Chapter 2 Company

Chapter Two

Laying on the same bed felt weird to Lana.

She remained glued to her side of the bed while Nicholas settled comfortably beside her in the quiet room. She couldn’t even remember the last time she had shared a bed with someone without knowing what would happen next.

“Can I hug you for a bit?”

Lana turned to him. Of everything she had expected him to say, that certainly wasn’t it. “A hug?”

Nicholas nodded. “I really need it.”

She stared at him for a few seconds, trying to figure out if he was joking. Who asked for a hug after bringing a woman home? Wasn’t it supposed to be the other way around? She couldn’t exactly say no and saying yes felt even more embarrassing.

“…Fine.”

Nicholas moved closer until his arm slipped around her waist, gently pulling her against his chest. The warmth of his body instantly surrounded her. He was warmer than she had expected. His embrace wasn’t tight enough to make her uncomfortable, but it wasn’t loose either. It felt almost like he had been craving this for a long time.

Lana stayed still. She didn’t know where to put her hands, so she left them resting awkwardly between them. She hated how much she needed the hug too. His chin rested lightly against the top of her head before she felt him breathe her in.

A few seconds later, she felt Nicholas bury his face against her hair. His slow breath brushed against the top of her head before he inhaled deeply.

Lana frowned. Was he… sniffling her hair? She almost asked, but stopped herself. It felt too awkward so she just stared into the darkness, letting her thoughts wander to the reason why she ended up at the bar.

Mason.

Just thinking about his name made her chest fill with rage. She had loved Mason probably more than she should have only to find him screwing her best friend inside the garage beneath the racing tracks. The image still refused to leave her head.

She remembered standing there, completely frozen while the two people she trusted the most scrambled to cover themselves. Lana just laughed it off but she couldn’t deny the fact that it hurt her.

She had fallen in love with Mason on the track field when he carried her after she cramped up halfway through a race. She could still remember how effortlessly he had picked her up despite her endless complaints that she could walk on her own. He had only laughed, telling her champions deserved better treatment.

Back then, she thought she had found someone who understood her. Someone who didn’t complain every time she talked about racing or showed up at the tracks. Mason had cheered louder than anyone whenever she crossed the finish line, making her believe he’d always be standing there waiting for her.

Turns out, she had been wrong.

Lana shut her eyes. She refused to let herself cry over him. She had already done enough of that in the car before ending up at the bar. Mason wasn’t worth another tear.

Nicholas’s arm tightened slightly around her waist, almost as if he had sensed the change in her breathing. His face remained buried against her hair, breathing in slowly without saying a word.

“Are you thinking?” he asked.

A dry laugh escaped Lana’s lips. “Is it that obvious?”

Nicholas was quiet for a moment. “Clearly.”

Lana frowned. “You notice a lot.”

“It’s an occupational habit.”

She didn’t ask what occupation he meant. She didn’t really care. She just shifted into the hug and wrapped her hand around Nicholas broad shoulders pulling him closer.

Nicholas just let her do her thing. “Care to share.”

“Share what?” She chuckled. “I just had a bad day and some break up shit.”

“Well, it’s a break up. You’ll survive.”

If there was anything Nicholas was bad at, it was emotions. He didn’t know when to console, when to give a love advice or even when he was falling in love.

In minutes Lana fell asleep leaving Nicholas to his thoughts. Nicholas glanced back at her face pressed to his shoulder. Lana was breathtakingly beautiful, if it was any other day he wouldn’t have mind fucking her till her legs gave in.

But today was different. He wasn’t thinking about sex. That alone irritated him. Nicholas watched the steady rise and fall of Lana’s chest, his gaze lingering on her sleeping face before he carefully brushed a strand of hair away from her cheek. She hadn’t realized it, but she had fallen asleep still clutching the back of his shirt as if letting go would wake her.

A faint smile tugged at his lips. “You really trust anyone huh?”

Nicholas leaned back against the headboard, letting her sleep while his thoughts wandered somewhere they shouldn’t. Everything about tonight had gone differently than he planned.

He wasn’t supposed to meet her at the bar or bring her home. Most importantly… he wasn’t supposed to be lying in bed with the daughter of the man he hated most. His eyes drifted to the phone resting on the nightstand.

The screen lit up with one message.

How’s the mission going?

Nicholas stared at it for a long moment before locking the screen without replying. His mission hadn’t changed. Erik Brown still had to pay.

Everything he had worked for over the last few months still pointed to the same destination. Destroy the man and take everything from him. That included the only daughter Erik had spent years trying to control.

Nicholas looked down at the woman sleeping peacefully against him. She looked nothing like the cold, untouchable and rebellious image the media painted of the Brown heiress.

She looked… ordinary.

He let out a quiet breath. “This changes nothing,” he muttered to himself.

It had to mean nothing. Because if he started feeling sorry for her… Everything he had spent years planning would begin to fall apart and that was what he couldn’t do because if he thought astray, he was going to be betraying his family.