Page 18 of Dancing With Temptation

“Well, I guess you know Elmo’s burned down, and all of us have been making ends meet however we can.” She paused while a hostess took them to a table and ordered their drinks. Once the woman was gone she picked back up where she’d left off. “Oh, my boyfriend, ex-boyfriend I should say, is wanted for that fire, but he’s missing, and oh, that was a lot to drop on you wasn’t it?”

Roxie finally noticed the stunned look on Nick’s face and her words dwindled off. His eyes went wide for a moment before he spoke. “Wow, yeah, that’s a lot. But you’re single now, that’s a good thing.”

Roxie was about to tell Nick that she wasn’t quite single, but decided against it when an image of Naomi smiling up at Lincoln in his playroom popped into her head. “I suppose I am.”

A client was not a boyfriend, she reminded herself and took a sip of the Long Island Iced Tea the waitress brought to her. They ordered a lot of food they could nibble at and eat with their hands and were soon back as they usually were, smiling and laughing with each other.

Nick could always put Roxie at ease and tonight was no different. When they finished their food, Nick asked if she’d like to do anything else. Roxie looked over at him across the table and clenched her teeth in thought. Could she do it? Could she sleep with him?

It wouldn’t be a simple matter of a quick fuck to Nick, if she went through with it, it would mean something to him. He’d always made his feelings clear to her and maybe he was the right choice. Especially if Lincoln was just going to prance around with Little Miss Hollywood Actress at public events. She stared at him, adoring his blond hair, Nordic blue eyes, and six-foot-five-inch height. The man was a Viking giant, but as gentle as a lamb with her.

Maybe he was the one and she was too stupid to see that.

“Let’s go back to your place. We can watch some movies and tear them apart. That’s always my favorite thing to do with you.” It was also when she felt the safest, when it was just the two of them, closed away from the world.

She’d had less of that time when she started dating Nathan, and because Nick’s business took him off on trips all over the world, but he was here now. Spending some time with him would be nice.

“That sounds like a plan, meet you there, or do you want to ride with me?” He winked at her and she couldn’t help but smile. He knew she loved his car.

“I’d love to have another ride in her, but I’ll follow you in my old banger.” Roxie pointed her thumb at the older model compact SUV behind her and shrugged. “A girl always needs to be able to pick up and go, you know?”

She laughed at the way her sentence rhymed and he smiled with her. “That’s what I love about you, Rox, you never take yourself too seriously.”

“Is that all it takes? I can give you a lot more reasons than that.” She teased but his face moved into something enigmatic, hard to read.

“No, that’s not all. But let’s get going, shall we?” He pushed through the moment and she let it go.

Once they were settled into his penthouse, high above everybody else in Myrtle Beach, Roxie settled in, took her shoes off, and relaxed for the first time in what felt like months. “God, I’m glad you’re home, finally.”

Nick brought out two beers and set them on the table before he sat down beside her on the luxurious black leather sectional in his living room. “Why’s that?”

“Oh, you know.” She scoffed and pushed up to reach for her beer. “I know I can count on you to be there when I need someone to listen. I have Emily, the girls I work with, and Wendy, but you’re on the periphery of all of that and I know you’ll set me straight if I’m wrong or tell me if I’m right.”

“That’s what friends are for, isn’t it?” He asked, but she could see in his eyes that he wanted to be more than friends.

Normally, she could put his desire to the back of her mind. Normally, Nick did the same. But right now? Right now, it was burning out of those blue depths like ice blue flames.

Roxie, for reasons she could never fully explain, leaned into that look, leaned into his full lips. Her hand came up, cupped the left side of his face to hold it still, and did the unthinkable. She kissed him.

It was an innocent kiss, at first. It was meant to be an exploration, but then Nick groaned deep in his throat, a sound that always made her knees weak when men did it, and pulled her over his lap. Luckily, she’d changed into a pair of denim shorts earlier, but still, there wasn’t much between their bodies when she sank down onto him.

“Roxie.” He murmured against her jaw, “I’ve wanted you for far too long.”

She hushed him up by taking his face in her hands and kissing him again. Don’t speak, she thought to herself, don’t make me think of someone else.

His hands came up to bury themselves in her hair and he groaned again. But maybe that was because her tongue snaked out, parted his lips, and then danced against his. His hands immediately came down to cup her ass, hold her tight against his hips where the undeniable proof of how much he wanted her was already more than obvious.

She wasn’t thinking, wasn’t even really feeling in that moment, she just wanted to lose herself in him. He pulled off her shirt and was about to pull aside the lace panels of the top she wore beneath, eager to taste her, but sensibility washed over her like ice water. “Nick.”

“Don’t make me stop, Roxie. I’ve wanted you for so long.” Nick begged, but she shook her head and stood up.

“No, it wouldn’t be right. I’d just be using you for sex and we’re more than that, Nick. You’re my friend.” Like a brother, were the words she left unspoken. He knew it though and closed his eyes.

He inhaled deeply, looked around the living room he’d decorated like he’d bought everything at a Moroccan bazaar—there was even a black and ivory hookah in one corner—and swiped at his face. “You’re right. I’d love to make you my wife, give you everything you’ve ever dreamed of, but I know that’s not how you feel about me. I’d be taking advantage if I pressured you into anything more than being my friend.”

“Thanks.” Roxie rolled her eyes at herself and sat back down. “You totally took the blame for me making a pass at you.”

“It’s the gentlemanly thing to do, isn’t it?” He wiggled his eyebrows and she couldn’t help but laugh with him.