the woman was the sexiest thing he’d ever seen.

“Jake?”

Head shooting toward the door, he quickly stepped away from Nicole and rushed to the entry to peer into the living room. Dante was just stepping off the step, heading toward him.

Jake was about to ask him to stop where he was when Dante did so on his own and announced, “Just a heads-up. Those workers you called in to take care of the pictures are done downstairs and ready to start up here.”

“Oh.” That explained the noise, Jake thought, glancing over his shoulder to Nicole.

“I’ll tell them to give you two minutes,” Dante said turning back to the stairs before adding, “That way you can wake Nicole and get her dressed before they come up.”

Jake’s eyes shot back to the man, but he was already out of sight on the stairs.

“And that is why living with immortals who can read you is a pain in the ass,” Jake muttered, turning back into the kitchen. His cousin must have read his mind to know Nicole wasn’t dressed. That or he’d already been up here before this and had actually seen it, Jake thought and scowled harder. He really needed to remember to make sure they were somewhere private before jumping Nicole. The problem was, he found it hard to think when she was near. His brain seemed to have one mode right now and that was the “Let’s get Nicole naked and . . .” mode. The part after the getting her naked changed with the situation, but it always involved getting her naked. Though he didn’t even seem to be able to accomplish that fully, most times. Out of the four interludes so far, she’d been completely naked only once.

Jake didn’t wake Nicole, he merely scooped her up and carried her out of the kitchen to the bedroom. But by the time he set her on the bed she was stirring.

“Hi,” he said softly when she opened her eyes as he straightened.

“Hi.” She smiled uncertainly.

“We had to vacate the kitchen. Workers were about to invade,” Jake explained.

“Workers?” Nicole asked, sitting up and peering around with a frown. “Where are my jeans?”

“Oh, crap. Hang on,” he muttered and hurried back to the kitchen to retrieve her jeans and panties from the kitchen floor. Men were just coming into sight on the stairs as he hurried back through the living room. Jake slipped back into the master bedroom and then paused. Nicole wasn’t on the bed anymore. He relaxed when he heard the water turn on in the bathroom, and then set her jeans and panties on the bed and slid out of the room again to head to the bathroom outside his own room.

Jake quickly relieved himself and washed his face and hands, then headed out to investigate what had been done in the house so far. He nodded in passing at the men working in the loft living room and then hurried down the large, open winding staircase to the main floor. Dante and Tomasso were settled one on each of the couches in this larger living room, working on two large pizzas that lay open on the coffee table between them. An action movie was playing on the big-screen TV at the end of the room.

“Pizza?” Dante offered, lifting the box closest to him for Jake to consider its contents.

“No. Thanks,” Jake murmured, his gaze moving to the sliding glass doors next to the big screen. Through it he could see a man standing beside the hot tub, watching a pump spit water out into a large open barrel.

“Did you remind him that the water’s poisonous?” Jake asked, eyeing the man. He’d warned him when he’d called, but people sometimes didn’t listen.

“Yeah. He’s wearing protective gear and that’s why it’s going in the barrel. He brought several of them to take the water away. He said it probably wasn’t a good thing just to pump it out onto the grass and let the ground soak it up,” Dante told him and then asked, “When the hell did you call these guys? I thought you were so busy with Nicole you wouldn’t think of it. I was going to make the calls myself.”

“While I was making coffee when Joey and his girlfriend were here,” Jake answered. He’d put the coffee on and quickly made the calls. Quick as he’d been, Jake had barely finished when he’d heard Melly announcing that she wanted to leave. He glanced to Dante and Tomasso now. “She was something else, huh?”

“A bitch,” Tomasso rumbled.

“Couldn’t get away from her quick enough,” Dante said dryly. “Nicole’s brother is an idiot to put up with her. She doesn’t care about him. All she’s thinking about is what he can give her.”

“Yeah.” Jake grimaced, but then shrugged. “He’ll figure it out soon enough.

“You don’t think we should give him a heads-up?” Tomasso asked.

“I don’t think he’d appreciate it,” Jake said mildly, recalling his own resentment when they’d given him much the same message about his fiancée years ago. “Besides, how would you explain knowing?”

Dante and Tomasso both merely nodded, and then glanced past him and smiled.

Glancing over his shoulder, Jake found himself smiling as well. Nicole was coming down the stairs. She’d changed her clothes, put on some makeup, and her hair now flowed in soft golden waves around her shoulders. She was also carrying her purse.

“Where are we going?” he asked with a grin, moving to meet her at the foot of the stairs.

“I’m going shopping,” she answered lightly and then blushed and added, “For skirts and dresses.”

“Sounds great,” Jake said with a grin, and turned to lead the way to the coat closet. And it did sound great. The skirts and dresses had been his suggestion after all and he was thinking about how much easier things would be if she were wearing them instead of jeans. All he’d have to do was lift her skirt and—

“You don’t want to come with me,” Nicole protested as she followed him to the closet. “You’d be bored to tears.”

Pausing, Jake turned to face her and said quietly, “You can’t go alone, Nicole. Remember? Your—”

“Oh, right, right,” she said with annoyance. “Someone’s trying to kill me.”

Jake frowned. It seemed while she would now admit someone was out to kill her, Nicole still wouldn’t admit it was her soon to be ex-husband. Did that mean she still loved him? She’d claimed she didn’t, but then why was she so resistant to acknowledging that he was the only one who would benefit?

“Do you want us to come with you?” Dante asked. “Follow at a distance, maybe, reconnoiter the area and see if anyone follows the two of you?”

“Oh, this is ridiculous,” Nicole said with frustration, turning to head for the stairs. “Never mind. I won’t go shopping.”

“No, wait.” Jake hurried after her, grabbing her arm to stop her at the foot of the stairs. “We’ll go, just the two of us. It’s fine. Besides, I want to help you pick them out . . . and change in and out of them,” he added, his voice deepening.

Nicole hesitated, but then smiled crookedly and shook her head. “You’re a pervert.”

“I am,” he acknowledged. “For you.”

“Yeah.” She sighed. “And the sad thing is, I’m a pervert for you right now too.” Shaking her head, she moved past him and back toward the closet again.

Jake grinned at winning the mini battle, and then turned to Dante and Tomasso. Smile fading, he nodded solemnly.

Both men nodded back, equally solemnly, and Jake followed Nicole to the closet to get his coat. The twins would follow at a distance and keep an eye out while ensuring Nicole had no idea. What she didn’t know wouldn’t hurt her . . . and might just save her life.