He shared her fire and drive. But he liked her vulnerability as well. And the biggest surprise to him was that he felt vulnerable too, but for once it was welcome. She was softening his hard edges, he could feel it already. All the shit he’d been through, protecting Chris and struggling to drag himself up, it almost dissolved into the background under the weight of the blissful hope he now felt when he was with Selena. He wanted more of that positive glow she seemed to emanate. She was addictive. And he knew she wanted him too. He was fueling her positive glow right back. This partnership could really go places. As long as he didn’t fuck it all up before take-off.
His insides ached at the thought of never touching her skin or holding her if their flight into the future was grounded due to technical difficulties—namely his dumb-ass undercover project to well and truly shaft her.
He shuffled into the bathroom, rubbing his eyes, and showered, letting the hot water coax him into the waking world, ready for the day of work. And then he remembered he had breakfast plans with Selena. Immediately, the bleakness of the upcoming day brightened. But only marginally. If he didn't think of something, she was going to get hurt. And if he wasn’t smart, his brother might get killed.
He turned under the warm waterfall of the shower, closing his eyes and visualizing that first day when he’d seen Selena. When she had flashed him those big blue eyes his breath had halted. He remembered not being able to take in any of the words coming from her lips, instead he was instantly under their spell.
She was sexy without even knowing it. Who else could turn a business meeting about cosmetics into the sexiest damn thing he’d ever seen? No one. With his mind still on her lips, his visualization merged to the next most memorable thing she had done with her lips, in Paris. Yeah, the kissing had been electric, but when she eventually took him in her mouth that night it was like explosions, earthquakes, fireworks, sirens, heaven and hell all fighting it out in one room. Control was harder and harder to hold onto. The touch of her tongue on his skin as it made circles around the tip of his length.
The memory alone was enough to make the base of his cock tingle. He was hard as rock, his heart pounding and his breath catching in short bursts. He reached down and grabbed his cock, pulling in long, slow motions, images of Selena’s naked body rolling through his mind like a pornographic slideshow. It was the best damned show of his life. She was the pinnacle of perfection. Her curvy ass, full tits and flat stomach, they were all he could see. His pace quickened as he was ready to explode. He pumped hard and fast, losing his breath and feeling more desperate for Selena than ever. He slammed one hand onto the tiles for support and bent forward slightly as energy rushed through his body like a tsunami. With a groan he exploded and panted, trying to catch a breath, his body shaking. He was hooked. He needed more of her. He just had to persuade her to let her guard down. And breakfast was the perfect opportunity.
Nick arrived first at Soho House. He needed a membership to get into this place, and his modest salary would have the owners laughing so hard they’d probably take pity and give him a charity doggy bag.
He waited by the entrance for Selena, watching all the suits arrive to discuss business over bacon, rolling his eyes as their chatter of stocks and shares tickled his ears while they breezed past. He was ambitious, yeah, but he would never become what he considered a corporate robot. Never. Flash living was not something to be proud of in Nick’s eyes. When he eventually made it into a highly paid position, which he sure as hell would, the first thing on his ‘to-do’ list wouldn’t be to buy a sports car or a Rolex, it would be to finally move his mum out of the slum she called home. The trappings of wealth, in his eyes, were all very nice, but he never wasted a moment pining for them.
Selena’s chauffeur-driven car eventually pulled up and he swallowed and straightened his tie as she put one tan-coloured high-heel out of the door first, before emerging fully and giving him a modest smile. His stomach lurched. She looked incredible, again, wearing a simple tight-fitting dress. Those dresses make it hard for a man to concentrate.
“Hi,” she greeted him with a quirk of a smile. “You’re nice and early.”
“Can’t keep a woman waiting,” Nick said, holding open the door for her.
Inside the converted Georgian townhouse, they chose a table next to a wall of glass, which was so well polished you could hardly tell it was there. Mental note, don’t walk into the fucking wall. The glass overlooked a terrace with a magnificent view of city rooftops.
“It’s a bit chilly today, so let’s not bother with the terrace,” Selena said. “Have you eaten here before?”
Nick cleared his throat and replied. “Nope, apparently I’m not a member. It’s shocking really. I must rectify that,” he teased.
She giggled. “It’s nice here,” she quickly said, admiring the plush studded leather chairs and dozens of lamps casting rays of light, which bounced off all the highly polished metal fixtures and fittings. This place suited Selena. It was upmarket, without being unattainable. She may have been richer than Croesus, but she didn’t flaunt it.
A waitress approached and threw her arms up to see Selena. “Miss Day. How nice to see you.”
“Selena, remember?” she said, laughing and smiling so enthusiastically she bared each pearly white tooth. “I don’t do all that formal stuff, Gemma. You don’t have to stand on ceremony with me.”
“I know,” the waitress replied. “It’s just habit. I never would have called your father by his first name and half the people in here are, well, they like things served to them a certain way. Anyway, what’s new with the business? Any samples headed our way? You know we loved that concealer. And we’ve all been using your eyebrow pallet.”
Selena laughed and said, “I’ll send out some goody bags for you and the girls. I’m sure there are leftover samples from London Fashion Week.”
Gemma clasped her hand to her mouth. “Fabulous. I’ll tell the girls. If you don’t ask, you don’t get,” she gave Nick an enthusiastic grin before turning her attention back to Selena. “Anyway, honey, what can I get you?
As Nick listened to Selena’s conversation he couldn’t help but think she was as far from typical as it gets for a rich kid, billionaire, who’d been handed success on a plate. It was almost as if she’d been designed for a different life, a modest life, but had been thrown into this elite existence and was making it her own. That’s what he liked about her. Well, that , and everything else. He could identify with that, with his own ill-fitting life. He felt trapped in a life story that was never meant to be his.
Selena hadn’t even looked at the menu but she knew what she wanted. “I’ll take the avocado, fennel...”
“Grapefruit and chilI,” Gemma finished for her.
She smiled and nodded. “Exactly that.”
They both turned to Nick expectantly. He looked up from the menu. “Pancakes, maple syrup and bacon for me please.”
Gemma smiled, nodded, and was about the leave, when Selena held up her hand to halt her. “Actually, that sounds really good. I’ll take that as well. Scrap the avocado stuff. But I’d better take a Hard Green smoothie on the side as well.”