by Cat Schield
And Ivy was feeling all too anxious at the moment. She was fighting the direction Nate wanted for her album and the stress had sent her running for the comfortable fog of prescription meds. This meant Mia needed to be more vigilant than ever. She just needed to get Ivy through the album and then her sister would calm down.
Mia headed to the first floor in search of a waitress and cleared up the vodka situation. She was standing on the edge of the dance floor, wondering if it would be possible to locate Nate in the crowd, when an arm came around her waist, startling her. Mia tensed, intending on twisting away, when a familiar cologne danced past her nostrils. She glanced down as Nate’s hands moved.
“Relax. I’ve got you.”
A thousand butterflies took flight in her stomach as he drew her into the crowd on the dance floor. Twisting, grinding bodies surrounded them, driving Mia against Nate so they had no choice but to touch. He turned her so her back rested against his chest and his hands could roam over her.
“I can’t.” But her words were lost to a groan as his lips trailed along her neck and his hot breath spilled across her skin. “Ivy and her friends are just...over...” She sucked in a jagged breath as his thumb grazed her nipple.
“Damn, I’ve missed you.”
Me, too. She didn’t bother with the words. Her muscles trembled as he grazed his hands up her sides and over her ribs, telling him everything he needed to know.
Earlier the music and crowd had bothered her. But away from Ivy and her friends, Mia wanted to get lost on the dance floor for an hour or two, gyrating with the rest of the crowd to the bass-heavy music until her feet had blisters on top of blisters and she was drenched with sweat. How long had it been since she’d done something fun or crazy just for herself?
Two days.
She shut her eyes, blocking out the million-dollar light show, and whisked back in time to the hotel suite and Nate’s naked body sliding against her skin as they made love. Placing her hands over his, heat blazing in her cheeks, she pressed him closer.
His familiar scent wrapped around her and she filled her lungs until her chest ached. Nate’s body aligned with hers was perfection. It banished her loneliness, stripped away her inhibitions and demolished her dependability until she became someone else. Someone who excited her. Someone filled with poignant emotions of such perfect joy that they terrified her.
That was why she’d broken off with Nate when the tour ended. She couldn’t be two people. She had to choose. In the end, she’d shied away from embracing the daring, impulsive woman she became around Nate and retreated back into the familiar territory of being Ivy’s highly efficient, but mostly ignored PA.
Hips swaying in sync, Mia and Nate rocked to the music pouring over them, but all she could hear was the sound of her heart crying in joy. Nothing made her happier than being with Nate. But her life had never been about being happy. It had been about obligation, selflessness and patience.
Sleeping with Nate while in LA had been foolish and reckless, but she wouldn’t trade it for anything.
Against her side, her purse buzzed, jolting Mia back to responsibility. She offered up a huge sigh and tugged Nate’s hands away from her body. Turning, she signed.
“I have to go.”
She made a fist with her right hand to form the letter A and then circled it clockwise against her chest twice. Her apology did little to ease the irritation that tightened his lips into a relentless line. Green and amber lights played over his face, highlighting his unhappy expression as he signed a rude response.
“Ivy will wonder where I am.”
“I don’t care.”
“I know.”
She grabbed his wrist and dragged him off the dance floor. She thought to leave him near the bar and return to Ivy, but he was on her heels as she ascended the stairs to the VIP section. At the top, Nate was hailed by a pair of tall men, Kyle Tailor, the third partner in Club T’s, and Hunter Graves. In the last five years Hunter had become increasingly in demand as a DJ and a producer.
“You have company.” Mia indicated the two tall men heading their way. “I should get back to Ivy.”
“In a second. Come translate for me.”
Before she could refuse, Nate caught her hand and towed her to meet the two men. Mia had never been formally introduced to either of them, but thanks to Melody she knew the story behind Kyle’s annoyed frown.
Kyle was the first to speak. “Hey, Nate.”
Hunter Graves stuck out his hand with a broad grin. “Good to see you. Kyle was just showing me around. This place is great.”
Kyle checked his phone. “I have to take care of something,” he said, sending a meaningful glance Nate’s way, obviously eager to get away from the DJ. “You don’t mind taking over for me, do you?”
As Kyle retreated down the stairs, Nate shook Hunter’s hand and glanced at Mia as he indicated his throat.
“He had throat surgery,” Mia said. She put out her hand. “I’m Mia Navarro, his translator.”
“You’re more than that,” Nate signed, while she and Hunter shook hands.
“Nice to meet you,” Hunter said. “I can’t wait to get up there and spin for this crowd.” He indicated the DJ booth that overlooked the dance floor. “They’re on fire.”
“We’re glad to have you here,” Mia repeated.
Hunter’s eyes widened as he gazed from her to Nate and back again. “You weren’t kidding about the translating. That’s cool. Your own secret language.”
“It’s been handy having her around the studio these last few weeks.”
Mia translated what Nate signed, and then added her own two cents. “His handwriting is terrible. I don’t know what would’ve happened if he’d been forced to write down everything he wanted to say.”
Hunter laughed and Mia could see why Melody had been hung up on him for so long. His engaging grin made it easy to smile back. Nate nudged her with his elbow and she shot him a questioning glance.
“Stop flirting with him.”
“Did Trent mention to you that I’m interested in booking some time in at Ugly Trout?” Hunter asked, his keen gaze missing little of their exchange.
Nate nodded.
“I’ve got a couple artists I’ve started working with and thought it might be good to have them come to Vegas while I’m here.”
“Speaking of artists,” Mia said, “Ivy’s here tonight. Why don’t we head over there and you can say hi.” Mia glanced at Nate as she finished speaking and sent a mischievous grin his way.
There’d been a very brief flirtation between Hunter and Ivy a year earlier. Hunter might be the perfect anecdote for Ivy’s stress. If nothing else, he’d be a good distraction. Although Hunter liked to play as hard as he worked, he was an advocate for clean living. Maybe reconnecting with him would convince Ivy to send Skylar and Riley packing.
“It would be great to see her,” Hunter said. “Lead the way.”
* * *
As he gestured for Hunter to follow Mia, Nate could tell she had something up her sleeve. By the time he reached the table, introductions were being made and Ivy’s girlfriends fell over themselves swarming the DJ. Not only was Hunter charismatic and good-looking, but his net worth was in the high seven figures, making him a player worth pursuing.
Ivy didn’t seem to be as impressed, but she was the star and, as always, wanted everyone to know it. But when Hunter gave her his best wicked grin, she thawed and patted the cushion beside her.
Mia signed an explanation. “They had a brief thing and I think she still likes him.”
Now Nate understood. “So he’s a distraction?”
Her smile was all the answer he needed and it gave him an idea. Maybe having Hunter in Las Vegas was going to be a good thing, after all. Having him spend time with Ivy might kill two birds with one
stone.
The friction between Nate and Ivy in the studio meant that recording the album wasn’t going smoothly. He could put it down to artistic differences, but more likely she’d picked up on his disgust for the way she treated Mia, or any number of the other things that irritated him about her. Whatever the cause, the chemistry between them was all bad.
Nate had heard nothing but good things about Hunter as a producer, and he suspected the DJ would love an opportunity to work with Ivy. Maybe he’d have better luck dealing with the pop princess. And if Hunter was reluctant to tackle Ivy’s album, maybe he’d be interested in her personally. She was beautiful and talented enough to appeal to him.
And that was the second reason to push them together. Weeks earlier Trent had signed Hunter to a one year contract as a DJ with Club T’s, which meant Hunter was going to be spending a lot more time in Las Vegas. While he promised to be a huge draw on Sunday nights, Nate was worried this might further disrupt Melody and Kyle’s relationship.
A year earlier Melody had been dating Hunter. They’d been together eighteen months and she found him lacking in the commitment department.
Kyle was Trent’s best friend since high school and had always treated his buddy’s little sister like family. After listening to Melody complain about her relationship woes, Kyle insisted that if Hunter thought he had competition, he would stop taking her for granted.
At some point during their six-week ruse, both of them got caught up in their pretend romance. But it wasn’t until Hunter came to his senses and realized he was about to lose Melody that she and Kyle admitted to each other that they’d fallen in love.
For a while things were going great between them. But then Melody had gone on tour with Nate and the separation had taken its toll on the fledgling romance. Melody and Kyle were committed to making the long-distance thing work right up until Melody got caught by the paparazzi coming out of a New York City club hand-in-hand with Hunter.
The whole incident had been innocent enough. He’d taken her hand to keep from being separated in the crush leaving the club, but there was too much history between Melody and Hunter for Kyle to dismiss the episode.
Seeing that Ivy was utterly absorbed in the DJ, Nate caught Mia by the arm and drew her away.
“Where are we going?” she asked, as he guided her toward the stairs once more.
“Somewhere I can put my hands all over you.”
“I really shouldn’t be gone for very long.”
“Hunter will keep her busy. Let’s you and I find a private spot and make out.”
She glanced back over her shoulder. “Twenty minutes. No more.”
He could definitely work with that. Nate led her through the club to a discreet door that opened into a nondescript hallway. Mia blinked in the sudden brightness of the florescent lighting.
“Where are we going?”
“Somewhere we won’t be interrupted.” He pulled out his phone and shot Kyle a quick text, warning his business partner that he was going to use Trent’s office for a private meeting and didn’t want to be disturbed.
While Nate had mentioned to Kyle that he was seeing someone, he hadn’t revealed that it was Mia. It wasn’t that Nate was keeping her a secret—Melody and Trent knew—but the friendship between the two men was strained because of what was happening between Kyle and Melody.
Nate hadn’t exactly taken sides, but Melody was one of his favorite people and she wasn’t the one behaving like an idiot. The way Kyle had reacted after her New York club incident with Hunter made Nate feel less than friendly toward his business partner.
Relationships weren’t always easy—Nate could attest to that with what was going on between him and Mia—but when you loved someone, you should trust them. And from what he was seeing of Kyle, the guy was worrying more about guarding his heart than opening it to Melody.
And that was the last thought Nate intended to have on that subject for the next hour. He ushered Mia in and closed and locked the door to Trent’s office, sealing them inside the space. He didn’t bother to turn on the overhead lights. One wall of floor-to-ceiling monitors, tuned to various locations around the club, provided enough light to highlight the wet bar, Trent’s neat desk and, most important for Nate’s purposes, a comfortable couch.
“Now that you have me here,” Mia said, dropping her purse on an end table, “what do you plan to do?”
Was she kidding? He swooped her into his arms and deposited her on the couch. His lips found hers even as her fingers skimmed his suit coat off his shoulders. Fortunately, he wasn’t wearing a tie and she was making quick work of the buttons on his dark gray shirt. He barely restrained a groan as her palms slid over his abs and skated around to his back.
As much as he enjoyed that her skill as a translator kept her at his side, he really wanted his voice back so he could tell her all the delicious, wicked things he intended to do to her. Although he could easily spend the near future indulging in one slow, drugging kiss after another, he was afraid they might interrupted by yet another summons from Ivy.
He kissed his way down her neck and across her shoulder. The dress she wore zipped up the back and he cursed himself for not taking it off her before he got her onto the couch. He slid his hand up her bare thigh, hearing her gasp as he hooked his fingertips into her panties and gave a tug. With a little help from her, he got her underwear off. Then she eased the hem of her dress upward until she’d exposed her lower half.
Smiling at the gorgeous picture she made, Nate settled his shoulders between her thighs and pressed his mouth against her. Everything about the moment was perfect, from the way she tasted to the sweet, mewling sounds of pleasure that escaped her lips as he pushed her to the edge of desire and held her there.
She clutched and released his hair as her thighs began to tremble and her back arched. She sighed his name on a ragged breath as he slid two fingers inside her and made her climax. Her hips lifted as she came, body tensing as her release crashed over her. As always he marveled at the power and duration of her orgasm. The only thing he enjoyed more than watching her come was being with her when it happened.
Mia went limp beneath him. “That was just...wow.” She panted. “Give me a second and I’ll return the favor.”
Nate grinned as he stripped off his clothes, slipped on a condom and returned to the couch. Mia had been watching him the whole time, grinning like a satisfied cat.
“You are gorgeous, do you know that?” she murmured as he lay flat on his back and repositioned her so that she straddled him.
“So are you, but I like you better naked.” He reached behind her and managed to unzip her dress. In seconds it was on the floor. Her bra followed. He traced her breasts with his fingertips and smiled. “Much better.”
She lifted her hips and closed her hand around his erection. Nate hissed between his teeth, but before he could react further, she’d settled herself over him. While stars exploded in his vision, Mia leaned forward and kissed him, with such tenderness Nate’s heart nearly stopped.
“No,” she corrected him, sucking his lower lip between her teeth. “This is much better.”
“I stand corrected.”
With a husky laugh, she began to move. And suddenly they had no further need for words.
Eight
Five days following that epic night with Nate at Club T’s, Mia decided she couldn’t put off taking a pregnancy test any longer. While it wasn’t unusual for her to miss an occasional period due to stress, or if she was doing a lot of traveling with Ivy, it was over two months since that night in Sydney and time she pulled her head out of the sand.
Part of Mia recognized the old adage that what you don’t know can’t hurt you. Until she took the test, she didn’t have to think about the future. But each day she delayed, the worry consumed her more, and she couldn’t decide if her que
asy stomach was morning sickness, plain old anxiety or a little of both. Today, however, she’d decided to stop procrastinating.
It was the morning of the AMAs and Ivy was scheduled for a video interview at eight thirty. As soon as her twin slapped on the headphones, Mia made a break for the door. In ten minutes she’d bought the pregnancy test and returned to the television studio. Although taking the test in the bathroom there wasn’t ideal, it was better than taking it at home.
She now had ten more minutes until Ivy would be done. Fortunately, she had a full bladder and the test took only three minutes to show results.
She sat on the toilet to wait. Head down, eyes closed, Mia sorted through her tangled emotions for a bright thread of certainty. How did she want things to turn out?
Pregnant? Joy at the possibility filled her like a crystal-pure note perfectly sung. But almost immediately anxiety rose up in her, drowning out the happy emotion. If she was pregnant, her life as she knew it was over. Nothing could possess her to keep being Ivy’s assistant, and when Ivy found out who’d fathered her child, Mia would probably find her relationship with her sister over, as well.
And what if she wasn’t pregnant? She’d feel a mixture of relief and disappointment. Everything would be easier. She wouldn’t have to change a single thing about her life.
But was that really what she wanted? How long did she think she was going to be Ivy’s assistant? Was she going to be forty or fifty and still following her sister around? Fetching for her. Putting up with her insecurities. With no husband and children and few friends.
Tears welled up in her eyes. She fought them off by taking several deep breaths and stabbing her fingernails into her palms. A baby would change everything. She could make a case for choosing her child over her sister. The guilt her parents heaped on her shoulders would lose its power.
Three minutes had never felt longer. Mia watched the seconds tick by on her cell phone; she’d started the stopwatch as soon as she took the test. While the seconds ticked off, she stayed in the stall, too afraid to stand in the bathroom proper and get caught with a pregnancy test in her hand. Not that anyone would know who she was or care what she was doing. Sometimes being invisible was nice. But there was that tiny chance that someone would be interested in what was going on and that information could leave the bathroom and cause her a lot of trouble.