by Alexx Andria
“So where was home?”
“A small nothing town called Miner’s Edge, near Jamestown. If you blink you missed it.”
“Let me guess, gold rush town?”
“Yeah,” she answered, snuggling up to him. “It’s not even big enough for its own post office. Thank God for the Internet, right? I hated that town.”
It was also where she’d hooked up with Richard — an older guy whom she’d mistakenly thought had big world ideas when in fact, he’d just been looking for someone to bankroll his lifestyle and he’d recognized the meal ticket in Dani. He hadn’t wasted time in wooing a dumb nineteen-year-old girl and getting her to marry him. Dani squeezed her eyes shut, hating Richard and hating herself for being so stupid back then. “How about you? What’s your life story?”
“Nothing so exotic. I had a great childhood. Went to college. Became a doctor. Pretty cut and dry.”
She sighed. “You’re lucky. I would’ve given my right arm for an upbringing like that. My dad did the best he could and I know he loved me but we were really poor — as in powdered milk poor.”
“That’s pretty poor,” he agreed with chagrined amusement as he tightened his hold around her. “Well, those days are over. Pretty soon you’ll be able to afford organic milk and forget all about those powdered milk days.”
“You think so?” she asked, warmed by his confidence in her.
“Yep. You’re special. I can feel it — and no, I don’t just say that to every pretty starlet I’m having sex with.”
“Hey!” She straightened with a scowl. “How many are you sleeping with?”
At that he laughed and pulled her into his arms, flipping her so that she was on her back. He hovered with a devilish smile that made her melt as he said, “Only you, babe. You’re all I think about, Scout’s honor.”
And there was something so honest about Miles that she didn’t doubt him for a second. Unlike so many men she’d been around, his eye didn’t wander. Miles, for all his hotness, was serially monogamous. “I believe you,” she murmured, drawing him closer to brush a sweet kiss across his lips. “You’re one of a kind, Miles Lassiter.” And worth keeping.
Her sinuses tingled in warning and Dani pushed away the memory with force. Everything from that point forward had gone downhill rapidly. Her bright future with Miles had taken a terrible turn the moment she’d tried to officially break things off with Richard. She hadn’t told Miles about Richard because frankly, she was embarrassed that she’d ever been that naïve but after Richard had played his Ace, she’d had no choice.
She closed her eyes, squeezing out the memory of having to suffer Richard’s mauling hands on her body as she gritted out the time left on her contract. Damn sex tape. Never again. The one good thing that’d come out of that dark time in her life was she’d managed to destroy the one copy — she hoped — of that fucking embarrassment. Of course, by the time she’d been freed, Miles had split and her career had taken off with dizzying speed. And the rest, as they say, was history.
But it wasn’t completely in the past because Miles was here now, reminding her of all the reasons why he’d been the best thing that’d ever happened to her. Including fame. Hell, that was a fucking mixed bag of funhouse terrors. She’d thought being famous was going to be far more…just more. Instead, it was a lot of mortifying slip -ups documented for all posterity and as a result her reputation was sliding fast. Sometimes she had to wonder if someone in her inner circle was deliberately leaking her whereabouts so that they could capitalize on the moment for their own financial gain.
Speaking of inner circle. Her cell buzzed and she picked it up. Raina…she was tempted to let it go to voicemail but in the end, she couldn’t help it and answered. “Yeah? What’s up?”
“Oh my Gawwwd, did you totally go home with Rafe Erickson?”
“That was that asshole’s name? Yeah, I guess, if Rafe is the same guy who tried to practically rape me this morning.”
“Awesome,” Raina giggled as if Dani were kidding. “Was he hung like a beast? I’ve heard stories but I’ve never had the pleasure.”
“Raina, I’m serious, you little psychopath. He totally tried to force me into having sex with him this morning even when I was screaming for him to stop.”
Raina stopped giggling and asked with a frown in her tone, “Really? Wow. I totally didn’t take him for the rape-y type. He seemed cool. Guess it’s my bad for sending him your way.”
“Yeah, thanks. If I was so trashed, why didn’t you bring me home?”
“Darling, because I finally managed to land that sweet piece of ass known as Patrick Saffanado, and I know you would’ve been cheering me on if you’d been less messed up. To answer your question, yes, it was epic and yes, I’m planning on doing him again sometime. He’s totally landing on my Topsies.”
Raina kept a list of guys — and girls — she’d had sex with and rated their skill levels on a scale of one to ten. The ones who were solid “tens” landed on the top of her list, otherwise known as her “Topsies” and she was fairly selective about who she perched at the top. But who fucking cared about that stupid shit? Jesus, had Raina totally blitzed out on the fact that a guy Raina had sent her home with had almost sexually assaulted her? Irritation scraped against her bruised feelings as she snapped, “Good for you, Raina. I’ve got bigger problems than who you’re sleeping with at the moment.” She dropped to her bed with a sigh. Should she tell Raina about Miles? She usually told Raina everything. Maybe that was part of the problem. No, Raina was chill. There was no way Raina would ever betray her, right? Ugh. Her head hurt. The mother of all hang-overs was taking up permanent residence in her brain. “Listen, I’m going to be out of commission for a few days,” she started, but Raina interrupted with a bored noise.
“No bueno, girlfriend. There is a party to end all parties tonight and you have to be there.”
“I can’t.”
“Why not?”
“Because I just need a break. I think I need to sober up.” She laughed a little even though it wasn’t funny, mostly because she felt so miserable and didn’t know how to handle the fact that Miles was in her house making her smoothies. “I’ll call you later.”
“Peach…you’re overreacting. I’ve seen it before. Good girl goes a little wild and suddenly she needs to repent, or something like that. Honey, you haven’t done anything that can’t be explained away by a good publicist the next day. It’s all about damage control, right?”
No, not really. It was about losing your fucking dignity and looking like a loser in front of the one person who’d ever meant anything to you. But she couldn’t admit that. Not to Raina — the woman lacked a sensitivity chip — and honestly, she didn’t want to say anything that would pique her interest in coming over. “Listen, I’ll call. I promise. I just need some downtime. Okay?”
“Party pooper,” Raina said, pouting. “Suit yourself. However, I’ll do you a solid and make a round of excuses for you tonight. You owe me, girl.”
“Sure.”
“Later,” Raina chirped and then hung up.
Not for the first time Dani wondered if her relationship with Raina was an unhealthy one. But Raina was fun and unpredictable and she really did seem to know all the right people so Dani often swallowed her misgivings. Maybe she’d been doing a little too much of that…her stomach growled and with a deep exhale, she shoved off the bed and headed for the kitchen to choke down what was likely something truly disgusting.
#
Miles poured the green power drink into a tall glass and pushed it toward Dani, ignoring her immediate grimace. “It’s filled with good stuff. Drink up.”
“It looks like gremlin poop.”
“And probably tastes as good,” he deadpanned, then gestured for her to drink. She lifted the glass to her lips and then closing her eyes, she took an exploratory sip, only to gag moments later.
“That’s disgusting! What did you grind up in that? Bugs and dirt?”
“Worse. N
ow empty the glass.”
Dani glared. “Your bedside manner leaves much to be desired.”
“I save my congenial nature for my real patients.” He pointed to the glass and made a drinking gesture. She made a small sound of frustration but finished the entire glass like a trooper. A grudging amount of admiration for her spunk threatened to soften the wall around his heart. Can’t have that. Remember what a little snake she truly is. And forget about how seeing her again made his teeth ache. “Good,” he said gruffly, accepting the empty glass and rinsing it out. His gaze strayed to tiny peek of bare skin showing from beneath her form fitting cami and jerked away as if scalded. “Would you mind putting on some clothes,” he said brusquely. “I’m here for one purpose — get you cleaned up and then I’m gone so don’t waste your time on seduction.”
“Seduction?” She barked a derisive laugh. “Like I would even try with you.”
“That’s right, I’m beneath your radar,” he shot back before he could rein in his mouth. Damn it, how did she manage to twist his screws so easily? He took a deep breath. There was no sense in acting like a bunch of teenagers when they were both grown adults. “Listen, how about we keep the personal attacks to a minimum. Try to look at this as a congenial intervention from a physician and leave our past out of it.”
“Do you think we can really do that?”
“Sure,” he said, though even as he nodded, an internal voice was laughing like a madman at the absurdity. Leave their past behind? Hell, they couldn’t be in the same room together without sparks flying — whether they were sparks of passion or anger, it didn’t matter. She was sexier than a Victoria Secret model and hotter than Georgia asphalt. He’d have to be blind to miss that and he certainly wasn’t blind. “Okay, I’ll admit it’s hard not to throw darts when an easy target is within reach but I will be on my best behavior if you will. Sound like a plan?”
Uncertainty made her appear vulnerable and that familiar pull tugged at him again. Soft lips parted, tongue sliding gently along the seam of her bottom lip, she was a walking billboard for cozy days spent naked with nothing to do but each other. “Okay,” she finally agreed with a short nod. “So what’s next in this intervention?”
“I don’t know. I’ve never done an intervention before,” he admitted a bit sheepishly. “For the past year, I’ve mostly been delivering babies on a Caribbean island.”
A slow smile filled with curiosity brightened her mouth and she settled into one of the big chairs in the living room as she said, “Really? Babies? I thought you were a general practitioner?”
He followed her into the living room and took a seat opposite her. “I was but when I moved to St. John they needed help in the OB clinic so I became a Jack of All Trades in the medical profession and along the way discovered an affinity for childbirth.”
“So you look at vaginas all day?” She arched a brow and he chuckled with an uncomfortable shrug, not denying it. She added, “I guess there are worse jobs, right?”
“After a while they all start to look the same. Besides, I’m more focused on delivering a healthy baby than the body part it’s coming out of.”
“Okay, I have to ask…doesn’t that kinda ruin the allure of a woman’s body?”
“Why would it?”
“I mean…if you see women’s pink parts all the time, where’s the excitement when you’re on a date?”
He cleared his throat, not quite able to believe he was having this conversation and in fact, realized it was time to change the subject when sweat threatened to pop along his hairline at the memory of burying himself between Dani’s pink parts. Yeah, definitely not a safe topic to casually talk about. “Tell me about the guy I tossed out of here this morning. If he’s not a boyfriend, was he a friend with benefits?”
She made a face. “No. He’s an asshole who gave me a ride home last night and decided I should pay him with sex this morning.”
He chose his words carefully. “So, is that something that happens often?”
Dani hit him with a frosty look. “I don’t believe that’s any of your business.” And you know what, she was right. What the hell did he care who she was messing around with? Not his business and he didn’t care. After an uncomfortable pause, she continued with a slightly less brittle tone, adding, “No, it doesn’t happen often” but he got the impression that she was holding something back, as if there were other situations that’d happened that were just as dicey. Dani opened her mouth as if to share a little more when she was interrupted by the sudden appearance of a loud blonde who slammed into the house with the force of a tornado in designer heels.
The woman skidded to a stop and openly slid her gaze up and down Miles until her generous lips curved in an appreciative smile and Miles felt distinctly stripped bare and in need of a shower. “And who are you, aside from my newest crush?” she purred without a hint of bashfulness.
Before he could answer, Dani jumped up and stepped in front of the platinum blonde. “His name is Miles and he’s not interested. What are you doing here, Raina?” she asked in a lowered tone but Raina pushed Dani aside and shocked him when she settled herself in his lap as if that were completely normal or acceptable.
“Have we met?” he asked, not the least bit interested in the porn package she was selling but he found it very interesting that Dani looked ready to toss the woman from the highest building. The fire in Dani’s eyes couldn’t possibly be jealousy, right? And even if it were jealousy…did he care? No, he didn’t care but he’d be a liar if he didn’t admit to finding the show mildly entertaining. Let’s wait and see where this was going, he thought as he allowed the woman to remain perched on his groin.
“Raina! What the hell is wrong with you?” Dani practically screeched, her eyes wide and disbelieving. “Get off of him!”
But Raina was more interested in Miles than what Dani was squawking about. If he hadn’t been oddly struck by the feeling that he was, somehow, being unfaithful to Dani, he would’ve enjoyed the feel of the woman in his lap but as it was, he suffered a growing discomfort in spite of his previous curiosity and was tremendously grateful when Dani pulled Raina from his lap with a muttered expletive.
“Ouch,” Raina exclaimed, rubbing her arm and sending Dani a reproachful look. “This one you’re not into sharing? Okay, fine.” And then as if the incident were completely forgotten, she launched into something different with dizzying speed. “So, I totally had to get you to reconsider your lame decision to stay home tonight because you’re never going to guess who is going to that party tonight…Wayne Dietch! Yes, the director who totally helmed that epic piece of work known as American Fly Boys and guess who was pretty keen to make your acquaintance when I did a little name dropping…yes! Wayne! Darling, this is the party that could make your career. Now, try and tell me that you’re staying home.”
Miles narrowed his stare at the intrusive woman, already not trusting the vibe he was getting from her. “American Fly Boys…wasn’t that the film that started off with a NC-17 rating and that critics were calling one step up from a pornographic movie?”
Raina, irritated at his input and no longer eyeing him like an adult-sized piece of man candy, smiled sweetly and said, “That’s the kind of press you can’t pay for, right?” Then she returned to Dani with a bright grin, tugging at her as she said, “Let’s plan the wardrobe choices. You totally need to impress. Something that shows off that gorgeous skin and those succulent boobs is my vote, of course.”
Now he really didn’t like her. Time to end this little meeting. He stood and fixed Raina with the stare he reserved for difficult patients, saying, “Sorry, Danielle will have to sit this one out.”
“Oh? And why is that?”
“Because she’s under my care for the time being and as her physician, I say she’s not well enough for an outing.”
Raina turned to Dani, daring her to tell Miles to shut up but Dani remained silent. “Oh? I didn’t know you were under a physician’s care…” she said, narrowing
her gaze with speculation at Miles and then Dani. “I hope it’s not serious.”
“She’ll be fine,” he assured Raina and gestured for the door. “However, she needs some quiet time without any stress. Meetings with pornographic movie directors will have to wait.”
“I’d hardly call Wayne a porn director. What are you, Amish?”
“Not Amish, just calling it as I see it. You’re just going to have to pimp someone else tonight because Danielle isn’t available.”
“Wow. Restrictive much? Jesus, are you her warden or something?” She turned away from him and directed her stare at Dani, silently willing Dani to override his decision. Dani’s gaze fluttered with anxiety as she wavered and Raina capitalized on Dani’s weakness. The woman was like a shark on the trail of blood, saying, “These kinds of introductions don’t just drop out of the sky and with your recent negative press…it might be a good idea to circulate…you know, put yourself out there in a good way.”
Something akin to frantic anxiety flooded Dani’s formerly confident gaze as she twisted her hands and bit her lip in indecision. “Miles…maybe I could just make a quick appearance?” she suggested in a timid tone that didn’t fit her personality at all and Miles knew right then and there that this Raina character was a bad influence. Dani was disintegrating right before his eyes and he wasn’t about to watch it happen without putting up a fight. If Lindy needed Dani, well and back to normal, then the first thing to go had to be this toxic blonde.
“No. Tonight you stay in,” he said firmly, his hard stare directed straight at Raina. Yeah, I see right through you. “She’ll call when her treatment is complete. Until then…no more visits.”
“You’re a little young to be her daddy, aren’t you?” Raina shot back with a fair amount of sarcasm. “Last time I checked Dani was a full-grown adult and could make her own decisions. Hell, last I heard she was even capable of cutting her own meat and pouring her own milk into a big girl glass.”