MY FAULT

CHAPTER 8

"I came to make sure you won't mouth off tonight," I said as she put on her necklace deftly.

"Mouth off about what?"

I was close enough to smell her perfume, which was almost intoxicating.

"You know I've got things to do after the gala, and I don't want you making any smart comments when I tell my father I've got to go."

"Oh, because you'll have to work on the case, am I right?"

I grinned.

"You got it. Perfect. See you around, sister."

"Not so fast, Nicholas." I stopped a few feet from the door and froze as I noticed that tickle in my stomach when she said my name aloud. "What do I get out of all this?"

When I turned back, she had a smug, almost heart-shaped smile on her face.

"What you get is I won't waste my time trying to make your life a living hell."

Noah raised an eyebrow.

"I don't see how you could do that."

"Trust me, you don't want to find out, either."

"If you leave the gala, you're taking me with you. There's nothing that appeals to me less than being surrounded by people I don't know at someone else's party."

"Sorry, Freckles, but as you might have realized, taxi driver's not a job I aspire to." As I said this, I pointed at my designer outfit.

"Well, find an excuse that includes both of us because I'm not going to play the perfect daughter while you take off for your secret illegal races."

Shit. Just hearing her say it made me nervous.

"Fine, I guess I can make something up," I said, just to put her off. When the time came for me to leave, she wouldn't even notice.

"It's amazing how you've managed to dupe everyone," she said. "You know my mother thinks you're the perfect son?"

"I am perfect in lots of ways, babe." I couldn't help it—I was enjoying the conversation. Arguing with this girl was highly stimulating. "Whenever you feel like it, I'll show you."

She looked at me self-righteously. Normally I couldn't beat the girls off with a stick. Just one look and they were all up on me doing whatever they could to please me. I had a rep: women respected me and adored me at the same time. I gave them pleasure, and they gave me my space. It had always been like that since I was fourteen and learned what a handsome face and a good body could make a woman do. But there was Noah, staring me down at every second, completely unperturbed by my presence.

"Is that what you tell girls to get them into bed?" she asked. "Well, with me, it's not going to work, so save your strength." When I absorbed her words, I could feel an uncomfortable pressure in my pants.

I imagined tearing off her dress and doing all the things to her that I knew drove women wild. It would be fun, driving Noah wild until she couldn't stop shouting my name.

Dammit.

"Don't worry about that. I like women, not girls with pigtails and freckles."

"I never wear pigtails, dumbass."

I laughed and tried to relax. Now I did want to see her in pigtails!

"Well, I guess we've got a deal," I said, thinking it was time for me to go.

"I guess you think coming in here and telling me what to do is a deal?"

"You got it, little sister. Bye now."

Her eyes were ice-cold. I walked off, not bothering to look back, but once outside, I leaned against the wall. I'd never let myself get that out of control. Shit. I felt...exposed, like a thirteen-year-old boy.

I took out my phone and tried to clear my head.

I'll come by your place before the party.

I walked down the hall to the steps.

I needed to blow off some steam before the night arrived, and with Anna was the best way to do it.

Twenty minutes later, I was at her door. Anna was the perfect cover-up for what would be happening that night. She was the daughter of one of the most important bankers in Los Angeles, and our fathers had known each other since college. Anna had grown up torturing me as she matured, and I had thrown myself at her feet when I was a kid and had no idea how to treat a woman.

We'd learned together, and we both knew what the other liked. Plus, she never got out of line and never asked for explanations.

When she came and opened the door, I dragged her off to her room.

"What are you doing?" she asked when I locked the door and wrapped my arms around her.

"It's called fucking. You might have heard of it," I responded as I threw her on the bed.

She smiled and pulled her dress up provocatively. Unlike Noah, she wore her hair down, and her dress was so short I didn't have to work hard to get to what I was interested in.

"We'll be late," she complained, bringing her face close to mine and kissing me on the mouth.

"You know I don't give a shit," I said, taking her to ecstasy just as I found the calm I'd needed ever since that witch with freckles had first come into my life.

Fifteen minutes later, I was adjusting my tie and lighting a cigarette on Anna's balcony.

She walked up beside me, her dress now back in place, hair combed, lips swollen from kissing.

"How do I look?" she said, pressing her body into mine.

I examined her. She was hot. Her body was hot. Her hair was dark brown, just like her eyes. I'd never gotten why Anna didn't have a real boyfriend—she could have had anyone she wanted, and yet there she was, wasting time with a guy like me.

"Great," I said, stepping away. I needed a few seconds to relax, finish my smoke, and visualize how this night was going to go.

"Are you nervous about Ronnie?" she asked, leaning against the railing. She knew I needed my space, my alone time. That was why I kept going back to her.

I took a drag and expelled the smoke slowly.

"Nah, I'm not nervous." Irritated was more like it.

"Is it your stepmother?" She knew about my father's new marriage and how much the situation bothered me despite my attempts to cover it up.

"Her daughter," I said, stubbing the cigarette out on the sole of my shoe. "She doesn't know who I am or what I'm capable of," I continued.

"You want me to make it clear to her?" she asked, and just imagining Noah and Anna facing off was both hilarious and upsetting.

"No. I just need her to keep her mouth closed and stay out of my business."

"You don't want to take her down the road to perdition?" Anna asked. For a second, I thought, Yes, I do.

"Better to keep her away from it. I don't want her giving me more problems like she did last night."

The wind shook Anna's hair away from her neck. I walked over to her and pushed it behind her ear. And then my brain looked for something that wasn't there—that tattoo, the knot, wasn't there, and just then, that tattoo was the only thing I wanted to kiss.

I let her go, even though she clearly wanted more.

"Let's go," I said. "We're going to be late."

"Thought you didn't care." Anna's irritation was evident.

"Right you are," I said, a little confused myself.

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