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He drew in a harsh breath. ‘Fine. Let’s get you out of here, then, shall we? And then—’
‘I’m more than capable of getting myself out of here,’ she assured him. ‘After all, as you’ve already pointed out, it’s you the press are after, not me!’
Although just how long that would last was anybody’s guess. Which meant she had some very serious decisions to make during the next couple of days. Decisions she was no nearer making now than she had been a year ago…
‘It’s only a matter of time, Ji—Juliet,’ Nik corrected pointedly as his words echoed her thoughts. ‘It was bad enough the first time around, but the mad clamour to find J. I. Watson will start all over again, more intensely, once the second “Ordinary Boy” book is published…’
‘What do you know about the second “Boy” book?’ she cut in sharply, every inch of her tensing warily as that icy grey gaze suddenly eluded hers.
Nik made an impatient movement. ‘Well, of course there will be a second book—’ ‘There’s no “of course” about it,’ she said slowly, becoming more sure by the minute that he knew she had already submitted the second manuscript. Just as she was sure that only someone at Stephens Publishing could have told him that…
‘Oh, for—’ Nik broke off his angry exclamation as the telephone began to ring.
Three times. Just as before. And then ringing off. Just as before.
‘Your brother seems to be becoming a little—anxious, at the delay,’ Jinx said derisively. ‘I suggest you go down and alleviate that anxiety for him.’
‘And you?’ Nik frowned. ‘Where are you going?’
‘I don’t believe that is any of your business! But I actually intend going out exactly the way I came in—straight out the front door! You’re the one they want a story on, Nik—not me. And as far as I’m concerned, they can have you!’ she declared before letting herself out of the suite and heading for the lift.
She certainly wasn’t going to be part of Nik’s story. Either now or in the future. Although she had come very close to becoming exactly that, Jinx realized heavily as the lift descended. She had been so close—too close!—to giving in to the desire he had aroused in her, to just forgetting everything else.
How he would have liked that! Not only would he have managed to find J. I. Watson where everyone else had failed, but he would also believe he had managed to get her into his bed!
Jinx closed her eyes, swaying slightly as she thought of her arousal earlier, her need for the feel of Nik’s body against hers, inside hers, loving her, possessing her, until she could think of nothing else.
Had it been only the loneliness of the last eighteen months, that necessary feeling of distance between herself and other people, that had caused her intense reaction to Nik? Or had it been something else?
Please let it not be anything else!
Falling in love with a man like Nik Prince, besides being a totally insane thing for her to do, would also be complete anathema to the anonymity of J. I. Watson.
If she needed further proof, the crowd of people gathered around Zak Prince and the stunning blonde at his side as Jinx stepped from the lift into the reception area, the reporter of earlier included, was more than enough to convince her of that!
Jinx strode straight through the reception area, outside to where a row of taxis stood waiting, nodding her thanks to the doorman as he opened the back door of the first one for her to get inside. Only starting to breathe easily again once that door had been closed behind her.
‘Where to, love?’ the driver prompted cheerfully.
‘Fold Street, please,’ Jinx told him. ‘Stephens Publishing on Fold Street,’ she repeated firmly before sitting back to stare sightlessly out of the window.
Well, that went well, Nik told himself disgustedly as the door closed decisively behind Jinx, having had no choice but to stand impotently by and watch as she walked out of his life.
Or thought she did.
There was no way, absolutely no way he was letting Jinx just walk away from him like that. Because she was J. I. Watson. Because he still wanted the movie rights to No Ordinary Boy.
At least, that was what he told himself. But another part of him knew that it was because he wanted Jinx Nixon, wanted her in his bed, with no interruptions, for as long as it took to sate both himself and her. Maybe then he would be able to get her out of his head, out of the dreams he had been having about her this last week, naked and willing as he made love to her in every imaginative way he could think of.
He had never allowed a woman to get between him and his work. And Jinx Nixon was going to be no exception.
‘What the hell happened to you?’ Zak demanded a few minutes later as Nik opened the door to let him into his suite. ‘I kept the press busy for as long as I possibly could—much to Damson Grey’s delight. Yes, that is who spent the night with me.’ Zak grinned at Nik’s disgusted snort. ‘And, believe me, her body more than lives up to her name!’ His grin widened as he threw himself down into one of the armchairs to look up at Nik.
He was one of the scruffiest men Nik had ever seen, both on and off the screen. It never ceased to amaze Nik how his brother drew women to him like a magnet. Of course, it could have something to do with Zak’s golden good looks: overlong blond hair, laughing blue eyes set in a face so handsome he was almost beautiful, his body long and loose-limbed in the faded denims and baggy black tee shirt.
‘So where is she?’ Zak prompted as he looked conspiratorially around the suite. ‘Still hiding in the bedroom?’
To Nik’s self-disgust, he found himself tensing resentfully at this offhand remark directed at Jinx. ‘She was never in the bedroom,’ he bit out reprovingly.
‘She wasn’t?’ Zak’s eyes widened speculatively. ‘So where is she now?’ he asked before Nik could give him another cutting reply.
‘I have no idea,’ Nik answered him honestly. ‘She walked out of here about five minutes ago. In fact, you may have seen her on her way out.’ He frowned as the thought occurred to him.
Zak gave the idea some thought, his brow clearing suddenly. ‘Tiny little thing? Long red hair, very deep blue eyes? A very kissable—’
‘That’s enough!’ Nik growled.
Zak’s eyes widened. ‘Yep, I guess that was the one,’ he teased. ‘And you never made it as far as the bedroom? Maybe that’s why you’re in such a foul mood, big brother. Self-denial isn’t good for a man of your advanced years!’
Zak could say that again! Not the part about his advanced years, of course, but this constant frustration certainly wasn’t doing anything for his mood.
Although Nik’s discomfort was nothing compared to his concern now for Jinx and what she would do next. Because he didn’t doubt that she intended doing something.
‘Will you excuse me, Zak?’ he murmured distractedly. ‘I have to go out for a while.’ He picked up his brown leather jacket and pulled it on over his shirt, checking in his trouser pockets for his wallet.
‘Going after the beautiful—what is her name?’ Zak queried.
‘Her name is Juliet. And stay away from her, little brother. Well away.’ He scowled darkly.
Zak’s grin was wider than ever. ‘Wow, this is a first! Can I use your phone? I have to ring Rik at Stazy’s and tell him—’
‘Use your own phone,’ Nik snapped. ‘And tell Rik what, exactly?’
‘That our BB has been bowled over by a five-foot nothing of a woman with the body of Venus, of course.’ Zak stood up, heading for the bar, taking out a cola and drinking it straight from the bottle.
‘Help yourself!’ Nik drawled, giving an impatient shake of his head. ‘And I would hold off telling Rik anything, if I were you,’ he added as he headed for the door. ‘Things aren’t always what they seem, Zak.’
His brother frowned meditatively. ‘Now you’ve really got me curious…!’
That wasn’t quite the idea; the last thing Nik needed right now was Zak and Rik on his case. He was confused enough about Jinx as it was!
‘Feel like telling me where you’re going?’ Zak quirked mocking brows.
‘Nope.’
Zak shrugged. ‘Maybe I’ll catch up with you later.’
‘Maybe,’ he echoed, frowning heavily as he left the hotel suite.
Where would Jinx have gone after she left him? Home? Or somewhere else? Bearing in mind how angry she had been when she’d left, he had a feeling it wasn’t the former. If he were in Jinx’s shoes, he’d go—
‘Fold Street,’ he told the taxi driver as he got in the back of the black vehicle. ‘Stephens Publishing,’ he added tersely.
The journey seemed interminable, the taxi meeting every conceivable hold-up possible, from someone falling off their bicycle to a set of failed traffic lights. All of which only served to increase Nik’s impatience to boiling point.
Jinx had been in a furious mood when she’d left—because of him, admittedly, but he had a definite feeling that anger might spill over onto whomever she spoke to next. If his guess was correct, and Jinx had gone to Stephens Publishing, then, after months of never even meeting his author, James wasn’t going to know what hit him!
Maybe they would be lucky and James would be out of the office!
No such luck, Nik groaned inwardly after the receptionist had called James Stephens’s secretary and okayed him to go up.
Maybe he was wrong, after all, Nik reasoned on the way up in the lift; the secretary would hardly have allowed him up if there were a full-scale battle going on in James’s office.
In which case, he had better do some quick thinking as to what he was doing here!
‘You can go right in,’ James’s secretary looked up to tell him smilingly as he strode into the office.
Great; besides feeling rather foolish for having rushed over here in order to save Jinx from herself by telling James Stephens exactly what she thought of him and his publishing company, Nik was also no nearer to knowing what to tell the other man about his own reason for being here!
‘Come in, Nik,’ James welcomed him brightly, having stood up to come round his desk and shake Nik by the hand, effectively blocking Nik’s view of the rest of the office so he couldn’t see whether or not Jinx was actually here.
James smiled at him warmly. ‘How fortunate that you should arrive just now.’ He beamed. ‘You’re not going to believe this, but I can actually introduce you to our author J. I. Watson at last!’ He finally stepped to one side, leaving Nik with a clear view of Jinx as she sat in the chair facing the other man’s desk.
She was sitting sideways in the chair at the moment, that clear violet-blue gaze coldly mocking as she looked up at him challengingly.
Affording Nik little pleasure in knowing he had been right in his surmise as to where she had gone after leaving him…!
CHAPTER SEVEN
‘MR PRINCE.’ Jinx nodded to him coolly, exerting every ounce of willpower she possessed to remain calmly seated, when every instinct she had screamed for her to stand up defensively as Nik looked down at her with narrowed grey eyes.
The fact that he was here at all was enough to set her nerve endings jangling—even though she’d had prior warning of his imminent arrival when James Stephens’s secretary had called through a couple of minutes ago.
But the question was, why was Nik here?
Had he followed her here? Or had he come for reasons of his own?
More to the point, was he going to acknowledge that the two of them already knew each other?
She had arrived here earlier with the sole purpose of telling James Stephens exactly what she thought of his publishing company before demanding her second manuscript back, but the publisher had been so pleased and excited to meet her at last, so obviously genuine in his pleasure, like a little boy who had been given an early Christmas present, that she simply hadn’t had the heart to say all those unpleasant things to this genially friendly man.
‘Miss Nixon,’ Nik greeted her abruptly.
‘Can you believe that J. I. Watson has been a woman all this time?’ James murmured incredulously as he moved to sit back behind his desk.
‘Miss Nixon and I have already met, actually,’ Nik admitted.
‘You have?’ James Stephens looked disappointed as he glanced first at Nik and then back to Jinx.
‘Only briefly.’ Jinx was the one to expand on that statement. ‘But long enough for me to inform Mr Prince that I have no intention of giving him the film rights to No Ordinary Boy,’ she added tightly.
‘Ah,’ James breathed softly, grimacing his disappointment.
Jinx’s eyes widened. ‘I take it that you are in favour of Mr Prince making the film?’
The publisher looked uncomfortable now, obviously debating which of them he should offend—because he had to be aware that whichever way he answered he was going to offend one of them!
He seemed to choose his words carefully. ‘If the film were to be made, then I have to say I couldn’t think of a finer director than Nik here!’
Jinx had to smile inwardly at the man’s tact. ‘But the film isn’t going to be made,’ she said firmly, ‘so whether or not Mr Prince is a fine director or not is totally irrelevant.’ She raised mocking brows as Nik’s mouth tightened grimly at the ambiguity of her remark.
Deliberately so. She knew he was a brilliant director; the whole world knew he was a brilliant director; she just had no intention of adding to his fan club by admitting as much!
‘Yes,’ James Stephens accepted slowly. ‘I—’ He broke off as the internal telephone rang on his desk. ‘Excuse me.’ He smiled apologetically before taking the call.
Probably relieved to get a few moments’ respite from the building tension he could sense around him, Jinx guessed ruefully. She—
‘What are you doing here?’ Nik murmured in a forceful undertone.
Her eyes widened. ‘I have a perfect right to visit my publisher if I so wish,’ she told him coldly.
‘But you never have before.’
‘And I probably never will again!’ Jinx stood up restlessly, moving across the room to stare out of the window, sensing Nik’s presence inches behind her as he followed her. ‘What are you doing here?’ she demanded insultingly.
‘Believe it or not, saving you from yourself,’ he came back dryly.
She turned to look at him with wide eyes. ‘I beg your pardon?’
Nik grimaced. ‘You were in a reckless mood when you left the hotel earlier—’
‘I wonder why that was!’ she snapped.
‘Jinx—’ He had reached out to touch her, but held his hand up defensively as she flinched away from him. ‘Juliet,’ he bit out tautly. ‘I didn’t want you to do something…impulsive, where James was concerned, when it’s me you’re really mad at!’
He was right, of course, she had come here intending to tell James Stephens that one of his many employees couldn’t be trusted, before demanding the second manuscript back.
Because she was mad at Nik.
And herself…
But she would think about that later, when she was alone, not here and now, when Nik was much too close for comfort.
‘I’m not mad at you, Nik. I don’t know you well enough to be mad at you,’ she said insultingly.
His face darkened. ‘That isn’t true, and you know it—’
‘Sorry about that,’ James Stephens apologized as he concluded his call. ‘Coincidentally, that was your editor, Miss Nixon. I’ve told her that you and Mr Prince are here, and asked her to join us.’
