Deadly Obsession (11 page)

“Your wish is my command.” He grins as he tugs the back of her skirt up. “Face forward.” His voice is breathless, urgent like her own.

Beyond all sanity and desperate to have him where she needs him, she complies but loops an arm around his neck, pulling his head down so his beard-roughened cheek rests against her shoulder. The blunt head of his erection presses against her opening but doesn’t go farther. Unable to wait, she pushes back, but he grips her hips with his hands, holding her in place. When she grumbles, he lightly bites her neck, then soothes it with a swirl of his tongue.

“Please,” she begs.

She can’t see his triumphant grin but she can feel it as his lips curve against her sensitive skin. She is rewarded when he begins to stretch her, filling the emptiness in her body, in her heart.

As the tempo of the music increases, Nic speeds up his strokes to match. Together they are dancing, pressed tightly, swaying to the beat of the music along with the crowd. One of Nic’s hands returns to a breast to tweak and tug at her nipple while the other slips under her skirt and one long finger finds her nub. With slow circular motions in time with his strokes, he brings her higher and higher. She writhes against him. Her arms thrash, her legs shake. As the music reaches its crescendo…

A powerful orgasm roared through Lauren’s body, igniting every nerve ending in its path. Until finally, spent, shaking, her breath coming in rapid gasps, she descended from the peak.

As a figment of her imagination, Nic The Lover was beyond compare. Would she ever find out if the real Nic could live up to the fantasy?

She paced back and forth, her angry steps wearing a path in the carpet. If that crazy fan were within arm’s reach, she’d gladly strangle her. The nerve of that woman, attacking Nic. She’d actually knocked him to the ground!

Poor Nic was so shaken up, she’d permitted him to take a small measure of comfort from the stupid blonde who’d accompanied him to the footprint ceremony. Since Nic didn’t like stupid blondes, she had no reason to be jealous. He'd taken the bimbo because she fit Nic The Lover’s image. A smile curved her lips. She understood the need for a good front. She wouldn’t need to punish him for that.

Yet.

As for the short, fat photographer, if he saw her in anything but a professional capacity, Nic’s punishment would be severe. She’d be watching. And she’d know. He’d learn how creative she could be.

Soon, the money would be safely offshore and they would be the owners of a small island far, far away from everyone. She’d have him all to herself.

Soon, she’d take him from Hollywood and he could finally drop his Nic The Lover act. He’d owe her for setting him free.

Soon, he’d realize how much he needed her and how perfect things were with just the two of them. She’d be his and he’d be hers.

Soon.

Early the next morning, Nic stormed into Vivian’s office, completely ignoring Margo, who called out to him that Vivian was on the phone. He didn’t care. Vivian needed to explain the situation with Lauren.

At the sound of his voice, Vivian looked up. After making a quick excuse to her caller, she hung up. “Darling, how lovely to see you. Please have a seat.”

The warm greeting on her face faded when Nic remained standing. “I spoke with Lauren last night. You never called her to cancel the photo shoot when I left for Montréal.”

With irritating precision, Vivian relaxed in her seat and crossed her legs. “As I recall, you told me Lauren would call me
if
she found a location, and that I should let her know you had an emergency. She didn’t call, so there was no reason for me to contact her. You were very agitated that night, maybe that’s why you don’t remember?”

Was it possible? He
had
been frantic with worry about Rachel. “What about the voice mail she left you, and the proofs she sent for your approval? They were returned, unopened.”

Vivian’s brow furrowed as she tapped a finger on her lip. “Maybe she called the wrong number? As for the proofs, Margo keeps a log of all sent and received mail. Let’s take a look.” She pressed the intercom button on her phone. “Margo, please bring in the correspondence log.”

Nic sank into one of Vivian’s rather uncomfortable straight backed guest chairs. Seconds later, Margo arrived with the log book, handed it to Vivian and left.

After scanning through a few pages, Vivian tapped a line with her nail. “Here it is. May 28, 11:00am, a FEDEX delivery from L. James. Did Lauren say when it was returned?”

Nic shook his head.

After flipping through a few more pages, she read, “May 31, 3:00pm FEDEX pickup. Envelope for L. James.”

“So you received it and then sent it back, like Lauren said.”

Vivian leaned back in her chair, swinging her foot. All of a sudden, she slapped her hands on the desk. “I bet I know what happened. Margo received the FEDEX, opened it and accidentally placed the envelope from Lauren in the outbox instead of the inbox.”

Nic rested his elbows on his knees and scrubbed his cheeks. Could the answer be so simple?

“I’m terribly sorry. Margo will be reprimanded, and I assure you such an incident will never occur again.”

“It was an honest mix-up, Vivian. Don’t be too hard on her.”

“Is Lauren very upset?”

He nodded. “She thought I’d blown her off. I’ll need to convince her this was all a big mistake.”

Vivian met his gaze and raised her eyebrows. “Convince her? Darling, I think she needs to apologize to you for overreacting. You can work with any photographer you want, yet you choose to work with her. She should be grateful.”

“Nah, we’re the lucky ones.” He looked up and smiled. “It’s too bad you haven’t seen the proofs yet because then you’d understand. And this next shoot she has planned, it’ll be even better than the last one.”

Vivian didn’t return his smile. “You seem very certain.”

“She wants to do this part on location in a skating arena. It’s going to be fantastic.”

“An arena, Nic? Do you think the magazines will want photos of Nic The Lover on ice?” She grimaced.

Anger trailed a burning path up his neck. Lauren had pegged this perfectly. He didn’t give a shit if Vivian liked Lauren’s ideas. He loved them. Standing up, he placed his hands on the edge of the desk and leaned over until his nose almost touched hers. “Listen to me, Vivian. Whether you like it or not, I’m doing this photo shoot.”

“Of course. I didn’t mean to imply otherwise.” She smiled sweetly and held his cheeks in the palms of her hands. “Have Lauren send me the proofs again and I’ll review them. I only want the best for you, darling.”

Nic pulled her hands away from his face and took a few steps back. “But sometimes, I’m the only one who knows what that is.”

Lauren stared at the phone on the kitchen wall, willing it to ring. All day, she’d struggled against the urge to pick it up and dial Nic’s number instead of waiting for him to call. Only she couldn’t do that because he hadn’t exactly given her his number. He just hadn’t blocked his caller ID last night.

She had to stop acting like a lovesick teenager. Grabbing the mailbox key, she headed outside, locking the door behind her. That’s when the phone rang.

As she fumbled the key into the lock, Lauren wanted to scream. She dashed across the living room and snatched the phone off the hook. The rush of adrenaline made her sound breathless. Great. Nic probably thought he’d reached some singles hotline.

“
Bonjour, chérie
. Did I catch you at a bad time?”

“Not at all. I was folding laundry.” Lauren wanted to die. Did she have to sound so domestic?

“I spoke with Vivian.” Nic explained how Vivian had misunderstood his instructions when he’d had to leave D.C. and how there’d been some confusion with the proofs. Vivian’s explanation stank of coincidences.

“Why don’t you give me her number again? If I need to call her about the photos, we’ll be sure I have the right one.”

Nic gave her the number and she checked it against Vivian’s contact entry in her phone. They matched. Vivian was lying.
What a bitch
. She’d let it go this time. But she wouldn’t be so forgiving if it happened again.

“Now that everything’s been cleared up, let’s schedule the rest of the photo shoot. I want to do it as soon as possible.”

Lauren barely managed to suppress a squeal. “Great. Let me check my schedule.” She forced her voice to sound casual as she flipped the pages of the calendar hanging on the inside of the pantry door. How was she going to fit in a trip to L.A.? “Between work and taking care of Jason, it’s hard for me to get away. Can you come to Seattle? If so, maybe we can do it this week?”

“Not a problem.”

Wow
. He hadn’t even hesitated. “Don’t you have to check with Vivian?”

“She can postpone anything she has planned. What’s a good day for you?”

Lauren could hardly believe her ears. A tingle of excitement sizzled through her body and pooled low in her belly. “Can you make it out here Friday evening or Saturday morning?”

“I’ll check the flights and let you know. Can you book some arena time Saturday afternoon or evening?”

“I’ll get right on it.” Her hands started to tremble. Was this all too good to be true?

“Let me give you my cell phone number in case you need to reach me.”

Lauren leaned against the wall as her heart threatened to pound a hole through her chest. Nic The Lover wanted to give her his
personal
cell number. Not that she didn’t already have it, but now she’d actually be able to use it. She held the receiver away from her mouth and took a deep calming breath, then asked, “Don’t you want me to call Vivian and have her contact you?”

“No. I’d like to avoid any more mix-ups where you’re concerned.” He gave her the number. “Call me, anytime.”

Was she imagining the huskiness in his voice? She grinned and couldn’t help wondering what ringtone he’d assigned her contact entry. In her fantasies, he’d pick something like Savage Garden’s
Truly Madly Deeply
, but he’d probably chosen something more along the lines of Depeche Mode’s
Photographic
.

“By the way, my son has a sleepover planned for the weekend so maybe you could, um, stay here instead of going to a hotel.” Lauren closed her eyes and sighed. So much for being professional; she sounded like she was propositioning him. “I mean… I have two bedrooms…”
Even worse
.

Nic laughed. “
Chérie
, I accept your gracious offer.”

She groaned. Everything she said to him seemed to have a double meaning. Maybe it was her subconscious, or rather not so subconscious, desires bubbling to the surface.

After ending the call, Lauren stood staring out of her patio door with the phone clutched to her chest.
Nic The Lover was coming here
.

She looked around the apartment. What would he think? Small and plain and surely nothing like his L.A. loft, the apartment was perfect for her and Jason. Nic could use her room since she was pretty sure he wouldn’t fit in Jason’s twin bed. The image of Nic lying in the small bed with his feet hanging off the end made her to smile.