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His mother had definitely been right. She wasthe one.
Suddenly, he knew he wanted to marry Lacey. Wanted to build a forever life with her. Hell, even have kids with her.
At the thought of marriage, an image of another woman entered his mind.
Marietta.
She was the reason he was gun-shy whenever the word wedding was brought up.
Lacey still didn’t know about Marietta.
His ex-wife had been ten years older than him and for a while had totally bewitched him. At least he’d come to his senses and divorced her less than five months after they’d spoken their vows. No one outside his family knew of his quick, failed marriage.
If he was going to ask Lacey to marry him, either soon or sometime in the future, he needed to come clean about Marietta. But not tonight. Tonight, he needed the balm of Lacey’s lovemaking to soothe his tortured mind.
CHAPTER THREE
LACEY BREATHED IN the early morning air and rubbed the sleep from her eyes. Even though they’d had a late night, Lacey had decided not to sleep in because she’d been waiting to get started on her new project for weeks and she actually had a little time to herself this morning. Stepping into the large shed, she switched on the light. Parked up next to Nico’s Jeep was the new love of her life. A blue-and-white Kombi van, with the registration plate DOTTI44. Smudge gave the van a cursory sniff before disappearing back outside, clearly not as enthusiastic. She could hear the flock of geese honking at something down in the orchard, but they didn’t sound distressed, so Lacey guessed it was perhaps another egg being laid and so she made a mental note to check it out later.
Lacey had found the van online, and she and Nico had driven down to Hobart to meet the seller and check her out only a few weeks ago. Dotti 2.0 was perfect. Still in roadworthy condition, but in need of a lot of TLC. And Lacey was dying to get her hands on the cute little van and put her personal stamp on her, smarten up the interior, and add a few little touches that’d make her a perfect little home away from home. But first she needed to decide whether to keep the current exterior colors or change them, and then line up a spray painter to do the job. She wasn’t about to fool herself that she could do a professional paint job on her own. There were lots of other things that needed sprucing up—new chrome on the bumper and all her VW bits, new glass in the split windscreens.
Dave had already checked Dotti out from head to toe and declared that while she was roadworthy and the engine ran okay, there were some vital things that needed attending to. A new exhaust system was in order, as were new shock absorbers all around. Dave was due to start work on Dotti next weekend, and Lacey was excited.
She still mourned her first Kombi van. Gabriel had turned her into a pile of scrap metal when he’d driven her over a cliff. But she tried not to think about it, because that brought up dark, disturbing memories she’d rather remained hidden.
She was so deep in thought, that when a noise came from behind, Lacey spun around on her heel, hands instinctively raised to protect herself, ready to fight for her life.
Nico stood in the doorway, one hand raised in surrender, the other hand wrapped around his motorcycle helmet, and she quickly dropped her stance.
“Sorry,” she apologized, letting her gaze linger on Nico, who was wearing his leather motorcycle jacket over jeans. Mmm, that jacket suited him, highlighted his height and broad shoulders, and gave him an untamed edge that was decidedly alluring. Trust her to always want a bit of bad boy in her man. But who didn’t like a bit of bad boy, really?
“I made that noise on purpose,” he said. “I know better than to surprise you from behind.” He came up and laid an arm across her shoulders, dropping a kiss on her cheek. Lacey winced but acknowledged the truth of his statement, remembering back to the first time she’d met Nico and how she’d used her judo skills to throw him over her shoulder onto the ground.
She wouldn’t admit it, but she was always a little on edge now. After Gabriel had attacked her, then abducted her and tried to kill her, she was extra vigilant. Nico seemed to understand it, even though he never commented directly on her heightened sense of awareness.
“Contemplating what’s next for the new Dotti?” he asked. Smudge strolled in and sat at Nico’s feet, as if contemplating the van too.
“Yes, I thought I’d spend the morning pulling out those old cupboards the last owner had built in. They’re a bit dated, and I have lots of ideas of how to make the interior work so much better. And I’d like to construct a comfortable couch along the rear, like my old Dotti. Remember?”
“How could I forget? That couch was where I first fell in love with you.”
“Don’t be silly,” she said, punching him lightly in the shoulder.
“I’m dead serious.” He leaned in and took her mouth in a kiss that was decidedly possessive, sending a buzz of electricity through her. She turned and wrapped her arms around his neck, running her fingers up so they tangled in his long hair that he’d pulled back into a man bun. She loved that man bun. It made him look so sexy. Made her want to go up and kiss his strong neck, down to his equally strong shoulders. And she loved that he could still put butterflies in her stomach with one touch of his lips. Those wondrous feelings of excitement and raw need from their first few weeks together had never subsided. If anything, they’d become stronger; he’d become more irresistible. She dipped her tongue between his teeth, deepening their kiss.
Last night had been good, but it hadn’t been nearly enough to overcome a week of missing him. A week of celibacy where she pined for his body beside her. Who knew she would miss having sex that much? Before she met Nico, she’d gone nearly a year without sex and hadn’t thought much of it. But having sampled Nico’s seductive ways, she now couldn’t seem to get enough of his body. Those muscular thighs, ridged abs that went all the way down to that line of hair, biceps that bulged exactly right as he held his weight off her while he hovered above her on the bed…
She sighed and wrapped her arms tighter around his neck. She was going to drive herself crazy if she didn’t stop.
When they finally broke apart, it took her a few seconds to remember where they were.
“What time does your shift start today?” he asked, a husky note in his voice hinting at the residual lust their kiss evoked.
“Midday,” she said, disentangling her fingers from his hair and reluctantly letting him go. Most police shifts were eight hours, usually starting at eight in the morning or four in the afternoon, with reduced staff rostered on for the night shift of midnight to eight. But there was also some overlap shifts, to make sure the station was well-staffed during the busiest afternoon and evening hours. Hence her midday start. Lacey was due to go on night shift in a few weeks’ time, so she was making the most of her daytime shifts. That was the hardest time for her, when she and Nico often passed like ships in the night, him returning from a late night at work just as she was leaving to go start her shift.
“I’ll see you at the station then,” he said, touching her face one last time before heading toward his motorcycle, parked in front of his Jeep. He’d graciously given over half of his shed to house Dotti until she was fully restored.
Settling himself onto his bike, he pulled on his helmet and lifted the visor. “You want to come for a ride on my motorcycle soon? Maybe we could go this weekend.” He sent her a cheeky grin that made the scar on his face dance. He’d received the scar as a child and now, so many years later, people could easily mistake it for a dimple. She loved that scar, it was part of him that made him imperfectly perfect. And now she had scars as well. To remind her of her near-death experience. To remind her how lucky she was.
