Tricks Read online

  It was a fever inside me.

  She was turning into a fever, one that ached, burned, pulsed inside my blood, inside my bones.

  I pushed my thigh higher, and she clamped down on my leg, all but riding me now, her hips undulating against my muscles, and my brain went into a slow meltdown. Her body had gone tight – she was getting close. I could feel it, all but taste it in her kiss.

  I had worked my arm around her waist, and now, I slid my hand under her shirt, seeking out the soft, supple skin there.

  No sooner had I touched her than she broke away.

  She pushed against my chest, and I let go.

  She stared at me with huge eyes, the irises dark as moss, her chest rising and falling as if she’d just finished running a race. Her lips were red, swollen from mine, and her cheeks were flushed. She’d looked like that yesterday, when I’d pulled her panties down and put my mouth on her.

  I bet she’d look like that when I had her wrapped around my cock too.

  I was ready to find out.

  The impulse to open the office back up and pull her inside was strong, and I probably would have given into it.

  Except Ravenna backed up a step.

  She closed her eyes and shook her head, and as I watched, she smoothed both hands back over her hair. Those hands were shaking.

  That realization only made my cock ache even more.

  She was shaking with want of me.

  “Ravenna…”

  She shook her head again and backed up another step.

  I took one toward her, and she turned on her heel and took off running down the alley.

  What the hell…

  Sixteen

  Ravenna

  What in the hell were you thinking?

  That quiet voice went off inside my head easily a dozen times on the way home – as I practically ran home.

  I’d gone over there to try and smooth things over, or at least offer some sort of explanation, but I’d frozen.

  I’d taken one look at him, and I’d frozen.

  All the words I’d mentally rehearsed had just flown right out of my head, and instead of talking to him, all I could think about was kissing him again, feeling that hard body against my own, tasting him, touching him…

  Now I’d gone and monumentally screwed everything up.

  Or at least, I was pretty sure I had.

  Once I was inside my apartment, I braced my back against the door and closed my eyes, trying to clear my mind.

  It didn’t work.

  What happened was that I felt him kissing me all over again.

  His hand cupping the back of my neck, his mouth on mine, his tongue rubbing against mine. The fingers he’d slid under my shirt stroking my back. The way his thighs rubbed against mine and how it felt when he pressed his hips insistently against mine, then shoved his muscled leg between my thighs until I was riding him.

  I flashbacked to the day before when I felt his skin against my own, when he’d stripped my jeans and panties down and slid his hand between my thighs. How I’d worked his clothes out of the way and wrapped my hand around his cock.

  Years of not feeling much of anything when it came to men and sex, and now this?

  Sure, I’d had urges – who didn’t? But I’d always been able to deal with them on my own.

  Trying to deal with this on my own would be like trying to fight a wildfire with a water bucket.

  “Way to go, Sinclair,” I muttered to myself. Opening my eyes, I stared out into my dim, quiet apartment without really seeing anything. I’d gone over there to make sure I hadn’t wrecked things, and I’d probably botched them more than ever.

  And I couldn’t even explain why. I had no idea what I had been thinking – or maybe I hadn’t been thinking. One look at him and my brain had pretty much shut down.

  Heat still suffused my veins, and it had nothing to do with how fast I’d moved to get away from him.

  “You’ve got to stop doing this,” I muttered to myself. Shoving off the door, I headed into my bedroom.

  Since I couldn’t order my brain to cooperate, I was going to do the next best thing – throttle it into submission via exhaustion. Sometimes, that was the only way.

  Thirty minutes on the treadmill didn’t do much of anything to cure me of what ailed me.

  Neither did a good forty-five minutes of free weights.

  It wasn’t until I got my gloves from my bag and sequestered myself in one of the areas with a punching bag that I felt some of the tension drain away. Maybe I should have called one of my brothers. Aaron or Malcolm would have come, and after I refused to tell them what was bugging me, they’d leave me alone, and we could just pound away on each other for a while.

  The heavy bag wasn’t quite the same as going at it with somebody one on one. It was doing more to clear my head than the treadmill or weights had, though.

  I slammed my fist into the solid, heavy weight and felt the impact of it sing up my arm. Backing away, I pivoted and drove a sidekick into the bag, followed by a reverse elbow as the bag came swinging toward me. I moved into another combination, my breathing came in hard, regular pants while my heart pounded a heavy rhythm.

  It felt good.

  I should have come here instead of going over to Nicco’s to begin with. If I’d come here, I could have gotten my thoughts together, thought things through.

  Instead, I’d done something stupid.

  So, you’ll fix it.

  I rammed my knee into the bag.

  How I’d fix it, I didn’t know. But there would be a way.

  Another sidekick.

  There was always a way to fix things.

  Moving in closer to the bag, I started to hammer it with a series of punches and jabs, the rhythm coming easy.

  “I can’t help but wonder if you’re imagining that’s a person instead of a heavy bag.”

  The familiar voice behind me had me spinning around.

  Nicco stood there in a button-down shirt a few shades darker than his eyes, head cocked.

  “It’s not you,” I said shortly, sweat pouring down my temples. “If that’s what you’re wondering.”

  “Good to hear.” He moved a few steps closer, eying me up and down. “Looks like you’ve been at it for a while.”

  Instead of responding, I asked, “How did you know where to find me?”

  “Well, first I tried the 831. Somebody heard me asking about you, told me if you weren’t hanging with your brothers, I might find you here.” A cool smile touched his lips. “I might have stretched the truth a bit and told him I had information about somebody you’d been asking about.”

  “And do you?”

  He shrugged, wide shoulders stretching at the material of his dress shirt. “Who knows? But I thought it was maybe time we…talked.”

  Turning back to the bag, I drove another fist into it. “If you want to talk to me, it’ll have to be while I work out.”

  He circled around me once as I pummeled the bag. From the corner of my eye, I saw him as he came to a stop. “I can handle that. I’ll be back in a few minutes.”

  I glanced at him as he headed off back through the gym but didn’t let myself wonder about what he might be doing or where he might be going. Focusing back on the bag, I unloaded on it again, trying to channel all the emotions he churned up in me out onto that bag.

  Minutes ticked by.

  He still wasn’t back.

  I figured if he wasn’t there in ten, I’d call it a day. I was going to be crazy sore tomorrow anyway. Even if I soaked in a hot bath tonight, it wouldn’t help much.

  Sweat dripped from my forehead to splash down on my chest.

  My lungs burned.

  The chain on the bag clinked as I slammed it with a roundhouse then planted my feet and spun around to deliver a heel kick.

  From the corner of my eye, I caught sight of Nicco.

  Pausing, I slammed a hand on the bag to still its movement and eyed him. Well, I knew why he’d taken so long. H
e carried a gym bag in his hands, and as if he could feel me watching him, he lifted a hand and waved at me on his way to the men’s changing room.

  “What’s this shit?” I muttered. Walking away from the bag, I grabbed my water bottle and half drained it as I leaned against the railing.

  Less than five minutes later, Nicco was back there with me. He looked completely biteable in a pair of skin-skimming work-out shorts…damn…and a loose tank top that revealed sculpted arms and shoulders.

  “I didn’t know you belonged to this gym.”

  “I don’t.” He jerked a shoulder in a shrug. “I requested a temporary pass. Most gyms allow a guest to work out a few times before committing.” He eyed me narrowly and added in a heated voice, “So far, I see several benefits over my current gym.”

  I fought not to blush, but it was a losing battle.

  He gestured to the mats on the other side of the bags. “You want to keep working out. Fine. How about we spar?”

  I eyed him up and down. He was lean and muscled, but that didn’t mean much. “I take it you’ve sparred before?”

  His only answer was a slow smile.

  It was answer enough. There was so much confidence in that smile, I already wanted to make him eat his words – and he hadn’t even said anything.

  “Alright,” I said. “But I’m not going to take it easy on you.”

  Seventeen

  Nicco

  She eyed me with unreadable eyes as I pulled my gloves on. “Any rules?” she asked.

  “The normal…nothing above the neck or below the belt.” I gave her a quick smile. “If you’re really dying to go below the belt, there are a few ways I might be okay with it.”

  “Cute.” She curled her lip at me and moved in my direction. “Light contact?”

  “Yes.” I’d seen her pummeling that bag and had a feeling she could more than handle herself, but light contact suited me.

  We met in the middle of the mat, and she sketched out a quick bow, looking surprised when I returned it. “What did you study?” she asked.

  “Karate, a little Krav Maga.” She fell into a relaxed fighting stance, hands up and ready, but there was little tension in her body.

  She looked fluid, ready to move…sexy as hell.

  “Tae Kwon Do, Krav Maga, and some judo.” She cocked a brow.

  “If you want to get down on the mat and wrestle, let me know.”

  “Are we here to talk or make sexual innuendo?” she asked, her cheeks going pink on me.

  “It was a serious offer.” I was lying through my teeth and judging by the look on her face, she knew it. I beckoned for her to come on, and she started to circle around me.

  We were both waiting on the other.

  “What do you want to know about my father?”

  She blinked, a bit of surprise flickering across her features. “Is that what you want to talk about?”

  “Among other things.” I faked a jab.

  She didn’t fall for it, simply backing out of the way.

  “He’s has some trouble with the law before. Did you know that?”

  I barked out a laugh. “Some trouble? That’s putting it mildly.”

  “So, you’re aware.” She eased in with a feint.

  I didn’t fall for it, but she brought up her leg in a front kick that she quickly snapped into a roundhouse. It stopped a bare inch from the side of my head, and she smiled at me.

  “Point to you.” Circling the other way, I nodded in response to her question. “Marks has been in trouble with the law a number of times, I believe. But as I already told you, I don’t have any contact with him. I don’t want to change that, either.”

  “You said the other day you hadn’t seen him in years. Your parents separated, and you went with your mother…was that when you saw him last?” She stepped to the right and pivoted just as I moved in for a punching combination. I was brought up short as she cut me off with a spinning sidekick.

  Damn, she was fast.

  One of those long legs flew out in another kick, and I evaded, barely.

  Any time I got close to moving in on her, she used those legs to stop me, and I couldn’t get inside her guard to cut her off.

  “Nicco?”

  I shook my head, thought back to her question. “Well…there was one other time. I didn’t really want to discuss it with you. Trying to decide if I want to discuss it now.”

  Her eyes narrowed, and she moved in a flurry of movement. In her rush, she got the slightest bit sloppy, and I was able to catch one of her arms, trap it, and I punched her lightly in the gut. “Point, me,” I said softly. I didn’t let her arm go.

  Her eyes narrowed even further, and a moment later, she had scissored her legs, and I ended up on the ground, her standing over me. I reached out and grabbed her ankle, but she was prepared and shifted her weight to keep me from taking her leg out from under her.

  I leaped up before she drove a foot down into my gut. “You’re pretty vicious.”

  “Only way to win,” she said easily. But her eyes were heated.

  Circling around her, I eyed her, waiting for another opening. She wasn’t giving me one, and to be honest, I was losing interest in the sparring session as contact with her made me think of other things.

  “When did you see your dad last if it wasn’t when you were a kid like you led me to believe?”

  “That depends.” I jabbed at her, and risking being kicked, moved in. I didn’t strike though. I just stood there. When she didn’t move, I rested a gloved hand on her right hip, staring down at her mouth for a long moment before finally looking up at her face. “Is this off the record?”

  “Does this look like an interview room?” she retorted. She knocked my hand away.

  She didn’t back up though.

  Dipping my head, I pressed my lips to her ear. “I laid awake half the night remembering how you taste, Ravenna. It’s haunting me. I’m dying for more of you.”

  Her breath caught as I pulled back to stare down into her eyes.

  From the corner of my eye, I saw a door open, reminding me that we weren’t alone.

  Nowhere near.

  Her breath washed over my lips as she released the breath that had hitched in her throat. Slowly, I straightened, pulling away.

  She swayed toward me, and I caught her hip again, but this time it was to steady her.

  “Be careful what you do here, Ravenna,” I warned her. “I’m on a razor’s edge with you.”

  A janitor had just walked out of a closet along the far wall, and as he turned the corner, leaving us mostly isolated, I focused on her flushed face.

  She leaned in to kiss me, and I think I went a little crazy.

  It was the only thing that would explain why I acted the way I did just then.

  Grabbing her hand, I tugged her along behind me, straight toward that door I’d seen open just a minute before. Please be open, I thought desperately.

  To my shocked surprise, it was, and I hauled Ravenna inside it, shutting it behind us and pulling her up against me. Her body collided with mine as I crushed my mouth to hers.

  She moaned against my lips, opening for me. Driving my tongue into her mouth, I cupped the back of her head. Her body was warm and damp against mine, the sweat from our combined exertions sealing us together.

  She whimpered as I slid a hand inside the waistband of the spandex leggings she wore, palming her ass.

  It was as tight and perfect as I’d imagined it would be, a warm curve in my hand that left me wanting to jerk her pants down, turn her around and spend the next ten minutes worshipping her butt.

  She arched against me, and through the thin material of my workout clothes and hers, I felt the wet heat of her.

  She was already so turned on, I could smell it on her.

  “I want to fuck you, Ravenna. I’m tempted to do it here and now,” I growled against her ear. “Tell me to stop. Make this stop. Otherwise…”

  Ravenna moaned into my mouth, curling her arms
around my neck and shuddering against me. “Nicco…”

  I yanked her hips closer and rubbed my cock against her belly. “Did you hear me?”

  “I…I heard you,” she whispered, her voice shaky. “But I think there’s something you should probably know.”

  “I don’t care what it is. As long as you’re not married, I don’t care.”

  She laughed, the sound harsh and raspy in the dark silence of the supply closet in which I’d dragged her. “No, I’m not married, but–”

  I kissed her again, my hand splayed over the elegant arch of her neck as I tilted her head back, giving me better access to her mouth. “I don’t care,” I muttered against her lips. “This is a mistake, let’s make it. Right now, I want you more than I want to breathe.”

  “Nicco…” She groaned and arched closer, her nipples stabbing into me through the material of her bra and tank top.

  I wanted to peel the material away and taste her nipples.

  The light was off in the closet, and I almost pulled away to turn it on but was worried that might alert somebody to our presence. Soon, I told myself. Soon, I’d have her in my bed, and I’d find out then what color her nipples were and whether or not that blush of hers spread all the way down to her tits like I suspected it did.

  “Do we stop or do we go on, Ravenna?” I asked her, palming one breast through her clothing.

  She gasped and arched into my touch, her nails digging into my biceps.

  “I…we…” She gulped. I heard her swallow, and I dipped my head, closed my mouth over the sensitive spot at the base of her neck, sucking hard. “Wait, Nicco.”

  I went still. I was going to hate myself in a few seconds, but maybe she’d hate me more for fucking her in a janitor’s supply closet, and I couldn’t stand the thought of that, so maybe this was better.

  “I…um…” She swallowed again.

  I could hear that nervous sound in the darkness, and I reached up, cupping her cheek. “It’s okay, Ravenna. Another time.”