The Billionaire's Second Chance (6 page)

As if suddenly coming to his senses Nick pocketed the cell phone and strode forward purposely. He needed to do something. He just couldn’t stand there anymore. As he approached and saw the look of enigmatic confusion on Jules’s face he made a note to ask her about it later but right now he needed to focus on Shannon.

As he came upon the scene Nick could hear Ned reassuring Shannon that they were about to get help for her. Without hesitation Nick reached down and scooped her up into his capable arms as if she weighed absolutely nothing saying to Ned and Jules as he did
,
“I’ve
got
this.”

With that he simply marched on down the hay strewn path towards the parking area, his back ramrod straight, Shannon draped over his strong forearms, her injured bare foot and the other still booted in soft brown suede dangling down his frame while one arm had instinctively wrapped itself across his broad shoulders for safety.  At least that’s what she told herself instead of admitting that her hold on him was more for security and reassurance than safety.

As he strode away with Shannon safely held in his arms, she looked back over Nick’s shoulder to see Ned comforting  a very upset-looking Jules who was wringing her hands in uncharacteristic dismay.  Jules’s face was ashen and the way she looked at them as they made their way along the scenic path gave Shannon pause.  Her head and the steadily increasing staccato of drumbeats banging behind her eyes sent that thought to the side for now but Shannon had a feeling something more was going on here than meets the eye.

Who was Nick Temple?
No
, she corrected herself again, remembering to use his real name; just who was Nicholas Barrett to Ned and Jules Stewart and why had they all seemed so familiar with one another?  She’d have to ask she supposed but right now her voice seemed to have deserted her and probably for the best.  Instinct told her that silence was her best hand until she had more information and until the blasted thrumming which had begun in earnest in her head stopped.

To make matters worse, the feel of his rock-hard chest against her side was making her exquisitely aware of how small and feminine she felt cradled in his arms. She wasn’t exactly a petite woman and had some serious curves to boot, but he was just so large and so commanding that he made her feel no bigger than a pocket doll.  She shivered slightly in delicious awareness of how turned on that thought made her feel although she knew she shouldn’t.

Glancing up at his profile as he pounded out a steady rhythm with his boot clad feet on the crunchy straw covered path, Shannon noticed immediately that he seemed to be grinding his teeth, evidenced by his mouth locked in a tense line with noticeable tension all around his jaw line. 

Where her breast and side crushed up against his chest she could make out the strong
thump thump thump
beating of his heart and wondered if he was aware how out of control her own heart rate was.

This close to him, she was surrounded by his unique scent, something spicy and bold that had permeated her senses once upon a time and which would wash over her in the ensuing years during times when her guard was down or she was feeling especially vulnerable.

She’d found his smell sexy and absorbing, just like the man himself and here and now she allowed herself a second or five to drown in
that intoxicatingly erotic tang,
wishing she could lean in closer
so she could
press her face against his neck and simply breathe. He had a tiny almost imperceptible scar on his slightly stubbled chin which seemed to call her tongue forth so it could touch that spot and make him  shiver all over as she’d used to do in their most intimate and private of moments together.

But that time was gone, when she thought she knew this man better than anyone else on the planet and she belatedly brought herself in check by recalling that he had chosen money and power over the promises of love she had foolishly thought they were making to each other.

His words came crashing down on her melting senses,
A rich man’s folly
was how he’d crudely described their time together in that awful final conversation when he’d crushed her dreams and told her in no uncertain terms that while he’d had fun, he always knew he’d return to another life which could never include a young man’s fling. A short period of carefree enjoyment before his real life took over. She’d been a welcome distraction while he’d been off pretending to be something other than a spoiled, wealthy, heir to millions if not billions of dollars.

As they approached the parking area Rory, also decked out in full cowgirl regalia, appeared out of nowhere and exclaimed with alarm “Shannon, what happened? Oh dear, are you alright?” this last said as she eyed Nick’s formidable take charge presence with some well-placed alarm.

Before Shannon could get a single word out, Nick started barking commands in a voice that any reasonable person would recognize meant business and which had best not be ignored.

“She’s taken a fall and sprained her ankle.” Nick bit out followed a second later by “Who are you?” all said while he continued to stomp along like a most determined man on a mission.

Seeing her boss being carried away by a veritable giant dressed in black jeans, boots and a crisp white cowboy style shirt with the sleeves turned back, Rory noticed Shannon’s arm pressed around the shoulder of this someone with the slightly menacing yet somehow reassuring authority.  That arm spoke of possession and familiarity and answered a thousand questions.  All of this threw Rory for less than a second before answering his bark in a business-like and professional manner.  “I’m Rory, Shannon’s assistant.  What can I do?” she asked as she hurried toward them to help in any way she could.

“Have the valet bring the black SUV next to the garage over here, quickly,” he answered “and help me get Shannon settled.  I’m taking her to the doctor Mr.
Ste
wart
recommended.”  With that Rory bolted off in the direction of the valet stand while Nick continued pounding his way along the path and into a clearing where his car would pull up.

Shannon tried to focus on this flurry of activity on her behalf but the slight pulsing in her head which she at first thought was a result of having been whacked on the temple was now developing into an increasing migraine thereby complicating her determination to retain her composure no matter what.

As his vehicle appeared on the scene and Shannon got a good look at what he was driving she groaned inwardly.  What was she getting herself in to?  She’d known he was wealthy but the size and luxuriousness of the massive hybrid SUV that pulled up was incontrovertible evidence of the world he lived in.  Shannon thought of her own dependable car, a bland but reliable sedan with a couple of extras but certainly not the temperature-controlled seats and on-board satellite system she spied the minute she’d been eased into the front passenger seat.  Best she remember the two completely opposite worlds they lived in and once again how he’d consciously chosen all this over her.

As Nick leaned into the car and reached across Shannon to buckle her seat belt he knew he was being ridiculous for she was a grown woman and capable of doing it herself.  That her hands were all scraped up and probably painful was the excuse he used to whitewash over his need to get as close to her as possible. 

From this vantage point, leaning in and reaching across her torso he could see the rapidly intensifying rise and fall of her bosom as she took in handfuls of air. He couldn’t stop himself from adjusting the shoulder belt so it didn’t cause any discomfort and in doing so had felt the soft mounds of her lush breasts across the top of his hand as he slid it down the belt to ensure her safety and comfort. 

She stopped breathing.  So did he.  With their faces only inches apart, he drew back from his ministrations
while
they both struggled. He with the need to slide his fingers inside her adorable cowgirl blouse to cup her breast with his big hand and stroke the puckering nipple he hoped would greet his caress.  She with the blinding realization that even after all he’d done and said, after all the years of sadness and solitude, he still stole her breath and made her wish for things which could never be. How stupid could one woman be she asked herself?

It was Nick who drew back first remembering how she had recoiled from him in apparent disgust when she’d realized into whose arms she’d fallen. Well, that thought sobered him up right quick.

When Nick abruptly stepped back after having awkwardly touched her while adjusting the seat belt, Shannon knew a blast of embarrassment at her pit
iful response
so profound as to make her blush from top to bottom.  He’d obviously found it distasteful to be this close to her and probably resented having to come to her assistance.

When he quickly backed away and went to shut her car door, the Rory person stepped forward to speak with his passenger, giving Nick his best retreat so he could scurry around the front of the car to reach the driver door being held open by the obviously concerned valet.

As he got in and belted himself, Nick reached for the GPS to enter the information he’d need to guide them to the private clinic where they were headed.  He noted that Shannon spoke quietly to her assistant although why she had an assistant and what she was doing h
ere he did not know.  N
ow that he thought about it
however,
Ned had just told him, when he’d arrived on the scene after Nick had texted for help, that Shannon was their party planner.  Looking around quickly at the cowboy tableau playing out all around them Nick’s normally sharp brain finally started putting two and two together.

Shannon Reynolds.  Shannon at his sister’s home.  Shannon was a party planner and Dominic’s birthday was something she’d created.  The spiky haired, thin as a rail person who’d identified herself as an assistant and who was presently determinedly tapping instructions into her smartphone was Shannon’s helper.  Shannon. 
Shannon was hurt and they had to go like,
now
.

“We have to go.” Nick growled a second before Rory had the good sense to firmly shut Shannon’s passenger side door.  Putting the vehicle in gear Nick carefully pulled away from the bustling parking area and headed for the main road.  There seemed to be horses with costumed cowboys and children with
laughing adults
dressed in
Wild West
gear all over the place and only then as they were leaving did Nick see with eyes fully aware how big and over-the-friggin’-top the party had actually been.  Glancing toward his injured passenger and noting that she seemed stable and properly secured, Nick eased the behemoth vehicle onto the road and headed to the clinic as the voice command GPS led the way.

Maybe he’d calm down a bit and get his senses under control once he got her some help and could be assured that the ugly bump on her head was not more serious than it looked and that her ankle had been properly attended to.  Yeah, right.  The way he felt, Nick doubted he’d ever calm down again.  Hell, right now he doubted his grasp on reality.

CHAPTER FOUR

In the confines of the closed car Shannon continued to be assaulted by the shimmering awareness
lighting
up each and every one of her brain cells due to the presence of the only person who had ever made her feel alive but who had also carved out her heart one autumn afternoon and fed it back to her on a sterling silver tray.

A beautiful sunny southern California day moved past the tinted windows of
his
SUV as they slowly made their way through the normally intense traffic patterns around Los Angeles.  She didn’t know where they were going but she was sure it would be exclusive and world-class, something else which would remind her of the distance which lay between her normal, middle of the road life and the world of the super wealthy who never had to worry about paying bills or whether they had the funds to cover an unexpected medical emergency.

She was being ridiculously critical she admitted, for she could take care of herself and if truth be told would admit to a tidy savings which was nothing to sneeze at, and a hefty retirement plan.  Shannon’s personal financial portfolio included well thought out and low risk investments and even a top drawer medical plan which, having been gifted with good health, she rarely made us of.  Was she judging him and the advantages having money could bring when she herself wasn’t exactly living paycheck to paycheck?  Well, probably but he damn well-deserved that discrimination and her harsh judgment.

Feeling like she was being a shrew for no good reason, Shannon tried to straighten slightly in the deeply lush leather seat that she found herself in.  She barely managed to squash a slight gasp before it made its traitorous way out of her throat when her scraped palms pushed against the arm rest reminding Shannon that at least for now she was all but helpless. 

Between the bump on her head and the way the migraine which had been hovering nearby had descended
,
making her even more uncomfortable, the throbbing, swelling foot which felt ten times its normal size, the scraped and bruised hands, a painfully scraped knee which she had yet to bring to his attention and the bleeding gash at her shoulder, Shannon was at his mercy and completely overwhelmed.

At the first stop light Nick looked over at his passenger to find her staring intently at him with a less than friendly expression; reminding him in an instant that while he was all but jumping up and down with joy at her very presence by his side, injured or not, she was clearly shooting daggers at him with those vivid turquoise eyes of hers.