Niki Gets Naughty Ch. 02

There was something about Kendra's appearance that projected abject fascination and longing in anyone who saw her. Perhaps it was her exotic green eyes, which always seemed to sparkle with a private naughty joke, or the glossy black hair that tumbled about her shoulders in lazy ringlets. Maybe it was that invitingly full mouth; perpetually coated in a deep shade of red lipstick, or the scorpion tattoo inked across the small of her back. In truth, it was all of these things, and so much more besides. Simply put, the woman exuded sex. Jake admired her serenely relaxed face for a moment, before allowing his eyes to wander downward. Her body was every bit as toned and supple as a girl of her age and training should be.

Her breasts weren't as large as Niki's, but they were by no definition of the word small. He guessed she was probably a C cup, which suited her svelte, athletic figure just fine.

Belatedly, Jake realized that he was ogling his employee's chest in broad daylight. He quickly raised his gaze to her face, and felt his ears burn as their eyes connected. She had been watching him the whole time.

"See anything you like?" Her voice was a soft purr, laced with playful flirtation. Her hypnotic green eyes seemed to bore into his very soul as she continued to breathe in a controlled, decelerated rhythm. The corners of her cherry red mouth curved into the barest whisper of a smile.

Her boldness left Jake momentarily tongue-tied. She was one of those rare women that could completely confuse a man, any man. She had a way of looking at a man directly, sometimes standing an inch too close, it would bend the attention of a man.

Kendra just looked at him, twisted a lock of her hair between her fingers, and stuck her long pink tongue out at him. He grinned back. Without saying a word, she got up, collected her things and walked out of the room.

As she left the room, she glanced back at him a little too long, a full extra beat, and down in his heart, he thought, Hmm...

***************

The next morning.

It was dark when Niki arrived at the airport. The taxi proceeded up the ramp, looped around a handful of parked cabs, and dropped her off at the curb right behind a shuttle bus. Niki knew the routine well enough: proceed to the ticket counter, show her ID and collect her E-tickets, check her bags, walk down the corridor to the TSA checkpoint, walk through the metal detector, then up the ramp to the shopping arcade and food court, finally to the airlines boarding jet way and check in desk. When her flight was called Niki gathered her carry-on luggage and boarded the aircraft.

The golden hair flashed at Ryan Allen from the front of the cabin. It captured his eye not because of the movement itself, but because of the way it moved. As the woman turned into the airplane, her head cocked right and her blond hair bounced left, fast and confident revealing the face of an angel. He sat transfixed. For a long instant he didn't blink. He could barely breath.

When she found her seat in the first class section she noticed that she would spend the trip seated next to a rather large, muscular, yet not unattractive man.

Ryan watched the woman approach him as she navigated her way down the aisle of the wide-bodied aircraft. The closer she got to his seat the more he noticed how absolutely beautiful this woman really was. When she stopped and sat down next to him he felt his heart catch in his throat.

It was at that moment that he re-evaluated his observation. Beautiful didn't quite describe her. Exquisite might come close. Her blond hair hung softly down to her shoulders, blue eyes framed by thick lashes, peaches and cream, girl next door complexion, and a fading summer tan. He blinked once, twice and then closed his eyes for a moment, certain that his vision was playing tricks on him.

When he reopened his eyes he made eye contact with the lady. Momentarily robbed of breath, he stared at her.

Niki gazed at the big, dark haired man sitting next to her, and an involuntary shiver rippled through her nerve endings. He excited her, piqued her interest. Sexual awareness, plain and simple. Although not actually handsome – he was far too rugged to be good-looking – he possessed a raw, masculine magnetism that overwhelmed her senses. She couldn't remember ever having had such a strong initial reaction to a man. Not even with Jake.

Once she was settled in to her seat Niki engaged the man seated beside her in small talk. Telling him a little bit about herself and finding that she was really quite interested in discovering whatever she could about this man.

"So what do you do for a living?" She asked with an engaging smile.

"I'm a cop," he replied, matter of fact tone, in a way that cops do.

"Why am I not surprised?" She smiled again and he marveled at her even white teeth.

When she smiled at him, so pretty and feminine and sweet, he wanted to grab her and kiss her. When she spoke to him he was mesmerized. Her voice was smooth and musical.

She tried not to stare at him, but that didn't prevent her from being completely aware of him. He must have been at least a foot taller that she was, and he easily outweighed her by a hundred muscular pounds. His masculine presence filled her consciousness. Then there was the way he smelled. Clean and musky at the same time. Soap-and-water clean, a slight hint of some mild aftershave, and a male scent that was purely his own.

"So what takes you to New York?" he asked.

"I'm a model," she said modestly and then quickly added, "I'm not famous or anything. I do mostly magazine layouts for some of the mid-sized designers."

"Wow, a model" he said, clearly impressed.

"This is about as good as the modeling business is going to get for me though, I'm a little too curvy up top for the large designing houses," she said, laughing as Ryan tried hard to keep from looking at her breasts. "So why are you going to New York?"

"It's a working vacation. There is a seminar put on by the FBI that I'm attending, but I'm also going to catch a few of the sights, maybe see something on Broadway."

Niki watched him with those big blue eyes of hers. He tried his best not to look directly at her unless it was absolutely necessary. Ryan couldn't remember ever thinking a woman's laughter was beautiful. But Niki's was. Almost as beautiful as the woman herself.

Sitting there in the roomy first class seats, Niki suddenly realized what a truly big man Ryan was. His body took up such a large area that his left arm brushed against her right shoulder. Something purely feminine within her longed for him to lift his arm and put it around her.

"So, no rings, do you have a girlfriend?" she blurted. Oh dear God, why'd you ask that Niki wondered.

"No, no girlfriends," he smiled. "How about you? Husbands? Boyfriends?"

"I have a boyfriend," she answered and was sure that she saw disappointment behind those eyes that smoldered and twinkled and made her catch her breath.

Throughout the flight they made small talk, traded chit-chat, and told stories of their lives. Niki was leaning against him, shoulder to shoulder. She was a touchy-feely person. She probably hugged and kissed friends without giving her actions a second thought, he surmised. She had, Ryan decided, probably the best body he'd ever rubbed up against. They were so comfortable in each other's company that the stewardess thought they were old friends.

By the time they had reached the east coast, Niki was fully aware that Ryan appealed to her. He possessed a laid-back, easy going nature, an appealing personality and a caring attitude.

"Where are you staying?" Niki asked as the plane taxied toward the gate.

"The Broadway Marquis," he answered.

"No you're not," Niki said, surprised. "I'm staying at the Marquis!"

"Really?" he asked and she nodded affirmation. "Do you want to catch a taxi there together?"

"Yes, that would be wonderful," she said, smiling.

They exited the aircraft and as they were walking together through the terminal Ryan noted that despite her slender frame, she possessed a very appealing shape. A womanly body. The kind of body with the curves in all the right places.

They were both tired from the travel and after getting something to eat they called it an early night. Leaving Niki at her room, as she was closing the door, she said, "Hey Ryan? What time are you getting up?"

"Around six-thirty. Why?"

"Could you call my room? I don't like to depend on the hotel," she flashed him a tired, yet award winning smile.

"No problem," he smiled back.

***************

The phone rang with its odd trilling warble and a hand reached out from under a blanket to answer it. "Hello?"

"Good morning. Sleep well?" Ryan Allen asked. Two rooms down the hall Niki twisted around in her bed to stare at the clock. "Ryan?"

"Yeah. You asked me to make sure you got up, remember? Hey, would you like to join me for breakfast?"

"Uh, sure. Give me half-an-hour to get ready."

"No problem. I'll meet you at your room at seven," he said.

***************

When she heard the knock on the door she jumped and gasped.

"Good morning," Ryan said, flashing a bit of a grin when she answered the door. The man possessed white teeth and a crooked smile, the kind that could absolutely melt a woman's heart. "Morning," she answered, staring at the ruggedly good looking man standing before her. He was clean shaven, and his short dark hair was slightly damp. Niki tingled all over, the sensation radiating through her body with alarming speed. God help me she thought as her heart fluttered.

"I come bearing gifts." Ryan handed a lidded foam cup to Niki. "Hot chocolate, no whipped cream." He stared at her, his gaze gliding over her body like a lovers caress.

"Thanks. You're a real sweetie." Niki took the cup, snapped back the lip of the lid and took a sip of the hot, rich elixir. "This is just what I needed."

"Would you prefer the hotel restaurant or would you rather try something down the street?"

Niki said that she'd prefer the hotel restaurant because she knew they served fresh fruit each morning. Smiling, she studied Ryan from his thick dark hair, cut short and neat, to his big feet, clad in brown leather boots. In his own super-masculine way, he was every bit as sexy as Jake, maybe more so. She wondered if he was aware of his sex appeal. Did he know that he oozed sex from every pore? Did he realize that she found him irresistibly attractive and yet, she couldn't do a damn thing about it because of Jake.

Oh Niki, don't go there, she told herself. But she couldn't help it. She was one of those women who were hung up on tough-looking guys, men with an edge, although Ryan was a little different. When you looked a little more closely at him he had a soft spot in his heart, as well as that sexy twinkle in his eyes!

When they got to the elevator he stepped aside and let her get in first and then when he reached around her and hit the button his arm brushed against hers. A tingle of awareness jangled along her nerve endings. She had never been as sexually aware of another man as she was now aware of Ryan.

"Sorry," he said, offering up that smile, sexy and boyish, all at the same time, his dark eyes seductive and naughty. She experienced a warm feeling rush through her bloodstream.

Light caught in his dark hair and along the slope of his chiseled cheekbones; Niki wondered what it would be like to kiss him and something caught in the back of her throat.

Whoa! Don't think that way Niki, she scolded herself.

She couldn't help it. They stood together in the warm glow of the elevators lighting, there was a sense of intimacy in the air. Her silly over-reactive imagination ran wild with fantasies of making love to him.

Which was just plain ridiculous when she thought about it.

Down at the restaurant they ordered their breakfast. When the waitress returned to inform Ryan that they were out of decaf he said that regular would be fine. The waitress apologized but Ryan insisted that it was quite alright. After the waitress left Niki peered at him for a second, as if doing a reevaluation. "You're an easy man to please."

"Maybe." His dark eyes smoldered and she felt her breath catch once again. "Come to think of it, I guess I am."

Lord help me. Her pulse was thundering. Heat curled within her womb and spread rapidly out to her limbs. What was it about this man that got to her so? His teasing and flirting was completely getting to her, which was not a good thing. Was it?

He was definitely sexy as hell in his leather jacket, butt hugging jeans, good manners and boyish charm. Niki bet that he knew just exactly how to play a woman. She wondered how he would play he...or better yet, play with her.

After breakfast Ryan left for his seminar and Niki returned to her room. On her way up she thought that Ryan Allen was the finest man she'd ever met. He was a gentleman on top of being so very sexy. It was a shame that there wasn't anything she could do about it.

***************

The next few days went quickly by for the both of them. They really enjoyed the evenings that they were able to spend together going out to dinner and even to a Broadway show.

At breakfast on the day Ryan had to fly home he handed Niki one of his business cards.

"Look, if you ever need anything from me..."

"I'll be sure to call," she smiled. "Thanks. This has been fun. I really enjoyed going to the show. Jake refuses to do anything cultured."

"That's too bad. You miss so much in life when you shut your mind off like that," he said. "So when do you go home?"

"Next Tuesday."

***************

Tuesday.

Ryan looked at his watch. Niki's plane would be landing shortly. If he intended to be at the airport to meet her, he needed to leave now.

It would be good to see her. He'd only known her for a few short days, and as crazy as it sounded, he felt as though she was coming home to him.

***************

Niki took the usual commercial flights home, changing planes in Chicago after a two hour layover. She read a book during most of the transit. Upon landing she walked straight to baggage claim. To her surprise Ryan was there waiting for her. Her heart skipped a beat. Heaven help her! She instinctively understood that Ryan Allen had staked a claim to her, a claim that felt oddly personal and set her completely at ease.

"Surprise, surprise," she said. "If it isn't Detective Allen."

"Look, I'm not a stalker or anything. I really enjoyed your company in New York and thought that maybe I could, you know, you could use a ride, maybe save you a trip in a cab? I hope that's okay..."

"I don't remember complaining," she said, then mentally kicked herself for sounding so eager. One of his eyebrows raised.

"How'd you know which flight I'd be on?" She quickly asked, trying to cover-up.

"I'm a cop. I'm supposed to be able to figure out things like this. I knew what airline you were flying, you said you'd be back in town today and I knew where your flight originated from so I found out that there were three possibilities. This was the second of the three."

"You were here earlier? Waiting for me?" She asked, with a knowing smile.

"Yeah," he said with an embarrassed smile of his own.

"Oh, Ryan. That is so sweet. Jake won't even pick me up when he knows when I'm coming home. He can be a jerk at times," she said as they waited for her bags.

"Hmm. We all have our bad moments."

He was aware of her searching gaze. When she spoke it was deliberate and as if she had reached some decision.

"Ryan, I hardly know you, but I have to honestly say that even on your worst day I doubt that you could be quite as thoughtless as my Jake."

They collected Niki's bags and Ryan carried them out as they walked to his car.

Niki was more than a pretty face, Ryan decided. She was a free spirit. She had an adventurous mind mated to a warm, sensitive soul. She had real feelings and she was so wonderfully feminine, with the kind of beauty that begins at the heart and radiates out through a perfect smile.

A person would have to be blind to miss the obvious sexual vibes radiating between the two of them. A person would further have to be an idiot not to realize that both of them were pretending – to each other and to themselves – that there were no vibes what-so-ever.

When they reached his car Niki asked, "This is yours? A Mercedes CLK?"

He smiled shyly. "Yeah, it's mine."

"Nice car," she said.

Ryan ran his hand across the roof of the sleek hardtop. "There was a time when I thought that owning one of these really meant that you were somebody."

Niki thought she heard the hint of self-chastisement in his voice. "I take it that along the way you changed your mind?"

"Yeah, but I still bought one."

"And now that you own a Mercedes, does it make you feel like somebody?" She asked him.

"Nah. I'd already figured out that it's what a man does, not what he owns that defines him."

"You're really different than any man I've ever known, Ryan Allen," Niki said to the man with the dark eyes and protective manner. She yearned for that protection.

Ryan put her bags in the trunk and then held the passenger door for Niki as she climbed in.

Once inside, his seatbelt on and the key in the ignition, he glanced briefly in her direction before starting the car. God, she's beautiful, he thought.

He eased the car out of the slot and down the parking ramp before sliding into the midday traffic and within minutes had them on the expressway.

She gazed at Ryan longingly, unable to stop herself. If he looked at her now, he would see the yearning in her eyes.

They talked about this and that. Like old friends do. The weather, people, her career, the police department, the upcoming holidays.

A few minutes later he pulled into the parking garage at Niki and Jake's building.

"I don't think that it would be wise for you to come up."

"Yeah. I understand," he said.

"Thank you for picking me up. That was really sweet of you."

"No problem," he said, eyes twinkling. "Anything for a lady."

"Hmm." Niki closed one eye and squinted at him with the other.

***************

Niki was sound asleep, Jake's body pressed against hers; he was spooned behind Niki, her head resting on his arm, but the big jock was wide awake. He ran his hand along her smooth, naked skin, from her waist, up to her heavy breast and then back down to her flat stomach. Jake kissed her naked shoulder, nudging a lock of her blond silky hair with his nose while he listened to her even breathing. Peaceful. He lay behind her intoxicated with her beauty. He felt the guilt hovering at the near recesses of his consciousness. He could feel its accusations, calling out to him, mocking him. He tried to push it aside but he knew it was true; he was a cheater at heart.

Here he lay beside one of the sweetest, most beautiful and sexy women he'd ever known and still he wasn't happy. And it was all Krista's fault. The delectable yoga instructor had become a permanent fixture in his sexual fantasies. His desire for her was close to an obsession, and the fact she wanted him too made it nearly impossible to resist. Whenever they were alone together, she was always caressing his shoulder, or brushing his arm with her breast. Her constant touching always seemed innocent, but the smoldering look in her eyes told him it was anything but.

Jake knew what would happen if he ever reciprocated her advances. Sooner or later, they would end up having sex. And once he tasted her, he would have to have her again and again. So Jake maintained a strictly professional relationship, keeping his hands and his flirtations to himself. He felt like a kid with a piece of candy that he wasn't allowed to unwrap. Try as he might though, he couldn't get her out of his mind.