Sultry in Stilettos (25 page)

He chuffed out a breath. “She told
you?”

“Yeah. She did. Though I can’t really
figure out why you two kept it all secret.”

"I, um." Micha was one hell of an
interviewer. "She wanted it quiet, so I respected that. I care
about Ricca. I don’t want to hurt her."

Micha frowned. "That’s easy—then
don't. But most importantly, don’t hurt yourself. You two could be
good together. Don’t run for the sake of running. It won’t do you
any good. She grounds you."

What a surreal conversation. "She was
pretty clear that I’m the practice boyfriend." He set his jaw. “She
thinks of me as a friend doing her a favor. Letting her be
adventurous, trying out some stuff before she finds Mr.
Right."

"And if you believe that, you’re a
moron. Or rather a bigger moron than I thought. She's been in love
with you since she was eighteen. She hides it well. And to her,
you've always been that unattainable goal. But now she has you and
has convinced herself that she has to keep it casual if she's to
survive you."

His skin felt hot. Ricca
loved him? Not like her friend, but actually
loved
him. "Are you supposed to be
telling me this? Why the hell would you go out of your way to get
us together?"

Micha shook her head. "Because I see
you. And because I want what will make her happy. If you don't
think you can get your shit together, then leave her alone. Start
dating another string of supermodels and back off. If you do it
now, you can return to the way things were sooner or later. But if
you continue down this path and do anything to hurt her, I’ll
annihilate you."

Ah here it was, the warning him off
part of the conversation that he’d expected. "So you want me to
back off."

"Actually, no. I want you to get your
panties out of a knot and tell her how you feel. Then make a
decision one way or another. Ricca is not a limbo type of girl, no
matter how much moxy she borrows from me. She deserves to actually
be in love and not run around hiding."

"Trust me, you and I are on the same
page."

"I doubt it. Because then you'd know
that I think you deserve to be happy too. Stop running away and
tell her how you feel. It's your choice, honestly. But you have to
know what you want and go after it. Either way, this limbo thing
can't go on forever. Ricca will get hurt, and this will only
prolong your pain."

Beckett blinked at the woman he'd
always only seen as an auxiliary friend. Someone with so much
confidence it scared the hell out of most men. Himself included.
But she was emotionally smart and sensitive. She also didn’t want
to see him hurt. And that was a first. "Micha, I don’t know what to
say."

She shrugged and stood up, tossing her
wild mane of curls over her shoulder. Her long legs extending and
unfolding underneath her. "Your choice. You both deserve happiness.
I happen to think it’s with each other."

Later that night, as sat in Synthesis
Bar and waited for Ricca, Beckett fiddled with his beer. He knew
what he had to do. Never mind how painful it was going to be. He
had to—Micha was right. He either needed to push Ricca away or make
an honest man of himself.

The closer the two of them became, the
more terrified he was that he’d screw up. Braedon was right—he was
falling in love with her, and knowing himself, he’d fuck this up
royally. It was better if they ended it now.

He spied her across the room, and his
whole body jerked. She wore a low-cut, black jumpsuit that made her
look taller. She saw him and immediately grinned. She came right up
to him and leaned in for a kiss.

He immediately turned his head. If
their lips met, he’d keep kissing her, take her home, and forget
that this was for her own good. He’d be slaving for years to get
this building back on track; she needed someone who had their shit
together. Not him.

She frowned and sat across form him.
“What gives?”

“I—uh…I think we need to cool things
off for a bit.”

Ricca sat shock still. “Do you mind me
asking why?”

Because I’m completely in
love with you, and you deserve some guy who’s got his shit
together.
“Because things are too muddled,
and I’d rather just have my friend.”

Her brow furrowed, and he would swear
an oath that her lip quivered. “You know what? Maybe this is for
the best, Beckett.”

Wow, she was letting him off the hook?
She was taking it easier on him than he was on himself.
“I—uh—huh?”

“Because I’m starting to have actual
feelings for you. And the person I deserve to be with is someone
who isn’t scared of going all in.”

A cold fist enclosed his
heart and squeezed. She had feelings for him?
No, let her go.
You’ll only hurt
her.
“Ricca, this has nothing to do with
you, I just—”

“One question, though.” Her voice was
calm. “That night on the balcony, were you trying to break things
off then?”

That cold hand squeezed again.
“Yes.”

“Why didn’t you just come out and be
straight with me?”

“I didn’t want to hurt
you.”

“And somehow this was better?” She
stood. “You know what? Save it. I knew what I was getting into. I
was just a fool to believe you were different underneath it
all.”

Paradise
.

The smell of incense woke
Beckett up in the morning. As soon as he and Ricca arrived in
Morocco, they'd set up their rooms and checked in with the client.
Given all the near misses they’d had on these fantasies, it was a
miracle the client wanted to continue.

They’d changed up the
original plan and a complete change in game plan at the end was
going to be tough to work with, but they could do it. After all,
the client got what the client wanted. It was their job to make
sure it happened seamlessly, without incident. But they’d been so
tired. After their meetings to get the client back on track and
their long trip, all he and Ricca had wanted to do was pass
out.

He’d waited for Ricca to
go to sleep first though. He wanted to make sure she was getting
rest. The shadows under her eyes bothered him. Her fury at him
sliced like a knife in his chest. She was slipping away, and he had
no idea how to fix it. How to get them back where they were before
this stupid competition had fucked it all up. Before he'd fallen in
love with her.

He wasn’t stupid enough to
believe he could pretend they were just friends. But he wasn’t
stupid enough to believe they could have a happily ever after
either. Yet he wanted her so bad he thought he'd die with the need.
And now that he'd had a taste, there was no way he wouldn't close
his eyes every night and not see her beautiful body laid out for
him. Still, he knew he couldn't keep her. Micha was right—limbo
didn’t work for them. She deserved better. Deserved someone like
Carter, except without the asshole gene. Someone like Roberto. It
was so obvious how much he loved Lila.

Beckett would only screw
it up. He had too many broken patches. He didn't deserve
her.

"Shit."

Logic didn't stop him from
wanting her though. As his whole body jerked with its telltale
response to even a hint of a thought about her, he groaned and
rolled over, trying to make his body obey the commands. "Down boy.
You don't want to do this right now. We have work to
do."

Beckett climbed out of
bed, then he grabbed a pair of shorts and T-shirt from his
suitcase.

Maybe he could run off
this burning, gnawing sexual frustration. When he’d broken things
off with Ricca, he’d known it would be difficult, but he hadn’t
counted on that electric charge they shared. She’d avoided touching
him, but that didn’t mean he didn’t want her so bad that he
ached.

Their suite had a private
gym. If he could pound himself into the ground, he could get a
little reprieve. Because the two of them would be here for at least
a week, and he couldn't keep doing this to himself without a way
out.

As he approached the
workout room, he heard the whir of the treadmill and stopped. Ricca
was already in there.
Damn
. He turned around to go back,
but she called out to him. “Beckett? Is that you?"

****

Ricca knew Beckett was
watching her. God, why did he have to be such a man? He wanted her,
so why didn't he come and get her?
Because
you idiot, he thinks he's not good enough
.
But he was good enough. He just didn't know it.
Whatever.
Somewhere in all of this,
she'd stopped looking for Mr. Perfect. And she'd started looking
for Mr. Perfect for her. And Beckett was that guy.

He just didn't necessarily
know it yet. He’d been so hung up on not being what she needed.
Well, maybe it was time she took matters into her own hands. "You
going to stand there watching me all morning, or you going to come
in and work out?" Listen to her. Sounding all ballsy and shit. Who
knew?

For a moment, he was
silent. Maybe he'd gone back into his bedroom. Maybe she'd read the
situation all wrong. But then there was a clearing of a throat.
When he spoke, his voice was huskier than usual. "How much longer
are you going to be on the treadmill?" He sounded pained. Like he
was talking through gritted teeth.

Micha was right. If she
wanted something, she needed to go out and get it. No standing
around waiting for something to happen. "I'm almost done. You might
as well come in and not waste your workout time. We're headed to
"Morocco landmark" at nine, and we'll want to make sure we confirm
the rest of the day.”

She heard the soft sound of
sneakers shuffling. He started in the back corner, as far away from
her as possible.
Coward
. That's okay, she had time. He couldn't hide from her
forever. Especially not when they'd be attached at the hip for the
next three days.

As the treadmill slowed
for her cool down, she grabbed a towel and wiped at the sheen of
sweat on her exposed belly and arms. She might not have a perfect
body, but her abs were flat, and her workout outfit showed off
every one of her assets. Beckett didn't stand a chance.

She sauntered over to him.
"It's all yours."

Looking up at her from the
bench press, his eyes roamed over her body and settled on her
chest. Her skin heated under his scrutiny. She could feel the hot
infusion of blood under her skin. Oh yeah. He wasn’t immune to her.
He wanted her. He just didn’t
want
to want her.

Ricca watched intently as
Beckett’s Adam’s apple bobbed. Sweat popped on his brow, and he
cleared his throat. ”Um, yeah. You done?”

“Yeah.”

“Thanks." He got
up.

She wouldn't move back.
She could feel her body warm to his and saw him suck in a deep
breath. She smiled up at him, a full Cheshire grin.

He cleared his throat
again. "Um, Ree?"

"Yeah,
Beckett?”

“About the other night. I
never got the chance—I meant to say—things have gotten..." His
voice trailed, and his brows furrowed.

She put a hand on his
chest and watched in satisfaction as his nostrils flared and his
pupils dilated. "I understand, Beckett. You’re trying to protect me
or something." She could feel his heart lurch into full gallop as
she rubbed a circle on his chest. "This awkwardness is just
temporary. We’ll figure it out. Eventually we’ll both move
on.”

****

What the hell was wrong
with Ricca? She was acting like a cat in heat, and it made Beckett
nervous. He was already having trouble forming his gray matter
together after that spectacular view of her ass on the stair
master. And if he hadn't been mistaken, she'd deliberately stood
there, forcing him to rub up against her. Thanks to her, he'd be
hard for days. Even as the fleeting thought bounced around brain,
his dick responded with such force his workout shorts chafed. He
gritted his teeth.

Everything about the way
she moved and what she wore and how she spoke to him put him on
edge. If she gave him one more of those damn
let’s-be-friends
pats on his chest,
he’d likely lose control and start screwing her on the gym floor.
It was like she had caught him in a snare and was toying with
him.

Ricca wouldn't manipulate
him like that, would she? She wouldn't reduce herself to using the
heat between them to get the edge on him for this promotion would
she? His Ricca wouldn't have done that, but the pod person that had
replaced her ever since the promotion possibility had been
announced, he wasn't sure of. Well, more like he wasn’t sure of
himself and his ability to stay away from her. He couldn’t keep
them in limbo, and he needed his best friend.

He
could
keep his hands off of her. It
was for her own good. Beckett blasted the music loud enough to
drown out his brain and his heart. He didn't need this shit. He had
enough to deal with.