Reckless (Nashville Nights)

by Cheryl , Douglas

  He glanced at her legs where her silk dress rode up her thigh. “I seem to recall you weren’t into talking about much of anything that night, Avery. I guess now I know why, don’t I?”

  She grimaced. “Ty, it wasn’t like that. Really.”

  He crossed his arms and leaned against the closed door. “Are you gonna tell me you weren’t planning on bailin’ on me all along?”

  She knew the color creeping up her neck would betray her so she dipped her head, trying to conceal her shame.

  “That’s what I thought.”

  “Look, there’s no excuse for what I did. I’m sorry.”

  “Why’d you do it?” He pushed off the door and took a few steps toward her. “If you weren’t into me, you could’ve just said so. You didn’t have to cut and run like that.”

  She held her breath as he continued to walk toward her.

  “Though I gotta tell you, it sure as hell seemed like you were into me, given how many times you cried out my name that night.”

  She would have dipped her head at his provocative words, but he placed his finger under her chin and tipped her face toward him. “No way. I’ve finally got you where I want you and you’re gonna give me the answers I deserve, or neither one of us leaves this room. Is that clear?”

  She didn’t like being dictated to, especially by a man, but he knew he had her at a disadvantage and he obviously intended to use it to his benefit. “Fine. What do you want to know?”

  He took another step forward until his thighs brushed her knees. “I want to know why you left that night and don’t even try and tell me it was because you weren’t feelin’ it ‘cause I know damn well you were.”

  She held her breath when he braced his hands on hers and leaned into her. “I, I...”

  He grinned and his gaze dipped to her mouth when she licked her lips. “God, what is it about you? Even now, I know you’re trouble, but you still manage to turn me on.”

  Her eyes travelled down the length of his body, but his black blazer hung open over the black tailored dress pants, effectively hiding his arousal.

  He gripped her waist and slid her off the desk, grabbing her with enough force to steal her breath as he ground his erection into her. “You need proof? There it is.”

  “I don’t. I mean I...” She couldn’t form a coherent thought when her mind was caught in a time warp, replaying every stroke of his hand and thrust of his body as he claimed her over and over again.

  He lowered his head until his forehead met hers. “Jesus. I never thought I’d see you again. Do you know I’d wake up dreaming about you for months after...”

  “I know I shouldn’t have left the way I did,” she whispered. “I’m sorry.”

  He looked her in the eye. “Why the hell did you, Avery? We were amazing together. I meant what I said...”

  She pushed against his chest, trying to stop him before he embarrassed both of them with another declaration. “I knew you wanted more than I could give you. I wasn’t interested in getting involved with another musician or anyone for that matter.”

  “What’ve you got against musicians?”

  She rolled her eyes. “Let’s just say I have a lousy track record with men. It seems I have a knack for falling for the guys who’re already in love with other women. Trey and Luc are prime examples.”

  “Shit.” He took a step back, letting his hands fall to his sides. “You were involved with Luc and Trey?”

  She nodded.

  “I’m hoping not at the same time?”

  She shoved him hard, causing him to stumble backwards.

  He chuckled. “Hey, I’m sorry, okay? You can’t blame me for askin’.”

  She glared at him, resenting his crude implication. “You mean because I was so quick to jump into bed with you, I must be a whore. Right?”

  “What? No, hell no, I never thought that about you, Avery.”

  She eyed him warily, trying to decide whether he was being sincere. “Then why did you ask that question about Luc and Trey?”

  “Some people are into that. Who am I to judge?”

  She wrapped her arms around her stomach, suddenly feeling sick that she could have been desperate enough to sleep with a man who obviously thought so little of her. “I don’t sleep around and I can promise you that when I’m in a relationship with a man, it’s him and only him.”

  Ty grinned, revealing a flash of white teeth against deeply tanned skin. “I was hopin’ you’d say that.”

  “Why?”

  He wrapped his hands around her waist and drew her closer. “Isn’t it obvious, Avery? I wanna be your man.”

  Chapter Two

  “Ty, I think you’ve misunderstood,” Avery said. She tried to take a step back to put some distance between them, but her backside bumped against the desk. “I asked you to come in here because I didn’t want you to be blindsided when we saw each other.”

  He smirked at her obvious discomfort. “Are you trying to tell me you’re not interested in me?” He skimmed his calloused palms up either side of her bare arms while his hot breath chased the hair away from her ear. “Have you forgotten what it was like that night, darlin’? I know I made you feel things you’ve never felt before.”

  She trembled when his hot tongue swiped the shell of her ear. “Oh God.” She leaned back on the desk, bracing her hands against the wood for support.

  His eyes followed the curve of her breasts spilling out over the top of her strapless dress. “I’ve never stopped wanting you, and I don’t imagine I ever will.” He moved in, crowding her until their faces were mere inches apart. “I wanna kiss you.” He kissed her lips, tentatively at first, before using his tongue to further lower her defenses. He drew back long enough to whisper in her ear. “I wanna touch you and taste you and make you come again.” He didn’t give her the opportunity to respond before he assailed her mouth again.

  She shook her head and tried to open her eyes, but she was afraid if she did she’d come out of this sensual fog and she wasn’t ready for it to end yet.

  He slid his hands up her thighs, raising her dress until he was able to spread her legs and step between them. “I wanna make you feel what you felt that night,” he whispered. “I wanna hear you come with my name on your lips again.”

  She shuddered at the visual image he’d created. “I can’t. We can’t...”

  “Shhh,” he whispered. He eased her zipper down her back as he bent to kiss her neck. “Don’t think, just feel. Feel my hands on your skin, my tongue in your mouth, my...”

  She flattened her hands against his chest. “I have a...” She tried to form a coherent thought as he bit and suckled her neck. “Policy against dating clients...”

  “Hmm.” He continued to lick her neck, behind her ear. “Good thing I’m not a client, then.”

  She braced her hands against his broad shoulders and summoned the strength to push him away. “But you are.” She took a deep breath, hoping the air would reach her oxygen-deprived brain. “Luc hired me to be your publicist.”

  He shook his head, obviously struggling to focus. “My publicist?”

  “Yeah, that’s what I do. I’m a publicist.”

  He grinned. “That’s great. That means we’ll be seein’ a lot more of each other, whether you like it or not.”

  She barely resisted the urge to slap him upside the head. There was nothing even remotely amusing about the fact that she had a client she couldn’t seem to keep her hands off of, no matter how hard she tried. Tonight she had been determined to apologize for her past behavior, outline the terms of their working relationship, and bid him goodnight. Instead, her carefully styled hair was a tangled mess, her lipstick a distant memory, and her couture dress was belted around her waist. “Ty, this is not funny. This is my career we’re talking about.”

  He kissed her tenderly. “I get that, baby. I don’t wanna do anything to mess with your career. What happens between us will remain behind closed doors. No one has to know about it.” He winked.
“Unless of course you want them to.”

  She released a frustrated huff as she raked her hands through her hair, trying to restore some order. “You don’t get it, do you? I don’t believe in mixing business with pleasure. I have a strict policy against dating my clients, and that includes you.”

  He took a step back, his eyes darkening. “That sounds an awful lot like a challenge.”

  “No.” She shook her head quickly to discourage his assumption. “That’s not what I meant at all.” She knew a man like Ty would approach a challenge with fierce determination and wouldn’t let anything, including her half-hearted protests, stand in his way.

  “Good, because I want you and I’ll be damned if I’m gonna let you use your job to keep me at arm’s length.”

  She saw in that moment the resolve that had helped him realize his dream of a record deal while millions of others with the same dream resigned themselves to their fate. He obviously had the grit and determination to succeed at anything he set his mind to, which terrified and excited her at the same time. “It’s not just the fact that you’re my client. I really don’t have time for a relationship right now. I have to be on call 24/7, in case I need...”

  He held his hand up. “Stop. I don’t wanna hear it. I get that your career’s important to you, I do. But that’s not gonna pick you up when you’re feelin’ down or hold you when you’re feelin’ scared.” He cupped her face and brushed his thumb over her bottom lip. “I’m the guy who’s gonna be there to do that, baby.”

  She was momentarily speechless. He was offering to do something no one had ever done before, take care of her. Even her parents hadn’t wanted to take on that responsibility. Instead, they’d paid cooks, nannies, and housekeepers to see to her needs as a child. “I don’t need you,” she whispered. “I don’t need anyone. I’ve been taking care of myself for a long time.”

  He smiled, looking sad. “Everyone needs someone to take care of them. I’m sorry if you haven’t had that before. You do now.”

  She felt a tear trickle down her cheek and quickly swiped it away. She didn’t believe in crying. It was a sign of weakness and she needed to be tough to survive in a male-dominated industry with men who saw her as just another pretty face instead of an Ivy League graduate. “You don’t even know me.”

  “That may be true, but I intend to get to know you, better than anyone ever has. I want to know your favorite movie, your favorite color, where you went to school...” He hesitated. “I wanna know why your parents abandoned you.”

  She gasped at his audacity. “My parents didn’t abandon me. I’ll have you know my father is a prominent surgeon and my mother is an esteemed psychologist who...”

  “It sounds like they should’ve been smart enough to know their daughter needed them.”

  She continued to swipe at the tears sliding down her cheeks. “You don’t know anything about my parents. How dare you make assumptions about my family.”

  He reached down to take her hands in his. “Sweetheart, no one’s family is perfect, sure as hell not mine. But family’s about bein’ there when you need someone. If your parents had been there for you, it wouldn’t be so hard for you to let someone in.”

  She tried to pull her hands away, but he held firm. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  “I know that you’re hiding behind your career because you’re afraid of making a commitment. You choose emotionally unavailable men for the same reason.”

  Her mouth dropped open. “How the hell do you know that? I mean, not that I think you’re right, but...”

  He chuckled. “Would you believe I got a degree in psychology?” He shrugged, looking embarrassed. “Don’t ask me why. I guess I’ve just always been interested in human behavior.” He laughed. “Don’t look so surprised.”

  “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to. I just thought music and ranching—”

  “Was my life? Nah, that’s just part of who I am. There’s a whole lot about me you don’t know. But you will, soon enough.”

  “But, I—”

  “I know. You don’t want to get involved, blah, blah, blah.” He grinned. “Good thing I’m not the kind of guy who takes no for an answer.”

  “I don’t think you—”

  He pulled her off the desk and straightened her dress. “It looks like you might need a few minutes to pull yourself together.” He kissed her on the lips. “I’ll be out there minglin’ when you decide you’re ready to dance.”

  She slapped his hands away when he tried to adjust the front of her dress. “Dance? Wait a minute. I never said I’d dance with you.”

  “You didn’t have to. I know you want to.”

  She shimmied as she zipped up her dress. “If I agree to dance with you, it’ll be strictly professional, simply a publicist dancing with her client.”

  He threw his head back and laughed. “We’ll see about that, darlin’.”

  Avery waited for Ty to leave the room before she stepped into the adjoining powder room, intent on restoring her appearance to some semblance of normalcy before facing a house full of people.

  She stood in front of the mirror and stared back at her reflection. Her hair had been disheveled by a pair of big, rough hands. Her lips were swollen and puffy from a skilled set of lips. Her neck was red and chafed from his scruffy whiskers. She was missing a diamond earring. She looked like a woman who had been thoroughly satisfied by her lover. If only.

  She ran a shaky hand over her hair before reaching into her purse to retrieve a brush. She ran it through the honey-colored strands, grateful she hadn’t had time to visit the hairdresser for a complicated up-do. She pulled a small cosmetics bag out of her purse and began the painstaking work of covering the evidence of his avid attention.

  When she was satisfied with her appearance, she washed her hands and made sure her dress was intact before making her grand re-entrance.

  Luc saw her immediately and beckoned her to his side.

  She tried to conceal her apprehension. Though she was confident her physical appearance may fool the casual observer, Luc had once been her lover. He knew that look in her eye after she had been well and truly satisfied. Problem was, Ty hadn’t satisfied her; he’d left her high and dry with only the promise of what was to come, if she was willing to leave herself open to the possibility. The pulse point in her neck pounded just thinking about what he might have in store for her.

  “So, did you work things out with my boy?” Luc asked. He snagged two flute glasses of champagne from a passing tray and handed one to her.

  “Thanks,” she said, pausing to enjoy a sip of bubbly. “We talked.”

  “Great. We’ve got a lot of work ahead of us, Avery.” He held out his hand to list items on his fingers. “Press kit, media campaign, photos, press releases, interviews, red carpet events, not to mention the tour...”

  Avery clenched her hand at her side. “You don’t have to tell me how to do my job, Luc. I know what needs to be done.”

  “This is important.” Luc turned to look her squarely in the eye. “I don’t care about your issues with Ty. I’ve invested millions, not to mention my reputation, in this new label. Ty’s the first new artist I’ve signed. If he’s a hit, artists will be beating my door down. Got it?”

  She took another drink of champagne, feeling the weight of Luc’s words. He was counting on her. If she let him down, she would be finished in this town. “I understand what’s at stake.”

  “Good.” He brought the champagne glass to his lips. “Look, I don’t care what you and Ty do behind closed doors. Just don’t let it affect your work, okay?”

  She tried to appear unaffected by his words. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. There’s nothing between me and Ty.”

  Luc grinned. “Even better.”

  Avery felt her ire rising along with her blood pressure. “Why do you say that?”

  Luc inclined his head toward Ty. He was dancing with a B-list actress who’d arrived as the guest of one the
guitar players in a platinum-selling band. “Ty has superstar written all over him. He’s got the look, the voice, the sex appeal. I’m telling you, women are going to go crazy over this guy.”

  She knew Luc was right. Ty may be making promises to her tonight, but he had no idea that his entire world was about to be turned upside down tomorrow. She tried to respond as the professional publicist she was supposed to be instead of the jilted lover she felt like. “You’re right. I’ve heard his demo, seen the video, headshots. He’s definitely the real deal.”

  “Yeah, speaking of which, we’ve got to scrap all that. We’ve got to get to work creating his image. We need a powerful brand to match his music. He’s written some great stuff. We’ll use some of that on the album, and I’ve got some other songs I want him to have a listen to.”

  Avery shook her head, trying to focus on Luc’s words as the B-list actress flirted with Ty.

  “I’ll need you on this 24/7. I want Ty involved in every part of the process as well. This has to feel right to him. He can’t sell it if it doesn’t feel authentic.”

  His words finally permeated her jealous haze. “What are you talking about? I have dozens of other clients, Luc. I can’t just drop everything. What about Trey’s tour?”

  “We’ll outsource what we have to and hire another assistant. I don’t care what you have to do, but Ty McCall is to be your first and only priority for as long as it takes? Is that clear?”

  She bit her tongue and shook her head. She resented Luc’s high-handedness at times, but he was the reason she had made a name for herself in this city and she couldn’t forget that.

  “Good. Why don’t you go over there and steer him away from that little vixen? Start making some plans for the week; sync your schedules. Get it done, Avery.” He walked away without waiting for a response.

  Ty watched with amusement as Avery walked toward them with long, purposeful strides. She could deny it to herself, but he didn’t believe for a moment that he was the only one riding a high from the mind-numbing attraction that flowed between them.