"Thanks for coming out with me, Beth. I know bars aren't your thing." I sat next to Beth at a private booth in an upscale bar in Midtown. Our friend from school was a part owner and sometimes bartender, so it was one of the only places I could convince Beth to go.

"Well, Mikael makes the best drinks and gives us an excellent discount."

"Free is not a discount," a slightly accented male voice corrected from behind us. I turned and smiled as my Swedish heartthrob of a friend placed two more drinks in front of us. I had spent many a night fantasizing about his blonde hair and muscular arms until I found out he was gay (or maybe a little after that, too - I mean, he was hot, gay or not).

"Hey, we are your official taste testers!" Beth protested as she lifted the glass to her lips.

"Of course you are," Mikael indulged Beth with a pat on her shoulder, then slid next to me. "How are you holding up, Nikita?"

My heart melted at the nickname he had given me after one drunken night watching retro French movies for one of our film classes. We met because of his love for film; he had given up a chance to go to film school because of some personal reasons and claimed to be happy with his current career. We had drifted apart in my last life, so I didn't know if he had ever picked up the camera again.

"What do you mean?" I looked suspiciously over at Beth, who shrugged in an 'of course I told him about you almost dying' way.

"Beth told me you had a stressful week. She sent me the picture of the painting you gave to the gallery. It was pretty dark." Mikael put his arm around my shoulders and pulled me against his chest. You should have come sooner."

"It took me this long to drag Beth out. She wouldn't come on a work day, and we have a thing tomorrow night." I waved my drink at Beth before taking another sip and laying my head back on Mikael's muscular arm. "I'm sorry to have come on a Friday. I know it's your busy night."

"No problem. We have a private party taking up most of the upper level, and they hired a bartender to take care of just them, so I'm overstaffed tonight."

"I didn't know you rented the upper level," Beth looked up at the glass-enclosed rooftop bar. We rarely went up there because Mikael stayed on the ground floor. But it was a beautiful space with a fantastic city view.

"Everything has its price, and the renter is a friend of my partner, so it's pretty safe." Mikael leaned his head back and closed his eyes. "If it works out, maybe we will do it more often. It's nice not having to worry about the capacity rules.

"Well, that's good." I lost interest in the rental and examined my tired friend.

"Are you okay?"

"Me," Mikael opened his eyes and smiled brightly. "I'm great. I've been working hard lately because Chester's been out of town. He returned tonight because of his friend, so things should slow down for me." Chester Richardson was Mikael's partner and a sought-after entrepreneur. He had a Midas touch for opening high-end bars in unusual locations. He and Mikael briefly dated before realizing they were better business partners than lovers.

Mikael must have underestimated the strength of the drinks he gave us that night. Beth had stopped after the first one because she was driving, but he had delivered two, or maybe three, for me. Each seemed more potent than the last. Eventually, my head swam, and my stomach churned.

"I'm going to the bathroom," I insisted, pushing Beth back down to continue her conversation with Mikael. "I can make it that far on my own."

Before she could answer, I wandered into the closest restroom. I examined myself in the mirror and frowned. My cheeks were flushed, and my eyelids drooped low over my brown eyes. My hair was held back with a black band, and one of the earrings Beth had given me had fallen partially out of my ears. I fixed it and patted my face with a cool, damp cloth, more worried about the flush than my makeup. I didn't want my mascara to run, so I didn't mess with my eyes, but I did replace some of my lost lipstick. Satisfied with my corrections, I left the bathroom and immediately slammed into a firm wall of a chest, crushing my nose.

"Ow!" I cried and put my hand up to rub my injured appendage.

"I'm sorry, I didn't see you coming," a familiar voice answered, and I felt hands on my shoulders. "Nicole?"

I looked up and found myself immersed in azure eyes.

"Yes, I'm Nicole," I answered, proud of my ability to remember my own name. Then my mind landed on who the owner of the blue eyes had to be. "And you are Robert Lamb, my hero!" I laced my arms between the two that held my shoulders and wrapped my hands behind Robert's neck. Delicate wisps of his hair tickled the skin of my fingers, and I pulled myself closer to enjoy the scent I remembered from when he held me. His arms slid to my back as I moved, and soon, our bodies were as close as they had been on the street. "Are you here to save me again?"

"I, um, am here on business." Robert looked so cute when he was flustered. Had I flustered him? I wriggled even closer to him and was satisfied with the widening of his eyes. I had definitely been the cause of his stutter.

"Who comes to a bar on business? You need to relax, Robert," I insisted, my fingers deciding to play with his hair. I loved the soft feel of his waves.

"Do I?" Robert pushed me back against the wall near the restroom, away from the exit we had been obstructing. "Are you going to help me do that?"

"Do you want me to?" I was flirting with Robert Lamb. Some small part of me wanted to send warning signals, but Mikael's drinks had short-circuited the alarm.

"I very much want you to, Ms. Mason." His face closed in on mine, and I could smell the liquor on his breath. Had Mikael been making him drinks as well?

"Well, how do you think I should do that?"

"May I kiss you?" Robert answered, his voice taking on a husky tone.

"Hmm, I think that would be nice." I tilted my lips towards him and smiled. Robert didn't wait to double-check my intentions. His lips smashed into mine, and passion rolled through my body. My hands grabbed at his collar and hair, and his hands slipped to the small of my back and pushed me up against him. The closer we came, the more aware I was of his desire, and mine answered in response. I hungrily forced my tongue into his mouth, and he groaned with pleasure.

"Um...Nicole?" Beth's voice shot through my brain and poured cold water over my raging desire. I moved my hands to Robert's chest and pushed him away.

"I'm so sorry," I stammered. "I'm drunk. I shouldn't have attacked you like that." My rapidly sobering mind realized what had just happened and spun with confusion. The passion I felt for Robert Lamb frightened me; it had not been just the alcohol. Robert backed away and corrected his slim-fit gray suit.

"I have had too much to drink as well, Ms. Mason; I apologize for my indiscretion. Ms. Williams, perhaps you should take her home now."

"Yes, that would be a good idea," Beth acknowledged as she slipped her arm around my waist and pulled me away from Robert.

"Wait," Robert called as we walked away. Beth turned us around to look at him. "You never returned my calls. I still want to take you to dinner."

"I bet you do," Beth quipped before I could say anything. "She's been painting and doesn't return calls when she does that."

"Oh, you're painting again?"

"Yes, Durand Gallary will be showing there next week," Beth bragged.

"He won't care about that!" I insisted and brushed my hand against her shoulder in a dismissive gesture. "It's just a little bloody snow; I don't know why Marcus likes it. I think it's horrifying."

"Bloody snow?" Beth and Robert spoke in unison, which I found so amusing that I giggled. As I laughed, my head began to feel light, and I leaned against Beth.

"I think we should go now," I suggested, realizing that my stomach contents were thinking about returning to the light and working hard to keep them where they belonged.

"Right!" Beth turned us around again and headed toward the exit. Robert didn't stop us a second time, and we made it to Beth's car before I passed out.

***

"Drink this," Beth insisted as I sat up. My head swam, and my stomach churned, but the cotton in my mouth won out, and I gulped down the soda water Beth handed me. "Damn, Mikael and his drinks. Do you remember what you did last night?"

"What I did?" My confused brain tried to process her question, and vague memories of heat pushed through my body.

"What you did with Robert Lamb, CEO of Lamb Industries? You know, the man who saved you from a pool and a semi-truck?"

"Robert?" Suddenly, flashes of the hottest kiss I had ever experienced assaulted my brain, and my stomach churned for entirely different reasons than earlier. What had I done? Kissing Robert Lamb was not part of the plan. Lambs could not be trusted, no matter how sexy and heroic they seemed. "Oh no!"

"Oh, yes," Beth confirmed. "You were locking lips and practically knocking boots in the hallway of MC's last night. Girl, he's hot, but have some restraint."

"Oh, no," I repeated, shaking my head. "What must he think of me?"

"Probably about the same as you think of him. You both were drunk and had gone through some intense stuff together not too long ago."

"Yes, that has to be what it was." I grasped at the partial truth. Robert had rescued me from the pool and Tim and Beth's plan. I had saved him from his demise, and it had been a very intense day. Since then, I ignored his phone calls and told myself I was better without him in my life. But the fire in my gut told me that the rest of my body disagreed with my mind's assessment.

"Well, you better get the rest of the alcohol out of your system. We are going to have to get ready for the charity auction soon. Your mom wants us to be there a bit early."

"Right, the auction." Part of the reason I wanted to go drinking was to stop thinking about what Lisa might have planned for me at the auction. I would need to have all my senses ready to outsmart her. "Feel like going for a run?"

"Already wearing my running shoes!" Beth pointed at her feet and smiled. She knew my favorite hangover treatment. I chugged the rest of the water she had given me and got dressed.

The park by Beth's house was my favorite spot for a quick run. The rolling hills were a challenge, but the broad path and gracious old-growth trees more than made up for that. Beth and I didn't talk while we ran, and I let my mind wander anywhere it wanted.

A week ago, I died and was reborn. That same day, I met and saved Robert Lamb and avoided his nephew, Tim. For the rest of the week, I avoided confronting anyone as much as possible, but all the players would be together again at the auction.

In the past, I would have attended events like this with Lisa. We would have giggled and chatted about all the latest fashion trends, the hottest dates, and the juiciest gossip about the high society present. However, my fond memories of Lisa are now tinged with a sense of sadness. Her warm demeanor had only been a facade for her underlying contempt and jealousy towards me. To avoid her as much as possible, Beth would accompany me to the auction, and I had offered to assist my mother with her official duties as the primary contributor.

As Beth tapped gently on my shoulder, I knew it was time to leave the park and prepare for the auction. We had a lot of preparations to do, so we jogged back to the park's entrance together. My stylist would meet me at my parent's house with my dress and accessories, and she would also do my hair for the event as she never trusted anyone from her team to handle my thick, wavy locks.

As I pondered, my mind went back to Tim and Lisa. They were probably planning something that night, but I wasn't sure how to avoid contact with them. Once we introduced the auctioneer, my mother's duties would be done, and I would need to sit with my family for the auction. Lisa and her parents would be present, too, which she had mentioned to me several times in our text exchanges.

Finally, I landed on the subject my primal mind most wanted to contemplate. Would Robert Lamb be at the auction this time? He had survived the trip to the airport and was the head of the Lamb family, so he would undoubtedly make an appearance. What would he think of me? How could I explain to him my hot and cold reactions? My conscious mind wanted nothing to do with him or his family, but my libido wanted all Robert all the time.

"Aurg!" I vocalized my frustration while we stretched together. "I can't believe I kissed him!"

"OMG, that wasn't a kiss, that was...well, I don't know what that was, but it was more than a kiss, and it was mutual, baby. He kissed you, too."

"What will I say to him if I see him tonight?"

"Um, just make sure you talk with words and not your lips." Beth gently ribbed me with a mischievous grin and reached out her hand to help me get back on my feet. "He's a professional. He'll keep it cool, and you should try to do the same."

"Right, professional," I answered, shaking the stiffness out of my arms and following her into her building.

As the CEO of Lamb Industries, Robert was renowned for his ability to navigate awkward situations easily. He probably would ignore me or treat me like nothing ever happened. I couldn't let my anxiety about him take over, especially when there were more pressing matters at hand - like my own survival.

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