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“How about this?” she asked with a twirling step.” Cain sat back in the leather couch and grinned up at her.
“You rock the red, Mika.”
She planted her hands on her hips. The style bared a slit from her thigh down to her knee. It didn’t reveal all of her leg, which would have been better in his opinion. Nice, he thought to himself, but as his eyes strayed up her Marilyn Monroe shape to her face, something happened. A squeeze of need, but much deeper, more intense, way more intense than desire, struck him.
“It’s so not me,” she said, looking at herself in the mirror.
“You’re wrong.” His voice drifted lower. The heels gave her a little extra height, and the peek-a-boo view of her leg was, was...he blew out a silent breath. Okay, maybe his coming with her to shop wasn’t a good idea.
“I’m going to buy it and wear it next weekend.”
“What’s next weekend?” he asked.
Mika fidgeted. Her fingers locked together, then she looked over her shoulder at him. “I’ve got a date.”
He bolted upright. “With who?”
She shrugged. “A man-whore. He’s dated every unattached woman in my office. He works on the base.”
“Why would you do that?”
Mika glanced around to make sure they were alone. “I don’t know,” she said, keeping her gaze on the door that led to the showroom.
“You’re doing this with some guy who swims in the shallow end of the pool?”
She gnawed on her lower lip for a minute. “Yup.”
“Why?” he asked again. She could have any guy she wanted. Going out with some asshole that wouldn’t care about her feelings or how wonderful she was, floored him.
“Man-whore or not, he’s springing for dinner, and then drinks at the Blink and Boinker.”
Even through his mounting angst, he chuckled. “Are you talking about the Bard and Banker?”
“That’s the place. The girls call it the Boinker for obvious reasons.”
He nodded slowly, but wasn’t sure what his next words should be. This morning he vowed he’d be her friend, and nothing else. “Is this about hooking up, because that’s not you?” He thought she’d been kidding when she said she hadn’t had sex for eleven years. It just wasn’t possible.
She gnawed on her lip. “I saw Jen leave your place this morning. Why should she be the only one to have fun?”
He vaulted to his feet. “Mika, I slept on your couch all night. I saw her when she was leaving. We didn’t...” What the hell was he doing? Making damn sure she knew he hadn’t...
“Sure ya did.”
“Mika,” he said sharply, gripping her shoulders and turning her to face him. “I—did—not—sleep—with—Jen.”
“Whatever.”
The hurt in her eyes betrayed her flippant tone. “I’ve still got a kink in my back from your damn couch.”
“You could have slept in my bed.”
“What!” His pulse kicked into high gear.
“The spare bedroom. I’ve got a bed in there.”
He swallowed thickly, keeping every emotion hidden from his expression. “I’ll remember that the next time one of your friends climbs in my bed.”
“At least with your business you’re satisfied. I’m getting bored with my battery operated boyfriends.”
As usual, she deferred to funny, but this time it wasn’t. As he was about to give her a reality check on the dangers of meaningless sex, the sales woman entered the viewing room.
“Oh my, that is lovely on you.”
“Thanks,” Mika said quietly.
“Are you sure you don’t want to try the one with the halter neckline?”
“It’s perfect,” he snapped out. Now that he knew what the dress was for, less skin showing was a better idea. Bad enough the drop shoulder revealed her sculpted beauty and regal neckline.
“I bet you would look beautiful in a topaz blue with your coloring. We’ve got a new line called Greek Goddess. Let me find you some things.”
Mika flexed her brows and grinned at him. “Did ya hear that? Greek Goddess.”
He wasn’t laughing anymore. When the clerk disappeared, he stepped behind Mika. She kept her gaze riveted on the mirror.
“You want to get laid, is that what you’re saying?” He caressed the soft skin of her shoulder with his thumb. “You want a man to touch you.”
She shook her head, paused then nodded, and finally looked at him. “Don’t judge me.”
“I’m not.” He lifted her long brunette hair and swept it over one shoulder. “Believe me, I’m not. I just don’t think you can do that without becoming emotionally involved. That’s not who you are.” He kept the raving jealousy from tingeing his words. The fact that he wanted to brush gentle kisses along her perfect neck was driving him fucking crazy. “It’s not who anyone really is.” He palmed her sleeved arms.
“Sure I can.” Her forehead furrowed. “You do it. He’s a handsome guy, and the word is he’ll do just about anybody given the chance. He asked me out a couple times, and I finally said yes.”
“Why now?” he said abruptly. Didn’t she believe him about Jen?
“I’m going to change out of this.” She glanced at him. “It works, right?”
“Yeah,” he said, giving her a half-hearted smile. “Yeah, it works.”
The saleswoman brought three more outfits, and they all were perfect for her. Too fucking perfect, especially the black Goddess dress.
“Find a bathing suit, too,” he said coldly.
Mika’s head snapped up. “Bathing suit? No, I don’t do bathing suits.”
He nodded to the sales woman, and she scurried away.
“Cain, I’m not trying on a bathing suit. I don’t need one.”
“Just do it,” he said roughly and left the viewing room.
He paced the store like a caged animal, getting more riled up with every second. When Mika appeared, he took a deep breath and joined her at the register, seeing a bright blue one-piece bathing suit on the pile. When she reached in her purse, he pulled out his wallet and handed the cashier his credit card.
“What are you doing?”
“Late Christmas present.”
“No way.” She switched the cards and insisted the girl take hers. Without looking at him, she slid his card toward him, then signed the slip. “And I’m buying lunch for your consulting services.”
She gave him a big cheesy, satisfied smile.
****
The week went by far too quickly. Saturday night came, and when he heard the crunch of stone under the wheels of a car, he swore he wasn’t going to look, but he did, and he saw the black Dodge come to a stop outside Mika’s cottage. A tall guy, physically fit with a slender build got out. Mika appeared on the porch, stopping the guy in his tracks.
“Fuck,” Cain growled under his breath. He gripped his neck and watched the scene like a train wreck. The guy leaned in and gave her a quick kiss on her cheek, then guided her to the passenger side of his car, opening the door for her. Before she got in, her head rose and looked toward his house.
“Don’t go. Make an excuse, and don’t go,” he said, but she only paused for a second and got in.
“Fuck.”
He stepped away from the window, his fists clenched, as Mika and her date rolled by. Pacing his kitchen with its cold chrome fixtures, matched his mood. Round the island he went, like a rabid animal. She was the type of woman who made a man look at the future with new eyes. What if this guy saw it and wanted Mika?
He snatched his cell from the counter.
“Hey,” he said when the woman answered. “What are you doing tonight?”
After the call, he ran for his bedroom, taking the stairs three at a time. Shoving the hem of his dress shirt into his slacks, he stalled in front of the mirror and stared at himself. Mika had forced him to consider the choices he’d made the night they talked, and maybe every time they’d spent time together.
They both needed release, and although she didn’t know it, his sexual frustration was at a peak.
If any man was going to give her that release, it would be him.
****
Ben slid in beside Mika when they were seated at the Bard. Instead of dinner first, they’d decided to grab a drink. Nervous as all heck, she’d put a filter on her mouth and tried to be a little bit reserved. Even a man-whore had to have standards.
“Wow, this place is busy tonight,” she said, slipping over and putting some room between them.
The edge of Ben’s eyes creased with a smile. “Always is. You’ve been here before?”
“A few hundred times. I grew up in Victoria. Everyone wants to drink at the Boinker when they’re legal,” she said.
The two-story pub was famous for its scotch. Polished wood, gold rails and elegant architecture in the tourist portion of downtown Victoria, meant standing room only on the weekends. The band brought in for the Saturday night crowd rocked the place with the first song. With a female lead singer and four guys as her backup, the dance floor was jammed.
Ben’s arm rested behind her on the leather bench seat. “So, how come you decided to finally go out with me? I’m honored, by the way.”
She shrugged. The morning after Cain’s birthday, she’d staggered with her thumping, medicine ball-sized head from the bedroom. She’d filled up the coffee pot and found the Advil. Standing on her porch to get a breath of fresh air, she’d seen Jen slip from Cain’s house.
The hurt had nearly toppled her. Then she’d rationalized every distraught thought. Both of them were beautiful people. Maybe Jen would be enough to make Cain stop bedding other women for a living.
The tiny bubble of hope she’d nurtured for herself, floated away. The one her heart fired with sweet dreams, and her mind doused with, “get real.” She’d gone inside and called Ben.
“You know, I have to throw a tidbit out once in a while,” she kidded.
His face lit up, then he leaned in with his mouth near her ear. “You mean, save me from just fantasizing about you?”
He certainly knew the lines, and she was sure there’d be more. Bring ‘em, she thought. She’d embrace every one. It had been a long time since she’d been brave enough to accept a date. During university, she’d been on a few, but never saw the guy again when she didn’t put out.
Cain had asked her why she was doing this. She wanted to tell him the truth. Tell him that finally she wasn’t a monster and her disease was under control. For once, she could look at herself in the mirror and her eyes not mist with shame and hate quarreling in her conscience.
“What do you want to drink?” Ben asked, and she looked up to see the waitress.
“Uh, do you have Tsipouro?”
“Any particular kind?” the girl asked.
“No, just lots of ice.”
Ben winked at her. “Never been on a date with someone who ordered that.” He ordered a beer from the server, and Mika ignored the long glance he strayed up the girl’s slender frame.
After three shots, she was feeling no pain, and the nervous rumblings in her empty belly were gone.
The music boomed through the bar, and Ben pulled on her hand. “Let’s go.”
“Dinner?”
“Dance floor.”
They squeezed onto the small dance floor and dodged the swaying hips and swinging arms. The room was warm and getting warmer because Ben slammed the breaker on his hundred-watt smile.
The next song slowed down, way down, and his hands slid to her hips. “This is what I’ve been waiting for,” Ben said.
She glanced around and saw Cain weaving through the crowd.
“Hey, Cain!”
She waved, and Ben looked over at her landlord’s confident, sexy gait, which stopped at the foot of the platform. A couple gals sitting at a table close by nudged each other, ogling his impressive form—tall, broad shoulders and a body that narrowed at his waist.
“Hi, Cain, what are you doing here?”
“Business meeting. I saw you and thought I’d say hello.”
“Oh,” she said, and her brows shot up. She didn’t consider he might do his business locally. For some reason she imagined him jumping on a jet and seducing his clients at a romantic getaway in the mountains or under a palm tree.
“Ben, this is my landlord, Cain Sallas.”
“Hey,” they both said and shook hands.
Cain glanced at his watch. “Mind if I take her for a turn around the dance floor?”
Ben’s amiable smile dissolved a little. “Guess not.”
Cain swept in and drew her into the throng of couples dancing to the modern, sexy ballad the singer belted out.
“Isn’t your client going to get pissed off?” she asked as Cain drew her close and wrapped his arm snugly around her waist.
“Not that kind of client, Mika. For the new business.”
“Oh, sorry. I just assumed....”
“How’s the date going? He treating you okay?”
“Fine, I suppose. Not like I have a lot of experience.” They stared into each other’s eyes. Cain was one of the few men she could do that to without feeling self-conscious.
“He made his play yet?”
She laughed. “No, he’s been a gentleman.”
Cain forked his fingers through hers and warmed her insides. She finally relaxed. Before they were friends, she was nervous and anxious around him, but he’d held her so often it felt familiar and comfortable.
“Not so sure about that,” he said, and his gaze shot over her head.
She turned a look across her shoulder and saw a woman standing beside Ben. An amazingly, gorgeous, tall, blonde woman. She spoke to him, leaning in, and Mika saw her breast brush against his hand, which curled over the edge of the high table.
Ben’s expression dripped with heat as his eyes caressed the beautiful girl. The gal touched his shoulder, and Ben responded instantly with his hand coming to rest on her waist. The body movement between them sent a clear signal.
Mika’s feet stopped and she stared, not sure how to feel. She instantly pushed back against the fear of not being good enough. Every woman felt that from time to time in her life, but women who lived with what she had inside her fell victim to it too often. Ben was a hound dog. She knew this.
The beautiful woman coming onto Ben wouldn’t have the scars Mika had on her skin. Her skin would be perfect, never having battled her own body as it rebelled against her. Cain stilled, his embrace pulling her a little closer. They both watched as the blonde laughed at whatever Ben said to her.
Mika used logic, as she always did when the acerbic humor she relied on to push back the deflating image of being less, failed her. Would she actually have the guts to go to bed with Ben? Her skin was clear now, but the war wounds were still present. The song ended, but Ben hadn’t looked up, totally entranced by the vivacious blonde.
Cain’s low voice rumbled next to her ear as both his arms engulfed her and pressed her to his chest.
“Are you okay?”
A twist of pain tightened her heart, and she gave it a few seconds, hoping Ben would look for her. He didn’t. She pulled away from Cain. Tipping her head, her gaze rolled down her dress to the red spike heels on her feet.
Sometimes, the inner battle between confidence and reality ended in an all-out brawl, and her self-confidence walked away with a black eye.
“Mika?”
She looked up and Cain’s brows were crushed together in sympathy. That’s really what did her in. She hated sympathy. She hated that she’d been born with a defect that couldn’t be hidden from the world. A world so damn spellbound by beauty. Men like Cain, women like the blonde, had it easier. She straightened her shoulders and adjusted the thin purse strap across her chest.
She nodded.
“I think I should take you home,” Cain offered.
She nodded again, not trusting herself to speak. Cain broke a path through the dance floor alive with swinging bodies to the fast beat of the next song. She stalled at the exit and looked back one more time. Ben offered his perfect white-toothed smile at the blonde, and they tipped their glasses together, then he finally looked up and searched the dance floor, but didn’t seem all that concerned when he couldn’t see her.
Cain’s warm hand gripped hers. “Come on,” he said, and she let him lead her away.
****
Mika sat quietly beside him as they drove through the heart of Victoria. She faced the side window, her hands clasped primly and settled in her lap.
“Are you hungry?” Cain asked.
She shook her head. The silence bothered him. He darted a look her way as they passed beneath a street light. In the reflection of the window, he saw the tears and immediately placed his hand over hers. “Hey, don’t shed any tears for him.”
She didn’t speak.
“Mika.” He squeezed her hand. “Talk to me.”
She finally turned her head forward, and he could see her lip quiver.
“Can’t even rely on a man-whore nowadays,” she said in a hushed whisper.
Shit. This was not what he’d expected. She was so feisty all the time. He’d expected anger and brimstone. How had he read her so wrong?
“We can’t waste that beautiful dress.” At the next light, he cranked a U-turn.
“Where are you going?”
“Taking you someplace that deserves your presence.”
She sniffed and pressed the heel of her palms to her cheeks. When they hit the next red light, he caressed her arm, but she wouldn’t look in his eyes.
“You’re beautiful. Don’t ever doubt that, sweetheart.”
She bowed her head and a stuttered gasp flew from her mouth. Her eyes slammed shut, attempting to stop the tears from gushing out. When the light turned green, he headed for the shoulder of the road and threw it into park. The sports car didn’t give him much room, but he shunted onto his hip.
“Hey, come on. What’s going on?” She couldn’t talk she was crying so hard.
“Need...a...second,” she sputtered, opened the door, and jumped out.
Mika appeared in front of the headlights of the car. Her beautiful, dark locks bounced against her shoulders. The silky fabric of her dress clung to her waist and followed her hips with a graceful flow. She was beautiful. Really beautiful, and he bit down on his thoughts. Cain owned her tears. This was his fault.
That fucking guy, Ben, didn’t care how lovely she was. He’d only been impatiently waiting to see how loose she was, and if he could open her legs and get inside her.
Cain ground his teeth together. Maybe she would have felt bad if Ben had gotten his way, then never called her again, but right now she was crying because she thought Sofia was a better pick in Ben’s eyes than her.
He gazed at the clock on his dash. Sofia had seen them leave, and not long after, she would have dumped lover boy. A text beeped on his phone, and he scanned it.
She’s better off without him. He’s a dick. Hugs, Sofia.
Thanks
He shoved the phone in his pocket. He left the car running and cracked the door. Mika’s shoulders jerked with her sobs. There was something else going on here.
“Mika?”
She swept away her tears. “I’m good,” she said sharply.
He stepped toward her. “No, I don’t think you are.” He didn’t pause, he just reacted to what his heart told him to do, and drew her against his chest. “Why are you so upset about this?”
“Says the curl-your-toes handsome guy who women buy to make love to them.”
She tried to pull away, but he snuggled her in his arms, ignoring her harsh jab. “You’re frustrated because he’s an asshole? You knew that already. I thought you didn’t care?”
Her body shook with leftover emotion. From inside her purse, her phone announced a text. She pulled it out and looked at it. Then typed out a response.
“It’s him, isn’t it?”
She nodded as she finished typing.
“What did you say?”
“I told him I had a nice time, and I wished him well with the blonde.”
Her phone beeped again, and this time a disgusted laugh erupted from her mouth. “You too,” she said, reading his response. “Since your landlord wants you for himself.” She shook her head. “Typical, hey? He’s pawing the blonde, and he makes up lies so it’s not his fault.” Mika flicked her hand through her curls. A resigned expression coated her features. “Would you mind stopping at a drive thru. I feel like—”
He shook his head. “That stuff is not good for you, and you’re not swallowing ten thousand calories because of him. Let’s go.”
“Where?” she asked, hedging.
“Dinner.”
Settled in a quaint restaurant along the Victoria waterfront with candlelight flickering against the walls and a pendent strung above each table, she picked up the menu. When the waiter came, Cain ordered a bottle of red wine. Greek, of course.
“Why don’t I have any prices on my menu?” she asked.
“Must be a misprint or something.” He eyed her with a grin.
“Yeah, right.” She reached for his, but he pulled away.
“Now, now, that’s not polite.”
“Heck with polite, I’m not ordering something that has the same digits as my lousy paycheck.”
He folded the menu closed and leaned on the table. Mika was slowly healing from whatever had ripped a hole in her. “I’ll order for you.”
Perching her elbow on the table, she rested her chin on her clenched fist. “What if I don’t like it?”
“If you’ll eat a hamburger, you’re not fussy.” He cocked his head, digesting her beauty and his deception. “If you want to eat crap, I know you’re upset.”
She actually stuck her tongue out at him and he laughed.
“Sorry,” she said sobering. “About my boo-hoo fest.”
He covered her left hand. “I’m glad I was there to sweep you away from the clutches of a man-whore.”
“Yeah, but you’re a man-whore. Don’t you guys stick together?”
“True, but I’m a professional, and when it concerns you, I have good intentions.”
“What about your business meeting? Did I ruin that?”
He easily shrugged away the guilt. “Concluded.” The waiter stood in polite silence and didn’t interrupt. “We’ll start with the Florina peppers, the Kolokythoanthoi and the Kleftiko for the main dish.”
“Very good, sir.”
“My mom used to make the best Kolokythoanthoi.” Her gaze fluttered away from his and filled with sadness.
They’d visited her mom every weekend together, and Mika always dropped in on her way home from work. “Mine, too. In fact, I bet she’d love to make you some.”
Mika grinned. “Does she deliver from Greece?”
“No.” He swallowed. “Truth is her chef makes most of the meals, but if you come with me, you can try it firsthand.” He hadn’t taken his brother’s suggestion to heart, not until tonight. Mainly because Abel had scared the shit out of him when he’d said he might fall in love with her. Teasing or not, when it came to Mika, even his brother was a threat.
“Aww,” she said sweetly, but with a hint of sarcasm. “I’ll just jump on a plane to Greece. No problem.” She slid her full glass aside after the waiter poured the wine.
He traded his water with her glass. “Actually, it isn’t. How about early September? Can you get time off work?”
Her mouth gaped. “Are you serious?”
“I am,” he said, nodding. “We could do some island hopping. I can show you the sights. You’d love it, and my brother’s going to be there.”
Mika stared at him as if he’d suddenly grown a horn out of his forehead, and he almost checked to make sure he hadn’t. He waved his hand to break the look of utter shock.
“Hello?”
She sat back and gave him an awkward smile. “Thanks for the invite, but I doubt I’d get time off. Besides, you missed the part about the lousy paycheck.”
“Ask,” he ordered, maybe with a little too much vehemence. Suddenly, it made a big difference whether he would go at all unless she agreed to come.
“Can’t.”
“I’m dropping your rent.”
“It’s supposed to be a ten percent increase each year. I thought you were smart.”
“I am. The rent’s too high.”
“The rent isn’t high enough. I know I stretched it to afford having the place, but I love it. I can deal with a little tuna fish to afford the cottage.”
“I didn’t want some hippy, pot smokin’ asshole to come to the door.”
“That I can understand.”
He pulled both her hands into his. “Now, I want you to tell me the honest truth. What happened tonight?”
She flushed and shook her head.
“Mika.” He cleared his throat. “It doesn’t make sense to me.”
She rolled her top lip and sucked on it, staring at him intently. “It’s embarrassing, and I don’t think I want you to know.”
“What?”
Their appetizers arrived, and he forced the waiter to place them on the edge of the table. He wasn’t going to let the food distract them or let go of her hands.
“I have a small window,” she said in a quiet voice.
He shook his head not understanding. She tried to pull her hands free, but he held on. “For what?”
