“I’m not breaking things off—”
“We had awesome sex and then you basically kicked me to the curb.”
“But I didn’t realize—”
“No, that’s not an excuse. I have to work hard at relationships. You were the first man I could relax around and be myself. All of myself. Then you slam the door in my face without a second thought. I can’t put myself out there like that again.”
“Petra—”
“Listen, I’m going to shut this door now. I suggest you move your hand or else you’re going to get your fingers jammed.”
The muscles in Petra’s jaw jumped and she couldn’t meet his gaze anymore. She was blaming herself for his overreaction, his irrational anger over the situation. No matter what he said, she wasn’t in a place where she’d be ready to listen.
Taking a step back, Darcy nodded. “Don’t think I’m giving up on you that easily.”
“Goodbye.”
She didn’t slam the door at least, even if she did lock it.
He stood there while he tried to work through his best course of action. If she was a client, he would try to get her to open up about her relationship and why she felt things would go badly if she took a chance. In this case, the logical Dr. Darcy would have to take a side step and make way for D. Williams. His alter ego wouldn’t give up on her. He’d take matters into his own hands.
He pressed his back to the door and slid to the floor. “I’m not leaving you to face this stuff alone. I’ll be here when you’re ready to talk.”
He’d sit here all night if he had to.
Chapter Fifteen
There are three kinds of men in this world. Gentlemen, who will put a lady’s needs before their own. Jerks, who put their own concerns first and to hell with everyone else. And Rogues, who like to bend the rules to suit themselves.
Then there is D. Williams...
—PC, Sexcapades — sex advice for women
I—Can we go back to talking about sex? Please?
—D. Williams, Mantastic — advice for REAL men
Petra checked her peephole for the fifth time. At some point, he’d decided that leaning against the door didn’t give him his best vantage point and moved to sit across from it. Yup, he was still there, arms crossed and legs stretched out.
She had been shocked to see him waiting for her when she got back from the laundry room, which set the emotional tsunami crashing down inside her once again. Why the hell couldn’t he leave her alone? Wasn’t it enough for him to tease her online and haunt her dreams? Did he actually have to be here in person so she was forced to admit that for the first time in her life, here was a man who might be everything she really needed? A man who was as emotionally screwed up as she was, doing his best to hide it from the world? Someone she could help and love?
Bastard.
Petra had listened to each of his voice mail messages shortly after he’d left them. She wanted to believe that he was sorry, that he understood his fears were unfounded. The more she thought about his life, the more she understood him. But she wasn’t sure she was strong enough to put herself out there with him again, knowing there was a possibility for him to push her away in the future.
Refusing to give in to the pressure of his silent vigil, she went into her kitchen and grabbed the tub of ice cream from her freezer. “Neanderthal.”
Alice would tell her she was being an idiot. Darcy was trying to do the right thing to win her over. Alice would want her to haul him into her condo and have crazy monkey sex with him. Fortunately, Alice was MIA which meant Petra was allowed to wallow and stew in peace.
The knocking started up again as she got to the halfway mark of the ice cream in the container. She was surprised he’d lasted this long. Maybe he had to pee or something. It hadn’t been hard for her to notice his bloodshot eyes and the eau du booze on his body. It would serve him right if she let him stay out there.
“Petra!”
Ah hell.
He barely waited for her to open the door before he made his way in. Instead of bolting for the bathroom like she assumed he would, Darcy held up his cell phone. “This has gone on long enough.”
“What?”
“I got a call too.”
Shit. “Was it the same guy?”
“It sounded like him.” Darcy shoved his phone back into his pocket and ran a hand down his face. “This needs to end.”
This wasn’t the reaction of a man dealing with an annoyance. “What did he say?”
Darcy threw his phone at her couch. “He thanked me for withdrawing Mantastic from the competition. The committee hasn’t even agreed to it yet and this asshole assumes it’s a given. He wanted me to make you take out Sexcapades or else he’d reveal my identity to the press and make sure all of my patients were aware of my blog. One of the caveats I’d requested was that there weren’t any photos of me in the press. Somehow he knew this.”
While what he did on his blog was harmless, given the nature of the clients he normally worked with, Petra knew the fallout would seriously hurt his practice. “He can’t do that.”
“Apparently he can. Danny only contacted the committee this evening. That means whoever is doing this is getting their information from the source.”
“Someone on the committee itself?”
“It would make sense.”
Petra stared at him, ignoring the voice in her head screaming that this was a bad idea. She’d been doing fine without him, without any man for that matter, and she’d continue to do so.
Except that wasn’t true and she wasn’t idiot enough to lie to herself.
Petra sat down on the couch and retrieved his phone. “I was so angry at you earlier. I’m not good with people, or putting myself out there. I found myself wanting to try with you. The second I thought I could actually do this, you threw me for a loop. It’s hard for me, and you shut me down without a second thought.”
“I can’t say enough how sorry I am for that.” Darcy closed his eyes and let out a soft breath. “I think...maybe I push the women I care about away because I don’t want to be responsible for someday breaking their hearts. I don’t want to become a man like the ones whose wives come to see me. If I don’t get close to anyone, that won’t happen.”
Darcy didn’t move, barely looked like he was breathing. Petra knew this was their chance to fix things between them. Patting the couch beside her, she hoped he would take the olive branch she extended. Darcy swayed in her direction, but didn’t move.
Stubborn, idiotic...
“I can’t guarantee you won’t hurt me. But I can’t guarantee that I won’t do something that will hurt you either. What you see is what you get with me. I’ll call you an asshole if I think you’re being one. I expect you to do the same. It’s a relationship. And you better than most people know that it takes effort to make them work.”
Petra had been living in a fantasy world for far too long. She talked about sex without having dated many men. She attacked Darcy online, assuming she knew best because being a man, he couldn’t possibly understand. Since he’d stumbled into her life, she’d been proven wrong time and time again. Darcy was a real life hero to so many women. She wasn’t going to be the evil witch who took that away.
“I won’t let this jackass do anything to hurt your practice.” Using his phone she began to dial.
“Who are you calling?”
“The committee. I’m going to tell them that I’m withdrawing.”
“Pet, no.” He plucked the phone from her hand and pressed End. “If we back down then we’ll never learn who this was. He’ll simply find a way to continue to rig the competition and the wrong person will win that money.”
“The money doesn’t matter.”
“This is bigger than that.” Darcy set the phone down and sat down beside her. “Your blog is important.”
“No, it’s—”
“It’s important to me.” He cupped her face with his hands, leaned in and kissed her.
Petra grabbed his shirt, squeezing the fabric in her fists as she opened up to him. God, how did she think she’d be able to walk away from this, from him? Darcy was a drug and she was officially hooked. Even when he pulled back, she leaned in to chase him, wanting more.
“Please,” she whispered.
“Wait. I need you to understand first.” Brushing the back of his hand down her cheek, he shifted closer still. “I haven’t felt this way about a woman, ever. But until we sort out this mess, you’re always going to be wondering where you stand with me. So I want to make you a proposal.”
She watched his mouth as he spoke, wanting more of those lips. “Proposal?”
“We work together to flush out whoever is doing this to us. Then you and I are going to lock ourselves up at my place and we’re going to have a long talk about where we think this thing between us will go.”
Talking. She really didn’t want to do any talking.
Darcy grinned. “Then I’m going to fuck you senseless.”
That was more appealing.
Not wanting to question why she wasn’t able to let go of Darcy, Petra nodded. Yes, it made sense. They had to get past this first so the air was clear between them. But now that she’d made the decision to let him back in, the idea of letting him leave made her ill. Keeping him here where she could keep an eye on him would make things better.
“What do you think we should do? Meet with the committee again?”
The sparkle was back in his eyes, the one that told her D. Williams had come out to play. She was beginning to love that side of him.
A terrifying thought.
“Yes. But I have an idea about how we can flush out our caller. I’ll need to bring my brother in on this, but I think it will work.” He kissed her again, and this time she could feel his smile against her lips. “How do you feel about PC and D. Williams putting on a little performance?”
Before she could respond, he picked up his smartphone and opened up an email to show her the events schedule.
Petra laughed. “Oh, you’re more than a little evil. I’m in.”
* * *
Darcy’s neck was still stiff. God she needed a new couch. At least that’s what he wanted to blame it on. His headache, still present despite his attempt to sleep off his hangover, had finally dulled to a light ache in the hours since his arrival at Petra’s. Which was a good thing. He needed to be able to focus if they were going to pull this off.
The crowd for the sponsor’s reception now filled most of the hotel’s sectioned-off ballroom. Far more intimate than the nomination dinner, Darcy knew this was intended to be an opportunity for local business leaders to meet them and discuss possible connections within Toronto’s economy. Darcy himself could easily have lost himself in several conversations he overheard as he wandered through the room. Instead, he was focused on his task at hand—figuring out who the hell was trying to get rid of them.
This was a media-free event, so he was surprised when he saw Justin Cox engaged in an animated conversation with Emily, the award’s committee secretary, by the kitchen door. Darcy started in that direction when Evan stepped in front of him.
“I’m surprised to see you here, Williams.” Evan had slicked back his thinning hair and was wearing a suit slightly too big for him. Like a kid playing at dress-up. “I heard you’d withdrawn from the competition.”
His attention now completely on the other man, Darcy squared up and braced himself. If Evan was the one causing them all their problems, he was going to thoroughly enjoy squashing the little bastard into the ground.
“They didn’t officially accept my withdrawal. For now you have to put up with me.”
Evan snorted. “I’m surprised your blog finaled anyway. I took a look at it and I didn’t see anything special about it.”
“That’s because you’re a dickless wonder who wouldn’t know how to treat a woman properly if you were given step-by-step instructions.”
“And you’re some kind of hot shit? Where’s your girlfriend? Did she get a clue and dump your ass when she realized all that crap on your website didn’t work?”
Darcy had been looking for Petra to arrive before he’d gotten distracted. A quick glance at his watch told him she should be here by now. They had a performance to put on and time was getting short.
“I suggest you make yourself scarce, Reid.” Darcy wasn’t normally one to go the intimidation route, but being taller than the other man made it too tempting not to try. Lowering his voice, he leaned in so their faces were close. “Or you’ll find out how much of an asshole I can really be.”
He’d never admit it out loud, but it was fun to watch the rat of a man’s eyes widen before he turned tail and scurried away. There were some benefits to not being Mr. Nice Guy all the time.
Darcy waited another ten minutes before he started to get nervous. Petra should have been here by now. He hadn’t wanted to leave her on her own, but for his plan to work they couldn’t be seen arriving together. Still, he’d never forgive himself if something had happened to her and he hadn’t been around to help.
When Petra finally arrived, Darcy didn’t need to ask what the problem had been. She was wearing the same lush green dress she’d had on for the nomination reading. Her hair, instead of the elaborate design she’d worn then, was loose around her shoulders. She tugged on the low cut neck of her dress, though it didn’t appear to move up any higher. Petra took a few wobbly steps into the room before her gaze found him.
She was beautiful. And more than a little nervous if he was reading her expression right.
Time to get this show on the road. He nodded in the direction of the buffet. It was the busiest part of the room, perfect for what they needed to do.
Darcy went first, taking his time milling over the assorted finger foods and keeping his back to where he knew Petra was coming from. No, PC not Petra. He couldn’t think of her that way or he’d never get through this.
The shove, when it came, had him staggering forward and sent the mini quiches he’d put on his plate sliding to the sideboard.
“What the hell?” Spinning, he came face to face with a furious PC.
Game on.
“I can’t believe you showed up tonight. Not after what you did.” They had a good-sized crowd around them and it took no time for the conversations to slip to a hush. “You bastard!”
“I don’t know what the hell you’re talking about. I haven’t done a damn thing to you. Nothing that I haven’t put up online.”
“You’ve been trying to get me to back out of the competition. What’s the matter Williams? Scared that you were going to get beaten by a girl?”
“You think for a minute that Sexcapades is going to win? With that dime store advice?” He chuckled as he crossed his arms. “And for the record, it’s not me trying to make you quit. You can tell your boyfriend to stop bothering me. I’m not withdrawing.”
“I hear from people every single day that I saved their marriages and helped their sex lives. I’m not withdrawing either. So screw you.”
“What the hell is going on here?” Chris Masters pushed his way through the crowd, frowning when he saw them. “What’s gotten into you two?”
“He’s been leaving harassing messages—”
“She’s been leaving harassing messages—”
They both stopped and glared at each other. If Darcy didn’t know any better, he would have believed she was absolutely furious with him. Chris looked between the two of them, clearly confused.
“I even brought the message on my phone to prove it.” She pulled it out and played the last message she’d received.
Darcy wanted to cringe hearing those hateful words again. Petra didn’t deserve that treatment. He wanted to wipe away the pain and embarrassment and treat her the way she deserved to be treated.
The crowd responded to the message. Several of the closest people shot Darcy looks that told him they’d already tried and convicted him. Good thing Danny had been able to
come through or else this would have been a disaster.
When the message had finished, Petra turned to face the crowd. “What kind of person does this? Tries to bully another person into walking away from something that means the world to them? While I might be a lot of things, I’ve never considered myself a coward. I’ve been pushed around before. Starting up Sexcapades was my answer. I’m not going to give in to this.”
Cheers and applause erupted from the surrounding group as Petra stood there defiantly, hands on her hips. If Darcy wasn’t completely in love with her before, seeing her stand up for herself while breaking through her discomfort, that would have been the final push he needed.
But he didn’t need it, because if he’d learned nothing else in the past few hours, it was that he had fallen hard for this woman.
“I’m sorry, PC.” Chris stepped forward. “But that isn’t Mr. Williams’s voice.”
“No it isn’t.” It was time to ramp things up. Withdrawing his portable MP3 player from his suit jacket, Darcy held it up for the crowd to see. “I also received a message from this mystery man. But unlike PC, I noticed something odd about the voice. I checked with my brother and he confirmed it. The caller used a voice modifier.”
That revelation sent a murmur through the group. They were all riveted by the unfolding and unexpected drama. Good. That meant it would be easier for him to spot the guilty party.
“I’m thankful my brother is a bit of a technical wiz. He was able to take the message and run it through one of his programs. It didn’t take him long to strip out the modification and find the original voice underneath. I have to say, I was shocked when I heard it.”
Darcy watched as Evan Reid moved closer to them. The panic he’d expected to see on Evan’s face never materialized. If anything, the man looked as if he were enjoying the unfolding train wreck.
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