by Cat Johnson
Truly tragic, that. He restrained the eye roll he felt coming on over her Insta-drama and instead said, “You could read.”
She frowned. “Read what? I already told you. There’s no internet.”
He felt his brows shoot up. “Read a book.”
She shook her head. “I don’t want to ask Thalia to borrow her eReader. Besides, Maria gets annoyed when Thalia reads.”
Nick considered reminding Katia that there were real books too, made of paper. A whole bookcase full in the living room. No eReader required. But he decided against it after the Maria comment.
No surprise there. Women who were reading weren’t drinking or gossiping or doing something ratings worthy. Reading would be boring on screen. Sad but true.
“It’s okay. You can go. I’ll just take a sleeping pill. Not that the over-the-counter stuff actually works.” Katia sighed. “Carl’s got like a pharmacy in his bag. Maybe I can get something from him.”
He frowned. “Katia, you probably shouldn’t be taking other people’s prescriptions.”
“I guess.” She shrugged. Eyes on him she sauntered closer. “Thank you for always taking care of me.”
The thank you was fine. Her pressing a kiss to his cheek—actually more like the corner of his mouth—was not.
“Just doing my job.” He took a step back and this time didn’t stop in his path to the door. “Good night.”
“Good night, Nick,” she cooed.
He slipped out and closed the door firmly behind him. He’d dodged plenty of bullets and bad guys in his lifetime. But this was the first time he’d ever willingly dodged a beautiful woman.
The reason was standing in the kitchen, pretending to be busy and not notice him come into the room.
“Hey,” he said.
“Oh, hey. You still here?” Dani asked.
As if she didn’t know exactly where he was. He could see the jealousy was killing her.
It was bad of him, but he smiled. “Yeah. I was hoping to take off soon though. If everything is winding down for the night.”
She scowled. “It should have been. Until the fight.”
His brow furrowed. “Who was fighting?”
“Two of the girls.”
“Jesus.”
“I know. But a couple of the guys broke it up. And actually it looks like they’re going to be busy with each other for at least a little while.”
Nick followed the line of her gaze. Sure enough, Brittany S was being led inside by Steele. And Hunter was cupping Diamond’s face, talking intently as he wiped away her tears.
“Looks like you’re right.” He brought his gaze back to her. “So let’s go.”
“I have to check with Maria first.”
“Leave that to me.” Nick walked over to the director. “Hey, Maria. Dani and I are going to take off. See you in the morning.”
“Sure.” She waved him away, too intent on making sure the cameras caught the hookups.
He returned to where Dani hovered. Looping his hand around her arm, he led her away. “See?”
“You always get what you want, don’t you?” She scowled.
He blew out a breath. “No. I definitely do not.” The woman next to him was proof of that.
Out front, she hesitated with her hand on the handle of her car. “So . . .”
Nick froze. He liked the sound of that open-ended so. For such a small word, it held a hell of a lot of promise.
He wasn’t much for superstition, but he caught himself almost crossing his fingers.
“So . . .” he prompted.
“You want to come over? I’ve got leftover pizza I can pop in the oven. And some beer in the fridge. I figure neither one of us had a lot for dinner.”
Pizza and beer. At her place. Could this woman get any more perfect?
His hopes soared. “I’d love to come over.”
He was about to close Dani into her car and jump into his Jeep to race to her place, when blaring sirens cut through the night.
“What the hell?” Dani frowned, getting out again.
Dave flew out of the front door of the mansion. “Oh, thank God you’re still here. The alarm’s going off and no one knows how to turn it off. Do you know?”
“I can figure it out. I’ll be right in.” Nick sighed and glanced at Dani. “Can I meet you at your place?”
“Sure. See you soon.”
“Definitely.”
Now he was being cock-blocked by an alarm. It was almost like the universe was trying to tell him something. Too bad for the universe, he wasn’t in the mood to listen.
He watched Dani drive away and turned back toward the house. The sooner he got this mess fixed, the sooner he’d get to her.
When he got into the kitchen, the cast was all running around like chickens without heads. Or more like chickens with sensitive hearing as they clutched their hands over their ears.
“Nick, make it stop!” Katia yelled to him.
And now he’d probably have to take her to her room again.
Sighing, he made his way to the front closet where he knew the security panel was. He’d made sure he’d memorized the alarm code that was written in the handbook the homeowners had left for the crew.
He’d already suggested that he could engage the system when he left at night and turn it off again in the morning. Because what the fuck good was an alarm system if they never turned it on? But his idea had been shot down.
If the alarm had been on the night Katia went missing, she would have set it off when she left the house and they could have prevented a whole lot of worry.
But Maria wanted the cast to be able to wander about, day and night, with no restrictions. So, he’d left it off, as ordered. Which brought up the question, why was it going off now if he’d never armed it?
Just add that to all the other oddities surrounding this show. Who drugged Katia? Why was the alarm going off? Why the fuck would any of these people agree to be part of this train wreck?
All mysteries to Nick. Questions without answers.
He punched in the code and the house went silent. Well, silent except for the cast’s rehashing of where they were when it had started going off and what they’d thought it was when they heard it.
Without internet to entertain them, he supposed anything qualified as an event.
He caught Maria’s eye. “All good?”
“Yeah. Thanks.”
“No problem.”
And now, to get to Dani’s before it got too late. He half expected her to text him and say she was tired and going to bed. It wouldn’t surprise him at all. His luck was running that bad lately.
“Nick—”
He drew in a breath and pasted on a smile. “Yes, Katia?”
“What if the alarm went off because someone was trying to break into the house?”
The girl should be in the movies, because the drama radiating off her was definitely worthy of Hollywood.
He shook his head. “No.”
“Why not?”
“It wasn’t even on.”
“How do you know?”
“Because I didn’t turn it on.”
“Someone else could have . . .” Her gaze dropped to the ground then came back up. “And good thing too, since it seems it caught someone trying to break in.”
“It didn’t—” He cut himself off and changed direction. “Come on. Let me walk you to your room. I’ll make sure there’s no one in there, and you’re going to lock the door behind me, so you’ll be all safe. Okay?”
“Okay.” She looked a bit too happy. Like this had been her plan all along.
Nick began to wonder if she’d been the one to arm the alarm and then set it off before he had a chance to drive away with Dani.
He knew Katia was smarter than she let everyone believe. What he hadn’t realized was that she was a little bit diabolical as well. But he’d deal with it and her, and fast, because nothing, not even the Devil himself, was going to keep him and Dani apart.
TWENTY-TWO
Dani liked Nick.
She might more than like Nick.
The more Dani considered that fact—and there was no doubt it was an indisputable fact—the unhappier she became.
Fuck.
The last thing she wanted was to be falling for him.
And to make sure she remembered that, she grabbed a pen and the pad of paper she kept in the kitchen. Tearing off the sheet that was scribbled with the words tampons, shampoo, Drano, she went back to the living room and plopped down on the sofa.
As the aroma of the pizza slices heating in the oven made her mouth water, she began to make her list.
Why I can’t like Nick
Too handsome
Too cocky
Too SEALy
Katia
What happened at the wedding
That last one was enough all on its own. Combined with the rest, it formed an unshakeable foundation for the case against her being in love with Nick.
So why was she?
Falling for him had not been on the agenda.
He was sweet and hot as hell . . . and she didn’t trust him as far as she could throw his over-muscled body not to break her heart.
Hot as hell . . .
Maybe that was it. It was all physical.
Could purging herself of Nick be as easy as finally finishing what they’d started that night at Jessica’s wedding?
Could it be so simple?
It made so much sense now that she thought about it. She’d gotten to know him better at work. And after hating him for so many years, she was confused.
In the absence of hate, she thought she loved him, but she didn’t. She just wanted him, because, as she’d already admitted, he was hot as hell.
It would be perfect, actually. Sex with Nick. Besides the obvious physical benefit, it would put a period—or possibly an exclamation point—on that unfinished business that still hung between them.
They’d have one hot night together, or even a week’s worth of nights, and then they could both move on.
He had his career in the SEALs, which he’d be returning to in just a couple of weeks. She had her career—such as it was. But she was going to change that. As soon as this all-consuming show was finished, she’d start the job search again.
It was really the perfect plan and as soon as he got here, she was going to implement it.
If he ever got here . . .
Half an hour later, the toaster oven had popped off. Dani had polished off the questionable remains at the bottom of an open bottle of wine that had been hanging around in the fridge for well over a week.
Now, she’d moved on to finish off a beer. And still no Nick.
Fucking Katia. Fucking Maria. Fucking Cold Feet.
She ran through her hate list as she clicked on Netflix and started to rewatch the latest season of Stranger Things for the second time.
As exhaustion started to win and she struggled to keep her eyes open, she fantasized about what it would be like to be powerful like the character, El, was on the show.
Dani would use her powers to make Katia stay away from Nick. Hell, she’d use them to make this whole reality show disappear.
“Dani.”
The sound of her name being said, low in a deep voice that sent shockwaves through her, startled Dani awake.
“Nick?”
“Yes, and you’re lucky it is me. You left the damn door unlocked while you were sleeping.”
Bickering already and he’d just walked in the door. This didn’t bode well for her sexual purge of Nick from her system.
She frowned at him as she struggled to sit taller on the sofa cushion she was slumped on. “Because I knew you were on your way. And I didn’t intend to be sleeping. You just took so long.”
“I know. And I’m sorry about that. I should have texted or not come. It’s late.”
His apology went a long way to soothe her annoyance with him. He really did look contrite. Maybe her plan was back on track after all.
“No, it’s fine.” She tried to ease his guilt, then patted the cushion next to her. “Sit down.”
He sat and she moved an inch, maybe two, closer. Brows high, Nick tracked her movement before focusing back on her face.
“So . . .” she said.
“So . . .” he repeated.
“You want a beer?”
“Sure.” He tipped his head, watching her as she skittered off to the kitchen.
She returned with a bottle for him and two slices of the now barely warm and extra crispy pizza. She set the bounty on the table in front of the sofa.
“I was watching Stranger Things. You ever see this show?” She was babbling.
What happened to her when she got around Nick? It was like she had no control of her mouth or her body.
Just one more reason to forge ahead.
“Yeah. I’ve seen it.” He was still watching her intensely with those insanely gorgeous eyes of his.
She hated when he did that. It felt like he was seeing inside her brain. Reading her mind.
“So, dig in,” she said, not taking a piece of pizza herself.
Now that she’d decided to seduce Nick, she’d lost her appetite.
He reached for the beer and took a sip of that, still eyeing her. “What’s up with you?”
“Me? Nothing. Nothing’s up.” She leaned back and focused on the television.
That wasn’t working. She still felt awkward.
For lack of a better idea, she leaned forward to reach for a slice, just as Nick did.
Their hands touched as they grabbed for the same piece. With his mouth barely a few inches from hers, Nick smiled.
The close-up wattage of Nick’s charm was too much.
Dani leaned in and hovered a breath from his lips. “Nick?”
“Yeah?” His chest rose and fell with the quick breaths she felt brush across her skin.
“If I kiss you, are you going to run out of here?” she asked, not knowing if she could handle the answer after being this close and wanting him so much.
“Fuck no.” His lips were on hers in a second.
Then she was on her back on the sofa with Nick over her.
“This okay?” he asked.
“No.”
He pulled back, concern and questioning clear on his face.
“Take off your shirt,” she continued.
He blew out a laugh as he tugged his shirt up and over his head. “Demanding, aren’t we?”
“You ain’t seen nothing yet.”
He groaned. “I can’t wait.”
His eyes narrowed as he kneeled over her, gloriously naked from the waist up, halfway to her goal of getting the rest of him that way.
Dani had no doubt what was hidden under his clothes from the waist down would be spectacular.
She was getting a preview now from the long bulge outlined beneath the fabric of his shorts. Cargo shorts were built to hold lots of stuff, but they barely contained Nick.
He was taking too long to get naked.
She’d waited long enough. Time to take things into her own hands.
Mmm. She was more than ready to take Nick into her hands.
His belt was a pain in the ass, but after conquering that, the rest was easy. Then she was slipping her hand into his boxer briefs. And God, he felt even better than she imagined, and he was only in her palm.
What was he going to feel like actually inside her?
The anticipation was overwhelming.
TWENTY-THREE
Kissing Dani was a dream come true. But having her so eager to get him naked that she was tugging his shorts down, was right out of his wildest fantasies.
Not that he blamed her. He was equally eager. What they were not, was equally undressed. She still had on the clothes she’d worn to work.
He’d had enough of that place for one day—hell, he’d had enough of that place for a lifetime. Time to get both of their minds off work and these work clothes off her lu
scious body.
“Want you,” he said against her mouth.
“I want you too.”
His heart pounded harder at Dani’s answer. Those were very good words to hear.
He slid his hands beneath her top and felt the warmth of her skin against his palms. Sliding up more, he pushed the shirt up and over her head.
Her nipple was hard when he popped it out of the cup of her bra and into his mouth. He pulled the peak between his lips and heard her intake of breath.
That sound cut right down to his balls. “Need you. Now.”
“Yes,” she said on a breath.
Christ. That one word brought him to his knees on the floor next to the sofa. He unfastened and tugged her pants down, only to have them get hung up on her shoes.
Her sandals took way too much time to unbuckle, until Dani reached down to help him. Then he was happily faced with Dani in nothing but a matching white bra and underwear.
Perfect.
She was perfect. And he wanted nothing more than to show her exactly how perfect he thought she was.
Actions spoke louder than words. He wanted to worship her. Every inch. Until she screamed his name.
Then he’d do it again. And again. For the next fifty years or so . . .
That thought should have scared him. He’d never thought of any woman he’d been with in those terms.
For the women he’d been with in the past, he’d counted their time together in days, not decades. Maybe that was because he’d never been with Dani before.
"You want to move to my bed?" she asked.
"Oh hell yes." He was standing and scooping Dani into his arms in seconds.
They had hours before they had to leave for work tomorrow morning. It might take that long to slake a decade’s worth of lust he’d harbored for this woman.
He tossed her sideways onto the bed, spread her legs and then knelt between them. He’d never gotten to the pizza, but food wasn’t what he was hungry for.
Nick dipped his head low and feasted on his first taste of Dani.
She sucked in a stuttering breath at the first contact of his tongue. When he latched onto her with his whole mouth and sucked, her hips rose off the mattress.
He couldn’t have asked for a better reaction. Holding her hips up, he went to town, working her hard with his mouth.