Mr. Heartbreaker (The Nest, #1)

by Piper Rayne

I love a challenge. For the entirety of my life, all someone had to tell me was that I didn’t have it or I’d never make it. I wasn’t fast enough or quick enough or smart enough. Tell me I can’t do something, and I’ll work tirelessly to prove you wrong.

“My daughter said she’s heard you’re a real heartbreaker. That you’re a love ’em and leave ’em kind of guy. But I’ve been watching you and your date this evening.” She winks.

“It’s nice, sure, but if a man wants me, I hope nothing will hold him back. That all he could think about was me until he had me all to himself.” She straightens, and I miss the way her long hair tickled my neck.

“Are you suggesting I throw you over my shoulder firefighter-style and carry you to room 1498?”

“I’d settle for a more subtle exit, but once we’re in the elevator al...

“After dinner. When dancing starts, you can make your move, Mr. Heartbreaker.”

“I’m being polite in abiding by your wishes, but for the next hour, having my mouth between your thighs will be the only thing on my mind.”

“I think I’ve been a good boy.” He rises from his chair and towers over me, holding out his hand.

“You’ve barely touched me,” I say, standing so close our chests practically touch. My nipples pebble in response.

“I was afraid I wouldn’t be able to stop ...

“You’re the only one I see tonight.”

“If you didn’t know already, I’m a sure thing. You don’t have to use those lines on me.”

“I don’t have you in the ele...

I have a knockout straddling my lap wearing only a thong and a pair of killer heels. It’s been a long time since I’ve been as attracted to a woman as I am to Leigh.

Usually by this time, I’m just trying to get the woman off so I can come right after her, but with Leigh, I find myself wanting to draw it out. I want her to leave this room never the same, but I don’t have time to delve into that foreign feeling because I don’t want to miss a second of having her under me and

feeling her soft skin pressed along my hard muscles.

The taxi pulls away from the curb, and I stare at the outside of the hotel, certain that last night with Leigh was the best sex I’ve ever had. From the moment I saw her across the room, I was drawn to her. Yeah, that’s all it is. Leigh was the best sex I’ve had, and our chemistry was insane. That’s the only reason she’s still holding my thoughts hostage.

“I want to see you again.”

“A girl could get used to this,” she says, lightly smacking my ass.

I grab her tight ass in my palm. I don’t know what’s happening, but this woman has

me by the balls, and she doesn’t ...

“Neither of us want anything serious, so it seems pretty easy to me—you wanna fuck around, text me. If I wanna fuck around, I’ll text you.”

“Easy as that, huh?”

I’m still stunned over the fact that I have Rowan Landry’s cell phone number in my phone, and I’m supposed to call him whenever I want to fuck him. It’s a power trip, I swear.

“I’m glad you called.” “Want to go to the bedroom?” He shakes his head. “I’m taking a shower, and you’re coming with me.” He picks me up, and I yelp, almost dropping my iced coffee. I’m beginning to like being in his arms too much. He carries me and my iced coffee into his bathroom. Yeah, I’m glad I called too. He’s just what I need to forget about my problems for the day.

No wonder he’s Mr. Heartbreaker. He’s breaking hearts because he’s too good at this sex thing, and those women are probably mourning the loss. I’ll probably cry when this is over too.

This obsession I have with her can’t be healthy, but I can’t seem to find it in myself to care.

“Good because you’re mine.” He draws back, and I’m not sure what the look on my face is. Surprise? Shock? Elation? “You know, until we’re bored with each other.” He shrugs, playing it off. “Totally.” I try to do the same.

“Two things.” He holds up his two fingers. “One, you’re not some random girl. Two, can you please stop thinking of me as Rowan Landry?”

“When I’m with you, I forget who I am to the outside world. I’m just a guy who met a girl that he can’t stop thinking about all the time. Then I get reminded of how you might think of me, and I’m not sure…shit, just forget what I said.”

“Because I sound like an idiot. Asking you to separate me from the hockey player. It’s just⁠—”

“I get it. I do. When I’m with you, I only see you as the guy I’m fucking. The guy that…”

He’s deflecting, not wanting to talk about his feelings, and I can’t call him out because I’m hiding so much myself. I need to tell him I’m Conor Nilsen’s sister, that I found out my mom is cheating on my dad, and that my head is all over the place, which is why I didn’t tell him sooner.

I wish I could be bare inside her, although I’ve never done that with anyone. But Leigh seems to be breaking all my rules.

need to squash this need. I need to figure out how to become unattached to her, but every time I tell myself she’s just a woman I’m screwing, I wince because it doesn’t feel that way. I want more from her. Even now, I’m supposed to go meet up with Conor for a beer, but I don’t want to leave her.

Once I’m finally away from her, I let go of the breath I was holding, wondering if she was right the first night I met her—maybe she will be the one to break my heart.

“You losing your bachelor card?”

“Fuck no,” I say. I’m not lying, but also, I’m skimming the truth. If Leigh wanted something more, I’m not sure I would say no, and that’s a step I’ve never taken.

Right now, it’s great being with Conor, but I wish Leigh was right next to me, or better yet, on my lap.

“I don’t want to design clothes, let alone wedding gowns. Pretend like everyone is getting into some happy union when in reality

it’s probably doomed to fail. Owning a bar would be fun.” I shrug.

This isn’t something I share with anyone. Other than Ruby and Jagger, no one else knows. Not even Tweetie or Henry. I like to keep this part of my life private because I don’t like answering a lot of questions about it. The only reason I ever told Jagger was because he was adamant I tell him about anything that might come out in the press that could be perceived negatively.

“You were going to tell me something.”

I could say the same thing to her. We’re both keeping secrets from one another. And maybe I should say a secret for a secret, but I don’t want to force her to tell me. I want her to trust me like I do her in this moment.

But I didn’t like who I was. I didn’t like waking up in the morning and not remembering what I did the night before. It made me feel out of control and a lot like my father, so I stopped drinking alcohol all together. The longer I went without it, the happier I was.”

God, she’s ruining me, and I’m just letting her do it, but the last thing I want to do is walk away from this.

I take a moment while her eyes are closed and she doesn’t know I’m looking at her to admire her beauty and the fact that she’s kind of mine. I mean, I don’t think she’s seeing anyone else. Or fucking anyone else. I

hope not. We never talked specifically about being exclusive.

“Do you want me to leave?”

“I…I don’t know,” I say because I don’t. It’s supposed to be just sex between us. I’ve never slept in the same bed as Rowan. We’ve been clear about where the line is, although I know he’s slid in under my barbed wire at some point. Sure, maybe it’s great that this thing between us has evolved. But I don’t know how I could ever get into a relationship right now with where my head is, and he doesn’t want anything more than what we have anyway. Letting myself think otherwise is setting myself up for heartbreak, and I’ve had about enough of that lately. Not to mention I’ve been lying to him about who I am, and I have no idea how he’ll react when he finds out.