Read Online His To Keep by Stephanie Julian - Free Book Online Page A

blood began heat. “What kind of feelings, Annie?”
    Her mouth tightened but she didn’t back down and a reluctant smile tried to break through his rigid control.
    When she didn’t answer right away, he thought he might’ve pushed her too far. When she’d come in, he hadn’t wanted to discuss this but now… Now, he wanted her to talk, even if it was to yell at him.
    “Oh, I don’t know, Nic.” Sarcasm coated her tone and made his cock throb. “It seems like you can’t stand me most of the time and then you kiss me. I’m sure even you can see where my confusion is coming from.”
    “Yeah, I can. But maybe this isn’t the best place to have this conversation.”
    Her chin tilted into the air but he couldn’t tell if she was angry.
    With a shrug of her shoulder, she sent him a look he couldn’t interpret. “Fine. Then when can we have this conversation?”
    He didn’t hesitate. “How about over a drink after work?”
    She tried to cover her short, sharp breath. “Fine.” She rose from the chair and headed out the door, only to stop and look over her shoulder. “Will you be finished by six?”
    “I should be.”
    She nodded, rising and turning to head out the door. Nic watched her ass until she disappeared out the door then he continued to stare at nothing for a full two minutes.
    When his cell rang, he grabbed for it without looking at the screen.
    “DeMarco.”
    “I don’t think you’re taking me seriously, Dominic. This is not a warning. This is a threat. I will hurt you. But first, I’m going to make you suffer. You can’t be everywhere at once. She’ll never be safe.”
    The call ended with a bare whisper of a click.
    And a black hole opened in his stomach.
    Sonovabitch.
    The voice was the same as last time, distorted. Creepy as hell.
    More so because someone had it in for him and that someone had threatened Annie again.
    Who the hell was this bastard? A nutcase who only wanted to fuck with Nic’s head?
    No. Instinct told him this guy meant business. He knew where Nic lived, where he worked. More importantly, he knew about Nic’s hang up with Annie.
    If this guy came for him, someone he loved might get hurt. And he didn’t think he could live through that again.
    He grabbed the phone and dialed Jimmy’s cell.
    “I got another call,” he snapped before his brother could say hello.
    Jimmy didn’t miss a beat. “Oh, hell. How bad?”
    Nic had his hand up, ready to put it through the wall, but stopped himself before contact. Broke a couple of bones for the effort years ago. Older and wiser, right?
    “Bad. Son-of-a-bitch.”
    “I can be back in a couple of hours,” Jimmy said without hesitation. “Just let me tell these bozos—”
    “No.” Nic cut him off then forced himself to ease down. “No, you’ve been scheduled to deliver this talk for months. No way are you going to weasel out of it and blame me.”
    Jimmy’s snort sounded half-hearted at best. “I’m not trying to weasel out of anything, you wank. I’ll give the damn speech, but if you need me, I can be there in a few hours.”
    Nic took a deep breath and tried to calm down. “I know. I guess I was just hoping… Shit, I don’t know. That maybe you’d produced a miracle. You’re usually good for one of those.”
    “Hey, I’m good, but not that good.” Humor tinged his words, underlined with concern. “Look, I have a few minutes. What’d he say this time?”
    Nic told him and waited for Jimmy to break the silence.
    “Hmm. Doesn’t sound like the first call.”
    Jimmy’s statement jolted Nic out of the fury-induced haze. “Damn, you’re right. Why the hell didn’t I notice that?”
    “Probably because you’re too pissed off to hear it.”
    “Yeah, but is it different enough to be someone else or is this guy just getting ready to hit?”
    Nic heard Jimmy’s sigh through the phone lines. “I don’t know. I take it you haven’t come up with anything yet?”
    “No.”
    “Maybe you should bring Mom