by Bella Grant
"What?" I asked, sure he wasn’t talking to me.
"Kiss me now." His voice had lowered and his eyes pierced mine. I could not resist even if I wanted to.
"Nick!" The woman was at our heels. “Baby!”
Nick didn't wait for my response. I felt his hands on my waist, holding me like he owned me. He crushed me against him and put his lips on mine. The world stood still. Cliché, I know, but there was no other way to describe what I felt. I didn't kiss him back; I was still in shock. He broke the kiss as quickly as he had started it.
"Nick?" Olivia was standing right behind him, her voice low and angry.
I dared to look at her since I could feel daggers stabbing at me. This was not going to be good.
"Hi, Olivia," he said as he gave her a quick hug, ignoring the lips she had pouted out for him. They did indeed have something going on. Or rather, something went on between them that was no longer there.
I knew what had happened. He had used me as bait to pay back the woman, whomever she was. An old girlfriend maybe? The kiss was just to spite her and maybe get back at her for something she had done to him. In that instant, I felt so mad at him. How dare he use me like I was a common whore? Yes, I may have crashed his party, but that didn’t give him the right to abuse my mouth. Pleasurable, yes. But that was beside the point. The kiss had been rough and unwanted; well maybe not, but it wasn't my idea of how to kiss a man.
"Excuse me," I said to the two of them as I almost pushed Nick aside to get away.
“Who was that?" I heard the woman ask, but I didn’t hear Nick's response. I quickly rushed out of the tent. Tears were streaming down my face until I had walked for a bit. I heard a voice behind me, but I didn’t stop. I couldn’t stop.
"Sara, please stop." Nick was following me but I wasn’t stopping. "Sara, can you please stop? You have something that belongs to me."
That stopped me. He knew what he said would make me stop. Men like him, billionaires like him, knew how to get what they wanted.
"Yes," I said, turning around and wiping my eyes. I reached into my bag to pull the necklace out. The moonlight reflected on its diamonds. I held it out to him, but he didn’t take it. I lowered my arm.
"That too, but that's not what I meant," he said.
"What did you mean?" I asked.
"May I be honest?” he said.
“Be my guest,” I said.
“I just wanted you to stop and listen to me."
“I’m listening. Speak,” I said, surprised by my courage. Hours ago, I hadn’t even dared to look at his picture because I was concerned I wouldn’t be able to face him. Now I was giving him orders in his own house.
"I am so sorry about what happened back there.”
"What are you sorry about? That you kissed a total stranger? With your reputation, that must have been easy to do.”
"Okay, that hurt, Sara. But I deserved it."
"Mr. Saunders, I am not here to figure out what you deserve."
"Sara, a man in my position hardly apologies for anything. You should know that.”
Except I didn’t know that and I didn’t care. Even if I did, Nick Saunders had no right to kiss me without my permission, especially if he was doing it to ward off an old girlfriend. "A man in your position thinks he has a right to kiss a woman without permission?"
"To be fair, I did ask your permission first."
"No, you demanded I kiss you and when I asked why, you forced yourself on me."
"I didn’t force myself on you. You kissed me back."
"Only because you were kissing me and making a show of it for that woman.”
"Olivia."
"Whoever."
"Sara, that was wrong. I'm sorry I kissed you like that, but that kiss wasn’t for Olivia's sake. Trust me.”
"So why did you kiss me?” I asked against my better judgement.
"I wanted to. For my own sake," he said simply, his voice neither loud nor low, just firm.
"Yours! So you exploit women's mouths for your own benefit.”
"I didn't exploit your mouth. I simply kissed you because..."
"Because you think you can buy everything. You think you send me an invitation and a diamond necklace and I'll let you kiss me.”
"I was hoping for that, actually," he smirked.
I saw the smile curve his face before being replaced by fake seriousness. "You what? First of all, you don’t know me.”
"But I want to know you,” he said.
"Tricking me into coming to your party is not a good way to meet me. You know what, I am so sorry I came to this ball or whatever it is. I'm sorry I even came up here."
"Don't say that."
"It's true. I came up here to return this necklace to you. I thought your office sent me an invitation by mistake since I’m neither elite nor rich. I barely have more than ten dollars to my name. And if I have half the sense I need, I would not have let my best friend talk me into coming here.”
"She's a true friend," he said.
"Mr. Saunders, I need to go," I said. I held the necklace out to him again.
"Sara, please keep it."
"It's not even for me. God knows how many women have worn this. I’m not like that. You can’t just pick a woman’s name off your to-do list and send them necklaces, even if you think you can buy the whole world.” My voice was loud, my anger was seeping through. I needed to get out of there.
I watched his eyes change from the sexy brown to smoky brown. I was treading on dangerous ground. Whatever I had just said had taken him over the edge. I needed to stop and think. I was still holding the necklace, but he ignored me and started walking back to his party.
"I'll make arrangements to have someone take you home. I apologize for ruining your night." His tone was flat and icy.
Maybe I should have relaxed and let him explain why he had kissed me. Maybe if I had been calm, I could have talked to him about interviewing with his office for a job. I still needed a job, and now that Amy had spent so much of her money getting me ready for this party, she didn’t have much more to spare if I needed an extra dollar or two. Rent was due in a week, and I didn’t have enough money to cover it. My bills were not going away just because I attended a ball.
I wanted to run after him, beg him to talk to me and explain, but I had to maintain my self-pride. Why should I apologize to him when he had simply used me for his own benefit, and had even admitted to it? This was not how I imagined our first official meeting would go. I had thought he was going to be mad at me for impersonating the real Sara Nolles and would kick me out of his home or have security arrest me or whatever. Instead, I was mad and had the power.
I wished things had been different, but it was too late. I stepped on his toes so hard that it was a possibility I would never see him again. And for some reason, I really wanted to see him again.
"Ms. Nolles, the ride you requested is ready," Diane spoke softly behind me.
I had been so engrossed in my own thoughts I didn’t know she had approached me until she was ushering me toward the parking lot where a different limo was waiting for me.
"Thank you, Diane," I said as I walked toward the limo, desperately fighting back my tears, but I didn’t succeed. As soon as I got into the limo, the tears began to flow freely. I searched for a tissue in my bag and realized I still had the necklace with me.
"Excuse me, sir? Is it okay if I give you something to return to Mr. Saunders?" I asked the driver through the partition.
"I have to check with Mr. Saunders first, ma'am. He has a strict policy on issues like this."
Issues like what? What was so strict about his driver picking up his necklace and returning to him? I looked up and saw the driver looking at me. He wasn't referring to the actual returning of the necklace being an issue, but the interference between Nick and his women. Did he think I was Nick's girlfriend? Mistress? Whore? Did Nick train him to stay out of his affairs?
"It's not like that," I started to explain. But I didn’t really know what t
o say. "Never mind."
"Sorry I can’t help you, miss." He sounded truly apologetic. Poor guy. How many women did he have to chauffeur around for his boss?
I sat back in the soft leather chair and closed my eyes. A nice headache was brewing. I needed to get home and face another headache - Amy. I couldn’t lie to her. She knew the party was supposed to last all night, and unless something drastic happened and I was booted out, I wasn’t supposed to be home this early.
"Excuse me?” I said, catching the driver’s attention in the mirror, “is it possible to take the longer way? I don't want to go home just yet."
"Sure, miss. My pleasure," he grinned.
"Thank you," I replied, settling back into the chair and letting the headache wash over me. Maybe I deserved to be punished for all the wrongs I'd committed that night. Tears streamed down my face again and I felt my dress getting wet. I looked down, and to my dismay, the tears were dark - my mascara was running. Great. I ruined my night. Ruined my chance of every working for the Saunders Empire. Ruined my chance of giving back the necklace with dignity. And ruined the best dress I’d ever owned. Not to mention Amy would skin me alive when I told her why I was home early. The night couldn’t get any worse!
NICK
Nick watched her as she departed in his limo. He wondered how the meeting had gone from good to bad in such a short span of time. Nick thought about how her lips had called to him and how her deep, thoughtful eyes had pulled him into her. Yes, the timing had been bad. Olivia Newton, his ex-girlfriend, had wanted to say hello. But his need for Sara had overtaken his common sense. He had really wanted to kiss her. Not because Olivia was there, but because he had wanted to. He had kissed her and everything went downhill from there.
Nick wanted to get as far away from the party as he could. He started walking back to the woods, away from all the lights and music, hoping to forget, even if for a few minutes, that he was supposed to be a host. Zia was there, and whenever Zia was around, everything went well. No one would miss him.
His thoughts shifted to Sara the further away he got from the party. She had been getting under his skin, messing with his mind, since he’d met her at the café. And today she was even more beautiful than ever. It was impossible to let her go even if he wanted to. Until he possessed her and enjoyed her succulent curves, he would never get her out of his mind. He wandered further away from the house, his mind playing over the events of that night. He needed to find a way to see her again, and hopefully, talk her into at least accompanying him for dinner. Apparently, the surprise invitation and diamond necklace had not worked. He had to work harder.
Damn her! He sat on a rock, loosened his tie, and started playing with rocks. He was engrossed in his thoughts, oblivious of his surroundings, when he heard Zia asking his staff his whereabouts.
“Shit,” he cursed as he looked at the time. He had forgotten himself and let more time than he had intended slip away from him. He heard Zia curse and tell the staff to locate him as the silent auction was about to start. He couldn’t see her face, but he could imagine she was mad at him, or maybe concerned by his disappearance. He wasn’t one to do that in the middle of an event. Zia would be on his neck as soon as the last guests left.
Nick didn’t want to go back to the party. Given the choice, he would have simply undressed and gone swimming naked under the moonlight. Swimming calmed him, and after his heated incident with Sara, he needed a little more than calming. But not tonight. He couldn’t swim naked with guests wandering around. He sighed and turned to head back to his house. As he got closer, he heard Zia calling out his name. He sighed once more, knotted his tie, which he had loosened, and wiped off the dust which he imagined was on the back of his pants.
He wished he had a few more moments of privacy to think of Sara. He wanted to remember how her mouth felt when he kissed her; how her eyes sparkled when she was mad; how innocent and naïve she was, but business was calling and he had to leave. No need to make Zia any madder than she would be when she realized that the invitation sent to Sara Nolles was a waste.
SARA
“Do we keep driving, miss?” the driver asked.
“A few more minutes, please.” I couldn’t ask the driver to drive around forever. He had taken me on a scenic tour of the city. I wondered if he'd be in trouble with his boss.
“Yes, miss.”
"I know you have to go back. I'm sorry for taking up your time," I apologized as I looked at my watch and realized we had been driving around in circles for over two hours. My apartment was only a forty-five-minute drive from Nick Saunders’ mansion, and I would have been home over an hour ago had we gone straight to my house. “I guess you need to drop me off.”
"No, ma'am. My instructions were to take you anywhere you wanted and drop you off only when you wanted to go home. Do you want to circle around town one more time?"
"No, it's okay," I said. I was calm, and seriously, it wasn’t the end of the world even if Amy did chew me out when I got home. I had to face her some time and now was better than later. "You can take me home, please.”
“Yes, miss,” the driver said as he slowly turned the limo around.
No sooner than the limo pulled up to my apartment did Amy come running out. She had been sitting at the window, watching and waiting for my return. She flung the door open before the driver could get it.
"Tell me. Tell me everything," she squealed as she practically dragged me out of the limo.
"Hang on," I said as I reached into my purse to give the driver a tip. I only had ten dollars, but that was better than nothing.
"No, ma'am. I can’t take that," he said and bowed. "Have a good night."
"You too. Thanks for everything," I said as I tucked the money back into my purse. I was glad he had rejected the money; it was all I had for lunch next week.
"Sara, seriously! Who gives a ten to a billionaire's driver? He probably makes that in second."
"Well, that's all I had," I protested.
"Never mind. Come on, tell me what happened. Why are you home this early?" She stopped in the middle of the sidewalk, crossed her arms on her chest, and waited for me to answer.
"Can we at least go inside first?" I asked, pushing gently past her to make it into the house. She followed me closely.
"Wait, you don't have the necklace? Did he take it away from you? Did you get in trouble?"
"No, no, no. No to all your questions."
"What do you mean? He didn't ask you why you were there?"
"He didn’t need to. Apparently he’s this rich guy that had come to the café a few times and wanted to hang out with me. I think this was his idea of getting closer to me and kissing me…”
"Stop! He what? Nick Saunders kissed you? And you’re saying it so casually as if it’s not a big deal. How the heck did you get him to kiss you, you whore!"
“I didn’t get him to do anything. If anything, it wasn’t mutual.”
"He forced you?”
“No, not exactly.”
“What then? He begged you to kiss him?”
"What? No, Amy. Nick Saunders can get any woman he desires. He has no need to force or beg me. And for what reason? I'm not rich nor in his class."
"So why did he kiss you? I mean, that means he’s attracted to you, right?” Amy came to sit closer to me. “What are you not telling?”
"Nothing. I don’t think he’s attracted to me. I think he was trying to spite an ex-girlfriend."
"What? That's low. Are you sure?”
"I don’t know. That’s what it looked like. We had just met and started to talk, then this poster girl approached us and he asked me to kiss him.”
“And you said yes?”
“No, I said nothing, and he kissed me.”
"And then you ran off?” Amy looked at me incredulously.
“Sort of,” I answered, avoiding her gaze. Amy had a way of making me regret my actions, and she was doing a good job of making me feel like I had done something wrong.
/> "Sara, please tell me you didn't walk out on the richest man in the world because he kissed you."
"I don’t…"
"Tell me you didn't let Nick Saunders slip out of your hands because he kissed you."
"Amy, the guy kissed me without my permission."
"You just told me he asked you.”
“Yes, sort of.”
“Did you want him to kiss you?”
“Yes, kind of,” I said. Now that I was away from him, I admitted I had loved the feel of his mouth on mine.
“Amy! Do you know how many girls would die to have him touch them? And he went as far as kissing you. Nick Saunders is not a kisser!”
"How would you know that?” I asked, but before she could answer, I figured it out. “You read it somewhere.”
“Yes, I did. He said he never kisses women. Too intimate for him.”
“I guess he lied then,” I said.
"Or maybe he likes you.”
"I don’t know,” I said.
"Did he enjoy it?” Amy asked.
“Fuck, Amy. How would I know?” I said. “He didn’t seem to mind, but that doesn’t give him the right to kiss me without my permission. We're two different people. In my world, men ask for permission to kiss women. No, only a man I am dating has a right to kiss me. I don’t care how rich he is, a random stranger cannot just kiss me because he can buy the whole world. I don't know about you, but..."
"That's okay, Sara. I spent the whole week getting you ready and this is how it ends. You're telling me I'm a whore because you're a virgin?"
"I didn't say that."
"Then what are you saying? In your world, in my world. Maybe you should let a man fuck you really hard so you can lose that air of innocence around you. Sometimes you make me sick."
Amy was right. Maybe I was too naive about the world to know how things worked. Maybe a billionaire kissing me wasn’t the worst thing on earth. Maybe I had overreacted, but seriously, why would I not? It was offensive to take advantage of me. Nick Saunders had been wrong.
"Amy, I'm sorry. I didn't plan for the evening to turn out this way. It's just that you don't go to a ball uninvited every day, and you certainly don't plan to be kissed every day either." I hugged Amy, who was pouting. She ignored me for a moment but returned the tight embrace.
