Along Came a Spider tt-3 Read online

  “Goddamn,” he muttered against my mouth, his hands roaming over the satin of my negligee, “where the hell did you get this thing?”

  I chuckled as I pressed a line of kisses along his jaw. “You don’t want to know,” I whispered, nipping at his ear. “Want me to take it off?”

  “God no,” he said, his voice gruff. “It’s sexy as hell.” His hands were rough as he shoved the nighty up, baring me to him. I gasped as he hefted me up and wrapped my legs around his waist, pressing my back against the wall. His mouth was on mine again as he tore at the fly of his pants. Then he was pressing into me, each rough stroke sending me careening toward ecstasy. I grasped fistfuls of his sweater, moaning against his kiss, urging him on. I came quickly, my scream strangled in my throat for fear of drawing Gideon’s attention, but Nicky apparently had no such reservations.

  “Damn,” I panted, smoothing the damp hair from his brow. “Maybe I should take this nighty home with me.”

  He chuckled, already starting to grow hard again. “Doll, I’ll buy you a whole frigging wardrobe of ’em.” He kissed me then, slowly, languidly, his lips caressing mine. I groaned in protest as he pulled out, not wanting our lovemaking to end so soon, but then I realized he was shedding his clothes, leaving a trail as he walked me toward the bed. His sweater was the last to go.

  I ran my hands over his chest and shoulders, loving the way his breath hitched a little at my touch. I pressed a kiss to his chest over his heart and let my hands smooth over his abs and down to his hips and then around to his back, pulling him to me.

  “I want to hear it again,” I said, peering up at him.

  He pulled back a little. “Yeah? You don’t mind me sayin’ it over and over again? You don’t think you’ll get sick of me sayin’ it?”

  I shook my head. “Never.”

  He swept me up in his arms and tossed me onto the bed. I bounced once and was still giggling when he settled between my thighs. He was grinning when he pinned my arms over my head. “I love you, doll,” he said, punctuating his words with a hard thrust. “My God, I love you.”

  I rolled my hips, arching into him, loving the way he filled me, body and soul. And when I rolled him onto his back, I met his gaze as I peered down at him. The connection I’d felt that first day we’d met jerked at the center of my chest and pulled him toward me until he was sitting up, our chests pressed close together, his arms wrapped tightly around me.

  And when we finally collapsed together, panting, and he drew me into his strong arms, I didn’t fear what the dreams would bring that night. Whether it was spiders or vampires or whatever else hell might decide to unleash, the man I loved loved me back, and nothing else mattered.

  Chapter Twenty

  I awoke to a quiet clinking in Gideon’s guest room. When I bolted upright, I luckily remembered I was naked and held the covers over my breasts or the fairy bodyguard would’ve caught quite an eyeful.

  Gideon held a finger to his lips and nodded to Nicky, who still snored softly on the bed beside me. Then he swept his arm toward the breakfast that was laid out on the table, which he’d somehow set up along with chairs while we’d slept. When I gave him a rather apologetic smile for the uninvited houseguest, he peered at me over his sunglasses, revealing his eyes for the first time. To my surprise, they were the color of molten silver and seemed to be morphing into a crisp arctic blue even as I watched. What the hell? He offered me a wink, letting me know he’d expected Nicky all along. Then he vanished.

  Curious to see what Gideon had brought, I slipped from bed and tiptoed over to the table, the smell of bacon making my mouth water. My stomach grumbled when I lifted the silver lid that covered the nearest plate and saw a beautifully fluffy omelet, toast, and hash browns. And in the carafe in the center of the table was piping hot chocolate.

  “How in the world . . .” I mumbled.

  “I was just wondering the same thing.” Nicky’s voice so near my ear made me start with a laugh. “I was just thinking to myself, ‘How in the world does Trish expect me to keep my hands off her when she’s running around naked,’ ” he continued, pulling me into his arms and pressing a kiss to the curve of my neck.

  “Well, I could put some clothes on,” I told him, turning to face him and looping my arms around his neck. “But that would imply that I want you to keep your hands off me.”

  Nicky’s kiss was hot on my lips, and the stubble on his jaw scraped against my skin as he pressed kisses along my neck and shoulder, down my stomach, the inside of my thigh. And when his tongue caressed the center of me, I gasped, my knees buckling. He chuckled as he sat me down in one of the chairs, then knelt before me, hooking my legs over his shoulders as his tongue resumed its caress. I writhed against his mouth, shattering apart with a loud cry, no longer caring if anyone heard.

  As soon as Nicky stood, I pushed him down into the other chair and straddled him, groaning as he slid into me. “At this rate we won’t eat breakfast before noon,” I gasped, gripping the back of the chair.

  Nicky took hold of my hips, making sure I didn’t get any ideas about stopping now. “I wasn’t hungry—not for breakfast anyway.”

  It probably was around noon by the time we’d managed to get enough of each other and take a shower—which probably should’ve been taken separately, considering lathering each other up was just too much of a temptation to resist. But, remarkably, the breakfast Gideon had set out for us was still hot when we finally sat down to eat. Gotta love fairy magic.

  “So, what’s the plan?” I asked Nicky after polishing off half of my omelet.

  He took a long drink of orange juice to wash down the last of his breakfast, which he’d apparently consumed at warp speed, before answering. “We need to visit the Pigg brothers, find out what they know about Dracula’s lair. Drac’s obviously playing it safe by not coming out in person to attack you or Tess. If we want to take him out, we’re going to have to track him down in the flesh.”

  I nodded. “Okay, so how do we find the Pigg brothers?”

  Nicky shrugged. “Not too hard, really. I know a guy who’s been my eyes and ears around this town for years. If anyone knows where to find the Piggs, Jack will.”

  “Jack?” I echoed. “Which one? There are like a hundred Jacks from fairytales and folklore. And every other rhyme is named Jack. You’re going to have to narrow it down for me.”

  “Let’s just leave it at Jack.” Nicky leaned back in his chair, giving me a great look at his pecs. And suddenly I was hungry in an entirely different way.

  Blushing at my insatiable desire for the man across from me, I quickly finished off my breakfast and went to the wardrobe to find something to wear. To my surprise, it now also held a collection of clothes for Nicky. I laughed, shaking my head. “I’ll be damned.”

  Nicky joined me at the wardrobe, as astonished as I was. “What the hell? How did—”

  I pressed a kiss to his cheek. “I’m learning that nothing about Gideon is quite what it seems.”

  Nicky grabbed a fresh set of clothes and gave me a warning look. “Yeah, well, he can be as mysterious as he wants as long as he keeps his damned hands off you.”

  I cast an arch smile his way as I pulled on my jeans. “Jealous?”

  He ran his hands through his hair, causing a thick, dark lock to fall over his forehead, making him look way too rakish for his own good. “Jealous doesn’t even begin to cover it. I could’ve murdered that bastard when I saw you in his arms.”

  I patted him on the chest. “No need for that, lover—your arms are the only ones I ever want around me.”

  When I opened the door a few minutes later, the object of our discussion was standing across the hall, leaning casually against the wall with his arms crossed.

  “Gideon,” I greeted, “we were just talking about you!”

  The corners of his mouth twitched with the hint of a smile. Then he inclined his head toward Nicky. “I see you have . . . made amends.”

  Nicky shifted a little, still surly. �
�Something like that.”

  “Thank you, Gideon,” I said, extending my hand. “I appreciate everything you’ve done for me.”

  Gideon took my hand and raised it to his lips, pressing a kiss to my fingertips. “It was my pleasure. If you have need of me again, you have only to call.”

  “Okay, okay,” Nicky said, stepping in and taking my hand from Gideon’s grasp. “That’s enough of that. I’m grateful and all, but that gratitude only goes so far, Tiny.”

  Nicky was still frowning as we got into his Escalade, which Gideon, of course, had waiting and warmed up in front of his home when we opened the door. “How does he do that shit?”

  “Anticipate what others need before they even know it?” I asked. “Hell if I know. But now I see why the king likes having him around. Who better to protect him than a bodyguard who knows how to take care of the threat before it even happens?”

  Nicky looked in his rearview mirror as we drove away, catching a glimpse of Gideon still standing in the doorway. “Yeah, well, everybody’s got a blind spot.”

  I shuddered, wondering what manner of being it would take to get one up on Gideon. I hoped I wouldn’t have to be around to see that happen. Or get called to the scene after the fact . . .

  At some point during our drive I dozed off, my hand clasped in Nicky’s. I wasn’t sure how long we’d been driving when we hit a massive pothole that jolted me awake as my head bounced against the back of the seat.

  Nicky cursed under his breath. “Sorry about that,” he said, giving my hand a squeeze. “The roads in this part of town aren’t for shit.”

  I sat up straighter, blinking away the last vestiges of sleep and looking around, trying to get a feel for our surroundings. The buildings were mostly boarded up, the result of the economic downturn that had put the businesses in the area under and left the buildings just empty shells, eerie reminders of what once had been. A few rusted-out cars lined the street, and trash blew across the dirty snow that spotted the sidewalk and gathered in the corners like arctic cobwebs. “Where the hell are we?”

  “This is where Jack runs his operation,” Nicky informed me. “Odds are good we’ll find him lurking around here somewhere.”

  I caught a glimpse of a junkie sitting on the broken steps of one of the buildings, twitching and swatting at pests that only he could see. “Charming. Can’t wait to meet this guy.”

  Nicky pulled up in front of a red brick building that looked like it might’ve been a store or a bank at some point in its history, but any indication of what sort of business establishment it once had housed had been peeled away by time and neglect.

  Nicky reached under his seat and pulled out a Glock. He quickly ejected the magazine to make sure it had a full clip, then rammed it back in. He jerked his chin toward the glove box. “Grab the one in there and stick it in your pocket. They’ll search us, but go ahead and let them take it.”

  I frowned at him. “Then why take a gun at all?”

  “Lets ’em know we’re not fucking around,” he said, getting out of the car and keeping the gun down by his thigh.

  Liking this plan less and less, I shoved the gun into my pocket and got out of the car, staying close to Nicky as we climbed the well-worn steps. He paused at the top of the steps and rolled his neck, then motioned for me to stay where I was beside the door and out of sight. Then he took a deep breath and kicked the door in, quickly firing off three shots.

  “Hello, Jack,” he said, his lips curling into a grin. “Good to see you again.” He stepped over the threshold, his gun trained on a target I couldn’t see. A few seconds later he called, “Come on in, doll!”

  I swallowed hard, then peeked around the door, startled to see three burly guys nursing wounded shoulders, their guns lying on the ground at their feet. A series of tables along one wall were piled high with money—counterfeit, if I was to hazard a guess based on the equipment in the room. Sitting behind another table, his hands held up, was a man with a cocky, self-assured smile on his handsome face. His watery blue eyes sparkled with amusement, giving him a decidedly boyish look in conjunction with his carroty orange curls.

  “Well, what have we here,” he drawled. “You gonna introduce me to the dame, Nicky?”

  “Trish, Jack. Jack, Trish,” Nicky snapped. “Consider yourself introduced.”

  Jack’s smile widened. “I’d stand and greet you properly, sweetheart, but your boyfriend has serious trust issues.”

  Nicky took a step closer, tightening his grip on his gun. “You

  double-crossed me on that deal with the Cyclops and nearly got me killed, you son of a bitch.”

  Jack spread his arms. “Ah, come on, Nicky,” he drawled. “That was ages ago! Are you still holding a grudge over a little . . . misunderstanding?”

  Nicky’s jaw tightened. Apparently the answer to that question was a resounding yes. Feeling I needed to diffuse the situation if we were going to get the information we wanted, I stepped forward and gently put my fingertips on Nicky’s gun, forcing him to lower it as I smiled at Jack. “Come now, gentlemen,” I said. “We’re all grown-ups here. I think we can have a civilized chat without dredging up the past, can’t we?”

  Nicky’s eyes darted toward me briefly, and for a moment I thought he might debate that point, but he sighed and relaxed his shoulders. “Yeah, sure.”

  I turned my gaze to Jack, who just shrugged. “I can play nice. For now. I’ll ask you to hand over that gun, though.”

  Nicky narrowed his eyes, but then grinned, and held up his hand, letting the gun dangle upside down from his index finger. One of the wounded guards snatched it from his hand, then placed it on the table in front of Jack. Jack rose from his seat and came around to where we stood, a shit-eating grin on his face as he got up in Nicky’s grill. And for a second I thought they might take a swing at each other.

  But then Jack laughed and grabbed Nicky, bringing him in for a brief man-hug, complete with smack on the back.

  What the hell?

  “Where the hell have ya been, you sneaky bastard?” he demanded, giving him a good-natured punch in the shoulder. “I thought you’d fallen off the face of the earth.”

  Nicky shrugged and shoved his hands into his pockets. “You know, doing the odd job here and there.”

  “Well, you coulda called me, let me know you were comin’,” Jack admonished. “You didn’t have to barge in and shoot my fuckin’ guards and shit.” Jack turned to me, shaking his head as he jerked a thumb at Nicky. “Always gotta make a statement, this one.”

  I frowned at them. “So . . . you guys don’t hate each other? What about the double-cross thing?”

  Jack waved it away. “That? That was just funnin’. I didn’t mean nothin’ by it. Nicky knows that. Hell—he’s nearly got me killed dozens of times. Keeps me on my toes, you know what I’m sayin’?” He didn’t wait for me to respond before turning back to Nicky. “So what’s doin’? What brings you by now after being off the grid for almost two years?”

  “I need some information,” Nicky told him, his expression growing serious.

  Jack nodded. “Why don’t we go upstairs to my office?” We started after him, but he held up a hand and offered one of his boyish grins. “Sorry, but I gotta have my guys frisk your dame. Just business, you understand.”

  One of the guards reached out to pat me down, but Nicky intercepted his hand and twisted his arm so quickly the guy was face-down on the ground before he even knew what’d hit him. “Don’t think so. Trish isn’t business. Not to me. Your guys touch her, I break their arms.”

  Jack glanced back and forth between us. “All right. All right. No worries.”

  I let my breath out on a gasp, not realizing I’d been holding it. I sent a glance Nicky’s way, wondering why he’d decided not to let them take my gun after all. From the look he sent back my way I could tell he might trust his friend Jack, but the guards were apparently a different story. Better safe than sorry, I guess. And seeing as how I was in Nicky’s world at the
moment, I sure as hell wasn’t going to argue with his change of plans.

  I could still feel the harsh gazes of Jack’s guards on my back as we climbed the stairs to the second story, where Jack had set up an office. I don’t know what I was expecting, but it certainly wasn’t the rows of computers that were running scripts and calculations. One of them had the FMA’s database displayed. And at another of the computers a young man with bright orange spiky hair was busy tapping away on the keyboard.

  “I’ve almost decrypted these files, Dad,” he said, without looking away from the monitor. He chuckled. “These idiots think they can keep me out? Don’t call us ‘nimble’ for nothin’!”

  Jack coughed and cast a glance at Nicky and me. “Why don’t you take a break, Ethan? We’ve got visitors.”

  Ethan’s fingers froze midstroke; then he typed a quick key combination, locking his screen before turning around to offer us the same boyish grin his father had. “Hey! Uncle Nicky! Haven’t seen you in ages! Did that hack job I did for you a couple of years ago work out okay?”

  I wondered if Ethan was the guy who’d hacked into some files for Nicky back on the Sebille Fenwick case when he was trying to help Red. Based on the way Nicky’s face fell, I figured I was probably right on the mark.

  “Yeah,” he said. “Yeah, thanks, kid. Got just what we needed.”

  Ethan’s smile broadened. “Sweet! You ever need anything else, you let me know. Always happy to help out my godfather.”

  My brows shot up. Godfather?

  As Ethan headed for the door, Nicky grabbed the boy around the neck and ruffled his hair, then pressed a kiss to the top of his head. “You stay out of trouble, you hear? Don’t let your old man get you into any scrapes, or I’ll kick your ass.”

  Ethan laughed, ducking out of Nicky’s hold. “Yes, sir.”

  “So, how’s Vera?” Nicky asked as we all took a seat.