Moon over the Bay (Moonlit Nights) (3 page)

Olivia was Kat’s daughter, and
even before Kat started dating Miles, the four of them spent a lot of time
together. Olivia was like a little sister to Kyle and Nathan.

“But, I understand if you don’t
want to leave LA, with your acting and your business.”

Nathan couldn’t help but snort
before getting up to toss his coffee cup away. “I can design anywhere with an
Internet connection, but the acting hub is LA. Of course, as you know, that
hasn’t really been going well. Can I think on it a bit?” He crossed his arms
and leaned against the counter. He was touched that Kyle wanted him so close,
and the thought of being alone scared Nathan more than he wanted to admit.

“Of course, there’s no rush. I
was just giving you a heads up about what I was thinking. Have to talk to Jess
again before anything else.” Kyle stood and walked toward the door. “Come on
and let’s go get some breakfast.” Nathan thought it was a great idea; maybe
food would untangle the knot in his stomach.

Jess left
the last gallery on her list for the morning and headed toward her apartment. A
couple of blocks down Beale Street, she glanced up from her phone and saw
Sadie, Kyle, and Nathan sitting at a table outside a bistro.

Knowing it would be entirely rude
to put her head down and walk by, she took a couple deep breaths to slow her
heart rate. No need to sound any more breathless than she felt seeing Nathan.
Look at him, all sexy
and relaxed in the morning light, brought the dirty fantasies she’d had of him
last night right to the forefront of her mind. Of course, her blasted fair skin
heated because of it.

But Jess ruthlessly pushed down
her lust for the pretty boy. He confused her. First he had advanced on her and
initiated the kiss, and then he’d pulled away and said he regretted kissing her.
What kind of game was he playing? She’d learned long ago never to trust a
pretty face, and she wasn’t going to start now.

Later, Jess had slyly asked Sadie
what the deal with Nathan was, and when Sadie explained he lived in Kyle’s
house while he was a struggling actor, it made sense now. Men like Nathan
didn’t date girls like her for her personality. He was probably one of those
whose main goal in life was to screw their way to the top. Or better yet, find
the shy vulnerable girl whose daddy had all the right connections. But why
would he pull away, was it all part of a game to draw her in?

She really didn’t want to be
attracted to him, but it’d been a while, and her hormones were on full alert
around this guy.
Traitors.

“Jess!” Sadie waved her over,
abruptly ending the pity party Jess was having.

“Hey, guys, funny seeing you
here.” She smiled at everyone but avoided direct eye contact with Nathan.

“What are you up to this chilly
morning?” Sadie asked, motioning to the empty chair at their table and snuggling
closer to Kyle. As Jess sat down, a waitress appeared and took her order for a
skinny caramel macchiato. Sadie already had a hot chocolate in front of her,
and Kyle was drinking what looked to be a latte. Nathan was drinking an
espresso.

“I was just checking in at the
galleries I have a couple of showings at next week. I stopped in to say hi to
Evan too, but I’m headed home now,” Jess said.

“Oh fun! I brought the guys here
because you know how much I love their hot chocolates, and then I’m going to
take them over to Howard Street where my current show is. Do you know if the
manager is at the gallery now?” Sadie asked before taking another drink. Jess
checked the time and then consulted a list on her phone.

“Yes, she should be there by now.
She’ll be so happy you stopped in.” Jess accepted her drink from the waitress.
She blew on it before taking a drink, all the while ignoring Nathan, and
listening to Sadie chatter about their friend Evan who ran a gallery.

“I was going to call you later. I
heard back from Chicago last night. They want to show the black and white
photos in a couple of months, and they want you there for the opening night.”
Jess hoped Sadie was as excited about the news as she was. Going to a market
like Chicago was a big deal. For both of them.

“Oh my god! Are you serious?”
Sadie half shouted. Since Kyle had reappeared in her life, Sadie’s happiness
had become loud and almost overwhelming.

“I’m very serious. Once I get a
firm date, I’ll book us flights out there. I can include Kyle of course.” Jess
smiled as she started to type out a reminder.

“Are you always on your phone?”
Nathan’s deep voice broke through Jess’s mile-a-minute thought process.

“It’s the easiest tool I have to
keep track of everything.” She wasn’t sure why she felt the need to defend her
actions.

“Oh, Jess looooves her lists. She
may act all cool and confident, but if she doesn’t have at least two lists
going, she starts to freak.” Sadie giggled and the guys laughed too.

Didn’t they understand that lists
were safe and made life easy? Once you made them, you followed them. No real
surprises or mistakes, and if there were, you could plan ahead.

“Laugh it up, sassy pants, next
time you need to remember the name of some obscure painting you made, or who
bought what from you, I’m going to remind you of this moment,” Jess teased.

“Yeah, yeah, I’m going to get a
refill. Want anything?”

Jess shook her head, and Kyle
stood to follow Sadie into the bistro, taking their empty breakfast plates with
him. This of course left her alone with the recent star of her sexual
fantasies.

“Boy, I’d love to know what
you’re thinking about at this very moment. Your face just changed to the cutest
shade of pink. Was it a naughty thought?” Nathan leaned closer and whispered
the last part.

“Of course it was. I was thinking
you and I should take the cruise out to Alcatraz where you can ravish me in one
of the prison cells,” Jess retorted. This earned a loud bark of laughter from
Nathan. Gawd he was good looking. But potentially dangerous if he was a playboy,
and Jess didn’t do dangerous.

_____

Damn, she was a delight, Nathan
thought. Here she was looking all prim and proper in her pea coat, hair in a
bun, but the big flashy earrings and the designer purse showed off her sass.
Her humor was as charming as it was surprising.

“Sounds like a plan, let’s go,”
Nathan said and started to rise out of his chair. Her gray eyes grew large
before they narrowed.

“Ah ha, I knew you were full of
it. But I do like your style.” He lowered himself back into the chair.

“Uh huh, I’m not the only one
full of it,” she quipped at him.

“Hey, what’s that supposed to
mean? I’ll have you know, I’m a wonderful person.” Nathan flashed his overly
practiced movie-star smile.

“You can put the megawatt grin
away, it doesn’t work on me.” She raised her brow before turning back to her
cup and her phone.

“Oh, I do believe, fair lady, one
doth protest too much. Your eyes have darkened and dilated, and you shifted in
your seat, which are all signs of arousal,” Nathan murmured in her ear as he
leaned closer. Being this close he could smell her. The cross between brown
sugar and vanilla made Nathan’s mouth water. He had to hold his control in
check before he licked her right here in the street.

“Ah, so not only are you an
actor, but you’re a womanizer. Awesome,” Jess said with a flat tone.

Something about her opinion of
him hurt. Sure, kissing her had been a mistake, and not because he wanted to
use her,
but
because she was off limits.
He pulled away from Jess and stared at her as she tapped away on her
phone until Kyle and Sadie returned.

“Nathan, Kyle just had the best
idea! Why don’t you come to Chicago with us? We can do all the touristy stuff
while we’re there,” Sadie pleaded as she made a face. Damn, saying no to her
would be like kicking a puppy.

He hadn’t wanted to like Sadie,
not after the way she had hurt Kyle. But once he heard the full story, and
could see the change in Kyle for the better, Nathan had no choice but to fall
under her spell as well
.
It made him sick with jealousy to see the utter devotion the two had
for each other. He wanted that someday, and maybe sooner rather than later.
Nathan looked at Jess again.

“I think that’s a great idea.
Here let me give you my information for the flight, we can all sit together,”
Nathan said before grabbing Jess’s phone and entering in his contact
information. Little did anyone know he sent himself a text before giving back
her phone.

“Yeah, great. Thanks. Okay guys,
I’m going to head home and finish up some contracts I have. I’ll see you later.
You guys have a great weekend.” Jess waved as she got up and started to walk
away from them.

“Wait, aren’t you coming over for
dinner tomorrow? We’re going to eat out in the courtyard.” Sadie gave Jess a
pouty face.

“Yes, okay. Do I need to bring
anything?”

“Nope, just yourself and be there
at seven!” Sadie hugged Jess before she started walking away. Nathan jogged up
to her before she’d gone far.

“Hey, do you need me to walk you
home?” he asked as he tried to keep pace.

“No, thank you. I live over
there, so it’s not far.” She vaguely pointed to a high-rise down the street.

Nathan’s jaw dropped.

“You live at the Millennium
Tower?”

Jess jerked her head around. “How
did you know that?” Shock was evident on her face.

“I’m familiar with it is all.”
Nathan didn’t feel the need to tell her he had designed the brochures and
website for the building. People usually made snide comments about sticking to
acting with a face like his anyway.

“I see, well Sadie and Kyle are
waiting for you.” Jess turned and tilted her haughty little chin up before
walking away.

Damn.
That woman was a puzzle Nathan wanted to figure out. She acted
uptight with her lists, constant working, upscale condo, and designer clothes.
But, there were hints of someone fun; her joking about ravishment, obnoxious
earrings, a wicked sense of humor, and above all else, hot, steamy passion.
Good thing Nathan liked to play with fire.

_____

Jess had no idea why she had
tried on fifteen different outfits. It was stupid. He probably had five other
girls on call back in LA. And lord knew she wasn’t looking to be someone’s
sugar mama. The fact he knew exactly which apartments she lived in was not only
discomforting, but it was creepy too. Did he know who her family was? Of
course, even if he didn’t, a quick Google search would give her away. It made
her wonder if Nathan came up to San Francisco because he knew all about her and
thought to get close to her?

But wasn’t she the one who’d
started flirting this morning at the bistro? Why would she bring up having sex
if she weren’t trying to get his attention? Maybe because since the kiss they
had shared, she’d had sex on the brain. Her ramped up libido was getting a tad
out of hand.

Standing in her favorite
dark-purple silk bra and panty set, she decided on a matching purple sweater
dress. It was low cut and went to her knees but was long sleeved, keeping it
modest. Just because she wasn’t going to bite whatever he was casting out,
didn’t mean she couldn’t appreciate how he made her feel. He looked at her like
she was the sexiest woman on earth.

Jess had never had a man make her
feel beautiful or special. Sure they said it, but after a time they always
asked for something. Usually it was a business connection with her father, but
sometimes it was little things like expecting her to always pay for dinner, or
new clothes. One guy had even asked her for a sports car, and they’d only been
dating a few months. Jess knew one thing about Nathan. Nothing had ever stirred
her the way one kiss with him had. She wasn’t entirely sure she didn’t want to
take a chance to see what else he could stir.
A shiver moved down Jess’s spine
at the thought.

Taking a glance in the mirror to
check her appearance, she liked what she saw. Her hair was loose tonight, and
the curls as tame as they ever got, which left her with a halo like effect.
Deciding to draw attention to her favorite feature, Jess had created a smoky
eye with varying shades of gray. She left her lips natural by tossing on a nude
lip-gloss as she sang about everyone wanting to rule the world. Once she was
pleased with her look, she tossed on some nude pumps and headed over to Sadie’s
armed with two bottles of wine.

Jess was walking into the
courtyard as Nathan brought out a plate loaded with steaks. He looked up and
their eyes met, stopping them both dead in their tracks. The man was an Adonis.
He was standing there about to do something so trivial and ordinary, yet he
made it look sexy. He had on well-worn jeans and a black V-neck sweater with a
white T-shirt poking out at the top. The dark color made his blue eyes even
more striking along with his blond hair.

She watched his eyes take in
every inch of her as she started toward Sadie’s apartment. Her entire body
tingled as his gaze caressed her like a touch. He sat down the plate and headed
over toward her.

“Wow, you look amazing,” Nathan
said, stopping in front of her and sweeping his hand over her wild curls. Her
nipples tightened at the warmth of his touch. He was a dangerous, dangerous
man.

“Hi, um, thank you.” It was all
Jess could muster as she felt her face go up in flames. Kyle walked out and
greeted her before taking the bottles of wine she brought.

Sadie greeted her with a hug and
they all sat down. The food was great, but the company was better. Jess and
Sadie talked about some of the weirder showings they’d been to, and the guys
shared classic college tales. As the wine and beer flowed, the laughter
continued. Nathan told stories about casting calls, and as he talked
animatedly, he wore a huge smile Jess couldn’t look away from.

What would it be like to be so
free and easy like Nathan? To not have so many responsibilities to your family
and their reputation, to just be whoever you wanted to be.
Jess was so sick of
feeling like she had to walk on eggshells so she didn’t soil her family name.
Add in the fact that most men just wanted to use her for said name and all the
benefits that came with it. She wanted to be free. Free of the stress, the
pressure, and the watchful eyes. She wanted to be Jess. To have a man that
cared about her, not her money or her power or her family. Not the woman who
lost her virginity to a jerk of a boyfriend in college, or who had a string of
men who never lasted more than three months, or who hadn’t had a man in her bed
in longer than she wanted to admit.