Chapter 6

Jenna

The sound of my pen tapping on the table in front of me was soothing, but only to me. Someone cleared their throat loudly to my left, and I glanced over and gave an apologetic look.

"Sorry." I sat back in my chair and let my eyes scan the expanse of the library, looking for Grace. She'd come over when I first got there, but with Nelly breathing down her throat, I wasn't sure I'd get the chance to see her again.

"Good thing you're here to study," I whispered to myself and leaned back over my physics book. It only took a few seconds of staring at the numbers and shapes for my mind to disappear to the place it always did... in a dark bedroom. With Nate.

For someone who'd never had great sex, I sure knew how to conjure it up in my mind in a split second. His strong hands greedily pulling at my hips, his soft lips racing across my skin, his huge, thick-

"Jenna. There he is."

I yelped as Grace's hot breath hit the back of my neck. "Dammit."

"Shhhh!" An older woman got up and gathered her things. "This is a library for Pete's sake."

"Sorry." I blushed and covered my face with my hands. "I hate you, by the way."

"No, you don't." Grace pulled out the chair beside me and sat down before picking up my physics book and pulling it up to hide behind. "He's here."

"I heard you the first time." I scanned the tables in front of me, looking for who he could possibly be.

"Oh my God. He's so damn hot." Grace closed her eyes and leaned back in her chair. "This book is too heavy to hold up."

I reached over and snatched it from her. "Why are you hiding, and who am I looking for?"

She tugged on the book, winning the battle and almost falling over backward out of her chair as I let the damn thing go.

"I don't know his name." She huffed and pulled the thick book down a little. "He's right over there. Dark blue t-shirt, gray beanie, five-o'clock shadow. He's so damn hot. I swear every time I see him, I feel like my heart is going to burst from my chest."

"Wait. You're in love with someone?" I continued to scan the room. "Why wasn't I informed of this?"

"Not in love. At least I don't think it's love. Feels like lust." She fanned herself until the book started to fall toward her face.

I reached out and grabbed it. "I don't see him."

"Stand up and look." She glanced down at her hands, far more nervous than I'd ever seen Grace before.

I stood and glanced around, my eyes landing on a face that was a little too familiar. A smile lifted my lips as I turned my attention back to my best friend.

"Please tell me you're not talking about Erik Bertinelli."

"Is that his name?" She fanned herself faster. "He makes every part of me ache."

"Too much information, though I know the feeling myself." I leaned forward, grateful that the handsome hitman had his face in a book. "What the fuck is he doing in here?"

"He's here all the time. He reads in a corner at the top of the stairs usually, but Nelly made him stay down here because he's got a reference book today." She turned and lifted up out of her seat a little. "I want him to take me to his apartment and make me forget my pathetic ass life. You think he would?"

"What? No." I sat back down.

"It's the dress, isn't it?" She glanced down at her pretty white and navy blue dress and shook her head. "I just love this style. I don't know why."

"No, it's not the dress. He's," I leaned close and pressed my face against her hair so I could whisper into her ear, "a hitman for the mafia. No one knows that, and you don't either. I don't want to see you in some dark alley with your throat cut."

"He is not." She jerked back, her eyes wide.

"I'm telling you that he is. My father is the DA of New York City, Grace. He's bad news." I glanced back over at him, taking in his profile and understanding completely why Grace would be head over heels for the man. He was beyond fine. "There were pictures of him all over my father's desk when I went for dinner on Monday night."

"Really?" Her voice lowered. "Can you get me one of them? I just want one."

"You don't need my help with that. Go get the latest paper. I'm sure he's in it. The Post is always running an ad on the Bertinellis. It's gotta be part of the scheme they have going."

"All right, look, I don't want to get wrapped up in anything deadly. I just want an afternoon of worshiping his body. You think I could get him to take me home and I live to tell about it?"

"It's sex." I glanced back toward her. "It's not worth that."

"It might be." She stood up and straightened her skirt. "I'm going to walk by. Tell me if he looks my way?"

"No way. Stay here." I reached out to grab her, but she'd already taken off in Erik's general direction. I stood as she moved down the aisles toward him.

Sure enough, he glanced up and his eyes followed her as she moved toward the heart of the library. The smile on my face fell quickly as he turned and his sapphire eyes locked dead onto me.

Fuck. Did he know we were talking about him? Not possible. But he knew who I was... there was no way he wouldn't.

****

I hadn't been at the coffee shop for twenty minutes when Thomas, Grace's older brother, walked in. The smile on his freckled face was contagious. He was cute but far too much of a jock for my liking. Preppy was his middle name back in high school, and from the look of things, that hadn't changed much.

"Jenna Webb. My favorite barista." He smiled and stopped in front of the counter. "Don't you look beautiful today?"

"Just today?" I scrunched my eyebrows and gave him a pouty look. I shouldn't have egged him on. It was evil, but fun.

"Every day." He pressed his hands to the counter and leaned in a little. "Did Grace tell you that some of us are getting together this weekend at Kadia? Just an old reunion of sorts. Some of the guys are coming into town for a football game."

"She did." I wiped my hands on my apron and glanced over to see Nathaniel walk in the door. His leather jacket and black jeans made him look as dark and sexy as I had no doubt he was.

"So... that mean you're coming with us?"

"I'm not sure." I turned my attention back to Thomas, not wanting to be rude nor draw attention to my latest obsession.

Latest? It'd been a year. Something had to give soon.

"Well, it wouldn't be the same without you."

I smirked. "That so? When is the last time you and I hung out?"

"I honestly can't remember."

"It was spring break, my senior year."

"Four years ago? Shit. Time flies, right?"

"It sure does. I'll think about this weekend. You want a cup of coffee or did you just come by to bother me?" I smiled and Nate stepped up beside Thomas, his expression grim.

"Is he bothering you?" Nate's voice was ominous, the tone of it low and unbelievably sexy.

"What? No. Not at all." I tried to backtrack as Thomas turned to face the much bigger guy.

"And who the fuck are you if I was bothering her?" Thomas’ shoulders stiffened and he puffed out his chest.

"I'm the guy that would stop you dead in your tracks, mother fucker." Nate seemed quite comfortable in the middle of the confrontation.

I jogged around the corner and squeezed in between them, putting my back to Nate. I didn't know him well enough to know if he would back off thanks to me pleading with him, but I knew Thomas would.

"Hey." I put my hands on Thomas' chest and tapped until he glanced down at me. "Stop, okay? I'll be there this weekend, just get out of here and stop causing shit."

He glanced down at me and back up at Nate, his brown eyes filled with challenge. "Yeah. All right, but tell this asshole to back up. I don't like him on top of you."

"He will. Okay. Thanks for coming by." I slipped my arm into Thomas' and walked him to the door, giving him a quick hug before half-shoving him out. I turned back to Nate and gave him a stern look. "Really? What was that? You don't even know me."

"Do I have to know you to want to protect you?" He slipped his hands into the front of his jeans and gave me a smile that made me want to purr and rub against him.

"No, but jeez." I walked back around the counter and grabbed a cup. "Black coffee? No cream or sugar."

He tilted his head and watched me, not saying a word.

"Who was he?"

"Who? Thomas? He's my best friend's older brother."

"Old boyfriend?" He had no inflection to his voice at all. I couldn't tell if he was pissed or happy as a lark.

"Yes, but it was a long time ago." I crossed my arms over my chest as if to protect myself. What did Nate care who I dated? He was way the fuck out of my league.

"Hey, buddy!" A chunky guy with thick brown hair and a lopsided smile moved up beside Nate and patted him on the back. "You said we were meeting at your place, not the coffee shop."

"Hey, Mikey." Nate glanced down at the smaller man and back up to me. "I don't like it."

"And I'm not sure why you think I would care." I shook the cup back and forth slowly. "Coffee or not?"

"Yes. And whatever he's having." He moved down toward the pickup counter and Mikey moved up.

"I'll have a frozen chocolate coffee thing." His eyes moved from the board above my head down to my face. "I'm Mikey. Nice to meet you."

I extended my hand and shook his. "I'm Jenna."

"I'm aware." He chuckled and glanced down at Nate, who was wrapped up in a conversation with Cynthia. Surprise, surprise. "He needs to just get over himself and ask you out, but I'm not sure he's going to do it. You should do you both a favor and just ask him."

"What?" I snorted and shook my head. "No fucking way. I'm not that kind of girl."

"It's the twenty-first century. You guys would be great together." He glanced down toward Nate and visibly paled. "And that's my cue to shut the fuck up."

I turned my attention toward Nate as his eyes narrowed a little more. God, he was beautiful. Our eyes met, and I held his stare and pursed my lips tightly. I wasn't giving into whatever the fuck he was up to. Bringing in his friend to push me to ask him out?

No fucking way. He might turn me on in ways that would make a whore blush, but he wasn't the right guy for me.

Then who is?

Thomas? No way. Too pretty.

Erik? Hell no. Too damn deadly.

"Don't let him fool you, princess. I'm not the movie and popcorn kinda guy." Nate had moved back in front of me. The scent of his cologne wafted by my nose, driving lust deep inside my stomach. My nipples budded.

"And what kind of guy are you?"

"A dangerous one. Remember that." He turned and walked toward his regular table, sitting down and staring out the window like he always did.

His comment made me wanna whimper and crawl over the counter toward him. What the hell was wrong with me?

Bored. I was bored as fuck. I needed some action in my life before I made a real mistake. Going to Kadia with Thomas and Grace didn't seem like such a bad idea all of a sudden.

At least it was a start.