I cared about Nick. I always had. Even when I’d been telling myself I hated him and was happy I’d sworn the oath to stay away from him, I’d still wanted him. The oath was just a defense mechanism. It had let me think the reason we weren’t together was because I’d decided we wouldn’t be. I hadn’t had to face the fact that I was too scared to put my feelings out there for him and the idea that he might not feel the same way about me.
But now I knew he did. It was all right in front of me, and the only thing that had been left to do was reach out and take it. Except I’d waited too long. Again.
There was one option in the entire mess that might work for both of us, though. It was far from ideal, and I knew Nick wouldn’t approve. I had a feeling he was going to tell me to let Max run the story and promise he’d take care of the damage.
I wasn’t going to let that happen. I could fix this. I just needed a little time.
Chapter 20
NICK
I got tired of waiting for Miranda to stop pretending she wasn’t feeling well around dinnertime. I reasoned that five hours was plenty of time for her to decompress. If she really wasn’t feeling well, she would need to be checked on, anyway.
I knocked on her door and waited. And waited.
It took me five minutes before I peeked through the windows. I felt my stomach drop when I saw the room had been cleaned out. All her stuff was gone. I staggered backward and slumped down, racking my brain for an idea.
She was almost certainly trying to go to LA. The part I didn’t know was why. I fired off a text asking what was going on, even though I suspected she was planning on doing something she knew I wouldn’t like, or else she wouldn’t have sneaked off like this.
I looked up Robbie’s business and found the address. She’d probably be headed there. All I needed was to somehow intercept her before she got there and did anything stupid. I couldn’t imagine she’d offer to get back together with him, even to stop Max from running his story. But I was worried he’d try something. God, I was worried.
I called Cade.
“I’m naked, unless nipple clamps count as clothing. Wait, didn’t we have a debate on this once? I can’t remember what we decided on.”
“We decided you didn’t need to brief me on the amount of clothes you were wearing every time you picked up the phone.”
There was a short pause. “Oh. Right. Well, what did you need?”
“Can I use your helicopter?”
“I was planning on getting burritos when Iris and I finished up here. How am I supposed to get burritos without a helicopter?”
“I don’t know, a car? Call delivery? Pretend you’re a normal person for once in your life?”
He let out a long, dramatic sigh. “Yes. You can use the helicopter. The pilot said he’d be at the bowling alley. Apparently, he was going to go pro, but then he had some kind of butt cheek injury that screwed up his ability to put spin on—”
“Cade,” I said. “Thanks.” I hung up the phone.
Unfortunately, I got the tail end of the butt cheek story from the pilot himself while I walked him up from the bowling alley to the field where he’d parked the helicopter.
Flying cross country in a helicopter was hardly practical, so I used the flight to arrange for an airplane to take me the rest of the way. I wasn’t sure how I’d find Miranda if she didn’t want to be found, but if I got to LA before her, I’d at least know where she’d turn up eventually. All I’d have to do was wait.
Chapter 21
MIRANDA
The woman beside me on my flight gave me the third death glare in five minutes. I smiled tightly and squeezed my knees, hoping to keep my legs from shaking, but it was no use. They were shaking so badly that the little tray table in front of me kept getting jostled. I was a nervous wreck. It had finally seemed like my life was starting to fall into place, and now I was sneaking away on a last-minute flight to LA so I could grovel for a job from my ex-boyfriend. It sounded so far fetched it could’ve made me laugh, except all it made me want to do was cry.
I’d gone back and forth on telling Nick what I was doing. Ultimately, I decided I just needed a day’s head start. I wanted him to know what was happening once it was too late for him to talk me out of it. He’d make some argument about how he and his brothers could easily survive this or how it really wasn’t going to be a big deal.
I was surprised by how much the idea of leaving Bark Bites stung. Part of me had resented the job. I knew what everyone must’ve been thinking when they found out I’d been let go from Crawford and ended up there. The great Miranda Collins must not have been so great, after all. Now she’s so desperate for work that she’ll sign on to that joke of a business. But despite all that, I enjoyed working there. Sure, Nick was probably a big reason, but I thought it was more than that. My contributions at Bark Bites mattered, and I still had big ideas I was never going to get to see through.
I hated admitting it, even to myself, but I knew there was one other reason I’d decided to run. Nick had proved before that he’d let obstacles come between us. I never knew if it was that he enjoyed the flirtation with me but not the idea of a real relationship, or maybe something else. All I knew was that it had almost broken me the first time. Feeling that much for him and then watching him disappear from my life had been one of the hardest things I’d ever done. Except this time, I had the chance to walk away before he could do that to me. If it wasn’t for the blackmail and all the other circumstances, I knew I wouldn’t have ever gone through with it. But it felt like fate was pushing me toward it already, and maybe this was the only way to protect my heart from the inevitable—to leave before he could leave me.
I let my forehead thump against the little oval window to my side. I didn’t know why I had done this. When I found myself in a situation that might wind up taking control from my hands, I always ran from it. Except I ran in a way that let me keep the illusion of being in control. I couldn’t kid myself. I wasn’t leaving Nick. My feelings weren’t going to evaporate just because I put half a country between us. Deep down, I think I knew the same was true for him. No, I hoped it was.
When Nick had asked out Kira, I was the one who had pushed for us all to swear an oath to stay away from the King brothers. A bitter realization settled in on me like noxious fumes: I cared so much about being in control of how I appeared to everyone else that I would have sacrificed anything to maintain my image.
The only thing I had really stood up for myself on was Robbie. He was exactly the guy people thought I deserved. But for once in my life, I’d put my foot down and said no. All those confusing emotions I’d felt were the sense that I might finally be carving my own path. And now I was riding a plane back to Robbie. It was exactly the path that everybody would’ve expected me to take. Worse, it was the path that protected me from Max’s story, because I knew how eagerly people would jump headfirst into believing it.
I glanced at the text Nick had sent for the hundredth time.
Nick: Please tell me where you are. Whatever you’re thinking, we can talk about it. Let’s figure this thing out together. Please call me. I just need to hear your voice.
I pressed the phone to my chest and closed my eyes. I just had to believe I was doing the smart thing. After all, it was only a job. I was a big girl. Whatever Robbie thought he’d be able to pull by having me come work for him wasn’t going to matter.
By the time I arrived in LA, it was in the early hours of the morning. I had wanted to get straight to Robbie’s office and settle this whole thing right away, but I had to get a hotel and wait until he’d actually be there. Even the thought of looking at him after knowing what he’d resorted to made me feel sick to my stomach. I was still trying to wrap my head around how it was possible to have missed his darker side after all the time we’d spent together. Except maybe it wasn’t so shocking. I’d thought of him more like a business partner or a convenience than a romantic partner. All I’d cared to see were the parts of him that lined
up with the image I was trying to protect. And look where that had gotten me.
The receptionist at the hotel gave me a strange look when I told her my name, but I made it the rest of the way to my room without any incidents. I tossed down my small bag of luggage and collapsed onto the bed.
What the hell was I doing?
Chapter 22
NICK
I got a call just after three in the morning. I’d paid off every receptionist at every hotel within twenty miles of Robbie’s building, and one of them called to let me know Miranda had checked in.
I drove my rental to the hotel as fast as I could and stopped at the front desk. “Hey,” I said, handing over $500. “This is for you. Can you tell me what room she’s in?”
The girl—a dark-haired college-age kid with glasses—frowned. “Don’t you think that’s a little creeperish?”
I gave an exasperated sigh. “Haven’t we already crossed into creeperish territory by now? I just paid you five hundred dollars to tell me when someone checked in. What if I was a hit man? You didn’t have a problem with any of that.”
“Yeah,” she said. “But I didn’t tell you her room number, so . . .”
“For Christ’s sake,” I said. I dug in my wallet and pulled out another couple of hundred-dollar bills. “Does this help?”
She took the money. “Room 212.”
I took the stairs and found her room. It was only when I was finally standing just outside that I had the first moment of hesitation. Everything until now had been driven by pure adrenaline. She’d gone off without me to make this decision on her own. The only thing that made sense was finding her as fast as possible.
But what if she was right to come here? If Max ran that story, it could ruin her career as well as mine. Some old part of me was afraid of that, but I was surprised to find it didn’t matter to me anymore.
I knocked on the door and waited. When I didn’t hear any movement inside, I put my mouth close to the door. “Miranda. It’s me.”
A few seconds later, she opened the door. Her face crumpled as soon as she saw me, and she practically fell into me. I wrapped her in my arms and squeezed. I had half a mind to lift her off her feet and carry her back to the car and then back to West Valley, never letting go until I got her back where she belonged. But I knew Miranda was too strong willed for that. If I pushed too hard, I’d only end up pushing her away. So I made myself let her go and took a step back to smile.
“Since I had to do some detective work and a lot of last-minute travel arrangements, can you reward me with an explanation?” I asked.
She laughed softly. “I have to admit, it’s pretty impressive that you found me this quickly.”
“Yeah, well, I was just starting to get used to the idea that you might be mine soon. Then you set off across the country to go take a job for your ex-boyfriend. I might’ve shot down your plane if I knew you would’ve survived.”
She folded her arms and raised her eyebrows. “I don’t remember talking about this whole ownership arrangement.”
“There are some things you just take ownership of. It doesn’t mean they are yours. It means you decide that taking care of them matters more than anything else—that you’ll sacrifice whatever it takes to keep them happy and safe. I was kind of thinking more about that kind of ownership.”
She chewed the corner of her lip. “How am I supposed to go through with this when you say something like that?”
I slid my hand around the small of her back and pulled her closer. “This is the part where I wish I used all that time on the flight thinking up a speech to convince you to stay with me. To stay in West Valley, where you belong. But I was really nervous, and I ended up playing a game on my phone to distract myself.”
She laughed. “You really are Cade’s brother. But I don’t know anything you say can change the facts. Max’s story would ruin both of us. You’ll look like you care more about your cock than the company, and I’ll look like someone who is willing to sleep her way to the top. Both our reputations will be completely trashed.”
“If only I could think of something in the world I wanted badly enough to sacrifice my reputation for . . .”
She smiled, lowering her eyes. “I want it too. I mean, I think I do. I don’t know how anyone claims to know this stuff. All I know is there’s a crazy, jittery feeling in my stomach when you look at me. And—”
“You can’t stop picturing me naked when you’re in the shower? And the amount of times you’ve touched yourself while thinking about me is verging on unhealthy?”
She glared, but not without a hint of a smile. “This isn’t the time to make jokes.”
“Sorry, I wasn’t trying to be funny. I was just trying to figure out if I was the only one.”
“Nick . . .”
I was tired of playing nice and patient. Miranda was too practical. If she had her way, she’d wait and wait until some kind of divine sign shot straight down from space and landed in her lap. The only thing I could think to do was to show her exactly what we could be together.
I took a step toward her as I felt my thoughts growing hungrier by the inch.
She ran out of room to back up and bumped into the wall beside her bathroom. I stopped when I was so close I could feel her rapid breaths on my neck. I met her eyes and waited. Without breaking eye contact, she nodded and gave the faintest, sexiest half smile I’d ever seen.
I pressed my palms against the wall above her, and I bent my neck to kiss her. “I want to taste every inch of you,” I whispered into her ear.
Her body shivered against mine. “Would it kill the mood if I asked to shower first?”
I laughed. “Seriously?”
She shrugged, smirking a little playfully. “I did just get off a long flight. If we’re doing . . . this, I want to be clean for it.”
“Maybe I like you dirty,” I said.
“You can get all the figurative dirtiness you want. But I literally stink.”
“Fine. You can shower, but only if I get to clean you.”
“What?”
I lifted her hands by the wrist. “I’m a jealous bastard. And tonight, I don’t even want these touching that body. It’s all for me.”
Her cheeks went a deep, gorgeous shade of red.
Chapter 23
MIRANDA
My heart was beating so fast that I thought I might pass out at any given moment. My head felt light and fuzzy, and no matter how many times I tried to blink myself awake or pinch myself, he was still there. The bathroom door clicked closed behind him, but he made no move to give me a moment of privacy to undress. I guessed I didn’t know why he would think to look away if I’d agreed to let him bathe me.
God. I wanted to kick myself and give myself a high five at the same time. Yes, this was pretty much the culmination of every teenage fantasy I’d ever had about Nick King, and, yes, he wasn’t the only one who might have had some dirty thoughts in the shower, but it all felt like it was happening at the speed of light.
After seven years, I guessed I would’ve thought it would take an equally long time to develop feelings for him. Instead, the bundle of confusing emotions I had when I thought of Nick all these years had just grown and grown. The moment I’d decided how I felt about him, all that emotional energy seemed to explode toward this overwhelming kind of magnetism I felt toward him now.
I reached and flicked off the lights, which left us in near-complete darkness.
Nick turned them back on. “No hiding.”
I took a deep breath. Apparently, when Nick got turned on, he also got very bossy. Normally, that would’ve irritated me, but right now it just seemed intensely sexy. It felt like a relief, oddly enough. I’d spent so much time trying to hold on to control with a white-knuckle grip that letting go was never an option. But with him, I thought maybe I could let go. I could put my heart in his hands again, but this time, I knew I could trust him not to break it.
I pulled at the little bow that kept the collar of
my dress tight, then undid the buttons. I had no reason to be self-conscious of my body. I took good care of myself, but I still couldn’t stop my hands from shaking like this was my first time with a man.
Nick’s sharp intake of breath at just the sight of my chest in a bra helped ease my nerves. He clearly liked what he was seeing so far.
“More,” he practically growled.
I grinned, and with that grin, I felt most of my remaining nerves melt away. This could be fun. This would be fun. It didn’t have to mean I was going to let Max run the story either. We were both adults, and we both wanted this. It could be that simple.
“You first,” I said.
Nick’s eyes were electric as he pulled his tie loose and dropped it to the floor with a silky whoosh. He undid his buttons next, giving me my first glimpse of his smooth, muscular torso. I wanted to reach out and touch him, but I wanted to at least maintain some semblance of dignity, even as I was stripping off my clothes.
“Now you.”
I chewed my lip, then slid off my dress. I was wearing a white thong, and I kept myself from self-consciously glancing down to make sure it hadn’t scrunched up awkwardly.
Nick’s eyes roamed me so hungrily I didn’t think he was going to be able to wait for this whole striptease to finish.
He stepped toward me and my breath caught, but he reached into the shower only to start the water. Now we were only inches apart. With him standing so close, I could feel the heat rushing away from his skin. God. He was like a furnace.
“Bra,” he said.
I held up my hands playfully. “I thought you were too jealous of these to let them have all the fun. Or did you forget?”
He made a deep groaning sound as he pushed me against the wall and pressed his mouth against my neck. With skillful, quick fingers, he undid my bra and tugged it away from me. He didn’t even take time to admire the view before plunging his mouth down around my nipple.
Anyone But Nick Page 17
