very, very real.
“I’m in,” I agreed, no questions asked. “But you do understand that we’re going to have to be up close and personal, right?”
“Of course,” she snapped.
“You’ll have to let me kiss you again, fondle you whenever we’re together.” I was completely warming up to this whole scenario.
“No…fondling,” she said uneasily.
I shook my head. “There will definitely have to be fondling to show how much I adore you,” I argued. “You want me to be your Prince Charming, don’t you?”
She snorted. “You’re already charming enough as a duke, Your Grace. You can touch me, but no…groping.”
Typically, I hated the ducal address, but Nicole said it so playfully that it was almost an endearment. So I wasn’t about to complain if she used it.
I was incredibly tempted to tell her that there would be a whole lot of groping, which would inevitably lead to getting her into my bed, but I held that thought.
She looked uncomfortable enough, so the last thing I wanted to do was dissuade her, not when I wholeheartedly endorsed this particular plan.
“I’ll be on my best behavior. I promise,” I told her.
Which really meant that I’d do everything I possibly could to coax her into my bed so the woman could experience her first orgasm…or two…or three.
There was no possible way that I’d screw up this opportunity to seduce Nicole Ashworth, and finally get my sanity back again.
In return, I’d make damn sure she was satisfied, and teach her how important it was for her to get to the finish line, too.
It seemed like a fair deal to me.
Nicole, however, might need some convincing.
“One hint of an orgy and I’m gone,” she mumbled.
I grinned at her. “Absolutely.”
Since the only female I wanted to get naked with was her, that particular term would be no problem at all.
CHAPTER 15
Nicole
“IF YOU DON’T have a fling with that man, I swear that I’m going to offer myself up for one,” Kylie said the following week.
She kept her voice hushed as we gathered up more snacks and drinks from the kitchen of my condo.
It was a wise choice for her to modulate her voice since Damian and Macy were still sitting in my living room.
My two best friends had decided that they needed to have a going-away party for me tonight, and Damian had boldly invited himself to the festivities.
He was cutting his US visit short because the social media nightmare wasn’t getting any calmer, so we were departing for London tomorrow to get this plan into motion.
“The man is dangerous,” I mumbled in a quiet voice to Kylie as I opened my cupboard to find more chips. “He hasn’t even looked at another woman while he’s been here. The only one he pays any attention to is…me.”
Damian had been adamant about…practicing to be my boyfriend. He’d taken me out to dinner on Monday night, and played the adoring male love interest so well that it was almost…uncomfortable.
As his PR agent, maybe I should be ecstatic that his acting ability was Oscar-worthy. I probably would be if it didn’t make me so damn…nervous.
Tuesday, he’d shown up at the office with lunch for my entire crew, and had proceeded to charm Kylie to the point where she’d seemed to forget that he was a man-whore.
When he’d found out that the girls were doing an impromptu bon voyage this evening, he’d shown up with an armful of food, and started swaying Macy to his side.
Was it ridiculous that I felt like my two best friends were traitors?
“He’s not what I expected,” Kylie said with a sigh. “I really wanted to hate him, but he does look at you like you’re the only woman he could ever want. And he’s so…nice.”
I went to the fridge and pulled out the bottle of wine Damian had brought, and a beer for him.
“Have you forgotten he’s a man-whore?” I said in a loud, frustrated whisper.
Kylie shrugged as she took the wine and beer. “Maybe I have. He’s charming, and the way he treats you is making me forget. Nic, you’re right. The only female he sees is you. It’s so obvious. It’s hard to believe that it was Damian in that naked picture. The whole thing just doesn’t make sense. Maybe it really was a setup, because the guy I see in your living room right now doesn’t seem like the type to get drunk and throw a massive orgy.”
I snorted. “You saw the picture. It was definitely him.”
I couldn’t quite blame my friend for her