Page 46 of Blackmailing the Bad Girl

Summer had arranged to meet Nik at the Indian restaurant not far from the gym. Nik had wanted to pick her up—he said boyfriends did that. But she’d persuaded him otherwise. She hadn’t seen him again after he’d agreed to help her. He’d been in outside meetings all day, but she’d phoned him with the details.

She got there early, but he was already waiting outside. He looked gorgeous in black jeans and a white shirt, loose over the top, sleeves rolled up over his arms. Something melted inside her as she took in his long, lean figure. He was lounging against the wall, his arms crossed over his broad chest, but he straightened when he saw her and strolled toward her.

“You’re early,” she said.

“So are you.” His gaze ran over her, lingering in various places on the way. She’d made an effort with her clothes tonight, wearing a white strappy dress printed with blue flowers. It was pretty and showed off plenty of skin, but that really had nothing to do with Nik. Honestly. She’d planned on wearing jeans, but Darcy and Regan had both said no way. If she wanted to convince Sherry, then tonight, she had to look like she wanted to impress a man. And Nik certainly seemed impressed, if the length of time his gaze lingered on the curve of her breasts was anything to go by. He finally turned his attention to her face, but a smile tugged at the corners of his lips.

“You look beautiful tonight.” He appeared to consider what he’d just said and gave a shrug. “Not that you don’t normally look beautiful. But tonight, you look especially radiant. Very girlfriend-like.”

“Thanks,” she muttered.

His smile turned to a grin. “Just doing the boyfriend thing. You’ll have to tell me if I get it wrong. I haven’t had a lot of practice.”

Why did she findthathard to believe? “What about Giselle?”

“Giselle and I don’t really have that sort of relationship.”

And why did she want to question him about just exactly what sort of relationship they did have? Still, it was none of her business, and she should keep reminding herself of that. Tonight was playacting. Totally unreal. Nik was just doing her a favor. Because he was a nice man. And he wanted to be her friend.

Actually, no, he wasn’t nice. “Nice” didn’t describe him at all. He was doing this for his own reasons. She suspected he wanted to check out Danny, though as to why, she had no clue.

“Does Giselle know that?” she asked.

“Of course. We’d only just started seeing each other when you came out of prison, and now it’s over. We never slept together, if that’s what you want to know.”

Of course, she didn’t want to know. It was none of her business. “Why?” The question was out before she could think better of it.

He leaned a little closer. “Because I don’t sleep with one woman when I spend most of my waking moments thinking about fucking a different one.” He straightened and grinned. “Actually, not just my waking ones. I dreamed about you last night.”

“Oh.” Very intelligent reply. “I thought we were just friends.”

“We are. Unfortunately, my dick hasn’t taken the news too well. Don’t worry, it’s under control.”

Time to change the subject. “Perhaps we should go in.”

He grinned. “Does it embarrass you, to know that I think about fucking you? That I remember what it felt like to be—”

“Yes,” she snapped. “It does. And friends don’t set out to embarrass each other, so shut up about it.”

Without waiting for him to say any more on the subject, she pushed open the door to the restaurant. Sherry and Danny had not arrived yet, and the hostess showed them to an empty table set for four. She took her seat, and Nik took the place at right angles to her. The table was small, and his leg bumped against hers as he settled into his chair. They both ordered a beer and then sat back.

“Do you want to tell me a little bit about this guy? I gather that he’s an old boyfriend, and if so, why is he still in your life?”

“I take it you don’t stay in contact with your old flames.” She didn’t wait for an answer. “I told you, Danny was never really a boyfriend. He’s just a friend.”

“Maybe he doesn’t know that.”

“He does.”

“And his girlfriend thinks there was more. Why would she think that, if you were just friends? Or was it friends with benefits?”

“None of your business.” She had an idea that wasn’t going to work.

“Hey, friends talk about these things.” He took a sip of beer. “Relationships and stuff. Come on, you can confide in me.” He placed his beer on the table, sat back in his chair, put his hands behind his head, and stretched, a lazy smile on his face. God, he was gorgeous. And he knew it. “Besides, I am your boyfriend, sweetheart. I think that gives me the right to know.”

Why the hell had she ever gotten into this? It had seemed like a good idea at the time. And she hadn’t really believed he would go along with it. But he had, and now he was asking questions and she supposed he deserved answers. He was helping her out of a sticky situation.

But what was she supposed to tell Nik? That she had lost her virginity to Danny when they were both sixteen. That they had slept with each other on and off in the years after that. They’d both wanted their relationship to be more, but while it had been fun, there had always been something missing.

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