Love Accidental (A Romance Compilation)

by Tia Siren

  I nodded. “You’re right about that.”

  “So, will you go with me?” she asked again.

  I wrinkled my nose. “I don’t know. It sounds a little out of my element.”

  She laughed. “Mingling with the rich and maybe a little famous doesn’t have to be in your wheelhouse. You have the looks to blend right in with all those other snobs. Come on, it will be fun!”

  “What would we wear?” I asked, slowly warming up to the idea of crashing the party of one of the many disgustingly rich people in San Francisco.

  The party was being held at a hotel and was supposed to be a charity ball to benefit some local school in the inner city. Apparently, the guy hosting the thing had gone to that school. He was a real rags to riches story and it was his way of paying back. A lot of people from the neighborhood where Sarah and I had grown up were invited. We weren’t specifically invited, but Sarah was confident we could get in.

  “I’ve already talked to Sonja. She said we can borrow dresses from her shop,” Sarah said, her eyes lighting up now that she had convinced me to go. “Come on!” She jumped off my bed. “Let’s go shopping!”

  I giggled and let her pull me off the bed where we had both been sitting. I was still a little reluctant to go, but it wasn’t like I had any other plans for tomorrow night now that I was single.

  It was an hour before the ball. Sarah and I had dressed at my place. I felt pretty, like a princess.

  “You are stunning,” Sarah said, standing next to me as we looked at our images in the full-length mirror on the back of the door.

  “I really like this dress,” I said, smoothing the black fabric over my flat stomach.

  “It looks great on you. I told you, a younger version of Hurley. That’s what I see. I’m glad you left your hair down. It looks perfect.”

  “You’re looking pretty smoking hot yourself,” I said, taking in the sight of her little red dress in contrast with her blond hair. “You are going to have all the attention in the room.”

  She giggled. “Maybe I’ll find a sugar daddy to take care of me the rest of my days.”

  “Good luck,” I muttered, putting on one last coat of mascara.

  My green eyes stared back at me in the mirror. I had done a great job covering up the dark circles under my eyes, caused by several sleepless nights and far too many tears shed over Leo.

  “Are you ready to do this?” she said, turning to look at her butt in the mirror.

  “As ready as I’ll ever be.”

  It turned out to be just as easy as Sarah had promised—we walked right into the ballroom of the hotel like we belonged. The room was packed with men in tuxes and women in sparkling dresses that dared to show a lot of skin. There was a live band and twinkling lights hanging from the ceiling. Everyone walked around carrying champagne glasses, smiling and chatting as they mingled. It was a different scene than what I was accustomed to. Not a part of the upper crust of society, I was used to hanging out in dark, smoky bars, shooting pool and drinking beer straight from the bottle.

  Sarah had gone off to dance with some guy, leaving me alone to watch the room.

  “You look bored,” a deep male voice said from my left.

  I turned to look at who was talking and actually felt my breath hitch in my throat. The man was drop-dead gorgeous and very tall. I felt like I was looking at a young version of 007. It was obvious he was wealthy. He had that look about him that screamed money, but he also appeared a bit more relaxed than some of the other wealthy men in the room. I had been watching people and could tell some of the wealthy people were a little uncomfortable with rubbing elbows with the poor folk. It was as if they were afraid they would somehow catch the poverty, but not the man standing beside me. Maybe it was because he was younger.

  “Just taking it all in,” I said, smiling at him.

  His eyes, holy cow. I could have gotten lost in those penetrating hazel eyes with gold flecks. They were so warm so inviting, they drew me in like a moth to a flame.

  His smirk had me doing a quick rewind of what I’d just said, and I instantly felt heat flooding my face. He was that kind of guy. The kind of guy who claimed full-time residence in the proverbial gutter. Everything was sexual.

  I rolled my eyes. “I’m not interested,” I said with a tight smile.

  He smiled. “I am.”

  I raised one brow. “And that means what to me?”

  “It means you should be,” he said. His voice had the sound of a man who enjoyed whiskey, but judging by the healthy glow of his tanned skin, he wasn’t a heavy drinker.

  I studied his face a little closer. Leo was a drinker. He had the little spider veins on his cheeks and the tell-tale red nose. This man looked more like an athlete. Athletes tended to treat their bodies like temples, or at least that was the way I remembered it from my days as a cheerleader dating a variety of athletes back in high school.

  “Well I’m not. And I need a refill,” I said, holding up my empty glass and moving away from him.

  A pretty waitress was practically floating by, expertly balancing a tray of champagne flutes. I moved to reach for one but stopped when my admirer reached out and grabbed one for me.

  “Allow me,” he said, a dangerous smile playing across full lips that I had a feeling would be very nice to kiss.

  “Thank you,” I said, taking the glass, catching the way the waitress stared at the man who seemed intent to follow me as I casually moved away from him.

  “Would you like to dance?” he asked, staring directly into my eyes and sparking a fire low in my belly.

  “No, thanks. I have a drink, remember?” I said, holding up my glass as a reminder.

  He smiled. “I’ll get you another.”

  “Anyone ever tell you you’re persistent?”

  I could have sworn I saw a twinkle in his eye. “I’ve heard that adjective before. I’m a determined man. When I see something I want, I go after it.”

  It shouldn’t have, but hearing him say he wanted me did something funny to my brain. I liked that a man as attractive, well-spoken, and smooth as he was actually wanted me and said so. It was flattering.

  “I’m sure that’s a great quality to have. Oh, there’s my friend. I better get going,” I said, wanting to get away from him because I wanted to be near him so badly. Yes, it was a complete contradiction, but the man was danger with a capital D. I didn’t need to jump into something when I was still grappling with the Leo fiasco, no matter how attracted I was to the man.

  “Your friend doesn’t need you,” he said in a husky tone as he leaned in close. “I do.”

  Goosebumps popped up over my arm as his breath washed over my skin.

  “I don’t think you do,” I said, scanning the room for Sarah.

  “I don’t bite—unless you ask, of course,” he said with a wink.

  “You’re not going to go away, are you?” I asked, letting out a sigh and finally turning to face the man.

  He was grinning. “Nope. Let’s go somewhere quiet and, uh, talk,” he said in a way that had heat rushing through my body.

  “Look, I can appreciate all this, and you are really doing something helpful for my ego, but I’m just not up for it,” I told him, feeling a little bad and almost wishing I had met him under different circumstances.

  “Why not?” he asked, his tone soft and gentle.

  I shrugged. “Trust me, you don’t want to hear my drama.”

  “Actually, I do,” he said, and before I knew it, I was slowly walking toward one of the small covered tables in the back of the room. “Have a seat,” he said, pulling out a chair.

  I sat down, and he sat across from me.

  I smiled. “You’re good.”

  “You have no idea,” he said in complete seriousness, his hazel eyes boring into mine.

  “I just got dumped. My boyfriend—ex-boyfriend,” I clarified, “cheated and then dumped me just three days ago. I’m not in a great place right now.”

  “Sounds like you’
re in a perfect place. You and me could have a little fun, and trust me, you won’t be thinking about the ex tomorrow.”

  I scoffed. “I doubt that.”

  “Let’s test my theory,” he insisted. “I have a room upstairs. Stay with me tonight and let me help you forget all about that man. Then you’ll never see me again. I only ever spend one night with a woman. I have to spread all this around, you know?” he said, his eyes twinkling again.

  “Tempting,” I said with a genuine smile.

  He stood up from the table and grabbed my hand, and without even thinking twice, I let him help me up. With my hand in his, he started to lead me toward the exit of the hotel ballroom.

  “What are you doing?” I asked, a little alarmed.

  “We’re going to my room.”

  “I—”

  We had made it just outside the double doors when he stopped walking, turned, and slammed his mouth over mine, walking me backward until my back was against the door. I was lost. In that moment, I knew I would willingly follow the man to the ends of the earth. His kiss was that amazing. Better than amazing.

  He pulled back a few inches and looked at me with confusion, as if I had been the one to slam him against the wall.

  “Let’s go,” he said, grabbing my hand and pulling me down the hallway. I was practically running to keep up with his long strides.

  “Wait,” I said, digging my heels in and yanking him back.

  His answer was another searing kiss right there in the hallway. He stepped back again and continued our trek to the elevators. He slammed his finger on the up button and stood there staring at the doors. I stared right along with him, my chest heaving from my heavy breathing.

  “God dammit,” he growled, wrapping his arm around my waist and pulling me against him for another kiss.

  I felt like hot, gooey glue when he was finished. The doors slid open and I stepped inside, waiting for him. He walked in, pushed a button, and then pushed my body against the wall of the elevator, using his hips to anchor me in place. The feel of his erection had me panting, begging him for more. I lost all semblance of where we were. The lust burning between us was intoxicating.

  The jerking of the elevator did little to slow our fervor. I willingly let him lead me out of the elevator. I felt the zipper on the back of my borrowed dress slide down and had a brief moment of alarm until I realized we had somehow made it into his room. It was nothing but fiery passion from that moment on.

  Chapter One

  Tyler

  Four years later

  I sat at my usual table in the bar Landon and I tended to hang out in on Friday nights when I was in town. As I watched the people move around me, some casting looks my way, I had a strange epiphany: I didn’t like this anymore. I was over it. The bar thing at my age was sad. Seriously, I was thirty-five and still having one-night stands. Most guys my age were married, some already on their second marriage. A lot of them had kids.

  I looked over at Landon, watching as he worked the room, his current target the woman who’d been eying him all night. She was sexy with long blond hair flowing down her back and perfectly applied makeup. I didn’t blame him for going after her. If I wasn’t in the funky mood that had been making me feel out of sorts all week, I probably would have tried to hook up with her. She had the look that said she was good at satisfying every debauched craving a man could have had.

  I moved my gaze to the center of the room, where more twenty-somethings were mingling. They all looked like carbon copies of one another. I suddenly felt as if I were too old for all of it. I had been doing this exact same thing for years, watching new socialites come onto the scene and then fade away, either because they got married or they aged out of the whole scene.

  “What’s up?” Landon said, sliding into his recently vacated chair, his back to the room.

  I shrugged. “You ever think this gets old?”

  He looked around. “This bar?”

  “No. The whole ritual. We come out, we find a woman, we have sex, and then we go back to work. Repeat. I guess I’m bored,” I confessed.

  He nodded his head. “All right. I heard about a new place that opened up. We can check it out if you want a change of scenery.”

  I shook my head. “I want a change of life.”

  Landon raised an eyebrow. “Is this a midlife crisis? Crud, I didn’t think we were old enough to have those yet.”

  I sighed, feeling frustrated with everything. “I don’t know. Maybe I’m just realizing there’s more to life than what I have.”

  “It’s her,” Landon said, sipping from his glass filled with amber liquid. “Again. Shit, she is like a ghost that won’t be exorcised.”

  I looked away, watching the bodies move about and not really seeing their faces. “It is,” I admitted. “What if she was the one?”

  “What, like your soulmate?” Landon said with a grin, his blue eyes squinting with the motion.

  I shrugged. “Maybe. I know you don’t believe me, but there was a connection. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve thought about her since that night.”

  “Uh, you don’t have to. You’ve already told me. A lot,” he quipped.

  “It’s unexplainable. It’s like knowing you like chocolate, or knowing you shouldn’t walk down a dark alley,” I said.

  Landon laughed, his brown hair falling over his forehead. “I have no idea what the hell you’re talking about. Of course I like chocolate. Who doesn’t? And everyone knows you don’t go in a dark alley.”

  I nodded, still struggling to get my point across. “That’s what I mean. You just know. I just know she is the one. My head, heart, and brain know it. I hate that I let her go that day without getting her name. I was so convinced one night was all I’d ever want. Dammit! I was so wrong.”

  “No leads?” he asked, referring to the private investigator I’d hired a couple years ago to track her down.

  “No. I wanted there to be, but I knew it was a longshot. How could there be? I think the PI thinks I’m a nutcase. I doubt he’s even actually looking. That rational side of me knows it’s futile. He’s talked to every person who was on the guest list that night. None of them are her or know who she was,” I said, acknowledging that the angst of not knowing was the most difficult.

  “Why her?” Landon asked. “You have probably, very literally, been with at least a hundred women since her. You’ve met at least twice that many. I don’t even remember seeing this girl of yours and I was there. She was forgettable.”

  I glared at him. “She was anything but forgettable. You didn’t see her or talk to her or kiss her.”

  He laughed. “No, I didn’t. If I had, this would be a very different conversation.”

  I smiled. Just thinking about her tended to make me do that. “She’s gorgeous, but it wasn’t just her looks. I’ll admit that’s what drew me in at first. The way she filled out that dress…” I closed my eyes, recalling the image I had been relying on for the last four years.

  “There are plenty of beautiful women,” Landon pointed out. “Just look behind me. They’re everywhere.”

  I nodded. “Yes, but it was something else about her. She was smart and sassy. She wasn’t like the other women that flock to those balls. She wasn’t there to be seen or get her picture taken with someone famous or rich. She seemed out of her element, but cool with it, relaxed and ready to go with the flow,” I said, thinking about the woman who had captivated me.

  Landon didn’t seem impressed. “Okay. Again, not so unique.”

  I thought about our night together but refrained from telling him about that part. Those dirty details were mine to cherish. I didn’t want to share.

  “She wasn’t impressed by me in the least,” I finally admitted.

  Landon hooted. “Well, shit! That makes her one in a million.”

  “She didn’t know who I was. At least I don’t think she did. If she did, she didn’t let on. Hell, she told me to get lost at least ten times,” I said, smiling at the
memory. “The very fact that she didn’t ask for my number or want to hook up again means she didn’t go to bed with me for the money or my name. She went with me,” I said, remembering how good it had felt to have a woman want me for me and not anything I could offer.

  “Maybe she’s married and just wanted a one-night thing,” Landon pointed out.

  I shook my head. “Nope. She had just broken up with her boyfriend.”

  “You were the revenge sex.”

  Again, I shook my head. “I don’t think so. She wasn’t eager at first.”

  He rolled his eyes. “But you convinced her otherwise.”

  I laughed. “Damn straight I did. I’m irresistible.”

  “Then don’t you find it odd she’s vanished into thin air? Maybe you are more resistible than you think.”

  “Or maybe she has been pining for me too but doesn’t know who I am or how to find me,” I suggested. “Maybe we’re star-crossed lovers,” I said, feeling like a total sap.

  “Good God Almighty! You’ve really lost your mind.”

  I chuckled. “You’ll never understand.”

  “Good,” he said, sipping his drink. “You know, she could have been one of those party crashers.”

  “What do you mean?” I asked, noticing a woman walking toward us. I looked away, effectively shutting down her approach.

  “There are people who crash parties all the time. They do it for the free food and drink. Or there’s a chance she was a professional girl,” he said, waggling his brows.

  “Shut the fuck up!” I growled. “She wasn’t a hooker.”

  Landon burst into laughter and held up his hands. “Testy, testy. Fine, she wasn’t a professional, but I think you have to admit she wasn’t invited. That means she isn’t in our social circle and was probably crashing the party to see how the other half partied.”

  I hated how snobby he could be. “If you remember, the ball was to raise funds for the poorer areas of the city and people from those neighborhoods were invited.”

  He shrugged. “So she’s one of them.”

  The way he said the words pissed me off, but I wasn’t going to mention it. Landon had been born into a wealthy family. He had no idea what it was like to struggle to pay rent or figure out if you wanted to buy groceries or pay the electric bill. Poor or working-class people weren’t a subgroup of humans, like Landon and so many of his counterparts thought. I appreciated every dollar I had, every one of the billions, but I had vowed long ago to never become like Landon in that regard. He was my best friend, but he could really be a snob at times.