"I'm serious. Come here, let me smell your breath."
He grinned, ready to take her up on that offer. He'd be happy to let her smell his breath- while he was kissing her senseless.
"He hasn't had a drop all day, Ms. Newton. I can vouch for him."
Nick gave Marley a dirty look which only made the dolt look confused. Did he not know he was cock blocking him?
He smiled at Sabrina the way a lion smiled at a steak.
"You look lovely, my dear."
She looked a bit scandalized at the term of endearment. He didn't blame her. They'd been at odds since the moment they met, after all.
She had no way of knowing he’d been thinking about spending time with her nonstop. He was bloody well obsessed!
"Thank you. I was just stuck in traffic. I'm sorry I was late."
He raised an eyebrow at her words. He doubted she ever did anything wrong. An apology seemed out of character for her. He might only have known her a brief while, but he felt certain that he understood her already. What made her tick.
And right now, he was the one making her tick. Damn if she wasn't checking him out surreptitiously. The suit. It must be the suit.
He decided he should wear suits more often. He loved suits. Suits made the man, after all.
A young man with a clipboard and a headset poked his head in the doorway.
"You're on in two."
"Alright then, let's do this."
He held out his arms and did a slow turn for Sabrina's benefit. If she wanted to look, he was more than happy to let her.
"Do I pass muster then?"
She looked him over. He couldn't help noticing that she definitely seemed to like what she saw... even though she tried to hide it. That was interesting…
Very interesting indeed.
"You look good."
"Just good?"
She rolled her eyes.
"You know you're hot, Nick, just get out there already."
He was grinning from ear to ear as he stared at her. She started turning pink. He walked closer and leaned in.
"What?"
He leaned in and whispered in her ear.
"You finally called me Nick."
Chapter 12
Sabrina
Sabrina stood offstage, alternating between watching the monitor and the live interview happening just a few feet away. She felt the tension leaving her body, replaced with something else.
Blessed relief.
Well, mostly relief. She was feeling something else too. Something she was not pleased about. Even after the way he’d behaved, she liked him.
In fact, she was starting to develop a crush on her client.
Not good. Not good at all.
Nick was killing it. He oozed charm and confidence. He was telling stories about starting out as a scrappy English lad from a working-class neighborhood. Later he alluded to the scandalous behavior of several A-listers. He kept it lose and juicy. He made the host look good.
Sabrina felt herself responding to his winning manner. He was so warm and intimate. He made you feel like you knew him. Even better, he made anyone listening feel like he knew them.
He was truly irresistable.
Even she was falling under his spell by the time they cut to commercial. She caught Nick stealing a glance at her while he chatted with the host and sipped a bottle of mineral water. His gaze felt hot- almost palpable. She looked away, pretending to be doing something with her phone.
Coward.
She didn't know what was getting into her. She worked in the business for God's sake! She'd met tons of stars. Brilliant and talented artists. None of them had ever made her feel like this.
Particularly not after acting like such a pig. No, a goat. He was a stubborn, horny old goat.
Not that he was old exactly. Just older. She had a feeling he’d know what he was doing in bed. And then some.
Damn it.
The commercials were over relatively quickly and the interview continued. The host brought up something that hadn't been on the talking points. Warning bells went off in her head.
Uh oh.
"Nick, you are famous for not doing interviews. What changed your mind?"
"Well, I hope I'm famous for something other than that."
"Yes, of course. Your music has influenced a whole generation of artists. But, seriously, you've never made any appearance like this before. What's going on with that?"
"Well, I have a new rep at my label. She wanted me to do some interviews here and there. Get the word out about my upcoming tour."
"She just asked you? That's all it took after all this time?"
"She's very persuasive."
He wiggled his eyebrows at the host, obviously implying that Sabrina was giving him something else entirely. She felt like a fist had landed in her stomach.
Jesus Christ.
He wouldn't.
He couldn't.
"She must be very convincing."
“I’m telling you, she could convince a sheep out of its trousers. I mean- wool."
He laughed and covered up his supposed mix up. But Sabrina wasn't fooled. He'd done it on purpose.
He was getting even with her.
The rest of the interview went by in a haze. She stood there, feeling utterly naked as people stared at her, whispering. And this was nothing compared to what they would do when she got to the office tomorrow.
He'd just ruined her career with a casual comment.
He'd destroyed her.
Everything she'd worked for was gone.
The host was giving his closing remarks and plugging the next show while Nick sat there, looking supremely relaxed.
Finally, they clasped hands and it was over. He came off stage and smiled at her.
"Well love, how did I do?"
Chapter 13
Nick
Nick was feeling rather pleased with himself. He'd managed the interview well- much better than that in fact. He'd nailed it.
And he'd managed to get a little dig in at Sabrina by implying she'd slept with him. Staring at her in that dress off camera during the commercial had given him the idea.
Never mind that he was starting to desperately wish that it was true. The girl had some sort of hold over him. That never happened. All his prior relationships had been ones of convenience. Hot sex, yes. But mostly he'd just gone with the flow when one gorgeous girl or another fell into his lap.
He’d never pursued a woman in his life. Even back in the day, before the fame and fortune, birds had flocked to him. He’d been the same with all of them. Affectionate and pleasant but not all that interested in anything. Nothing beyond a bit of a rollaround in the sheets.
This was something else entirely.
He'd walk through bloody hell to get this girl in the sack. Flames, pitchforks and all.
"So, have I satisfied your demands?”
Nick smiled at her, expecting a witty reprimand. He liked the way she made him feel like a naughty schoolboy when he misbehaved. He was even starting to enjoy her scolding. But he wasn't prepared for the look in her eyes.
She looked devastated.
Bloody hell.
She covered it well, glancing at her phone. It was buzzing and flashing. He felt guilty suddenly. As if he'd done something wrong.
The host chose that moment to walk by. When he saw Sabrina, he raised his eyebrows appreciatively.
Well done, Nick. You just objectified the girl. On National Television, no less. He always treated women with disinterested respect. But she seemed to bring out the worst in him.
He had no bloody idea why.
Crap. He hadn't just made a joke at her expense. He'd made her sound like his groupie, hadn't he? Or his girlfriend. No, that would have been way better.
He'd made her sound like a whore.
"Let me take you out for a drink. Make it up to you?"
"I don't drink. I'm sorry I- I have to take this call. You did well tonight, Nick."
He had to hand it to her. Even her compliment felt like a stab to his gut. She was perfectly professional even after what he'd just done to her.
Too professional.
He'd have preferred it if she yelled at him. Told him to go to hell. Really taken him to task. If he was honest with himself, that's why he'd done it to begin with. Just to see her reaction.
Nick watched her proudly walk away from him. Her little shoulders seemed so stiff, like she was holding back tears.
Christ, he'd made her cry again, hadn't he?
This wasn’t going to plan at all. How was he ever going to get his hands on her? At this rate, she’d be the ice queen forever. He had to think of a way to make it up to her. She deserved that much. Even if he didn’t get her into his bed.
Marley came running up with a cold beer. He knew Nick was going to need a celebratory drink after that. He took it, tossing back a big gulp.
“Did you see Sabrina leave?”
Marley nodded, giving him a sad look. The reprimand was soft, but still felt a lot worse coming from Marley. The man was a human marshmallow.
"She didn't look happy. You probably shouldn't have said that Nick."
"I bloody well know that!"
"I thought you liked her, anyway?"
"Yeah, I do."
"You didn't bag her though did you?"
"No, Marley! Not yet. Never at this rate.” He ran his hands through his hair. “Christ, what a bloody mess."
"She's not going to forgive you for this. You blew it, mate."
Nick grew thoughtful for a moment. Then a sly smile spread across his face. He wanted her badly. More than any woman he’d ever met, including both of his wives.
He frowned. There had been three, hadn’t there? Well, he wanted this one stodgy bird more than all three of them put together, and that was saying a lot.
There was no use pretending otherwise anymore. She was angry. He didn't bloody care. He would make her want him back, whether she liked it or not.
"What if she doesn't have a choice in the matter?"