One where Nathan Lancaster could look at her like she was some kind of treasure. One where a quiet billionaire who insisted on keeping control could give her the best, most earth-shaking sex of her life.
She still felt sore in the best of ways, or the past night would almost seem like an erotic dream. Like something from a book, too romantic to have actually happened to her.
Especially since she usually never got carried away. She’d had people hit on her before while she was working, but she’d always brushed it off.
But there’d been something about Nathan, the intensity in his eyes, the honesty about his intentions, while he admitted he still had things to hide.
She was beginning to think she would never get to the bottom of what was going on.
It all had to do with midnight and his mysterious reasons for running away.
But she was nothing if not a woman of her word, so as promised, she had let him go when the time came, no matter how much she wanted to keep him in her arms.
She’d always been independent and never the type to fall for fairy-tale promises or get swept away in a kiss.
Yet his firm touch, commanding gaze, intense way of owning her completely during lovemaking really had made her feel as though she was losing her mind.
If that was losing her mind, she found she didn’t want it back.
Alas, the sun always rose the next morning, and today Lillian just wanted to go see her friend and forget about Nathan Lancaster and his confusing ways.
She knocked softly on the door and then pushed it open, closing it behind her so no one would know where she’d gone.
Sasha was snoring quietly, a small lump in the middle of a big bed just like the one in Lillian’s room.
Lillian walked over and sat in a comfy chair by the bed, pulling a nearby blanket over her. Despite being in a new, unfamiliar place, she felt at home as long as Sasha was there.
She heard a low groan and saw Sasha moving around in the blankets. She sat up and let out a little shriek as she saw Lillian.
“Oh my God, Lil, you have to warn me.”
“I called out before I came in. But I… wanted to see you.”
Sasha yawned and smoothed out the sheets, getting comfortable again. “You can come in. It’ll be like old times.”
They’d practically grown up together, so Lillian hopping onto the bed and lying on top of the covers didn’t feel odd at all.
She rested her cheek on her hand and faced Sasha. “So you feeling okay?”
Sasha flushed and rolled her eyes. “Embarrassed is all. I can’t believe you and Nathan had to come save me.”
Lillian brushed her friend’s hair back. “Don’t worry about it. It’s just lucky we were there.”
Sasha pushed herself up slightly, sitting against the headboard. “Speaking of that, how did he know where we were?”
Lillian thought about it for a moment, then gasped, wondering how she could have forgotten. She’d been so worried about making sure Sasha was okay, and then she’d gotten distracted by sexy kisses from Nathan… but there was still the huge question of how he’d left the restaurant and driven straight to the place where Sasha was being molested.
Or how he’d gone to that lunch place just before it was robbed. Or how he always showed up at crime or disaster scenes.
She rubbed her head. “So confusing.”
“What is?” Sasha asked, cocking her head.
“Look, Sash, I know this is going to sound crazy, but I have no idea how he knew where you went. I didn’t even know.”
Sasha wrapped her arms around her knees. “Just coincidence, I guess.”
“No,” Lillian said, shaking her head. “It’s bigger than that. You know, the reason I even started interviewing him was—”
“Don’t start on that. He’s not some kind of criminal. You saw him last night. If anything, he’s more like a hero.”
“That’s what I’m saying,” Lillian said, unable to even believe her own words. “What if he’s some kind of… vigilante? What if I had it all wrong in the first place?”
“Oh no,” Sasha said, sounding amused. “Look, I think Nathan is just a normal person. A good one. I mean, it would be like you to think any man who actually helps people is either some kind of hero or super villain.”
Lillian knew it all sounded crazy, but without betraying Nathan’s trust, she wasn’t sure how to explain it. Then again, he’d never said she couldn’t tell anyone about midnight…
“Sasha, there’s something weird about him.”
Sasha rolled her blue-gray eyes again. “Weird as in he’s rich, kind, and extremely patient with all of your accusations? And took you in when you were being stalked? Have you figured anything else about that yet?”
She hadn’t, but she was pretty sure it was all some kind of mistake. After all, the note hadn’t had her name on it. Someone had probably gotten the wrong door.
But it had resulted in her being able to stay here with Nathan, so she had to be grateful for it.
“Listen, he can’t—”
Sasha put up a hand. “I don’t want to hear gossip about him. After what he did last night, I really owe him. I’m totally on his side.”
Lillian sighed, knowing Sasha was serious. “But what about my side?”
“I’m always on your side. You know that,” Sasha said. “But good friends tell their friends when they’re out of line or wrong about something. You’re wrong about Nathan.” Sasha fiddled with the sheet. “Besides, you’re lucky to find someone like him. I wish I could.”
“Sasha, he’s not… It’s not what you think.”
“Besides, I think I can be on both sides. You two could just get on the same side, make things easier for me.” She giggled, then froze when Lillian put a hand on her shoulder. “What?”
“He disappears at midnight,” Lillian said, blurting it out before she lost her nerve. “Don’t tell anyone else, I mean, but yeah. It was his one deal with me being here.”
Sasha frowned. “So you two weren’t able to get it on, then? Even after I made that sneaky exit and went to bed so you could get some alone time?”
Lillian’s jaw dropped. “You sneak.” Then she smiled. “I mean… some things happened.”
Sasha bounced up on her knees, hugging her pillow. “Oh, tell me, tell me! Let me live vicariously.” She pouted. “I might never have a prince like that.”
“Yes, you will,” Lillian said. “You’ll find a man who is awesome like you and can give you everything you deserve. But Nathan is no prince.”
Sasha raised an eyebrow. “So it wasn’t that good, then? He doesn’t know how to kiss?”
“Not that,” Lillian said, feeling a flush burning up her neck and into her cheeks. “I just… I mean, he literally has to disappear at midnight. Like he won’t let me see him. The clock starts striking, and he just runs for it as if he’s going to turn into a pumpkin at midnight.”
“That’s not how it works,” Sasha said.
“Shh,” Lillian said. “You know what I mean. He’s hiding something. At first, I thought he just wanted his privacy while I was staying here so he could still romance ladies at night, but now I think it’s something different.”
“And he left last night?”
“I don’t know,” Lillian said thoughtfully. “But I do know he left me at my room and fled back to his study. I didn’t hear him around the rest of the night. Then again, I went in my room and went to bed. But I can tell you he was reluctant to go, like he didn’t want to. It was almost as if he was trapped.”
Lillian’s heart pounded just remembering it.
“Hm,” Sasha said. “So what do you think?”
“I don’t know. I questioned the possibility of vigilantism, but it doesn’t really fit.”
“I think it does,” Sasha said. “I mean look at the commonalities. Rich. Lives alone. Wears a lot of black.” She ticked the points off on her fingers, and her eyes widened. “He’s practically a superhero. Oh my God, Li
llian. We’re living with a superhero. You’re dating a superhero!”
Lillian snorted and gave her friend a playful shrug. “No. He’s not a superhero. No way.”
“Oh darn,” Sasha said. “I really like the dark, brooding types.”
“He is that,” Lillian said. “There’s this… intensity about him. Even during lovemaking.”
Sasha let out a little gasp, and her eyes sparkled. “Oh, so you did get nasty. Details!”
Lillian laughed. “I shouldn’t kiss and tell.”
“You’re a journalist!” Sasha insisted. “It’s practically your job to deliver the truth. Deets!”
Lillian sighed and folded her hands in her lap, leaning back against the headboard as she remembered the prior night. His commands. His touch. His sexy body, deep voice. His insistence on trying to know every part of her. The feeling that this was more than a fling…
“I guess I can share a few details,” she said. “As long as you can keep them to yourself. This is off the record.”
Sasha held up her hand as if swearing in front of a jury. “I promise.” Her eyes narrowed conspiratorially. “Now tell me what it’s like to kiss a superhero.”
Lillian groaned. “For the last time, he isn’t one.”
But he was definitely something, and as she tried to pick a few harmless details to share with her friend, she was pretty sure she would never be able to stop trying to figure out exactly what that something was.
When he woke up, they would have a lot to talk about.
Chapter 17
When Nathan walked out of his room, deciding it looked like the right amount of time to be “asleep,” he peeked out into the hallway for any sign of Sasha or Lillian.
Would Lillian be angry with him for their abrupt ending last night? She hadn’t seemed to be, but then again, maybe after sleeping on it, she would realize how weird it was.
He’d wanted to hold her, to keep loving her all night, but there was no way to explain that.
He heard clinking in the kitchen and walked out to see Lillian sitting there, toast in hand, jam and a loaf of bread on the counter.
It was so odd yet familiar at the same time, like a window into another life he could have had if things had been different.
If he wasn’t born… as he was.
“Good morning,” she said brightly, looking up at him. Her curls were still wet from the shower and her dark eyes were sparkling. She held up a cup of what looked like coffee in a toasting position.
All of this felt oddly… casual.
He took a seat, and she got up and poured him a cup of coffee, passing it over. She also handed him a plate of toast with jam on it.
“Thanks, but I’m not hungry,” he said, pushing it back.
She raised an eyebrow. “Yeah, I’ve noticed that. What is it with you and food?”
He leaned back in the chair. “What do you mean?”
She sighed. She was still in her pajamas and wearing a blue robe over them, totally concealing her figure, which he knew was luscious after last night. “You pretend to like food. You’ll eat it if you have to, but you don’t take any joy in it.”
He raised and lowered a shoulder. “I don’t know. It’s just how I was born.”
“What’s your favorite food?”
People.
“Uh… I don’t have one.”
She narrowed her eyes, long lashes fluttering. “Oh, come on. You’re human. There’s got to be something I could go pick up if you wanted it.”
Wrong on both counts.
“Why would you do that?” he asked.
“Do what?”
“Go to the trouble of picking something up.”
“Wait,” she said, snapping her fingers. “Scotch. You like scotch.”
“It’s not exactly food,” he corrected, then shut himself up because he realized he was now arguing for her side.
“Right. So if you had to think about one thing you wanted more than anything at this moment, what would it be?”
His eyes heated as he looked over her, and he let them linger on her breasts, her waist, then lower. Then he gave her a meaningful smile. “I can think of some things I’d like to taste.”
She scoffed and shook her head at him, but a deep blush lit her cheeks. “Not what I meant, and you know it. Though, it is flattering.”
“Well, I mean it. I don’t see why it should be flattering.” He took out the paper he’d grabbed earlier that morning and tucked inside his robe. He unfolded it and pretended to read because he wasn’t sure how this conversation was going.
He saw small, tawny fingers pushing down the paper, revealing her gorgeous face glaring down at him.
“It’s flattering because someone like you could be with anyone,” she said, walking back to sit in her seat now that his newspaper had been defeated.
He grinned and set it aside. “I don’t know if you’re aware of this, but you’re a very beautiful woman.”
“So is that all this is?” She gestured between them. “You’re attracted to me?”
“I told you it was more than that, last night if I remember correctly.”
Her eyes thinned to slits. “I feel like you always remember correctly, and anything else is a pretense.”
He laughed quietly, knowing she’d caught him. His memory was sharp. It had to be.
“Well, you certainly know how to be romantic,” she said. “With all that talk about being obsessed with me and being my everything.” She flushed deeper. “And I mean… wanting to know everything about me.” She waved a hand. “But for all I know, that’s just you getting caught up in the moment.”
“I did get caught up in the moment,” he said, watching her and getting the impression she was catching her breath. “But I meant what I said. I have no intention of letting you go. Not until I find out what this thing is between us.”
Which was dangerous indeed for someone in his situation.
“What if I want to go?”
“Have we figured out who is stalking you? No. So you’re not going.”
“I could still call the police.”
“Yes, you could, so what’s stopping you?” He took a sip of his coffee and fought back a grimace. “Obviously, deep down, you agree with me.”
“Or I’m just intrigued with you. And this whole thing about you disappearing at midnight. Or how you always know where to show up. Like you did with Sasha.”
He set down his cup calmly but felt his pinky shaking. “Ah. I just got lucky.”
“Uh-huh.”
“We were driving in that direction, you know, for scotch. And then… I just got lucky and saw her. I’m observant, you know.”
She clasped her hands together and leaned her chin on them. “Hm. Doesn’t it get old? Keeping secrets like this? Living alone? Keeping everyone out after midnight?”
He was quiet for a long time after that. Of course it was lonely. Of course no one would choose this existence. But there weren’t any choices remaining for him anymore, so he just had to live out eternity alone.
Save for the small space of time he got to spend with this creature.
“I know you don’t have women here after midnight. It’s not like I initially thought. Last night when the clock went, you were almost… panicked.” She stood and picked up her chair, placing it next to his so she could sit down and touch his leg. “Wouldn’t it be good to tell someone what was going on?”
He stared at her blankly, vague alarm taking hold of his mind. Of course it would be good to tell someone. Of course it would be good to not be alone. But then one of them would have to die, and he couldn’t have that.
He stood abruptly. “What do you want to do today? Do you want to go to the office?” He looked around. “Where’s Sasha?”
“She went to work. The library has a thing they’re doing on Sunday. Story time or something. She loves her job. She said to tell you thanks.”
He waved it away. “It was nothing. I like the excuse to take out men like t
hat.”
“I believe you,” Lillian said. “I could tell you almost… enjoyed it. Is that why you have me here? So you can have the excuse to beat on the guy who is trying to hurt me?”
“I thought you said you thought the whole thing might be a mistake.”
She frowned, caught. “I mean, it could be. Who knows? It was my door.”
“We could go over and see if anything else has been left.”
“It’s not just that… Um, that night the note was left, I sort of… felt like I was being followed.”
Which she had been, by him.
“Interesting. And you have no idea who might be doing this?”
She shook her head. “I told you. I usually do puff pieces. You said it might be someone connected to you since it started when I began to work with you. Any idea who it could be?”
He shook his head. “I have an endless number of enemies. I guess you’ll have to stay here forever.”
She laughed and stood up, stretching. “Nice try. But I have a job, a life to get back to. So if you really are a vigilante, maybe you should get to work trying to catch the dude.”
Why he would do that when it would result in her leaving, he didn’t know.
He did know he wanted her to be safe. After making love to her last night, he was as sure of that as he was of the fact that he wanted to keep breathing.
Every moment he inhaled her scent was a reminder. Heady. Floral. Clean.
“So, again, I guess I would ask what you want to do today.”
“I want to know all your secrets,” she said. “I want to continue to interview you. Wherever we do that is fine with me. Are you needed at the office?”
“Not unless I want to be.” He’d learned long ago that with the right amount of money, you could pay someone to do anything. Thus, his philanthropy largely ran fine whether or not he was there.
He sometimes wondered about his brothers, both of whom lived much simpler, quieter lives.
Perhaps now that everything was different, he should visit them. After all, with their creator no longer watching, did it matter?
“What are you thinking about?” she asked quietly, reaching out to touch his hair.
He drew back, shocked, from her touch. He wasn’t used to someone repeatedly catching him off guard like this. He liked her boldness, treasured it, but sometimes he worried it was going to get them both in trouble.
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