Greatest Gift (2 page)

Chapter Three

She didn’t know where the hell to start. When she’d
grabbed onto him she’d been hoping something would pop into her head. Holland
was still waiting for the words to come to her.
Jakob
looked impatient, hard, and not all that receptive to whatever might eventually
come spewing from her mouth. She’d better make it good then.

“Yes, you scare me.” Holland flinched internally.
Open mouth and insert her foot, standard operating procedure for her under
pressure. “You’re hard to get a read on. I also don’t know how to deal with
what you make me feel when you’re around.”

He shifted on the bar stool, leaning in toward her.
Not that
Jakob
said anything, probably a good thing.
She was babbling enough already and didn’t need him helping to
amp
up the anxiety riding her.

Scraping a thumb nail over a scratch she had on the
opposite knuckle, she fought to wrangle her thoughts. “I always have this dual
battle inside. On one hand I want to smack you, and on the other,” she trailed
off. Holland could not believe what she’d almost admitted. Pressing her lips
together tightly she internally berated herself for the near slip.

Jakob’s
knees were almost touching hers suddenly. A large male hand landed on
hers to stop the nervous movements. Her body whimpered at the contact, need
racing through her even while some part screamed to run. Sneaking a peek
through her lashes at him, she found herself being watched. The grey eyes
warmer than she’d seen them in a long time. At least when pointed in her
direction.

“You planning to share what the other might be?”

“Nope.”

He gave her a hard look but there was no way she
was going to cave. They both knew what she’d almost said. She knew he knew, the
expression that morphed from the hard look told her straight up he did. If she
went and said the words god only knew where that would lead. Not happening.

“I, uh, need to finish closing. You should…” She
waved a vague hand toward the door.

“Not leaving you here alone,” he said shocking her.

“I do it all the time. What makes this time any
different?”

“Who said you were alone?”

“Are you trying to creep me out? Because if you
are, it’s fucking working.”

“I didn’t mean it like that, Holland. We watch out
for one another around these parts. And when a woman closes up a business late
at night there’s always someone keeping an eye out for any trouble. Go do what
needs to be done, and then I’ll leave once you’re tucked into your car and on
your way home.”

His words made her feel mildly better. The thought
he’d been watching over her though had other parts of her body humming to
attention.
Damn fucking hormones, she seriously needed to get laid.

Sliding off the stool she moved to up end the
chairs onto the tables. No way in hell was she focusing on who her current
dream lover was. Not when the man in question happened to be right there with
her. She didn’t even protest when
Jakob
started to
help her clean. Between them they managed to get the bar closed down faster
than if she’d taken on the task herself.

She set the alarm, and slid through the door he
held to lock the building down. After a quick check to ensure the garbage lids
were down to keep critters and strays out, she headed for her car with him a
silent shadow at her side. Strange that, even with the snow on the ground she
seemed to be making plenty of noise, yet he didn’t. Yet another mystery to add
to the growing pile surrounding
Jakob
Nichols.

After unlocking her door, she grabbed the scrapper
only to have it tugged from her fingers. “You get it warming up, and I’ll deal
with the snow.”

Holland wasn’t about to argue, it was fucking cold
outside. The temperature had dropped another easy ten degrees since she’d done
her garbage run a half hour prior. Settling into the driver’s seat, she blew on
her fingers, and then stuck the key into the ignition. She knew her car
wouldn’t start on the first go. Fucking thing was nearly the same age she was.
Not quite, given she was thirty-two, but fucking close. It was reliable, and
parts were still readily available. Pretty much the only reason she kept the
old beast. That and it was made from American steel, a fucking tank as her
daddy had once put it, rest his soul.

She turned the key and got the mandatory clicking.
A quick pump to the accelerator to get the gas moving, and then she counted to
ten. Another turn to start the engine. Only this time, nothing. That wasn’t
right.

Frowning, she waited a couple seconds longer before
trying once again. Nada.
Shit! Okay, okay, it was clicking but not turning
over. The ignition was fine, but it could be the fuel lines. Think, Holland,
think.
She gave it one more pump from her foot. She knew to be careful or
she’d end up flooding the engine. Counting again, she gave it a couple more
seconds before turning the key. Click, click, nothing.

“You sack of shit! After all I do to keep you
running and you decide the coldest fucking night of the damn year is a good
time to fucking die. Argh!”

The deep male laughter startled her from her mad,
and had her peering through the frosty glass at
Jakob
.
Pushing open the door, she got out, and slammed it closed. She would have given
into her driving need to kick the fucking car except that it was steel, and
would hurt, and it was also fucking slippery out. She did not need to land on
her ass in a snowbank to top the night off.

“This is not funny, Nichols.”

“It actually is,” he said. Having stopped scrapping
during her rant, he leaned an arm on the roof. “You’re going to need a mechanic
to look at this crate, I think you have a problem.”

“Yeah, you think?”
Men!
Fucking assholes all
seemed to turn into a car expert until you popped the hood. Even then some
would brazen it out. Cursing under her breath, some directed toward her car,
some toward the infuriating male, Holland grabbed her bag from the passenger
seat and locked the car back up.

She was not looking forward to the walk home. After
digging out her cap, she tugged it on until her ears were covered, and then
wound the scarf from her bag around her face.

“Where exactly do you think you’re going?”

“Home,
it’s
fucking
freezing out here. And the damn thing isn’t moving for me so it won’t be moving
for anyone else either, it can stay here until tomorrow. Now, if you’ll excuse
me, it’s a long, frozen walk home.” In boots not made to handle the snow and
ice. She’d be careful, extremely careful.

A hand grabbing her elbow nearly sent her flying when
she freaked out. “Not happening. Come on, princess. Your chariot awaits up the
street. Fucking let you walk home and I’ll never stop hearing about it. God
help us if you freeze to death. Folks around here don’t tend to let shit like
that drop. Ever.”

“I can walk home fine, thank you,” she said in her
frostiest tone. Which apparently went right over his head.
Jakob
wasn’t listening, and was actually dragging her to his vehicle. “I think this
is kidnapping when the person you’re insisting gets into a vehicle with you
doesn’t actually want to get into said vehicle.”

He stopped to look at her, and up went an eyebrow.
“You’re right. In that case let’s at least make it an official kidnapping
then.”

Before she could ask him what the hell he meant,
Holland found herself tossed over his shoulder like a potato sack. Confronted
by a toned ass wrapped to perfection in soft, well-worn denim, it took her a
couple seconds to compute what was happening. Then she did the only thing any
red-blooded woman would do in such a situation. She grabbed two handfuls, and
squeezed. He didn’t drop her, and the answering slap to her ass only gave her
motivation to squeeze again. She could be pissed with the caveman routine
later. For the time being, she had
Jakob
Nichols’s
ass in her hands. Maybe there was a Santa after all.

Chapter Four

He’d fully expected to get an earful for his
behavior. Hell,
Jakob
wouldn’t have blamed Holland in
the least. His tactics left much to be desired, he got that, but he hadn’t been
able to resist after her saucy comment about kidnapping. It had been the most
playful moment in his life in way too long to remember.
Jakob
liked playing with Holland.

What he had not expected was to have her hands on
his ass, and squeezing no less. That had shocked him enough he’d nearly dropped
her. He hadn’t, and had even managed to get them both safely to his truck. With
her squeezing, and practically massaging his buttocks it had been a definite
challenge.

Once he’d stuck her in the passenger seat she’d
started to avoid his gaze again. The drive back to her place had been quiet.
Hell, she hadn’t even asked how he knew where she lived. She was probably
waiting for the other shoe to drop from her groping.
Jakob
didn’t plan to give her too hard a time, maybe a little teasing, but he was all
for groping.

Taking her parking spot,
Jakob
threw the truck into park. She started to scramble out the other side. Not that
she made it, he was there to keep her from losing her footing and sliding down
under the truck. “You should invest in some boots that have grips on the
bottoms. Might keep you from falling on your ass.”

She threw him a look that only females had in their
repertoire. “Yeah, but these are cute. The others are practical, yes, but they
definitely are not pretty enough.”

“Oh right, the fashion statement, however could I
forget that?”

“No idea, but you should’ve known better.” Turning,
she grabbed her bag, and slung it over her shoulder. “Thank you for the ride. I
should go in, I need to get some sleep.”

Jakob
knew a blow off when he heard one. Not happening, he and the little
vixen had things to discuss. Hooking his arm through hers when she headed for
her building’s front door, he wasn’t all that surprised when she gave him a
wary look. “My mother always instructed me to see a lady to her front door, and
ensure she was safely inside.”

“Well there’s the door, and I plan on being on the
other side momentarily,” she said. “You really don’t need to walk me there. Its
glass, you can see me through it.”

“That is the building’s front door, not your front
door. Anyone could break through this thing, and it wouldn’t even take much
effort.”

“I doubt anyone would bother.”

He snorted at that. She had no idea what someone
would do when the pickings were so easy. Instead, he followed her inside even
when she shot him a pointed look.
Jakob
hadn’t been
kidding earlier, his mother had instilled several rules upon him and his
brothers. Watching out for a woman was near the list’s top. The fact it gave
him the perfect excuse to crowd her into the elevator was merely a by-product.

He scented her nerves kicking up again, but the
arousal that mixed with it told him clearly she wasn’t afraid.
Jakob
could handle nervous, fear was an entirely different
mess. Once she’d hit the button for her floor, he boxed her into the corner.
Enough space she could bolt if she truly wanted to, but close enough to keep
her attention fully on him. “We still have a few things to talk about, you and
I.”

“I don’t know what you mean.”

It was adorable how she switched between watching
the numbers clicking on the display and him. Her fingers compulsively clenched
and released her keys, yet another tell she had. Why the hell he hadn’t
cornered her before was beyond him, but he was damn well going to make up for
it.

“I think you do know exactly what I mean,” he said
quietly.

Her sharp breath had him wanting to press in
closer. But the bell announcing her floor saved her, for the moment. Stepping
back, he grinned when she bolted out from the elevator and attempted to stay
out in front.
Jakob
caught up with her while she
scrambled to get her keys into the door, and pressed close to her back. A small
fumble, and then she had the door open.

When she was inside, breathing erratic, he lifted a
brow. Poor thing looked ready to slam the door in his face. After a moment’s
debate, he watched as she blew out a resigned breath, stepped back, and waved
him in. Frankly, he was stunned. He figured she would have told him to get
lost.

Not one to complain when opportunity presented
itself, he stepped into her place. Immediately, he was surrounded by her scent.
His cock throbbed behind his zipper, and his balls grew heavy with need. A
quick adjustment while she was distracted hanging up her jacket ensured she
wouldn’t pick up on his problem right away.

She headed straight into the kitchen, and put the
kettle on. Following her at a slower pace,
Jakob
took
in the surroundings. The apartment wasn’t huge, but it felt homey, and was
impeccably kept. Older furnishings that had been cared for and looked damn
comfortable filled the living room with a few photos, and some art on the warm
yellow walls.

Holland was facing him when he wandered into the
kitchen, her gaze wary, and her body language telling him she was on guard.
What exactly she expected he couldn’t even hazard a guess at. What she would
get would depend on her.

“Did you want some tea?”

The hesitant tone had his hackles going up.
Something was off, and
Jakob
would bet it was because
he was in her space. At a guess, he was willing to assume she didn’t have many
folks over, and likely even fewer men. Good thing too. If he’d caught a man’s
scent in her place who knows what the fuck he may have done. Moving straight
toward her, he braced his hands on the counter at her back, and leaned in. Her
hands landed on his chest, and her fingers spread out.

Since she didn’t push him away, he pressed a little
closer. “Some tea sounds good,” he said. Dropping one hand to her hip, he
watched her closer. Any signs she was panicking, he would back off. He wanted
her uncomfortable, but panicked didn’t suit his purposes. “We can enjoy it
while we talk more.”

Her fingers curled to clutch at his shirt. “What is
there to talk about?”

The breathless quality to her voice had him
fighting a smirk. He liked that he was affecting her. Since she affected him it
only seemed fair. “Originally, I was willing to give you a night to think
things through. But fate seemed to be on my side when your car wouldn’t start.
To that end I think we need to continue where you left me hanging. That and
discuss you groping my ass.”

Her eyes went wide, but once again she was saved.
This time it was by the kettle whistling to announce the water was ready.
Chuckling, he backed off to the doorway into the kitchen, and let her deal with
filling the teapot. He even let her get away with what amounted to busy work in
wiping down the stove, the kettle, and the counters.

Finally, she turned to look his way. “Can you grab
the cups?”

Nodding, he moved to collect them, and then
followed her to the living room. After handing her the cups, he shrugged off
his jacket, and draped it over the armchair before settling in at her side. He
leaned back, and rested his arms along the sofa back. It allowed him to watch
her fidget while waiting for the tea to steep.

Not liking how twitchy she was, he shifted forward,
and rested a hand to her back. “Holland, you’re going to slide off the sofa if
you keep twitching around like you’re doing. Why are you jumpy?” He needed to
know what was going on if he had any hope to defend himself against her
concerns.

Her shoulders moved in a shrug before she peeked
over her shoulder at him. “I never once imagined you’d be actually talking to
me let along be in my home. I’m having a hard time coming to terms with all
this.”

“I would have talked to you more before now but you
were avoiding me, remember? Why was that by the way?”

Holland’s cheeks warmed to a pretty pink color that
make him want to discover where else that blush went to. “At first it was
because you were too gorgeous to be real. Then I worried because nothing good
ever came into my life without a huge cost. After that you snarled at me, and I
figured it was better to stay away.”

Jakob
remembered snarling at her. He still felt like an ass for that. He
hadn’t meant to do it, but he’d been in a piss poor mood and her concern,
genuine though it had been, had grated on his nerves. Acting without thought,
he’d been an idiot. “I’m sorry about that. I’d gotten some crummy news that
morning, had several things not go my way, and then slamming my thumb in the
truck door had topped off everything to that point. It wasn’t you, Holland. I’d
reached my breaking point and you were the unlucky soul to be close when it
happened. I went to find you to apologize but you started avoiding me right
off. Will you forgive me?”

Another look over her shoulder, and then she
nodded. “Yeah. I get it. Even I have days when I feel like snarling at people.
Although you have it down to an art form, I must say. I’ve never heard anyone
make that sound before.”

Right, he should probably tell her about
that.
Sooner rather than later too.
“Well, there is a reason for
that, but we’ll get to that in a bit. First things first, tell me what your
other reference was from back at the bar. You said on one hand you wanted to
hit me, and the other was what?”

Immediately, she blushed again, and ducked her
head. She began to pour tea while looking anywhere but him again. When they
both had a cup in hand, he sat back, and pulled her gently with him to tuck her
in close. “Tell me, Holland. Or would you prefer I guess? I have quite the
imagination, I should warn you.” And for the last several months, it had all
been her front and center in the starring role.