Stiletto Secrets (22 page)

“He told you about me, about Cinderella?”

Hunter nodded. “In fact, it was him who asked me to figure out who you were, who Cinderella was.”

Now Emma felt even more confused. “I don’t understand.”

Hunter lifted a brow. “Believe me, if you think you’re confused now, wait until you hear the rest of it.”

Emma felt faint. Her entire world was just spiraling out of control, and with Hunter here, now knowing who and what she was, she just felt sick to her stomach.

“I think I need to sit down.” She sat down on the bolted chair right in the middle of the room.

Hunter walked around to face her. “Emma, Nicholas wanting to find out who Cinderella is—you—is just the tip of the iceberg here.”

Emma rubbed her temples, trying to get rid of the dull ache she knew would eventually explode into a full blown migraine.

“The night we met, at Billy’s Pub, before you and Nicholas arrived I got a call.”

Emma was still rubbing her temples.

“I got a call from Claire Monroe.”

And then Emma stilled. “Claire?”

“Yeah.” Hunter pulled his hand through his hair.

Emma slowly got off the chair and moved toward him. “Why would Claire phone you?”

Hunter dragged his palm down his face. “I’m known to do a little private investigating.”

Okay, now Emma just felt completely overwhelmed. “Why would Claire phone you, Hunter?”

“She asked me to do a little investigating.” Hunter started to pace.

With narrowed eyes she walked even closer. “What did she want investigated?”

He rubbed his fingers through his goatee, and then finally looked at her. “You. She asked me to get some dirt on Emma Tremaine. At the time I didn’t know it was you. When I heard Nicholas call you
Miss Tremaine
, I kind of put two and two together.”

Emma started to move around the room, dazed and stunned to say the least. “Why would she want dirt on me? It doesn’t make sense.”

Hunter snorted. “Isn’t it obvious? We all know she’s after Nicholas and his fortune. She obviously figured out there was something between the two of you.”

Emma stilled. “She saw me that night with Nicholas at the party.” Then she turned to Hunter. “I was posing as his date. That’s probably why she contacted you the same night.”

Hunter nodded like it made sense. “She wanted me to get some dirt on you, and I can only guess that she wants to use it as blackmail against you, to get you away from Nicholas.”

Emma felt a cold chill move over her entire body. Her stomach felt like she had swallowed concrete. The idea of Claire blackmailing her, of her having to give up Nicholas, it hurt too much to even think about it. Suddenly it felt like Emma’s entire world was slowly starting to fall to pieces.

She squared her shoulders. “So you got some real dirt on me now, don’t you, Hunter?”

Hunter searched her face with a fixed gaze. “Nicholas is my friend, Emma. I won’t do anything to hurt him. When I figured out you were the Emma Tremaine Claire was referring to, I decided to dig a little further, to protect my friend.”

Emma was too cautious to feel relieved yet. Hunter had the means to humiliate her, to expose her to Nicholas and her worst enemy. But somehow she didn’t find anything hostile about Hunter and the fact that he knew her secret.

“You’re not going to tell Claire?” she asked carefully.

“No. But, Emma, you need to tell Nicholas the truth. It’s not fair that he’s feeling so guilty over something that he doesn’t have to feel guilty about.”

Again she shook her head and turned her back on him. “I can’t, Hunter. I’m already not nearly good enough for him. If he should know that I’m doing this as a means of income as well, he won’t want me anymore.”

“Yeah see, now I think that’s a load of bullshit, because the last conversation I had with him, he was pretty taken by this Cinderella person, and you.”

Emma kept her back to him. “It doesn’t matter anyway. Tonight will be my last night as Cinderella.” She turned to face him. “I’ve decided that I’m done with,” she held her hands out gesturing to the things in the room, “all of this.”

“And then? How will you survive? How will you pay for your sister’s tuition?”

Emma placed her hands on her hips. “You’re a real good private investigator, aren’t you?”

He shot her a coy smile. “I’m brilliant at sniffing out information, yes.”

“Indeed. Well, I’ll figure it out somehow.”

Just then there was a knock on the door, and both Hunter and Emma jerked their head in the same direction.

“Cinderella,” Tracy’s voice came from behind the door, “your Mr. Blake just arrived. I thought I’d give you a heads up. He also paid enough cash to book you for the next six months.” Emma heard Tracy snort, and then Emma’s heart sank to the soles of her feet.

Nicholas was here.

“Okay,” was all Emma could say. There was too much pain, too much disappointment at finding out that Nicholas had in fact come back to Cinderella.

And then she realized. “Hunter. He can’t see you here.”

“Well, he’s already on his way, and there’s only one way in or out of this part of the club.” Hunter stated the obvious.

Emma panicked. What the hell were they supposed to do now? And then she thought of the only option they had. “You need to hide.”

“Say what?”

Emma hurried forward and ushered Hunter to the back of the room. “You need to hide. If Nicholas finds you here, this is all going to blow up in our faces.”

He stopped, and then Emma was unable to move the giant wall that was Hunter. “Our faces?”

“Fine. My face.” And then she shoved him forward again. “There’s a little cubicle in the back, get in and stay there.”

Just as they both stepped behind the curtain, Emma heard the chime of the bell, and her heart started to beat on the inside of her throat. With a panicked and grave stare, she watched as Hunter opened the door of the tiny cubicle. “Hurry,” she urged.

Once he was out of sight, she grabbed a mask which resembled a butterfly, the bottom wings coming down over her cheeks, covering most of her face.

“Cinderella?” she heard him call, and her body trembled.

“Mr. Blake.” She was able to hide the panic she felt, and pulled off the robe.

“I want to see you. I need to see you.”

Emma closed her eyes, a sharp, stabbing pain shooting through her chest.

Nicholas was here. He had come back to see Cinderella, even after what he supposedly shared with her, with Emma. Why did she feel such a strong sense of betrayal right now?

“You’re here for the
see
show?”

“No, I’m not here for a show. Just, please come out and let me see you.” His voice sounded different this time, not as alluring and dark as the other times, but more despondent, doleful.

Emma took one last look at her reflection, and confident that she wasn’t recognizable stepped out from behind the curtain.

The second she stepped out, she saw him suck in a breath. His blue eyes gazed at her, moving down her body, taking in every inch of her. The hot, heady, yet haunting look in his eyes affected her just as much, and even though she felt betrayed, she also desired him like this, as Cinderella.

“Disappointed, Mr. Blake?” she asked with as much bravado as humanly possible.

Nicholas cursed under his breath, and then bit his fist between his teeth like he was in pain.

Silence settled over them like a heavy cloud, a storm of lightning and thunder building between them.

Finally he sighed and pulled his palm down his face. “Finally seeing you is even better than I imagined.”

Emma swallowed. Even though it was supposed to feel good hearing him say that, it didn’t.

She stood firm, desperate to hide the whirlpool of emotions torpedoing through her right at that very moment. Seeing him standing there in front of her, desire plastered all over his face like a mask, she felt a kind of pain she never felt before. She knew the desire that he felt right at that moment wasn’t for her, but for another woman—Cinderella.

“If you’re not here for a show, then why are you here?” She could no longer hide the hostility in her voice.

“To tell you the truth,” he stepped closer toward her, “I have no idea why I’m here.”

Emma stepped back, afraid that if he came too close she might collapse.

“You had the club cancel all my appointments again,” she stated.

“I did.” He continued forward. “The thought of other men feeling you,” another step forward, “seeing you,” and with another step he had her cornered against the wall, “touching you, I didn’t like it one little bit.”

She lifted her chin to face him. “Like I told you before, I don’t belong to you. I belong to—”

“Stop! Don’t you dare say it.”

His eyes were a blazing, hypnotic blue staring down at her. He lifted a hand and reached for her cheek, but then stopped himself and closed his eyes, cringing like he was in physical pain. “Fuck! This isn’t supposed to be like this.”

Emma flinched. “How is it supposed to be then, huh?” Anger pushed through to the surface.

He shook his head. “Not like this. I’m not supposed to want you, not when I’m—” he stopped like he struggled with his words.

“When you’re what?”

“When I’m in love with someone else!”

Their eyes met, and all Emma could think about, all Emma could focus on, was his words.

I’m in love with someone else.

Her heart swelled, her insides flipped upside down. She felt happy and elated, yet confused and conflicted as well.

“If you’re in love with someone else, then what are you doing here?” she asked softly, praying to God that his answer didn’t break her further.

“I don’t know. I don’t fucking know. But I can’t get you out of my head, it’s like you’re always there with your goddamn stilettos, haunting me.”

And then he looked down at her feet, noticing the shoes she was wearing. He groaned, and then pushed hard against her, causing her to gasp.

“You make me wild, Cinderella. It’s like I won’t be able to move on unless I’ve had you.” He leaned closer, his nose slowly dragging along her jaw like he was smelling her, taking her in. “And that makes me one twisted son of a bitch since my heart belongs to someone else, yet I can’t get
you
out of my head.”

Yeah, twisted was the right word. Everything about this entire situation was twisted, because as Nicholas stood there pinning her against the wall, knowingly betraying the one he supposedly loved—Emma—she felt that electric desire flare up deep inside her, making her thighs clench. It was sick, it was dark, it was madness, but it was desire in its most carnal form.

“I can’t be here.” His lips moved across her neck.

“But yet you’re here,” she whispered, and he moved against her.

“Because I need to see you.” He lifted his face to look her in the eye. “Take off the mask and let me see you…please.”

“I can’t—”

“Goddammit!” And then he crashed his lips against hers. It was a hard, heady, desperate kiss. Emma felt him pour all his pain, his struggle against his own feelings into that one kiss. She moaned as the agony of it all came crashing over her. It was the most painfully passionate, most beautiful betrayal, and the most bittersweet moment Emma had ever suffered through.

His tongue swept against hers greedily, his body flexing against hers searching for more. And all the while Emma couldn’t stop him. She couldn’t stop him from kissing her since she didn’t want him to.

Deep, guttural moans came from the back of his throat as his hands had free roam over her body, seducing her, reining her in. And then flashes of their lovemaking started to pour through her mind like acid, burning, destroying, breaking her soul.

Emma didn’t realize she was crying until the taste of her salty tears invaded their wet kisses. He pulled back and stared at her hauntingly, watching as the tears rolled down her cheeks. She whimpered as her pain started to intensify, ruining every good feeling she had experienced during the last few days.

He gave a step back. “I’m sorry,” he muttered, “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t be here. This is wrong. I should—”

Through teary eyes she watched as he retreated, his face pale with his own conflicted feelings and guilt.

“Fuck! I’m sorry.” And then he stormed out of the room.

Emma couldn’t handle it any longer. She collapsed, the pain in her chest disarming her, making her weak. She cried. She wept almost uncontrollably as the realization set in that Nicholas had in fact betrayed her. What she feared, actually had come to pass. Her body shuddered, trembled from the force of her heartache.

“Emma?”

She looked up at Hunter towering over her.

“You need to tell him the truth.”

Suddenly angered, she got up on her feet and brushed the tears from her face. “I don’t have to tell him anything. He’s the one that betrayed me!”

“And you?” Hunter glared at her. “You’re not betraying him? You’re not hurting him with this secret of yours?”

“I’m not the one sneaking off to strip clubs and lusting after other women.” She shouldered past Hunter.

“No, you’re just the one dancing and stripping for other men.”

Emma stopped dead in her tracks. She didn’t turn around.

“You feel betrayed? You think Nicholas hurt you? What do you think you’re doing, huh?”

Emma didn’t answer him, she couldn’t. She was too busy choking on the truth, on the fact that Hunter was right. She was betraying Nicholas just as much as he was betraying her.

“The only reason Nicholas was here tonight is because you, Emma, remind him of Cinderella.”

Emma turned around and gawked at Hunter. “What?”

“Yeah. He told me that you remind him of
her
, and you know why that is, don’t you?”

Emma just stared at him unblinking.

“Because deep down, I think he knows.”

Hunter walked over to her and placed a hand on her shoulder. “Don’t blame him for feeling something you have made him feel in the first place, Emma.”

He turned around, but then stopped. “And I’d tell him the truth ASAP if I were you. Claire isn’t going to get from me what she wants, so she will definitely be hiring someone else to get her that information she so desperately wants. So, just be prepared.”