Jean offered a lukewarm smile. “Children.” Her right brow flicked reflexively. “They never factored into my life—always busy traveling, getting from one assignment to the next.” She sighed. “Now it’s too late.”
“I’m sorry,” Savannah offered.
“Oh, don’t be,” she said with a wave of her hand. “I’d make a terrible mother. I don’t have a nurturing bone in my body.” She turned her attention to Danielle. “Ms. Holloway.” She said it in such a way that it hung in the air, more like an accusation than a greeting.
Danielle swallowed and offered a tight-lipped smile, feeling as if she’d been caught with her top off in the boys’ locker room with the captain of the basketball team. “It’s good to meet you.”
“I’m sure that Savannah told you this is completely against protocol. This is not how we recruit members.” She tossed Savannah a sharp look, and Savannah adjusted her behind in her seat. “However, because Savannah did such an excellent job on her first assignment and was recruited by her mother, whom I hold in the highest regard…” She drew in a breath, then on the exhale said, “I’ve decided after much deliberation and consultation, to consider your admittance.”
Danielle felt her lungs fill with air and realized that she’d been holding her breath. She almost broke out in laughter, she was so relieved.
“However, you have no skills. You haven’t been trained. Ideally I should be using one of our more seasoned members, but I wanted Savannah for this job. Obviously she can’t handle it now, and because you and Mia Turner were so integral to resolving the land fraud deal, I think that you would be a perfect substitute.”
“Thank you.” I think.
“You’re going to have to take a crash course. We don’t have much time to get you up to speed. You will need to master in two weeks what would normally take two to three months. If I’m satisfied with your progress at the end of the training, you’ll get your kit and be briefed on the details of the assignment.”
“Is she always like that?” Danielle asked once they were safely inside Savannah’s car.
Savannah grinned. “Like what?”
“So…distant, no-nonsense and…cold.” She fastened her seat belt.
“In her position, I think you have to be. She has a lot of responsibility.”
“You think she has a man in her life?”
“You would ask something like that,” she said, laughing. “Why?”
“Just figured if she had a man, it would loosen the lines around her mouth.”
Savannah cracked up. “Girl, you are terrible.”
“Just honest. Anyway,” she continued as Savannah pulled off, “what does this training entail?”
“Well…”
It was nearly nine by the time Danielle got home. She’d told Nick that she was going with Savannah after work to look at cribs.
“Hey, babe,” Nick said from the archway of the kitchen. He brushed a damp lock of hair away from his forehead and stepped out, a towel wrapped around his waist. His torso was a series of hard ripples, his slightly tanned skin glistening with water where the towel had missed. His eyes sparkled and crinkled at the corners when he smiled, which was often.
Danielle’s heart sputtered in her chest, and that butterfly feeling in the center of her stomach went on a rampage. Just looking at Nick and having him look at her with such love and lust in his eyes made her weak all over.
She tossed her bag on the counter and slowly approached him. He leaned against the frame of the door. She stood right in front of him, barely a breath away, and pressed the palms of her hands against his chest.
Nick lowered his head, brushed her fluttering eyelids with his lips.
Danielle felt the heat tap out a rhythm between her thighs.
Nick snaked an arm around her waist, his other hand cupped the back of her head. His mouth dragged down her upturned face, planting kisses until he reached her lips; then he took her mouth in movie close-up fashion, slow, soft and sure.
Danielle’s body vibrated. She sighed into his mouth as his tongue played with hers.
Nick pulled her tightly against him. Dani groaned, feeling the bulge of his erection press firmly against her stomach.
He lifted his mouth from Danielle’s. Her eyes remained slightly parted, then fluttered open. Nick’s lips curved upward.
“And how was your day?” he teased, stroking her back.
Danielle pressed her head against his chest. “It just got better, but I need to get settled.”
“No problem. I fixed dinner. Come on out when you’re ready.”
She tilted her head back, looked into his inky dark eyes and lost herself in the light that danced in their depths.
“I…I’m crazy about you,” she whispered over the sudden tightness in her throat.
For a nanosecond she caught the flash of disappointment that passed across his gorgeous face and dimmed his eyes. Then it was gone, and that half smile that always made her melt was in place.
“I know.” His gaze locked with hers, seeing beyond her words.
Danielle tugged in a breath. “I’ll be out in a few.” She picked up her purse from the hall table and walked toward their bedroom. She plopped down on the side of bed and took off her shoes.
A sense of exhilaration rippled through her. She had her first assignment—well, almost—and she couldn’t wait to get started with her training. Two weeks, humph, she could handle it. Piece of cake.
She got up from the bed and began to take off her clothes. Walking into the bathroom and turning on the shower, she wondered how she was going to handle Nick, especially if he was going to the spa right across the street. Geez, how freaky was that?
Not only did she and Nick live together, but they also worked together as fashion photographers. Their days were busy, often grueling yet at the same time exciting. They loved what they did and were as passionate about their work as they were about each other. The adrenaline rush that they felt all day while shooting those perfect shots, getting the lighting just right to frame the model, spilled over into the bedroom, where they strove for the perfection that would run them all day as they watched the other work—Nick getting turned on watching Danielle style the set, then get behind the lens to capture the moment, or Dani as she looked on while Nick, now behind the camera, coaxed and cooed at the models to bring out that special something that would pop on film.
Maybe that was what made their lovemaking so intense, so passionate and earth-shaking, Danielle thought, as she stepped under the rush of water. The need that built up between them all day exploded at night.
She knew their relationship was more than great sex. There were feelings involved. Nick was in love with her. She knew it, she felt it, he admitted it.
She also knew that she had deep feelings for Nick. She felt it deep in her soul. It was probably love—something she admitted hesitantly to Savannah and Mia but never to Nick. She couldn’t. If she did, it would become real—and if it was real, it could hurt her and she could lose again.
Danielle lathered her body with her favorite mango body wash, running her hands over her smooth skin. They settled for a moment over her flat stomach.
Life once bloomed there. Once. Not even Savannah or Mia knew. She never spoke about it. Too painful. Because, of course, if she said it out loud, it would be real and that devastating reality she wouldn’t deal with.
So