All week long, Nathalie had tried to convince herself that she should be glad she hadn’t heard from him since the previous Saturday. He’d talked with Zion over Skype about the car, but he hadn’t asked for her. And she hadn’t asked for him, either. Instead, she’d told herself a thousand times that she shouldn’t let Darius pull her in, shouldn’t risk giving herself a taste of the pleasure he was promising her. She knew what he was trying to do with all that talk of his intentions, with the way he’d said Soon we’ll both have want we want right after he made her forget everything but how much she wanted his almost-touches and almost-kisses.
He was trying to get her so worked up that she couldn’t think straight, couldn’t remember all her good reasons to steer clear of him. Knowing precisely what he was trying to do should have made her even more firm in her plan to keep things purely friendly for Zion’s sake. She didn’t want to shake up their lives. But even as she tried to convince herself that staying clear of Darius was the only reasonable course of action, the truth was that she’d been feeling less and less reasonable as each day of that long week passed. And she couldn’t stop wondering—if she didn’t take this chance with Darius, would she always regret it?
As she stepped out of the car, she could see the gleam in Darius' eyes, a wicked heat full of so many intentions that her heart felt as if it were about to race right out of her chest. And he hadn’t even touched her yet. How was she going to keep resisting him? She had all her good, practical, sensible reasons laid out, yet whenever he came near... Fortunately, just as he came into touching range, her phone rang. She grabbed it from her bag and when she saw it was one of her clients, she leapt on it. “Sorry, it’s work.” She waved her phone at him as if it were a shield blocking his progress toward her. “Excuse me.” She all but ran around the corner of the big barn, close enough that she could still hear Darius' and Zion’s voices as they got to work on the Maserati Alfieri 1960, but far enough away that she couldn’t make out what they were saying.
And it was a good thing she’d been looking for a big distraction, because the negotiation ended up being a long one. Over an hour, in fact, by the time she’d talked to both the employer and the new hire and achieved agreement on salary, benefits, and bonus. After she hung up, she spent a few moments working to center herself. She knew she was acting crazy. Which was silly, because crazy was the very last thing Nathalie had ever let herself be. This time, she decided firmly, she would keep it together. Darius was just a guy. She could handle spending a little time around him on the weekends while her brother worked on the car.
Taking a deep breath, she put a smile on her face, then returned to the barn. “How’s the work coming along?” Zion leaped forward to grab her hand. “Look what we got done.” He brought her over to a line of sheet metal parts laid out on a tarp. “We have to number each panel,” he explained. “Then we put the same number on the frame. And then we know where everything will fit.” He pointed to a piece. “See that one?” He raced to the metal carcass. “We put it here.” He stopped, stared. “Wait. I think—” He frowned. “Darius?” Darius was there quickly, putting his hand on Zion’s shoulder. “It goes there.” Zion's brightness immediately returned. “Right. There. See, Nathalie?” Her brother smiled at Darius. “Thanks.
You’re so cool.” Darius smiled at Zion with the light of affection in his eyes as he said, “You’re cool, too.” Nathalie instantly melted. Not from the naughty thoughts she’d been having about Darius all week...but from the kind, friendly look on his face. And suddenly, in the face of his kindness to her brother—kindness that had been utterly lacking in every man she’d been with before him—all those reasons for distancing herself from Darius didn’t seem quite so important anymore. Because for the first time in her adult life, Nathalie desperately wanted to take a risk with an incredibly hot guy, one who wanted her in a way no one else ever had.
That freedom she’d tasted during their dinner at Martini’s and the drive to the aqueduct had her longing to unfurl her wings. Wings that felt as if they’d been clipped long ago. Somewhere between a deep craving for a few thrilling flights outside her normal life and Darius' whispering those deliciously naughty intentions to her, she couldn’t help but wonder if hot sex with him might not be the end of the world. At least, as long as she didn’t get overly emotional and involved. Holding onto as much of her sanity as possible—while always remembering that Darius was just a short-term pleasure—would be the key to the whole equation.
Even if his friends found out, well...she didn’t care what they thought, right? Not if, for once, she was going to do something entirely for herself. Something totally wild and crazy like seducing Darius Spencer. She wasn’t so far gone that she thought it would mean anything more to him than dinner, drinks, and sex—and she wouldn’t let herself get attached. She’d be cool, calm, and collected. At least, she’d be calm and cool until he touched her...or she touched him. Then she’d let loose the wild woman inside her. Only, she couldn’t possibly seduce him in what she was wearing—jeans and a T-shirt with a plain white cotton bra and panties beneath. She needed new lingerie. She needed new clothes. She needed new everything.
“You guys look like you’re doing great,” she said in an overly bright voice. “You don’t mind if I head out for a bit and let you work, do you?” “I’m good with Darius,” Zion said, turning back to the car, clearly having already forgotten her. But Darius didn’t look at all happy about it. “Are you sure you can’t stay?” “No, I really can’t.” Because if she actually went forward with her plan to seduce him, she was going to do it right. “I’ll be back as soon as I can.” His dark eyes held hers for a long moment, somehow seeming to pull her straight to him. “We’ll miss you.” She almost reached for him then, almost blurted out that she’d made up her mind to give his intentions a whirl. But she still felt like a butterfly wrapped in its safe little cocoon. By the time she returned to him this afternoon, she planned to have her brightly colored wings unfurled.