by Claire Adams
“I did.” I smiled just thinking about the way they made my apartment smell. “I’m so sorry that I haven’t called to thank you. I’ve been ill.”
His expression suddenly softened and there was something like worry in his eyes. “I’m sorry, are you feeling better?”
“Yes,” I said with another smile. “I am, thank you.”
“I’m glad. Are you sure you’ve eaten? You won’t stay healthy if you don’t eat right.”
The idea of having dinner with him like a normal person appealed to me on so many levels. I didn’t know what Miguel would do, though. His words about me being a virgin flashed through my mind, and I suddenly had a terrible idea. I knew that it was a terrible idea, but I couldn’t seem to stop myself at that point.
In an instant, I’d decided what I was going to do. I made a play of glancing up at the clock as I said, “I guess it’s been a few hours since I’ve had anything to eat. I didn’t realize how late it had gotten.”
Nicholas smiled and everything inside of me turned to liquid. These feelings I got when he was around were amazing, incredible, and terrifying all at the same time. A stab of guilt about what I planned snuck itself in there, too, but I ignored that. My argument was that although I might be using Nicholas, I wouldn’t be hurting him.
“Great. I’m starving and I hate to eat alone. Will you join me?”
I suddenly realized how bad I looked. I had pulled on a pair of jeans with holes in them and a LVU t-shirt before going into the studio tonight. I had on white Keds. I couldn’t go into any restaurant in Vegas that Nicholas might grace in his three-piece suit. “I would love to, but I actually forgot how bad I looked tonight.”
His eyes traveled down my body and caused me to shiver. I think he noticed because a smile pulled at the corners of his lips.
“I’m afraid I can’t imagine you ever looking bad.”
I laughed nervously. “I thank you for the sweet compliment, but really, I couldn’t be seen in public with you looking like that and me looking like this.”
Again, he smiled. “How about a compromise?”
“What’s that?” I honestly had no idea what that word meant. Some things were difficult for me to translate in my head.
“We’ll have dinner at one of my restaurants. We can go in the back and dine in private. It will be like being at home, almost.”
His home was exactly where I had hoped to end up tonight. “That sounds lovely,” I said. “Just let me shut things down here and grab my purse.”
As I shut down the computer and turned off the lights, my stomach rolled with nerves and I had to concentrate on my breathing. I couldn’t believe that I was about to go through with this. I looked over at Nicholas waiting patiently. I didn’t know him, but I knew that I wanted to. He was not only the most beautiful man I’d ever laid eyes on, but something told me he also has a beautiful heart.
I didn’t know if I would ever really get the chance to know him, but I planned on making a memory with him tonight that I knew I’d carry with me forever. I also knew that in Miguel’s eyes, it would make me damaged goods. As I hooked my arm through the one that Nicholas offered to me and we strolled out into the cool night air, I hoped that Miguel was watching.
CHAPTER SIX
NICHOLAS
I pulled around behind the Italian restaurant that I bought as a tax write-off several years before. It was attached to one of my resorts and was called Nico’s. That was my grandmother’s pet name for me when I was a kid. I’d called ahead and let them know we were coming, so the valet was waiting for us out back. I handed him my keys and a fifty-dollar bill, and after I helped Emma out of the car, he took it away. One of the waiters was at the door waiting for us.
“Good evening, Mr. Vansant.”
“Good evening, Jack. This is my friend, Emma.”
“Welcome, Miss.”
“Thank you.”
Jack led us through part of the kitchen and down a long hallway to the private dining area. When I’m not using it, it’s available to reserve for the night, and on the weekends it’s a popular spot. Tonight, Emma and I had it all to ourselves. Jack led us to my favorite table and pulled out a chair for her. I saw her looking around at the décor as she sat.
“Do you like it?”
“It’s beautiful.” I thought so, too. The building was all natural stone and decorated in earthy tones. Out front, the stone was covered by the ivy growing up along the sides of the building and the brown tile roof offset it all nicely. In the private dining area, the walls were dark green with dark wood paneling and decorated with some of my favorite art work. There was also a large, electric fireplace decorated in gray slate.
“Would you like the wine list, sir, or do you know what you would like?” Jack asked.
“My usual, Jack,” I told him.
He handed us each a menu and said, “The chef asked me to tell you that he has linguine in a fresh lobster sauce as the special tonight.”
“That sounds good,” I told him. “Emma, do you like lobster?”
“Yes, I love it.”
“We’ll take two of the specials. I’d like salad with mine. What about you Emma?”
She wrinkled her nose almost imperceptibly, but then nodded and asked Jack, “Can I get blue cheese dressing with that?”
“Of course, Miss. I’ll be right back with your wine and your salads.” He took the menus back, and with a small bow he turned and left us alone.
I looked across the table at Emma. It was hard to imagine that she looked at herself and saw a mess. I looked at her and saw the most beautiful, exotic-looking woman on earth. She looked uncertain of what to say, and I noticed her nervously fiddling with the napkin in front of her.
Strangely enough, I had no idea what to say myself. I felt like a kid on his first date. I had so many questions for her. I wanted to know everything about her, but I didn’t want to overwhelm her all at once.
“You don’t care for salad?”
She looked at me like she’d been caught feeding her meat to the dog underneath the table. “No, I’m afraid I have a taste for anything sweet, creamy, or fried.”
I laughed. “Well, it’s hard to tell that by looking at you. You must work out a lot.”
“No,” she said with a little laugh. “I actually don’t do that as often as I should, either.” She must have some damned good genes, then. “I don’t really like many vegetables.”
“No vegetables? I hope you take your vitamins.” She opened her mouth and then closed it like she changed her mind about what she was going to say.
“I forget those, too. It’s one of my faults.”
I smiled. It was hard to imagine this gorgeous creature across from me had any faults. “The only one?” I said with a grin.
She laughed. “I wish. There’s a list.”
“I don’t believe you. Give me a few more examples.”
She looked shy, but grateful to have a topic to talk about. “Well, I’m not a very good cook and I hate to wash the dishes. Sometimes I leave them in the sink all night long…but then I obsess about them and can’t sleep.”
I made a shocked sound and then laughed. “If that is all…”
“Oh no, I was just getting warmed up. I hate messes and clutter. My apartment has to be immaculate before I can sleep or leave and go anywhere. If I try to sleep with it messy at all, I don’t get any sleep. Sometimes, I finally wash those dishes at three a.m.”
“That doesn’t sound like a bad thing,” I told her. Jack was back then with our salads and wine. He poured just enough for me to taste and after I did I nodded at him. He filled Emma’s glass first and then mine. Once he’d disappeared again, I picked up my glass and said, “To new friendships.”
She smiled and said, “To new friendships.”
I thought I detected something sad in her eyes and wondered about it, but I let it go for now. She clinked her glass to mine and we both took a sip. When she sat the glass down I said,
“Tell me some more of the
good things about you.”
She took another sip of her wine. She hadn’t touched her salad, but since she admitted an aversion to vegetables, I wasn’t surprised. “I’m thoughtful of other people. I’m a fast learner. I’m always…oh no!”
“What?”
“I was about to say always on time, but I remembered how late I was the day I took your pictures. I was working on editing them when you came by tonight. They don’t need much editing. You really are a good subject.”
I smiled. “I’m glad you think so,” I told her. She looked embarrassed again and reached up and twirled a piece of her silky hair around her finger.
I wanted to put my fingers in it, all of them. I wanted to wrap it up in my fists and pull her in for a hot, passionate kiss. Damn, I wanted her, so fucking bad. She seemed to suddenly realize what she was doing and she let go of the hair; it fell to rest on one of her shoulders.
She was wearing a light-blue cardigan and I thought about how good it would feel to touch her body through that soft fabric. Jesus, just thinking about it was making my heart speed up and my dick grow in my pants.
I had to force myself to refocus as she said, “You have a really nice smile. It puts me at ease and makes me feel less intimidated by you.” As soon as she said that, she looked like she regretted it. She picked up her wine and took a big gulp of it.
“You think I’m intimidating?” I wasn’t overly surprised by that. I got that a lot, especially from people who knew how rich I was. Emma gave me the impression that being around people with money wasn’t new to her. I was not sure why, it was just something about the way she spoke and carried herself.
“Yes…a little bit,” she said.
“Why?”
She cleared her throat, took another sip of wine, and said, “I’m not sure. I think it’s because….” She paused, and once again her pretty eyes looked like she was trying to decide what to say. When she began talking again, I understood why. “I think it’s because you’re so good-looking and you give off this vibe.”
I fought back a laugh and said, “I give off a vibe?”
“Yes.” She was going to make me fish everything out of her.
“What kind of a vibe?”
Her face was pure scarlet as she said, “A sexual one.”
I found out then that Jack had the worst timing. She was talking about sex and he was there with our food. He sat her plate down first and then mine, and then left us a basket of freshly baked bread on the table.
“Can I get you two anything else?” I looked at Emma and she smiled.
“This looks delicious. I’m fine, thank you.”
I nodded at Jack and he gave me another little bow at the waist before leaving. As soon as he was gone I said, “So a sexual vibe, huh?”
She picked up her fork and I watched in fascination as she twisted the linguini around it and then brought it to her lips. The lucky pasta got to slip in between those full, ruby-red lips. I watched her slowly chewing it and my perverse mind imagined her moving her mouth like that while she’s on her knees sucking my cock. I felt another surge of blood between my legs even before she swallowed her bite and licked her bottom lip. “That’s really good.”
I realized I’d been staring at her and hadn’t taken a bite. I brought the fork to my own lips, and without even tasting the pasta I chewed, swallowed, and chased it with a drink of wine.
“So, this vibe.”
She laughed. It was like music. “I’m not sure I should fill your ego any further.”
“You think I’m egotistical?” She laughed again.
“No, I’m only kidding. You do have a vibe.”
I raised my glass to her. “So do you,” I said. She lifted hers and clinked it to mine and said,
“To vibes, then!”
“So, what about you?”
“What about me?” I asked. I knew what she was asking, but I really wanted to talk about her.
“What are your strengths and weaknesses?” Her eyes held a real curiosity. I had to admit that I did like knowing she was interested.
“Well, with my business, I have an ability to stay calm in crisis, delegate when necessary, and turn nothing into something more often than not.”
“And your weaknesses?”
I smiled at her. “Exotic brunettes.”
She laughed again. “I believe that is what you Americans call a cop out.”
Confused, I asked, “Us Americans?”
She suddenly looked frightened, and I realized she hadn’t meant to say that. She laughed nervously that time. “Kidding again. I just meant you were trying to get off easily.”
I raised an eyebrow, but filed that away for later. “My main weakness is my need for control,” I told her.
“You need it? Is that in your life or your business?”
“Both,” I told her honestly, but stopped there and took another bite. Her wide eyes somehow made me want to confess things that I’d never confessed to anyone. For a while, we both just ate. The food was delicious and the silence was actually comfortable, at least for me. She was about halfway through her meal when I asked, “So, where are you from, originally?”
She looked apprehensive before saying, “Here.”
I raised an eyebrow again. “You have lived in Las Vegas your entire life?”
“No,” she said with another strange look. “But this is where I’m from now, and I don’t believe the past is important. The past is where it should be, and I’ve promised myself to live for the present and the future from now on.”
That simple statement told me that there was a lot about her that she wasn’t willing or able to share. A man in my position should have been more worried about that than I was. I wasn’t sure what it was about Emma, but I wanted to trust her. I wanted to know her, and although I didn’t know her yet, I already wanted to protect her from whatever it was in her past that she wanted to forget. I dropped it there for now, and the rest of our meal was spent making small talk about the weather in Vegas and the upcoming gala. When she was talking about her photography or her friendship with Lynn, she was so open and warm and I could see the love for both in her eyes.
An hour passed before either of us knew it, and after a couple more glasses of wine and turning down Jack’s offer of dessert, I had to admit that it was time to go. I was almost desperate for the night to not end, however, and as I walked her out to the car I asked,
“Would you do me a favor?”
“What’s that?”
“Would you join me for one more drink, or even a cup of coffee if you prefer? I’m just not ready for this evening to end.”
I was actually surprised when she said, “Sure.” Maybe she was as reluctant as I was.
“Is my penthouse okay?”
She looked slightly nervous, so I said, “If you’re worried that I won’t be a gentleman, I can have one of the bodyguards stay close by.”
She smiled. “I wasn’t worried. Your penthouse is fine.”
I noticed that when I opened the door to the car she looked around before getting in like she was searching for someone. I got the feeling there was a lot more to Emma than met the eye.
I knew that I should have had my investigators run a background on her before I took the “relationship” any further, but I was discovering that my normally clear head did not prevail when it came to her like it did other people.
I didn’t want to be suspicious of her; I simply wanted her. I didn’t want to know things that would change the way she made me feel right at that moment. For the first time in my adult life, I’d met the woman I was willing to risk everything for just one night of what I was sure would be nothing short of a trip to heaven.
Sal would tell me that I was just way too bored with my life and searching so hard for something different that I was ignoring the warning signs. He would be right, but tonight, I didn’t care. For the first time since my early twenties, I let my little head do the thinking for me, and I was happy to let him lead the w
ay.
CHAPTER SEVEN
EMMA
Nicholas and I went back to his penthouse on the 32nd floor of one of the hotels he owned in the city. I’d never been alone with a man in his house before, and I expected to be a lot more nervous about that than I was. There was just something about him that put me at ease and that’s why it was so easy for me to decide to do what I planned on doing.
“Coffee or wine?” he asked.
“I’m afraid I’m already a little tipsy from too much wine,” I told him. I was sitting in the window seat on the fluffy cushion and looking out at the city lights.
“Coffee it is then.” The way he looked at me gave me tingles all over. I watched as he went over to push a button and spoke to someone about bringing coffee up to us.
He pulled off his jacket and tie then, and I watched in awe as he rolled up the sleeves on his silk shirt. His forearms were massive, and I could see all the veins in them. I felt another stirring below my belly button as he came toward me. He sat next to me on the window seat and softly draped his arm across my shoulders. “Aren’t you getting hot in that sweater?” I was, but I was reluctant to let him see the bruises on my body left by my scuffle with Miguel. I was still unsure how I was going to explain them.
“No, I’m okay,” I said. He smiled. I’m sure he was thinking I was shy. It made me feel bad to know he thought of me as innocent, considering my plan to seduce him tonight.
Even with my lack of experience, I knew that he wanted me. His breaths shortened when we sat this close together. His blue eyes shone with lust, and there was a definite bulge in the front of his pants…a big one. The only thing I was still worried about was explaining the bruises. I wondered if he would believe I fell down the stairs.
His hand slid down off my shoulders to my back, and as we sat there silently looking out at the night, he began to rub me lightly through my sweater. I could feel the heat from his hand and body. I was burning up both from his touch and the sweater.
I looked up at his gorgeous face and just about the time he brought it down toward mine for a kiss, there was a knock on the door. He gave me a frustrated-looking smile and said, “Hold that thought.” He got up and went to the door. I watched as he took a tray out of the young man’s hands and then took something out of his pocket and handed it to him. He closed the door and brought the tray over to the glass coffee table in front of the cream-colored couch. After sitting it down there, he said, “Join me over here?”
