He wasn’t. She knew that. However, she also knew he’d finally moved on from his intense rage stage and was descending right into loneliness, and people do stupid things when they’re lonely. She should know. She’d done plenty of them. Most memorably, having sex with Nico Daugherty. That seemed to be her favoritestupidpastime, hence the reason she’d repeated it so many times.
But who could blame her? Seriously. The guy was sexy in a humble, understated way. Not like Stone Jameson, who commanded attention simply by being in the room. Nico was the opposite of that. People paid attention because they were drawn to the mystery he exuded. He was also sweet and kind and generous. He cared about the people in his life. Genuinely.
And she couldn’t forget the guy had a body built for sin. Beneath those loose-fitting clothes, every inch of him was rock-hard, finely honed by manual labor, not time in a gym. On top of that, he was talented and gifted in the pleasure department. He was seriously skilled when it came to giving orgasms with his hands, mouth, and, yes, with that generously endowed cock of his. And his cock was as beautiful as it was bountiful. Just thinking about it made her pussy clench and her mouth water.
Not that she would ever admit it to Nico, but she was as completely, irrevocably in love with him as she was with the puppy. And she had been sincethat night. Even through the few years when she hated his guts, she’d been nursing a broken heart becausethat nightchanged her. The crush she’d been nursing at the time had turned into a full-blown case of love in a matter of hours. The years that followed had been painful, but she’d gotten over it thanks to Nico and his insistence that they talk it out. And yes, she’d gone right back to loving him.
Secretly.
As far as he was concerned, she was only using him for sex. Stevie did her best to keep it only to those out-of-control moments when she was intoxicated. She wasn’t to blame for those few times she’d done her I’m-drunk-let’s-get-it-on routine on purpose. Suggesting a night of drinking simply so she could spend it in his bed. Her manipulation came from a good place because deep down, she had feelings for him. Feelings she refused to tell him about because that shit was what fucked up friendships. The last thing she wanted was to screw up theirs. At the same time, she couldn’t imagine giving up those wicked nights spent with him rasping dirty words in her ear as he did dirty things to her body.
“I burned ’em,” Nico said, his voice closer.
Burned ’em? What was he—? Oh, right. The fajitas. Yes. Yes, that smell was a definite sign that he burned ’em.
He appeared, leaning a shoulder on the wall that blocked the unsightly side of the refrigerator from anyone who was in the living room. The entire entertainment area was one giant room that spanned the front half of the house. With the kitchen bleeding into the living room, dining room, kitchen nook, and the front foyer. The back part of the house was dedicated to the sleeping spaces: four bedrooms with three and a half baths to go with them. Like Nico, she had her own bedroom with a dedicated bathroom. One bedroom was used as extra storage, with quite a bit of her crap still boxed up from the move stowed in there. The smallest room could pass for a guest room, although they’d never had a guest since she’d moved in. The second floor, which consisted of one enormous room and a full bath, was used as their secondary office, complete with two desks and a large drafting table that Nico used often.
Stevie tried to wrangle the little dog as she turned her head to peer up at him. She knew it was ridiculous that she still got that weird, wobbly feeling in her belly whenever she saw him, but it’d been the case for so long that she’d stopped questioning it.
Nico Daugherty was a beautiful man. Almost perfectly so, with his narrow face and angled jawline, perfect nose, and ears that she wanted to nibble on. His eyebrows were thin slashes across his pretty blue eyes, usually because he was deep in thought. His dark hair was longer than normal. What was typically shaved close on the sides and back now rested perfectly against the collar of his shirt and was haphazardly tousled on the top of his head. By mid-February, he would break down and get it cut, trimmed back to its usual short length. His jaw and upper lip were purposely dark with stubble, giving his youthful face a slight edge.
His eyes blazed with heat, and she knew it had nothing to do with the blackened strips of chicken in the skillet or her lying on the floor playing with the dog. She’d seen that look before, and it was almost always associated with the memory ofthat night. In fact, the first time she’d seen it had beenthatnight.
The puppy started chewing on her ponytail, so she gently pulled the strands from between his tiny little teeth and sat up.
Because she could tell Nico needed a distraction, Stevie said, “Oscar came by the office today.”
The heat in his eyes diminished instantly, a frown pulling at his mouth.
She smiled. “Don’t worry. I sent him on his way.”
His eyebrows locked down over his eyes, and that frown curved even more. “Did you have sex with him, Stevie?”
There was so much accusation in his tone that she took offense to it.
“Why do you fuckin’ care?” she snapped, hopping to her feet.
Nico sighed. “I’m sorry.”
“No, you’re not.” She spun on her heel and stomped toward her bedroom. “But that’s okay. I forgive you.”
Although she wasn’t overly chipper about it, she meant it. She probably had every right to be mad at him but couldn’t bring herself to be. Not after years of hating his guts, blaming him for something that was as much out of his control as it was hers. They’d moved past that, moved on. These days, her relationship with Nico was complicated.
So. Freaking. Complicated.
He was her best friend’s brother.
He was her roommate.
Stevie kicked off her shoes when she walked into her bedroom. She hopped on one foot, pulling one sock off and dropping it on the floor, making her way to the bathroom. She did the same with the other sock when she reached the shower, opening the door to turn on the water.
Where was she? Oh, right. Nico and their complications.
He was her business partner.
He was her friend.
He was her orgasm delivery guy—on occasion.
