by Marian Tee
Nik’s words were no worse than a public stoning, and he wanted to take them back as soon as he said them. He waited for Daria to slap him – she deserved to.
But instead, Daria’s wide gray eyes were filled with pain.
For him.
Nik stiffened.
“I’m so sorry,” Daria whispered.
The words were like a slap to his face, forcing him to accept the truth.
Somehow, some fucking way, Daria knew. He could see it in her eyes, and it became impossible to deny.
He had fallen in love with her.
And she had hurt and used him in return.
Daria forced herself to stand up. “Nik, I’m sorry.” The entire time Nik had spoken, she hadn’t just heard his words. She had also heard what Nik hadn’t said, and suddenly the truth became obvious. Suddenly, everything became clear. Why he was being so cruel, why he wanted her out of his life for good.
Oh God, why have I been such a fool?
Why?
Why did I have to lie to him?
That first time they met – that first time God had given him to her – it had been just as special for Nik as it had been to her. That first time had been enough for Nik – the same way it had been enough for her – to think that she was the right one for him.
But in return, she had made him feel like a fool. She had lied to Nik because of her stupid pride and her even more stupid fears, and those lies had destroyed everything.
She looked at Nik, and the words just spilled out. “Nik, I’m so sorry.” His face turned white at her words, and her heart wept for him. “I’m sorry,” she repeated brokenly. “I’m sorry I was so stupid—”
“Shut up—”
But she made herself continue, desperate for Nik to know she regretted everything. “I’m sorry I lied, I’m sorry I hurt you.”
Nik’s skin crawled with shame as he listened to Daria’s apology. It was like the past repeating itself, and the pain drowned him as the memories surged forward. He remembered Beth, remembered how, despite knowing that she was the one person he trusted and loved, she had still chosen to hurt him.
And the fucking idiot that he was, Nik thought dully, he was letting it happen again.
This woman in front of him – this woman knew she had the power to hurt him, this woman knew she had already hurt him, and yet here she was now, crying fake goddamn tears so she could get back to Nik, and the worst thing was, he wanted to take her back.
“Damn you.” He spun away from her and didn’t look back as he walked out on her for the last time.
“Nik, please, wait, please.”
He heard her footsteps behind him and knew Daria was doing her best to run after him despite her ridiculous high heels. His self-hatred deepened.
Goddamn her. If Daria had an ounce of decency in her, she would just let him be. But here she was, running after him, and it could only mean one thing.
She not only knew she had been able to fool him. She also knew who he was. Whether she knew he was Nik Alexandropoulos from the start was immaterial. The point was, she had found out about him somewhere along the way and it was the only reason she was begging for him now, doing everything she could to hold on to him.
Daria only managed to catch up to Nik when he had to knock on Miranda’s cabin and wait for her to open the door.
“Nik, please.” Daria curled her fingers around his elbow, but again he jerked himself out of her hold. He turned to look at her, and she could see in his eyes that he still distrusted her, that she still sickened him. She couldn’t blame him for it, knew the sight of her was hurting him, but even so, she just couldn’t give up on him.
“Nik, you have to listen.” She grabbed his hand and locked her fingers with his as painfully tight as she could. He stiffened at her touch, but this time, she held on to him with all her might, not letting him pull away. “I’m sorry I lied, but you have to understand—”
The door opened behind Nik, and the sight of Miranda made her stop speaking.
The other woman looked back at her with inscrutable eyes, but Daria knew that Miranda was sizing everything up. A moment later, the other woman stepped out. There was no animosity in her face – nothing but a polite expression – as she reached for Daria’s hand.
Slowly, Miranda peeled her fingers away from Nik’s hand—
And Daria let her.
How could she not when this woman made her feel everything about her was wrong for Nik?
This woman wasn’t clingy like her. This woman wasn’t a liar like her. This woman hadn’t made a mess of her life the way Daria had.
This woman deserved Nik, the way Daria never could.
When Nik’s hand was completely free of Daria’s, Miranda stepped between them, like a blonde angel protecting a mortal from a succubus. If it didn’t hurt so much, Daria would have laughed.
“I don’t know what happened between the two of you, and I’m sorry, Ms. Everest, but I don’t care to ask you either.” Miranda’s voice was perfectly polite, and the sound was like rubbing salt to the hemorrhaging wound in her heart.
This woman really did deserve Nik, Daria couldn’t help thinking numbly. If she had been in Miranda’s shoes, she would have turned into a virago, would have kicked another woman’s butt for trying to make a move on her man.
“All I know is that you’re causing a scene, something that I don’t deserve.” Daria’s gaze strayed down when Miranda shifted as she spoke, and that was when she saw Miranda reaching for Nik’s hand from behind. She watched their fingers link, and even Daria’s own mind started to crack at the sight of it.
“You may think that by running after him, you’re going to make him remember you, maybe change his mind, but you won’t. Nik and I have known each other for years, while you’re just some…” Miranda paused, as if unable to say something so vile.
“The point is, Nik and I have a life in New York City, and it won’t include you. I will never make him feel guilty about his time with you. Instead, I’m going to love him even more until he forgets you completely.”
Miranda looked up at Nik, and her voice gentled. “You can talk to her one last time, Nik. I know you need to.”
She went back inside the cabin without glancing once at Daria’s way, leaving the door open behind her.
And that put her in her place, didn’t it, Daria thought numbly. Miranda was a class act. She was a…shitty act. There was just no comparison, and only the thought – the memory of what she had seen in Nik’s eyes, what she had heard in Nik’s voice – kept her there, fighting for the smallest chance that he could love her again.
It didn’t matter how long Miranda and Nik had known each other. Didn’t matter if they were engaged. Nik had loved her, and if there was any chance she could make him forgive her—
“Nik…” Seeing Nik tense at hearing her speak made Daria’s stomach curl up. Did he hate hearing the sound of her voice now? Did it make him feel like a fool for wanting a liar – a slut – like her?
She started to speak again, but Nik didn’t let her. “I guess my fiancée hasn’t made it clear enough for you.” His voice was steely, his eyes a perfect match. “I don’t ever want to see you again, Ms. Everest.”
The door closed behind Nik before she could even get over the pain of hearing him not call her by her name.
Leave now, her mind ordered. Stop letting them see your pain, her heart urged.
But somehow, she couldn’t make herself move. Were they looking at her through the peephole right now? Would it matter if they did?
God, I messed up again.
Her eyes stung as she forced her tears back.
I’m sorry.
The words came out of nowhere, and she wasn’t even sure whom she was apologizing to. Nik? God? Or herself? Did it matter?
All Daria knew was that she was alone.
And this time, she was starting to believe someone like her deserved to be alone.
PART TWO
Chapter One
&
nbsp; Nik rubbed the back of his neck as he tried to concentrate on the spreadsheet printouts before him. Normally, calculating opportunity costs of proposed investments was a challenge he looked forward to. But now, they were just numbers to him. They had been so since he had left Teleios.
The mere thought had Nik clenching his fists, and he breathed hard, willing himself to stay in control. He strove to keep all his emotions at bay, the way he had been able to in the past decade. But it didn’t work, and as rage boiled inside him, he crumpled the spreadsheets and threw them into the trash.
He stalked towards the windows, hoping the much-coveted skyline of New York City would do something to calm him. His company had been one of the lucky few to build a skyscraper with views of Central Park, with his own office occupying the topmost floor of the 62-story building.
He had a life less than one percent in the world could ever have a chance of enjoying, Nik thought broodingly. He was one of the wealthiest men in the world. His business was poised for exponential growth for the next ten years. He had a fiancée any man would have been proud of – beautiful, sexy, intelligent, and self-accomplished.
He had everything.
And yet – he felt like he had nothing.
Why the fuck did he feel like he had lost everything the moment he had turned his back on…her?
Call her. It was the voice of stupidity, Nik knew, but it was a voice that kept getting louder in his mind. It haunted him in his every waking moment, urging him to put an end to his torment.
Call her. Ask her to come back. Never let her go.
Nik’s jaw clenched. That voice was also the voice of insanity, and he would not listen to it again. He had listened to it once, and it had made Nik believe that people who did not have any blood ties to him – people like Beth Lewis – could love him for who he was and not for how much he was worth.
Swinging away from the windows, Nik strode back to his table and picked up the intercom. His PA answered at the first ring.
“Call Miranda and ask her to come here right this moment.”
“Yes, sir.”
Putting the receiver back down, Nik headed towards the mini bar at the corner of his office and poured himself a stiff drink. He took a sip then after a moment’s thought, he drank everything in one gulp.
He poured himself another drink as he moved towards the couch. As part of her arrangement with Nik, Miranda had her own office in the same building. He didn’t charge her for rent, but both of them also knew he expected her to be at his beck and call as a mistress should be.
By the time Miranda arrived, he was already on his fourth shot, and she faltered at the sight of him. Nik couldn’t blame her for it. He was infamous for his strict views on separating business from pleasure, and yet here he was, determined to intoxicate himself in the middle of a work day.
“What’s wrong?” Miranda asked immediately as she closed the distance between them. She was as ethereally beautiful as ever, her blonde hair falling over the gentle, bare slope of her left shoulder.
Nik gazed at his mistress with hooded eyes. It used to be that seeing her perfection was a pleasure in itself, the knowledge that he had found himself the ideal mistress reassuring Nik that his life was on the right track. The controllable track.
And yet now…
He felt absolutely nothing, and his quiet rage intensified even as Nik determinedly reburied the emotions deep inside him. “Undress yourself.” He didn’t explain, didn’t need to. Miranda might be the woman he had agreed to marry, for purely practical purposes, but it didn’t mean the underlying agreement between them would ever change.
At the end of the day, she was still the woman he paid to satisfy him, a woman who was paid not to ask him questions – not to even speak a single word if he didn’t care to hear her.
To her credit, Miranda didn’t even blink at the demand. She undressed herself with sensuous care, her eyes never leaving his face as she unzipped her dress and let the silk fall and pool around her feet. Stepping out, she took her time unclipping the front clasp of her bra, and once her breasts spilled free, she plumped them up with her own hands and teased her nipples to life.
When Nik still didn’t make a move to reach for her, Miranda released her breasts and bent down to take off her panties. Once she was fully naked, she knelt down, completely bare except for her stilettos. She unbuckled his belt and unzipped his pants, and after working his briefs a few inches down, she was able to release his cock. The fact that it wasn’t erect didn’t deter her. She only lowered her head and took his cock into her mouth. She sucked him long and hard, one hand caressing his balls while another hand played with her own sex.
By the time he was fully engorged, Miranda was just as ready, her pussy aching and wet. Rising up, she placed her hands on his shoulders and straddled him.
Their eyes locked – hers seducing, his unreadable – as she slowly lowered herself onto his cock.
There were no words after that, only the sounds of her pants filling Nik’s vast office. She watched his face as she serviced him, was frustrated by the way it remained stoic despite the pleasure she knew she was giving him.
Moving close, she whispered to his ear, “Imagine whatever you want, darling. I can be whatever…whoever…you want me to be.”
His hands tightened around her butt, and the next second, Nik had completely taken control. Thrust after thrust, he impaled her with such force that even with all her years of experience, Miranda was left gasping and clinging to Nik’s shoulders, her eyes rolling back.
“Yes.” She met his every thrust eagerly, her inner muscles clasping his cock tightly. “Yes, yeeeees….” She rocked against Nik’s body, knowing she was so close. “Give it to me, darling…come inside—”
Nik gripped her hair, pulling her head back just as his mouth slammed over hers. He kissed her hard, his tongue driving inside with each thrust. She gasped against his mouth, her eyes closing. He had never kissed her while fucking. Never. Did this mean Nik was feeling something more for her now?
Dimly, she felt Nik’s hand moving between their bodies. Her eyes flew open as she felt his fingers reach her clit. Without stopping his thrusts, Nik began rubbing her clit with his thumb and she arched against him, her scream muffled against his mouth.
Niiiiiiiiiiik—
She shuddered powerfully as she came.
His mouth lifted from hers, and she watched Nik close his eyes as he threw his head back. He began to pummel her with his cock, harder, deeper, faster. A strained expression fell over his gorgeous face, and Miranda knew he was close to coming himself.
She ground her pussy down on his cock, wanting to maximize his pleasure.
A tremor racked Nik’s powerful body as he, too, started to come. The pulsing heat of his seed shooting inside her made Miranda’s nails dig into his shoulders as her pussy started to overflow.
Nik was truly hers. He had never reacted to her this way before, had always been controlled and methodical every time they had sex. But now, Nik was truly hers. She should have known it would only be a matter of time—
Miranda watched Nik’s mouth move in a silent groan.
And when she realized what he was mouthing, what he was fucking imagining—
Her blood ran cold.
Daria.
****
“You’re making a big mistake,” Danny Cottrell warned tersely as he watched his oldest friend type on her laptop. She was seated on a high-backed leather chair, looking especially intimidating behind an expensive desk of steel and granite, her back straight, her hair combed back sleekly to show off her impressively high cheekbones.
“You have nothing to worry about,” Miranda answered without looking up.
Danny bit back his retort, knowing there was no point arguing with the former model. He would only lose, Miranda sure to run circles around him.
Most people imagined Miranda Dawson had become Senator Russell’s mistress because of her beauty and discretion. Danny knew better though. L
ooks faded, but Miranda’s ultimate weapon was her personality, her ability to make a man feel special and in so doing make him do everything she commanded.
When Miranda swung around to face him, he asked in a resigned voice, “You sent it then?”
An entreating smile touched her lips. “Please stop worrying, Danny boy.”
“Then start listening to me,” he said curtly. “You’re tempting fate and all for what? Your ego? He’s already chosen you. He’s yours.”
Miranda wanted to cover her ears. If it had been anyone else, she could have easily laughed the words off. But this was Danny – the only one who knew the real her, the old Miranda before life as a mistress had hardened her.
Was it ego, she wondered. Maybe. But was it wrong that, just this once, she wanted to be the one who had the right to carry a man’s name? Did she always have to be the one to step aside for another woman?
“I don’t want to keep being the mistress, Danny,” she whispered. “I never thought Nik would agree to marry me—”
“And he agreed, didn’t he?” Danny argued hotly. “So why do you have to get that other woman—”
“Because even if we marry, I’d still be the mistress! He’s still thinking of her, and I don’t want to be second best anymore, Danny. I never wanted to be second best, but you know we would have died in that hellhole if I hadn’t…” She swallowed. “I don’t regret my choices, but my past will always be shameful. Can’t I have the opposite in my future?”
She looked at her friend pleadingly. “I need your support on this, Danny. Please.”
The vulnerability underlining his friend’s voice was too much for him to ignore, and he said heavily, “You have it. You know you do, but—”