Bedding The Billionaire (15 page)

He moved his mouth to the other one, then traveled
downwards. When he reached her moist thighs, he pulled down the panties that
he'd hastily drawn to one side. Then he undid the fly on his trousers, and the
button on his shorts.

He let out a long sigh as his erection was freed. It
pulsed in time to his heart beat, rapid and heavy. He leaned forward and kissed
her, tasting her need and desire as she kissed him back. Her hands linked
together behind his head and she drew him down, hungrily tasting him.

Nick's erection screamed for action, to be allowed to
taste her the way his lips were tasting her. He obliged and lowered himself. When
sensitive skin touched sensitive skin he sucked in a frayed breath and settled
himself to plunge into her heat.

Just as he was poised to plunder, Abbey clamped her
legs together. He heard her catch her breath and she suddenly stopped kissing
him.

He stared down at her.

"What's wrong?" He could detect the
desperation and frustration in his voice.

"You know what's wrong. This whole damn thing is
wrong." She struggled to sit up, pushing him off the desk as she did so.

She sat, perched on the edge of the desk and glared at
him. She pushed her short cream skirt down. It was the most conservative thing
he'd seen her wear. The white sleeveless shirt was just as unexciting, but
seeing her breasts heaving where he'd opened it drove him wild. Wilder. He
kissed her lips again.

She pushed him off.

"Abbey," he growled, suddenly realizing he
may have to leave frustrated.

"No! I can't keep on doing this, Damien. It's too
hard."

He ignored the name and smiled wickedly. "Very
hard." He pressed himself into her to get his point across.

"That's not what I meant and you know it."

He placed a hand on the desk on either side of her
hips and stared into her bright blue eyes. She had amazing eyes. As blue as the
sky and just as vast. He could get lost in those eyes.

"Abbey, I'm sorry I got annoyed before
—
"

"Annoyed! You looked like you were about to
explode."

"I have a quick temper. But it's just as quick to
disappear." His gaze dropped to her lips. "When I kiss you." He
leaned forward and took her bottom lip between both of his and sucked.

She jerked away.

"Don't," she said. "I can't do
this."

"We're two consenting adults
—
"

She held up a hand and he dutifully stopped. "I've
heard that line a million times in the last few days and I don't want to hear
it anymore. Look, I don't do casual sex with strangers very well. It's not
exactly in my makeup if you know what I mean."

No, he had no idea what that meant. That she had
feelings for him? That it was more than just sex to her? Or that it was just
that
—
casual sex
—
and she'd realized she
didn't
have any feelings for him, and wanted it to end.

"No, I don't know what you mean. Tell me."

But she didn't. Instead, she sighed and put a hand on
his chest. He felt her fingers tighten against his skin, as if having one last
feel of him, then she pushed him backward.

"I think I'm the one who should be pissed here. You've
got photos of me naked."

"And me."

"No one knows it's you except us." He
glanced at the glass door. "And Lucy. And since she's a P.I. I hate to
think where those photos are going to end up."

Abbey looked away. "I can't tell you that."

"I figured you wouldn't." He zipped his fly.
"I also figure you're not about to tell me what's going on. And what role
you've been playing throughout this little game."

"I haven't been playing any game."

But she didn't look at him. Nick didn't trust people
who avoided eye contact.

He took her chin in his hand and drew her face round
so she had no choice but to look into his eyes.

"If you're not going to tell me what's going on,
then I'm going to walk out that door and not turn back."

Her lashes lowered and she said nothing.

He let go. An ache gnawed his gut. This wasn't
supposed to happen. She was supposed to give in, tell him everything, tell
him... What? That she had feelings for him?

Why? Just because he had feelings for her didn't mean
she reciprocated them. Obviously this hadn't meant anything to Abbey otherwise
the threat of walking out would have weakened her resolve.

She hadn't even flinched. She didn't shed a tear and
she didn't even look at him.

This was something Nick wasn't used to. He always got
answers. He'd always got the woman he'd wanted too. This one, the only one he'd
wanted this badly in a long time
—
perhaps ever
—
wasn't
giving him an inch.

He blew out a breath and forced himself to go over the
facts again. Since Abbey called him Vane, it was likely that the photos had
nothing to do with him and everything to do with Damien Vane and his jealous
wife, Lorraine. But that wasn't the point. The point was that Nick always got
answers. Always.

The truth was, Abbey didn't feel the same way about
him that he felt about her. So it was for the best if he just walked away, before
he got himself in further than he already was. Before he made an even bigger
fool of himself.

"I see," he said quietly. He resisted the
urge to give her a goodbye kiss, turned and walked out the door.

He didn't look back.

***

"Shit." Lucy took her sobbing friend in her
arms.

Abbey, annoyed at herself for allowing her feelings
for Damien to get the better of her, cried into her friend's shoulder, letting
the pain wash out of her. Then, sucking in a deep breath, she straightened,
wiped her cheeks and hopped off the desk.

"I'm not going to let him get to me," she
said, as much to convince herself as Lucy.

"Bit late for that," said Lucy, eyeing her
closely.

Abbey tried to smile. "I'll be fine. I'm
tough."

"Yeah, as tough as marshmallow when it comes to
Vane."

Abbey cursed. "I shouldn't have let him get so
close to me again." It's just that he was so persuasive. She just couldn't
keep her hands off him. There was something...magnetic between them.

Lucy surveyed her desk and placed her fists on
out-thrust hips. "It's partly my fault. I shouldn't have left you alone
with him."

Abbey picked up the stack of files that had fallen to
the floor and arranged them neatly on the edge of the desk. "Sorry about
the mess," she muttered, pushing the laptop back into the center.

"Don't be. I should've known better. He's got
some kind of hold on you."

"He's bad news, that's what he is. I've got to
learn self control."

"Maybe you should take up judo. Martial arts are
a great way to learn self-control. When you realize you can kick butt it takes
a hell of a lot of self control not to. I've got a great instructor." Lucy
grinned. "He's really sexy."

"No thanks. It isn't necessary to kick butt in my
line of work."

"I don't know
—
Tarken needs a good
butt-kicking."

Abbey giggled despite herself. Lucy had a way of
getting her out of a glum mood. Although this was one hell of a glum mood.

Lucy gave her friend a quick cuddle. "Forget
about Vane. He's a bastard. He's also married and has a mistress in every port.
You can do way better than him."

Abbey nodded but didn't really agree with her. Her
choice in men had gone from lousy to downright atrocious. A pathetic idiot like
Tarken was one thing, but a serial womanizer like Damien was entirely another.

The problem was, she felt far more for Damien than she
ever had for Tarken. It might have started out as just sex, but it had rapidly
turned into something else. Something that had aroused feelings and emotions
that she'd begun to think weren't possible. The sort that happen in movies and
books but she was yet to experience in real life.

Until now.

And when those feelings were directed solely at a man
like Damien, then it was a very bad thing. He was the sort of man who would run
a mile as soon as his libido calmed down or pointed itself in another
direction, especially if he knew how she really felt.

Abbey sighed deeply and picked up her handbag which
had fallen onto the floor when Damien grabbed her.

"I'm going home," she announced. "Sorry
about your desk."

"Abbey Girl, you can mess up my desk anytime. Just
don't fall in love with the next guy you have sex on it with, okay?" She
reached up and tucked a hair behind Abbey's ear.

"There won't be a next time," said Abbey. "I'm
giving up on men. I can't pick a decent one if my life depended on it."

Lucy clicked her tongue. "Don't give up. Just
don't fall in love with them. I told you, pick a man whose personality totally
turns you off." Her mouth twitched into a half-smile. "The gorilla's
still available."

Abbey made a face. "I'm going before you set me
up with every man in your little black book."

"That'd keep you going for a few years at
least."

Abbey hugged her friend and left the office. She
hopped into her car and headed down Bridge Road, turning right at Church
Street.

All the way home, she thought about how she should
have handled Damien Vane. She should've ignored him, pushed him away before
he'd even kissed her. Maybe if Lucy hadn't left... No, she couldn't blame this
on Lucy. Getting in over her head with Damien was her own stupid fault. She couldn't
blame anyone else for this mess. Except maybe Damien.

By the time she pulled into a parking space in front
of her apartment, Abbey was angry. Angry at herself for letting Damien have
this affect on her, and angry at him for, well, being so damned sexy and such a
womanizer at the same time.

She opened her front door and threw her bag on the table
beside the phone. The answering machine's red light flashed. She opened her
fridge and poured herself a glass of white wine, then padded across the floorboards
and pressed the button on the machine. There was a message from Tarken asking
her to call him back. She deleted it.

She settled herself on the couch and switched on the
TV. There was nothing on so she switched it off again. She reached for a book
on her coffee table and flipped it open to the bookmarked page. Ten minutes
later she replaced the bookmark on the same page.

She sighed and wondered if she was doomed to think
about Damien all night. It might not be so bad if she kept her thoughts
focussed on the sex and not the man himself. That couldn't do any harm.

She closed her eyes and relaxed back into the couch. The
air in the apartment was warm. Too warm. Abbey undid the buttons on her shirt
and discarded it. Better, but she was still hot. She undid her bra and let it
slide off her breasts and fall into her lap. Much better.

Her hand skimmed her right breast as she lifted the
wine glass to her lips. Her skin was soft to touch, and hot. Damien had touched
her breast like that. No, not quite like that. His touch had more urgency and
hunger in it. She placed the wine glass on the coffee table then cupped her
breast, the way Damien did, and rubbed gently. The nipple quickly puckered and
sent a wave of tingles down to her abdomen.

She reached across to do the same with the other
nipple when the phone rang. She thought about letting it go to the answering
machine, but it might be Lucy checking up on her. She'd worry if Abbey didn't
answer.

She picked up.

"Hello."

"It's Tarken."

Silence as Abbey contemplated hanging up. Instead, she
stifled a groan and quickly threw on the discarded shirt and clasped it closed
across her breasts. She knew he couldn't see her but the desire to cover
herself was a natural instinct these days at the sound of Tarken's voice.

"What do you want?"

"Now, that's no way to talk to your
boyfriend."

"Ex, Tarken. We're through, remember?"

"Don't be so hasty, I've got something I want to
say to you."

"Well, hurry up and say it. I'm busy."

There was a pause as Tarken seemed to consider this
information. Maybe her harsh answers were finally getting through to him and he
was about to give up.

"There's a cocktail party on tomorrow night and I
thought you might like to accompany me."

Abbey rolled her eyes. Giving up wasn't Tarken's
style, even when he was thoroughly beaten. It was embarrassing before, now it
was just annoying. "Why would I want to do that?"

"Because it's for this software seminar that's
been going on at the Crown Complex."

Her heart stopped. Software seminar...

"Did you go to it?" she asked.

"Yes. Mr. Goldstein decided on Monday that we
needed a new system. He suggested Donaldson go. Normally I'd send you along
with him, but..."