For The Love Of Nick

“I converted the third bathroom into a darkroom eons ago. I’ll just be down the hall if you need me.”

“Nick-”

“Hold that thought.”

He didn’t want to be thanked. Well, fine. But then he needed to stop putting her in his debt. That wouldn’t happen until she left.

She’d go back to being alone. Back to her bone-weariness and fear. She’d go, and as quickly as she could.

She’d go, mostly because an inexplicable part of her didn’t want to.

WHEN NICK EMERGED from the darkroom, everything was silent. Far too silent for having a monster of a dog in the house. Curious, he walked through the living room to the kitchen.

Empty.

And clean, he noticed. She’d put everything away, including the bowl Sadie had used.

His deck was empty, too, and his heart picked up speed as he went back into the living room. If she’d left-

Stopping in front of the couch that he hadn’t even glanced at before, he let out a rough sigh, then squatted down to peer into Danielle’s face.

Her eyes were closed, of course, her lashes long and dark against her skin that was so pale it was nearly translucent. Her hair tumbled over shoulders that looked too thin and vulnerable to be carrying such troubles. In her sleep, she let out a soft sigh, a whimper really.

“Shh,” he whispered, and at the sound of his voice, she relaxed.

And just like that, his heart took a tumble. Almost on their own, his fingers lifted to scoop her hair from her face.

A low growl stopped him.

“Yeah, yeah,” he murmured, not even glancing at the dog who lay at his feet. “I know. She’s yours.”

“I’m no one’s.” Danielle’s eyes opened, though not another inch of her moved. “I wasn’t sleeping,” she said defensively.

“Of course not,” he said easily, still sitting on his haunches, his face only inches from hers. “Because that would be resting your body, which, by the way, needs it desperately.”

“Did you develop the film?”

“If I say yes, are you leaving?”

“I need to.”

“Uh-huh.”

She sat up and pushed her hair from her face. “That was a loaded ‘uh-huh.”’

“Was it?”

“With a ‘you’re not rested’ in it. With a ‘you need a plan’ and an ‘I don’t think you’re being smart about this whole thing’ added in.”

He smiled, even though when she shifted, their knees brushed together. He could imagine her legs smooth and silky against his rougher ones. “You sure heard a lot in that one uh-huh.” He put his hand over hers. “Stay tonight, Danielle. Sleep in my bed. Alone-” he added when her eyes narrowed. “Get the sleep you need, get some more food in your system and your brain will be so much clearer for it.”

“What about your date?”

“You heard me cancel it.”

“Yes. I’m…sorry about that.”

“Funny.” He studied her even features. “You don’t look sorry. You look tired, and maybe a little out of sorts-”

“Gee, thanks-”

“But not sorry, not in the least.”

“Well, I wasn’t jealous or anything.” Her cute little nose thrust in the air high enough to give her a nosebleed. “Your time is certainly your own.”

“Certainly.” He bit back his grin and reached out, stroking a thumb over her arm, playing with the material of her shirt at the shoulder, then under, touching even more skin. Oh yeah, he liked her skin, and the way her breath hitched. He liked that very much.

“You could be having much more fun right this minute,” she said a little shakily. “I bet she…would have… well.”

“Maybe I didn’t want to…well,” he said, mocking her. “Not with her.”

“Any man with blood in his body would have wanted to.”

“Not me. Stay, Danielle.”

Her eyes locked on his, wide and searching. “I’ll still have to get out of town in the morning.”

“Yes.” He surged to his feet, pulling her up with him. She staggered a bit, and because he was a male, and a weak one at that, his hands nudged her and she fell against him.

He held her close, and amazingly enough, she let him, even leaned on him, just for a moment.

Then she pulled free, ran a self-conscious hand down her hair and avoided his gaze.

“Here.” He took her down the hall and showed her the bathroom. “Take a shower if you’d like.” She looked so grateful and anxious to do just that, it hurt to even look at her. “Then…” He opened his bedroom door, wincing slightly because he hadn’t made his bed or cleaned up his clothes from yesterday, which were scattered across the floor. Kicking as many as he could beneath the bed, he jerked up the sheet and blanket, and caught her smiling. “What?”

“You really weren’t going to bring your date back here.”

“Of course not,” he said. Muffy-Molly, damn it, Molly had offered her place. Not that it would have mattered. He’d never felt the need to change anything about himself or his house for others.

Though it didn’t escape him that if he’d known Danielle was going to be sleeping in his room, he definitely would have cleaned it.

Danielle laughed and, feeling a little left out as that laughter was clearly aimed at him, he put his hands on his hips and cocked a brow. “What’s so funny now?”

“It’s just that I pictured the two of you…”

“Pictured us…?”

Her face went a little pink. “She’s so pretty, you know, and wearing that dress, I thought you’d-”

“Drag her back here and ravish her?”

“Yes.” She shrugged and didn’t meet his gaze. “Yes. Exactly.”

She’d pictured that? It must have been quite explicit, given the color on her cheeks. Still, Nick had to admit, there might have been plenty of ravishing going on, if Danielle hadn’t come along.

But she had, and now he couldn’t even imagine being with Molly tonight, which disturbed him.

“Here.” From his drawer, he pulled a pair of sweats and a T-shirt. “If you need fresh clothes to sleep in.”

She hugged the clothes to her chest and stared at him with those gray eyes that fifteen years ago he would have happily drowned in.

But he was older now. Wiser. She shouldn’t have still gotten to him.

And yet she did, in a big way. “Good night,” he said gruffly, pushing past her.

But when he got to the door, she called his name.

Not wanting to look back, badly needing to escape, he put his hand on the wood and reluctantly stopped. Slowly he turned, catching her dark gaze. “Yeah?”

“I don’t want to take your bed. Please, Nick, the couch is more than fine.”

She had the same look on her face that she’d had at her prom. Surprise that he cared. Had so few people cared? It made his throat ache. “Take the bed.”

“Nick-”

“Take the bed,” he repeated, and shut the door.

Then he did as he did whenever he needed to clear his head; he went for a long, punishing run.

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