Explosive Attraction - By Lena Diaz Page 0,29

inside.

“Close the door, will you?” he yelled at Rafe as he pulled Darby into the kitchen. “I was just about to make some coffee, darlin’. Want some?”

“Um...I...ah—”

“No, she doesn’t. I need a car.” Rafe stepped into the kitchen, snatching Darby’s hand away from Nick. He pulled out one of the kitchen chairs for her to sit.

She sat, enjoying the view as the Adonis who called himself Nick set about brewing a pot of coffee. He reminded her of Brad Pitt in the movie Troy. Shoulder-length blond hair, broad shoulders, golden skin. She rested her chin in her palm and sighed.

Nick grinned, as if he knew what she was thinking.

Rafe rolled his eyes.

“What?” she asked innocently.

He tossed his keys on the countertop. “Unlike some people, Nicholas, I’m in a bit of a hurry here.”

Nick pressed the coffeemaker’s on button and turned around, looking completely unconcerned. “If you’re in a hurry, Rafael, maybe you should have called first.”

“I didn’t think you’d be lying in bed this late in the day. Some of us work for a living and have been up for hours.”

Darby wasn’t sure, but she thought she heard a teasing note in Rafe’s voice.

Nick sat down across from her. “Please forgive my brother’s poor manners. If I knew he needed a car I would have had one gassed up and ready to go. But since he didn’t bother to tell me, I don’t have a car here. And he knows very well I’ve been working nights, which is why I’m not dressed for company.”

“Your brother?” Darby glanced back and forth between them. Other than their basic build—over six feet tall, broad-shouldered, muscular—there was nothing about them that would make her think they were related. Rafe had dark hair, almost black, and deep blue eyes. Nick was all golden, from his honey-blond hair to his sun-kissed skin, and his eyes were hazel. Darby preferred Rafe’s dark good looks over Nick’s, but that didn’t reduce her enjoyment in viewing Nick in his half-naked state.

Nick gave her a long-suffering look “Yes, he’s my brother. I’m cursed with two of them. But God made up for it by giving me three smart, sassy sisters who tease both my brothers mercilessly. I’m the favorite, of course.” He reached across the table and took her hand in his. “What about you? Are you cursed with a big family like me?”

“I...um.”

“Does your fiancée know how much you still flirt with other women?” Rafe asked.

Nick shot him a dark look. “We’re not discussing my on-again, off-again fiancée today.”

“Ah, so it’s off again. When are you going to move on to someone else?”

Darby suddenly realized what Rafe had just done. He’d diverted Nick’s attention, turning the conversation away from his questions about her family. She gave him a nod of thanks.

He gave her a subtle nod in return. “Since you don’t have a car here,” Rafe continued, “we might as well go.” He grabbed his keys and held his hand out for Darby.

Nick shoved his arm away. “Give it a rest. I can have a car here in fifteen minutes.” He leaned over and grabbed the cordless phone off its base on the wall.

Darby couldn’t help but stare at his perfect, golden skin stretched taut across his well-defined abs. He spoke to someone named Kitty, telling her to hurry home with a car, and promising her she’d get to drive his brother’s four-wheel-drive truck.

Rafe scowled as Nick hung up the phone. “Whoever Kitty is, she’s not driving my truck. I just had it repainted from the last time one of your friends scratched it up.”

“I paid for that paint job, so you have nothing to complain about.” Nick plopped down in the chair across from Darby again. “Tell me, darlin’, why is a beautiful woman like you hanging around my brooding brother? You can do much better than him.” He winked, obviously implying he meant himself.

She laughed, but when Rafe frowned at her, she tried to contain her amusement.

“Leave her alone, Romeo,” Rafe said. “She’s with me. I’m her bodyguard. Someone’s trying to kill her.”

Nick’s smile faded. “Who?”

“The bomber in the paper.”

“That was you? The boat crash?”

Rafe nodded. “I left you a voice mail.”

“I’ve been using a burn phone. Haven’t checked my voice mail in a while.” Nick turned his attention back to Darby. “He never could drive a boat. I, on the other hand, am an expert. Ever been to the Keys? I go there a lot. I could take you around and show you—”

“She doesn’t need a

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