Seven-Night Stand

by Nicole Helm

  “You care about Nate?”

  She tried not to fidget. “Yes.”

  “So, this isn’t some slumming-it type deal? The guy from the wrong side of the tracks appeal?”

  Vivvy laughed—she couldn’t help it. How absurd. Nate was the kindest, most attractive man she’d ever been with. He might lack a decent family, but he certainly didn’t lack anything else. “There is nothing about Nate that I consider slumming it.”

  “This is not why I came home. To be a part of this.”

  “That doesn’t mean you can’t or shouldn’t be a part of it.”

  He stared at her for a long time, and though it took him a while to verbalize it, she could tell by the slumped shoulders and his exhale that Ryan was going to agree. “All right.” His scowl returned quickly. “As long as the contract is fair and keeps the rest of those nutjobs out of this. As long as the conditions are right and—”

  She waved him off. “I know there are a lot of ifs, and you can always change your mind before the contract is signed. What I need to know before I go back to my bosses is that you’re interested, as long as the criteria and conditions fit your expectations.”

  Ryan crossed his arms over his chest. “Fine.”

  “Is that a yes?”

  He let out a long, gusty sigh. “Yeah, yeah, yeah. Are we done now?”

  Vivvy smiled and held her hand out over the table. “For now.”

  Ryan shook her hand. “I’ve got to get back to KC before I agree to anything else stupid,” he grumbled, standing and stalking out of the room.

  He definitely needed some charm lessons, but Vivvy couldn’t keep the smile off her face. Success. Now she only needed a few more things to cross off her list and she could head back to LA feeling very accomplished.

  Something heavy settled in her stomach and her smile faded. She thought of LA and its crowds of people and its big crammed-together buildings. Without someone to share it with, without Nate, it wasn’t as pleasant as it had once been.

  Nate pushed into the room, looking irked. “So, what did you and Ryan talk about?”

  She wasn’t sure what was written across his face. Was he angry because she’d wanted to speak to Ryan in private? Jealous? Something else she couldn’t predict? She went with a joke to distract herself from trying to figure out what his deal was. “Proposed a threesome. What else?”

  “Did he… Is he…”

  It was only as Nate stuttered out his question that Vivvy realized what this was really about. Nate wanted Ryan to stay, but for whatever stupid macho-man reason wasn’t going to ask Ryan if he’d agreed.

  “Me and my excellent persuasive skills convinced Ryan to be a part of the television show. Should it happen.”

  Even though he tried to hide it, relief was written all over his face. There was something sweet about that.

  “There better not have been anything kinky about your persuasive skills.”

  Vivvy laughed and stood up. “After the past four nights with you, Nate, I’ll never be able to do anything kinky with a man who has smaller muscles.”

  Nate snickered at that and moved closer, but Vivvy sidestepped him. She still had work to do.

  “Focus, Nate. The show. Ryan’s in. Are you?” She ignored the nerves, the fear. He would agree. He had to.

  “Vivvy...”

  “What? I thought you’d be happy. No Jed, no Millard. You and Ry and celebrities. Screw the dysfunction. This idea is ten times stronger. We both get what we want.”

  Nate shook his head, let out a gusty breath. “I know. I know, but...”

  She squeezed his arm, and then let go, afraid she looked desperate. “They’re not a part of it. I promise. You and Ry. That’s it. With this kind of exposure, think of what more you could build here. For yourself. For Millard.”

  He visibly swallowed, but his nod eased her tension. He was going to do it. She grinned. This was it. Her ticket back into her bosses’ good graces. She hadn’t wasted her time here. She’d won.

  She wouldn’t think about what she was going to lose when she went back to LA. “Come on. We have work to do.”

  …

  “I’m going to go into the office and transfer some of this onto my computer,” Vivvy called over the hum of the drill. Nate waved her on as he and Ryan finished up, but Nate couldn’t help watching her walk away.

  “You aren’t going to do something stupid and follow her to LA, are you?”

  “Hell no,” Nate said, turning back to the engine in front of him.

  “Good.”

  The comment didn’t sit well. Nate knew he should leave well enough alone, but he couldn’t. “What, you don’t like her or something?”

  “I like her just fine. I just don’t want to be stuck here because you decide it’s your turn to leave. I might agree to this crazy TV scheme, but I’m not giving up my life in Kansas City for it or you.”

  “I’m not leaving.”

  “Good,” Ryan repeated. He pushed the safety goggles off his head. “So you guys going to do the long-distance thing, or what?”

  Nate shrugged and they began to clean up in companionable silence.

  “You know, she seems like a good fit around here.”

  Nate snorted. “Right. Designer outfits and fancy phones and high heels really belong in Demo.”

  Ryan kept his vision intent on the tools he was cleaning and putting away. “Yeah, maybe she doesn’t fit fit. But she’s got a cool head. Nothing rattles her. God knows we need some of that.”

  Something uncomfortable banded around Nate’s chest. He rubbed the spot, but couldn’t quite get it to go away. “I guess we do.”

  “Probably not much chance of her staying, huh?”

  “I wouldn’t think so.”

  “Too bad.” They finished up their work, washed up in the sink next to the shop door.

  “I’m going to head down to the house and pack up my stuff and head out. Say bye to Vivvy for me, huh? Tell her to keep me in the loop with all this crap.”

  Nate dried his hands on the dirty towel that hung from the wall. “Yeah, sure.”

  With a wave, Ryan was marching toward the Harrington parking lot.

  Nate frowned after him, thought about what he’d said. Probably not much chance of her staying. Vivvy staying. That’s what it would take to make it work with them. How to make her see it, though? He hadn’t figured that out yet, but he would.

  Slowly, Nate walked to the office. He could hear Vivvy typing away at her computer before he even stepped inside his office. Seeing her at his desk only reinforced his determination. Ry was right. She might not fit fit, but there was something about her that worked here.

  “Ry’s heading back to the house to pack up and leave. You still got work to do?”

  She blinked up from her computer. “A bit.”

  An idea began to form in Nate’s head. If they only had one night left together it should at least be more than a couple rounds of sex. “I’m going to head in to town for an errand. You want to meet at my place at five?”

  “Sure.”

  She turned back to the computer, but he crossed to her and took her chin in his hands. He leaned his lips to hers, indulging in a hard, passionate kiss. Maybe if he got some lust moving through his veins he could forget about the rest.

  “Save that for tonight,” she said with a grin before pushing him away and focusing back on the computer.

  He was toast.

  Chapter Twelve

  Vivvy pulled up to Nate’s house humming to herself. Tonight was going to be enjoyable. She simply wouldn’t think of it as an ending. She was going to focus on having some amazing sex as celebration for her professional prowess.

  If Nate made her feel something during all that amazing sex, that was okay. She’d indulge in it for just this one night. That didn’t mean they had to sit around figuring out what they were or how they felt. No way.

  In fact, Nate would probably jump her the minute she got to the door. The thought made her smi
le as she stepped onto the gravel. Everything she needed for the night was in her large bag, so she left her suitcase in the car for an easy getaway in the morning.

  Not that it was a getaway exactly, and she didn’t plan on sneaking out…probably. She just wanted to be prepared to leave.

  Doubts tried to push through, but Vivvy ignored them. No room for doubts tonight. Tonight was going to be about positives. Anything that wasn’t positive, she’d save for thinking about tomorrow. That was the plan and she was sticking to it.

  She walked up the porch and straight to the door. She didn’t let her thoughts linger on the night they’d talked on the porch and then done some very inappropriate things in that very chair. No. She’d been here less than a week; that wasn’t enough time to walk down memory lane.

  Head high, shoulders back, she knocked on the door. She heard a muffled “come in” from inside. Not exactly the greeting she had in mind.

  Vivvy pushed the door open and stepped into the house. Nate was hunched over the kitchen counter, but he looked up and smiled. “Hi.”

  “Hi.” Still no jumping. He didn’t even leave the kitchen. Vivvy sat her bag down next to the door. “Um, so, what are you doing?”

  “I thought I’d make dinner.”

  “You can cook?” Vivvy took a tentative step toward the kitchen. Whatever nerves she hadn’t felt around Nate in the past four days were suddenly fluttering around in her stomach. Cooking dinner? That was borderline romantic.

  “Not really, but I can light a grill and buy a premade salad. I call it man cooking.”

  She tried to laugh, but the sound didn’t come out naturally. “Well, that’s good enough.”

  “I got you something.”

  The nerves weren’t just fluttering now, they had pickaxes and they were trying to find a way out. She couldn’t even manage a word in response.

  Nate bent down behind the counter and then pulled up a vase full of white lilies. “Got you these.”

  Her mouth dropped open. When she tried to speak, no sound came out. Something warm and heavy squeezed around her heart, making it a little difficult to breathe.

  Flowers. Cooking. Typical romantic gestures. Nothing a man hadn’t done for her before. So why did this feel different?

  Her response was weak and squeaky. “They’re beautiful.” He leaned forward as if he hadn’t heard what she’d said. She cleared her throat, tried again. Still nothing intelligible.

  He raised an eyebrow at her, no doubt noticing she kept a wide berth from him and the flowers. She should say something. Anything. She couldn’t.

  “You’re making me think I should retire from ever trying to make a romantic gesture.”

  “No! No.” Vivvy found herself being propelled forward. It took her a minute to realize it was of her own volition. “I’m just not very good at accepting a romantic gesture.”

  “Well, then, I won’t make any more and we’ll be the perfect couple.”

  Couple. The word settled heavy on her chest just as she reached the small entryway to the kitchen.

  His smile was weird. Not flirty or amused. More laced with some kind of focus. Focus on what, she didn’t have a clue.

  “I’m starved. I’m going to go put these on the grill. I bought a bottle of wine. Why don’t you open it?”

  “Right. Sure.” She studied the bottle of wine, nearly jumped when he brushed past her. This was not the evening she had imagined. Dinner, flowers, awkward.

  Why was it so strange? They’d been comfortable enough to fall into bed on the day they’d met. They’d spent most of the past four days all but living together. Why did everything suddenly feel so uncomfortable and wooden?

  It should serve as a good reminder. A reminder that thoughts about pursuing something with Nate, long distance or otherwise, were just downright silly. Everything wouldn’t be amazing sex and easy conversations. Even the quickest relationships had to have these types of moments.

  Not her cup of tea.

  She rummaged around for a corkscrew and opened the bottle. It wasn’t high-dollar, but it was probably the best bottle of wine Demo had to offer. Didn’t that say something right there? She preferred good wine and nice restaurants and fancy clothes. None of that meshed with Nate or Demo.

  She needed these reminders. She found two make-do wine glasses and poured, and took a deep drink from her glass before topping it off again. It seemed this night was going to require some help.

  When she stepped back out onto the porch, Nate was hunched over his grill in the corner. While a man had indeed cooked for her before, none had ever grilled for her. Maybe that was a silly way of splitting hairs, but she was indulging tonight. Silly thoughts allowed.

  “Probably one of the last nice nights we’ll have. Supposed to get a cold snap Sunday. Once they hit, they stick around. I think you came during the perfect week, Vivvy. Kansas at its best.”

  Vivvy perched herself in one of the porch chairs out of the path of smoke billowing from the grill. “I shudder to think of a Kansas winter.”

  He grinned over his shoulder at her. “You wimpy Californians wouldn’t last a week.”

  Much better. A natural joke, a genuine smile.

  “Want to put money on it?” She froze, then quickly downed another long sip of wine. That made it sound like she was sticking around through winter when she had no intentions of doing so. At least, her rational self didn’t. Her fantasy self hadn’t quite accepted that inevitability.

  Well, she knew how to kill a moment.

  “All right, that’s it.” He flipped off the burner controls, slammed the grill lid, and stalked over to her looking pissed.

  “What’s it?” She scrambled into a standing position, sloshing her wine as she did. He took it from her, set it down on the outside windowsill.

  “This stupid idea at having some kind of…I don’t know what…is officially over. We’ve got one last night. We’re going to do something I know we can enjoy.”

  Vivvy crossed her arms, narrowed her eyes. “Oh really?”

  He grinned. “Yup.” Before she had time to react he had her in a fireman’s hold over his shoulder.

  “Put me…” But she couldn’t finish the demand before she dissolved into laughter.

  He stomped into the bedroom, then dropped her onto the bed. She tried to fight another laugh and crawled into a kneeling position on the mattress. “Ah, so romantic.”

  He kneeled on the edge of the bed. “You want romantic, Vivvy?”

  She didn’t like the way he was looking at her—there was something serious mixed with all that lust. The serious had her stomach doing flips. “N-no. Didn’t we just prove we can’t do romantic?” Further proof feelings were not for her, even with Nate.

  “That was out there.” His hand reached out, brushed fingertips down the side of her cheek. “I think I might be able to handle romantic in here.”

  “Nate—”

  “Like for starters, I love your hair at the end of the day. It loses some of that straightness and starts to look almost a tiny bit messy. Like it does after a night of really good sex.” He reached out to the top button of her shirt, and toyed with it before slowly pulling it undone.

  Vivvy reached up to pat her hair. “It looks better straight.” People were supposed to compliment her on being put together, perfect. Not...messy.

  He undid the second button, his eyes staying on hers. “I disagree. It looks more polished straight. I like you best when you don’t look quite so polished.”

  “Nate.” She put a palm to his chest.

  He smiled and when he undid the third button, he stopped and used his finger to trace what little skin he’d exposed.

  She wasn’t sure what to do with herself or her hands. “If you keep going this slow, it’s going to take all night.”

  “That’s okay, Vivvy.” He leaned forward and kissed her collarbone right under the collar of her shirt. “We’ve got all night.”

  Dinner forgotten, she tilted her head sideways as his
lips traveled up from her collarbone.

  “I love your neck,” he murmured. “It’s so soft, and you always smell like flowers here.” He nuzzled and Vivvy felt at a loss. She didn’t know how to respond, so she let Nate lead.

  She had no delusions of being in control. There was something nice about that. Something nice about being the follower rather than the leader.

  He continued to unbutton her shirt, his mouth touring her neck and collarbone with kisses, nibbles, tastes. His hands skimmed her sides as he parted the shirt, but it remained on her shoulders and his hands trailed up toward her face.

  When his lips met hers, she couldn’t fight the feelings battering to be free. She let them flow into the kiss, let herself be swept away by something more than anything she’d ever experienced.

  “You’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever met.” He kissed the corner of her mouth, her cheek, her earlobe, nudging the shirt off her shoulders. Vivvy shivered at the words, the touches, the feelings.

  Nate urged her down onto the bed. “I want to memorize every curve.” His finger trailed from ankle to knee and then he kissed her knee, her thigh, her hip. “Every angle, every mark. Everything, Vivvy.”

  She had to force herself to relax, to let the feelings those words produced take over. It wasn’t a natural response for her, but tonight she was determined to feel everything.

  Everything was terrifying, and yet his gentle, reverent strokes numbed all her fear away. All that was left was the slow, pulsing warmth of desire and want. He touched her everywhere, fanning the flames of want and yet never pushing toward that driving need of release.

  She didn’t want him to. She wanted to enjoy this strange world of quiet, sensual touches. Pushing into a sitting position, she cupped his face, kissing him with everything she had.

  “It’s my turn,” she murmured against his lips. She let every warm feeling, every vulnerability seep into the kiss. She let everything go, let it become a part of whatever was happening between them.