Solitary Man(5)
Author: Carly Phillips

“Just a little nauseous, dizzy. I’m fine or I will be after a good night’s sleep.”

His eyes narrowed as his dark gaze focused in on her. “Has this happened before?”

“Yes. No.” She could barely think, let alone answer. Maybe if his strength weren’t so potent, his scent so seductive, she wouldn’t feel as dizzy and overwhelmed.

All her strength went into remaining upright and focused. Once she got rid of Kevin, she could collapse in a taxi and pull herself together.

“Well, which is it?” he asked.

Nikki shook her head, but the rapid movement only made things worse. The last thing she felt before blackness claimed her was his strong arms beneath her knees and his softly muttered curse in her ear.

* * *

The sound of oil splattering in a frying pan woke her. It wasn’t the first time Nikki had opened her eyes since falling into the uncharacteristic faint.

She’d awakened earlier to find herself in Kevin’s car, his hand stroking her cheek as he drove. Because she’d been so exhausted, she hadn’t fought him. Lulled by the motion of the vehicle and the illusion of security she’d desperately needed, she’d allowed herself to drift back to sleep.

She swung her legs over the side of what she now realized was an unfamiliar couch and sat up. Her stomach rebelled at the sudden upward movement. Breathe deep. Nikki obeyed her silent command, but the odor of frying eggs worked against her.

“Bathroom’s over there.”

Nikki heard him and ran, making it just in time. How an empty stomach could cause so much trouble, she had no idea. When the shaking stopped and she felt steady enough to rise, she splashed cold water on her face and prepared to approach Kevin.

“You okay?”

She glanced up to find him standing in the doorway, his brow furrowed in concern, “Yeah.” She pushed her hair out of her eyes, barely able to meet his gaze. Throwing up wasn’t an everyday occurrence. Having an audience, especially having Kevin as an audience, made the situation even worse.

“Here, let me help you to the table.” He took a step toward her, but embarrassment forced her retreat. The back of her legs hit the toilet and he laughed. “I think I’ve already witnessed your worst,” he said. “Shutting me out now won’t make things better. Let me help.” His voice dropped an octave as he held out a hand.

She nodded and placed her palm inside his. Heat shot through her arm, setting off a warm tingling in her chest and stomach. One which she’d prefer to attribute to dizziness and exhaustion, not to Kevin’s potent touch.

She glanced at her watch. Only an hour since she’d left the bar. “Why didn’t you just take me home?” she asked.

“I figured you needed someone to keep an eye on you and Janine needs her sleep.”

“So you volunteered for the job?”

“I didn’t see anyone else around to catch you when you fell.”

“Thank you for that,” she murmured, realizing that she sounded like an ungrateful shrew.

“You’re welcome.” He pulled an old wooden chair from beneath the bleached oak table. The set was obviously piecemeal, an old rectangular table, two matching chairs and an odd assortment of others.

“Yours?” she asked, remembering a plain white table in his old apartment.

He followed her line of vision. “Came with the house,” he explained.

“House.” Nikki lowered herself into the chair before she had another wave of dizziness to contend with. “I thought you rented an apartment?” She kept her gaze glued to the scarred table, refusing to let the memories of that night, that place, resurface.

“It was a month-to-month lease, furniture and all. The morning I left…” He cleared his throat, obviously as uncomfortable with the memories as she. “When I left, I dropped a check with the landlord for an extra month’s rent along with a note asking him to store my things.”

He’d given the landlord more consideration than he’d given her, she thought. “And this house?”

“Was left to me by an aunt who remembered me in her will. I figured it was as good an excuse as any to come back to town.”

“It was but I wasn’t.” Nikki could have bitten her tongue in two the minute the words were out of her mouth. She knew without question what that night had meant to him. What she meant to him. Nothing. Not a damn thing. He’d used her to forget the pain, the same pain she’d been reeling from. Only difference was, she’d been drawn to him for months, probably years, and being in his arms had been an answer to all her dreams. Or so she’d thought.

He poured a can of cola into a glass and put it down in front of her. “Drink this. The sugar will help the dizziness and since I rarely touch the stuff, it’s probably flat and will settle your stomach.”

“How would you know?”

“My old man suffered from enough hangovers in his time.”

She wrapped her hands around the cold glass. “I wasn’t drunk.”

“Upset stomach. Close enough, now drink. Then we’ll talk.”

Her eyelashes fluttered down and she complied with his command. Almost immediately, the rolling in her stomach had begun to ease.

“Better?” he asked.

She nodded.

“Now has this happened before?”

“Not like this. I work nights and with the stress of the last couple of months… I’m just tired.” Her stomach chose that moment to remind them both that she hadn’t eaten all day.

He grinned at the loud rumbling that echoed in the kitchen.

“And hungry,” she admitted.

“I already dumped the eggs.”

“I couldn’t get those down anyway.” She doubted much of anything would sit well in her stomach, except… “Do you have any ice cream?” she asked hopefully, licking her lips at the thought of the cold treat easing its way down her parched throat.

“Yes.”

“And french fries?”

“You’re kidding.”

She shook her head. “Now that I’ve gotten my appetite back, I have this urge for french fries, too. Any in the freezer?”

He raised an eyebrow at her unusual request. “Sorry, but no.”

“Then it’s a good thing there’s an all-night fast food place near my apartment.” She graced him with a smile. “We can stop by… on my way home,” she said pointedly.

“You obviously can’t wait to get away from me. Fine, but from the looks of things you’ve been neglecting your health, and that’s got to stop.”