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Jules took a healthy drink from her glass, needing to hide her discomfort. The alcohol warmed her all the way through, the fruity taste filling her senses. She concentrated on the wine, not knowing how to respond to Nik.
Nik cupped her face in his hand, turning her head gently until she met his eyes. “I want to be here with you and Ava. That’s all I care about.”
Nik’s eyes were inky black pools so deep Jules felt she could drown in them. The heat from the wine was spreading through her limbs, but it was Nik’s touch that scorched her. It had been barely twenty-four hours since she’d invited him to her bed, and here they were. The reality of having a lover in her house for the first time was sinking in, and scaring her. She had so much to lose, but it was worth the risk.
Jules set her glass down on the night table, then wrapped her hands around Nik’s. “That’s what I want too.”
Nik’s hand slid from her cheek to the back of her head, cradling it as he tilted it up and crushed her lips under his. His kiss was hungry, demanding, and the heat burning through her exploded into a raging inferno of need.
Jules turned her body into his, pressing herself into his side without breaking the kiss. His mouth plundered hers, his tongue sweeping inside, dancing with hers, pulling her into a vortex of pleasure.
With a groan, Nik tore his mouth away from hers, pressing his face into her neck as his chest heaved under her hands. “Are you sure you want this? You’re not sore after last night and this morning? I don’t want to rush you.” The longing in his voice contradicted his words.
Jules’s heart pounded, and the ache between her thighs grew almost painful. “I’m absolutely sure.”
In an instant, Nik rolled her under him, trailing his lips over her neck, her collarbone, any exposed skin he could find. He braced himself over her, and it felt like his eyes were burning into her soul. “Stay with me tonight.”
Jules nodded and reached for him. There were a million things they needed to resolve, but for tonight, this was all she wanted.
CHAPTER26
Is love in the air? It looks like at least one of the dream dates won at the Harbourview charity auction generated some sparks. Jules Roberts, CEO of Coastal Casinos, and her mystery date were featured on the Toronto kiss cam during the Orcas game on Saturday night. They sure turned up the heat—check out the video! A little birdie tells me her mystery man is actually Toronto billionaire Nik Costas, partner in WYCK Capital. Our question: Is his interest in Ms. Roberts strictly personal? Or is there some other reason he’s been seen hanging around Coastal’s corporate offices lately?
Nik had seen the gossip piece first thing that morning, shortly after waking up alone. It had been another irritant in a day where nothing was going exactly as planned. As much as he and Jules had both agreed to sleep apart to keep Ava from asking questions, waking up to nothing but the scent of her on his pillows had felt too much like their first night together. It reinforced that he wanted so much more than that. He wanted them to be a family.
Now he had a call scheduled with Charles that couldn’t wait. Nik hit connect on the video link and closed the office door before settling back into his desk chair. He needed privacy for this conversation.
When someone finally answered, it was Margaret frowning back at him. “What’s going on in Vancouver, Nikos? I’m seeing gossip items; you’re kissing women on national television. Charles is grumbling about share prices and bad press. This isn’t like you.”
Her tone was scolding, and from anyone else, Nik would have snapped back a defensive response, but Margaret had been with WYCK for too long and had seen him at his worst after Vanessa left him. She acted like a den mother for the entire staff, including him and Charles. The irony was Nik was pretty sure Margaret was younger than he was, but no one really knew. She’d dressed in the same formal business suits, with her hair pulled back in a twist, every day for as long as he’d known her, giving her an ageless quality. And in her role she’d run the office with ruthless efficiency, controlling press releases, cleaning up public relations messes for other team members, and generally exuding the aura of a military general when issuing orders. No one argued with Margaret.
“It’s not like I planned for the kiss cam to land on us. And why every sports network in North America decided it belonged on the highlight reels is beyond me,” Nik grumbled. The whole escapade with the kiss cam had snowballed beyond anything he or Jules had anticipated, although considering what happened afterwards, he had no regrets. Didn’t make him any happier about the publicity, though. Too many people were questioning if WYCK was bargaining for Coastal, creating a flurry of interest in the shares. Which was why he needed to talk to Charles. “Where is Charles? He said he would be free now.”
“His last meeting is running long. Problems at another company. I’m sure he’ll tell you all about it as soon as he’s wrapped it up. Don’t dodge my questions. What’s going on? Who was the woman?”
“Jules Roberts. She’s—”
“The CEO of Coastal Casinos. Mixing business and pleasure? That’s not like you. What were you thinking?”
Nik sighed. Under any other circumstances, Margaret would be right, but how could he explain Jules to her without telling her everything? “Jules and I have history together. I met her years ago. Working together for the last couple of weeks has allowed us to reconnect.”
The lines around Margaret’s mouth eased as he spoke. “Really? You knew her before? That does change things. You deserve some happiness. I’m glad for you.”
“It’s all very new, but I’m cautiously optimistic.” Which was the diplomatic way of saying that he was terrified he was going to screw this opportunity with Jules up and damage his future relationship with his daughter. He was amazed the scene with his father hadn’t scared Jules off, especially after meeting Angelo and Vanessa on Saturday. Talk about airing all the dirty laundry in one weekend. Somehow she was willing to give their budding relationship a chance. There was still the fallout from the kiss publicity to deal with, but they’d get past it.
“Charles is ready for you now. Best of luck with Ms. Roberts and with Charles. You’re going to need it.” Margaret’s face was replaced by Charles, whose tie was loose and shirt undone, very unlike him. There were dark circles under his eyes and deep grooves across his forehead, making Nik wonder what was happening back in New York that had Charles so worried.
“Sorry for the delay, but we have an emergency in Halifax at our pharmaceutical operation. I need you to fly out there and fire the CEO. We have evidence he’s been leaking secrets to the competition about the new drug we’re testing in an attempt to secure a better offer. I need you to fire him and then turn everything over to the RCMP to file criminal charges. You’ll have to stay out there until we can find someone else.”
Fuck.Nik had never liked the CEO in question, had never really trusted him, but industrial espionage was far beyond anything he’d expected. “No problem. I’ll take the jet and fly out late tonight, get there first thing tomorrow morning. Can you make sure security and the HR director are ready for me?” The four-hour time difference would allow him to say goodbye to Ava and Jules and still arrive by the next morning. He could walk the CEO out and hopefully into the waiting arms of the RCMP. Finding a replacement might be an issue, but he’d manage it.
The biggest problem would be how long it might take. He didn’t want to spend too long away from Vancouver, especially since Ava’s birthday was only a few weeks away. No matter what, he would be back for that. Charles would just have to understand.
Charles visibly relaxed as soon as Nik agreed to go to Halifax. “I’ll make sure everyone who needs to know will be expecting you. Anything you need, we’ll take care of it. Now why did you want to talk to me?”
“We need to make an offer for Coastal now, before the earnings reports come out.”
“You’re sure? You’ve had enough time to examine the fundamentals?”
