The Tycoon's Proposal (6 page)

“Trinity, this is Nicole. She and Ryan used to be all hot and heavy when we were teenagers. Nicole, this beautiful woman is my wife, Trinity,” Drew introduced them.

“It’s so nice to meet you, Nicole,” Trinity said and shocked Nicole by stepping forward and giving her a big hug.

“It’s nice to meet you, too,” Nicole said shyly.

“Now it’s my turn, stranger,” Derek said and stepped forward lifting her off her feet and spinning her around. “It’s so great to see you.” Jasmine stepped around the corner and spotted Nicole.

“I haven’t seen you in forever,” she said, throwing her arms around her. Nicole hugged her back, grateful to see a familiar female face. “How have you been?”

“I’m great,” Nicole told her. “I didn’t know you and Derek got back together,” she added. She remembered when Derek left and the devastation Jasmine felt. She’d been feeling her own pain from one of the Titan cousins and felt sympathy.

“Yes and it’s been amazing. It looks like these Titan boys are finally waking up,” Jasmine told her with a wink. Nicole didn’t know what to say.

“Yes, Nicole and I ran into each other again and we realized we simply couldn’t live one more second apart,” Ryan said. Nicole thought only she could hear the sarcasm in his tone. She had to fight not to flinch when he gave her a look that seemed to threaten her not to contradict him. She turned away from him, finding it difficult to look into his eyes.

“Well, we have to catch up and figure out ways to torture these men,” Jasmine said and led the other two women away, leaving the men to watch them go.

“So what’s going on with you? I adore Nicole, you know that, but I still remember the utter devastation you felt when she walked out of your life,” Drew asked his cousin. Ryan wasn’t ready to tell his cousins the truth. It made him too much of a cad and he didn’t want to see the disapproving look in their eyes.

“We ran into each other and realized the spark was still there, so decided to pursue it,” he finally said. He thought they may take exception that in reality he was blackmailing her into his bed. Hell, he’d kick their asses if they did the same thing. It was much easier to notice other people’s flaws than your own and he wanted her too badly to stop what he was doing, even knowing how wrong it was.

“She’s even more gorgeous now than she was as a teenager,” Derek said, with a wiggle of his brows.

“Back off, you’re a married man,” Ryan told his cousin, feeling an irrational urge to mark his claim. He knew Derek was a happily married man but Ryan found he didn’t like any man making a comment about her. Derek simply laughed at his cousin, before the three of them headed off towards the pool.

“So spill Nicole, we want all the juicy details of how you two got together and what you’ve been up to,” Jasmine demanded of Nicole. She actually relaxed, sitting in the presence of a familiar face and a new friend. There was something very reassuring about having women to talk with, who were nice and understanding.

She found she wanted to spill her guts to them but was afraid Ryan would be furious and then refuse to help her sister. She didn’t think he’d stop the surgery but she wasn’t taking any chances. She still had feelings for Ryan so she could be as honest as possible.

“My sister’s in the hospital and I didn’t have anyone to turn to or talk with so I called Ryan. He was there instantly and the minute I saw him again all those old feelings came right back to the surface,” Nicole said in as simple an explanation as she could.

“Your sister’s in the hospital? What’s wrong with her? How can we help?” Jasmine fired off a bunch of questions with a look of concern on her face. Nicole explained about the heart surgery and before long she was crying with Jasmine and Trinity holding her hands comfortingly. It was so nice to have someone to lean on and simply cry out her heartache. She’d been holding it in for the last several months.

She hadn’t allowed herself to break down and cry even once, because she knew if she were to let go she wouldn’t be able to pick herself back up again. She realized she wasn’t falling completely apart though. She was actually feeling supported by the two amazing women.

The men walked in and saw the three teary women and were instantly on alert. They looked at one another in a panic and knelt down.

“What’s wrong, Baby?” Derek asked with concern.

“You don’t need to worry, Derek, we’re simply women and this is what we do,” Jasmine told her husband with a watery smile.

“You know we have to try and fix it,” Drew added as he rubbed along Trinity’s back.

“That’s because you’re the most honorable men we know but we really will be okay,” Trinity told Drew. Ryan stood motionless as he stared at the three women. He didn’t have the right to fix Nicole’s problems as he was responsible for causing half of them. Everything in him said he needed to pull her into his arms and hold her until the tears faded away, though. He had to remember what she’d done to him. Otherwise he was afraid she’d quickly have him wrapped around her finger once more.

“Now boys, give us more time together, then we’ll start making dinner,” Jasmine said to the men. They reluctantly walked away, though they mumbled to each other about emotional women.

Jasmine and Trinity continued to comfort Nicole until all the tears ran dry. They slowly pulled themselves together and headed toward the kitchen. There was a household staff who normally cooked but sometimes it was soothing to prepare a meal together.

“I hear Joshua crying. I’ll be right back,” Trinity said, walking over to grab her infant from his car seat.

“He’s beautiful,” Nicole said with longing. She’d never allowed herself to even think about having a baby. You had to have a relationship first and she didn’t have the time for one.

“He’s only three months old. Jasmine and I had our youngest within a few weeks of each other and it’s been great to share the experience,” Trinity told her as she brought her son close to nurse.

Jasmine pulled her son Mark out of his car seat. He was awake but not hungry yet. Nicole wanted to hold him with an ache that surprised her but she didn’t want to be forward and ask. As if Jasmine could read her mind, she handed over her son and Nicole sighed in pleasure.

“Oh, I haven’t held such a tiny baby since Patsy was a newborn,” Nicole said in awe, as she rubbed his precious cheek. “He’s so little,” she added in complete awe.

“They’re a lot of work but worth every single minute and Derek is such an attentive and amazing father. He shares the nights with me, making everything perfect. There are many people who are disgusted with us,” Jasmine gushed.

“I don’t know of many men who are up for the three A.M feedings,” Trinity added. “Drew is just as amazing at helping me out. I couldn’t imagine doing this all on my own.”

“Do you get to stay at home with them?” Nicole asked.

“We own a shop together but only spend minimal time there and the babies always come with us. Ryan built us an amazing nursery and a play structure for the older kids. We get to have a business that’s ours. We take pride in it but still get to be the kind of mothers we want to be,” Trinity told her. Nicole was filled with a bit of envy, which she instantly felt guilty about.

It would be so heavenly to not have any worries and get to be a full-time mother. She felt more like a mom to Patsy, instead of a big sister and she wished she’d been able to be with her more but she always worked hard to keep a roof over their heads and the supplies Patsy needed to get a good education. She’d spend every free moment with her though, which was another reason she didn’t date. She really had a full plate.

The sad thing was she didn’t think she’d ever get to hold her own child in her arms. Maybe someday she thought wistfully. The women continued to visit and Nicole got her baby fix, holding little Mark in her arms.

The men slowly walked into the kitchen like it was a war zone. They were afraid the women were going to send them away again and the alpha males didn’t like the feeling of being told to go away. They crept through the doorway and there was an audible sigh of relief from all three men when they saw the women laughing.

They once again looked at each other as if they really couldn’t understand the complicated minds of women. One minute they were sobbing together and the next laughing as if all was right in the world.

“Can we help you with anything?” Derek questioned. The girls looked up, as if surprised to see the guys standing there.

“You can get the steak going. The rest of this food will be ready before you know it,” Trinity told them. They grabbed the marinated steaks and made a quick exit. The girls giggled at the guy’s haste.

“I know it’s terrible to play with them but sometimes it’s simply way too much fun not to,” Jasmine said with a giggle.

“Agreed,” Trinity said. Nicole nodded, although she was afraid to play with Ryan. She had a feeling if she tried to play she was going to get seriously burned. She put it out of her mind and simply enjoyed her time of peace in a world, which had been shattered for many years.

They all enjoyed a wonderful meal, then sat by a fire, where Nicole found herself laughing more than she’d ever done in her life. The cousins were certainly entertaining and Nicole forgot, for a small moment in time, how much stress she was under. When it was past midnight, the family headed out she was uncomfortably aware she was alone with Ryan. She didn’t know how to behave, or what to say.

“I’m really tired, so if you could tell me where I’m sleeping I’ll leave you alone,” she mumbled at him.

“You’ll be sleeping in my bed again but this time I won’t lay awake half the night in frustration,” he growled at her.

“I’m not sleeping in your bed, Ryan,” she said with her own rising temper. He couldn’t force her to sleep with him. Ryan glared at her and slowly stood up. He seemed more of a predator than she’d ever seen before. She was somewhat terrified but more aroused than she would ever admit. He was an impressively masculine man and with that look of desire, mixed with fury in his eyes her stomach turned into a quivering mass.

Ryan slowly started stalking towards her and she couldn’t help herself from slowly retreating. She wanted to stand firm but she was too afraid of what would happen if he touched her. She wasn’t convinced of her own will-power.

“Ryan you need to back off, I know we have an agreement but I’m tired and not ready to share your bed yet,” Nicole tried to reason with him, still backing away as he made a steady advance toward her. He said nothing as he continued to stalk her, as if she really was his prey. He didn’t speed up, he didn’t yell. He did nothing but follow her.

She looked behind her and realized he was backing her into a corner. She knew it was the chicken’s way out but she didn’t care. If she didn’t flee the room and really soon, he was going to grab her and she knew if that happened she’d be lost.

She noticed the table to her left and made a dash around it and started running from the room. She could call herself a chicken later. Her only thought was getting into another room, one with a lock where she would in no way be tempted to let him take her to bed.

She made it to the bottom of the stairs, when his fingers locked around her wrist. He whipped her around, jerking her body against his and smiled in triumph, only seconds before his mouth fell on hers. She was panting from her short sprint, leaving her mouth open to his probing tongue. She gasped aloud as his tongue stroked her mouth, causing liquid fire to burn through her veins.

She’d kissed him countless times as a teenager but it had in no way prepared her for the kiss of a man. He was devastating her system in a matter of seconds. She tried to pull out of his arms. She tried to regain her composure but he was touching her in a way that left all thoughts from her mind. Suddenly he picked her up in his arms, while continuing to love her mouth. She was losing all will of saying no to the man.

He carried them quickly up the stairs and before Nicole knew what was happening, he was laying her down on the bed and her clothes were stripped away. Ryan laid alongside her, quickly taking her back in his arms and once again locking his lips down on hers.

She needed to stop him. She needed to let him know she wasn’t ready. She needed to gain the will-power to stop but she couldn’t do it. She couldn’t even think, let alone find the strength to deny him and herself.

Ryan released her mouth, only to trail his lips down her neck and run his tongue along the mounds of her breasts. By the time he finally clasped her aching nipple into his mouth, her entire body jerked off the bed. She was done with any protests she’d thought about issuing. He ran his tongue over her nipples and she could feel the tightening in her stomach and the wetness in her core. Her body was preparing for his entrance and she wanted him more than she wanted anything else.