Reckless .
Dangerous .
Irresistable .
She rubbed her wet hair with a towel and slipped into her jeans and a plain gray t-shirt. She combed her hair out and dabbed a spot of soft pink gloss onto her lips .
She wasn't sure why she bothered. She looked hungover. And she didn't care what he thought of her anyway .
Yeah, right .
At the last minute, she pulled on a sharp black blazer. She could at least look semi-professional, even if she wasn't .
She took the elevator up to the penthouse and rang the buzzer. Marley answered the door. He glanced behind him and said "I was just leaving. Good night, Sabrina . Nick ."
Sabrina couldn't be sure but she had the impression that Marley was displeased with Nick for some reason. She shook it off. What difference did it make ?
Nick appeared in the hallway of the suite, waving her in. He'd just showered too from the look of it. His shirt was open and his hair was damp. She closed her eyes, feeling a little woozy .
"Come in, come in. Have a seat ."
She sat on the couch, feeling awkward. The room was incredible, but at least it wasn’t a bedroom. He had a huge suite with a living room, two baths and a full kitchen. It's not like they were taking this meeting in his bedroom but still, they were alone .
If only she didn't feel so off, she'd be able to handle this better .
"How do you feel ?"
He sat down next to her, leaning over her with a courteous look on his face. He was close. Too close .
"I've felt better to be honest ."
He brightened. As if he were glad she felt like dog vomit .
"Hair of the dog? Best thing for it ."
Her stomach twisted in her gut .
"No, thank you Mr. Falcon ."
"Call me Nick , love ."
"I'd rather not ."
"I thought we had a deal ."
She just shook her head and then winced. Ouch, that hurt .
He frowned .
"Fine. Let's just review the schedule then ."
The schedule… oh God. Where was her brain at? She was failing miserably at handling her first A-List client. The whole scenario literally could not be going any worse. She'd probably lose her job over this .
She probably deserved to .
"I- I need to go back to my room for my copy ."
He stared at her for a moment, as if deciding what to do with her next. Which way to twist her emotions .
"No worries doll, I have it right here ."
Apparently, he had decided to be kind. This time. Who knew what he would try next .
She didn’t have long to wait .
The next thing she knew he was sitting next to her, with his arm around her shoulders. She held her head and moaned .
"I think I need to delay this meeting until tomorrow .”
"Come on now, love. You're hurting my feelings !"
He smiled at her entreatingly. He thought he was being charming. She blinked and tried to focus .
"I'm sorry- I- I think I need to go back to my room now ."
He held her arm tightly and leaned toward her .
"Ah, but only if you promise to have dinner with me after the Graham Norton show tomorrow ."
“I… I can't. Have to, um, stay professional ."
She sounded absurd talking about being professional while she slouched on his couch in hungover misery. He was making slow circles with his palm on her back. It felt heavenly. But she knew she should tell him to stop .
"It is professional to keep your clients happy. I need a morale boost before we launch. It's vital to the success of the tour ."
She peeked at him over her hand. He was making puppy dog eyes at her. She moaned and lowered her head again .
"Please Mr. Falcon -"
"Nick. You promised to call me Nick, remember ?"
"Please- Nick- I really should not be seen with you after -"
She closed her eyes and forced herself to stand up. To move away from the slow sensuous touch of his hand. He caught her hand and stopped her .
" After what ?"
"After what you said. About me. And you ."
She turned to face him, sitting below her. It was odd, but there was something in his face that gave her pause. He looked more than sincere .
He looked remorseful .
"I'm sorry about that, love. I didn't mean it the way it sounded. I meant it as a compliment ."
Her mouth opened a bit. Nick Falcon was apologizing? He really was full of surprises. He had caught her off guard. Again .
"It's alright. Just forget it ."
It wasn't really alright, but there was no point in torturing him with it. He really did seem to feel bad about it .
"I swear I had no idea- didn't realize it would be in all the papers ."
The floor dropped out from under her. She was on her feet in seconds .
"What did you say ?"
He looked utterly panicked as he stood and grabbed her shoulders .
"It's not a big deal, love. It's just one of those silly things. It will all blow over in no time, you'll see ."
She tore herself away from him. Her hangover was washed away in the force of the righteous indignation that flooded her body .
" Show me ."
"You don't need to see this, Sabrina. Please -"
" Show me ."
Very slowly he stood up and reached for a stack of newspapers. He handed them to her. She flipped through them, seeing her face on the front page of each. They all said something asinine like 'Nick's New Girl' or 'Lady Falcon.' Her photo was small compared to the one of Nick, but it was there .
It was everywhere .
She felt even sicker than she had a moment ago .
He smiled at her .
"At least it's good publicity for the tour. Isn’t that right, sweetheart ?”
She stood up straight despite feeling as if the world was crumbling around her .
"It's good publicity for you. It will go away for you. It won't matter for you. I have worked my ass off to get where I am today. I am good at my job. You have no idea what I've given up and now it's all ruined! It’s OVER !”
Nick had stepped back a few paces. She realized she had followed him, matching him step for step. To her horror she felt hot tears welling up in the back of her eyes .
She was yelling at her client. Oh God. Now she'd really done it. She was supposed to manage him, not have a meltdown !
She covered her mouth and ran out of the room to the hallway. She wiped her face with the backs of her hands and pressed the elevator button frantically .
He had made her cry again. But that wasn’t the most troubling part .
Why didn't she hate him ?
For some bizarre reason, he was the one she wanted to hold her and tell her everything was going to be alright. Even if it was a lie, which it certainly would be .
She was a fool and she knew it .
But it didn’t do a thing to stop the way she felt .
She was falling for Nick .
Chapter 25
Nick
"Y eah, hi Harvey. It’s Nick Falcon ."
"Hey Nick, how are you ?
"I'm good, mate. I was hoping you could help me with a little problem. It's about those rumors making the rounds ."
"About your A& R girl ?"
"Yeah that's the one ."
"Okay. Don't you have a PR team to handle that sort of thing ?"
"Nah, don't have one of those. Never needed one ."
"But you do now ?"
"Yeah well, you see the bird this whole thing is about- Miss N
ewton- she's not sleeping with me. She won't even go to bloody dinner with me! And now I think my chances are less than nil ."
"She's pissed , huh ?"
"The whole bloody thing was a misunderstanding. I only meant that I would do anything the bloody woman told me to! She's got my bullocks in her Goddamned pocketbook ."
Harvey laughed .
“So if we tell the true story, you think you might have a chance with her ?"
"God, I hope so. Otherwise I'm going to be taking cold showers for the rest of my natural life ."
"Wait, let me get this straight. The legendary Nick Falcon is swearing off groupies ?"
"Yeah, mate. I am ."
"Super models? Actresses ?"
"Yeah, the lot of them don't hold a candle to her ."
"Well, that is a scoop. Okay Nick let me see what I can do ."
"Thank, mate. I owe you one ."
Nick hung up the phone and glanced at Marley by the door .
"Great, we've got TMZ on board. That's a big one. How many is that now ?"
"Twenty-five of the biggest gossips mags. I think you've done enough, Nick.” Marley shook his head. “She might not appreciate this you know ."
Nick ran his hands through his hair. After what Sabrina had told him he’d never felt so guilty in his life. The feeling was entirely foreign to him .
He didn't like it at all .
He liked that he'd hurt Sabrina even less .
"Go and check on her, would you ?"
"Again? She sounded annoyed the last two times ."
"Tell her- tell her I need to go over the talking points. Tell her I'm nervous ."
He was bloody nervous! But not about the show. The whole Sabrina situation was starting to eclipse everything else. Even talk shows .
Nick watched as Marley left the room, hoping to God that Sabrina would be more responsive this time. He couldn't have blown it with her out of spite. It just wouldn't be fair .
The first bloody woman he'd ever wanted for real. And he’d blown it. She was slipping through his fingers .
All because of his big mouth. Well, if she wouldn't talk to him he'd make sure to put his mouth to better use .
He'd talk to the rest of the world instead .
Chapter 26
Sabrina
S abrina heard a soft rap at the door. She went to investigate, leaving the safety chain latched. She sighed when she saw who it was. And she knew exactly who had sent him .
"Not now Marley, okay? I'll see you downstairs in an hour to go to the taping ."
"He's really nervous up there ."
"Have you ever seen Nick Falcon nervous, Marley ?"
He stared at her through the crack in the door. She knew he wasn’t fooled, but was too polite to call her out on it. She was still wrapped in her bathrobe .
She'd been dozing in bed all day, contemplating a move to Sri Lanka .
Anyplace other than LA. Or London. Or home .
Marley shrugged and mumbled "Couple 'a times ."
She shook her head .
"He'll be fine. Tell Nick -"
Marley looked at her hopefully. She felt a bit like kicking a puppy when she shook her head again. He was just so sweet. She had trouble believing he was related to Nick .
He was just an innocent bystander .
"Yeah ?"
"Tell him I have every faith in his abilities ."
She gently closed the door in Marley's face and crawled back into bed. She'd checked her email twice already. No one had mentioned the scandal. But that didn't surprise her .
Nobody ever brought up gossip to the subject’s face .
Maybe if she had a close girlfriend, they would be on the phone right now hashing it all out. But she didn't really have anyone to talk to. She'd never made a lot of time for socializing and this was the result. She was alone in this .
Sometimes it seemed like other women thought she was too serious. She wasn't sure if it was her ambition or the way she looked. Either way she hadn't gotten a lot of invites to hang out since- well , ever .
She'd always told herself she didn't mind. But that was a lie. She did mind .
She was tired of it .
She was tired of being alone, of always having to stand on her own two feet. Her parents had taught her early on that she had to be strong. They found out they were both sick when she was very young. They knew they wouldn't be around to protect her for long. But every now and then it would be nice to lean on someone else, even if only for a little while .
She sighed. If she got out of this situation with her career and sanity intact, she was going to make a change. She'd say yes to the next person who asked her for a date. Or the next woman who asked her for coffee. If someone asked, she was going for it .
It didn't matter who it was. She had to let go of control a little bit. She had to unwind, open up and stop being so cynical .
If she could find the courage .
Sabrina finally pushed herself off the bed and slipped the robe off her shoulders. She turned on the shower and inhaled the steam, letting it wash over her face. She'd never spent an entire day in bed before. Not even when she got the flu as a child .
There was something wicked about it .
She smiled suddenly, lathering herself up .
It would be much more wicked if there was someone in the bed with her .
For just a minute she imagined it was Nick. Just wrapped up in the covers with her, skin to skin. But that would just lead to more trouble .
Then again, everyone already thought she'd slept with him already …
Maybe she should just give in. At least her curiosity would be satisfied .
And then she’d move to Sri Lanka .
Chapter 27
Nick
N ick tried repeatedly to draw Sabrina into conversation during the limo ride over to the studio. She had smiled at him politely and became immediately absorbed in her Blackberry, tap tapping away with her perfectly manicured nails. They were buffed and neatly trimmed but without polish .
She was a class act, through and through .
"You don't like lacquer ?"
"I'm sorry ?"
"You don't wear a lot of makeup or nail lacquer ."
"Oh ."
She stared at her hand briefly .
"It doesn't seem worth the bother. Or time ."
This was killing him. He wanted to pull her into his arms and kiss the complacent look off her face. He knew now that he had made a serious miscalculation on that first telly appearance. He was really struggling to gain any ground with her, no matter how thick he poured on the charm. She simply shut him out, no matter what he did .
Worse yet, he'd hurt her. Why didn't she just yell at him some more and get it over with ?
Then he could get around to making it up to her .
But she'd just gone back to what she was doing, not even looking out the window to check out the sights .
"Have you been to London before ?"
She shook her head without looking up. Damn it. Obviously she was determined to hold him at arm’s length .
They rode the rest of the way in silence. She didn't say a word as she followed him into the studio .
When he went on he was ready. He'd made sure to tell Graham ahead of time to bring up the new girlfriend angle. Now he was starting to wonder if it had been a mistake .
Use it or lose it, Nicky -boy .
He walked onto the set with a big smile .
Too late now .
Graham didn't waste a lot of time before getting to the point. Nick had already plugged the tour, mentally ticking off all of Sabrina's talking points. Now it was time to lob the ball back into her court .
"So, I hear you have a ne
w lady. Tell us Nick, is it true ?"
He shook his head sadly. "No, mate. I wish that were the case. The lady in question is not interested in me ."
Graham laughed .
"Are you serious? I can't believe that the great Nick Falcon has woman problems ."
"That's just it, mate. She doesn't believe that a guy like me could be a good bet ."
"A good bet for what- boyfriend? Husband ? "
"If I would be so lucky ."
Graham shook his head .
"You've been down that road before, Nick. Three times to be exact ."
"Yeah, but this is different. Those were really just long one-night stands. This girl… she's the real thing. Besides, I've finally got… what do you call it? Oh right. I've got maturity ."
The audience laughed. He sighed in relief when they went to break. It had gone well. He was certain that Sabrina would be impressed with him now. He walked to the wings expecting to see a smile on her face. Instead she looked pale and tired .
"I fixed it ."
She shut her eyes and slowly shook her head in exasperation .
"What is it, love? Aren't you glad I set the record straight ?"
"No Nick, you just made it worse. It doesn't matter anyway. Just focus on the music. This is about you, not me ."
"Of course it matters. You are a great rep. I've never had better ."
"That's nice of you to say ."
She didn't believe a word of it. Not that he blamed her. He couldn't give up though .
"So does that mean you'll have dinner with me ?
She shook her head .
"Come on love, I promise to get us a tour bus instead of flying all over Europe ."
That had her attention .
"Really ?"
He leaned in close and smiled at her. She looked so adorably hopeful .
"IF you have dinner with me. We can even take the bloody boat back to NY. A private train car back to LA. No more flying sweetheart, I promise. Just have dinner with me ."
She smiled at him sadly .
Dance With The Devil (The Devil's Riders Book 4) Page 21