One Wild Night With Her Enemy by Heidi Rice

CHAPTER TWELVE

‘I NEEDTO know where Cassandra James is.’ Luke stared down the man standing behind the mahogany desk. He’d had to barge past two security guards and an assistant he didn’t recognise to get to him.

‘Who the hell are you and how the hell did you get into my office?’ Zachary Temple glared back at him.

Dressed in a three-piece suit, his height an inch above Luke’s own six-foot-three, Cassandra’s boss looked as stuck up as Luke had expected. The furious expression on the guy’s face would have intimidated Luke once upon a time, when he was a green kid from the wrong side of the tracks, but it didn’t bother him now. Not after an eleven-hour flight, a mad dash from the airport and enough fury and frustration and hurt to keep his temper at fever-pitch for the foreseeable future—especially where this arrogant bastard was concerned.

He never should have let Cassandra leave. But he’d needed time and distance to control all the feelings roiling in his gut at what she’d blurted out.

‘You’re the only man I’ve ever slept with.’

How much that admission had disturbed him. And the same confusing emotions continued to churn now. Panic, regret, but most of all...terror. Terror that he’d already lost something he hadn’t even known he had.

How ironic was it that those same dumb emotions had got him into a load of pointless fights as a kid?

He wanted a chance to explain. To apologise...to see if her admission meant what he thought it meant. But he had to find her first. And the only person standing in his way was this guy.

‘Gwen, get in here,’ Temple shouted at the woman he’d barged past five seconds ago.

The middle-aged assistant appeared at the door, looking just as concerned as she had a few moments before. ‘I’m so sorry, Mr Temple. He said he had an appointment.’

‘Like hell he—’

‘I’m Luke Broussard of Broussard Tech.’ Luke interrupted the man’s diatribe as it occurred to him that Temple—despite his three-piece suit and his carefully manicured appearance—looked almost as harassed as Luke felt.

‘Terrific,’ the guy announced with biting sarcasm as he thrust his fingers through his hair. ‘The man who managed to lose me the best executive assistant I’ve ever had. What are you doing here? Have you come to gloat?’

‘What do you mean, “lose you”? Where is Cassandra?’ Luke asked, feeling anxiety tightening around his throat. The anxiety which he’d been busy trying to control for over fifteen hours—ever since he’d returned from a walk around the block to cool off and found an empty apartment and Cassandra’s note.

I can’t stay, Luke. And it has nothing to do with Temple. Or my job.

I lost perspective on what this is...or rather what it was. I let myself believe that it could be more. And that’s on me, not you.

In answer to your question, you were my first lover. I shouldn’t have lied about that because it gave it much more significance than it deserves.

Please don’t feel you owe me anything. You don’t.

The note had damned him—because he’d been able to read the pain and humiliation he’d caused in every scrawled word. But at least it had finally forced him to stop and think long enough to figure out a lot of stuff he should have figured out days ago.

The truth of her virginity had shocked him, but more than that it had humbled him. But what had humbled and shocked him more was the fact that she had lied about it. And what had bothered him was why.

One thing was for sure—nothing about their situation had ever been simple. What astonished him, though, was the knowledge that he was pretty damn sure he didn’t want it to be simple any more.

Right now, though, he felt as if he’d just wiped out on his board and capsized the kayak at the same time. And the only way he knew how to come back up for air was to see her again.

‘I expect she’s at home,’ Temple murmured. ‘Being head-hunted by one of my rivals. So thanks for that.’

‘She resigned?’

Luke gaped. He couldn’t believe it. The guilt that had been riding him for hours took another sharp twist. She loved her job—why had she left it? Was that on him too? Because paparazzi photos from the launch had been all over the press this morning. And after seeing them he’d finally had to acknowledge another home truth. It had felt right to introduce her as his date. He’d wanted her on his arm... And it had never just been about getting vindication for that troubled kid who had once been shunned by his whole hometown.

His guilt at the news she had left her job—that this was one more thing he’d robbed her of, as well as her pride and self-respect—was accompanied by something else.

Hope.

If she isn’t tied to the UK any more, maybe...just maybe...

The hollow ache in his stomach knotted and the flicker of hope guttered out.

Getting way, way ahead of yourself, buddy.

Opportunism had once been his strong suit, but all it did now was shame him more. He’d given Cassandra nothing of himself, and that had to come first—before anything else. She needed to know why he’d guarded his feelings while exploiting hers. Why he’d taken from her and given nothing back. She needed to know the truth about that kid. The kid he’d thought he’d left behind a lifetime ago but who was still inside him, always ready to fight, but not ready to heal... Until now.

‘You need to give me her address,’ he said, jettisoning his pride. ‘Please, man. I need to talk to her... To explain.’

So much.

Temple looked unmoved. ‘What the hell makes you think I’d give you my executive assistant’s address? Why should I? Not only is it unethical, but it’s also quite possibly illegal. And I really could not care less if—’

‘Because...’

I think I might be in love with her... The words echoed in his head, shocking him right down to his core. But he had the peace of mind to hold on to them. He couldn’t think about that now. Couldn’t contemplate it or it would just terrify him more. And Temple sure as heck wasn’t the person to talk to about it.

‘Because what?’ Temple snapped, his impatience clear.

Luke resisted the urge to grip the guy by the throat and force the information out of him. Just.

‘Because I know why she resigned her position here. You want her back? You need to let me speak to her—so I can explain.’

Like hell was he going to help Temple get Cassandra back in his employ. He didn’t like the guy. But if he had to lie to him to get Cassandra’s address, he’d do it in a heartbeat.

‘And because this is personal,’ he said, when Temple still looked unmoved and unconvinced. ‘I hurt her and I want to make it right,’ he added.

Temple stared at him for the longest time, considering. And then—just when Luke was sure he’d blown it and debased himself in front of the guy for nothing—Temple grabbed a pad and jotted something down.

He ripped the note off the pad and handed it to Luke. ‘Take it. But if you hurt her again, in any way, I’ll destroy you.’

Luke saluted the man, so grateful he would almost have been willing to kiss him. Almost.

He dashed out of the office, past the assistant and the two security guards who had just arrived on the top floor of Temple Corp’s offices.

Now all he had to do was figure out what to say to Cassandra to make things right... Or at least not so wrong.

Cassie’s head lifted as the loud buzz of the doorbell drilled into her frontal lobe.

Ash? At last. It had to be. She was for ever losing her key.

Cassie had managed to hold off contacting her BFF on the flight back. But when she’d got home to find Ash gone, having left some garbled note about going to a family event in Ireland, and she hadn’t answered any of her texts, the last reserves of Cassie’s strength had collapsed and she’d been crying ever since.

Sniffing loudly, she wiped her eyes, which were red raw, and managed to pick her aching body off the couch. She headed down the hall, feeling as if she were walking through a fog. Who knew heart-ache could be so exhausting? This was like having the flu and jet lag and a hangover all at once.

She undid the chain, her bruised and battered heart squeezing. Maybe Ash could make it better? Because crying for twelve hours solid had only made her a wreck.

She opened the door, her sore heart beating painfully, then gasped. ‘Luke?’

Was she hallucinating? Surely she had to be.

But then the vision spoke, his husky voice raw with emotion and reaching right down into her soul. ‘Cassandra, we need to...’

It was all he managed to get out before the fog cleared, her heart hit warp speed and she tried to slam the door shut.

Too late. He stuck his foot in the gap.

She managed to stop the door hitting him, her terror she might hurt him more devastating than the shot of pain arrowing through her heart.

‘Please, I can’t...’ she said, but he had already eased the door open, stepped into the entrance hall and closed it behind him. She stepped back. ‘I can’t do this.’

‘I know,’ he said. ‘I’m not here to hurt you again, I promise.’

He looked as if he meant it, but she couldn’t seem to focus on his words—only his face. How could this man—less sure of himself now than before, but no less overwhelming—still make her pulse race and her heart leap in her chest?

‘Why did you lie to me about being a virgin?’ he said.

She could feel her heart collapsing all over again. Oh, no. Was that why he was here? Because he thought somehow he owed her something? Hadn’t she explained all that in her note?

She could minimise the fact of her virginity again, but that would give the truth too much power. More power than it should ever have possessed.

‘Because I didn’t want it to be a big deal...’ she said, suddenly feeling unbearably weary. Was this another mistake she’d made?

‘Even though it was,’ he said, so softly she almost didn’t hear him. ‘And still is.’

‘No, it’s really not,’ she said, needing him to leave now, before she went totally to pieces again.

He cupped her cheek, ran his thumb over the sore skin where her tears had burned. ‘You’re a terrible liar—you know that, right?’

She forced herself to pull away, even though she still yearned for his touch. This wasn’t fair. How much more was she going to be forced to endure?

‘Just because you were my first, it doesn’t make this special, or different...’ If only that were true, she thought miserably. ‘I understand that.’

‘But it matters to me,’ he said, cutting off the anger she wanted to feel at the knees.

‘Why?’ she said, not even able to muster the energy to be angry with him any more.

His hand sank to her waist and he pulled her close to touch his forehead to hers. He touched her neck. ‘Because you trusted me,’ he said. ‘And I never trusted you.’

‘Okay...’ she managed—because what else could she say? Her foolish broken heart was beating double-time again.

‘You gave me something precious, Cassandra, and I threw it back in your face because of my own insecurities.’

She breathed in, the tightening in her chest almost as painful as the aching pain in her heart. She didn’t want to hope, didn’t want to believe...

‘It’s okay, Luke. I know where those insecurities came from,’ she said, remembering the few things he’d told her about his past, and all the things she suspected he hadn’t told her. ‘I understand them. I have a few fairly massive insecurities of my own,’ she added.

‘Don’t let me off the hook,’ he said. ‘Because I don’t deserve it.’

He kissed her eyelids, kissed her cheeks, in an act of worship that staggered her and had her heart swelling in her chest, making her sore ribs ache even more and her breathing uneven. What was actually happening here? Because it felt like more than she could ever have hoped for.

He placed a tender kiss on her lips. But then, just as she let out a small sigh, feeling the hunger still there, despite everything, he drew away and let her go.

Sinking his hands into the pockets of his leather jacket, he took a step back. He dropped his chin to his chest, looking more nervous than she had ever seen him—and yet more open, too.

‘You need to know...’ He huffed out a breath. ‘I didn’t tell you the truth either.’

‘About what?’ she said.

‘I told you I didn’t remember my old man...’

His gaze met hers, and what she saw in his eyes had her heart thundering into her throat before he looked away again.

‘It’s not true. He was sent to the pen just after I was born. But he came back when he’d served his time. Just arrived at our trailer one day, out of the blue. I was fifteen, and I already hated him, but she thought...’

His shoulders rose and fell, and the pain in his face when he hesitated seared Cassie’s insides.

‘My mama...she thought he had come back because he loved her. Because she had never stopped loving him. He beat the crap out of her...’

Luke touched his thumb to the small scar that bisected his eyebrow, the one that she’d wondered about often, and she realised that his mother wasn’t the only one who had been hurt.

‘And he took the money we’d been saving to put a down payment on a house.’

‘Oh, Luke, he sounds like a hideous man...’ she murmured.

‘He was.’ He glanced up, then stared back at his toes. ‘But the hell of it was she refused to press charges... Because she didn’t want to screw up his parole.’

His head rose again, and his eyes were fierce and unguarded for the first time since she’d known him. She could see it all now. The pain, the regret, the fury and the deep grief—for his mother and for the love she’d had for a man who didn’t deserve it.

‘I’m so sorry, Luke,’ she said, reaching up to cradle his cheek.

She wanted to soothe, wanted to destroy the demons that still lurked in his eyes the way he had destroyed hers. Was this why it had been so important for him not to feel anything? Not to trust her or any feelings he might have for her?

‘He sounds like an even bigger bastard than my father,’ she added. ‘And that’s saying something.’

‘Ain’t that the truth?’

He chuckled. The sound was rough and raw, but still her heart swelled and beat heavily against her ribs.

He gripped her hand, brought her fingers to his lips and kissed the palm. ‘But I don’t care about him any more, or what he did. Do you know why?’

‘No,’ she said, her wayward heart beating double-time at the look in his eyes. Not just approval, not just arousal, but so much more.

‘Because I finally figured something out. A part of me always blamed her for being a sap, for falling for a guy who didn’t love her back. I swore I would never be so dumb. Which was why, when I started falling for you, I did every damn thing I could to try and deny it.’

‘You... You fell for me?’ Her heart slammed into her throat.

‘Yeah... I think I started falling the first moment I spotted you at Matt and Remy’s wedding. Busy chewing off your lipstick like your life depended on it.’

He rubbed his thumb across her bottom lip and she realised she was doing it again. ‘Really?’ she asked, because she couldn’t believe it. Love at first sight was actually a thing?

‘Yeah, really.’ He chuckled again. ‘Why are you so surprised?’

‘Because... But why did you?’ she said, still not quite able to let go of the fear that had always consumed her as a child. That she wasn’t good enough—would never be worthy of love.

He laughed, the sound low and husky this time, and hot enough to warm the last of the cold, empty spaces that still lurked in her heart.

‘Well, that’s the easy part.’ He brushed his thumb across her cheek. ‘Because you’re smart and cute and loyal and honest—’

‘You make me sound like a puppy.’ She interrupted, astonished that she could joke with him when her heart had expanded to impossible proportions and got jammed in her throat.

He laughed again. ‘And hot as hell,’ he added.

‘That’s better,’ she said, euphoria infecting her soul and making her lips lift up in what she was fairly sure was a mile-wide grin. ‘Keep going...’ she added.

‘I love the way you bite your lip when you’re nervous, or concentrating, or doing something you’re scared to fail at but are determined to try nonetheless. I love your bravery and your boldness and your ingenuity, and how, even though you have a veneer of efficiency and purpose, it really isn’t that hard to turn you into mush.’

A laugh burst out, riding the wave of euphoria right out of her mouth. How wonderful, she thought, to realise that so much of what she had considered her weaknesses, were her strengths...to him.

He took her hand, threaded his fingers through hers and tugged her slowly into his arms, until her hands were settled on his waist and she was staring into his eyes.

‘And I love that you’re gonna forgive me for being a jerk.’

His gaze roamed up to her hair and over her face, the light shining in his eyes for her and only her.

‘You weren’t a jerk,’ she said, touching his cheek. ‘You were just cautious.’

‘Not any more,’ he said, covering her hand, then bringing her fingers to his lips. ‘Not with you.’

She blinked, felt the tears threatening again, but this time they were tears of joy.

He wrapped his arms around her, tucked her head under his chin to whisper against her hair. ‘I’m sorry I lost you your job...but how would you feel about finding a new one in San Francisco? I have some great contacts. And I know an island that wants you to call it home.’

The giddy beat of her heart hit hyperdrive. She’d only known him two weeks. This was a big step—a huge step—a decision she couldn’t make on the spur of the moment. But somehow, as mad as it was, it already felt right.

After all, it would just be another crazy adventure—and she was getting surprisingly good at those.

‘I’ll consider it,’ she said, being coy two weeks too late. Then she leaned back to stare up at him. ‘But don’t you want to know if I love you too first? Before you ask me to move in with you?’

He shook his head and framed her face with his hands. ‘Nuh-uh,’ he said, with the confidence she had come to adore. ‘I already know you do, cher.’

And before she had a chance to be outraged, or indignant, or to dispute the inevitable, he covered her mouth with his lips and sealed the truth with a soul-searing kiss.