“Me?” I gaped.
“It was your suggestion.” He countered.
“But she’s your secretary.”
“And I already left you alone once today. How did that go?”
I gasped.
Carson snickered, and I shot him an evil eye. He didn’t look threatened at all. Brat.
Twisting my arm out of his grasp, I skittered away. “I have to work.”
“Bring it. You can organize that at home,” he refuted, gesturing to all my stuff.
“I already offered to do it.” Carson cut in.
I was going to kill him. No. I was going to shave off one of his eyebrows. People in New York would hear him shriek.
“Good man.” Nick grabbed my hand again, gripping my fingers like a vise. He turned to go but stopped abruptly, making me slam into his back.
“Ow,” I said, rubbing my forehead and scowling.
He turned, coming so close we bumped together and the toe of one shoe covered mine. “Let me see,” he murmured quietly, brushing at my bangs.
“It’s fine,” I muttered, trying to push away his hand.
He didn’t allow it, and I was incredibly aware of all the eyes watching us. In fact, it was making my skin crawl. I didn’t like attention like this. And right now, we were the focus of all of it.
Staying still, I let him look at my forehead, which was perfectly fine. His eyes caressed mine when he was done, and his fingers brushed the bangs back into place.
The way he stared made my mouth run dry, and my fingers curl into my palms. My tongue pressed against the roof of my mouth, practically anticipating meeting his.
He wanted to kiss me. If we’d been alone, he already would have.
I wanted him to.
Clearing his throat, he moved so I was blocked by his wide shoulders.
“Jessica,” he said, deflating all the eagerness rushing through my limbs.
“Are you living together?” she demanded.
My entire body stiffened, panic washing over me.
“Why would you think that?” Nick replied mildly, crossing his arms over his chest like he was bored.
“You said at home.”
“Which she has.” Nick led.
Jessica made a rude sound. “We all know someone broke into her place and took pictures of her.” Leaning around Nick, she gave me an appraising glare. Nick shifted, cutting her off. “And you two have been arriving in the same car every morning. She’s being followed around by your bodyguards.”
“They aren’t mine.” Nick denied.
“They’re from the company you use.”
Nick seemed tired of the questions. “What’s your point, Jessica?”
“Are you involved?”
“I don’t really think that’s your business.”
“I’m your leading lady!”
“In a movie,” he replied, “not in real life.”
I sucked in a breath. His words were like a pointy stick aimed at an already riled-up bear.
Jessica made a sound that I imagined a volcano also made before it erupted. My hand brushed over the small of Nick’s back, fingers curling into the shirt he wore. It was a white dress shirt, the material stiff and ironed.
It wasn’t what I wanted, and before I even thought about it, I was tugging the tucked ends up so I could slip my fingers beneath to find the warmth of his skin.
He didn’t even react.
But I did.
The second his heat seeped into my cold fingers, it was like being zapped by electricity. Like being woken from some kind of trance.
Horrified, I looked down. My hand was definitely doing that. Definitely pushed up under the shirt I’d just pulled loose, my skin definitely touching his.
I pulled back so violently I lost my balance and tumbled. My side hit the chair, making it spin and allowing me to fall farther.
Distressed, Carson knelt beside me as I winced at the pain in my side. “Today is not your day,” he said, reaching down to help me.
My attention automatically shifted as someone much larger than my best friend loomed behind him. Nick’s eyes were stormy, and I could tell he was running out of patience.
I am a lot of trouble. More trouble than I’m worth.
“I’m fine,” I insisted, allowing Carson to pull me to my feet. My body was freaking exhausted. Between the sandbag, the nightmare, the panic attack, and now this, I felt like I could sleep for an entire week and still need more rest.
Nick’s hand clapped down on Carson’s shoulder, making his brown eyes round in surprise. He moved aside, and Nick stepped close.
He didn’t touch me. He didn’t say anything. He stared at me with those thundery eyes. As he did, he tugged the rest of his shirt out of his waistband, letting it fall against his hips.
I swallowed thickly, sure everyone heard the sound.
“Get your bag,” he intoned quietly.
It was an order, and I obeyed.
The second it was in my hand, he took the other one, pulling me into his side. Jessica was standing there gaping... and so was everyone else.
“I’m going to check on my assistant, and I’m taking Zoey with me,” he announced like he dared anyone to even breathe.
I scrambled to keep up with his long strides, making me feel like I was not as tall as I actually was.
“What about filming?” Jessica called.
He didn’t even stop or look back. “My scenes for the day are shot. I’ll be here for my call time tomorrow.”
The bodyguards fell into step behind us as we went across the lot. Tugging me around the passenger side of the Viper, Nick flung open the door and pinned me with a look.
I climbed in, not even considering defying him. Danger simmered around him, and that smolder everyone loved so much was burning a hole through everything it touched.
I waited for the door to slam, anticipating the loud bang, but it never came.
Instead, I found myself surrounded. Like a lion closing in on his prey, he leaned into the car, caging me against the leather with his muscular arms.
“I-I’m sorry.” I apologized, not even knowing what I was sorry for.
His intensity was making me jittery. It was also making me melt. My thighs squeezed together, and my hands gripped the edge of the seat.
Eyes flaring, he dove forward, lips claiming mine like he owned them and didn’t have to ask. He kissed me deeply without even penetrating my mouth. The power with which he sucked made my cheeks collapse and my chest puff out. The sound of him inhaling through his nose rang in my ears, and it felt like he wasn’t breathing, but devouring everything I was.
Even as he pulled away, his lips clung to mine like Velcro refusing to release. The sound of us breaking apart was clear, and I collapsed back into the seat, still confined by his arms.
Our stares locked and held. I wouldn’t have been able to look away if a bomb went off a yard away. Even when his hand took hold of mine, my eyes stayed on his.
Shifting just enough, Nick raised my fingers beneath the hem of his shirt, pressing them against his sculpted abs. I tried to pull away, but his hand covered mine, pinning it in place.
“You can touch me whenever you want,” he told me.
“I-I... I—” Oh, I was nervous. My tongue wasn’t the only thing stuttering just then. My heart was too. “I d-didn’t realize what I was doing.”
Again, he said, “You can touch me whenever you want.”
“Everyone probably saw,” I whispered, dismayed.
“A room full of people or one with just us, I’ll never deny you.”
Oh, holy shit. I was no match for this. For him.
I stopped breathing altogether when he tugged my hand from beneath his shirt to press a kiss against my knuckles.
“Take the rest of the day off,” he called to the guards just before he closed the car door.
I realized then it didn’t matter how I tried to shield my heart from Nick. He was powerful enough just to take it.
&
nbsp; The sound of someone falling over on the other side of the door was followed by a muffled cry of pain.
This is going to be so easy.
Seconds later, the door swung open. “Oh, thank God!” she exclaimed.
Her blond hair and blue eyes were perfect. Her place next to him was also perfection.
Two birds. One stone.
I smiled from under the baseball hat I wore. “Got yourself an emergency?”
“The pipe burst in my kitchen, and I can’t find the shutoff valve. My entire apartment is turning into a swimming pool.”
The corners around my eyes crinkled with my laugh. “Good thing I got here before you floated away.”
Waving me in, she stepped back. “Hurry, come in!”
The tools in the toolbox I carried rattled when I stepped inside. Water was indeed spewing all over the kitchen. Exclaiming about the mess, I rushed to the sink, climbing beneath it to shut off the water.
“It was under there this whole time!” She gasped, standing nearby, peering under the cabinet where I lay.
Chuckling, I said, “It’d be hard to find if you didn’t know what you were looking for.”
“Well, thank goodness you do! Thanks for getting here so quickly.”
“Just doing my job,” I replied, coming out from under the cabinet. The coveralls I wore were already wet from the knees down, my chest splattered with water drops.
Shifting from foot to foot, the small blond chewed her lower lip. A rush of adrenaline I hadn’t felt in seven long years surged through my veins, making me feel alive.
“How long do you think this will take to fix?”
“Shouldn’t be too long. Just need to replace the section of pipe.”
“I’m already late for work.” She worried.
Opening the toolbox, I reached inside. “I’ll get started right away so you can get on with your day.”
“Ugh, thank you so much!”
I smiled.
“Can I get you anything?” she asked, going to the refrigerator. “How about a water or some juice while you work?”
“Juice sounds refreshing.”
Leaning inside, she shuffled a few things around to find the juice. She had on a long dress that skimmed the floor when she moved.
It was like a nightgown.
Finding a small bottle of juice, she pulled up out of the icebox. “Ah!” she yelped when her body collided with mine.
“Oh,” she said, her blue eyes widening. “I didn’t see you there.”
Nervous energy skittered around her, and I breathed in deep.
“Here’s the juice,” she said, holding it out while backing away. She couldn’t go far, though, because the appliance was at her back.
Ignoring the juice, I took in all her features. She will do. She will do nicely.
“Did you change your mind?” she asked, her voice turning wary. Still extending the juice between us, she asked, “Would you like something else instead?”
Behind my back, my hand gripped tighter around the hammer.
I smiled.
“Actually, I would.”
Knock, knock.
No answer.
Knock, knock!
Nothing.
Dropping my closed fist from the red door, I spun around, looking to see if anything seemed amiss.
Everything appeared fine, but the sense of foreboding inside me continued to grow. “Why isn’t she answering?” I muttered, running a hand through my hair.
“Try calling her,” Zoey suggested.
The ringing on the other end of the line was echoed by a simultaneous muffled ring. Zoey’s hand grabbed my forearm. “I can hear her cell ringing inside.”
Banging my fist on the door again, I yelled. “Callie! Callie, it’s Nick. Open the door!”
The sound of the ringing phone stopped, and against my ear, her voicemail came on.
“Callie!” I yelled, banging again.
“Didn’t you say she had a busted pipe?”
I nodded.
A worried look crossed her features. “You don’t think she slipped and fell, do you?”
Grasping her sides carefully, I nudged her backward. “Stand back.”
“What are you—”
Crraaack! The sound of splintering wood filled the air. The door sagged on its hinges. Glancing around to make sure Zoey was still in the clear, I brought my foot down on the door again. It burst inward, hitting against the wall and springing back.
“Wait here,” I ordered, pushing the door wide and stepping inside.
“Callie?” I called, roaming around the empty apartment for my assistant. “Callie, it’s Nick!”
Stepping farther inside, I saw her phone on the counter dividing the kitchen from the rest of the space. The bag she always carried lay right beside it.
I yelled her name again, rushing into the bedroom and the adjoining bath.
“She’s not here?” Zoey was standing in the center of the living room, her features drawn and pale.
“No. But all her stuff is,” I said, gesturing to the counter.
Grabbing her bag, Zoey dumped the contents out on the counter. Holding up a set of keys, she frowned. “Her car keys are still here.”
Cursing low, I went into the kitchen. The cabinet beneath the kitchen sink was wide open, water all over the floor. Leaning down, I looked inside, but all I saw was a broken pipe.
“She said she was waiting for the repair man...” I thought out loud.
“Nick.” The tone in which Zoey called my name made the hair on the back of my neck rise.
She was standing inside the kitchen, back to me, body rigid. “What is it?” I asked, immediately concerned.
Even though I gazed down at her, she stared straight ahead.
“Angel?” I prompted, laying my palm against the back of her neck.
Reaching between us, she grabbed my shirt, giving it a tug. “Look.” Her voice was hollow, and the finger she pointed with was unsteady.
Following her direction, I shifted my gaze.
Splatters of red marred the front of the white fridge door.
“I-is that blood?” Zoey asked.
Using an arm to tuck her behind me, I moved closer to investigate. It definitely looked like blood. And it was fresh.
Spinning away from the gruesome sight didn’t stop the horrible thoughts assaulting my brain. Fear for Callie pounded at my temples and made my stomach twist. Gently Taking Zoey’s ashen face between my palms, I told her, “Go wait outside.”
She tried to shift, to look behind me.
“Eyes on me,” I instructed. I didn’t like that vacant look taking over. I didn’t like the colorless sheen to her skin.
“What happened here?” she whispered, swaying a little.
Pulling her into my body, I hugged her as tight as I dared. “I don’t know.” Drawing back, I said, “Go wait for me outside. I’m going to call the police.”
Slowly, she nodded and turned away.
Calling her name, I tugged her back. When her chin didn’t lift, I lifted it for her. The kiss was soft and quick, but in that moment, it seemed necessary. “Stay right by the door. If you need me, yell.”
When she was out of the kitchen, I glanced back at the blood. What the hell happened to you, Callie?
Pulling out my phone, I started to dial for help.
A low keening sound drifted from across the room. My head snapped up.
Zoey stood rigid with her back turned. Her head was angled down, arms in front of her body like she was holding something.
“No,” she whimpered. A sound I hadn’t ever heard before rumbled from her throat. “Please, no...”
“Zoey?” I started around the island. My heart was pounding, body already reacting to a threat I couldn’t see.
A sob seemed to rip through her body, making her sag.
I yelled her name again. She turned just enough for me to see the look on her face. It stopped me in my tracks.
She’d turned ha
ggard, ghostlike, and... broken in a matter of seconds.
“Nick,” she whispered.
The sound of my name was like a jagged dagger right to my chest. Swaying on her feet, her eyes rolled back in her head. I ran forward as she crumpled to the ground.
Somewhere far away, my name was being called.
I liked the sound of the voice beckoning me, but something held back my reply. I liked it here better. The veil of unconsciousness was the strongest shield I’d ever known. So strong and capable, I thought vaguely of staying here forever.
“Zoey!” he yelled again. My peaceful existence was disturbed by rough hands shaking me. “Don’t do this to me.” He worried, and I learned something.
The strongest shield I’d ever known wasn’t impenetrable. Not even its density could keep him from reaching me.
I thought I was alone here.
I will never be alone if Nick is at my side.
As much as I wanted to stay here, I wanted to be with him more.
Lashes fluttering, harsh sunlight chased away what was left of the veil. A small sound escaped from my lips, and a shadow cast over me, blocking the worst of the light.
“Zoey?”
Fingers patted my cheek, and my unfocused gaze cleared for Nick to fill my sight. I’d never seen him look so pale. The golden-haired California boy who forever looked kissed by the sun was suddenly robbed of the warm hue and was replaced by monochrome dullness not even makeup could conceal.
“Say something,” he pleaded.
“You make a really beautiful ghost.”
Frowning, the backs of his knuckles stroked over my cheek. “Something that makes sense.”
“You’re scared,” I whispered.
“Christ,” he swore. “You’ve taken more years off my life in the last few weeks than anything else ever.”
“I’m sorry.”
Gathering me close, he pressed his lips against my forehead. I was lying on the floor, but he held most of me in his arms. “What happened?”
“You passed out.”
It all came back in a single rush. The blood. Callie... the paper. Gasping as if I hadn’t breathed in minutes, my body jolted upright out of Nick’s lap.
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