Deadly Obsession (9 page)

Nic ground his teeth. Vivian planned to tone down his image in a few years but insisted he had to stick with the sex symbol act for now. Nic couldn't wait to have a normal life again.

And Lauren? What did she want?

Stop right there, idiot.

By all appearances, she’d dropped him like a box office bomb. If he were smart, he’d leave things at that. With the stalker on his tail, it wasn’t safe to get involved.

Glancing at the woman beside him, he saw Summer smiling brightly, unfazed by the insinuation that she’d be only a one-night stand. Then again, she didn’t need to care. She’d gotten what she wanted: her name mentioned on national television twice. That was the Hollywood way—use and be used.

They made their way through the crowd. With Summer’s help, he side-stepped countless questions and comments from the press regarding his relationship with Lauren. He couldn’t understand the press’s fascination with her. Okay, maybe he could.

Lauren’s sincerity and innocence were rare in Hollywood, where even the young were jaded and cynical. And his fans could relate to her, a single mom trying to raise her kid the best she could, because she was like them.

As they walked through the crowd, Summer flashed him a seductive smile. “When we’re done here, maybe we could hang out at your place for a while.”

Like hell
. He never went out with the same woman more than twice, and he never took them home. The loft was his sanctuary, the only place he could take off his movie star mask and just be himself. Summer stepped in front of him and wrapped her arms around his neck. “Or we could go to my place.” She nibbled his earlobe.

“That could work.” He disentangled himself from her arms and surreptitiously checked his watch. Fifteen minutes to go.

Summer pressed a hand to her chest. “Oh Nic! My chest is starting to feel tight, and I forgot my purse with my inhaler in the car.”

The crowd roared as more celebrities arrived.
Shit
. It wouldn’t be safe to leave the red carpet area. “Kaden, can you get Summer’s purse from the car?”

“I’ll get the head of security to assign a guard to cover you.” Kaden walked over to a burly man about thirty yards away.

Nic spotted some acquaintances and led Summer over to make introductions. When a commotion arose behind him, he glanced over his shoulder. Bodies parted like the Red Sea to reveal a woman walking with a determined step in his direction. He did a double take and spun around to stare at the approaching Anna Nicole Smith look-alike.

The woman was very tall in her red stiletto heels. Curly blonde hair hung halfway down her back. Her curvaceous body was crammed into a very tight, very short crimson dress, the bodice of which left absolutely nothing to the imagination. Her smile, enhanced by the matching lipstick, resembled the grin a lioness might make upon spying her prey.

All he could do was take a step back before she launched herself at him. He let out a strangled “Ooof!” as Anna Nicole tackled him to the ground.

CHAPTER 5

Was he being punked?

Nic landed hard on his back, the woman draped across his chest. Wrapping her arms around his neck, she smothered his face in a pair of double D’s. He wasn’t able to drag in a lungful of air until she scooted down to kiss his forehead, nose and cheeks. The situation was kind of funny. He’d even been on the verge of laughing—until she started talking.

“Oh Nic, I’m so sorry I was late and you had to come here with that bimbo. Why, she’s just using you to get on TV,” she told him in a southern accent. “I knew you weren’t really interested in that photographer either. Don’t you know, sugar, I’m the only one for you?” And with that, she kissed him long and hard on the mouth.

What the fuck?
Was this woman NicsBitch? Her dress looked poured on, but she could have a knife hidden beneath those mammoth breasts.
Christ
, she was an octopus, all eight of her hands groping him in places he preferred to have groped only in private.

He had to get her
off
. She was attached to his face and he couldn’t
breathe
.

Arching his back, he pulled his knees up to get some leverage, placed his hands on her shoulders and, pushing as hard as he could, heaved her to the side. Her weight and the momentum caused them to roll over until he was on top of her.

Gently but firmly, he extricated himself from the tentacles of her arms. He managed to get on his knees before she blocked him by wrapping her mighty thighs around his waist and locking her ankles at the small of his back.

Kaden arrived at a dead run. He grabbed the woman under her arms and wrenched her away. Boots stomped on the ground behind him and in a rush, a group of shouting security guards arrived. As they hauled the woman to her feet, Nic remained kneeling, sucking in air.

Cameras flashed furiously, illuminating him and his zealous fan as the guards led her away. She was crying and calling out to him, begging him for help. What she’d said too closely echoed NicsBitch. Until the police confirmed she was harmless, he wasn’t stepping one foot closer to her, tears or no tears.

Summer knelt beside him and pressed his hand to her chest while Kaden spoke with the security guards. “Oh Nic. That was so awful. The nerve of that cow pretending to be your girlfriend.”

Nic stared at her. She couldn’t be more wrong. He didn’t give a shit about the woman’s weight. In fact, he preferred his women with a little more meat.

The security guards established a perimeter around him, with everyone but Summer and a disconcerted looking Kaden on the other side. “Are you hurt, sir?”

Nic shook his head, feeling pretty disconcerted himself. “Just winded.” When he moved to stand up, Kaden rushed forward. Exasperated and embarrassed, Nic waved him off. “I’m fine.”

Instantly, he regretted his harsh tone. The man was only doing his job, after all. He forced himself to sound calm. “Have the guards identified the woman?”

One of the security guards said, “Her driver’s license says she’s Abby Clanwell from Hartsville, South Carolina.” He peered at Nic, one eyebrow raised in speculation. “I take it you don’t know her? She says she’s your girlfriend.”

Another girlfriend? He sure was fucking popular tonight. “Never saw her before.”

“We didn’t find any weapons on her. She’s probably just an over-excited fan. We aren’t sure how she got through the perimeter, but we’ll be reviewing the security tapes to find out.”

The guard left and Kaden turned to him, chagrin on his face. “Sir, this shouldn’t have happened on my watch. If you want to get a new bodyguard, I’ll understand.”

Nic gripped his shoulder. “Relax, man. Even you can’t be in two places at once. Besides, this area was supposed to be secure.”

Kaden exhaled sharply. “Christ. She could be NicsBitch.”

“Believe me, it’s crossed my mind. But you know, if this had happened at any other time, we’d both be laughing.”

“Maybe so. But from now on, I’m sticking to you like glue.”

When the security guards gave up the perimeter, people flocked to his side. Turning to the fans across the street, Nic waved to reassure them. Then, he addressed the reporters gathered around him. “Thank you all for your concern but, really, I’m okay. I have truly wonderful fans, even the ones that get a little over-excited, and I’m honored by their love and devotion.”

“Now, if they could only stay behind the barriers,” Kaden muttered.

Everyone laughed, and just like that, the tension evaporated.

Lauren couldn’t believe her eyes. The woman had appeared out of nowhere and thrown herself at Nic. Where were the security guards? And for that matter, where was his blond bodyguard? Even Vivian was nowhere to be seen.

Lauren couldn’t help but smile when the bodyguard leaned down to help Nic stand up and Nic shoved his hand away. People often acted like she was fragile, weak, and she hated it. She could well imagine how Nic would feel about being treated like he was made of glass.

When the paparazzi had busted in on the photo shoot, he’d been so warrior-like. She got chills remembering how he’d jumped off the bed, landing between her and the door of the hotel room. A man like Nic would resent the need to have someone guard him.

His life had to be difficult. He had no privacy, no time to himself, and no freedom to
be
himself. Nic always had to be on his game, always had to be over the top. Always had to be Nic The Lover.

Lauren looked down at Jason, asleep in her arms. She didn’t need glitz and glamour to be happy. Nic may have discarded her like yesterday’s pizza box, but he didn’t have what she did. His life was empty. Hers was full.

And someday, she’d meet a stable family man and fall in love. Until then, she had her friends, her family. And her fantasies.

Nic stepped out of the limo in front of Summer’s apartment building, then turned to assist her. Kaden stood stone-faced, holding the passenger door open. “Can I have a private word, sir?”

Nic pulled Summer to his side. “Wait for me in the lobby.”

She rubbed against him and giggled. “Hurry, okay?”

After she entered the building, Nic caught Kaden rolling his eyes. He grinned. “She’s not so bad.” Besides, all he wanted right now was to get his mind off Lauren. Maybe Summer was the answer.

“Not so bad if you like them without a brain.” Nic shrugged. “What about the photographer, Lauren?”

“She’s got a brain.”

“What the fuck’s wrong with you? Do you
want
to blow it with her?”

Nic sighed. Everyone insisted on reminding him of Lauren. “I like Lauren. I like her a lot. I’m just not the right guy for her.”

“Based on the photo I saw, she might not agree.”

“You know what this life does to people.” He thrust his hands in his pockets and stared at his shoes. “I could never ask her to deal with all the shit that goes on in this business. Anyways, I haven’t heard from her since D.C., and neither has Vivian.” He raised his eyes to meet Kaden’s gaze. “If she wants to work with me, she needs to let me know.”

“So, it’s just business?”

“It has to be.”

Kaden raised his eyebrows. “But why Summer?”

“She’s Nic The Lover’s type.”

“I see,” he said although it was clear from his expression that he didn’t. “You want me to wait?”

Nic shook his head. “I’ll walk home.”

“The woman’s a barracuda. What if you need to make a quick escape?”

Nic laughed and clapped Kaden on the back. “I can handle her.” He waited while Kaden drove away, then jogged up the steps to the lobby where Summer waited for him.

She led him to her apartment and ushered him inside. “My roommate’s out of town, so we have the place to ourselves.”

Nic smiled. Sex was definitely on the agenda. And exactly what he needed to get Lauren off his mind.

“The living room’s right through there. Why don’t you make yourself comfortable while I get us a drink?” The living room wasn’t large, but she’d made the most of it. A couch and an armchair crowded around a mid-size flat screen TV hanging on the wall. He was easing into the armchair when Summer handed him a beer. “I hope you like German.”

Nic eyed the bottle appreciatively. The woman knew her beer. “Love it, thanks.”

She held her bottle up to his. “Cheers!”

“Cheers.” He slugged back the fine German brew and watched her wander over to a stereo on a shelf. Her skimpy dress exposed long lean thighs and slim calves. Summer was beautiful, and like any man, he could appreciate her beauty, even if she wasn’t his type. Now, if
Lauren
were here, wearing that dress, well, she wouldn’t be wearing it for long.

After thumbing through a few CDs, Summer inserted one into the player. Moments later, Nic heard the opening notes of Bob Seger’s
Old Time Rock and Roll
. He raised a brow. Did she want to dance with him?

Summer started swaying her hips, but it wasn’t until she began undoing the zipper along the back of her dress that he understood. She wanted to dance
for
him. Hooboy! Relaxing into the comfortable armchair, he prepared to enjoy the show.