by Aubrey Dark
None of you fit in here.
Well, Belle was right about one thing. I didn’t fit in. I couldn’t even make it through dinner without making a completely inappropriate remark.
Somehow, I managed to make it through the end of dinner without saying anything else. I avoided meeting Belle’s eyes, and I kept my own gaze trained completely on the food in front of me. When the servants brought out my cupcakes, I smiled and nodded at all the kind compliments people gave, but I didn’t look up. I couldn’t look up.
Because I knew if I looked up, he would be sitting right there in front of me, looking back.
We were about to leave when Lucas cornered me by the door. I swept my eyes over the room but didn’t see Belle.
“Stephanie,” he said.
God. My name coming off of his tongue made my body tense up in the worst way.
“I want to see you again,” he said in a low voice.
“M—me?” I squeaked out.
His arm was braced up against the wall, flexing so that his muscles were nearly bursting from his dress shirt. I tried to avoid looking down at that spot of bare chest just under his collarbone. I tried to avoid his brilliant blue eyes. There was nowhere else to look. I cast my eyes down to his shoes. Big shoes. I bet he had a big— “Yes,” he said.
“Are you serious?”
“Why do you ask?”
“Uh, you don’t seem like a serious kind of guy.”
He cocked his head at me as though he didn’t understand me.
“When do you have any free time?”
I coughed. That was a funny question. Free time? I had negative free time. All of my free time was spent working on the business.
“I’ll… I’ll have to check,” I said.
“Please do. Here’s my number.”
He handed me a business card. As he slipped it into my hand, he caught my upper arm with his other hand. I gulped as his eyes locked directly on mine. His fingers stroked my bare skin and flames of desire burst through my body.
I didn’t want to want him. He was a rake, a jerk, a playboy. But he acted like he wanted me, and despite knowing intellectually that he was bad for me, I couldn’t stop the ache that ran through my body at his touch.
“I look forward to hearing from you,” he said.
“Yeah. Um. Nice to meet you,” I said clumsily.
“It was lovely to meet you, Stephanie,” he said.
At that moment, I caught the sight of Belle coming back into the main room. Lucas noticed my eyes darting over. He stepped back, his gaze still burning my face.
“Call me soon,” he said. He turned and made the rest of his goodbyes to Andy and Lacey.
As we made our way through the elevator door, a hand tapped at my shoulder. I knew who it was even before I turned around. Belle’s icy stare made it clear what she was thinking, but she hissed a single word at me as the elevator doors closed.
One word. It was enough to chill all of the heat that Lucas’s touch had brought to my body. One word.
“Don’t.”
Chapter Four
Lucas
The only way to get Steph out of my head was to kill all of my thoughts. And the way I normally did that was by lifting as much weight as I could. The soreness of my muscles drove out any possibility of thinking.
My phone rang. It was my mom. I debated letting it go to voicemail, but I knew she would just keep calling and calling until I picked up. Anyway, I didn’t think I could do another squat if my life depended on it.
As the bar clanged down on the cage, I realized that I’d been way overdoing it. Every part of my body screamed out with pain. I answered the phone with a wince.
“Lucas, my dear.”
“Hi, mom!” I tried to put a cheerful voice on. Whenever my mom smelled something negative, she would pounce on it.
“Are you planning my party?” she asked.
“I sure am. We’re going to do it at my place, is that okay?”
“Of course. I wanted to invite a few other people, if that’s alright.”
“Sure,” I said.
Inwardly, I groaned. When we ‘d first talked about it, my mom had wanted two of her best friends to come over for the party so they could see where I lived. Of course, that was her secret code for showing me off. All of her nosy friends tossed around their children’s achievements like currency.
The two best friends had turned into “three, maybe four” and then “maybe a half dozen”. At this rate, I wouldn’t be surprised if she turned up at my doorstep with half an army of older women demanding to know how successful I was and when I was going to get married.
As if on cue, she turned the conversation to my love life.
“Lucas, I was just talking with one of my friends about you. When are you going to settle down?”
“Mom…”
“I know, I know. I need to let you do what you want.”
“You know I’m just waiting for the right girl.”
It was the line I said every time, and every time it was a lie. But this time, Steph’s face popped into my mind.
It was ridiculous, I knew that. I’d only met her twice. But I couldn’t get her out of my thoughts. If I was going to marry someone, I thought, it wouldn’t be any of the simpering supermodels who preened in front of my mom. It was like they thought if they could win her heart, they would win mine. But Steph was… different.
“Are you alright?”
There was concern in her voice, and I knew where concern led to. I shut down that line of questioning quickly.
“Yeah. Yeah, I’m fine, mom.”
“Honey, please let me know if the birthday party is going to be too much for you. I can always find somewhere else.”
I bit my tongue to keep from responding to her passive aggressive jab. Since I was young, she’d been pulling this kind of crap. I wasn’t going to take the bait, though.
“No, of course not, mom.”
It was then that I had my great idea. Well, maybe not a great idea. At least, Steph might not think it was great. But it was an inspired idea.
“You’re going to love what I have in store for you,” I said to my mom.
“What is it?”
“It’s a surprise,” I said. “Gotta go, okay? Love you!”
My mind was working like crazy. It was a crazy idea, anyway. I knew it would work. At the very least, it was a way to see her again.
Now what could I say to Steph to convince her to bake cupcakes for my mom’s birthday party?
I went to the cupcake store later that afternoon.
It was a stupid idea, I knew that. But I needed to see Steph again, and now I had an excuse.
“I’m throwing a party,” I said, as soon as I walked in.
Steph brushed her blond hair over her shoulder. I could tell she was nervous. It was cute, but I didn’t want to make her nervous. Not yet, anyway. There would be plenty of time for that later.
Now, though, I just had to get her to agree to come and bake a few cupcakes for my mom.
“Hi Lucas,” she said, clearing her throat. I could almost see her mental defenses coming up like a chain link fence in front of her. I smiled broadly and spread one hand on the counter.
“Good to see you again,” I said. God, she was sexy. Her blond hair framed her face. She had delicate eyebrows, a cute upturned nose, and the most kissable lips I’d ever seen. I wanted to take her into my arms and— “Yes. So. I’m throwing a party,” I repeated, trying to take my mind off of the sexy woman standing in front of me. Play it off smooth.
“Oh?”
“And I need somebody to cater it. I need a cake, and some cupcakes. Jake said you did his birthday party, and it went well.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, really. Would you like the job?”
“You don’t really want me to cater a party for you, do you?”
She leaned over the counter, daring me to look at her cleavage. I resisted, but only barely. That purple dress she’d
worn to Jake’s party had been more revealing than even I could have hoped for. And this one was even more tempting. I knew that as soon as I looked down at those luscious curves, my cock would be harder than steel. No. I couldn’t overplay my hand.
Not with this girl.
“Why not?” I asked.
“I’m pretty sure your girlfriend hates me.”
There it is.
“She’s not my girlfriend.”
“Fine. Whatever you call her.”
Ugh. Belle. I should have known that bringing her along to Jake’s would result in a trainwreck. Strike one.
“She’s Jake’s friend.”
“The other girl you brought in here didn’t like me either.”
Strike two.
“Yeah, well, they’re both idiots.”
“Do you normally date idiots?”
Steph’s voice was way too sarcastic. I didn’t know what I was doing wrong. Everything I said, she seemed to take and run with. I couldn’t get a grasp of what she wanted from me.
“I don’t normally date any girl,” I said.
“Oh? Are you gay? Because my brother thought you were super cute. Not as cute as that rock star friend of yours…”
“Clint?” I frowned. “Do you think he’s cuter than I am?”
“Me?”
“Yeah, you. I want an objective female opinion.” And I want to know that you’re not into him. If Clint was the guy who knocked away my chances at Steph, I’d be very, very pissed off.
“I think he’s got a certain charm,” she said.
“Charm?” Like I didn’t have charm?
“A certain… cachet. The rock star bad boy vibe.”
“And I don’t have that?”
“You’re more of the guy next door type.”
I blinked.
“Oh?”
“The cowboy with a heart of gold.”
“I’m a cowboy? I live in New York City.”
“Urban cowboy.”
“That sounds pretty gay.”
Steph laughed. It was such a sweet sound, I almost wanted her to make fun of me again just so that I could hear her laugh.
“Blame it on my brother. He’s a bad influence on me.”
“I don’t know. I think you’re strong enough to resist any influence,” I said.
Including mine. When was the last time I had to fight to get a girl to sleep with me? I didn’t know. It had been a while, anyway. Did this one have a boyfriend? It didn’t seem like it, but I didn’t know why else she would be so coy with me.
She bit her lip, and it didn’t matter that I hadn’t even looked down at her cleavage. Just the sight of her small white teeth nipping at her plump, delectable lips was enough for my body to start sending signals down to my cock. I shifted in place and tried to ignore the insistent urges inside of me.
“Anyway, this party—”
“So is that a yes? You’ll do it?”
She looked at me with a level gaze.
“Sure,” she said. “I need to see the party space beforehand, if you can arrange it. And it’ll cost you.”
“Anything,” I said stupidly. I would pay a million dollars if it meant being able to spend time with her again.
“Anything?” Was that a glint of flirtatiousness in her eye? Maybe.
“Not anything,” I said “That’s a bad negotiation technique. Mostly anything.”
“It’ll depend on what you want,” she said.
“Okay,” I said, standing up. “Come on.”
“Come on what?”
“Come with me. You said you needed to see my kitchen.”
“Your…”
“The party space. You said you needed to see it.”
“Right now?”
“I’m leaving for Paris soon to help Jake with that magazine deal,” I said, using my best business voice. “Remember?”
“Um. Right.”
“So you should come over now.”
“But… now?” she said. “It’s almost dinnertime.”
“Then we’ll just have to have dinner together.”
“No dinner.”
God, when she pursed her lips like that it made me want to throw myself on top of her. I resisted the impulse, but my heart still pounded with desire.
“Why not?”
“I told you before, you’re not that serious of a guy.”
“Ow. That hurts. Not serious enough for a dinner.”
I put my hand to my heart like she’d wounded me. But she only puckered those lips further. Damn that kissable scorn!
“Okay,” I said finally.
“Okay.”
“Then just come to see the place.”
I could see in her face that there was still a hint of resistance. So I brought out the big guns.
“Please,” I said, putting on my best puppy dog eyes. “I can’t figure this out without you.”
“I—okay. Fine,” she said. “I don’t know if I can be too long, but let me get Andy to cover the store.”
“Great,” I said.
I was close, so close. All I needed was this excuse, and I knew I could get her to fall for me.
I wasn’t even sure why I wanted her so badly. Hell, I could have any girl I wanted. Any model off the runway, any one of the perfect tens who flaunted their skin in front of my camera. But I had been there and back again, and I’d never been fulfilled by the fantasy come to life.
There was a strange quality to Steph, a fierceness that lured me in and told me that she was the only one who could satisfy the itch I had. I needed to have her, needed to dominate her.
“Well?” Steph asked.
I snapped back to attention. She lifted an unimpressed eyebrow at me.
“Well,” I said.
“Well, should we go or are you going to stand there like a gaping gorilla forever?”
As she brushed by me, I smiled. This one was different, yes.
This one would be very fun to tame.
Chapter Five
Steph
Nervous didn’t even begin to explain it. Lucas looked at me like he was one of my clients waiting to devour a cupcake. I hated it.
No, I loved it.
No, I really wasn’t sure what I felt. All I knew was that the most handsome man in the universe had taken an interest in my cupcakes. And now I had to be as professional as I could while he led me around his place. I wasn’t going to get involved with a playboy who had a new girl every day of the week. Serious, hell! He wasn’t serious enough for a one-night stand.
I understood the attraction, though. He was a brilliant billionaire in the body of “the guy next door.” He looked harmless, even boyish. Behind that innocent exterior, though, I knew that he was a devil. Every part of my brain screamed in warning: this guy is going to hurt you.
Well, he couldn’t hurt me if I didn’t let him in.
His hand pressed against my lower back as he escorted me through the door to his apartment. I wasn’t even able to look around, though, before I was attacked by the most adorable yellow lab that I’d ever seen. It jumped up and put both paws on my shoulders. I tried to fend him off with my clipboard, but it was impossible to be truly mad at that level of cuteness.
“Ahh!” I cringed as the lab licked all over my chin. Lucas only smiled.
“Oh, that’s Otis. Looks like he likes you.”
“Good boy,” I said, patting Otis on the head. He jumped down and turned to Lucas, nuzzling his hand to get a scratch behind the ears. His tail thumped me solidly on the knees.
“He’s not normally this friendly,” Lucas said. “He must know you’re a sweet girl.”
“Right,” I said, using a heavy coat of sarcasm to mask my excitement at the compliment. I stared down at my blank clipboard like it would protect me from any unprofessional behavior. “Alright, so this is the place?”
“Let me show you around,” Lucas said.
He took me through his apartment. I couldn’t hide my amazement at the place. It
was like stepping into a movie set. Everything was sleek and modern, exquisitely designed. The floor was wall-to-wall white carpet, and the furniture was all custom black leather. One wall was all windows, and the sun was just beginning to set behind the NYC skyline.
“What do you think?” he asked.
I could tell that he was used to showing off his place. I smiled politely.
“It looks nice.”
“Nice? Come on.”
“Come on?”
“What’s do you think? Besides nice?”
Well, if he was going to push me…
“It’s like a very… expensive, very modern bachelor pad,” I said.
“Bachelor pad?” He looked offended.
“I only mean that it’s all very… simple. Elegant. There’s not a lot of personal touch. You know? There’s not a lot of you in here.”
“Well, no. I hired a designer,” Lucas said, frowning.
“It looks beautiful,” I said. “But it could be anyone’s beautiful apartment. What makes it yours?”
There’s no personality. I couldn’t say it out loud, but that’s what I was thinking.
“What makes it mine? I paid for it.”
“Never mind,” I said, not wanting to start an argument. “It’s perfect for a party. Will I be able to stage the cupcakes in the kitchen before bringing them out?”
“Sure. I’m planning on starting out in the living room, then moving to another room for cocktails after the cupcakes.”
“Wonderful,” I said, trying to stay in business mode. “One more thing.”
“What is it?”
I licked my lips, uncertain how to start.
“Okay, so, I heard from Lacey that Jake’s birthday party was a little bit… crazy.”
“Crazy?” Lucas smiled. God, that smile could melt steel. I looked away to the living room, focusing my attention on the white carpet, the ebony end tables. Anything, anything but those gorgeous blue eyes.
“Just to let you know, I’m not going to wear anything… risqué.”
“Risqué? Like what?”
“Like, I’m not wearing a sexy silver space vixen get up for your party. No nipple tassels, no collars, nothing like that.”
He raised his eyebrows.
“This is a retirement party for my mom. Sixty year old women, tea and cupcakes. It’s not going to be exactly sexy.”