“Dallas?” a voice called out. “That is you.”
Nikki saw the legs first. Long, lean, tanned. She gazed up and there was a gorgeous woman, not sweating like Nikki was, but glistening, shimmering.
Nikki’s thigh went cold when Dallas pulled his hand away. The fire was quenched, but the memory still simmered.
“Bonnie. Hey, babe—”
Great, another babe.
He stood up and gave her an embrace and Nikki noticed that the woman’s hand ran down the length of his body in an all-too-familiar sort of way. Dallas introduced the two, explaining that Bonnie was a model. Well, of course she was. Bonnie started talking about someone named Tammy being good and sore at him, and Nikki began to feel like a fifth wheel.
“You know,” Nikki said, once she could get a word in edgewise, “I should probably give my leg a rest. I’m gonna head back home. Why don’t you guys finish your run?”
Dallas looked at her as if he were confused. “I can come with you.”
“Please?” Bonnie tugged on his arm. “We haven’t gone running together since forever. It’ll be like old times, huh?”
So this was his thing, taking his women for a run. “It’s okay.” Nikki waved it off. “Go finish your run.” Before he had a chance to protest and before she humiliated herself any further, she turned and started to walk away. All she wanted to do was get the hell out of there.
What a fool she was. By the time she made it home Nikki had convinced herself that she’d imagined the whole thing—even everything from the night before. She’d set herself up for a fall and she couldn’t afford another heartache.
Not now.
Dallas was just being a nice guy, trying to stretch out her cramp. He didn’t have designs on her. That was absurd. Men like Dallas did not go after plain Janes like Nikki. She couldn’t compete with the Bonnies and Tammys of the world. She was a chubby who had a Cinderella night at the ball. Last night Prince Charming across the hall helped her get through a difficult evening. He was her neighbor, her friend, and now her client. She couldn’t lose sight of that. From here on out, she’d keep it professional. Strictly business.
No sooner did she take down her ponytail than she heard a knock. Her heart raced and before she opened the door, she prayed it would be him.
Dallas must have run all the way, his skin slick with sweat, T-shirt clinging to his rock-hard abs. He smelled musky and powerful, and Nikki’s heart leaped at the sight of him.
What was he doing here? What was going on inside his head? Why was he looking at her that way? Nikki, don’t read into this. Do NOT read anything into this. He’s just making sure you’re okay. That’s it. That’s all.
But then he stepped inside her apartment and kicked the door shut with his foot. She trembled as he took a step toward her.
“You didn’t have to come back here,” she said, her voice teetering on a crack.
He had hold of her with his eyes. She couldn’t move. She could hardly breathe. The heat rolled off his body and she willed herself not to touch him, not to make a fool of herself. He’d made it clear. He was there to help her make Matthew jealous. That was it.
But if that was the case, why was he looking like he could devour her?
He slipped his hand around the small of her back and brought his face just inches away from hers. She was practically panting when there was another knock at the door. Grand fuckin’ central all of a sudden.
Nikki closed her eyes and leaned her head back.
Whoever it was knocked again. Harder this time.
“You better get that before they bust your door down.” Dallas grinned and took a half step back, his hands resting on his hips. She glanced down and saw the obvious bulge in his shorts. He followed her gaze and said, “Why don’t you answer that and I’ll try and cool myself down.”
Nikki wanted to drag her hand over the rigid cock practically shooting out of his shorts, but instead she reached for the door. She opened it and froze, shocked.
“Matthew? What are you doing here?”
“That’s a fine greeting.” He tilted his head. His sunglasses were propped up on his head and she saw the dark circles under his eyes, probably due to his restless night with Blondie. “I wanted to drop off your mail.” He handed her an intimidating stack with a big Visa bill on top. “Aren’t you going to at least invite me in?”
“Um.” Nikki hesitated and looked over her shoulder. Dallas was apparently ready to pick up his role where he’d left it last night, strategically moving closer toward her. He placed his firm hands on her hips and slipped them around her waist. There was no escaping the yearning of his fingers and the urgency of his cock pressing up against her ass.
Matthew stepped inside, and when he saw Dallas his jaw practically hit the floor. Nikki took some satisfaction in that.
“I didn’t know you had company.”
“No worries,” Dallas said. “I was just leaving.”
She couldn’t help but notice that Dallas had eclipsed Matthew in every way, from his build to his height, to his good looks and sheer magnetism.
“Good seeing you again, Matthew.” Dallas leaned in, pulled Nikki closer and kissed her neck, making her stomach flutter.
Nikki looked at Matthew. He was taking it all in. She knew him so well, she could picture the wheels turning inside his head as he tried to make sense of his ex-fiancée with this sex god of a man.
Nikki licked her lips and showed Dallas to the door.
“I’ll see you later,” he said, giving her another brush of his lips against her cheek, heating her up all over again.
As soon as they heard Dallas’s front door close, Matthew tossed Nikki’s stack of mail on the table.
“So what’s going on?” he said. “You’re already hooking up with your neighbor?”
“We went for a run, that’s all.”
Matthew looked wounded.
“What’s wrong?”
“I guess I didn’t expect you to find a new quote unquote running partner so soon.”
“You’re a fine one to talk. You had a date last night,” she protested.
“Yeah, but that dude lives right across the hall from you.”
“You know, for a man who said he wanted out of this relationship, you’re sounding really jealous.” It struck her that even though this was the exact response she’d hoped to induce from him, she wasn’t happy about it. No, now she was annoyed. Maybe she was kidding herself, but who knew what might have happened with Dallas if Matthew hadn’t barged in. She and Dallas were on the verge of something, and Matthew had interrupted it.
“I’m not jealous, Nikki. You’re really vulnerable right now and you shouldn’t be jumping into anything—especially not with a player like that.”
Classic Matthew. No wonder he was such a brilliant lawyer. Master manipulator, an expert at twisting facts and situations to his benefit.
“What makes you think he’s a player? Is it because he’s so good-looking?”
“Because you just can tell.” Matthew swatted his hand through the air. “And what was that bullshit last night on the dance floor?”
“That’s none of your business anymore, Matthew.”
“Listen, I didn’t come over here to fight with you. I swear I didn’t. I wanted to bring you your mail.”
Right, my mail. Suddenly he had to bring over her mail that had been piling up for the past six weeks.
There was another knock at the door.
“Hey dude, back off, okay?” Matthew snapped.
“Jesus, Matthew,” Nikki reached over and opened the door expecting Dallas, but instead she found Jenna standing in the doorway.
“What took you so long— Oh—”
Nikki stepped aside and lowered her voice. “I’ll explain everything later.”
“Matthew. What a surprise. I didn’t know you were here.” Jenna shot him daggers. She’d gone from being his biggest fan when they were engaged to wanting to kill him for hurting Nikki so.
&n
bsp; “Don’t worry, Jenna, put the claws away, I was just leaving.”
“Don’t let the door hit you in the ass on your way out.”
His cell phone rang, and Nikki noticed that a picture of Blondie popped up on the screen. At least he had the decency to send her to voicemail. As he glared at Jenna, he leaned over and planted an unexpected kiss on Nikki’s cheek. “Remember what I said. Be careful. If you need me, I’m around, okay?”
Nikki was still stunned even after the door closed and they heard the elevator ding.
“What in the hell was that all about?” Jenna asked. “What went down last night at the wedding?”
Nikki brought Jenna up to speed, telling her every detail including her very public display of affection with Dallas.
“Wow.” Her big blue eyes grew even bigger with each new detail. “That sounds totally hot.”
“Oh, it was. He’s amazing.” Nikki was breathless thinking about it. “I mean, the man can kiss. And his body. All he has to do is look at me and I’m wet. Like sopping wet.”
“Okay”—Jenna held up her hands—“that’s a little TMI. Even for me.”
“But you’re my best friend. If I can’t tell you, who am I supposed to tell? I mean, no man has ever gotten me so turned on before. It’s crazy but I think I could really fall for this one.”
“That’s not crazy. That is so great.”
“That is so not great. It’s dangerous. This has red flags all over it.”
“How so?”
“Proximity, for one thing. Always a bad idea to date a neighbor. Especially one who lives directly across the hall from you.” Nikki shook her head. “Wait a minute. Jesus. Listen to me. I’m not dating him. I’m pretend-dating him to make my ex-fiancé jealous.”
“Details shmeetails.” Jenna brushed that one away with a wave of her wrist. “Okay, so proximity. What else?”
“You’ve seen Dallas. The man oozes sex. And the women. He has women everywhere. And they’re all nightmares. Perfect bodies. Perfect faces. They’re just perfect.”
“Well, obviously that’s not his thing.”
“Thanks a lot.”
“No, I mean, you’re more organic. Natural. You’re beautiful but you’re not all painted up and injected with plastic. So what else? What’s your other so-called red flags?”
“Oh Jenna, I’m so attracted to him.”
“So don’t overthink it.”
Nikki laughed. “Me? Not overthink something? Have you forgotten who you’re talking to?”
“Well…” Jenna grabbed a throw pillow and hugged it to her chest. “I have to say I think your plan worked. Matthew is definitely jealous.”
“I know. He was acting jealous, wasn’t he? It’s not just my imagination.”
“Believe me, he’s jealous all right. So what’s your next move?”
“I don’t know. I have to finish the walk-through at Dallas’s loft. Take measurements. I need to work up my preliminary ideas and an estimate. And I don’t know how I’m going to do any of that without wanting to jump him.” Nikki stopped when she saw the big smile on Jenna’s face. “What? What’d I say?”
“I was talking about what your next move was with Matthew. But apparently, you’ve got someone else on your mind.”
Nikki squeezed her eyes shut and fisted up both hands. “Please, I can’t even think about Matthew right now. All I can think about is Dallas. What am I going to do? I cannot fall for someone like him.”
“And why not?”
“Because it’s all an act. I mean, yes, sometimes it seems like he’s actually into me, even when Matthew’s nowhere around. And that part is confusing, I admit. But now he’s my client and I should not be trying to bed down my client. As if he’d even want to bed me down. I need to get over myself. I mean, he’s gorgeous. He wouldn’t want someone like me.”
“You’re gorgeous, too,” Jenna said defensively.
“And besides, he’s already made it perfectly clear that he’s not into relationships. In his words, ‘I don’t want to be tied down.’”
“Well, that part sucks. But maybe it’s because he hasn’t met the right woman.”
“Trust me, I’m not the right woman for him.”
“You don’t know that.”
Nikki puffed up her cheeks.
“You know what your problem is,” Jenna said. “You’re still thinking of yourself as that slightly overweight—”
“Slightly? C’mon, I was a total chub.”
“No, you were not a total chub. You had an asshole for a fiancé who made you feel like a chub.”
“And a loser.”
“You were never a loser. That was all dickwad’s warped bullshit perception.”
“Whoa, don’t hold back, Jenna. Tell me how you really feel about him.”
“I’m serious. The point I’m trying to make is that you’re not that girl anymore. You’re bright and talented and you’re getting back on your feet. You’ve got a killer body. You’ve always been gorgeous, and best of all, you don’t have to settle for someone like Matthew.”
“Oh, Matthew.” Nikki squeezed her eyes shut again. “What am I doing to him? It’s not right. I’m trying to manipulate him and right now, I don’t even think I want him anymore.”
“Honey, Matthew’s a big boy. He can take care of himself. And you know the way he is—he doesn’t like the idea of someone else playing with his toys.”
Nikki thought about Blondie’s picture popping up on his phone and she knew Jenna was right. Matthew was territorial. He prided himself on having the newest car, the biggest flat-screen TV, and the latest gadgets. It drove him insane if someone else had something he wanted, or something better than what he had.
“And do I need to remind you,” Jenna said, “that the little asshat broke your heart.”
It was true, but still, Nikki didn’t like the idea of messing with Matthew’s head. Yes, he’d hurt her; yes, he was clearly dating someone new, but he hadn’t cheated on her. He hadn’t hit her or lied to her. He just grew tired of her, which in some ways was almost harder to accept. But still, he didn’t deserve to be played with. Nikki wasn’t a mean-spirited person. She didn’t want to inflict pain on anyone, not even on Matthew. So despite what Jenna said, and despite loving the attention she got from Dallas, Nikki decided she was through playing this “let’s make Matthew jealous” game.
Chapter Ten
That Tuesday, at half past five, Dallas wrapped up his photo shoot for the day. By six o’clock he was antsy and shooed his crew and the models out of his place, saying he had a meeting at seven. And he did. Nikki was coming over to do the walk-through on his place and take measurements.
He hadn’t seen her in two days, not since her ex showed up, and he was a little curious to see what had transpired between the two of them after he left her place. A little curious—that was an understatement. He’d been like a teenage boy all day, finding it hard to concentrate on the shots or his models, and instead, he thought about seeing Nikki later.
What was it about her that tugged at him so? Again, he worried that maybe it was because he knew he couldn’t really have her. Maybe he was no better than her wanker of an ex, only in it for the challenge. For the chase. But in his heart he knew it was more than that. Yes, she was in love with someone else, but still, he couldn’t stop thinking about her.
Dallas headed for the shower to get washed up. He lusted big-time for Nikki, but this desire went beyond his usual flirtatious romps. He didn’t know if it was her innocence, or the curve of her waist when he held her in his arms, or the feel of her skin when he’d touched her firm, smooth thigh the day they’d gone running… Whatever it was, he was definitely hot for her.
He leaned back into the spray of the shower, breathing hard, still thinking about the way her breasts had pressed up against his chest the night he danced with her. He could tell they were real breasts, too. Soft and supple, not two bags of silicone like most of the women he’d dated. He’d fantasized about touch
ing those perfect breasts, running the tips of his fingers and his tongue over her nipples. He reached for the soap and lathered up. Shit, he was hard again, but vowed that he was not going to make a habit of jerking off in the shower. No, that was pathetic. He blasted the nozzle on cold and tried like hell to get control of himself.
He was sure he’d gotten a handle on things and gotten his testosterone in check, until Nikki showed up and stepped inside his loft. She must have done some more shopping, because she wore a tight black skirt that hugged her hips, accentuating every curve. And her bare mile-long legs were sporting some serious high heels. This girl was a complete knockout.
But he was impressed by more than the tight skirt and the heels. She had come armed that evening with rulers, tape measures, a legal pad, and a form that looked like some sort of checklist. She was ready to get down to business.
“Can we start upstairs?” she asked.
“After you.”
He was dying, keeping his eyes on her ass, shifting from left to right as she climbed the spiral staircase. He could only imagine what she had going on underneath that skirt. When they reached the top, she glanced around the sitting area.
“Okay,” she said, eyeing the space, “do you entertain up here?”
“Yeah. I have from time to time.”
She nodded and jotted down some notes. He wasn’t sure, but he swore her brow furrowed at his answer, as if she’d envisioned him having other women up there, which in truth, had been the case. Not that any of them had been all that memorable to him. She made more notes and he realized he probably read too much into it.
“How do you feel about this sofa?” she asked, leaning over to touch the cushions, giving him a nice shot down her blouse, the lacy edges of her bra cupping her beautiful full breasts. “Are you attached to it?”
“Attached?” Hell, he couldn’t even remember where he got it or how long he’d had it. “No, definitely not attached.”
“Good. I think you should go with something overstuffed, comfortable. And you could really use something on the walls in here. It’ll warm the place up. I’d also like to rethink your window treatments.”
Love Thy Neighbor Page 8
