by Lindsey Hart
Slappy raised his head and stared at her out of narrowed green yellow eyes.
“Sorry.” Ash blushed. “I didn’t mean to get so excited. Just needed a little early morning pep-talk. That’s all.”
He glared at her for daring to disturb his nap, then settled his head back on marmalade colored paws and went back to sleep.
Ash’s shaking hands flew over her phone, typing out a text to her mother. Telling her she was indeed on a date and was sorry she hadn’t been near her phone.
It went without saying that she obviously had better, sexier things to do.
She typed in Mr. Nightshadow’s number with shaking fingers. She didn’t have to look it up. It was burned into her memory. Just like his eyes. And his abs.
Just like his voice would forever be, because she’d never, ever, be able to get that deep, sexy, smoky, mystic, panty dropping hello out of her mind.
CHAPTER 5
Trace
“So, you like the villains? Is that because they’re tall dark and handsome?” Yup. He’d really started off their date that wasn’t a date, with the world’s worst one-liner.
The little café on the east side of the city was inconspicuous. It was the same as the last thirty he’d passed on his forty-minute drive there. He wasn’t complaining.
The place was packed and when he walked in, no one recognized him.
No one but the one girl he wanted to.
She was wearing a red plaid button up shirt and jeans, like she’d told him on the phone she’d be, since she wasn’t easily recognizable from that side profile picture on the dating site.
He’d slid in seamlessly across from her since she was there waiting when he arrived. She’d picked a table near the front, though he wasn’t sure if it was because she liked to look out the window or because there was nowhere else to sit given the Sunday afternoon crowds were in full swing, laptops, novels, tablets, whiny kids, and all. The roar of conversation swirled around the small shop, competing with the hiss of the machinery, the frantic steps of the baristas trying to keep up, and some acoustic version of a rock song playing overhead from crackly speakers.
“Ahhhh….” Ash fumbled around, at a loss for words. A bright pink blush flooded her cheeks.
She’d ordered for him, which Trace found… well, he found that he felt a lot of things about that. He eyed his drink, mortified that he’d ruined the date before it even started. He cleared his throat.
“Sorry. I didn’t mean that. I- sorry. That was incredibly rude and I’m an idiot. The truth is, you’re beautiful and I’m a mess and a dork and I said the first dumb thing that came to mind. It was a terrible ice breaker.”
He’d expected this shy, geeky, sandy blonde-haired girl with no confidence, pretty but unaware of it, straight teeth since she’d mentioned braces, possible thick glasses, maybe a few lingering pimples she tried to cover up with makeup…
The bombshell sitting across from him wasn’t any of those things. She was beautiful with shining green eyes, long naturally curly blonde hair, a killer body with great boobs and probably a great ass, if she’d stand up and show him. She sat tall and straight and without a stitch of makeup, she was flawless. Nice, creamy skin, high cheekbones, a dainty jawline, a straight little nose, long lashes, full peach hued lips. God, she was so beautiful she was intimidating.
How the hell did this girl think she was geeky? And more importantly, how the hell did this girl not have a real boyfriend to take her to that reunion she was so afraid of?
Ash, because she was graceful as hell and even more gracious, inclined her head and her gorgeous lips curled up in a smile that hit him right below the belt. His cock turned his jeans into a damn camp ground. As in, filled with tents. Haha. I suck at jokes. And humor. And wit.
“It’s alright. I’m nervous too. That message I sent you wasn’t normal. I’m surprised you even agreed to come.” Her eyes flicked from his face down to the cup in front of him. “I hope you don’t mind that I got you a drink. The lines were crazy when I got here and I thought that even if I ordered something you hated, you might hate it less than waiting half an hour jammed up into someone’s back with someone else’s purse or laptop jammed into your behind.” She grinned confidently at him, though he didn’t miss the shy flicker of her eyelashes down to her own paper cup.
So, she is nervous. He expelled a breath he didn’t realize he was holding. “What is it? What kind of drink do you think Mr. Nightshadow prefers?”
Ash giggled. She had a pretty laugh, just like her voice. He couldn’t believe she’d called him. First thing in the morning. Not that nine was early but given that he’d sent her his message at four in the morning, nine was early. Of course, he was awake. He thought she’d be too afraid to call. When she did, he realized she was probably pretty desperate for that fake boyfriend.
Except she didn’t sound desperate then and she didn’t seem desperate now. Oddly enough, she sat there across from him like an old friend and her presence was strangely comforting. He felt like he’d known her for ages, maybe like that best friend that he’d had when he was nine. James’ family moved away down south, and he never saw him again. It felt like that. Reconnecting.
Except that Ash was no James. No, she was very womanly and very pretty.
“Mr. Nightshadow,” she said, rolling the syllables off her tongue before she licked her lips to wet them. His dick hardened. Was it wrong that he liked the way his fake online name sounded from her lips? “Can I call you that from now on? I was thinking maybe I could introduce you to my mom that way. And my old classmates. I think they’d like that. Maybe we could get you a mask and a costume.” She grinned wide, revealing perfectly straight white teeth.
“Your mom?” He feigned horror. “I didn’t know I’d be signing on for that as well.”
Ash shrugged, but her hands moved away from her drink and disappeared onto her lap. She was probably clutching them, which was also a dead giveaway that she was anxious.
“Well, you don’t have to. I just- I thought it would be nice to stop in for an hour or two one day before the reunion. My parents don’t live there. They live here. In St. Paul. The reunion is in Twin Falls. Population five thousand, middle of nowhere, forty minutes from here. Uh- that is- if you’re going to do this. Be a fake boyfriend. I had no idea you’d actually answer the message. I haven’t exactly figured out a way to- uh- go about this. I should have a plan. Ground rules. Facts about ourselves so we can memorize them, a timeline, uh- all that shit- I mean, stuff.” She blinked hard and took a breath. Her smile wavered and her eyelashes fluttered hard like she was going to cry.
Trace knew he had to act fast. He was not going to let her cry over this. He didn’t know why, but suddenly, his entire life depended on fixing this beautiful woman’s problems. She really had no idea, he realized, as she studied him, that she was incredible. She was still trapped in that version of herself from high school, where asshole classmates obviously made her feel like shit about herself.
He’d spent his entire life proving to people he wasn’t that pathetic little kid anymore with the ripped clothes and the shoes his toes stuck out of.
He got Ash. He got her in a way that few people probably could. Sticks and stones could very well break bones, but the rest was all fucking wrong. Words could cripple a person for a lifetime.
“Don’t worry,” he assured her seamlessly, though he had no idea what he was actually in for. “I’m in. I’m not going to back out. Your message was quite thorough.”
Ash’s cheeks heated. “Oh god. I- it was late. Early. I don’t know. I’m not usually so weird.”
“No. I liked it. Do you ever write? If you don’t, you should.”
Her cheeks turned a bright shade of scarlet, though Trace wasn’t sure what he’d said wrong. She ducked her head and took a sip of her drink. He decided to do the same.
“Tell me you didn’t spike this,” he chuckled. He had to say something to fix whatever he’d just blundered into.
A
sh’s head shot up. “No. I didn’t spike it. It’s a chai tea latte, because I thought Mr. Nightshadow would like a drink like him. Creamy, smooth, spicy undertones. Mysterious.” She crooned the whole thing in a deep, sexy voice that was entirely captivating and made his balls ache. She leaned back and gave a nervous laugh. “I’m kidding. Sorry. I shouldn’t make crazy jokes in the first ten minutes of you meeting me. You’ll really wonder what you got yourself into. I got you the chai tea because it’s the only thing here that I know for a fact is good. I’m very boring. I don’t come to these things often, since the drinks are way overpriced, but when I do, it’s a treat and I never risk getting something I won’t like, so I get the same thing every single time.”
“Smooth and spicy.” Trace raised his paper cup in a mock toast. “I’ll drink to that.”
Ash went a ridiculous shade of red again, but she didn’t hide her head. She kept her eyes trained on him. He took a sip of the drink, which had cooled to the perfect temperature while it awaited his arrival and savored the play of spices and sweetness over his tongue.
“Good?”
“It is good. I’ve never had one before.”
“You’ve never had a chai tea latte?” Ash’s beautiful lips parted. God, he wanted to grab her and taste those lips. Force his tongue inside her mouth and stroke it in the most sexual way… as if there was any other way.
This is supposed to be fake here. She knows that, but then again, it doesn’t mean it can’t turn out to be something real. He’d seen enough cheesy romances to know how this fake boyfriend, fake fiancé crap went. Boy and girl hung out. Hooked up. Had a fight. Made up. Happy ending. Every single time. He wasn’t even a romantic and he knew the deal.
He wouldn’t mind having the same ending.
Then he could buy his private island and become a happy hermit with a happy hermit wife. He wasn’t against love. He was more against romance. He was against the bullshit that came along with it, but this whole fake boyfriend shit really cut to the chase.
It put him exactly where he wanted to be. Which was why he agreed. Of course, Ash could learn that later. Because he already knew that she was perfect. She was funny, beautiful, witty, well-spoken. And sexy as hell. She was one sweet package, wrapped up in layers of insecurity.
He’d love to be the one to break through those layers and teach her just how incredible she was. Show her just how sexy… That is going to have to wait. Business and pleasure never mix well. Business first. Pleasure second.
Unless he found a way to combine them together.
CHAPTER 6
Trace
“Uhhh…. Are you still here with me?”
Trace snapped out of his thoughts. “Sorry. Long night.” He ran a hand through his hair.
Ash’s face fell and he realized she’d obviously misinterpreted what he’d just said. “I- look, it’s okay if you have someone else on the side. Or others. This is fake. You don’t owe me anything. You’re doing me this incredible favor, why I have no idea, but honestly, I have to say, you’re my savior at the moment. I haven’t got to the part where I grovel and thank you, but I’ll skip to it. Thank you. Thank you a thousand times. You’re a good man with a heart of gold. All your wishes will come true. You’ll be blessed for eternity. All of that stuff.”
“You missed the part about sparkly rainbow unicorn poop.”
“What?” Ash stopped in her tracks. She slammed a hand over her mouth and let out a muffled snort of laughter when her eyes tracked to his face.
“Sorry.” Trace laughed. “It’s an inside joke. Between my four-year-old niece and I. She’s really into the unicorn craze right now. Her birthday came complete with a unicorn piñata that sprayed out oodles of sprinkles and candy when it was bashed open. Hell for her parents to clean up, but they sucked it up for her. And as for seeing anyone else, I’m not. That’s not what I meant by a long night. I just- haven’t been sleeping well.”
“That makes two of us. I’ve been so worried about this reunion I haven’t been sleeping much.”
“Why?” Trace leaned back and took a sip of his drink. He didn’t want to be up in her face. When Ash hesitated, he knew he had to fill her in. “Newsflash, you’re beautiful. Incredible actually. I have no idea why you think you couldn’t face those douchebags and drama queens. That’s all they were. Pieces of shit wrapped up in nice exterior packages. You’d blow them all away. With or without my help.”
Ash blinked hard. She actually looked over her shoulder like he might have been talking to someone else. His stomach clenched. God, he wanted to rip her out of her chair, throw her up on that table, part those glorious legs of hers she had hidden away under those jeans and fuck her on the table. Even with everyone watching. He wanted her to feel him inside of her, fucking her senseless. He wanted her to see how quickly he could come undone and that she’d be the one to do that to him. To drive him out of his goddamn mind.
Of course, that was out of the question. The café was more of a g-rated zone, there were kids and all, so Trace kept his shit together. Barely. His balls didn’t agree, and his cock certainly wasn’t on board with the more rational part of his brain.
“I- well- they were so mean growing up.” Ash swallowed audibly. Her big green eyes flooded with tears, which hit him right in the gut. God, he wanted to kick his own ass at the moment for making light of her fears. He knew that once someone was wounded, it sat at the heart of a person and no amount of money or fame or things could banish it.
“I know,” he nodded in agreement and sympathy. “My family was pretty poor growing up. I didn’t have nice things or new clothes and it showed. Kids liked to pick on me about it. Because, you know, like being poor is something a kid that age can really help.” He tried, and failed, to keep bitterness out of his tone. “It made me tough though. I got in fights all the time. I was shit in school. Never paid attention and was probably in the principal’s office more times than I was out. When I was older, I got a job. It was just delivering papers, but it helped out. After that, I did the whole restaurant thing for years. It wasn’t much, but I was able to help my mom out. She was a single mom. Worked herself nearly to death to make ends meet for me and my sister. I made sure that we always had clothes and shoes without holes, even if they were second hand. Anyone who bugged me after that or dared to make fun of my sister got an ass kicking. I was probably about sixteen when I grew and filled out enough to be scary. No one said shit after that point.”
Ash smiled softly. She clutched her cup close to her heart, probably without even being aware that she’d done it. “Yeah, it was a little different for me. The picking on thing didn’t get bad until I was eleven. I just didn’t fit in. I wasn’t pretty. I wasn’t ugly. I was just average. And then came the braces and the glasses and the pimples. I was so awkward. I was tall, but I-uh had these breasts that I didn’t know what to do with. Everyone made fun of me in gym class. The way I ran, the way I walked. I was smart and good at school, so they made fun of me for that too. I had a few good friends, but they were bullied just as much as I was. We stuck together. It was stupid, because my brother was the popular one. It was okay for him to like comics and shit because he was a guy, I guess. He was also good looking. He never beat anyone up for me though.”
Trace’s mouth dropped open. “Okay. First of all, I need to stop you there. I think that any girl who was ever mean to you was probably so fucking jealous.”
“Jealous?” Ash appeared genuinely mystified.
“I mean, look at you.” He waved a hand in the air. “You’re incredible. I’m willing to bet that even with braces and glasses and pimples, you were beautiful. And if guys were making fun of you, that’s what guys do to a girl they want to- well- I would say bang, but that’s not classy. Date isn’t the right word either. Maybe- fool around with. They were stupid back then because they couldn’t help themselves. They’d probably be stupid now.”
“I know girls can be catty, but that’s not the reason. I was good at drawing. I used to-
well you asked me if I liked writing and I used to make up my own comics. I’d write the stories and draw the characters. I kept my sketchbook to myself, but one day Sonja fucking Wills got a hold of it and showed everyone.”
“What? You made your own comics? That’s fucking bad ass!” Trace enjoyed Ash’s shock. He leaned forward and gripped the edge of the table. “Come on! It’s pretty clear to me that every single person who was ever mean to you was so jealous they had to be a little shit about it.”
Ash rolled her eyes. “You have no idea. No one ever asked me out. No one took me to prom. There was this guy I had a crush on. Jesse Peterson. He was gorgeous. I mean- uh- thought so at the time.” She was blushing again, and it was absolutely adorable. When her expression changed and became horribly sad, Trace fought the urge to find Jesse Peterson and squeeze the life out of him. “Uh- I asked him to prom. It was stupid. It took me half a year to work up the courage. He laughed in my face. And then he let the whole school know about it. I didn’t even go to prom. I told everyone I wasn’t going to go to my grad. I didn’t. I was so humiliated.”
Trace actually smacked his hand down on the table so hard that Ash jumped. “Sorry.” He acted on instinct and covered her hand, which had fluttered downwards, with his. There was no wild spark that leapt up his arm, but her hand was soft and warm, and he imagined it doing crazy things to him and that got his heart pumping. His pulse spiked and suddenly it was overly warm in the place.
“Uh- it’s okay,” Ash said.
“No. No, it’s not. I didn’t mean to get angry- actually, yes I did. I want to kick that piece of shit’s ass. He didn’t deserve to go to prom with you. You deserved to have an amazing date, a great time. You deserved to have a blast, the whole pretty dress and corsage experience.”
“Would that include the drunken after party experience as well?”