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Nick followed her gaze. “No one can see us.”
“I don’t know what you want me to say.” She feared her raw emotions would make her too honest. Divulge secrets that could ruin both of them.
“Start with how you ended up with scum like Johnny Russo.”
“Nick, I?—”
Nick hauled her into his chest, his strong hands roaming over her. His body overshadowed her—bigger and more muscular than she remembered. His touch firm, yet gentle like he knew every inch of her, set off familiar emotions. Emotions she buried long ago, but still simmered at the surface. A volcano on the edge of erupting, just waiting for the exact moment.
“And don’t give me any bullshit about him being a good guy and you wanna be with him.”
“He isn’t a good guy and I loathe being with him.”
“Then, why . . . Why would you marry him? Why would you?—?”
She pressed her forefinger to his lips. “You’d never understand.”
“Try me.”
A woman barely out of her twenties trying to survive with her baby in one of the worst buildings in Downtown L.A. who accidentally kills a lowlife pimp in self-defense. No, retelling the story would help no one and would lead to far too many other questions. Questions better left unanswered.
Nick caressed the nape of her neck, and her nipples tightened. “You can’t deny what we felt in New York. What we feel now.”
She wished she didn’t feel anything. She wished he didn’t affect her like a tidal wave sweeping her away. Cheryl wanted to trust him, wanted to believe him, wanted to grab onto those muscular, tatted arms and never let go, but her pragmatic side overruled her.
“I can’t do this here.” She swallowed hard to soothe her dry throat.
“Fine.” His hands rested on her hips. “Then where and when?”
“Never.” She spit out the word hoping it would dissuade him, maybe even make him mad. Either reaction worked. “I better get back before Johnny suspects something.” She stepped away from him.
“This isn’t over.” Nick squeezed her hand and she never wanted him to let go.
“It has to be.”
He barked out a rough laugh. “We both know that’s not gonna happen.”
“What’s not gonna happen is you and me being anywhere near each other again.”
“Impossible. Vegas isn’t Manhattan. The social circles here are small and tight meaning there’s a good chance we’ll end up in the same place again before the month is out.”
“I’ll make sure we don’t.”
Nick spit out a laugh. “We’ve already been thrown together three times in the last two weeks.”
“If we do, we’ll act like casual acquaintances.”
Nick cocked his head. “Gotta ask, do you really believe the bullshit you throw out?”
She pushed his hands off her hips. “Excuse me?”
“Living with Russo must’ve made you rusty because back in the day you were a lot better at selling bullshit. Or did you forget I knew you when?”
“My memory is crystal clear.”
“Then you remember how we lit each other up, how even the slightest touch, the briefest look set both of us on fire.”
“What I remember is being in an impossible situation and doing the only thing that made sense.”
