Set Me Free

by Diana Nixon

  About twenty minutes later, I went down to the kitchen, hoping I would be able to have a cup of coffee, but James had his own plans about the rest of my already screwed-up morning.

  “We are going shopping,” he said, handing me an umbrella. I didn’t even notice it was raining outside.

  “Shopping?” I asked, puzzled.

  “I want to teach you how to make pizza.”

  “Seriously? You stayed here just to teach me how to make pizza?”

  “Well, I am obviously more than willing to teach you a few other things as well… but let’s start with pizza.”

  “What exactly made you think I was in a cooking mood today?”

  “Maybe your hungry look back in the shower.” He was still damn serious, so I didn’t know if his response was supposed to humor me or piss me off.

  “That made two of us,” I muttered, opening the front door.

  The weather left much to be desired, but I still hoped the rest of the day would be good. I had had enough stress or whatever the hell it was for one morning.

  Chapter 5

  “Do you know the secret to making the perfect pizza?”

  “Have no idea.” I couldn’t believe James and I were having such a ‘normal’ conversation after what happened in the shower, less than a half hour ago. My thoughts were still wrapped about the feeling of his hard chest pressed to mine, but he was obviously too focused on pizza to talk about anything else.

  “The thinner you roll out the dough, the better.” He picked out a bag of flour and put it into our shopping cart.

  “Do you always talk about food after having sex?” I didn’t think twice about that question, it just flew out of my mouth before I could stop it.

  “Do you even know what sex is?” He asked in response. “Because what we had in the shower can hardly be called sex. And no, I don’t usually talk about food. Or anything else for that matter after I have sex.”

  “So the women just leave without a word or even a cup of coffee?”

  He looked at me thoughtfully, apparently trying to understand the reasons behind my weird questions.

  “Mostly, yes. Anything else you would like to know about my sexual encounters?”

  “Do you ever repeat the scenes you write about in your books in the bedroom?”

  He smiled. “If you have read my books, you should know that I hate playing in bed.”

  “Oh yes, that’s right, you prefer to use kitchen tables, I remember that. Is that why you like cooking so much? You cook and can get sexual pleasure, all in one place.”

  “Something like that.”

  “How many women have you … ‘cooked’ with?”

  “You are the first one. The others knew how to cook without my help.”

  “That’s a cut at me.”

  “I thought you were not the type to get easily offended.”

  “I’m not. And by the way, I like pizza with thick crust,” I said, looking through the goods in our cart indifferently.

  James grimaced. “That is awful. I’ll teach you how to make a real Italian pizza.”

  “You like cooking, don’t you?”

  “Cooking is like sex. The better you are at it, the more satisfying the result is.”

  I giggled, watching the reaction of two up-in-years ladies passing by us. They shared a meaningful glance, then one of them stopped and turned to me, smiling. “The boy has a point.”

  “Well, thank you, Miss.” James bowed his head in a sign of respect and winked at me. “See, I have a point,” he added, repeating the woman’s words.

  I rolled my eyes. “You give yourself too much credit, Mr.”

  “Are you saying you doubt my cooking talents?”

  I stopped and looked at him from head to toe, slowly, taking my time to drink him in. The man just didn’t know how to be anything but a walking provocation. Ugh, if only Dillon hadn’t chosen such a bad time to show up in my room. . .

  “Can’t tell for sure, not just yet.”

  “That eye thing was quite hot,” he said quietly. Our gazes stayed locked for a few seconds, but it was more than enough to say it all without using a single word. Neither of us could stop thinking about finishing what we started in the shower.

  “Have no idea what you are talking about.” I turned away from him and walked to the checkout lane, hoping he wouldn’t see how desperate I was. Who would have thought that the lack of sexual life would bother me so much?

  My cellphone rang. I looked at the screen and smiled.

  “Hey, Nikki!” I greeted my sister. She was two years older than me, but sometimes I felt like I was the older sibling.

  “Hey yourself, pretty lady. How is it going?”

  “It is going. Not as bad as you might have thought.” Nicola was one of those people who always hated Roberto, so when we broke up, she said it was a blessing, she had been certain we were never going to break up. She knew, however, how hard it was for me to get over the pig’s betrayal, and she was always there for me, no matter what.

  “I expected a more … exciting answer to my question,” she said slowly. I could swear she was frowning at the moment; I could hear it in her voice. We knew each other too damn well. It was as if I could see her face even without actually seeing it.

  “And why exactly did you expect that from me?”

  “Come on, Stella! I know Mr. Sexy-Ass Collins is staying at Dillon’s. Isn’t it enough to be excited?”

  “Nope. He’s just a man, a writer to be exact. And writers are weirdos. They hate talking, they prefer to write all their thoughts down on paper and turn them into stories everyone reads.”

  “But I guess you have already figured how to make him talk, right?”

  I laughed into the handset. “I hope by ‘making him talk’ you don’t mean sleeping with him.”

  “Is he as good in bed as he is in writing?”

  “For God’s sake, Nikki! How would I know that?”

  “You are a big girl, Stella. I’m sure you know the way to figure it out.”

  “Not that I’m going to do that.”

  Nikki growled, obviously disappointed. “Mind if I come over and try my luck?”

  For a moment, I didn’t know what to say. All of a sudden, I felt something new forming inside me. Jealousy? No freaking way. . .

  “He’s leaving in a couple of hours,” I lied. Why did I just lie to my sister? James wasn’t my property. But somehow, I was not thrilled with the idea of sharing his attention with her. I knew how persuasive Nikki could be when it came to men, and she never gave up on anything. Especially if she wanted it as badly as she wanted to get into one bed with James Collins.

  “Then we will have to make it short,” she said.

  “What?”

  “I’m in Braiwood, silly! Remember I told you grandma wanted me to visit her? So I thought I would do it today. Great idea, right?”

  “Indeed,” I muttered, watching James stroll over to me with more pizza ingredients to add to our cart. “I gotta go, see you at Dillon’s.”

  There were a few things I thought I needed to warn James about.

  “Is everything all right?” He asked, putting the items down, obviously noticing my not-so-happy face.

  “Yeah. I got a call from my sister. She’s going to stop by Dillon’s later today,” I said as we approached the checkout lane.

  “Oh … I didn’t know you have a sister. How old is she?” He asked, taking the goods out, and putting them on the conveyer belt.

  “She’s twenty-six.”

  “Married?”

  “Why do you care?” I didn’t mean to sound so harsh, but I just couldn’t help myself.

  A ghost of a smile crossed James’ lips. “Just curious,” he said.

  “No, Nikki is not married.”

  “Is she a journalist too?”

  “She’s a nurse.”

  “Even better! I love nurses.”

  You have got to be kidding me. . . Was he laughing at me? His face didn’t ex
press a thing, but I bet he was laughing at me in his sick mind. What a pig.

  “I’m sure you do,” I snapped, taking a plastic bag and packing the groceries.

  “You are not jealous, Stella, are you?”

  “Of course, not,” I hissed. “Why would I be jealous?”

  “You shouldn’t be jealous. It goes against the rules.”

  I turned to look at him. “What rules?”

  “My rules.”

  “And what are they?”

  He took a credit card out of his wallet and gave it to the cashier, saying, “Jealousy is something that goes along with a relationship, and we are not in a relationship.”

  Well, hell, it felt almost like a slap in the face.

  “God forbid.”

  I took one of the bags, and went to the exit, not even bothering to wait for James to follow me.

  I was mad. I was so freaking mad, I could swear if I were a dragon, I would breathe some fire right into James’ pretty face. So he thought he could seduce me with a few kisses?

  Ha-ha! Not so fast, Sweetheart. Maybe I don’t remember the last time I had sex, but you sure are not going to be the next man I have it with. Period, I thought furiously.

  I got home a few minutes before James did. Nikki’s car was parked in the driveway. She must have skipped her original destination, and came straight here. No rush to see grandma, huh?

  “Hey there, Beautiful!” She greeted, hugging me. “So where is he?”

  “Will be here in a minute,” I replied less enthusiastically. I went to the kitchen and put the bag with the groceries on the table. “How did you get in?” I didn’t remember Nikki having keys to Dillon’s house.

  “I stopped by the editorial office, and Dillon gave me the key, in case you wouldn’t be home to let me in.”

  “How very thoughtful of him.”

  “Hey, what’s wrong with your mood?”

  “Sorry, I didn’t sleep well last night.”

  Nikki smiled, taking a seat at one of the chairs. “If I were you, I wouldn’t get a wink of sleep either, knowing that James Collins himself was sleeping right behind the wall.”

  Again, I felt like I regretted having a sister. I loved Nikki, but today was not the best day for a family gathering, especially knowing that she was here not because of me at all.

  Nikki was one of those people who didn’t know what the word ‘no’ meant. Whatever she wanted, she got it, no matter how much she would have to pay for it, money or whatever else. I used to think that it was a good quality, but not today. Not that I was afraid of James falling for her at first sight, but I still felt a little uncomfortable because of their upcoming meeting.

  Despite our age difference, my sister and I looked a lot alike. We were of the same height and we shared our mom’s sandy hair, only hers were lighter than mine, but unlike me, Nikki had dark-brown eyes; mine were green. I hated the color. For me, it wasn’t bright enough.

  “So tell me, Sis. Did he ask you to sleep with him?” She asked, taking one of the apples from the plate standing on the table.

  “Do you really believe all those rumors people spread about James?”

  “Well, yeah, I do. I mean, look at him! The guy looks like a perfect package of sexiness and arrogance, and self-assurance. Doesn’t it sound hot enough to go jump his bones?”

  “Sounds enough for me,” James said, answering Nikki’s question.

  I gave her a meaningful look. But she ignored it completely, rising to greet her new idol.

  “You must be Mr. Collins,” she said, outstretching one hand to James. “I’m a huge fan of your books.”

  To my disappointment, he didn’t just shake Nikki’s hand, he kissed it, smiling brighter than he ever had before. No doubt, he did that on purpose. I wished I knew what that purpose was. Because I still felt like I was missing something. One second, James looked at me as if I were the most desirable woman in the world, and the next second, I felt like he hated me to death. I didn’t know what to think, really. I was as lost as ever.

  “And you must be Stella’s charming sister.”

  “I sure am!” Nikki almost squealed with delight. I couldn’t believe she had a crush on him. She, of all people, should know that flirting with a man like James Collins would never end well. She always warned me about guys like him, who wanted nothing but sex and then left your heart broken. But obviously, Nikki thought James Collins was too damn good to think about her own warnings.

  “Are you going to stay for dinner with us? Stella’s going to cook.”

  “My sister doesn’t cook. Like at all.”

  Well, thank you Nikki…

  James smirked. “I know. But no man would ever agree to be with a woman who can’t cook. So I thought I would give her a few private lessons.”

  I don’t think Nikki’s eyes had ever looked so big. I almost laughed at her expression.

  “No freaking way…” She muttered, switching her eyes between James and me.

  “Believe it or not, it’s true.” I smiled.

  “She just couldn’t resist cooking lessons, because you, James, were going to teach her.”

  Did I mention that in most cases my sister just didn’t know how to shut up?

  “I know,” James said, self-satisfied.

  I gave him an angry stare. I hated the game that he was playing. Did he ever hear about tables turning? Because they were going to, and when they did … he would be very sorry for screwing with me.

  “Well, of course, I couldn’t resist lessons from James. After all, I’m not going to be alone forever, so why not to use the help of a real cooking expert?” Here you go, Mr. Culinary Arts... Asshole.

  “All right, ladies, why don’t you two chat a little, and I go take a shower. I didn’t have a chance to take one this morning.” He gave me another joyful look, then smiled so fucking sweetly at Nikki I wanted to knock him unconscious with a frying pan, and left.

  Asshole to the max.

  “Oh my freaking God! He’s so, so…”

  “Impossible and mean,” I finished the line for Nikki.

  “Hot, hot, hot!” She screamed, opening the kitchen door and following James with her eyes. “But we have a small problem here . . . you are hopelessly in love with him!”

  “What? Don’t be ridiculous. I barely know him.”

  “So what? Don’t you believe in love at first sight?”

  “I do. But more than that I believe in hate at first sight, which is more appropriate in this particular case.”

  Nikki smiled, shaking her head. “You don’t hate him, Sis. And he sure doesn’t hate you either. If I didn’t know better, I would say he’s as excited about your upcoming joined cooking session as you are.”

  “Stop saying nonsense. So that you know, cooking was his idea, not mine.”

  “It doesn’t change the fact that you have a crush on him.”

  “I could say the same about you.”

  “Me? Don’t be ridiculous,” she mimicked me. “One look at you two was more than enough to realize that I wouldn’t get a piece of this sexy-pexy pie named James Collins, not this time anyway.”

  “You don’t know him, Sis. He’s not as simple as he seems. Besides, he said he wouldn’t mind sleeping with me less than three hours after we first met.”

  “What an ass . . .”

  “My point exactly.”

  “No, I mean have you seen his ass?”

  “What?”

  Nikki pointed to the window behind me, I turned around and stared, stared, and stared some more…

  There James was, getting ready to jump into the pool, totally naked. Ugh, the man just didn’t know when to stop. What was he trying to prove? Well, not that I didn’t like the view of his naked ass or his broad shoulders and back, but he still could have at least asked for permission to swim like that. It was not his house, for crying out loud!

  “Jeez, girl you must be totally out of your damn mind if you don’t want to have fun with him,” Nikki said dreamily,
still staring out of the window.

  I turned away from the yummy view and got back to unpacking groceries. “He’s a one-night-stand kind of a man, Nik. You know what that means, don’t you?”

  “I do, and before you ask, I don’t think it’s a problem. At least you could enjoy your time with him.”

  “And become number one hundred and something in his list of conquests?”

  “Oh, I see . . .” Nikki crossed her arms, watching me closely. “You keep thinking about the number of women he might or might not have had before you?”

  “Might not – is not about James Collins.”

  “Whatever, answer me, Stella. Are his romances the only reason you don’t want to give his seduction talents a try?”

  I sighed. I was seriously tired of that conversation, as well as of the entire morning in general. After my episode last night of drunken singing, I was so not ready for anything but sleep, which I was obviously not going to get any time soon.

  “Can we talk about something else, please?”

  Nikki nodded. “Okay, let’s talk about something else. I saw Roberto last week. He and Kimmy are no longer together.”

  “And why would you be telling me this?”

  “Because I thought you would be happy to know that karma has finally come to bite him in his dick – the bitch has cheated on him.”

  “No, really? Serves him right.”

  “My point exactly. So . . . I think I’m done here. I’d better go.”

  “Why? Aren’t you going to stay for dinner?”

  “I think you have better company to spend your time with right now.” She smiled, kissed me on the cheek, and then headed for the door. “Don’t forget to call and tell me the details of your dinner,” she said on the way. “All of them!”

  Chapter 6

  “I thought you were going to take a shower,” I said, watching James enter the kitchen.

  “I did take a shower. After I swam in your pool. I hope you don’t mind me swimming in your pool?”

  “It’s not mine, it’s Dillon’s. So I don’t really care.”

  James nodded, obviously keeping whatever it was that he was thinking to himself. “Good. Now, where should we begin?” He looked down at the groceries that I put on the table.