Freaky by Nature (13 page)

“Do y ou need any m ore assurance?”

“No. I know the v alue of the form ula.”

Brett struggled with the thought of personally wringing

Bannister’s neck. “Are y ou worried about Albert’s will?”

“No. I’m alm ost positiv e it’s iron clad. Besides, I don’t really

care. Dav id and Delilah already hav e his personal possessions.” She

snorted. “Despite what they think, there wasn’t m uch m oney left

in his bank account any way .”

He lifted an ey ebrow. “Oh y eah?”

Holly ’s sweet v anilla scent teased his libido as she bobbed her

head and m ov ed the air between them . “Albert was a terrible

m oney m anager. If he didn’t spend it on som ething extrav agant,

he spent it on any num ber of new ideas. He led the life of the rich

and fam ous, but when it cam e right down to crunching num bers,

he was pretty m uch m iddle class.”

“Do the kids know that?”

“No. Ev an’s sav ing it for bargaining power.”

Brett rolled facts through his brain. If Bannister knew about

good ole Albert’s financial history , he had no business considering

an exchange. “So, he doesn’t need the form ula.”

Holly touched a finger to her tem ple, an act he now recognized

as an attem pt to reliev e stress. Or, m ay be an attem pt to read an

unspoken thought. “No, he doesn’t. Thank y ou, Brett.”

“You’re welcom e.”

He hesitated for a m om ent, wondering if now would be the

tim e to question her about what else she kept from him .

“What do y ou want to know?” she asked with a grin.

Brett felt goose bum ps crawl across his skin. “Huh?”

She folded her arm s across her chest and gav e her cleav age a

boost. “I get the feeling y ou want to ask m e som ething else.”

He peeled his gaze from her chest and swallowed. “No.”

She sat quietly as if she expected him to continue, her ey es

wide and sparkling. Who the hell was he kidding? She
knew
he had

som ething to say .

“Look, Holly , about last night. I didn’t want y ou to see that

side of m e so soon.”

She didn’t speak, just nodded, her ey es brim m ing with

com passion.

“The nightm ares creep up on m e. I nev er know when the next

will surface. And, what I said to y ou, I’m sorry . I was still

disoriented and y ou pushed—” He gav e a defeated sigh.

Holly stood and placed a hand on his forearm , the warm th of

her touch penetrating his attem pt to shun her. “Brett, it’s okay . I’ll

adm it, y ou spooked m e, but I understand.”

“I’m not sure y ou do. I didn’t m ean to be such a prick, but I

m eant what I said. I will not spend the night in y our bed. I can’t.”

For the hundredth tim e, he wanted to take back his ev ery

word. But he wouldn’t. She needed to understand the dem ons deep

inside him .

As he stood m otionless, waiting for her response, tiny pinpricks

assaulted his nerv e endings. Not willing to sugar coat the situation

any longer, Brett surrendered and let her inside. Her ey es

widened. In shock or understanding, he didn’t know.

And then her sweet, steady v oice prov ided the answer. “You’re

conv inced y ou’ll hurt m e.”

To em phasize his point, Brett m ade his v oice as sharp and hard

as his nam e insinuated. “I could’v e killed y ou.”

Holly didn’t hesitate to argue. “Could hav e, but didn’t.”

“By sheer luck.”

Again, she seem ed to probe deeper into his soul. “You don’t

hav e it in y ou.”

He wanted to tell her she was full of shit but hell, she probably

had som e supernatural force to back it up.

“I just can’t talk about this right now. Are y ou ready to go to

the gy m ?”

Much to his surprise, she didn’t push. “Yes, but aren’t y ou

tired of being there all the tim e?”

Tired? Of the opportunity to see her half-dressed?

Wait a minute
.

He gav e her a sideway s look. “Nice try . You’re not going

alone.”

“I’ll be fine. Most of m y staff are m ale.”

Thanks for that reminder
. “No.”

She uncrossed her arm s and grabbed her bag from the sofa.

“Fine, but no spy ing on sensual dance today .”

Brett placed a hand to the sm all of her back, nudged her to the

front door, and paused to activ ate the alarm . He gav e her a sly

grin. “Sorry , can’t m ake that prom ise.”

“Of course not,” Holly m um bled as they stepped outside and he

locked the door.

Once the house was secure, he gestured to the truck and

followed her down the driv eway , arguing with him self the whole

way . This would be the perfect opportunity to tell her about his

relationship with Claire. There was a v ery real possibility she

already knew and it would probably be in his best interest to

explain. Or would it? What if he were wrong about Holly ’s ability ?

He was no expert on the m atter and if he was wrong, well, he just

didn’t want to go there. Mainly for Claire’s sake. Not now. Not y et.

The tension in Brett’s m uscles tightened once he and Holly

were both hidden behind the tinted windows of his truck and

headed for Fitness in the Buff. Being alone in such close proxim ity

with Holly was a true test of his endurance, and only his m orals

kept him from jam m ing the truck into park and taking her right

here and now. Six inches separated her knee from his right hand

and once his fingers felt her cream y flesh, there would be no

stopping them from clim bing her body . His cock jum ped against

his stom ach and he fought to rem ain controlled.

Holly gav e a sm all sigh when he parked in her space outside

the gy m . Once again his libido roared. That one tiny sound m ade

him crazy and all sorts of ideas ran through his m ind about how to

m ake her do it again.

Holly cleared her throat and he swung his gaze to her

pinkened cheeks. Had she intercepted his thoughts?
Impossible
.

“Are we going inside?”

Holly ’s gentle teasing only taunted the sav age beast inside

him . Careful not to rev eal his discom fort, he opened the door and

walked around to her side and helped her out of the truck.

He threaded their fingers. “Hold tight until we get inside.”

Holly glanced down at their hands then back at him . “No

handcuffs?”

Her question added painful inches to his dick, but he couldn’t

resist her play fulness. “I hav e a pair in the truck.”

Her ey es sparkled in the bright m orning sunshine. “May be

next tim e.”

He shrugged and pulled her inside, safe from trouble and safe

from him . For the m om ent.

Holly tossed her bag behind the front desk and giggled softly

when Cam eron waddled through the front entrance and

approached the desk, breathing heav ily .

“Are m y shoes tied?”

Brett snickered. Holly slapped him on the knee. “Yes,

Cam eron, they ’re tied. You’re early .”

“King Kong insisted.” She glanced at Brett. “Max is waiting for

y ou at the office. Monkey business I guess.”

Brett frowned. “Sterling wants m e to leav e y ou two alone?”

Cam eron dism issed him with a wav e of one hand. “Som e

m um bo jum bo about Holly ’s m ale staff and a public place. Blah,

blah, blah.”

Brett stood and took one last look around the room before he

conv inced him self Sterling knew what he was doing.

He glanced first at Holly , then at Cam eron. “You two stay out

of trouble.”

Cam eron batted her ey elashes. “Trouble? Us? Howev er, there

is a shoe sale at the m all today .”

“I only hav e two classes today , Brett.” Holly ’s sm ooth v oice

held a light giggle.

Brett gav e them both a hard stare. “Do
not
leav e the gy m until

I get back.”

“I just heard this three m inutes ago, Brett,” Cam eron huffed.

“We won’t talk to strangers or eat the candy , either.”

“Unless it’s chocolate,” Holly added.

Cam eron rolled her ey es. “Besides, Max arranged a ride hom e

for us.”

Confident in Sterling’s decision, Brett turned and headed out

the door.

“Oh, Brett.”

He glanced back ov er his shoulder and raised an ey ebrow at

the sound of Holly ’s v oice.

“If y ou’re really worried, y ou can use the handcuffs.”

Cam eron’s m outh fell open, rendering her speechless. Brett

couldn’t stop the chuckle that left his lips.

Handcuffs.

Damn
.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Brett paused in front of the red brick building that had been

his second hom e for quite awhile now. Until he m ov ed in with

Holly , he’d spent m ost ev ery night here, researching a case or

wrapping things up after an assignm ent. And, thanks to his

av ersion to spending the entire night with a wom an, his late-night

hours had helped him and the whole team build a dam n successful

business.

He glanced at the brass, etched nam e plate m ounted to the left

of the front door.
SEALS, Inc
. Another of Cam eron’s touches. A

twinge of env y tickled his heart. Sterling seem ed perfectly content

wrapped around her little finger.

Brett m ulled that unfam iliar feeling for a split second. May be

he should take his own adv ice and trust som eone. Holly . Only

Holly .

He shook that thought from his head so hard his brain rattled.

As bad as he wanted Holly , he couldn’t bring him self to hurt her.

And ev en though she claim ed to understand his reasoning, she

deserv ed to be held and cherished. All night long.

Brett turned the doorknob and stepped inside to find Sterling

crashed on the leather sofa, his boots propped on one end and his

ey es shaded as usual. He stood deathly still to m ake absolutely sure

Sterling sensed his presence.

“Took y ou long enough.”

Brett snickered and closed the door. “Didn’t want to interrupt

y our nap.”

Sterling swung his feet to the floor and stood. “Com e on back to

m y office and tell m e what y ou know.”

Brett sat in the chair in front of Sterling’s desk, halfway

unsure of his next question. “Are y ou sure about leav ing the girls

at the gy m ?”

Sterling sat behind the desk and steepled his fingers against

his chin. “Relax, Holly ’s safer with Cam eron than any one. Besides,

I’v e got Diablo PD surv eillance on the place. They ’ll take her hom e

when she’s finished.”

Brett grabbed a pen and tapped it furiously against the

desktop. “Do y ou ev er get the feeling Holly ’s hiding som ething?”

“No, why ?”

Brett shrugged. “I do.”

“You think she knows m ore about who’s responsible than she

adm its?”

“I think there’s som ething she hasn’t told us.”

“Hav e y ou asked her?”

“No.”

Sterling snatched the pen from Brett’s fingers, bent it in two,

and snapped it with one hand. “Why the hell not, Steele?” He

tossed the inky m ess into the trash can. “You
do
liv e with her and

y ou’re supposed to protect her.”

Not intim idated by Sterling’s outburst, Brett gav e the honest

truth. “She won’t let m e close enough.”

“Since when hav e y ou ev er had trouble conv incing a wom an

to get close to y ou?”

Brett shifted uneasily . “Since Holly .”

Sterling gav e a deep, heav y sigh. “What’s got y our panties in

a wad?”

Brett stared, shocked by Sterling’s choice of words.
Panties?

Finally , Brett snickered. “You are so whooped.”

Sterling’s v oice thundered his denial. “No, I’m not.”

“Yes, y ou are. When hav e y ou ev er used
panties
in a sentence

other than discussing how to take them off a warm , willing

wom an?”

Sterling actually winced. “It’s Cam eron’s fault,” he groused. “I

didn’t get m uch sleep last night.”

“The baby ?”

Sterling tossed his head back against the chair and gav e a shit-

eating grin. “No. She-”

”Nev er m ind! I don’t want to know.”

“So, what’s got y ou so worked up?”

Brett dropped his feet to the floor and exhaled in frustration.

“Holly .”

“What about her?”

“You sure y ou want to know?”

“Rated G, please,” Sterling drawled.

“I want her, she wants m e, but we can’t seem to m ake a

connection.”

Sterling scrubbed a hand down his face. “We’v e been stressed

ov er her case, Steele. May be if y ou relax—”

“
I’m
not hav ing that particular problem !” Brett spat. “
She
has

a big problem with trust.”

Sterling cleared his throat. “You did spy on her.”

Brett grim aced at the m em ory . He had m anaged to get both

him self and Sterling in hot water when he clim bed Holly ’s oak tree

to canv as the neighborhood during a prior stakeout. If he’d

concentrated on the neighborhood instead of her naked body , no

one would’v e ev er known.

He responded with a m enacing stare.

Sterling shrugged. “Just show her who’s boss.”

“Like y ou do y our wife?”

Sterling didn’t m iss a beat. “Holly ’s not Cam eron.”

“You’d be surprised how m uch alike they are,” Brett

m um bled.

Sterling stretched his legs in front of him and folded his arm s

across his chest.

“So, did y ou finish watching the surv eillance tapes from the