Into the Night (10 page)

“I’m Preston Sloane,” the other man said, introducing himself as he extended his hand for her to shake—undoubtedly a calculated move to touch her.

She slid her smaller palm against his, and Nathan watched as Sloane slowly stroked his thumb along the back of her hand—a very inappropriate caress between a man in his fifties and what appeared to be a teen.

Sloane was attracted to Nicole in her teenage facade, and that knowledge made Nathan’s stomach turn with disgust and solidified the urgency of forging a friendship with Sloane so he could rescue Angela.

“I’m Nikki,” she replied softly, then withdrew her hand with just the right amount of shyness.

Nikki
. A girl’s nickname. Oh, yeah, she was definitely up to something, and playing Sloane in the process.

“Are you enjoying yourself this evening, Nikki?” Sloane asked, his voice warm and inviting.

Nicole nodded and met Sloane’s gaze, somehow managing to appear flattered by his attention. “Very much. I love photographic art and can spend hours in an art gallery. After graduating from high school next year, I’m hoping to attend the art institute here in Vegas.”

High school?
Nathan would have laughed at the tale she was weaving if the situation weren’t so damn serious.

“That’s an outstanding goal.” Sloane smiled, and this time the slight curve to his lips held a hint of seduction, as if he was testing how she’d respond to the unspoken overture. “You know, I have quite a large collection of rare artwork that I’d love to show you sometime, if you’re interested.”

“Oh, wow, I would love that!” she said, her voice expressing her enthusiasm.

“Excellent.” Sloane looked pleased with her easy acquiescence, obviously believing he’d just cajoled a pretty young thing one step closer to his lair. He retrieved a business card from his wallet and handed it to Nicole. “Here’s my private phone number. Give me a call when you’re free for a few hours, and I’ll send a limo to pick you up and bring you to my estate. I have an entire room devoted to some of the most amazing artwork you’ll ever see.”

Nicole tucked the card into the small purse hanging over her shoulder, while still managing to project a wide-eyed innocence. “Thank you. I really appreciate the offer. I’ll see what I can do about giving you a call this weekend.”

“That would be great.” He winked at Nicole, and she
blushed,
of all things.

And just like that, Nicole was
in
.

Nathan’s jaw clenched in irritation. He was more than a little pissed at Nicole’s appearance and whatever game she was playing with Sloane. The last thing he wanted was her obstructing his case, or inadvertently blowing his cover if she saw him. She had the ability to screw up the groundwork he’d already established with Sloane, and he refused to allow that to happen. Which meant he had to find a way to take control of the situation—pronto.

Sloane shifted closer to Nicole and inclined his head, his expression much too intimate considering their age difference. “Are you here by yourself, or are you with someone?”

Knowing this was the only opening he was likely to get, Nathan stepped up to Nicole before she could reply to Sloane’s question. He slid an arm around her waist and felt her stiffen in surprise as he pulled her close to his side.

“Sweetheart! There you are,” he said, his affectionate tone establishing that she was with him. He smiled down at her, noticing the stunned disbelief reflected in her big blue eyes at seeing him again. “I was wondering where you’d disappeared to,” he chastised gently.

To his relief, she didn’t struggle against him and went along with the pretense, confirming his hunch that she was trying to deceive Sloane somehow and didn’t want to expose her own cover. “I, uh … I was just wandering around admiring the artwork.”

“Alex,” Sloane said, his gaze moving from Nicole to Nathan in a pleasant greeting. “You know this lovely girl?”

“I do.” His hold on her tightened, and the possessive move didn’t go unnoticed by Sloane. “She’s here with me tonight.”

Even though Nathan had clearly staked a claim, the awareness in Sloane’s gaze didn’t abate one bit. Instead, the fascination seemed to intensify. “You have excellent taste in women, my friend,” he complimented, his voice deepening with approval.

With those simple words, Nathan sensed a shift in his association with Sloane—from casual acquaintances to the stronger alliance he’d spent the past two weeks trying to forge.

And it was
Nikki’s
presence that changed everything.

Before the situation escalated in a direction Nathan wasn’t prepared for, he needed answers from Nicole. Hopefully, her explanation would help him figure out what was going on, and what he was going to do about her meddling in his case.

“There’s something I need to discuss with Nikki,” Nathan said to Sloane. “Will you excuse us for a few minutes?”

Sloane nodded, though his gaze hinted at his reluctance to let Nicole out of his sight. “Of course.”

Taking Nicole’s elbow, Nathan led her away, his firm grip not giving her any choice but to follow. Feeling Sloane’s gaze on them, and wanting as much privacy as he could find, he guided her into a secluded area of the gallery that wasn’t a part of tonight’s exhibit. As soon as they were alone, he turned her around to face him and backed her into the nearest wall. Standing in front of her, he flattened one hand by her shoulder so that she couldn’t easily escape. It also gave the impression that they were having an intimate conversation should anyone walk into the room.

Unfortunately, their close position also made him incredibly aware of her as a
woman
. One who’d spent hours in his bed, naked and willing and sexy as hell as she moved over him, and beneath him, in carnal abandon. He’d written her off as a one-night stand, an erotic memory to fantasize about when relieving his own needs in the dark of the night. Yet here she was, in the flesh, staring up at him with those seductive, velvet blue eyes and smelling like a frosted cupcake he wanted to eat.

Of its own accord, his body responded, wanting her despite the extreme and unexpected situation that had brought them together again. Heated desire surged through his veins and increased the pressure straining against the fly of his slacks. She licked her bottom lip, drawing his gaze to her lush mouth, making him remember how hot and heavenly she tasted. Making him ache with the need to kiss her again.

Stealing himself against her allure, along with his own reaction to her, he bent his head closer and narrowed his gaze in an attempt to intimidate. “What the hell is going on,
Nikki
?” he bit out.

The corner of her mouth quirked with dry humor. “It’s nice to see you again, Nathan,” she drawled sweetly.

He winced at the use of his real name when Sloane knew him as someone else—and Nathan needed to keep it that way. “Call me Alex and answer my question,” he ordered, the sharp tone to his voice demanding her cooperation.

A smooth, bare shoulder lifted in a casual shrug. “I’m just enjoying the exhibit.”

“Bullshit,” he growled impatiently. “You look totally different. You’ve transformed yourself into a teenage girl and it’s clear you’re leading Sloane on! What kind of game are you playing?”

Nicole arched a brow, subtly taunting him with her lack of fear when it came to his gruff interrogation. “I could ask you the same thing,
Alex
.” Boldly, she slipped her hand just inside his sport coat, splaying her fingers against the material covering his chest. “You don’t strike me as the artsy type, though I do have to say that you clean up real nice.”

She shouldn’t have touched him. Nicole meant to distract Nathan with her sensual caress, and judging by the lust flaring to life in the depths of his eyes she’d managed the feat. But she hadn’t anticipated her own body’s traitorous reaction to the warmth radiating from his hard, muscular chest. Her nipples hardened and her pulse thrummed in acute awareness. The sizzling chemistry that had burned between them during their one night together hadn’t diminished at all. Instead, the sexual tension swirling around them now seemed hotter. Brighter. More intense.

With his hair cut short and his face freshly shaven, his masculine features appeared sharper, more refined than the flirtatious bad boy he’d been. His dark brown eyes glittered with a combination of reluctant attraction and a brooding edge of anger that was directly solely at her.

If she hadn’t already witnessed the more charming and amicable side to his personality, she might have felt threatened by his menacing temperament. Clearly, he’d been watching her with Sloane, and he wasn’t thrilled to see her again under the current circumstances. Yet despite the information she’d taken from Nathan’s files, there had been nothing to indicate he’d be at tonight’s exhibit, and she honestly thought she’d be able to execute her plan with Sloane without any interference.

And she nearly had.

But even though she’d been caught in the act, so to speak, Nicole wasn’t willing to give up her story, or bend to Nathan’s demands—no matter his intimidation tactics.

A muscle in Nathan’s jaw ticked. “What is your association with Sloane?”

“I just met the guy,” she said, her tone deliberately vague.

Her reply annoyed him even more, and beneath the palm still pressed to his chest, his body tensed. “Yeah, by pretending to be a girl in high school when I know damn well that you’re a grown woman. What’s up with the act?”

Realizing that touching him was too much of a distraction, she dropped her hand back to her side. “It’s none of your business.”

His brown eyes blazed with golden heat, singeing her in more ways than one. “I’m
making
it my business.”

Feeling provoked, and irritated by the fact that he believed he had any right to
her
personal business, she straightened her spine and jutted her chin out defiantly. “Look, just because we slept together doesn’t give you permission to interfere in my life or demand any kind of answers from me. I don’t know you well enough.” Besides, she had no idea what Nathan’s affiliation with Sloane was, either.

Needing to put some distance between herself and Nathan, she attempted to step around him, but he was quicker. His free hand clamped onto her hip and pressed her back against the wall—gently, but firmly. He shifted closer, using his hard, muscular thighs to help keep her pinned in place and surrounding her with the heady scent of his woodsy cologne and something far more seductive.

He dipped his head closer, his gaze latching on to hers, direct and arrogantly male. “Whatever you’re doing here with Sloane, you don’t have the first clue what you’re getting into,” he warned in a low voice. “I suggest you turn your ass around and leave before you do something stupid that will get you into a whole lot of trouble.”

She barely resisted the urge to knee him in the groin for inferring she was incompetent. Instead, she gave him a saccharine smile that did nothing to conceal her resentment. “I’ve done my research and I know exactly who and what I’m dealing with. I’m a journalist, remember?”

He arched a skeptical brow. “A journalist who writes fluff pieces on
speed dating
. Or was that a lie and you were angling for a bigger story?”

She might have omitted certain information about herself the night they’d met, but she hadn’t lied about her assignment. “When I met you, that was the truth.”

Unfortunately, her article had been so successful that
Dating in the 21st Century
had indeed become a monthly feature for the magazine, with Nicole in charge of researching and writing expositions on various dating trends. Currently, she was working on a piece about online dating, which gave her plenty of free time to pursue other interests. Such as Preston Sloane.

He studied her intently before responding. “Right now, I don’t know what to believe when it comes to you.”

Okay, that stung, and she hated that his opinion of her mattered at all. “Believe what you want, but I’d appreciate it if you’d let me go.” Being this close to him was wreaking havoc with her mind and body.

“Not on your life,” he said with a shake of his head, then cast a quick glance around the gallery to make sure they were still alone before returning his attention to her. “I have no idea what you’re up to, but whatever you’re doing with Sloane, I can guarantee that you’re getting in way over your head.”

“Why are you so concerned about Sloane?” she shot back in a heated whisper. “Are you trying to protect him from something?”

He jerked as if she’d slapped him. “I’m trying to protect
you,
” he hissed indignantly.

“Thanks, but I’m perfectly capable of taking care of myself,” she said before turning the tables on him. “You told me that you work at The Onyx in security, so what is
your
involvement with Sloane?”

Nathan wasn’t about to spill his secrets, either, which put the two of them at a standoff. Frustrated, he swore beneath his breath. The woman was infuriating and stubborn, and he struggled between wanting to throttle her and pressing his body flush to hers and kissing her senseless.

Before he did either and brought unwanted attention to the two of them, he decided it was time to finish their exchange where they couldn’t be overheard. “You and I obviously have a lot to talk about, and this isn’t a conversation we should have in a public place. Did you drive here?”