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Chapter One
Allie
I gaze outat the city lights through the floor-to-ceiling windows and swallow down my disappointment. Lexie would have told me if Nick were coming to the announcement party, and I should be happy that he didn’t bother. It would stir up all the old feelings I’ve been trying to bury and leave me having to figure out how to evade the blue-eyed devil all over again.
A firm hand touches one shoulder while the warmth of a whisper in my ear pulls me from my reverie. “Allie.”
The sound of that deep, gravellyvoice sends a sliver of exhilaration coursing down my spine. I spin slowly, inhaling a breath before looking up and into those deep blue eyes that pierce me with their intensity.
I’m a take-charge girl usually, but I'm finding it exceptionally hard to speak, let alone breathe, at the moment. I finally manage to squeak words out through the dryness of my throat. “Hi, Nick.”
His eyes rake over my body, and the heat of his gaze warms my skin. “It’s good to see you again, Allie. You look fantastic.”
“Thank you,” I say, smoothing hands down my dress.
He glances at his watch. “It wasn’t easy finding a parking spot tonight. Sheldon and Lexie aren’t too far away. Should we take a seat with the others while we wait to find out what the big announcement is all about?”
I nod, because nodding is better than squeaking.
Nick places his hand on the small of my back and guides me to the large oval table where the rest of our friends andhis teammates sit. He pulls out a chair for me and then walks around the other side.
It gives me a small window of time to gather my senses as the electrical charge his touch creates flows through me and settles with the butterflies in my stomach. Absolutely none of the feelings he stirred up have diminished. All the nights of dreaming about him, all the mornings over coffee convincing myself this attraction isn’t real has been for nothing. Maybe it’s because I haven’t been with someone for so long, or because, damn, he’s just hotter than sin.
I glance up and flush under the heat of his stare.
“You look deep in thought.” Those bright blue eyes and that surfer-boy looking hair, all spiky with blond highlights from the Mediterranean sun, the same gravelly voice that talks to me at night, whispers in my ear, and tells me to do unmentionable things in my dreams. Not one thing has changed in thirty days.
I breathe in deeply while the waitress pours us each a glass of wine and then makes her way down the table. No relationships. That’s how I roll. Just an occasional night at the club to blow off necessary steam and take care of urges that won’t quiet with a well-placed rubber friend. That’s the way to keep your heart from getting shattered into a million pieces.
It’s worked for years, and I’m not about to get sidetracked by this smooth-talking player who spends most of his life flitting from one continent to another with model-like women fawning all over him wherever he goes. He’s no different than his friends Liam and Trent. All they have to do is look at a girl for more than a cursory glance, and she'll do anything asked for either one of them, or both.
No, safeguarding myself is a definite necessity around this group, especially from the blue-eyed devil who’s smirking at me with that panty-melting look in his eyes.
Chapter Two
Nick
I should waitand take it a little slower with Allie, but damn she’s breathtaking tonight. Her dark hair flows past her shoulders and that thin, form-fitting pink sweater hugs her in all the right places. This trip to the States, there’s no critical assignment pulling me to the other side of the world. And I’m not giving up until I find out more about the woman who’s haunted my dreams for the last thirty nights. I send her a text and gesture for Allie to look at her phone.
Nick: You never responded to my messages after I left. Why?
Allie takes another sip of wine, and as she reaches for her cell, Katarina squeals with delight from the other end of the table, pointing to the door as Sheldon guides Lexie into the reserved room of the upscale restaurant. Allie spots her best friend almost right away and rushes over to pull her in close for a hug. They pull apart laughing, with eyes that sparkle, clearly glad to see each other after an entire month of being apart.
Sheldon gives me a grin over the top of the ladies, finally managing to corral them to the table. I stand and pull out the chair next to me for Lexie’s mom and feel the heat of Allie’s eyes warming my skin.
Her steady gaze pulls mine toward her, and she smiles at me from across the table. My chest tightens with an unnamed emotion and one completely unfamiliar. I’ve never seen her smile like that, bright and beautiful and all for me. No, I would have remembered that—because damn, it sure is pretty. Those pink lined lips part so sweetly that it sends a jolt of desire straight to my cock. She continues watching me as I get settled into my chair, just observing and sipping her wine. Those bright green shimmering eyes seem to look right through me, even over the top of her glass. But then her pretty upturned lips turn into a frown. She looks down and reaches into her handbag, pulls out a pager, then quietly excuses herself from the table and walks hastily through the door that takes her to the main area of the restaurant.
Sheldon taps the top of his wine glass with the tines of his fork and smiles widely at the group before us. “I’ve always wanted to do that,” he says, grinning, oblivious that anything is happening at this end of the table. He’s focused on his mission for the night and on Lexie who doesn’t have eyes for anyone but him.
I excuse myself from the table and follow Allie. Trent is positioned by the door and nods in the direction of Allie, who’s already on her cell phone in a quiet corner by the bar.
“There’s some emergency at the hospital. Liam’s getting the company SUV brought around just in case she needs to head to the hospital. I was going to touch base with you in private a little later, to give you a heads-up. Allie’s planning to talk with Sheldon about her security detail. She doesn’t think she needs it anymore and has no idea that you’ve been footing the bill.”
My jaw tightens at the reminder. Something that should have been taken care of long before now. “I’ll need to deal with that at some point. Thanks for letting me know.”
Allie makes her way back to where we’re both standing. “I hate to leave Lexie on her first night back in town and miss the big announcement, but I have to go. There’s been an accident, and it’s going to take a while to get to the hospital.”
“Bad?” I ask.
