Secrets Of The Night: A Case of Kiss and Tell

Nine

Nichole slept restlessly. She wanted to blame it on not being used to having someone else in her bed. But what weighed on her mind was the fact that Conner had only agreed to be her lover because of their bargain. She had vivid dreams of her boss finding out how she got Conner’s story and firing her.

She finally got out of bed at six, just before her alarm went off. Conner appeared to be sleeping. She slowly went to the bathroom, trying to be extra quiet so as not to wake him. She didn’t want to face him this morning. She knew she shouldn’t leave without waking him, but she wanted to.

Part of her was very afraid of what he’d say to her. Of what she’d say … Last night had been more intense than she’d expected. But then nothing with Conner had gone exactly according to plan since the moment she’d met him.

She carefully closed the door to her tiny bathroom and reached over to turn the shower on to get the water hot. She glanced at herself in the mirror and shook her head. She didn’t look any different.

Maybe she was overthinking the entire arrangement with Conner. There was nothing tawdry about having slept with him. She’d had one-night stands before and she knew that as long as both she and her partner were on the same page, no one would get hurt. So why then was this bothering her so much?

Steam started to fill the tiny room and she pulled back the shower curtain and got inside. She started to wash when she heard the bathroom door open.

“Morning, Nichole,” Conner said, his voice sounding raspy with sleep. She stood there frozen with her loofah in one hand and the shower gel in the other.

She shook her head. He knew she was in there and probably had guessed that she was naked. Why was she being so silly?

“Morning,” she said. “Sorry if I woke you. I have an early meeting.”

“Not a problem. I would normally leave you in peace in here, but this is the only bathroom and I, too, have an early meeting so I need to wash up.”

“That’s fine,” she said. Oh, man, she’d come in here to hide from him and now he was here. But at least she didn’t have to face him. Not yet.

“What’s your day like?” he asked.

“Just the usual … Do you even know what a reporter does?” she asked.

“Meddle in other people’s lives and make trouble for them?” His tone was light. She pulled the shower curtain back to peek out at him. He was bent over the sink washing his face. He was naked and his body looked good, with tan lines on his legs and arms.

He straightened up and she closed the curtain so he didn’t catch her peeking at him. “Ha! No, that’s not what I do. Mostly I spend my time doing research and making calls trying to get recalcitrant people to talk to me.”

“And if that doesn’t work, then you crash their parties.”

She shook her head. His easy banter was making her relax. She’d been worrying about what was going on between them, but Conner wasn’t treating her any differently than he had before.

“That was only for you,” she said. She finished washing her body and though it was an odd-numbered day of the month and normally she didn’t wash her hair on those days, she went ahead and did it anyway.

“I’m honored,” he said. “Would it bother you if I joined you in the shower?”

She hesitated. She’d been hiding in here so that she wouldn’t have to face him, but now she didn’t want to anymore.

“Not at all,” she said. “In fact, I’m almost finished.”

“Good. I’ll be quick.”

He opened the shower curtain and stepped in. She couldn’t resist reaching out to touch him. He gave her a sexy smile.

“I can’t make love this morning,” she blurted out.

He shook his head. “Okay.”

She handed him her loofah and the shower gel and then switched places with him. “I’m going to leave you to it.”

“Are you nervous?” he asked.

“Of course not,” she said. But she knew she was acting like a ninny. She never let anyone shake her, but Conner was. “I just don’t want to tempt you when I know there isn’t time to do anything about it.”

“I’m always tempted by you,” he said, and leaned against her, putting his hand on the wall behind her head and kissing her.

She closed her eyes and tipped her head back. His mouth on hers was soothing and arousing. It made most of her doubts fade away, and she was suddenly very glad that Conner was here with her this morning.

He canted his hips forward and she felt his erection nudge her stomach. Then his hands slid down her body to caress her breasts.

She ran her hands over his wet body as well, finding his hard-on and caressing the entire length of him. He continued kissing her and then put his hands on her waist to lift her off her feet. He leaned back against the wall and she wrapped her arms around his shoulders and her legs around his waist.

“I thought you didn’t have time,” he said.

“Stop gloating,” she said.

She shifted until she felt him poised at the entrance of her body. She slowly took all of him and then rocked her hips against him. He kissed her deeply, driving her on, the tips of her breasts brushing against his chest.

He thrust up into her hard and deep until she felt her orgasm wash over her. She pulled her mouth from his and lowered her head to his shoulder as she felt him jetting his own completion into her body.

She slowly let one leg fall to the floor of the shower. She was dazed by the passion that seemed to flare so effortlessly between them. He pulled himself from her and kissed her softly on the forehead before he gently washed her body and then his own.

She opened the shower curtain and grabbed her towel from the rack, drying off quickly. Then she went back into the bedroom, leaving Conner alone in the bathroom.

She could no longer pretend that last night hadn’t changed everything.

Conner knew she’d been hiding from him in the bathroom. All night long she’d tossed and turned next to him. Neither of them had had a good night’s sleep. He knew that, for him, it was second thoughts about what he’d agreed to let her write about him and his family.

But he hadn’t made a success out of all his business ventures by backing down once a decision had been made. He’d see it through and manage it so that he was in control.

And that was what this morning had been about for him. Making sure that she didn’t have too much time to think about her story. He meant to ensure that she kept her focus on Conner as her lover, not the subject of an interview.

He turned off the shower and realized that he smelled sweet. Glancing down at the bottle of shower gel she’d given him, he groaned when he saw it was “birthday cake”–scented. Damn, he didn’t want to walk around all day smelling like this.

He got out of the shower and found a clean towel in the small closet. He dried off and then wrapped it around his waist. He needed a shave and didn’t have deodorant or a change of clothes, but that was okay—he’d already sent a text to Randall asking him to pick up those items and bring them over.

The telephone rang and he hesitated for a moment before leaving the bedroom. He heard the muffled sound of Nichole’s voice.

When he entered the bedroom, he found Nichole standing in front of her closet with a cordless phone tucked between her shoulder and her ear.

“Yes, Mom, I’m doing fine. I’m sorry I didn’t call you last night,” she said.

Nichole listened again as she pulled a dark sapphire-blue sheath dress from her closet. She hung it on a hook and then turned, but stopped midstride when she saw him standing there.

“No, I wasn’t out on a date. I just went to a dinner party at Jane Macafee’s.”

She smiled at something her mother said.

“She’s just as charming in person as she appears on the show,” Nichole said. “I have to go. I’ll call you at lunchtime.”

Nichole listened again.

“Love you, too.”

She hung up the phone and tossed it onto the bed. It seemed to Conner that she and her mother had a really good relationship. But how could that be, based on her past?

“My mom calls me if I don’t talk to her every day. Even though I’ve been living here for more than ten years, she’s still afraid something bad will happen to me,” Nichole said.

“My mom is the same way,” Conner said. “She pretends she’s calling to ask me about business or other things but she manages to talk to me every day.”

She walked over to her dresser and pulled out a matching bra-and-panty set. This one was cream-colored and had a lace trim on the edge. He knew he should be getting dressed as well, but he enjoyed the intimacy of watching Nichole slowly clothe herself.

“Are you going to keep staring at me?” she asked.

“I can’t help myself. You’re gorgeous,” he said.

She gave a quick curtsy. “I’m so glad you think so.”

She was funny and quirky and every second he spent with her made him want more.

And that made her dangerous.

Who would have thought that this woman would be able to rock his world the way she had? He was used to dealing with powerful, beautiful women, but Nichole was different.

She dressed quickly and he went over to his own clothes and began putting them on. When she was seated at her vanity table, he glanced over at her and noticed that she had been watching him in the mirror.

She quickly picked up a makeup brush and drew it across her face, refusing to meet his eyes in the mirror. He understood that she was a complicated woman and that no matter how much she’d enjoyed the sex with him, there were bound to be some heavy emotions inside her this morning.

“Are you okay?” he asked, thinking he probably sounded pretty inane. “I guess we can see that I’m definitely not a reporter given my lame questions.”

She gave him a sad half smile. “That’s for sure. And I’m fine. A little tired.”

“Tired sounds like an excuse,” he said as he buttoned his shirt. “Do you regret last night?”

She shook her head. “Not at all. Since the first moment we talked at the Fourth of July party, I’ve thought of nothing else but getting you into my bed.”

“Me, too. But that doesn’t mean that this morning you might feel differently. When I was first starting out in business, I set all these financial goals for myself and in my mind I thought once I have this amount of money I’ll feel secure. But the truth was the money didn’t make a difference.”

She turned on her vanity stool to face him. “What did make the difference?”

“A sense of confidence in myself. I had to trust that I would continue making the right decisions and that I didn’t need to stop at one good deal to ensure the future.”

She nodded. He’d told her something personal that he hadn’t meant to. Dammit, he needed to be more on his guard around her. And this wasn’t even her fault. He had to watch himself because she mattered to him.

He suddenly realized that he cared about her and not in the general way he’d thought he had. She mattered to him. Her happiness mattered to him.

“Thank you for sharing that,” she said.

“You’re welcome.” He finished dressing quickly. Now he was the one who felt awkward and that wasn’t like him. His cell phone beeped and he glanced down at the screen to see he had a text from Randall saying he was waiting downstairs.

“I’m going to get out of here. Are you free for lunch or drinks tonight?”

“Lunch would be better. I have to drop by the set of Sexy & Single.”

“Lunch it is—does the Big Apple Kiwi Klub at noon work for you?” he asked. “We can discuss the details of your moving in with me then.”

She nodded.

He stood up and walked over to her, pulled her into his arms and kissed her softly. “Have a good day, red.”

Then he turned and walked out of her bedroom, but he knew he couldn’t walk away from the new emotions that were flowing inside of him.

Nichole’s morning flew by. Her editorial meeting was long and boring as usual, but she was preoccupied with thoughts of Conner and the previous night. A couple of her coworkers mentioned that she seemed distracted and she told them that she was on a new story and that was all that was on her mind.

But part of her knew that Conner was definitely a distraction. She’d always been 100 percent focused at work and today she wasn’t. Instead, she remembered the way he’d felt inside her this morning in her shower. And she hoped that tonight she’d sleep a little better, but doubted it.

She was his mistress now. She didn’t know what the reality of that would entail, but she did know that there was going to be a lot more of Conner in her life. And she had to get it together to focus on the story she wanted to write or else she was going to find that she’d wasted this time with him.

But part of her just wanted to revel in being in a new relationship. That scared her. Especially since Conner had made it clear that he was moving on when their month of being lovers was up.

She glanced at her iPhone and saw that she had fifteen minutes to get across town to meet Conner for lunch. She wanted to be prepared to ask him a few interview questions or at least schedule some interview time so that she didn’t get distracted by being his lover.

Just as she was about to walk out of the office, her phone rang. She glanced at the caller ID and saw that it was Gail.

“Hey, girl,” she said, forcing herself to sound cheerful, even though she was in the midst of her greatest moral dilemma ever.

“Hey. Are you free for lunch today? I wanted to talk to you and see how things were going,” Gail said.

“I can’t. Why do you want to talk to me?”

“You seemed a little … lost is the wrong word, so don’t get mad, but just unsettled about the entire thing with Conner Macafee,” Gail said.

“I am lost,” Nichole admitted. “But only because he’s not like other guys and I don’t know exactly what to do to handle him. I could use a sounding board.”

“I thought so. I’m busy tonight, but I can do breakfast or lunch tomorrow,” Gail said.

“Maybe breakfast. I’m supposed to drop by the set of the TV show tomorrow, so if you tag along maybe we can rope Willow into joining us.”

“I’m already on it,” Gail said. “I’ll text you the details later. Bye.”

“Gail?”

“Yes?”

“Thanks for calling,” Nichole said. She knew that she wasn’t comfortable reaching out to her friends because she never wanted them to think she was whiney, but she needed someone to talk to.

“No problem. You and Willow are my soul sisters and we have to look out for each other.”

“I know that, but it’s hard when we’re all so busy.”

“I’m never too busy for you,” Gail said. “Take care, honey.”

“You, too.”

Nichole felt less alone when she hung up the phone. She left her office and hailed a cab. Traffic was heavy and she sent a text to Conner that she’d be ten minutes late. He replied right away.

I’m running late, too.

I’ll get a table if I’m there first.

I have one reserved. See you soon.

Nichole was unsure if she should answer back. She knew it would just be something like okay, but she hated to not respond to a message. When she IMed with Gail and Willow, they teased her that she had to have the last word. And she knew it was true. Finally, she just texted back Okay and put her phone away.

The cab pulled to a stop in front of the Big Apple Kiwi Klub, which housed a hotel and nightclub in one facility. The hotel had a Michelin-starred restaurant and featured a traveling exhibit of Gustav Klimt’s work. The Klubs were an international chain, owned by Gail’s fiancé, Russell Holloway.

Nichole exited the taxi and headed to the restaurant on the third floor. She gave Conner’s name to the maître d’ and by the time their table was ready, Conner had arrived. He put his hand on the small of her back as they followed the seating hostess to their table.

No one looking at them would think that they weren’t involved. Nichole realized that she needed to have a chat with her editor and let him know that she was “dating” Conner before the story ran so that it didn’t look like anything inappropriate was going on.

That was just another complication to this deal she’d made. She knew the stakes were high and she’d gambled everything on this being a story that could take her career to the next level.

Once they were seated, she noticed that Conner had found time to shave and change his clothes after he’d left her apartment this morning.

He ordered sparkling water for both of them and told the waiter they’d signal him when they were ready to order. “We need a few minutes to talk.”

“No problem, sir,” the waiter said and backed away.

“I hope you don’t mind, but I wanted to talk to you before we order our food.”

“Not at all. What’s up?” she asked.

“I wanted to give you a chance to back out of our bargain,” he said.

“Why now?” she asked.

“It seems as if it’s weighing heavily on your mind and I don’t want you to feel that you have to continue on with it.”

“Will you still sit down for an interview?” she asked.

He shook his head. She felt angry that he might want to renege on their deal now that she’d slept with him. “I’m not going back on my word, Conner. Are you?”

Ten

Conner immediately realized his mistake, but he had wanted to give her a chance to back out. “I didn’t mean it at all the way you’ve taken it.”

“How did you mean it, then?”

“Just that I can tell how much our bargain is troubling you … and I wanted to give you an out.”

“I appreciate that, but I’d only take it if you still intended to pursue a relationship with me as well as letting me talk to you about Matchmakers, Inc.”

“I understand. Let’s put my question behind us. Shall we order lunch and then discuss the details of our arrangement?”

She nodded, but there was a tightness to her features that told him he wasn’t forgiven. And he couldn’t blame her. He’d worded his idea in the worst possible way.

And he’d forgotten something extremely important: She’d slept with him last night and undoubtedly felt a little vulnerable as far as he was concerned this morning.

They both ordered and once they were alone again, Nichole pulled a notebook from her purse and a fountain pen. “I would like to get a couple of interviews scheduled.”

“I understand. I think for both our sakes, maybe we should draw up an agreement between the two of us.”

“Like what?”

“Just what I expect from you and what you expect from me,” he said.

She wrote their names next to each other on a blank page in her notebook then drew a line down the middle. Under her name she wrote the word mistress and under his interviews.

“That’s just the start,” she said. “We agreed last night that you would do an interview about the matchmaking service and that you would allow me to observe you with your family.”

“Yes, we did,” he said.

She added those to the column under his name.

“Mistress is a vague term,” he said. “But I’d like you to live with me in my apartment for the duration of our time together.”

“I don’t know about that. Will you allow me to check with my boss this afternoon?” she asked. “I’m going to say simply that I’ve interviewed you and we are dating. Let him know about the relationship and make sure that he’s cool with it.”

“Shouldn’t you have already checked?” he asked. It sounded like there were details she hadn’t covered and that didn’t seem like Nichole.

“I have to check it out. There are other reporters who have written about their significant others, but I just want to let my editor know we are dating. If we hadn’t been seen out in public together we might have a chance at remaining under the radar, but I’d rather not take any additional chances.”

“Agreed,” he said. “Barring any problems with that, I think you should move into my apartment this evening.”

“Isn’t that quick?” she asked.

“It’s a little late to think of that now. You’re mine, red, and I want you under my roof.”

She shivered with sensual excitement at the way he claimed her. Her mind tried to warn her not to let it go to her head, though. She had to focus on the interview. That should help her keep cool as far as he was concerned. Not so easily agitated by everything he said and did.

“Sounds good. Do you have time to meet with me tomorrow for the interview?” she asked.

He pulled out his iPhone and after a few minutes said, “I can give you thirty minutes tomorrow.”