SimoneI kissed Michael goodbye and left his house late at night. The very last thing I wanted was to be seen in public wearing nothing but his jacket. I could already imagine Crystal printing out those pictures and plastering them all over the office.Thankfully, both Michael's house and mine were free of paparazzi at that late hour. I drove home in silence, my heart feeling heavy. When I woke up in the morning, the same feeling overwhelmed me. It took a long time to place it, but I finally realized it was grief. I was grieving the fact that Michael was leaving for three days.How ridiculous! I'd known him for a matter of months, and we'd spent more than three days apart since then. I couldn't believe I was so sad to not see him for a few days.I slouched into work, feeling weighed down by the sadness. I knew he was likely already on his plane, headed toward some city I hated. It didn't matter where he was going; anywhere away from me was a horrible place.I made myself c
SimoneRob didn't answer the door when I rang the bell, but the door was unlocked, so I let myself in. He was in the kitchen, per usual, dancing along to a song. He hadn't heard me or seen me yet, so I watched him for a while with a huge smile on my face. He looked so happy."Can I have this dance?" I asked.He stiffened for a millisecond, clearly surprised, but then he spun around and wrapped me in his arms."You can have whatever you want," he whispered, placing a soft kiss on my lips. I deepened the kiss a bit.He let go after a few minutes and turned back to the dish he was working on. I had no idea what he'd made, but I smelled butter and garlic, and it was divine."Sit down, babe," he told me. "I've got appetizers on the table already, and some champagne."Though we usually ate at the kitchen island, tonight he'd gone through special trouble to set the table. There were candles and rose petals and a bottle of champagne on ice. There was also a large charcuterie t
SimoneFor the second time, I woke up in an empty bed. At least this time, I knew Rob was in the shower and not across town somewhere getting ready to go on a trip. I still hadn't heard from Michael since he left, but at the moment, I chose to focus on Rob.Sweet, sexy, nerdy Rob, who had a secret wild side. I was already thinking about how to make him cut loose again when I realized I was wasting a prime opportunity. I hopped out of bed and joined him in the shower.He looked me up and down appreciatively before pinning me against the wet wall. Our bodies slid together under the hot spray, and I was desperate for him to touch me. I'd have to leave for work soon, but we had time."F*ck me against the wall," I breathed out, but he didn't immediately agree like he usually did. "Rob," I whined."Only if you do the thing again," he said with a mischievous look in his eye.I was really turning him into a freak. It was sexy as hell.We had the hottest shower sex of my life, in
SimoneWhen I walked into the office the next morning, it was like walking into a completely different place of business. The vibe was so calm and peaceful. I didn't know the office could even feel this way. It had been a long time since I didn't have alarm bells going off in my head, wondering whether or not Crystal would be there to bother me.For the first hour, it was nothing but quiet. Everyone just kept their heads down and focused on their work. Then, I got up for a coffee break, and the confessions started."I can't believe how horribly Crystal treated you," one of the young secretaries told me.She couldn't have been older than twenty-one and was a quiet, timid thing. This was the most I'd ever heard her talk."Thank you, Trish," I told her."She was just so mean!" Trish went on. "Not just to you, but to everyone. One time, she invited me out to lunch to tell me that I needed to start wearing designer clothes to work because I looked like a bum. I was a wreck!""
MichaelI waited anxiously for Simone, suddenly feeling wide awake. I got on my phone and found something delicious for our dinner. As much as I was ready to get right to it, I wanted to make sure we had time to talk and reconnect after my trip.I'd missed her so much, and it was for so much more than her body. I missed the way she laughed and smiled and was so f*cking confident in herself. I missed the way her nose wrinkled when she was concentrating. I missed the way her hair fell over her shoulder.And I missed her humor. I missed the way she challenged me. Maybe I wasn't ready to say the words out loud, but I knew I was in love with her. I'd never felt this way about anyone before.It was overwhelming and a little intimidating. How could I be in love with someone who didn't completely belong to me? At the same time, though, I didn't care. I'd rather have a little of her than nothing at all. I'd settle for one piece of her heart if it meant she considered me at all.I coul
SimoneNick sent a car for me to my house the following evening. I was all packed for our mini vacation, though I still didn't know where we were going. He simply told me to pack a lot of bikinis and dress sexy. Easy enough.The car took me to a private hangar at the airport. I'd flown on a private jet a couple of times, but I still wasn't quite used to it. It was odd not having to wait for a hundred or more people to grumpily find their seats on a plane.Nick greeted me at the bottom of the steps and escorted me onto the luxurious private jet. The seats were made of real leather and could be converted into beds for longer flights. There was a fully stocked mini-bar, and I was handed a dinner menu. The chef on board could make me anything I wanted."Do you like it?" Nick asked, almost shyly.I smiled brightly at him. "This is the best flying experience I've ever had.""It gets better," he said, then made a motion toward the back of the plane.A woman appeared from a room
SimoneAll too soon, it was Sunday afternoon, and we had to drive back to the small airport to go home. I didn't think we'd stopped touching once the entire trip. We'd held hands and danced and connected so many times. Nick was like an extension of me, and I wasn't sure how I would feel when I had to give up that time with him.We took the long way to the airport again, and I should've been taking in the views since the sun was up this time. I didn't care about that, though. I was glued to Nick.We kissed long and hard and his fingers moved inside of me for the entire ride. It was like he was addicted to having his fingers there. I think he liked it more than I did, and I liked it a lot.When we reached the airport, I reluctantly moved away from him and we straightened up our clothes. Rather than letting me get out on my own, he made me stay in the car until he could get to the other side and offer his hand. It was very old-fashioned and gentlemanly. I was obsessed.We got ba
SimoneNick dropped me off at my house, promising to come back and spend the night after he went home and grabbed a few things. I was still reeling from the news and so heartbroken. I truly wondered why these men would risk everything for me. I really wasn't worth it.The first thing I did when I walked through the door was call Mandy."Hey, babe," she said brightly. "I thought you'd be too busy buried in Nick Morgan's taint to call me tonight.""Mandy," I sobbed, and her tone instantly changed to concern."What's going on, Simone? Who do I need to kill?""Michael is getting cut from the team because of me," I told her miserably. "The new team owners think our relationship is bad for their brand.""They f*cking what?" she roared. "Oh, that's bullshit! I bet we could file a lawsuit against them."I could picture her getting on her computer to start Googling the legalities of the action. It wouldn't matter, though. One way or another, Michael's job was in jeopardy because
NickSimone hadn't come over for two days, but I didn't blame her. I was actually grateful because I was a lot worse off than I thought. I spent most of those two days sleeping and having my assistant bring me food. I'd been f*cking ravenous since I got home.When she finally did come over, though, I was ravenous in a completely different way. We stayed up all night, barely pausing to breathe. There was so much pent-up energy between us after everything that had happened. There were a lot of tears shed. Hers and mine. We agreed to go to counseling because neither of us wanted this experience to control our lives. She admitted that she'd been having nightmares. All the more reason not to sleep.We were lying in bed the next morning, so exhausted but so afraid to close our eyes."I notice your handcuffs are gone," she noted, her eyes heavy with tiredness.I chuckled humorlessly."Yeah, I think I'm a little over that particular kink.""Me too," she admitted with a long ya
MichaelAfter the hospital, I took Simone back to my place and forced her to take a nap. She'd been up all night. She'd insisted that she was fine, but I didn't believe her. She'd been through hell, and I wasn't letting her ignore what her body needed.When she woke up, though, it was clear that what her body needed was me."Hi," she said when she opened her eyes to see me lying next to her."Hi," I answered, and moved over her so I could place a kiss on her lips.It started slow and soft. We hadn't been together in almost a week, so I was desperate for her. I also knew that she'd been through an ordeal, and I didn't want to push her. She put those fears to rest quickly.Her hand was pressed firmly on the back of my head, and she pulled me as close as I could possibly get. Her tongue swirled around my mouth, tasting every inch of the flesh there. She moaned into my mouth and moved to grind her body against mine, clearly wanting to be closer.I knew what she wanted. She wa
NickThe incessant beeping wouldn't stop. It was like a nightmare. I kept feeling around, trying to turn the damn thing off. I grabbed around but didn't find my nightstand. Instead, there was a cold, metal bar and then emptiness.What the hell?I opened my eyes to realize I wasn't in my room, or even in my own home. No, I was hooked up to a machine in a hospital. How did I even get here? Was I dead?No, duh, of course I wasn't dead. They didn't take dead people and hook them up to machines at the hospital. Unless this was hell. There was a very good chance it was hell."You're awake," I heard a voice say sweetly.If I were in hell, this voice certainly wouldn't be here. She was an angel. If I was dead, this was a weird introduction to heaven."Nick," she said more firmly. "Can you hear me?"Simone. Of course. Hers was the sweetest voice I could ever hope to hear."Yeah," I said, realizing my throat was incredibly sore. When was the last time I said anything? "What hap
SimoneNick still hadn't woken up, so I knew Crystal wouldn't do anything to him. I also doubted she'd make a pass at him if he truly protested her advances. She was psycho, but apparently still believed in consent. My biggest fear was what she might do if he did refuse her.I couldn't believe how far-gone Nick still was. They must have given him enough tranquilizer to put down an elephant. It hurt me to see him so helpless. And I was helpless. A million more tears fell from my eyes. I just wanted to go home. I wanted my boys.I was sure I was hallucinating when the door burst open and Michael and Rob ran in. I realized, with startling clarity, that they were, in fact, walking toward me looking horrified.Behind them a group of police officers ran in, guns drawn on Crystal. Rather than putting her hands up, she started laughing hysterically. Psycho bitch.Rob was loosening the gag on my mouth as Michael perched in front of me, reassuring me everything was okay. I could barely
RobI'd had to go home to get my other laptop, which had the right software for what I needed to do. As soon as I had the evidence I needed, I raced to the police station with the USB drive clutched in my hand. On it was all the footage I'd been able to compile of the kidnapping. I'd also managed to get footage of Nick's house with my other software. It wasn't a pretty sight, but it was enough to prove that they were in immediate danger.I walked into the station to find Michael already there, sitting in one of the plastic chairs in the lobby. He looked frustrated and antsy."What's going on?" I asked him."They f*cking want me to go home," he growled. "They said they've got this handled and to let them do their job."I was suddenly furious."What?" I shouted. "Hell no. I'm going to go talk to someone."I went to the front desk, where a very rude officer told me to have a seat and that someone would be with me shortly. I was fuming. Between Michael and me, there was proba
SimoneWhen I opened my eyes, everything was different. It was the same room, I was sure, but Nick was no longer in a chair. Instead, he was handcuffed to a bed. I pulled against my own bindings and felt cold metal rather than itchy rope.The bitch had handcuffed us both.Speaking of, she was laying in the bed next to Nick, wearing a sheer nightie and little else. I wanted to kill her."Don't touch him," I managed weakly.My body was so exhausted, despite the fact that I'd just woken up. I hadn't had anything to eat or drink since I got here. I had no idea what day it was even.Crystal turned slowly to give me a wicked grin."Oh, Simone," she said. "I'm a lot of things, but I would never take advantage of someone sleeping. I'm not a total whore like you.""For f*ck's sake, Crystal," I groaned. "How are you this mad at me? Or this crazy?"She got out of the bed and stood up, staring me down."I'm not f*cking crazy!" she yelled at me. "You're a nasty slut who wants to
MichaelI looked at the clock again, knowing it wasn't going to say anything different. Simone was over an hour late. She hadn't called, hadn't texted. In fact, I hadn't heard from her since she landed. I tried not to let my imagination get away from me; she was probably just in a dead zone or something where her phone wasn't working. Or, maybe she had jet lag and had taken a nap and overslept. I decided to call Nick. Maybe she was still with him. The line rang several times, but he didn't pick up. What the f*ck? I was ready to punch him in the face for making me worry about her, if that's where she was. I can't believe they wouldn't call if she was going to be late for my night.I decided to make another call"What's up Mike?" Rob answered on the first ring."I wish I knew," I said. "Have you heard from Nick?" I was legitimately pissed. He could have at least called if he was planning on taking more time with Simone. "What's going on?" he asked, confused. "What's up w
SimoneThere was a pounding in my head, and I was vaguely aware that something wasn't right. I couldn't quite remember what, though. All I could remember was being on a plane with Nick. Had I fallen asleep? Did we crash and die?No, that wasn't right. We landed. He took me home. He was coming back to see me and…And what?Something had happened to me, but it was just out of my mental grasp. Had I passed out? I'd been really upset about Michael. Michael! I thought he was at the door.Michael wasn't at the door. Nick wasn't at the door. But someone had knocked, right?My head was swimming with thoughts that I couldn't quite hold onto. The second a thought entered my head it was gone again. Everything was hazy and dark.And my legs and arms felt broken. Maybe not broken, but definitely in the wrong place. I must have passed out, that must be what I couldn't remember.I tried to move my arms, but they were stuck. Was I paralyzed? No, not paralyzed. I definitely had the abil
SimoneNick dropped me off at my house, promising to come back and spend the night after he went home and grabbed a few things. I was still reeling from the news and so heartbroken. I truly wondered why these men would risk everything for me. I really wasn't worth it.The first thing I did when I walked through the door was call Mandy."Hey, babe," she said brightly. "I thought you'd be too busy buried in Nick Morgan's taint to call me tonight.""Mandy," I sobbed, and her tone instantly changed to concern."What's going on, Simone? Who do I need to kill?""Michael is getting cut from the team because of me," I told her miserably. "The new team owners think our relationship is bad for their brand.""They f*cking what?" she roared. "Oh, that's bullshit! I bet we could file a lawsuit against them."I could picture her getting on her computer to start Googling the legalities of the action. It wouldn't matter, though. One way or another, Michael's job was in jeopardy because