Ian's Way by Reese Gabriel Read Free Book Online Page A

playing? I would rather go up against Damien from The Omen . Wait, maybe you are possessed. I’ll call an exorcist. In the meantime give me your tickets for the big game, you’ll be busy floating around spewing green vomit for the foreseeable future.”
    “It I do spew anything, it will be all over your office. Face it, man, you’re just getting old,” Ian dismissed.
    Nathan slapped him on the back good-naturedly. “I’m old enough to know something’s up with you. It can’t be business because we are kicking ass in the profit department, thanks to everyone needing our services in a bad economy. So that leaves woman trouble. Buy me a drink and I’ll help you out.”
    “I don’t have woman trouble and why the hell should I buy you a drink? You’re the one who lost.”
    “Because you’re the one needs the advice. It’s simple logic.”
    “Logic, my ass,” Ian muttered, though he was secretly happy for a chance to unload a little.
    The truth was , he had been badly shaken this morning when he’d woken up to find Nikky gone. It wasn’t as if they were in a relationship but she could have at least said goodbye. According to the front-desk clerk, she and her friend Kaitlyn had checked out bright and early.
    That’s what he got for sleeping in until eight. When was the last time he had done that? Usually he was up by five-thirty. Making love to Nikky had chilled him out completely. He had slept like a baby. Talk about a perfect experience. For him. He wasn’t sure he had given her everything he’d promised.
    It had been like a virgin climb, all the excitement and thrill of a new mountain, placing the spikes, making the calculations, working the ropes, balancing adrenaline against cold, steely reason—the perfect mix of man against nature. And the excitement had overcome his resolve and his plans for a slow night of lovemaking—just for her.
    Climbing had been Ian’s life and on one fateful occasion it had nearly taken that life. Since then he had never fully let his guard down—not in business, not in play, and certainly not in his love life, what little of it there had been these past few years.
    Tracking down Nikki had been something he had thought of many, many times. But Ian had come to believe very strongly in fate. There was a deeper peace to things, a deeper meaning than could ever be seen on the surface. His time in the Himalayas had taught him that. As had the courageous silence of the Buddhist monks. Their tenacity and ferocious oneness with the butterfly wings of eternity had served as his guide.
    Thus it was that Ian had taken it as a sign when he’d stumbled across an announcement for the reunion on a random blog. A quick scan of the list of respondents had told him Nikky would be there. And so he had resolved to go after her, win one dance with her…and one splendid night of lovemaking to follow.
    Except it hadn’t worked out right at all. Sure the sex was incredible, more than he could have imagined and he knew he had satisfied Nikky but the more the hours passed the less secure he felt. Had he done his job? Had he changed anything for her? Made her feel better about herself? Maybe, but if she had truly enjoyed a blossoming of self-esteem, why sneak off in the middle of the night?
    It took Ian until halfway through the second beer at their favorite pub to explain all the particulars to Nathan.
    From across the table, Nathan just stared at him as if he were the biggest fool east of the Mississippi.
    “So let me get this straight,” Nathan said, showing off that inimitable twinkle in his eye. “You just turn up out of the blue and tell this woman, who you’ve never so much as dated, that she’s been your fantasy for fourteen years and that she saved your life and now you want to repay her with sex? Have I got it so far?”
    “I didn’t tell her about saving my life but the rest is true, yes.” Ian could tell where this was leading and he braced himself accordingly. One thing he could