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.