Her Rules

by CC MacKenzie

  "You didn't mean it," said her friend.

  Actually, Anastacia admitted quietly to herself, she thought she did mean it.

  "You've a lot of big stuff going on. Take it one step at a time. And talking of time..." Danni checked her watch. "You have a few hours yet." She pointed to the livid scratches on Anastacia's arms. "And you're gonna need to cover those up. Seriously, Ana, this whole thing with Olivier's so called fans is getting completely out of hand. I hope you're pressing charges."

  "I am. The police were supportive, once they realized I was defending myself."

  "It's a nightmare, that's what it is. T.C. has been giving Olivier plenty of earache today. He's not looking after you."

  Even though, deep down, she had exactly the same feelings of Olivier herself. Perversely, irritation with her friend's opinion of the man she loved rose within Anastacia.

  "It's not as if his fans behaviour is his fault."

  With a heart heavy and filled with confusion over feelings that swung back and forth, Anastacia rose to her feet, brushed grass and soil from her jeans.

  The girls turned to make their way slowly through the dead to the gates of the cemetery.

  Today she needed the stress of meeting her new family like she needed a hole in the head. All she wanted to do was to chill out on her fabulous couch cuddling up to her man with wine, chocolate and a helluva good action movie with plenty of explosions and near death experiences.

  "Why," she asked Danni as she wrapped an arm around her narrow waist. "Does life have to be so complicated?"

  "A question that has been asked by millions down the ages," muttered her friend as she led the way to her shiny red mini cooper. "Who knows why? It just is what it is. And while I've got you in an unusually weakened state, I want to ask you for a favor. A big favor."

  Anastacia turned and realized Danni's face was pale.

  The way her friend was jiggling her car keys in her hand told her she was tense.

  Uh-oh.

  Something was up.

  Thrilled to focus on someone else's problems for a pleasant change, she watched Danni's face carefully.

  "Sure, hit me with it."

  "Can I tag along with you guys to France?"

  Anastacia's dark brows rose. "Tag along? Dontcha mean you need me as a bodyguard to run interference between you and Wolfy?"

  "His name's Pascal," Danni said in a snippy voice that made Anastacia grin like a Cheshire cat.

  "You're the one who calls him Mr. Growly," said Anastacia, not giving an inch.

  "He does growl at me. In a French way. A sort of sexy Gallic growl."

  Anastacia's grin turned into a toothy smile. "Probably with sheer male frustration. You've been leading him a merry dance for months. And what's with the sexy Gallic growl?" She studied Danni's scorching cheeks with something like glee. "Oooooh, you're attracted to him. That's a guilty face you're wearing. Spill it, Daniella."

  "No. I can't be attracted to him."

  "Why?" demanded an Anastacia who's spirits were lifting by the moment.

  "He scares me," her friend whispered.

  Anastacia's spirits plummeted as fast as they'd risen.

  She knew all about her friend's perfectly valid issues with men, and she understood them, too.

  "Pascal is a pussycat. Everyone says so," she said in a gentle voice.

  "He can be nice, but he's also..."

  After counting to five as her friend appeared to struggle to find the right words, Anastacia moved right into Danni's personal space to study her face.

  "He's what?"

  "Demanding."

  Now Anastacia had the bit between her teeth there was no way she was going to let this go. This was news on a grand scale. It looked like Ms. Daniella Pebbles was keeping secrets from her besties.

  Naughty girl.

  The way Danni's neck and cheeks went radioactive had Anastacia staring at her very hard, because if Pascal Wolfe had hurt her friend in any way, the Frenchman was going to receive a come-to-Jesus moment.

  "In what way... demanding?"

  Danni shuffled from one designer shod foot to the other, a sure sign of nervousness and by the scowl on her lovely face, Anastacia knew her friend was wishing she'd never started this conversation.

  "His kisses are sort of... too much." At the amazing confession of kisses that T.C. and her knew absolutely nothing about Anastacia's brows flew into her hairline in an unspoken, WTF? question. Danni rolled her hazel eyes to heaven. "He uses his tongue like..."

  Oh man, Anastacia just new T.C. was going to be so bummed to miss out on all these juicy revelations.

  "Like?" She nudged her friend to hurry it along and get to the good bit.

  "A weapon of pleasure."

  After a stunned moment, Anastacia's peal of laughter rang out loud and long.

  "Omigod. That is the funniest thing I've heard in months."

  "It's not funny."

  "Is, too." Anastacia waited a beat. "So, when was this kiss?"

  Danni hunched her shoulders, did the foot shuffle.

  "Last month. He came over to London for a meeting. Took me out to dinner. One thing led to another." At the unspoken question in Anastacia's big blue eyes, Danni narrowed hers. "Not sex."

  "I'm asking myself why you didn't share the kiss with us. What about The Rules about sharing everything with your besties? Believe me T.C. is gonna be so steamed she missed this."

  "I think she suspects something."

  "She has a spooky radar that doesn't miss much. Are you gonna tell her or will I?"

  "I'll do it."

  "Excellent. It'll get her off my back."

  "I wouldn't be too sure of that if I were you," muttered Danni.

  "We're not talking about me, we're talking about you. Carry on... tell me more about the kiss?"

  Cue a long silence.

  "It was intense. He used his teeth on my bottom lip."

  "Oooooh, I love the teeth on the bottom lip move. Good for you, babe... it's always the quiet ones."

  "Pascal is not quiet."

  "I was talking about you, Ms. I'm-really-shy Pebbles."

  "And he's not shy, either," said Danni with a far-away look in her eyes. Something more than a kiss had put that look on her best friend's face.

  Silence.

  "Well, don't keep me in suspense, woman!" yelled Anastacia.

  "He's got great hands, big hands."

  "Hands, eh?"

  "He knows just what to do with them, too..." Danni's voice stuttered to a halt.

  "There's a but coming. I can hear it."

  Now Danni heaved a very deep and very heartfelt sigh.

  "I froze. Just like before. I get to a certain point and... can't do it."

  Anastacia stepped in and grabbed her for a big, big, rib-cracking hug. "Have you told him what happened to you, sweetie?"

  Danni shook her head, shifted to stare into Anastacia's face.

  "I can't talk about it."

  "Remember you once told me to go for it and open my heart to Olivier?" Danni nodded. "Then you need to gather all your amazing courage and tell Pascal what happened to you and stop letting one bad event rule your present and your future."

  After Danni had been attacked, Anastacia and T.C. had talked at length about making sure that their friend returned to living a normal life (whatever normal was) in her own time, without pressure from them or her parents. But they'd also agreed that when Danni made the first tentative move into the dating scene, they'd be there to catch her if she fell.

  "You're right. I know you're right. But have you seen how he's built? He's a big guy in all ways."

  Pascal Wolfe was very well-built. There was no denying it, but as far as Anastacia was concerned the Frenchman was not a patch on Olivier.

  "Anyway." Danni interrupted her happy thoughts. "He's too old for me."

  Anastacia blinked.

  "He's what, thirty-four? Hardly decrepit."

  "Ten years."

  Anastacia
shrugged. "Just means he's a man, not a boy."

  "He's a man alright," Danni muttered the words under her breath. "He's huge."

  Anastacia fluttered her lashes. "Ooooh la-la. Huge?"

  "Get your filthy mind out of the gutter. He's got huge shoulders and have you seen his thighs?"

  "Rugby will do that to a man. But he's not fat."

  "No. It's been years since he played for his country. He's gotta really flat belly. It's just I'm five-six and he's at least six-five. In so many ways that matter, we don't... fit."

  Ah, now they were getting to the heart of it. "Look at Olivier and me."

  Danni shuffled her feet again, looking uncomfortable. "You two are adorable together. Pascal and I look like 'Little and Large'."

  "If you really like him, none of that should matter and neither should an age difference."

  Looking even more uncomfortable, Danni's smooth brow creased.

  She tucked a strand of shiny copper hair behind her ear.

  "I know that. It's just..."

  "Just what?" asked a relentless Anastacia.

  "He frightens me."

  Without a blink Anastacia accepted the explanation without question. Right there rose an unconditional support and respect for her friend's feelings.

  "Okay. Then of course you can join us. Linda and me will protect you from the big bad Wolf."

  Danni pressed the key button to unlock her car.

  She opened the passenger door. "You're just not going to quit with that, are you?"

  "Nope."

  "Knew it." Danni went to roll her eyes as Anastacia moved, then those eyes narrowed. "Hang on a minute. Why are you limping?"

  "Kick on the shin."

  Danni was on her like a shot.

  "Lemme see." When Anastacia slid off her shoe and pulled up the hem of her jeans, Danni's eyes went like saucers. "Jeez, what the hell was she wearing?"

  "Wooden platforms."

  Anastacia winced as Danni took her elbow to help her balance as she slid her foot into her shoe, her friend slid up the sleeve of her sweater and goggled at her injured elbow.

  "Bloody hell, Banana. It's all swollen and black and blue. Did you get checked out at A&E?" Now it was Anastacia's turn to hunch her shoulders and scowl. "By that look I'll take it as a no. Honestly, Ana, you need a keeper."

  Once they were driving, Anastacia turned to glare at Danni. "This isn't the way home."

  "Nope. This is the way to Accident and Emergency. And do not argue with me. I cannot understand why Olivier didn't make sure you were okay." Danni slid a sideways look to study her. "I bet you told him you were okay. You look terribly pale. Where else do you hurt?"

  "Bump on the head. It's nothing. I'm fine." Anastacia slid Danni's look right back. "Really. It doesn't hurt as bad as it did last night."

  Danni looked fierce. "Just shut up, Banana."

  Anastacia shut up.

  She'd been stripped of her clothes and bundled into the hated pea green hospital gown.

  "Back again?" asked the young Australian A&E doctor Anastacia had seen before when Olivier and her had been set upon by two muggers on their first date. "Trouble seems to follow you around."

  Since it was nothing but the truth, she kept her mouth shut.

  With gentle hands he manipulated her elbow. It hurt, but she had the full range of movement. Then he checked out the livid swelling and filthy bruise on her shin. "Nasty. We'll send you to X-ray, just to be sure nothing's amiss. Now, let's check out that hard head of yours." Again, gentle fingers carefully investigated the spot. He checked her eyes. "Nausea, dizziness, blurred vision, headache?"

  "Headache."

  "Not surprised. Right, let me clean those scratches." He ripped off his gloves, washed his hands and dried them before he poured a clear liquid into a little bowl and opened a packet of cotton wool balls. Then he snapped on a fresh pair of latex gloves, dipped the cotton wool ball in the liquid, squeezed out the excess. "This might sting. Sorry," he said when she hissed out a breath on the first stroke. "Deep. The trouble with human fingernails is they harbour all sorts of unpleasant beasties."

  When he'd finished, he wrote on his notes. "Allergic to penicillin?"

  She shook her head.

  "I'll write a prescription. Make sure you complete the course."

  Anastacia knew the drill, understood the vital importance of taking all the medication.

  "Right," he said, made more notes on her file, then shot her a wide toothy smile. "X-ray and if that's all clear you can go."

  An hour later she was released.

  Anastacia waited until the car was zipping down the road before turning to her friend.

  "Happy now, mom?"

  "Shut up and start thinking about what you're going to wear tonight."

  "I don't care what I'm going to wear."

  "Sometimes, Banana, you worry me. You're female. Female's always worry about how they look."

  "You worry enough for the both of us."

  "As I said before, you need a keeper."

  "Who's the one who's gonna protect you in Paris from the big bad French wolf?"

  She could see by her friend's scowl of embarrassment she'd scored a hit.

  "Shut up."

  Anastacia turned to study Danni's hot cheeks and hot eyes.

  "At some point you're going to need to be straight with Pascal and tell him the truth. That's the only way he'll back off."

  "Shut up."

  Danni had already come to the same conclusion herself, and she wasn't looking forward to the confrontation. Every single time she crossed his path, Pascal Wolfe took her body right out of its comfort zone. A secure zone she'd spent years perfecting. These days she dated safe men, nice men.

  Men who'd never dream of pressurising her for sex.

  Danni didn't do sex.

  Ever.

  In the back of her mind she knew, logically, that one day if she ever wanted to experience her secret dream of having a family of her own she'd need to deal with her issues and have a normal life. However, she was in no rush. Of course, all that would change if she ever met Mr. Right.

  As far as Danni Pebbles was concerned, Pascal Wolfe was Mr. Wrong for all the right reasons. Basically, although deep down she was attracted to him, he terrified her.

  CHAPTER NINE

  Anastacia closed her apartment door behind her.

  "Hey, piccolino. I missed you."

  Prowling towards her like a big stalking panther, Anastacia held up her hands to stop Olivier grabbing her. He was shirtless, barefoot, hair damp from the shower. The top button and the zip on his jeans undone to lay bare a line of black hair leading to...

  Her belly trembled in reaction.

  God, the man was absolutely gorgeous.

  "I'm sorry I left without a word..." but before she could continue, he'd lifted her in his strong arms.

  "T.C. phoned, told me where you were. I would have gone with you to visit the grave," he said as he carried her through to her bedroom and lay her on the bed.

  Then he straddled her supine body.

  Those amazing dark eyes studied her flushed cheeks.

  With a little mental purr of sheer delight, she slid her hands around his waist to stroke the smooth flesh pulled tight over the taut sinews of his back before returning to the front and felt his stomach muscles flex under her searching fingers.

  His eyes narrowed.

  "Si, si, right there," his voice went all deep and throaty and filled with lust.

  Her nipples beaded against the thin silk of her bra as he leaned down to whisper a kiss on her mouth, teeth tugging before nibbling her bottom lip.

  Oh, yeah, the teeth on the lip move worked, every time.

  Her breath caught in her throat as his mouth suckled on the hectic pulse under her ear.

  When he shifted to rest his pelvis on hers, she wriggled to settle him in the cradle of her thighs and felt him harden.

  "I need a bath, or a shower," she gasped.

  "Si
nce you will be naked, I am happy to do both." He lifted off her and stood. "Stay right there."

  Because she was boneless, Anastacia was more than happy to oblige. The sound of a bath being run made her tingle from her toes to her scalp.

  Then he walked back into the room and spent an overly long time just staring at her.

  "Strip," he said at last.

  Strip?

  Just like that?

  Her eyes went wide as he shoved down his jeans, stepped out of them. Commando! Then he started on her, her shoes, unzipped her jeans, peeled them down her legs. By the time she was down to her bra and panties her breath was coming too fast and she was so turned-on she felt as if her bones were melting. She loved this part of the deal, the getting naked at every opportunity part of the deal of being a loving couple. The thought of their lives being like this day in, day out, like any other normal couple, would be a dream come true. If only she could find the courage to take it. But then she couldn't think at all as he lifted her.

  Olivier sank into the oval shaped bath behind his woman, loving the feel of her, hot and slippy between his legs.

  She was quiet.

  Too quiet.

  Probably fretting over meeting her father, her step-mother, her step-sisters.

  Who could blame her?

  Plus, they hadn't discussed their own plans for the future.

  Neither of them had brought up the subject.

  In two days they were travelling to Paris for the next leg of filming. The opening date of the Boutique hotel in Paris was slipping behind. So although they were staying in the hotel itself, with the rest of the crew and Anastacia's team, the hotel remained empty of paying customers. Something he knew was irritating the hell out of Nico.

  Olivier could hardly wait to get Anastacia away from the toxic atmosphere of London and away from the things that were getting her down, namely her family and his fans. Plus, he had something for her. Something that was even now burning a hole in the pocket of his jeans - an engagement ring. And the longer he delayed finding the right time to give it to her the more nervous he became. A ring not only to mark her as his, but he needed a small sign of commitment from her. A commitment to their future.