Breathe for Me (5 page)

“Back of the pack is Rocco St Clair. Owns a hotel and new club that’s currently in vogue.”

Well of course it was. With that guy in charge? Clearly Brad’s favorite, he had the Latin edge to match his name. Any place that had these men as patrons would be popular. Four of them. All magnificent specimens. But it was the one running front and center who had her eye. Smokin’ hot.

“Highlight of my morning,” Brad admitted. “And that of every waitress in that diner. And any other woman watching.”

Chelsea blushed and turned. “I’m not—”

“Honey, we all are,” Brad interrupted with a wink. “I’m a taken man, with a hunk of my own to go home to, but I still appreciate perfection in all its four forms.” He sent her a coy look. “And I hear it was an interrupted night last night. No doubt you’ll be needing a coffee.”

Doormen always knew everything, didn’t they? But surely he didn’t know about Xander and his Superman act.

She definitely needed coffee. She’d grab one from the coffee cart outside work but it was still too early to head there. She slowly walked towards Riverside. A little exercise would be good for her leg and release the energy hit making her muscles quiver. Plus she figured Xander wouldn’t be coming back this way. He was already out of sight. So much faster than her, in so many ways.

She kept to the side, letting the exercise freaks and early-to-workers stream past. Even this early there were plenty of people around, looking like they’d been to the park or the gym, bright-eyed tourists with cameras in hand, jaded looking teens looking like they were just heading home. The vibrancy and diversity of people inspired her. Ditto the tall buildings and green spaces. She’d been right to come to Manhattan. If she was going alone into a big city, might as well be the best on the planet. She glanced up, smiling at the buzz.

That’s when she saw him.

From round the block, Xander was running back again. Towards her this time. Hunter was with him but the other two had peeled away. He didn’t glare at the ground the way she did when trying to exercise. He had his head up and yeah, his gaze unerringly locked onto her.

She stared at him as he gazed right back at her, pounding his way closer. The guy was barely sweating, there was just a sheen to his skin and while his face was an expressionless mask—all angles and planes. His eyes were fierce. How could such ice blue eyes look so hot?

In that split-second all her senses spun out. Desire ricocheted back. She realized she’d stopped walking and now stood in the middle of the sidewalk. The drumming in her ears muted the sounds of passersby and traffic. Her heartbeats crescendoed and quickened.

She couldn’t possibly be afraid. She was in a public place, it was bright and early in the morning, there was no danger. Except for the way he seemed to look right into her and bring the most inappropriate thoughts to the forefront of her brain—skin and sighs and heat. She’d had sex before. Good sex. But she’d never been so overwhelmed by merely a man’s presence. Never so turned on by nothing, not even a touch.

It was embarrassing. But truthfully? It wasn’t so much him who frightened her. But her reaction to him. Too much, right? While the sensual side of herself might be starting to function again, it wasn’t going to be with him. Sensible people didn’t play with dangerous weapons. And he was definitely dangerous for all that charming smile and casual flirt.

Anyway, he wasn’t interested. Not now she’d let him believe she was ‘taken’. And she was, right? Tom mightn’t be here anymore, but more than that, she’d changed. She wasn’t a thing to be ‘taken’. She certainly wasn’t some mindless creature, all malleable and open to Xander’s use, there to enact his every sexual wish...
 

She clamped her jaw, furious with the burn searing her insides. The thought of that
couldn’t
be turning her on more?

She ripped her gaze away, saw a yellow car cruising towards her on the street. She raised a hand, shouted. The driver saw her, pulled over.

Chelsea crossed the path to meet it, horrifically conscious of how relentlessly Xander watched her. How much closer he was coming. Her limp was worse, her leg had totally seized. But she lifted her chin and hobbled to the cab.

She breathed out as she shut the door, wanting those hot urges to escape on the air. She had far too much else to think about. She really wasn’t ready. She was here to resurrect her studies, her career. But the coolness of his reaction in that moment bit—like it was an opportunity lost.

She was a coward.

“You’re early today.” The girl at the coffee cart said twenty minutes later. “I’m still setting up. But I won’t be a tick if you don’t mind waiting?”

“Thanks. Don’t worry, there’s no hurry.” Chelsea answered. She couldn’t even get into the building yet anyway—not for another five minutes or so. She watched the woman prepare the stand and smiled. Dressed top-to-toe in black, the barista also wore roller skates, kneepads and looked whippet fit.

Admiration and envy surged through Chelsea. What she’d give to move that fast and free again. Instead her leg was still aching slightly from the hurried hobble to the cab.

“You skate to work?” She couldn’t resist asking the obvious. Those skates were sleek with a king hit of retro style. In other words, awesome.

“Good training for derby.”

“Roller derby? That totally vicious all-chick sport scene?” Chelsea laughed. She shouldn’t be surprised, attitude oozed from the barista’s pores.

The woman grinned wickedly. “Uh huh.”

To be that strong? Yeah, Chelsea was jealous.
 

The barista glanced at her expression and laughed. “You should try it sometime.”

Chelsea wished.

“Black coffee, right?” The girl smiled.

“You remember everyone’s orders?” Chelsea was impressed, she’d only been coming to the cart this week.

“Well some are easier than others.” The woman shot her a dry look. “Especially one that simple.”

“Oh, right.” Chelsea palmed her forehead. Dunce.

Coffee queen skated up to her and offered her a marshmallow with a wink. “I’m Luisa.”

“Thanks Luisa,” Chelsea took the candy with a grin. “I’m Chelsea.”

“You work in this weird building?” Luisa jerked her chin towards the brightly colored building behind them as she banged the coffee machine.

“Only as an intern. Only a couple of months.”
 

“Cool though?”

“Yeah.” She’d only been there the week and she was trying not to panic already. “It’s a challenge.”

“Even better. Can do, will do, right?”

“I hope so.” Chelsea grinned at her attitude. “You like the coffee scene?”

Luisa shrugged. “It’s a means to movement. Far and fast.”

Yeah, it was clear she was a traveller, her accent certainly wasn’t from these parts. Chelsea couldn’t pick it—Australian maybe? “Hence the wheels?”

“You got it.” Luisa winked as she handed her a steaming cup. “Who do you intern for?”

“It’s an art and design institute, in a tiny office suite on the fourth floor.” Chelsea cautiously sipped the scalding liquid and felt the kick.

“So you’re an artist?”

“Kind of. I’m still studying.” She’d finished an undergrad in Fine Art and was now working on a post-grad Urban Planning and Design qualification—because artists like her needed a day job. She was a couple of years behind but at least now she was progressing again. She loved research. Wanted to do a bigger post-grad project if she could—and travel more with it. “What about you, where are you from?”

Before the girl could answer Chelsea’s phone chimed. She didn’t need to glance at the screen to know who it was, only one person called this early.
Every
day.

“Sorry.” She stepped away from Luisa’s stand with an apologetic grin. “I have to get this or there’ll be trouble.”

“No worries.” Luisa waved her away.

“Hey Mom.” Chelsea walked towards her building.

“How are you, honey?”

Her mother’s warm tones softened Chelsea’s frustration. The calls were born from love, she had no right to resent them.

“Good. Really good,” she answered. The project is going well.” Chelsea grinned at the security guy who was just unlocking the doors.

“You’re at work already?” Her mother asked.

“Uh huh.” Chelsea ruefully muttered, knowing what was coming.

“But it’s so early. Are you sure you’re getting enough rest?”

Chelsea inwardly sighed. “Mom I’m fine. Truly.” No way was she going to mention last night’s false fire alarm. Her mother would have a fit.

She loved her parents but right now she was glad they were miles away. She needed them to be for a while. After two years of close concern and being wrapped in cotton wool, she needed the space to take things on in her own time and way. “I’m fine Mom. Honestly I am. Trust me.”

“I do. I just—”

“I know.” Of course she understood her mother’s concern—her daughter had nearly died. Her daughter’s life had changed irrevocably. But her daughter, Chelsea, now needed to get on with it. “I’m okay. I’m really okay.”

“Alright.” Her mother’s sigh echoed her own. “You have a good day.”

“I will. You too.”

She
would
have a good day. She’d focus on her work. She was going to have to work all hours to get it all done. Not that she’d tell her mom that either.
 

A new city, new job, new apartment. Alone. All challenge.
 
And perfect.

But she wasn’t adding a new man to that list. Definitely not some over-sized, over-confident, doctor with a Superman syndrome. No matter how magnetic he was. She wasn’t even going to think about him again. Not even a little.

She went up to her desk and got planning. An hour later she pinned up the new sketch for her pop-up ‘art’n’eaterie’.

“You really think you can pull it off?” Steve, the other intern, asked as he passed her desk on his way in, one of Luisa’s coffees in his hand.

“Absolutely.” At least, she
thought
so. Her pop-up pizza project was ‘out there’ and she had to fit it around all her other duties, some of which were definitely of the more menial variety. But as an intern she couldn’t expect to be working on the fun stuff all the time. She had to pull her weight. That was part of the attraction.

“Be awesome if you do,” Steve said.

She nodded. She really wanted to use it as an example for her post-grad research paper. “How’s your project going?” she asked.

“Not as well as I’d like.” Steve parked on the edge of her desk and started talking through his issues.

Chelsea leaned back in her seat and listened, enjoying that he was asking her advice—that he seemed to value her input.

No one here knew the full story of the last two years. She’d briefly mentioned that her limp was the result of an old accident and hid the scarring under long skirts. She’d explained the gap in her studies as time away travelling. That was a small lie, but it meant no one looked at her with wariness or pity in their eyes.

Admittedly she wasn’t exactly wholly independent. She had scholarship funding to help see her through the summer internship, but there was no real ‘special treatment’ in that, it was normal. And she had backing from her family—her father’s friend had secured her the short-term loan of the apartment. But now here, she was alone and on her way. What success she made of this time was up to her.

There was just that one last hurdle to overcome.

She worked late and picked up a carry-out on the way home. She walked quick as she could into the apartment building. There were no ridiculously handsome men out running—to her relief, right?

She flashed the night manager a tight smile and took the elevator to her floor. She ate a little, then got changed and waited until it was after hours and the pool would be empty. Then she tried once more.

Though the water looked warm, Chelsea shivered. The last time she’d dived under it had been late at night. The last time she’d gone in water she’d nearly drowned.

Chapter Four

Xander didn’t get home ’til midnight. He refused to give into temptation and go knock on her door, so he made sure it was too late to be able to. She’d be tucked up in bed now—most likely with her fiancé.

He felt like punching something.

He tensed as his anger doubled. Violence
wasn’t
his thing—he’d seen enough of it when he was a kid. That he could be feeling violent because of a woman? That
really
wasn’t right. Why the hell this one woman bugged him so much he didn’t know—but with one look she’d gotten under his skin. Maybe Logan had been right. Maybe he needed a holiday.

This morning she’d run away from him before he’d gotten the answers he wanted. But her eyes had gotten bigger with every second she’d gazed at him. Hell, she’d been drinking him in. Yeah, it was a shot to the ego to have a woman with lips as luscious as hers looking like she wanted to suck up everything he had to give her.

His body had a hell of a lot it wanted to give her.