RULES OF LOVE (A Navy SEALs Romance) (42 page)

"I do," Nick said. "But I guess I’ll have to force it out of you every time."

Sara smiled and sat down as the waiter pulled out a chair for her. Nick sat as well and picked up the menu. "I ordered some wine. You seem like a red wine lover," Nick said, smiling suggestively. He already knew that fact about her from reading the report from his private investigator. Red wine and sushi were her weaknesses.

"Right again," Sara teased, smiling back.

The waiter, who was standing by within ear shot but didn't intrude on them, moved closer to their table and poured wine into Sara's glass.

"Thank you," she said as she lifted the glass to her lips.

"A toast?" Nick asked.

"Oh yeah. Sorry. I don't dine out often." Sara returned the glass to the table.

"No need to apologize, Sara. You never have to apologize to me, ever."

"Hmmm... you might have to take those words back some day," Sara said. “I can be mean sometimes.”

Nick looked at her keenly. Did she just allude to the possibility of something more than this dinner for them? He didn't want to think too much about her words, but he felt a sense of lightness. Maybe she did care for him as much as he cared for her.

"So, let's toast to..." Nick’s voice trailed off. His voice never waned when he talked to women, but Sara was not a regular girl.

"Friendship?" Sara completed his sentence.

"Friendship. The future. Us,” Nick said.

"Yes," Sara said. "To friendship and the future."

“Cheers,” they said as they clinked their glasses.

Nick noticed she didn’t say us, but he didn’t let it bother him. He had sensed she was overly cautious about their budding relationship, and he wanted her to come around in her own time.

"What would you like to order?" Nick asked when they put their wine glasses down.

"I'll try the house special," Sara said. “Whatever that may be.”

"Playing it safe?” he joked.

"I don't play it safe, which is why I ordered something I don't even know about."

"That's true. I didn't think about it that way. Let's see if you can handle the suspense." He signaled to the waiter to come take their orders. "I'll have the house special as well."

"Have you been to this restaurant before?” Sara asked.

“Yes, a few times,” Nick replied. “Why?”

“Because you probably already know what the house special is. How is that taking a risk?"

"You don't know me," Nick said. "We need to do something about that."

"We do?" Sara asked.

Nick nodded. "Yeah, you need to know a few more things about me.”

“Like what?” Sara asked teasingly.

“For one, I have been thinking about you all day. Secondly, I can’t stay still watching you. And lastly, I wish we could leave right now and go somewhere we could be alone, even if it’s just for a few hours.”

He watched Sara as she looked at him shyly, his focus on her lips. He hadn’t intended to make her uncomfortable, but he had done it again. She looked like a shy school girl, young, sexy, and innocent and totally turning him on. Those lips. He wanted so much to reach across the table and kiss her fiercely, but that would embarrass her. Besides, he had already made enough show with her for the evening as it was.

“Well, that we can do, but only after I get my house special.”

"Waiter?” Nick beckoned to a waiter, who was nearby. “How fast can we get our dinner?”

SARA

The house special, a combination of seafood and veggies, arrived, and between the main course and dessert, I was stuffed and ready to leave the restaurant.

“So, my invitation still stands,” Nick said with a wicked grin on his face.

“What invitation?” I asked as if I didn’t know he wanted me to go home with him.

“Disappearing with you somewhere private. I want you to come with me. Somewhere nice and relaxing.”

I swallowed the words I would have normally said, which caught in my throat. I couldn’t tell him I was not the sort of girl who slept with men on the first date because I had already slept with him before our first date. Instead of talking, I nodded.

“Would you want to go?” he asked.

“Yes,” I said, excited at the prospect of somewhere nice. I bet it was probably his penthouse. Isn’t that where men like him took the women they bedded? The thought of him taking me to the same place he took every girl he met made me feel dirty, but the idea of being with him again and feeling him inside of me superseded my reservations.

“Then I’ll have the limo pick you up tomorrow. We’ll be out of town for a few days.”

“Tomorrow?” I asked, my eyes widening.

“Is that okay?” he asked, looking at me. “We can stay in the city if you’d like.”

“Yes, it’s fine,” I said. “It’s just that I have to pack, and since I don’t know where we’re going, packing will be challenging.”

“No need to. I’ll have one of my assistants get what you’ll need. Of course you might want some of your personal stuff, but I’ll take care of the rest.”

I nodded. This was unreal. Someone was going to shop for me and pack my bag? I could get used to this billionaire lifestyle. “Thanks.”

“My pleasure,” he said. He signaled to the waiter. Once he settled the check, he walked me outside to the limo that had brought me to the restaurant.

“David will take you back,” he told me as he leaned against the limo and pulled me against him.

“What about you? How will you get home?”

He pointed to another limo on the opposite side of the street. I hadn’t noticed it. “That’s my ride,” he said. “I won’t be stranded.”

“Looks nice,” I commented. “Well, good night then.” He kissed me so quickly on the lips I could swear it had not happened.

“I’ll see you in the morning?” he asked.

“Yes,” I said.

***

As usual, Amy was at my apartment when I got in. “So, what happened?” She was standing at the door.

“Can I at least come in first?” I asked.

“Sure,” she said as she opened the door. “So how did it go?”

“Very well,” I told her, pushing past her and walking to my bedroom. She would not give up until she got the response she needed from me. I smiled as I walked quickly away from her. She was hot on my trail.

“Young lady, where do you think you’re going?” she said as she pulled me back.

“Where else would I be going at this late hour? To bed.”

“No way, Sara Nolles. Not until you tell me what you and Nick Saunders were up to.”

“Nothing. He’s taking me somewhere special tomorrow and that’s it.”

“That’s all? You’re going to be locked away in some fancy hotel for days with his hot ass and you say that’s all? How many days are you staying?”

Amy’s question made me realize I hadn’t asked Nick how long our trip would be. He hadn’t volunteered the information either, but I had a feeling he knew I was off work for a couple of days. He knew my every move, which should have made me uncomfortable. I was flattered, though, and had a gut feeling he would never hurt me.

“You don’t know, do you?” Amy asked, eyebrow raised. “I bet you were so excited to go frolicking with him you forgot to ask.”

“Yes, ma’am.” I smiled at her as I pushed past her again. “I need to go to bed. I have an early day with a billionaire tomorrow.”

“You do like him, don’t you?” Amy asked.

“Yes, I do like him. A lot. Maybe more than a lot.”

Amy looked at me suspiciously. “Oh my God, you love him, don’t you?”

“I don’t know what you mean,” I said with a secretive smile, but Amy had hit a raw nerve. I did, in fact, like Nick more than I should, but I wasn’t going to admit that.

“You’re in love,” she sang in a childlike, annoying voice. “You’re in love.”

“Stop, Amy,” I said, smacking her playfully on the arm. “I need to go to bed. See you later,” I said as I tried to close my bedroom door.

“You’re not going to pack your things tonight?”

“No, his staff will take care of all of that.” Amy groaned. “What?” I asked innocently.

“You sound stuck-up and you’re not even married to him yet,” she yelled after me.

“Who said I was marrying him?” I asked as I closed my bedroom door for some peace. A few minutes later, I heard Amy grab a blanket from the closet in the hallway; she was sleeping on my couch tonight. She left me with some hard truth to think about. I was in love with Mr. Rich. Oh great!

***

My doorbell rang at seven the next morning. Nick had sent the limo to retrieve me, and when I opened the door, he was standing there, dressed in a tee-shirt and jeans.

“Hi. Good morning,” I stammered.

“Hello, Sara. Ready?”

“Sort of. I wasn’t expecting you. Thought you’d send David.”

“I missed you,” he said and planted a kiss on my lips before I could reply. “I’ll wait for you in the limo if you prefer.”

“No, here is fine,” I said, smarting from the unexpected kiss. “I’ll just grab my bag and we’ll be on our way. Amy’s sleeping on the couch, and if she wakes up, I don’t think she’ll let you go easily.”

“In that case, let’s not wake her up,” he whispered, smiling. “You look really nice.”

I was wearing a plum sundress with a low neckline. It was one of my favorite outfits because the dress made my breasts perkier while slimming my waist and enhancing my ass. I always got compliments when I wore it, and Nick was no exception. However, his compliment seemed far more important than any other person’s did.

“Thank you,” I said shyly as I reached behind me and grabbed the backpack I had packed the night before. On a second thought, I grabbed my passport before walking to the car with him. It took only a minute to settle into the backseat with Nick and lean against him as if it was normal. He put his arm around my shoulders and drew me close.

“You good?” he asked.

I swallowed hard like I always did when he looked at me so intensely. I whispered, “Yes.”

“Great, because I want you to relax and enjoy this trip.”

I nodded. A sudden thought came to me. No one knew where I was going, not even Amy.

“So where are we going?” I asked, smiling at him. “I just need the address so I can send it to Amy. She’s a mother hen. Don’t want her reporting me as kidnapped.”

“It’s good to have people who love you,” he said. “Give me your phone and I will text it to her. It’s a surprise for you, and I don’t want to ruin it by giving you the exact address.”

I obliged him, my thoughts still on the word love he had just casually thrown at me. Yes, Amy loved me, and I understood what he meant, but he had said “people who love you.” Was he part of that group? I glanced at him as he texted Amy from my phone, doing his best to shield the phone from me so I didn’t know our destination.

“I might need to call in to work,” I commented. “I have to let my boss know I’ll be gone, but I need to know how long we’ll be gone.”

“I already took care of that. They don’t expect you back for a few days.”

“You called my boss?” I asked incredulously. Mr. Rich was rather presumptuous, and I didn’t know if I liked it.

“Didn’t have to. I am friends with your boss, so I can have you all to myself for as long as you’re available.”

I giggled. “Hope that gets you a free coffee next time you go there. I probably will get fired by the time I return and won’t be able to hook you up.”

“You’re probably right,” he said, smiling. “But you will always have a job offer from my company.”

I looked out the window as we passed lush greenery. I had expected we were going out of town, but we seemed to be heading right into town, away from the suburbs.

“Ordinarily, I would have said yes, but you can’t mix business with pleasure,” I teased. “It’s one or the other.”

“It will be a pleasure to work with you,” he added. “Business or pleasure.”

“I have to think about that,” I said, giving him a naughty look. “Pleasure for sure.”

“What’s there to think about? I think I’m charming, handsome…”

“You are all that, which is why working with you would never work,” I said.

He remained quiet for a few seconds as if he was thinking about my response. “Yes, it’ll be hard to keep my hands off you.”

I admitted shyly, “Me too.”

“We’re almost there,” Nick said, looking out the window. I followed his gaze; we were heading to the airport.

“Are we flying somewhere?” I asked as we took the exit for the airport.

“Do you want to?” he teased.

“As long as you’re not the one flying,” I giggled. “Afraid I’ll distract you.”