The nightclub was packed—a sea of bodies from one end of the room to the other. Lights flickered from every direction, creating a kaleidoscope of color. Music blared so loudly, Victoria could feel the bass thumping through her body. The people. The lights. The music. All of it was sensory overload, and she hated it until they were led up a flight of stairs to the VIP section that overlooked everything. There she could breathe.
Their group created quite a stir. She saw people pointing, getting excited as familiar faces were recognized. Nate wasn’t the only famous person in their party, but he was the most well-known. Unless someone lived under a rock, everyone in the crowd gathered below would know him on sight.
A waiter came by, holding a tray of champagne. Nate grabbed two flutes, handing her one, and so not to be conspicuous, she smiled before pretending to take a sip.
“To us,” Rick Massey said, holding up his glass of champagne. “May at least one of us make it to the Oscars.”
“Hear, hear,” the group chorused before clicking glasses.
Victoria followed suit, tapping her glass to Nate’s and the woman’s beside her. While everyone was busy chugging, she set her glass down on the table behind her.
Ever observant, Nate eyed her full glass before asking, “You don’t like it? Do you want something else?”
Latching on to his arm, she leaned in close. “Alcohol makes me sleepy.” She smiled slyly. “I’m not in the mood to be sleepy.”
Nate raised a brow. “Shall I guess what you are in the mood for?”
“You can try, but I can’t guarantee you’ll guess correctly.”
It was almost impossible to be overheard with the blaring music and the raised voices around them, but she was still grateful when he leaned in close to whisper in her ear, “Does it have anything to do with your pussy, my cock, and the many orgasms I can give you?”
It might have something to do with that, but she’d never admit it. “Your arrogance knows no bounds.”
“It’s only arrogant if it’s not true.” He followed his statement with a flick of his tongue, sucking her lobe into his mouth while humming in her ear.
Victoria discovered weak in the knees was a very real thing, and Nate was a master at executing it. She clutched his arm a little tighter, shamelessly pressing herself against his side.
He reached around her, setting his own glass beside hers on the table. “You’re in a mood. That means no more alcohol for me, either.” Placing his now free hand on her hip, he said, “Have I told you how beautiful you look tonight? That dress looks amazing on you.”
She noticed where his eyes were directed and looked down at the bodice of the black, off-the-shoulder cocktail dress she wore. The way she was pressed against him did amazing things for her cleavage. Looking back up, she batted her eyes. “This old thing.” She smirked, letting him know he didn’t fool her.
They were so lost in their own little world, she didn’t notice Chuck Carter—who played Nate’s brother in the film—until he sidled up to them. “Who do we have to kill to get a real drink around here, eh?” he asked, obviously noticing their barely touched drinks.
“Maybe try the bar, Chuck,” Nate said, stressing the ‘K’ in Chuck’s name.
Although handsome and outgoing, something about Chuck rubbed her the wrong way. Victoria had never met him before they’d started filming. She hadn’t liked him then, and over the course of the past six months, his personality hadn’t grown on her. She could tell by Nate’s tone, he didn’t like him much, either.
Chuck turned his nose up at Nate’s suggestion then looked down it, his eyes locking on her chest. “I must say, you’re looking very nice tonight, Victoria.”
Before Victoria could respond, Nate did. “You can say it, but if you don’t direct your eyes somewhere else, and fast, you’ll need to play a blind man for your next role. And it won’t require acting.”
Chuck’s eyes shot up to meet Nate’s, and he backed away a step at what he saw. Even still, he unwisely tried to save face. “Nothing wrong with admiring a woman’s assets, especially when she has them so prominently displayed.”
“For your sake, I’m going to pretend you didn’t say that and give you the chance to walk away. Not because I give two shits about you but because I don’t want to ruin this night for Victoria. And me ending up in jail for assault, would definitely ruin her night. But know this, the next time you put your eyes on what’s mine, I might not be so generous. So back the fuck away.”
Chuck shrugged and tossed back the last of his champagne before saying, “This is a piss poor party, anyway.” He turned on his heel and left.
“And that’s our cue to leave,” Victoria said, watching Chuck’s retreating back.
“This being social is for the birds.”
“Agreed. We do much better one on one.”
The scowl lingering on Nate’s lips transformed into a smirk. “One on one, huh, why does that sound so dirty.”
Victoria couldn’t hold back her laugh. “Because you have a dirty mind.”
Nate hugged her closer, dipping his head so their noses almost touched. “Only when it comes to you.”
“Come on, stud. Let’s get out of here and pick this conversation up at home. I want to be in the right place to take full advantage of your dirty mind.”
Their departure took longer than she would have liked, stopping to say goodbye to the people they passed, but soon they had a clear shot, making a speedy trip down the stairs, Victoria holding tightly to Nate’s hand and the railing.
All hell broke loose as they hit the last step. A girl appeared out of nowhere, shouting, “Oh, my God, you’re Nathan Reed.”
A blur of commotion soon followed. Victoria’s head was yanked back as someone gripped her hair, and her arm was then tugged. Her hand was ripped from Nate’s, and she lost sight of him as he was converged upon.
She heard Nate yell her name, but she was pushed back and to the side as the crowd around Nate grew, and she was too busy trying to keep her footing to even attempt to respond.
It was complete pandemonium. How things had gotten so out of hand so fast, she’d never know, but Victoria did know she had to get out of the way before she was trampled to death.
She took an elbow to the corner of her eye and one to the ribs before two strong arms wrapped around her from behind and broke her free of the crowd. People became a blur as she was scooped up and carried quickly from the club.
≈≈≈
Nate was seething as he stormed to the front entrance of the club, Victoria cradled in his arms. He knew his hold on her was too tight, but for the life of him, he couldn’t get his muscles to ease up. People parted as he approached, no doubt reading his expression and not wanting to fuck with him.
He’d never felt such a surge of panic as when he’d felt Victoria’s hand ripped from his. His need to get to and protect her had him muscling through the crowd not giving a shit who he hurt in the process. The minute it had taken him to reach her had felt the longest of his life. Searching through the sea of faces, looking for the one that meant the world to him, he’d pushed and shoved through the masses.
He’d found her in a crowd of people, looking unharmed and the feeling of relief that had rushed through him as he’d wrapped her in his arms almost had him collapsing. Until a jolt in the back had reminded him he had to get Victoria out of there. Scooping her off her feet, he’d used his shoulder, nudging people aside, to break free from the worst of the crowd.
A bodyguard at the door rushed to open it when he saw Nate approach, and he hit the pavement without a misstep, making a direct path to the valet station.
“I don’t have my ticket. Mine are the keys on thirteen.” Nate gestured to the pegboard with a nod.
“Right away Mr. Reed.” The valet scooped up the keys and jogged into the parking lot.
“I think it’s safe to put me down.”
“Not on your life.” He brushed his lips against her temple, and he felt her slight jerk. He changed his mind. Setting her down, he cradled her face and directed it up to the overhead light to get a better look at the spot. Her eye was red at the corner and slightly puffy. “What the fuck happened?”
Her face twisted into a grimace, and he realized he’d shouted. Rubbing his thumb over the apple of her cheek, careful to stay clear of the reddened spot, he said in a softer tone, “What happened to your eye?”
She did a little shrug, lifting only one shoulder. “I think it was someone’s elbow.”
“Are you feeling dizzy?”
She gave him a small smile, shaking her head. “No. It’s just a little sore to the touch.”
“Maybe we should stop by the hospital just to be sure. I don’t like you were hit in the head.”
Her eyes grew large, and she shook her head vigorously before sputtering, “No way.”
His eyes narrowed. “Do you dislike hospitals or more specifically doctors?”
She cupped his hands still holding her face. “No, nothing like that. I’m fine, really, and would feel silly going for something so minor. I just want to go home.”
He stared at her for a few beats, assessing her eyes. Not that he knew what the fuck he was looking for. He might have played a doctor in a movie once, but that was the extent of his medical knowledge. He gave her a kiss on the forehead before relenting. “Okay, I’ll take you home, but only if you promise to tell me if you start to feel dizzy at any point.”
Changing her grip to his forearms, she got up on her toes and kissed his lips. “I promise. And even sealed it with a kiss.”
“Actually,” he smirked, “you kissed me and then promised. You need to kiss me again to seal it.”
She chuckled, getting up on her toes to kiss him again. “There. It’s properly sealed.”
Nate heard a car pull up and turned his head to see the valet getting out of his car and jogging around the hood. He reached his hand into his front pocket and pulled out a twenty. “Thanks, man,” he said, slapping it in the guy’s hand and giving it a shake.
He reached for the passenger door, holding it open and helping Victoria in. “Buckle up.” He slammed the door then went around to his side.
He drove straight to her place, frequently glancing at Victoria along the way. He knew he was acting irrational—worrying so much—but he’d heard some seriously fucked-up stories of untended head wounds, and he couldn’t seem to shake them from his thoughts. He wished she would let him take her to get checked out. Only then would this current obsession be put to rest.
He glanced over at her again. She gazed out the passenger window. She seemed okay, but he’d keep a watchful eye on her, and the minute he didn’t like something he saw, protest or no, he was taking her to the hospital.
Once home, he got Victoria situated on the couch then went straight to the kitchen, grabbing ice from the freezer and wrapping it in a kitchen towel. He also snagged a bottle of water from the fridge and a couple painkillers from the cabinet.
She’d kicked off her shoes and was curled into the corner of the couch, TV remote in hand, flipping through stations when he returned to the living room.
“Here, take this.” He placed the pills in her cupped palm once she held out her hand then handed her the water to wash them down.
“Thanks,” she said after she swallowed and set the bottle on the table beside the couch.
Nate took a seat next to her and positioned her legs across his lap. “I hate that you got hurt,” he said, leaning toward her to place the makeshift ice pack at the corner of her eye.
She closed her eyes and sighed. “It wasn’t your fault.”
“That doesn’t make it any better.”
“No, but it does make it not your fault.”
Nate’s lips tipped up, and he shook his head in exasperation. Even hurt and half asleep she was a smartass.
He hated leaving her tomorrow. More so now she was injured. Though only a two-and-a-half-hour flight, Vancouver suddenly seemed very far away. “There’s something I wanted to talk to you about before I left.”
“Hmm?” Her reply was weak and slurred, and he knew she was mostly asleep.
He lifted the towel to check the swelling and satisfied with how it looked, tossed it on the coffee table before settling back into the couch. He took a breath to speak but let it out with a puff when Victoria issued a nearly silent snore. Grinning, he took her hand, bringing it to his lips for a kiss. What he had to say could wait until he got back.