“And where are you staying?” she asked.
“The Meridian Hotel in the city,” he said, walking towards the door.
He turned to face her again and without warning, slipped one hand around her waist, pulling her flush against him. Every hard inch of his body pressed into her softer flesh.
“Wh..what are you doing?” she asked, her voice husky.
His deep blue eyes bore into hers. “What I should have done the moment I saw you again.”
She parted her lips to speak, but before she could utter a word, he captured her mouth with his. He didn’t linger, but he damn sure made his point, stroking her tongue with his. Then, too soon, he lifted his head.
“It’s good to see you again, Aurora.” And before she could say anything, he’d straightened and let himself out.
The sound of the door closing left her staring after him in shock. Her fingers touched the lips he’d kissed, while awareness rippled through her body. Her emotions had been all over the place in a quick span of time. One minute she’d been worried about him taking her daughter away from her, and the next, she’d been in Nick’s embrace. Her nipples were hard and panties damp.
God, the man was potent. But she couldn’t do this—not again. If Nick was going to be back in her life, it had to be about Leah. Not them. She wouldn’t stand in the way of him getting to know his daughter. But her ability to truly trust someone had been shattered a long time ago.
* * *
Nick was a father. He was also in shock. He’d managed to hold himself together at Aurora’s, but barely. After all, it wasn’t every day he discovered he had a child he knew nothing about. He’d gone through the motions in a fog, cutting a pancake like a dad and absorbing the fact that the sassy, little chatterbox was his.
Once he and Aurora were alone, he’d focused on her. It was easier to concentrate on the woman who still affected him on a sexual and emotional level, than to think about the bombshell she’d just dropped on him. He’d need time to process that. But when Aurora had panicked over his intentions regarding Leah, he realized she was in full on freak-out mode, too.
Knowing the best thing he could do would be to talk to someone whose opinion he respected, he drove from Aurora’s townhouse to the Manhattan high rise, where his sister Jade lived. He texted her, so she knew to expect him. And when he arrived, Spencer, the doorman, let him up.
He rapped his knuckles on the door and his sister answered, greeting him with a hug. “Hey! I’m so glad you’re here.”
“Hey, yourself.” He stepped back and took her in. Her eyes were glassy and her cheeks flushed—she obviously was still battling a migraine.
“Are you feeling better? It’s not like you to skip one of Harrison’s premieres.”
“It’s slowly going away.” She shrugged. “I’m used to it but it sucks. Everyone says Harrison was phenomenal.”
“He and Sasha had amazing chemistry,” Nick said.
Jade closed the door behind him and he followed her into the family room. The television was on and her favorite blanket was thrown on the couch.
Picking up the remote, she hit ‘mute’ on one of the Housewives shows and curled back up on the couch.
He took the other side of the sofa and got comfortable, too. Though he had news, he was worried about her. “Are you sure this is just a headache?” he asked.
“As opposed to…what?”
“Oh, maybe it’s because last night was the date you were supposed to marry Theo Matthews?” Until Zach had seen the guy getting too cozy with another woman in a bar.
There’d been no mistaking their interaction for anything other than what it was. Theo Matthews, hockey goalie, had been cheating on Jade. Zach had taken photos in case Jade hadn’t wanted to believe it. Considering he was the second fiancé to fuck her over—the first having been in it for the Dare money—Nick wouldn’t have blamed her for not wanting to face the truth. Jade had given both men the boot, but her heart had been shredded in the process.
She frowned. “I’m over the asshole.”
“But that doesn’t mean you aren’t aware of the date. Nobody would fault you for wanting to be alone last night, instead of in a crowd of people.” He’d offered to come over but Jade had insisted he go to Harrison’s premiere.
“Can we change the subject? I heard you ran into some woman you met in Miami? Let’s talk about that.” She raised her eyebrows and stared him down.
He held up both hands in defeat. “Fine. But if you want to talk, you know where to find me.”
Her expression softened. “I do and I love you for caring. I’m okay, really. So, what’s going on with you?”