Page 54 of Blackmailing the Bad Girl

Chapter Thirteen

The sun streaming through the windows woke her. For a moment, Summer had no clue where she was. She blinked and pushed herself up, pulling the sheet over her breasts. She was in the biggest bed she had ever seen.

White cotton sheets and a black-and-gray throw. Very masculine.

And she was naked. Her dress lay on the floor beside the bed, her shoes just inside the door, her panties across the black metal bedstead.

There was no sign of the owner of the bed.

She hadn’t taken in much of the room last night. Her mind had been too focused on other things. Now she looked around, if only to stop herself thinking about Nik.

And what came next.

Did they go back to being friends?

Could they go back?

The night had been beyond anything she could have ever imagined. Nik had made love to her over and over through the long hours of darkness. He’d taken her from behind, with her on top, spooning—waking her in the middle of the night, his lips hot against the back of her neck.

There was an ache between her thighs. But a pleasant ache.

She should get up and get dressed. Get out of there. The night was over. It was time to get back to real life. But she didn’t move. Instead, she just lay staring out the window at the deep blue of the sky.

She didn’t know how much later it was before Nik appeared in the doorway. He’d pulled on his jeans—it wouldn’t do to bump into the servants naked—but nothing else, and he was so beautiful, he made her ache.

His hair was messy, his jawline shadowed. And he was carrying a tray.

“I brought you breakfast,” he said.

“Don’t you have someone to do that for you?”

“I wanted to do it myself.”

Aw. He was sweet.

As he placed the tray on her lap, the scent of warm bread wafted up, and her stomach rumbled. There were two mugs of coffee and two plates of scrambled eggs on the tray, plus a basket of warm rolls and butter. He picked up one of the plates and a fork, then settled himself on the bed beside her, his long legs crossed at the ankles. “Eat.”

So she did. She cleared her mind from worrying about what came next and concentrated on the food. “Did you make this?” she asked, between mouthfuls of fluffy scrambled eggs flavored with smoked salmon.

“Of course…not.”

“I suppose your housekeeper is used to making your lady friends breakfast.”

He buttered a roll and handed it to her. “I’ve never brought anyone here before.”

“Oh.”

He was doing her head in with those sorts of comments. She didn’t know what to think. Why he was being like this?

Nice.

She bit into the roll and chewed slowly. While she’d denied it to herself, because it was pretty unbelievable, she’d always known deep down that he wanted her. Right from the start, it had been there in his eyes. She’d tried to ignore it, because she’d felt the same way, all the time knowing a relationship with Nik could go nowhere beyond a brief sexual fling.

There were still so many lies between them. No relationship built on lies could ever succeed. And she couldn’t risk telling him the truth and jeopardizing her mother’s happiness. Her mother’s financial security was based on the proceeds of the first job Summer had done—stolen money. She’d used part to buy and convert the house her mother now lived in, and with the rest, she’d set up a trust fund that gave her an income and independence. If Nik should turn on her…

She put down her fork and her half-eaten roll. “I should go.”

“No, you shouldn’t. I thought we might go out.”

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