Stealing the Billionaire's Heart (7 page)

Chapter Five

Nixie sat at her kitchen table
running the past twenty-four hours through her head. She could barely believe
the things that had happened. Stuff like this didn’t happen to her.
 
Taking a calming breath, she tried to compose
herself. She was probably getting herself all worked up over nothing.

Just like every other guy she’d
slept with, Nick would wake up and realize what a klutz she was. He’d get over
his initial attraction and see that she was no Miss December…but things with
him had felt so right. No one else had ever made her feel the way Nick did. She
was totally and completely head over heels for the guy.

She fingered one of the buttons on
her shirt. When Nixie had gotten home, she’d passed on the option of changing
and had instead sunk into a kitchen chair to think. Now, she lifted the shirt
to her nose and inhaled the scent of Nick’s musky aftershave.

The sound of the phone ringing
startled her, making her jump and drop the shirt guiltily from her fingers.
Leaning precariously back on two legs of the chair, she reached to the wall and
snatched up the phone. “Hello?”

“Nixie? It’s Nick.”

She was so startled to hear his
voice that she lost her balance. With a surprised yelp, Nixie toppled
backwards, her chair tipping to the floor. The phone dropped out of her hand,
the plastic cracking loudly against the ground, then skidded away from her.

She scrambled on her hands and
knees after it. She quickly brought it back to her ear and breathlessly asked,
“Hello? Are you still there?”

“Yes,” said Nick’s smooth, sensual
voice. “What was that noise?”

“Oh, that?” She gave an embarrassed
titter. “I fell out of my chair.”

“Surprised to hear from me?” he
asked.

Nixie frowned at the phone. His
voice sounded almost…cold. “More like delighted,” she admitted carefully. “What
happened to your meeting?”

“Cancelled it,” he said shortly.

“Oh, Nick,” she said. “I thought it
was important.”

“It was, but…” He trailed off,
pausing. “I had to see you.”

Nixie’s heart filled with joy.
“That is so romantic.”

“Yeah.” He sounded almost scornful.
“Whatever.”

Nixie’s frown returned and she went
to comment, but he cut her off. “Open the door,” he ordered. “I’m outside.” A
second later there was a knock on her kitchen door.

Nixie sat up straight on the cold
linoleum floor trying to peer out of the window of the door. She could barely
make out his form as he shifted his weight impatiently on the stoop. “Hey,” she
cried in surprise. “How did you find my house? I didn’t tell you where I lived.
Did you use some super-secret, rich guy private detective to track me down or
something?”

“No,” Nick said listlessly. “I
opened a phone book.”

“Oh.” She was slightly disappointed
at the unexciting means by which he found her. “Well…I guess I shouldn’t leave
you waiting out there.” She hung up the phone then quickly began running her
fingers through her hair, trying to look more presentable. Opening the door,
she pasted a big, wide smile on her face. “Hey,” she said delicately.

Nick’s features seemed to instantly
soften at her greeting, but a moment later, his sullen expression returned. “I
want my things back,” he demanded, pushing into the house.

“Oh,” Nixie replied, feeling
slightly startled. “Of course.” She turned and headed back toward her bedroom,
motioning for him to follow. She fingered the top button of her shirt. “I
didn’t get a chance to wash it,” she apologized.

Nick stood in the doorway of her
bedroom and stared in disbelief as she began unbuttoning her shirt. At the
second button, he stopped her. “I didn’t mean the shirt,” he said contemptuously.
He eyed it thoughtfully. “Though I do want that as well. It’s an Armani.”

Nixie gasped and looked down at her
shirt in surprise. “You gave me an Armani shirt to lounge around the house in?”

Nick ignored her question and
repeated his demand. “My. Things.” He stressed each word harshly, aggravation
evident in his voice.

Nixie’s hand flew to her neck, her
fingers grazing the heart locket. “You want the necklace?” she asked, slightly
confused.

“No. Not the damn necklace,” he
snapped. “I want my things!”

Nixie cringed at his angered tone.
“Nick, I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she said meekly.

“Oh, don’t play dumb,” he spat.
Marching across the room, he got right in her face. “I’ve had about all the
acting I can take from you.” His eyes flicked to the bed behind her. “Sit down.”
The statement was a harsh demand.

Nixie eyed him apprehensively. She
wasn’t afraid of him, not really. She was just fearful something had happened
that was going to ruin what little chance she had with him. With a baffled
sigh, she followed his order and climbed onto the bed. She scooted up so her
back was resting against the headboard, trying to put a little distance between
them to hopefully quell his agitation. “Nick,” she asked cautiously. “What’s
wrong? You seem…irritated.”

From his back pocket, Nick produced
a pair of handcuffs that he quickly fastened to her left wrist. Looping it
through a section of the headboard, he then fastened the other side to her
right wrist.

He moved swiftly and Nixie was too
stunned to put up much of a fight. When he took a step back, she stared at him
in indignation. “Nick, what the hell are you doing?”

“Exactly what you did last night.
I’m going to root through
your
bedroom to see if there’s anything of
interest.”

“The same thing I did?” She gave a
disgruntled snort. “I don’t recall handcuffing you to the bed.”

Nick, who had wrenched open the top
drawer of her dresser, spun to look at her. His eyes darkened in lust as he
watched her struggle against her restraints. His expression slowly turned to
pity then fast as lightning was back to anger. “No,” he practically snarled.
“What you did was worse.”

“What I did?” Nixie asked huffily.
“What exactly did I do?”

Nick slammed her drawer shut with a
resounding bang. “You seduced me. You made me…” His voice cracked and he had to
swallow before continuing. “You had sex with me while your cohorts came in and
cleaned the place out. You helped rob me. You used me for…for what, a few lousy
bucks?”

“First off, nothing you own costs a
few lousy bucks, and second, what the hell are you talking about?”

“You know what I’m talking about! I
was conveniently robbed the night I shacked up with you. Coincidence? I think
not.” He yanked her closet open and began tossing her possessions around,
searching for anything that belonged to him. “So I’m going to violate your
privacy like you did mine.” To prove his point, he grabbed a container of shoes
and emptied it on the floor.

Behind him, Nixie gave a pathetic
little sob at seeing her things being tossed around so carelessly by someone
she’d thought might care about her, even if just a little.

Nick’s handsome face looked almost
ugly in his rage. “It’s too late for tears, honey.”

Nixie bit back another snivel, not
wanting to give him the benefit of seeing how much his actions were hurting
her.

* * *

Nick made sure to maintain the
unyielding snarl on his face, but inside, he was shaking like a leaf. He felt
horrible for the way he was behaving, but he knew the moment he dropped the
angry act, he would fall apart. He couldn’t fall apart in front of Nixie. His
pride wouldn’t allow it. As it was, he’d almost rushed to her side and begged
for her forgiveness when he’d heard the shallow little sob that escaped her
throat. He had to fight to keep himself from crumbling.

She’d done him wrong. She’d used
him. She’d fooled him into thinking there was something between them when he
was vulnerable from a recent break up. She didn’t care that she’d taken his
heart and crushed it under those spiked heels of hers.

“I want you to know I think you’re
the biggest asshole on the face of the planet.”

Statements like that made it a lot
easier for him to stand his ground. Nick’s lip curled up. “The feeling is
completely mutual.” He couldn’t keep the smug grin off his face at the startled
look he received for his statement. Good. It was about time she realized that
those cute little looks weren’t working him over anymore.

Nixie’s eyes narrowed into the most
adorable…no, the most annoying glare he’d ever seen. In return, Nick slid into
an arrogant, conceited smirk before he turned his back and began rifling once
again through her lingerie drawer just to spite her.

“You…you are such a vain…snob.”
Nixie spat the words angrily. “You are so wrapped up in yourself.” She gave an
ineffective tug at the cuffs. “At least when I broke into your place, I made
sure you got a few orgasms out of it.”

Nick turned slowly to stare at her,
incredulity written on his face. “
That
is what you’re worried about?
Nearly my entire living room is missing and you’re pissed because I didn’t stop
to worry about whether the woman who took everything was sexually satisfied?”

“I didn’t take anything!” Nixie
shrieked.

Nick ground his teeth painfully
together. “I really, really hate being lied to.”

“I’m not lying!”

Nick strolled over to the side of
the bed and stared down at her with a scathing look. “If I give you what you
want, will you shut up so I can finish searching the place?”

“What I want?” Nixie asked in
confusion.

Without a word, Nick climbed onto
the bed and made his way over to her side. Bending down, he kissed her
forcefully.

Nixie gave a cry of surprise and
pulled back. “What are you––”

Nick cut her off with another kiss,
the pressure of his mouth on hers strong enough to bruise. He heard her squawk
of outrage, but didn’t remove his lips from hers.

He felt her teeth sink into his
bottom lip, but he didn’t pull away. Instead, he swung his leg over both of
hers, straddled her lap, and swallowed up her rage and anger. He took her fury
and returned his own back into her. He kissed her with what almost felt like
desperation. He thought that maybe if he kissed her passionately enough, she’d
realize what she could have had, perhaps even regret betraying him. He wanted
her to ache with need just like he did every time she crossed his mind.

Nick felt a surge of satisfaction
when her lips softened against his and she opened her mouth to him. He grabbed
her face in his hands and swallowed up her whimper of pleasure.

Her tongue flicked out and she ran
it gently along his bottom lip. “I’m sorry.” She whispered against him before
drawing his lip into her mouth, sucking lightly at the tender flesh she’d
bitten only a minute ago.

Nick groaned in arousal and felt
his resentment slipping away. He didn’t care what she did, how many rooms she
wiped clean as long as she kept touching him. “I want you so much it frightens
me,” he said in a quiet undertone. “I can’t think around it.”

Nixie wiggled, trying to press her
body to his and having a hard time of it due to her restrained hands. She
whimpered pitifully before begging. “Fuck me, Nick. Please, please. Just take
me.”

* * *

Nixie would have been embarrassed
to find herself pleading for him to touch her, but she desperately needed it.
She’d get down on her knees and beg him if it would mean getting what she
wanted. She needed Nick like she’d never needed anyone in her life.
 
He was an addiction.

At her desperate plea, Nick moved
until he was kneeling between her legs. He gazed at her with those astounding
blue eyes and stated the obvious. “You want me.”

She nodded fervently in answer.

Nick’s hands slid her skirt up
around her waist and he lowered his mouth to her. “Say it,” he said, his breathing
hot against her intimate parts. “Tell me you want it.”

“I want it,” she whimpered.

Nick slid his tongue along her,
lapping at her sensitive flesh. “You want this very badly,” he informed her.

Nixie gave a cry as he nibbled
softly at her skin, his tongue swirling in a careless pattern. “Yes,” she
agreed. “Yes…yes…” Biting her lip, she grunted. “I want you in me. Now. I need
it.”

Nick seemed more than willing to
oblige her. He scrambled off the bed and frantically began climbing out of his
trousers.

“Hurry.”

Nick rewarded her with one of those
deliriously wonderful grins. “You think I’m not trying?” He struggled out of
his boxers and tossed them to the side, not even bothering with his shirt. He
quickly returned to her, positioning himself between her knees, but soon found
that the cuffs limited their movement.

Nixie couldn’t slide down far
enough to give him the room he needed. She squiggled and squirmed before
finally huffing. “Just let me loose. It’s not working like this.”

Nick shook his head stubbornly.
“No…can’t trust you…”